Top 10 Books--2018

Every December, I put out a list of what I consider to be the best books I have read during the previous year. I generally read over 100 books each year, and not surprisingly, the quality varies. As an aside, I would comment that I no longer feel guilty for setting a book aside that isn’t stirring me at the moment. Often, I will come back later and it will settle on me more strongly. For example, yesterday I finished reading Robert Bly’s Iron John, a book I had previously attempted on 3 occasions. People often will ask me for recommendations on what to read and these top ten lists are often a good place to start. 

10) Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump by John Fea (2018)

Believe Me was written by John Fea, an evangelical and historian who writes on his blog about the “intersection of American history, religion, politics, and academic life.” Believe Me deals with Trump-era conservativism including several important issues to consider, such as evangelical politics of fear and what President Trump means by “great again.”  Fea calls evangelicals to hope, humility, and history. Fea captures several reasons why I am in the 19 percent.

9) My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (1972)

Written in 1972, Potok told the story of Asher Lev, a Hasidic Jewish boy living in New York City. His family is deeply immersed in the Jewish culture, not only locally, but nationally and internationally. His father works for the “Rebbe,” who is essentially the head of their order. Asher, however, appears to be an artistic genius from an early age. He is compelled to paint, even when discouraged from doing so. What makes this story so compelling is the way that Potok wrote of the tension between Father and Son, between their fundamentalism and Asher’s gifting. Though 46 years old, the book has lost none of its beauty.

8) Becoming Dallas Willard: The Formation of a Philosopher, Teacher, and Christ Follower by Gary Moon (2018) 

I do not read a lot of biographies, but I was excited for this one. Dallas Willard, who died in 2013, is one of my spiritual heroes. Willard also had a deep impact upon the author, Gary Moon. Moon clearly did his research, introducing us to Willard as a young man and tracing his history up through his death. Willard came from meager roots, instilled with a strong work ethic; however, he was also gifted with a remarkable intellect. Moon commented that there are few geniuses, but he believes Willard was one. Willard became a Southern Baptist pastor, but ultimately became a tenured philosophy professor at USC. He stated that he had clearly heard God say that if he became a pastor, the universities would be closed to him, but if he entered the university, both the university and the church would be open. Some of my favorite books have been written by Willard, and Moon’s biography is a welcome addition.

7) Dignity Revolution: Reclaiming God’s Rich Vision for Humanity by Daniel Darling (2018)

I have been discouraged with how frequently we humans do not treat one another with dignity. It seems that in our social media culture, conversations are increasingly charged with sarcasm, name calling, and devaluing of others. I have frequently said that we have a tendency to treat people from other groups as less valuable. Darling wrote about these issues I have been thinking about with clarity, dignity, and courage. He tackles not just one, but many, pet issues that we hold dearly. 

6) Stumbling Toward Wholeness: How the Love of God Changes Us by Andrew Bauman (2018)

I read a lot of books about wholeness. I believe that our sanctification is deeply, if not principally, a journey toward becoming whole. This year I read two other wonderful volumes about wholeness including Whole by Steve Wiens and Wholeheartedness by Chuck DeGroat, whose book was on my top 10 list in 2016. I also tried to read Wholeness and that Implicate Order by David Bohm, which was a challenge. Regardless, Bauman writes with honesty about what wholeness looks like. I laughed, I cried, I cheered…literally. 

3) Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (2017)

This is a stunning anthology of poems written by the incomparable Mary Oliver. A Pulitzer-prize winning poet, her works spans several decades and this might be the finest collection of her work. If you are reluctant to try poetry, this may be a wonderful place to start.

4) The Hidden Life: Awakened by Kitty Crenshaw and Catherine Snapp (2016)

The Hidden Life is another biography of sorts. It tells the story of Betty Skinner’s spiritual journey from dark night to wisdom. A woman now in her 90s, Betty was hospitalized for several months for depression when she was in her 40s. Her doctor had told her that she "had a hole in her soul." Slowly, she began to explore her own soul and her own needs, ultimately becoming a mentor to others. I actually read this book twice this year. I read an earlier version first in March. I contacted one of the authors and asked if the newer version, which was retitled, was the same book. She told me that a few sections—specifically about neuroscience—were added, but it was otherwise very similar. She then graciously sent me the new version, which I read two months later and liked just as well. 

3) Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People  by Bob Goff (2018) 

In 2015, Love Does by Bob Goff was my favorite book. I told my friend Mark that if I ever wrote a book, Love Does was the kind of book I would hope to write. Everybody, Always is no different. Goff is a captivating, humorous writer. He lives life on the edge, taking risks, and doing great big things under the heading of “love.” I come away from his essays with renewed energy and a desire to love better. 

2) Courage, Dear Heart: Letters to a Weary World by Rebecca Reynolds (2018)

One of my favorite places on the Interwebs is “the Rabbit Room Chinwag,” a community of nearly 2000 creatives who discuss things like beauty, goodness, and Gargan rockroaches. My first exposure to Reynolds was through the Rabbit Room, where she is a frequent fixture. She had written an essay for one volume of the Molehill, which is an anthology of poetry, stories, art, and recipes from a variety of Rabbit Room folks. I remember telling my wife how blown away I was by that essay and read section of it to her. When I heard she was writing a book, I couldn’t wait for its release. I don’t think I was alone. Shortly after it was published, many online sources—including Amazon—ran out of copies.

On Goodreads, I had this to say about Courage, Dear Heart: “I cannot speak highly enough about this book. Reynolds writes with intelligence, humility, and heart. She writes about the human condition not as an intellectual treatise, but as one who has seen it, who has lived it. She is a storyteller, through and through. I do not know which of the letters is my favorite, but I resonated deeply with several of them, perhaps a letter to the fearful, a letter to those living in chaos, or a letter to the disillusioned. I hope she doesn’t stop here; the world needs more storytellers like her.”

1) Schema of a Soul: What Kind of Love is Stronger than Death? by Kimberlye Berg (2013) 

This book blew me away. I described it on my blog as one of the most beautiful books I had ever read. In it, Berg tells the story of the loss of her son, Michael, and the subsequent journey through the pain. In my review, I wrote, “It is a memoir. A eulogy. A love letter to her husband. A confession. A prayer. Poetic. Raw. Honest. Tragic. And beautiful all the same. She treasures words.” I cried half a dozen times. Schema is one of the best books I have read.

Honorable Mention

The Power of Vulnerability: Authenticity, Connection, and Courage by Brene Brown (2013)

Brene Brown is one of my favorite authors. If you are unfamiliar with Brown, she is a college social work professor who blew up the Internet with her 2010 TEDxHouston talk "The Power of Vulnerability," which according to the TED website is the 4th most popular TED talk ever given, now standing at more than 37 million views. She has written several great books, but listening to her is an even greater treat. The 6 hour, 30 minute audio brings together her work on shame, authenticity, courage, and connection. I've listened to it several times, and I have no doubt I will listen again. 

Previous top 10 lists

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013 (only 5 for some reason)
• 2012
• 2011--skipped it
• 2010

Book Review: How Joyful People Think

In How Joyful People Think (Baker, 2018), pastor Jamie Rasmussen explores eight elements of right thinking derived from Philippians 4:8, which reads "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence, if there is anything that is worthy of praise, think about these things" (ESV).  Rasmussen suggests that in this passage, Paul has given us a path to joy in the way that we think. 

There were several things I appreciated about Rasumssen's book. First, as a pastor, there is assuredly a pastoral heart behind his writing. He desires his readers to not only understand this verse, but to take it within themselves, to have it become a part of who they are and how they live. Second, in the case of the eight traits, he explores the original Greek words, including their usage and meaning. I particularly appreciated his exploration of the word "whatever," whose meaning has morphed even in the last 60 years. The author desires that his readers understand authorial intent. Third, like me, Rasmussen has been influenced by our friend Larry Crabb, so the relational nature of these traits comes through loud and clear. 

On the whole, I would happily recommend this book. We need books that explore and try to understand what the Bible is actually saying and to live in that reality. 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.  

Book Review: Believe Me

I had seen John Fea's book, Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump (2018), featured on Eerdman's Facebook and Twitter feeds. I had never heard of him, but there was enough present in those short social media posts to intrigue me. Fea is an evangelical and chair of the history department at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, a historian who writes about "the intersection of American history, religion, politics, and academic life" (from his blog), no doubt appropriate preparation for writing a book of this sort.

