Give me 10 minutes in which to revive your passion for Christian bookselling.

Sounds a bit like one of those awful late-night infomercials, maybe? Well, I don't want you to send any money, just grab a pen and a piece of paper and sit quietly for a few minutes. I believe this simple exercise could help fan the flames of your Christian literature ministry.

Now, jot down the titles of the 10 books you have read that have made the most impact in your Christian life. Don't get too hung up on it being the definitive list. This isn't a precise science, and the chances are the list may vary a bit if you try to come up with one again next week. That's OK—the answers will be right then, too.

But don't be tempted to include the titles of books that you think will impress your friends. Or those that you are planning to read (one day). Or those that you started but never finished.

The point is to stop and reflect for a moment. Consider that these books have shaped you into the person you are today; who or where might you be without having read them?

Here's my Top 10 and why:

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. Long before "what would Jesus do" got reduced to a bumper sticker, I was challenged by the idea that what we sometimes like to make so complicated in living the Christian life can be boiled down to one question.  And I was thrilled that one of the characters exploring what that meant was a newspaper editor. 

Prodigal Press by Marvin Olasky. This fascinating study of the rich Christian roots of American journalism gave historical weight to Sheldon's novel. It spurred my hunger to see more evangelicals commit to redeeming the "bad reporting" that Numbers 13 and 14 makes clear can lead people out of the purposes of God.

God in the Slums by Hugh Redwood. This 1930s account of the work of the Salvation Army in squalid inner city London inspired me not just because of its accounts of Christian love in action, but also because of its author—a tough-minded national newspaperman whose own life was transformed by his writing. 

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliott, a fascinating, unsettling account of the fervent heart for God that fueled Jim Elliot and his four colleagues in their sacrificial commitment to sharing the gospel, ultimately giving their lives. It made me question how far my faith would take me: yet to find the answer.

Is That Really You, Lord?  by Loren Cunningham. As a young Christian, this book by the founder of Youth With A Mission opened my eyes—and ears—to the concept that God speaks intimately to His children and invites them to join Him on a radical adventure of faith. I'd later spend 10 years serving with the organization.

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. I tried very hard not to like this book and dismiss it as a lad-fad, but I couldn't shake its core challenge to consider what it really means to be a man. I didn't go running off into the woods, but it did awaken a (healthy) ongoing dissatisfaction with safe "suburban" spirituality.

Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs. For me, he nails one of the core pitfalls of marriage—the "crazy cycle" dance that goes on when each partner misses the other's cues and needs. Worth reading alone for the light-bulb insight into why so many of us guys go quiet when our wives are waiting for us to say something.

A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards. Having worked in and around Christian ministries and organizations for more than 30 years, I have seen enough "great" men and women of God become ogres and tyrants away from the platform or spotlight—but this rebukes any cynicism and reminds me that my response matters, too.

 Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. His gift for communicating a reasoned and reasonable faith was never more clearly exercised than in this book, which helped establish me in the early days of my discipleship. Belief may be supernatural, I was reassured, but it is also rational.

The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll came into my life at a time when legalistic weeds were starting to tangle my feet. I still have to watch my step, but the author's folksy insights taught me to watch out for the creepers of adding—whether personally or for others—to what Jesus did at the cross.

I can't imagine where or who I might be without these books. And I am grateful for those who wrote, published and sold them. I'm reminded that being part of an enterprise that has this sort of impact is noble and worthy of the challenges and demands involved.

How about you? What's on your list? May it restore in you a sense of the privilege you enjoy in being part of helping others build their own life-changing lists.