Books

One of the things you should know about me is that I love to read. Here is a compilation of my favorite reads over the past couple of years.

2023 Top 15 Reads

1. A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly
2. Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter by N.T. Wright
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
4. A Life of Alexander Campbell by Douglas A. Foster
5. Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene Peterson
6. Why Believe: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity by Neil Shenvi
7. Resilient: Standing Firm in a Hostile World by David Young
8. Johnny Cash: The Life by Robert Hillburn
9. Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett
10. Lightbringer by Pierce Brown
11. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
12. Tracks of a Fellow Struggler: Living and Growing Through Grief by John R. Claypool
13. Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman
14. Leaning Into God’s Embrace: A Guidebook for Contemplative Prayer by Jackie Halstead
15. Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America by Jared Cohen

2022 Top 15 Reads

1. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman.
2. Telling A Better Story: How to Talk About God in a Skeptical Age by Josh Chatraw.
3. Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity — and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsay.
4. Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Decisions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted and Self-Obsessed by Alisa Childers.
5. Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace by John Mark Comer.
6. Trains, Jesus, and Murder: The Gospel According to Johnny Cash by Richard Beck.
7. The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman.
8. QB: My Life Behind the Spiral by Steve Young.
9. Another Gospel: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers.
10. K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches by Tyler Kepner.
11. The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict.
12. Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear.
13. From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks.
14. Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono.
15. Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe by Voddie T. Baucham.

2021 Top 15 Reads

1. Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs by Steve Cuss.
2. God’s Voice Within: The Ignatian Way to Discover God’s Will by Mark Thibodeaux.
3. Christianity and Wokeness: How the Social Justice Movement is Hijacking the Gospel — and the Way to Stop It by Owen Strachan.
4. Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam by Vivek Ramaswamy.
5. Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.
6. The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World by Peter Scazzero.
7. A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson by Winn Collier.
8. Doc, Donnie, the Kid, and Billy Brawl: How the 1985 Mets and Yankees Fought for New York’s Baseball Soul by Chris Donnelly.
9. A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight.
10. Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World by N.T. Wright.
11. Dark Age by Pierce Brown.
12. Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better by Brant Hansen.
13. This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Beginning of the 21st Century by Steven Hyden.
14. Is This Anything? by Jerry Seinfeld.
15. Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember by Jim Gray.

2020 Top 15 Reads

1. Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God by Mark Thibodeaux.
2. On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts by James K.A. Smith.
3. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.
4. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Michael S. Heiser.
5. Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks.
6. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.
7. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell.
8. Scarred Hope: A Mother and Son Learn to Carry Grief and Live with Joy by Beverly Ross and Josh Ross.
9. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford.
10. Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado.
11. Worry Less, Live More: God’s Prescription for a Better Life by Robert Morgan.
12. Brothers in Arms: Koufax, Kershaw, and the Dodgers Extraordinary Pitching Tradition by Jon Weisman.
13. The Chain by Adrian McKinty.
14. Silence by Shusaku Endo.
15. The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night by Bill Carter.

2019 Top 15 Reads

1. The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus by Fleming Rutledge.
2. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
3. Postcards from Babylon: The Church in American Exile by Brian Zahnd.
4. 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin.
5. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature While Remaining Emotionally Immature by Peter Scazzero.
6. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson.
7. Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission by Michael J. Gorman.
8. Searching for the Pattern: My Journey in Interpreting the Bible by John Mark Hicks.
9. Becoming Us: Using the Enneagram to Create a Thriving Gospel-Centered Marriage by Beth McCord and Jeff McCord.
10. Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies by David Bentley Hart.
11. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
12. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
13. Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever by Nick de Semlyen.
14. Miracle Men: Hershiser, Gibson, and the Improbable 1988 Dodgers by Josh Suchon.
15. Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation by Martin Laird.

2018 Top 15 Reads

1. Yeshua: The Life of the Messiah from a Messianic Jewish Perspective by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum.
2. Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright.
3. The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves by Curt Thompson.
4. Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang.
5. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund.
6. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi and Abraham Verghese.
7. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
8. Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth.
9. Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson.
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
11. First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power by Kate Anderson Brown.
12. Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude by Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin.
13. The Pastor by Eugene Peterson.
14. Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation by James K.A. Smith.
15. This Is Our Time: Everyday Myths in Light of the Gospel by Trevin Wax.

2017 Top 15 Reads

1. The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile.
2. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown.
3. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts: A Memoir by Neil White.
4. The Day the Revolution Began by N.T. Wright.
5. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis.
6. Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk & True Flourishing by Andy Crouch.
7. Do We Teach Another Gospel? by Jay Guin.
8. Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night by Jason Zinoman.
9. Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, & Ella Morton.
10. Reviving Old Sctach: Demons and Devils for Doubters and the Disenchanted by Richard Beck.
11. Messianic Judaism: A Modern Movement with an Ancient Past by David H. Stern.
12. The Sacred Enneagram: Finding Your Unique Path to Spiritual Growth by Christopher L. Heuertz.
13. The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourshing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan T. Pennington.
14. Daring Faith: Meeting Jesus in the Book of John by Randy Harris and Greg Taylor.
15. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller.