In Believe Me, Fea explores Donald Trump's popularity among American evangelicals--81% of them anyway. Along the way, he addresses the inconsistencies that many conservative religious leaders have demonstrated over time in their responses to different presidents, Clinton and Trump, for example, giving an unlimited pass to one while wanting to burn the other at the stake. Fea shared this example from a 1998 letter from James Dobson (a Trump supporter) questioning Clinton's morality: "As it turns out character DOES matter. You can't run a family, let alone a country, without it. How foolish to believe that a person who lacks honesty and moral integrity is qualified to lead a nation and the world! Nevertheless, our people continue to say that the President is doing a good job even if they don't respect him personally. Those two positions are fundamentally incompatible. In the book of James, the question is posed 'Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?' (James 3:11, NIV). The answer is no." In my opinion, those who fail to see the hypocrisy in this statement are blind.

When Fea wrote of "the evangelical politics of fear," I resonated with the phrase. I think he is right when he suggests that fear drives many of the political viewpoints and voting practices among evangelicals. We place our hope not in God, the All-Sovereign, but in compromised earthly powers, especially those who tell us what to be afraid of and how they are the only ones who can fix it. The fear-mongering is reminiscent of Richard Dreyfuss's Senator Rumson in 1995's The American President. I was grateful that Fea is a historian; he was able to trace the roots of these fears to the 17th century up into the 21st century, with particular attention to the civil rights movement.

His thoughts on Trump's slogan, "Make America Great Again," were also beneficial. He commented that as a historian, he was less interested in the definition of great than what Trump means by the word again. To what era is Trump referring? And from whose perspective? It remains nebulous. Fea rightly draws the distinction between history and nostalgia, noting that "nostalgia is closely related to fear." Fea writes, "Sometimes evangelicals will seek refuge from change in a Christian past that never existed in the first place. At other times they will try to travel back to a Christian past that did exist--but, like the present, was compromised by sin."

In his conclusion, Fea calls evangelicals to three things: hope, not fear; humilty, not power; and history, not nostaligia.

I found Believe Me to be an insightful, timely book and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Unfortunately, I suspect most of the 81% will not even consider reading it; it's something that Trump would quickly dismiss as "fake news." As Americans, we tend to prefer political propaganda propagated by Twitter, Facebook, and our preferred news networks than actually digging in, with humility, to consider what might be true. As Christians, whose primary citizenship is in an eternal kingdom, we cannot afford to do this any longer.

I cannot think of a better way to conclude this book than with the quote that first intrigued me: "The Court Evangelicals have decided that what Donald Trump can give them is more valuable than the damage their Christian witness will suffer because of their association with the president."

This is a really important book. Believe me.

Book Review: The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus

I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about John 13-17, the upper room discourse. It is arguably my favorite section of scripture. It shows the intimacy of Jesus with his disciples at a depth that we do not find elsewhere in the scriptures. John was inspired to recollect this evening meal with detail we do not get to see in many places. I like to envision what that dinner and conversation looked like, what everyone felt.

D.A. Carson chose to explore this section in great detail as well, devoting over 200 pages to Jesus' Farewell discourse in his new book The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus (Baker, 2018). Carson's exposition focuses on chapters 14 to 17, though in the prologue, he starts with chapter 13. 

As I began reading the prologue, I was immediately drawn in to Carson's wording. I felt a kindred spirit as he envisioned the upper room as I have so often done. He effectively places the reader right there in the midst of the thirteen men. I was hoping for that sort of magic (forgive me, that seems to be the best-fitting word) throughout the remainder of the book. It was there, but less present. 

Carson is undoubtedly a master exegete. His capacity to examine a text and help us to see what is actually being communicated is remarkable. In this book, he identifies details and themes that most people, perhaps even those with theological training, might miss. He explores Christ in community--with his disciples, and with the rest of the Trinity.

On the whole, a person interested in developing a much deeper understanding of the farewell discourse could do worse than Carson. My criticisms are few and perhaps idiosyncratic. As I mentioned above, I wish the imagery presented in the prologue would have persisted with greater consistency, though that likely would have changed the nature of the book. Second, Carson's vocabulary may make this book inaccessible to many readers, unless they are willing to read with a dictionary at hand. Come to think of it, that is probably a wise practice to consider.

I received a review copy of this book from Baker Books in exchange for my review. The viewpoints presented above are my own. 

