Essential Reading – First Place Hospitality

I read – a lot!

Here are some books I think you would find beneficial in your journey of First Place Hospitality. The Top Ten List – the first 10 books in the list – is my current “must have” listing. The remainder of the list is in no particular order, containing my most recent additions in chronological order.

Note: If you order a book from one of the links below, I may receive a small affiliate commission from Amazon. It doesn’t increase the price of your book, and allows me to continue to add to the list!



TitleAuthor
From Tablet to TableLeonard Sweet
Love Where You LiveShauna Pilgreen
The Art of NeighboringJay Pathak and Dave Runyon
The Neighboring ChurchRick Rusaw and Brian Mavis
The Simplest Way to Change the WorldDustin Willis and Brandon Clements
Just Open the DoorJen Schmidt
Next Door As It Is In HeavenLance Ford and Brad Brisco
The Turquoise TableKristin Schell
The Art of GatheringPriya Parker
The Ministry of Ordinary PlacesShannon Martin
How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being WeirdAmy Lively
Loving My Actual NeighborAlexandra Kuykendall
The Divine CommoditySkye Jethani
Eating Heaven: Spirituality at the TableSimon Carey Holt
The Connecting Church 2.0Randy Frazee
Making Room for LifeRandy Frazee
The Tangible KingdomHugh Halter, Matt Smay
Tangible Kingdom PrimerHugh Halter, Matt Smay
Table GraceDouglas Webster
Life In CommunityDustin Willis
The Irresistible CommunityBill Donahue
Hospitality 101Sue Moore Donaldson
Staying is the New GoingAlan Briggs
Who is My NeighborSteve Moore
Smart CompassionWesley Furlong
Smart Compassion GuideWesley Furlong
A Meal with JesusTim Chester
Gospel FluencyJeff Vanderstelt
Reaching the UnreachedPeyton Jones
Missional: Joining God in the NeighborhoodAlan Roxburgh
The Search to BelongJoseph Myers
The Neighboring Life Study GuideRick Rusaw and Brian Mavis
Becoming a Neighboring ChurchRick Rusaw and Brian Mavis
The Hidden DimensionEdward T. Hall
No Silver BulletsDaniel Im
Creating a Missional CultureJR Woodward
The Church of Irresistible InfluenceRobert Lewis
The Future That Has ComeKennon Callahan
Small, Strong CongregationsKennon Callahan
Get Off Your Donkey!Reggie McNeal
The Gospel Comes with a House KeyRosario Butterfield
The Welcoming CongregationHenry Brinton
Creating CommunityAndy Stanley
Eating Your Way Through Luke’s GospelRobert Karris
The Present FutureReggie McNeal
Street SignsRobert Bakke, Jon Sharpe
Serve Your CityDino Rizzo
Church Turned Inside OutLinda Bergquist, Allan Karr
Shopping Malls and Other Sacred SpacesJon Pahl
Incarnate: The Body of Christ in an Age of DisengagementMichael Frost
Kingdom ComeReggie McNeal
The Greening of the ChurchFindley Edge
The Company of StrangersParker Palmer
This is God’s TableAnna Woofenden
We Will FeastKendall Vanderslice
Widening the Welcome of Your ChurchFred Bernhard, Steve Clapp
Plunging into the Kingdom WayTim Dickau
A Bigger TableJohn Pavlovitz
Table MentoringSue Moore Donaldson
The Gift of HospitalityDelia Halverson
SacrilegeHugh Halter
The New People Next DoorDrew Taylor, Rhett Burns
https://amzn.to/2LOlzVMAlexander Strauch
How Should I Exercise HospitalityRebecca Vandoodewaard
Venal DogmataJeff Christopherson
Hospitality and the Holy SpiritDenise Maiatico
Biblical HospitalityDavid Gudhel, Steve Durand, Dan Stockum
Come to My Table: God’s Hospitality and YoursSue Moore Donaldson
Life on MissionDustin Willis, Aaron Coe
God’s Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry WorldAmy Oden
Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the GospelRussell Moore
And You Welcomed MeAmy Oden
The Trellis and the VineColin Marshall, Tony Payne
The Vine ProjectColin Marshall, Tony Payne
UntamedAlan Hirsch, Debra Hirsch
Loving the CityTimothy Keller
The Multi-Nucleated ChurchSean Benesh
Exegeting the City Sean Benesh
Blueprints for a Just CitySean Benesh
The New ParishPaul Sparks, Tim Soerens, Dwight Friesen
For the CityDarrin Patrick, Matt Carter
Urban ChristianRay Bakke
A Theology as Big as the CityRay Bakke
Renewing the CityRobert Lupton
Urban ImpactJohn Thompson
The Economics of Neighborly LoveTom Nelson
The Divine ConspiracyDallas Willard
Celebrating the Third PlaceRay Oldenburg
The Great Good PlaceRay Oldenburg
The Gospel Next DoorMary Troyer
The Cost of DiscipleshipDietrich Bonhoeffer
Church for the UnchurchedGeorge Hunter
5QAlan Hirsch 
The Attention EconomyThomas Davenport, John Beck
This is Where You BelongMelody Warnick
Neighborhood Initiative and the Love of GodLynn Cory
The Kairos AdventureLynn Cory
The Incarnational ChurchLynn Cory
Your Hospitality PersonalityMorgan Tyree
Happy Hour: Etiquette an Advice on Holy MerrimentHugh Halter
Surprise the WorldMichael Frost
Making Room for Neighbors Small Group StudyMax Lucado, Randy Frazee
Analog ChurchJay Kim
Loving Your Neighbor: Surprise! It’s Not What You ThinkDavid Sanford
Everybody AlwaysBob Goff
Love DoesBob Goff
Organic CommunityJoseph Myers
The Church as MovementJR Woodard, Dan White
Neighborhood Mapping: How to Make Your Church Invaluable to Your CommunityJohn Fuder
Study Guide for Making RoomChristine Pohl, Pamela Buck
Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian TraditionChristine Pohl
Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the TableShauna Niequist
Taste and See: Discovering God Among Butchers, Bakers, and Fresh Food MakersMargaret Feinberg
Kingdom CollaboratorsReggie McNeal
Practicing HospitalityPat Ennis, Lisa Tatlock
Faithful PresenceDavid Fitch
The Silent LanguageEdward T. Hall
About My Father’s BusinessRegi Campbell
Saved by Faith and HospitalityJoshua Jipp
Christian HospitalityJosh Hunt
Doubling Groups 2.0Josh Hunt
The Ten Second RuleClare De Graff
The Gathered and ScatteredHugh Halter, Matt Smay
Barefoot ChurchBrandon Hatmaker
Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on MissionTim Chester, Steve Timms
Fast Forward to MissionAlan Hirsch
Flesh: Bringing the Incarnational Down to EarthHugh Halter
The Greatness Principle: Finding Significance by Serving OthersNelson Searcy
The Meeting of Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the ChurchFritz Klein
Missional MovesRob Wegner, Jack Magruder
Right Here, Right NowAlan Hirsch, Lance Ford
Sentness: Six Postures of Missional ChristiansKim Hammond, Darren Cronshaw
Transform a CityEric Swanson, Sam Williams
Zealous for Good WorksTodd Wilson
God Next Door: Spirituality and Mission in the NeighborhoodSimon Carey Holt
Practicing Hospitality: A Study GuideAlan Roxburg
Take This BreadSara Miles
Death by SuburbDavid Goetz
Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild HoneyMargaret Feinberg
How Cities WorkAlex Marshall
Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American DreamAndres Suany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Jeff Spock
Celebration USADouglas Franz, Catherine Collins
Celebration: The Story of a TownMichael Lassell
The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of the SouthBonnie Ramsey
Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight InequalityEric Klinenberg
Table Life: Savoring the Hospitality of Jesus in Your HomeJoanne Thompson
Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor TooJennifer Grant
The Sacred Overlap: Learning to Live Faithfully in the Space BetweenJ.R. Briggs
On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert EyesAlexandra Horowitz
Liturgy of the OrdinaryTish Harrison Warren
Urban Spirituality: Embodying God’s Mission in the NeighborhoodKarina Kreminski
The Art of NoticingRob Walker
Garden Cities of To-MorrowEbenezer Howard
The American PorchMichael Dolan
A Better Place to LivePhilip Langdon
The Politics of Everyday LifePaul Ginsborg
Discipleship That FitsBobby Harrington, Alex Absalom
The Suburban ChristianAlbert Hsu
NeighborlinesssDavid Docusen
The Power of RitualCasper Ter Kuile
An Altar in the WorldBarbara Taylor
Moveable FeastsGregory McNamee
Making Room for NeighborsMax Lucado
Everywhere You LookTim Sorens
Holy LivingJorge Acevedo
Conspiracy of KindnessSteve Sjogren
Gentle PersuasionJoe Aldrich
Community of KindnessSteve Sjogren
Meeting Needs, Sharing ChristDonald Atkinson
Irresistible EvangelismSteve Sjogren
Seeing Beyond Church WallsSteve Sjogren
Sharing Your Life Mission Every DayBrett Eastman
Serving LessonsBill Hybels
OutflowSteve Sjogren
Making a Good Church GreatSteve Sjogren
101 Ways to Reach Your CommunitySteve Sjogren
Scattered ServantsAlan Scott
Bowling AloneRobert D. Putnam
The UpswingRobert D. Putnam
American GraceRobert D. Putnam
Our KidsRobert D. Putnam
Better TogetherRobert D. Putnam
Reach Out, Gather InKaren Ehman
Sidewalks in the KingdomEric Jacobsen
Fresh ExpressionsKen Carter
Fresh Expressions of People Over PropertyWarren
A Field Guide to Methodist Fresh ExpressionsMichael Beck
Just Open the Door Study GuideJen Schmidt
The Vanishing NeighborMarc Dunkelman
Placed for a PurposeChris McKinney and Elizabeth McKinney
Them: How We Hate Each Other – and How to HealBen Sasse
Walkable CityJeff Speck
Walkable City RulesJeff Speck
Strong TownsCharles Marohn
The Sprawl: Reconsidering the Weird American SuburbsJason Diamond
B.L.E.S.S. – Five Ways to Change the WorldDave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson
Irrational KindnessKevin Williams
Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United StatesKenneth T. Jackson
The Good City and the Good Life: Renewing the American CommunityDaniel Kemmis
The Works: Anatomy of a CityKate Ascher
Geography of Nowhere: Finding Oneself in the Postmodern WorldGary Eberle
Home from Nowhere: Remaking Our Everyday World for the 21st CenturyJames Howard Kunstler
The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-made LandscapeJames Howard Kunstler
Great Neighborhood Book: PlacemakingJay Walljasper
Start with HelloShannon Martin
Elbows on the TableJudy Russell
If You Could Live AnywhereMelody Warnick
Grace BombPatrick Linnell
A Field Guide to Genuine CommunityBen Connelly
Good WorksKeith Wasserman, Christine Pohl
Deep and WildMichael Beck
Households of FaithBarna
God WalkMark Buchanan
The Hopeful NeighborhoodDon Everts
The Hopeful Neighborhood Field GuideTony Cook, Don Everts
The Hospitable LeaderTerry Smity
Unreasonable HospitalityWill Guidara
Hospitality: Risking WelcomeDavid O. Jenkins
Rebuilding the Front Porch of AmericaPatrick Overton
Building Communities from the Inside OutJohn Kretzmann
The Abundant CommunityJohn McKnight
In the NeighborhoodPeter Lovenheim