Yesterday on The Seed Company’s Twitter channel, I asked that very question, and at the bottom you can see the responses. But why did I ask? Was it just a random question to get conversation flowing? Partly. But more than that, I was clued into something the other day.

I was reading my friend Amy’s review of David Platt’s book Radical she wrote this summer.

And something struck me. She writes, “Out of curiosity, I picked up this discussion of what it means to take up one’s cross and follow Christ, and I’m very glad I did.” She tells about the very practical ways she met the radical challenges in that book.

But there was another way she’d answer a radical challenge; for in just the last month, Amy has stepped up as a OneVerse Blogger. (The official launch date for OneVerse Bloggers is January 4. Watch for them.)

Which leads me to you. I wonder what has happened in your life that has caused our paths to intersect?

For some of you, your story involves a book – or maybe even several books – that challenged you to think differently about missions – and about God! So I ask, “Which book on missions has most influenced you?” And you might even answer the next question, “How so?” Please share your story by posting a comment.

A Bit of My Story

The question got me thinking. So I’ll share with you the book on missions that has influenced me the most. It’s the Greek New Testament. And I don’t say that in a holier than thou sense. My simple story is I took one class – which then turned into five – on biblical Greek. I just loved it. I was a college student at Bethel in St. Paul. And what I learned is that knowing what the Bible really says is important. And sometimes that means getting down to the original languages it was written in.

So it was easy for me to make the mental leap from: Oh, there are people in the world who don’t have a Bible translation in their languages, to: That’s a problem. That means they can’t really hear the gospel.

Shortly after I graduated from college I dove headlong into being a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators, a partner of The Seed Company. And my story from there takes quite the journey. More on that another day.

Answers From Our Tweeps

Eternity In Their Hearts by Don Richardson, via @andrzejgandecki

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, via @andrzejgandecki

End of the Spear by Steve Saint, via @andrzejgandecki

And the Word Came With Power by Joanne Shetler, via @thedaisyhead

Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan, via @laurenwilson09

William Carey’s biography via @prorev59

Church Planting Movements: How God Is Redeeming a Lost World by David Garrison, via @prorev59

Perspectives course material, via @prorev59

Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture by Lesslie Newbigin, via @MarnixKlooster

The Great Omission: A Biblical Basis for World Evangelism by Robertson McQuilken, via @CharlesRHighham

Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions by John Piper, via @kellydeason @drewmaust @CharlesRHigham

The Soul Winner by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, via @kellydeason

Anything by Paul Hiebert, via @mattpierce12

Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission by David Bosch, via @kouya

Operation World by Jason Mandryk, via @SandraPeoples @JoyfulHomeAmy

The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative by Christopher Wright, via @DrewMaust

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt, via @JoyfulHomeAmy

The Journals of Jim Elliot by Jim Elliot, via @Pray4Indo

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman, via @managedmin

Bonus round! Thanks to Eddie Arthur (@kouya) who pointed me to two of his blog posts: Top Ten Missionary Books and The Top Missiology Books Check ‘em out! Eddie’s the president of our partner organization, Wycliffe UK.

And the Greek book photo is courtesy of khrawlings on Flikr.