Book Review: Life Without Lack

On May 8th 2013, Dallas Willard died of cancer and the world lost a great thinker and writer. Although a philosophy professor at USC by profession, he was perhaps more widely known (and certainly in the evangelical subculture) for his published works regarding Christian spiritual formation. Interestingly, I once heard him say that he never set out to write a book; a remarkable statement for one whose books have been so influential.

Often, when the world loses a well-respected author, one grieves their death, but also laments the realization that there will likely be no more published works. Occasionally, a posthumous publication may appear; for example, Jerry Bridges' beneficial The Blessing of Humility. But in Dallas's case--due in large part to a large corpus of unpublished works and the perseverance of his family and friends to see his works come to light--new books continue to appear. I'm grateful.

Life Without Lack: Living in the Fullness of Psalm 23 (2018) is the latest offering. In the book's preface, Larry Burtoft wrote, "Twenty-six years ago, I was introduced to the possibility of a life in which I was never in need. Of anything. At any time. From anyone. A life that knows no fear or fluster. No anxiety or angst. No perturbation of any sort. It was, in short, the offer of a life with lack" (p. vii). Burtoft goes on to talk about how this book was born out of an 8-week study of Psalm 23.

The book's 200 plus pages progress through eight chapters in addition to some supplementary material. Willard writes of the importance of renewing the mind to truly live into the reality of a glorious, all-sustaining God as an essential characteristic of the Christian life. One of the sentences that captured me early on was this: "One of our greatest needs today is for people to really see and really believe the things they already profess to see and believe." As I thought about the importance of renewing our minds, the truth of that sentence landed hard upon me. Do I merely give assent to the truths of God, or do I live my life, fully and completely, as though those truths matter? Willard unapologetically believed that what God said in His word could actually change our lives, not only that we could live a little less anxiously or angrily, but that we could live without anxiety, without anger. In other words, we could live a life without lack.

Through the book, he carefully explores what a Psalm 23 life could look like. There is no naivete here; he addresses the threats to this peaceable life. His discussion of "Satan's Three Weapons of Temptation" in chapter 4 was exceptional. I was particularly struck by the ways in which he connected these three weapons described in 1 John 2:16, with the temptations of Eve and Jesus. He made a three way connection that I had never even considered before, but seems clear and accurate.

However, Dallas did not stop with these three weapons, but went on in the latter chapters to describe "the three things that must be working in us before we can truly experience the sufficiency of God: faith, death to self, and agape love," devoting a chapter to each. In the final chapter, he lays out the practicalities of living this way. I was particularly appreciative of his plan for spending a day with Jesus where he identifies several particularities one may wish to consider as they put this life into place.

As I stopped to reflect upon what I had read, I felt challenged, hopeful, and invigorated. Challenged to consider whether I believe that a life without lack was really possible, hopeful in envisioning that it might be, and invigorated as I ponder how I might put this into practice.

Though Dallas's earthly life concluded nearly four years ago, his words remain as fresh as ever. If you get a chance, pick this book up and read it. Talk to others about it.  And then begin to put it into practice. You never can tell what could happen.

*I received a proof copy of this book in exchange for my review. All of the viewpoints expressed here are my own. 

Review: Called to Create

I was principally drawn to the title of Jordan Raynor's new book. Called to Create (2017, Baker Books). I have thought a lot recently about the concept of creativity in the Christian life. About a year ago, I instituted something in our home, Family Create Nights, where we would practice expression. I am convinced that part of our nature as God's image bearers is that we are creative, whether that is through art, or some other medium.  I was excited about reading more about those ideas in Raynor's book. 

I admit, however, that right off the bat, I was disappointed. The opening chapter was entitled "the first entrepreneur." I was not interested in a book on business, which it appeared this was going to be. By definition, an entrepreneur is "a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risk in order to do so." This is not what I thought I had signed up for as I have almost no interest in business or entrepreneurship. 

Once I moved past my initial confusion, though, I found that there is much to commend this book. Within, Raynor writes extensively about the fact that work is not merely a result of the fall, but that we were created to work.  He then tells his readers about how they can work and create in such a way that it gives glory to God.  I particularly appreciated his emphasis on keeping God in view.  All in all, this was a good book and worth looking into, particularly if you are someone with that entrepreneurial spark.

I received a review copy of this book from Baker Books in exchange for this review. The viewpoints presented above are my own.