2023 Reading Recap

This year I wanted to read 10,000 pages (3rd year in a row!); I read 10,078 pages from 38 books.

There were several main themes in my reading this year – not all by design.

As I reflected on this list, one of the more surprising themes was race relations in the church, and it reminded me of the benefit of keeping track of what I read throughout the year. I was fascinated by the autobiographical “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” and found his reflections on Christianity both insightful and relevant today. Distortions of the gospel are wicked, tragic, and deserve the rebuke of faithful believers. McCaulley’s “Reading While Black” was an interesting, well-written book, but I thoroughly enjoyed three others much more: “Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth” by Williams, “Eraced” by Amanchukwu, and “Talking About Race” by Adams. All three did an admirable job of confronting difficult issues with humble confidence in Scripture and truth. I’m grateful for these contributions to the conversation.

I spent a good bit of the last several months diving deep on sexuality and humanity for some church projects I was working on. Nancy Pearcey continues to serve the church well with her contributions, and I thoroughly enjoyed both “The Toxic War on Masculinity” (an exploration of how the Industrial Revolution affected men, families, and society) and “Saving Leonardo,” (one of her earlier book about the interaction of culture, art, and Christianity). McLaughlin’s “The Secular Creed” is brief and helpful as an introduction for Christians on addressing secular ideology. I have deep appreciation for Rosaria Butterfield’s work, and her new book “Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age” is overall quite good. That said, it seems she has become more forceful in her writing, and she pulls no punches in this one. Of specific note, she takes Preston Sprinkle to task on several points, so I decided to read his work for myself. I disagree with her assessment of his writing, and was disappointed when she declined his invitation to discuss her statements publicly or privately. On that note, I read all three of Sprinkle’s books (“People to be Loved,” “Embodied,” and “Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?“) and found them to be well-articulated, engaging, diplomatic, and helpful overall. I do wish he would spend more time explaining his views rather than analyzing the questions, but I am grateful that he makes me think, regardless whether I agree or disagree with him (for the record, I do plenty of both). Honorable mention in this category goes to Chambers’ “Biblical Psychology” which, in addition to being oddly titled, felt so dated, and yet it was endearingly matter-of-fact and a helpful reminder of how conversations may evolve but truth never changes.

I also did a dive into suffering and lament, in order to grow in my shepherding. Vroegop’s “Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” was a refreshing and brilliant discussion on the idea of lament (as opposed to grief or mourning). Keller’s “Walking with God through Pain and Suffering” was also excellent and it made me both miss him and grateful that he published his thoughts. I found Ramsey’s “This Too Shall Last” an encouraging and deep exploration of the grace of God in debilitating illness. I was moved deeply by her articulation that the suffering of Christ means that our suffering is neither in vain, nor is it at the hands of an uncaring God, and I marveled at that insight for several days afterward.

Another really broad category that I spend a good deal of time in this year was on the clash of worldviews, especially among Christians. My favorite of these was “Evangelical Pharisees” by Michael Reeves (a helpful resource for those who are dealing with increasingly unyielding convictions), followed closely by Kevin DeYoung’s “Impossible Christianity,” (a refreshing read for those who feel overwhelmed by needing to perform for God’s favor). Noble’s “You Are Not Your Own” was great, and well-worth the read. McKinley’s “Friendship with God” was decent, and seemed vaguely reminiscent of Spurgeon’s “Being God’s Friend” which I read last year. Combating the idea of deconstructing, Mesa’s “Before You Lose Your Faith” was an excellent and timely rebuttal to the relentless questions of those questioning everything about their faith. DeYoung’s “Do Not Be True to Yourself” was a great rehashing of several graduation speeches he gave, urging young adults to cut against the grain of what culture is telling them. It is full of wisdom for those who have ears to hear it.

Tackling the worldview clash from a secular standpoint, I read Haidt’s “The Coddling of the American Mind” and Sowell’s “Black Rednecks and White Liberals” – both of which were intriguing. I have yet to be disappointed by Sowell. He is brilliant, impeccably reasoned, and exceedingly well-researched. I appreciate his willingness to challenge narratives with clear analysis and data, and his work is truly impressive to me.

In a grab bag of ministry and theology books, Keller’s “Ministries of Mercy” was helpful and enlightening, Scazzero’s “The Emotionally Healthy Leader” was another solid contribution, and “The Passion Generation” by Skeldon was informative on how to engage and disciple the millennial generation (of which I am – allegedly – a part). “Simple Church” by Rainer and Geiger was also good but nothing spectacular. Mohler’s “The Apostle’s Creed” was an interesting dive into one of my weaker areas of knowledge, and I am grateful for his work and ministry. Peterson’s “Reversed Thunder” was a wonderful companion to our sermon series through Revelation, filled with insights and packed with flavor. “God Gave Wine” was recommended to me several years ago, and is an interesting topical book on Christian convictions on alcohol; I found it enjoyable. Peter Leithart’s “Against Christianity” was an odd read – at times he made great points, and at others he went into barely controlled rants that left me scratching my head. Overall I was neither surprised nor impressed. Earlier in the year I worked on preaching and teaching, and read “Between Two Worlds” by Stott (a classic), “Creative Bible Teaching” (a helpful companion to other books on teaching the Bible), and Yancey Arrington’s “Preaching That Moves People” which is truly unique in the realm of preaching books, in that he handles the feel and artistry of preaching in a way I’ve not seen done anywhere else. I also saw Yancey teach this at a conference breakout session several months later, and he’s still doing great work developing his concepts.

I’ve had Michael Oren’s “Six Days of War” on my shelf for at least 15 years and finally got around to reading it this summer… just in time for the current war in Gaza. Even though I knew the history decently well, Oren’s book was fascinating and helped me understand the development of the modern middle east. Upon recommendation I read William Barr’s “One Damn Thing After Another,” and it was about as interesting as an attorney general’s memoirs could be. It’s pretty wild how much he was involved in over the years, and definitely an eye-opening look behind the curtain of the Trump white house.

Finally, I only read one fiction book all year: Cormac McCarthy’s “The Crossing.” He is a truly brilliant writer – I have never read anyone who writes like he does, and it is incredible how he is able to make the reader feel what his characters feel with his words.

Thanks for reading! I hope that this post sparks in you a desire to read more broadly, more deeply, and more often. If you would like to discuss any of these books (or any others), or if you have recommendations for me, feel free to let me know.