As I’ve told you before, 2011 was a big year for me when it came to reading. I set out at the beginning of the year to make reading a real priority and gathered books (physical and digital) I wanted to get through.

“Pursuing Christ. Creating Art.” by Gary Molander was not originally on my list but towards the end of the year I had heard so many great things about it, I decided I needed to include it on my reading list. I was not.. not.. NOT disappointed. To be honest, once I started reading, I could not put it down! (Actually, to be accurate, once I started reading I couldn’t close my Kindle app.)

The more I read, the more excited I got. The more I read, the more I wanted friends of mine to read it. The more I read, notes and quotes were posted on twitter and facebook. Thanks to the beauty of social media, Gary and I were able to connect that day over twitter (him, @garymo, me, @chrisfromcanada) and I made sure he knew I thought the book was really important and I wanted more people to read it.

PURSUING CHRIST. CREATING ART. is written for people who are living in the intersection of the Christian faith, and the creation of art. By their nature, artists look at a life of faith differently, and that unique journey warrants an exploration of what it means to be a Christ-follower and an artist. The book intentionally veers away from tips and techniques and formulas, while concentrating on the journey, the mystery, and the heart.

Thanks to Gary’s generosity, I have got three copies of “Pursuing Christ. Creating Art.” to give away to my blog readers. Not only will you get the book but Gary has offered to autograph them personally for you so you can brag to all your friends!

Enter below – the contest is open now and I’ll announce the winners on Thursday, January 19. Some of these entries can be done once per day so make sure you’ve got as many chances as possible to be one of the winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you’re seeing the mobile version of this site, the giveaway widget may not show up. As a first step, leave a comment below to enter the giveaway and then come back to this page to see the other ways you are able to enter the contest.

[This is a post from my worship leader's toolkit blog series. You can read the series intro and find links to the other posts here.]

Leaders are readers.

You’ve heard that before, right? I am convinced it is true. Very few things can shape your thinking, inspire and motivate next steps like giving a few hours to reading a great book. The beauty of reading books (as opposed to tweets, blogs or magazine articles) is that you have to read books over the course of several days or weeks – and that’s totally acceptable! I love the way that a book is able to infiltrate my thinking as I’m working my way through it.

Because books can have such a deep effect on us, it’s important to be reading great books. Your life is not long enough to be able to read everything so make sure that you use your reading time well. Read great fiction, great history, great biographies, great stories. You remember doing this as a kid, don’t you? I can still remember getting books from my grandfather every year at Christmas and leafing through pages and pages and pages of incredible stories.

Have you lost that? Have you lost the wonder that books used to give you as a kid? If you have, maybe reading has become clinical and simply information driven. “I have to read this because I have to know this stuff. I have to read this for a class. I have to read this because my pastor asked me to.” Ugh.

Whether you love reading or not, the reality is that even in our incredibly digital, wired, connected world reading is still very, very important. Don’t believe me? iPad, Kindle, Nook, etc, etc, etc – you may not love the specific device but one of the core purposes of creating the device was to give people a way to read more books. And that’s exactly what people are doing.

In 2011 I set out to read more than I have in any year since university – and yes, most of those were “I have to” books back then! I spread my reading attention pretty wide and read books by church leaders, business leaders, artists, and other authors who just intrigued me. Most of my reading happened on my Kindle iPad app but I read a bunch of real books too.

How much did you read this year? Want to read more this year? Leaders are readers. Don’t forget that.

So here’s what I’ve done. I’ve compiled a short list of some of my favourites which I often recommend to other worship leaders. Some of these are almost required reading for people on our worship teams and some are pretty high level and may take you a few months to work through, like they did for me.

I’ve set these links up as Amazon affiliate links – thank you so much if you’re willing to buy them through the link! If you do, a small chunk of the sale price will come back to me but the cost is the same for you whether or not you use the affiliate link here. Consider it as a way of depositing a couple of bucks in to my new book account so that I can keep on reading!