2016 Top 15 Reads

1. The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way by Anonymous.
2. Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People by Michael Frost.
3. The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware.
4. City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin.
5. Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong-Chan Rah.
6. A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story by Michael Goheen.
7. Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel by Russell D. Moore.
8. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture by J.D. Vance.
9. Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel by David H. Stern.
10. Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann.
11. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.
12. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore.
13. Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year by David Von Drehle.
14. Public Faith in Action: How to Think Carefully, Engage Wisely and Vote with Integrity by Miroslav Volf and Ryan McAnnally-Linz.
15. Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood by Lisa Damour.

2015 Top 10 Reads

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2. The Sabbath: It’s Meaning for Modern Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel
3. The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus by Dallas Willard
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
5. Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church by Scot McKnight
6. The Martian by Andy Weir
7. Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller
8. Play Ball by John Feinstein
9. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtury
10. The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

2014 Top 10 Reads

1. Jesus: A Theography by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola
2. Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
4. Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright
5. The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground by Chris Webb
6. The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization by Arthur Herman
7. Remarriage and Divorce in Today’s Church: Three Views, edited by Mark L. Strauss
8. One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season by Tony La Russa with Rick Hummel
9. Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus by Klyne R. Snodgrass
10. The Next 100 Million: America in 2050 by Joel Kotkin

2013 Top 10 Reads

1. The Passage by Justin Cronin
2. Discourses by Epictetus
3. The Power of Appreciative Inquiry by Dianna Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom
4. The Baseball Codes by Jason Turbow and Michael Duda
5. The Twelve by Justin Cronin
6. Mighty Stories, Dangerous Rituals by Herbert Anderson and Edward Foley
7. Spy the Lie by Phillip Houston, Michael Floyd, and Susan Carnicero
8. Mike and Mike’s Rules for Sports and Life by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
9. The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson
10. Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians by Ben Witherington III

2012 Top 15 Reads

1. The Drama of Scripture by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen
2. The Stand by Stephen King
3. Dream Team by Jack McCallum
4. A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller
5. Culture Making by Andy Crouch
6. I Am A Follower by Leonard Sweet
7. Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
8. Being As Communion by John Zizoulas
9. The Beginning and the End by Michael W. Pahl
10. You Lost Me by Dave Kinnaman
11. The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons
12. Practicing the Way of Jesus by Mark Scandrette
13. The Living Word of God by Ben Witherington III
14. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
15. Sandy Koufax by Jane Leavy

2011 Top 15 Reads

1. The Great Omission by Dallas Willard
2. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
3. One.Life by Scot McKnight
4. Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis
5. Prophets by Abraham Joshua Heschel
6. Decision Points by George W. Bush
7. Strengths-Based Leadership by Tom Rath & Barry Conchie
8. Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember by John Feinstein
9. The Tea Party Goes to Washington by Rand Paul
10. How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
11. The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy
12. Resurrection: The Power of God for Christians and Jews by Kevin J. Madigan and Jon Levenson
13. Managing Polarities in Congregations: Eight Keys for Thriving Faith Communities by Roy M. Oswald and Barry Johnson
14. Practicing Gospel: Unconventional Thoughts on the Church’s Ministry by Edward Farley
15. Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education by Martha C. Nussbaum

2010 Top 15 Reads

1. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2. The Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight
3. What Good is God? by Philip Yancey
4. Poets Against the War, edited by Sam Hammill
5. Practice Resurrection by Eugene Peterson
6. The War for Late Night by Bill Carter
7. After You Believe by N.T. Wright
8. American Lion by Jon Meachem
9. The Yankee Years by Tom Verducci & Joe Torre
10. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
11. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
12. Rediscovering Values by Jim Wallis
13. The Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse by Jason Boyett
14. Stories That Feed the Soul by Tony Campolo
15. The Justice Project by Brian McLaren

2009 Top 10 Reads

1. The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns
2. Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
3. The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson
4. Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman
5. The Sermon on the Mount by Clarence Jordan
6. Essential Judaism by George Robinson
7. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
8. God Works by Randy Harris
9. Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
10. Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson (re-read from 2008)

2008 Top 10 Reads

1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2. Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
4. God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush by Randall Balmer
5. Red Letter Christians by Tony Campolo
6. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs
7. The Preacher King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Word That Moved America by Richard Lischer
8. Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger
9. Living the Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Hope for Grace and Deliverance by Glen Stassen
10. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider

2007 Top 10 Reads

1. Theology for the Community of God by Stanley Grenz
2. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal
3. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
4. Renewing God’s People: A Concise History of Churches of Christ by Gary Holloway and Douglas Foster
5. Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible by Thomas Long
6. Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor
7. The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence by Richard Lischer
8. Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero by David Maraniss
9. Shepherds After My Own Heart by Timothy Laniak
10. Like A Shepherd Lead Us: Guidance for the Gentle Art of Pastoring / Good Shepherds: More Guidance for the Gentle Art of Pastoring. Edited by David Fleer and Charles Siburt

2006 Top 10 Reads

1. Mere Discipleship by Lee Camp
2. Simply Christian by N. T. Wright
3. The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch
4. Fantasyland by Sam Walker
5. Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel
6. The Last Days According to Jesus by R.C. Sproul
7. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
8. God’s Politics by Jim Wallis
9. Trolls & Truth: 14 Realities About Today’s Church That We Don’t Want To See by Jimmy Dorrell
10. The Witness of Preaching by Thomas Long