Last year I confessed that many of the books I read were not newly written Christian books. The same is true of the books I read in 2017. I’m not certain how many books I actually read in 2017, but these are the ones I enjoyed the most:
10. Deep Work by Cal Newport. This book argues for the necessity of pursuing Deep Work and not just flitting our lives away on the shallow. Think of all the meaningful things we could accomplish if we had better control of our social media and email.
9. Sticky Church by Larry Osborne. This isn’t one of those books that changed my belief, but it solidified it. Osborne makes compelling arguments for small group/life groups in order to help our churches to be stickier.
8. They Came For Freedom by Jay Milbrandt. I read this book in November. I couldn’t put it down. It was truly was a “page-turning story of the Pilgrims”. Milbrandt did a great job of explaining the sociological and religious underpinnings of that voyage and settlement which would be history making.
7. This Is Our Time by Trevin Wax. Trevin does many things well, writing on current issues from a biblical perspective is one of those. This book is a snapshot of the world we live in but one which is viewed from a biblical perspective. Reading this book will help you be a faithful witness to Christ in this time in which God has placed us.
6. Conscience by Andy Naselli and J.D. Crowley. I missed out on this book when it was all the rage in 2016. I found the Kindle edition on sale last March and finally made the purchase. I was not disappointed. This book is a helpful explanation of the role of the conscience and the authors make a compelling case for how to live in unity in areas of disputable matters.
5. Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch. This is another one of those 2016 books that I was late to the party on. I have to confess I’m still chewing on this one, but I’m convinced by Crouch’s arguments in the book. Now I’m just trying to figure out how to apply his principles for true flourishing to my life.
4. Perfecting Ourselves to Death by Richard Winter. I bought this book way back in 2012 and never finished it. I believe the timing of that was providential. When I picked the book back up a few months ago something clicked. I don’t even know if this is the best written book or if it’s the final word on the topic (note the irony of me saying that on a book about perfectionism). Nevertheless, the Lord used these words to reorient my thinking.
3. The Imperfect Disciple by Jared Wilson. Can we just go ahead an reserve a spot on the 2018 list for whatever book Jared Wilson writes? Jared is one of my favorite authors and this is perhaps my favorite book he has written. This is a book kind of like every new Shane & Shane album I listen to. On first listen I enjoy it but I do not rank it as one of their better albums. But then I keep going back to it and realizing it’s depth. Jared’s book is the same way.
2. The Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown. I have not yet red the third book in this trilogy, mostly because I’m too cheap to buy it at full price. My friend suggested I read this, since I’m always trying to read more fiction. I almost didn’t make it past the first few chapters. I figured it was another one of those dystopian novels that bores me to no end. Then I got hooked and couldn’t put the books down.
1. Reset by David Murray. Hopefully this one proves to be the most beneficial to me from 2017. I read this earlier in the year and probably need to read it again. This coupled with a few other books I read this year caused me to reorient my life and way of thinking about several things. I read this alongside of Deep Work and it proved to be very beneficial. I’ll be better suited to “make Christ the only boast of this generation” if I’m living a grace-paced life.
I also started reading the works of Francis Schaeffer and Richard Sibbes in 2017. I’ll continue these throughout 2018, Lord willing. There are a few other historical books on John Newton and John Calvin that I’m slowly working through. I’m hoping to do a bit deeper reading in 2018.
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