So here you go, in no particular order, some of the books that I’d recommend to worship leaders looking to expand their library. The first set is links to physical copies of the books – kindle versions are below:

If you’re reading this on RSS, the books may not show. Head over to the blog to get the full post – http://www.chrisfromcanada.com/worship-leaders-toolkit-recommended-books/

I’ve put together a pretty ridiculous reading list for this year and I’m doing my best to work through it. I’m already way ahead of where I normally am when it comes to reading and one of the big reasons for that is that I’m able to read iBooks and Kindle books on my iPad. I love the ebook format and I also love the pricing!!

One of the places I’ve been buying ebooks is GospeleBooks.net – I only discovered the site after they became a blog sponsor but I am now a fan. There are pretty regular postings that show up (I subscribe to their RSS feed) with great deals on books that I’m definitely interested in. Last week I bought eight books I’d been wanting to read for a grand total of $12!!

Yes this is a sponsored post for GospeleBooks.net but I’m also posting it as a great resource that you should definitely check out.

A few days ago I asked for suggestions of books that I must read this year. I had lots of feedback on twitter and facebook. I put together a list of books that I expect to read this year and wanted to share it with you.

I used Amazon to build a 2011 recommended reading wishlist here – www.amzn.com/w/1GXJAEORGGU28. Right now the list has 16 or 17 books but here are a few that people said I should read -

Interested in spurring on my personal development this year? I’ll leave this wishlist public for a couple of weeks in case anyone is generous enough to send one or more of these books my way. Either way, I’ll do my best to work through this great list of books this year.

Beautiful.. I had left this video open in a browser tab for the last week or so but wanted to give myself a good chunk of time to watch and process. I knew that I would want to spend some time with it  - and I was right.

If you are interested in purchasing the final product including Makoto’s artwork, it is available to pre-order here – http://www.crossway.org/bibles/the-four-holy-gospels-1370-fab/

The Four Holy Gospels is an exquisitely designed and produced edition of the four canonical Gospels in the English Standard Version, published in commemoration of the 400^th anniversary of the King James Version (KJV) Bible in 1611.

The Four Holy Gospels features newly commissioned original paintings representing the four Gospel Evangelists, illuminated initial letters, and other embellishments and design elements, printed in full color throughout and on high-quality art paper. The text of the Gospels is reproduced in a highly readable, large font; ideally suited for public reading, liturgical use, and as a family heirloom.

The artist commissioned for the project is Makoto Fujimura, a devout Christian, and one of the most highly-regarded artists of the twenty-first century. He is the founder of the International Arts Movement and has served on the National Council for the Arts. His art is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, as well as a number of art museums in the US. A premiere exhibition of the art created for The Four Holy Gospels is planned for December of 2010, at the Dillon Gallery in New York City.

The Four Holy Gospels stands in the historic stream of the beautifully hand-illuminated editions of the Gospels created many centuries ago. This exquisite and unique modern edition carries on a classic tradition, beautifully combining the words of the Gospels and original art, inspired by the text, and brilliantly executed for the glory of God.

I’ve recently gathered my summer reading list and am really looking forward to it. This year I’ve got four books on my desk to read over the summer:

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
• Leading in Prayer: A Workbook For Worship by Hughes Oliphant Old
• Rework by Jason Fried

Each of these books has come up in different conversations (in real life, on the blog, twitter or facebook) over the past year and I’m looking forward to each of them for different reasons.

I started reading “The War of Art” the other night and never has a book had such profound impact on my life within so few pages – with the exception of the Bible, of course. The first part of the book explains something that is very well-known to artists but hard to express – Resistance. He makes the case for the clever, sneaky ways that Resistance pulls us away from our task of creating. Resistance takes on many forms – distractions, laziness, success, etc – but always comes once we make the commitment to create. (As a sidenote, I’m not one of those who thinks that “artist” is a specialized category of class of people. I believe we are all artists and every single person will face Resistance in some way, whether or not they believe that they are gifted creatively.)

