2019 was a heavy reading year for me. This year I read 102 books: almost two a week. I love learning and reading is of my favorite forms of learning. If you’re wondering how I read that many books, I’m going to reflect on that next week.
This year you could divide my reading into six (plus one) categories: Christian Living, Theology, Apologetics, Pastoral Ministry, Leadership, and Fiction. The plus one is in the fiction category. I got on a John Steinbeck kick, so I pulled out an extra Steinbeck category. If you’re interested in tracking my reading, getting fuller reviews (I review every book I read), and sharing with me your favorites, I use Goodreads and would be happy to have you friend me there. Here were some highlights for me in 2019:
Christian Living
Facedown by Matt Redman was a beautiful call to transformative worship that encounters our living, incomprehensible God. You Don’t Get Your Own Personal Jesus by JD Greear does a great job of confronting our tendency to craft Jesus in our image, not vice versa. Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World by Eliza Huie is a short must-read for any parent on navigating parenting in a world where technology is our kids’ lingua franca. At age 86 Jerry Bridges penned The Blessing of Humility and the blessing of his long, faithful journey comes through in the clear writing. One of the pastors I consistently learn from the most is Eric Geiger and his book on Identity is not exception. It’s my favorite book on the topic available. My sister recommended Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney and it didn’t disappoint: it is as practical as it is impactful. I enjoyed The Curious Christian by Barnabas Piper, a reflection on the importance of curiosity in the Christian life. Henri Nouwen’s Making All Things New is prescient in its consideration of the danger of the speed of modern life on our spirituality. In the same line, Reset by David Murray is an immensely helpful book on navigating our non-stop world and creating patterns of healthy spirituality.
Theology
Being Consumed by William Cavanaugh is a Roman Catholic reflection on the spiritual dangers of capitalism. The book is flawed, but has some profound insights. Awaiting the King is James KA Smith’s final book in his Cultural Liturgies project and it zeroes in on how a Christian should navigate contemporary politics. Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves is easily my favorite book on the Trinity. It blends depths with surprising accessibility. Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon describes the life of one of America’s most important late 20th-century philosopher-theologians. Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado makes a decisive argument for the unique attributes of early Christian theology and life. A Concise Guide to Reading the New Testament by David Nienhuis is as good a New Testament introduction as I’m aware of and should be picked up by anyone interested in biblical studies. Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper is a fantastic book on the counter-cultural work of developing spiritual disciplines in our secular age (see here for my review)
Apologetics
We did a sermon series on Questions for God this fall where we tackled some of the most difficult questions about Christianity. Because of that, I did a fair amount of reading in preparation. My favorite book I read in preparation was also one of my favorites of the entire year: Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin is a fantastic book that balances deep respect for the skeptic with sophisticated, yet accessible responses (see here for my review). My second favorite was Randy Alcorn’s very helpful If God is Good which navigates the problem of suffering through the philosophical, theological, and practical lens. It’s the best book on the subject I’ve encountered. The Problem of God by Mark Clark and Tactics by Gregory Koukl are both worth reading, although they can lack the nuance and thoughtfulness of McLaughlin at times. Koukl’s book seeks to give Christians practical strategies for having apologetic conversations. A series of books put out by The Good Book company was helpful as well. Two of my favorites were Why Did Jesus Have to Die? by Marcus Nodder and Can I Really Trust the Bible? by Barry Cooper (I did a post of an excerpt of Cooper’s book you can find here).
Pastoral Ministry
My favorite pastoral ministry book was Dan Reiland’s Amplified Leadership which is helpful for far more than pastoral leadership. Reiland considers what are the most important practices to engage and develop leaders. God Dreams by Will Mancini was probably my second favorite book and, similarly, would be helpful for any leader. I used Mancini’s process in walking our team through vision casting and found Mancini’s process to be simple yet innovative. I was grateful to have benefited from Bob Russell’s collected wisdom in After 50 Years of Ministry. Similarly, Well-Intentioned Dragons by Marshall Shelley collects quite a bit of pastoral wisdom in navigating difficult congregants. Gospel Eldership by Robert Thune is my new favorite book on eldering. Thune does a wonderful job of drilling to the heart of elders and centering on the core call of elders. Our elders have appreciated it and I imagine smaller churches would only benefit more as that is the perspective Thune writes from. Culture Shift by Robert Lewis shows its age a bit, but still has lasting wisdom in its pages. Lewis’s chapter on “Identifying Your Church’s Culture” is worth the price of the book. Becoming a Welcoming Church by Thom Rainer is classic Rainer: simple and immensely practical. Every pastor and elder ought to read it. Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp is an excellent book that draws from Tripp’s experience and asks pastors to consider the serious dangers that lurk in pastoral ministry. Finally, Don’t Just Send a Resume by my friend Benjamin Vrbicek needs to be purchased before any pastor or prospective pastor begins their search process. It is an invaluable resource.
Leadership
I finally read the classic Good to Great by Jim Collins this year and it still holds up. It really is a must-read for any organizational leader. First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham was my favorite leadership book of the year and we are working hard to begin to implement its significant wisdom at New Life (see my review of that book here). Platform by Michael Hyatt is flawed, but has a great “go get ‘em” spirit for anyone considering what it looks like to build their platform. Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath is excellent for anyone looking to improve their decision-making skills (my review can be found here). Finally, while not technically a leadership book, The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt is a must read for any leader. Haidt considers how quickly rigorous and open dialogue has deteriorated and how to gain ground back.
Fiction
I read so many great fiction books in 2019, many of them classics. Perhaps my favorite was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I fell in love with Bronte’s style and characters. Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen were fun to read for the first time. I re-read The Chosen by Chaim Potok and could easily read that wonderful book every year. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby packed a surprising strong punch (for more, see this post) as did God, Help the Child by Toni Morrison. I’m a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy and Cities of the Plain and No Country for Old Men did not disappoint. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather, on the other hand, was slightly disappointing to me. My sister recommended The Advocate by Randy Singer, an historic-fiction that creates a backstory for Theophilus (the recipient of Luke and Acts). It is fantastic and should be read widely. In a completely different vein, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was recommended by Ryan Paonessa, and was probably the most fun read of 2019 for me.
Year of Steinbeck
I started the year re-reading The Pearl and Of Mice and Men (see my reflection on Of Mice and Men here) and was drawn into Steinbeck’s corpus. On top of the two re-reads, I read five Steinbeck novels for the first time and enjoyed them all. The most disappointing for me was probably The Grapes of Wrath, which I don’t think should be considered among Steinbeck’s best. On the other hand, East of Eden was mesmerizing—to me Steinbeck’s greatest novel and one of the greatest American novels of all time. While still having its merits, Tortilla Flat was probably the worst Steinbeck book I read this year. Meanwhile, The Moon is Down is a surprisingly good piece of World War II propaganda by Steinbeck and The Red Pony is Steinbeck at his gentlest.
What I’m Hoping to Read in 2020
You can never run out of good books and there remain so many that I am looking forward to reading in 2020. A few of those are Seculosity by David Zahl, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson, Humble Calvinism by J.A Medders, On the Road with Saint Augustine by James K.A. Smith, Work by Daniel Doriani, and Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales by Randy Singer.
I would love to hear your favorite books you read in 2018 and any books you’re looking forward to reading in the coming year.
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