He moves from this incredible discussion on Resistance and its power to an exploration on the differences between amateurs and professional. The general view of “amateur” is that they are someone who is doing something because of their love of the activity. Pressfield’s argument is that it is the amateur who does not love the activity enough and that the professional, while he may get paid for his work, is actually the one who is creating because of his love. Even if the professional were not being paid, he would still be compelled to create.

One of the fun ways to take a book like this to a new level has been to share some of my thoughts and some of the quotes on twitter (@chrisfromcanada) and to have a second level of interaction with people who are either new to the book or who have read it before. If you’re interested in following along, I’m attaching the #WarOfArt hashtag to all of my tweets about the book.

Here’s a series of tweets and replies that have been happening on twitter the past few days -

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

I’m 10 pages in and I’m already convinced that this book could change me. #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

“The best & only thing that 1 artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.” #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart Thanks, artist friends, …

“We will never cure our restlessness by contributing our disposable income to the bottom line of Bullshit, Inc.”#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

“Fundamentalism and art are mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as fundamentalist art.” #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

Resistance and fear. What’s the step I’m afraid to take right now? What’s the journey that is too fear-filled? #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

“If you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart Thankful for the enduring perfect love of God

From @JeannaMiller – RT @chrisfromcanada: “If you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

From @derricklogan – RT @chrisfromcanada Summer reading begins now. #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofarthttp://twitpic.com/1ylkf3 // Top 5 all time for me.

Some more #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart reading tonight. Lots of things stirring in my brain from the first 50 pages.

From @anidolheart – RT @chrisfromcanada Some more#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart reading tonight. // I have been told to read that book. Thanks for the reminder.

“Seeking support from friends and family is like having your people gathered around at your deathbed.”#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart Thankful 4 deathbed friends

“Tolstoy had thirteen kids and wrote War and Peace.” #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart He must have had one great wife.

I wish I could tweet all of page 57. I think I need to rip it out and frame it instead. #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

From @christopherbmac – @chrisfromcanada I dare say Tolstoy’s family life was probably the inspiration for the book, with that many kids.#warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart

“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not.” #warofart" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23warofart">#warofart Little over the top. I get it

The exploration of amateur vs. professional has so much to say for those of us leading teams of “volunteers.” Good stuff. #WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt

“The professional, though he accepts money, does his work out of love. He has to love it.” #WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt

“Technically, the professional takes money. Technically, the pro plays for pay. But in the end, he does it for love.”#WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt

“The professional masters how, and leaves what and why to the gods.”#WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt

I totally get Piper’s “we are not professionals” but I am now sold on Pressfield’s “we are not amateurs”#WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt

From @ChurchTechGuy – @chrisfromcanada I was once told the only difference between amateur and professional art is who gets paid. I do it for the love of art.

From @b_rewster – RT @chrisfromcanada:”The professional masters how, & leaves what & why 2 the gods.”#WarOfArt" rel="nofollow" href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23WarOfArt">#WarOfArt/Another awesome person reading “The manifest”

From@sabbatical – @chrisfromcanada Karl Marx had seven kids, but at least 3 of them died because he was so poor due to his writing/philosophizing.

From @charlie_mcevoy – @chrisfromcanada The first time I read that book I wanted to copy the entire thing in a note book.

From @wdkunkel – @chrisfromcanada Isn’t that one of the longest books EVER. With 13 kids, could it have been his ‘garage project’ before there was a garage?

From @marcjolicoeur – “War of Art” is quite good, eh @chrisfromcanada?

I’m looking forward to working my way through the rest of the book. As you may be able to tell, I have a feeling that the impact of this book is going to last for a long, long time.

Lots of you end up on this site because I’ve talked about “The Shack” several times – both about my interaction with the book and about my interaction with William Paul Young, the author. Paul was in southern Ontario last week and was part of a show on CBC called “The Hour” hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos. George has become a very well-respected journalist in Canada and I love his interview style.

If you want to see the interview (it’s less than 13 minutes) you can see it here – http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=1124988848

After you watch, I’d love for you to come back and drop your thoughts in a comment. Here are mine -

• .George is a fantastic interviewer. He gets to the heart of the matter very quickly and knows enough of the story & context to come off sounding well-informed and intrigued by the answers.
• .Paul has heard every question in the book over the last couple of years and has an answer ready for every one of them. He has become very experienced at the interview thing.
• .I am amazed and excited that a book written for this guy’s six kids has opened these kinds of doors for spiritual discussion. Agree or disagree, like him or not, Paul’s book has given the church new opportunities to talk about the gospel with those who have questions. Are you taking that opportunity??
• .What is the deep, preconceived, misguided notion of God in my own life that I need to get rid of?
• .Big thought on this one – there is NO WAY that CBC would have given this guy 15 minutes of airtime 10 years ago. No chance. Pretty awesome that he was given that opportunity to declare Jesus is the Word of God, that God is existent as the Trinity and that He is exceptionally fond of each of us. That is very cool.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’m taking a theology of worship class at Heritage Seminary in Cambridge, ON. The course began today and we are off to a great start! Dr. David Barker is teaching the class and his passion for Scripture and the church is inspiring and engaging. I’ve heard Dr. Barker speak a few times (including Sunday mornings at our church) and I have been looking forward to this class for a while.

Some of you were asking today about the books that we are using for the course readings this week. Here’s the list of required and recommended books that Dr. Barker has given us. I’ve read several of these and have added the rest to my (ever-growing!!) ‘need to read’ list.

• Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson
• Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship by Harold Best
• Worship by the Book by D. A. Carson
• Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn
• The Gift of Worship by C. Welton Gaddy
• Enter His Courts with Praise: Old Testament Worship for the New Testament Church by Andrew Hill
• Worship Evangelism by Sally Morgenthaler
• The Worship Phenomenon by Robert Webber
• Worship Seeking Understanding by John Witvliet

So have you read any of these? There are some classics on here as well as some newer books. Any books that you think should be on the list?

I’m not an avid reader but in keeping with my stereotypical artistic brain I usually have at least a couple of books on the go. This summer I’ve been reading some good stuff including one of the classics that I go back to every couple of years.

G.K. Chesterton is a favourite author of mine – I love his seemingly casual style of writing that almost conceals these deep, hard-hitting truths until the very last second when they jump off the page. I find myself reading a passage that he’s written, not entirely sure what point he’s trying to make and once the point is made (and made strongly!) I need to go back and re-read the whole setup. Chesterton is a master at convincing the reader to agree with something they would have disagreed at the beginning of the page.

Orthodoxy is a book I’ve read several times but I’m sure it will be a book that will be part of my library for my whole life. It is a quick read but the material is not light. Here is Chesterton’s description of why he wrote the book -

This book is meant to be a companion to “Heretics,” and to put the positive side in addition to the negative. Many critics complained of the book called “Heretics” because it merely criticised current philosophies without offering any alternative philosophy. This book is an attempt to answer the challenge. It is unavoidably affirmative and therefore unavoidably autobiographical. The writer has been driven back upon somewhat the same difficulty as that which beset Newman in writing his Apologia; he has been forced to be egotistical only in order to be sincere. While everything else may be different the motive in both cases is the same. It is the purpose of the writer to attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian Faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it. The book is therefore arranged upon the positive principle of a riddle and its answer. It deals first with all the writer’s own solitary and sincere speculations and then with all the startling style in which they were all suddenly satisfied by the Christian Theology. The writer regards it as amounting to a convincing creed. But if it is not that it is at least a repeated and surprising coincidence.

With all of the new ideas, new resources, new songs and new opportunities that come along every day sometimes it’s good to go backa few generations and spend some time with the thoughts of a man who had great impact on his culture at a time when the role of the church was in great decline. Hearing some of the things Chesterton says gives me new energy in my walk with Christ and also re-energizes my conviction that communicating the gospel through art is one of the ways our culture will be transformed.

“The dogma is the drama.” – Dorothy Sayers

I started reading “A Better Way” by Michael Horton last night and only made it through to the end of the introduction and already my life has been rocked. Wow.

I’m going to post more on this book as I make my way through it.