Recommended Books (Summer 2017)
Reading is a sacred act of creation and memory. Our ability to use words to call worlds historic and fantastical into existence is a part of God’s image in us. When we write, we create new worlds on the page that are fully realized only when our words are incarnated in the mind of a reader.
Sometimes those worlds are florid products of our imaginations that are only tangentially tethered to the real world. These creations recall and echo the creation of Genesis 1. We are mimicking our Father as only a small child can.
Yet reading also allows us to hold on to the past and bridge the gap of time. Annie Dillard writes, “All those things for which we have no words are lost.”[1] Time is a thief, stealing the moments of the past from the present. Yet through reading we can, in some measure, set aside the jewels of the present for those who will come after us.
Below are some of our favorite works from the past quarter’s reading. You’ll find a wide assortment of subjects provided. Despite the breadth of topics, each of these works will draw you into new worlds of thought, imagination, and practice.
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Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2017), 224 pages.
You don’t need an expert to tell you that adults and children spend far too much time in front of screens. Our telephones interrupt meals, personal conversations, and even our sleep. Sometimes we even sit in rooms full of people (oftentimes our own families) engrossed in conversations via email, text, or social media.
Andy Crouch offers ten principles for proper technology usage, or, as he puts it, putting technology in its proper place. Crouch doesn’t bash technology as a whole, but he does contend that it should be used for specific purposes and kept within certain boundaries, particularly in the home.
Speaking from personal experience, this is something families desperately need. My wife and I have already been working to apply some of these principles to our family’s use of technology, and we are thinking strategically about how to put technology in its proper place more effectively. I especially recommend this book to families with young children.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Daniel L. Everett, Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle (New York: Vintage, 2008), 320 pages.
Forum readers will not only value the important work of missionaries but probably also enjoy hearing their stories. Our most recent emphasis month highlighted the contributions of several important women missionaries. However, Daniel Everett’s tale is unlike any other. In his curiously titled book, Everett narrates his thirty years working among the Pirahās (pronounced pee-da-HAN) Indians in the Amazonian jungle. This story is as much about figuring people out as it is about trying to convert them.
Across 300 pages, Everett draws the reader deeply into this peculiar tribe that, at the time of publication, had never seen a single Christian convert. The book is rather heavy on linguistic theory and anthropology, which added immensely to my fascination with it. Though the book ends quite sadly, it is definitely one that all would-be missionaries or people generally interested in this thing we call “culture” should read.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, The Churching of America, 1776-2005: Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy, 2nd ed. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2014), 347 pages.
The Churching of America provides a unique interpretation of American religious history. Roger Finke and Rodney Stark use economic analysis to describe changes in the religious landscape since the birth of America. They argue that the accepted historical model of religious decline interspersed with revivalist religious renewal is statistically inaccurate. Basing their work on previously disregarded census records as well as denominational statistical reports, they conclude that when denominations adjust their beliefs, practices, and structures to accommodate secular norms, they enter into a state of decline. On the other hand, denominations that retain their unique traits and avoid acculturation are better able to hold on and even gain “market shares” in the religious market place.
Their work meshes well with Patricia Bonomi’s in suggesting that much of the perceived religious decline during the early twentieth century was isolated to denominations that had adopted Protestant Liberalism and then Neo-Orthodoxy. Finke and Stark’s use of economic terms in relation to Christianity can be awkward at times, but their conclusions about how destructive cultural relativism and theological liberalism can be to church growth are very interesting.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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P. D. James, Death Comes to Pemberley (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011), 291 pages.
Now that summer is well under way, you may be looking for some lighter reading to enjoy on vacation or on a quiet weekend. Death Comes to Pemberley, an enjoyable novel by British mystery writer extraordinaire P. D. James could be just what you are looking for. I am usually not a fan of modern authors’ attempts to revisit classic works. However, James, in my opinion, remains faithful to Jane Austen’s work as she extends the story of the Darcys, the Bingleys, the Bennets, and the Wickhams.
The plot centers on Mr. Wickham’s being accused of committing murder on the Pemberley estate and examines both the family tensions and deep love among Austen’s many characters. Furthermore, James is a master of suspense, providing her audience with a delightful “whodunit.” Readers are certain to enjoy this return visit to Regency England.
—Recommended by Christa Hill
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Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work in God’s Work (New York: Dutton, 2012), 287 pages.
In Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller expounds upon a Reformed vision of vocation through a basic creation-fall-redemption rubric. This is a solid work that’s written in easy-to-understand language and extraordinarily practical to laymen. Keller warns against a false divide in vocations that treats some jobs as spiritual and others as not.
Instead he shows how all jobs are spiritual in one way or another. We do the things we do because God made us with certain interests and talents and because He’s given us certain opportunities. Although the Fall has affected all vocations, redemption is coming to bear in and through them as well. Every Good Endeavor is a good resource for church small group ministries.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Timothy Keller, Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1997), 233 pages.
How do we care for the sick and poor in the context of the gospel? In his book Ministries of Mercy, Tim Keller shows that caring for people in need around us is the job of every believer. He argues that this mission is as fundamental to Christian living as evangelism and discipleship are. “To spread the Kingdom of God is more than simply winning people to Christ,” he writes, “It is also working for the healing of persons, families, relationships, and nations; It is doing deeds of mercy and seeking justice. It is ordering lives and relationships and institutions and communities according to God’s authority to bring in the blessedness of the Kingdom.”[2] Keller also offers instruction for doing this vital ministry in order to see long-term change. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a Biblical foundation for social ethics.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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Thomas S. Kidd, Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father (New Haven, MA: Yale University Press, 2017), 278 pages.
History—even well researched, academic press history—doesn’t have to be boring. Thomas Kidd’s biography of the religious life of Benjamin Franklin is fascinating. Through Kidd’s careful research, we better understand Franklin’s Calvinist upbringing, his thorough reading of the Bible, his relationship with the great George Whitefield, and his persistent skepticism. Kidd’s work reveals that Franklin saw the ethical value of Christianity but struggled to affirm its central tenets. Franklin’s life is both fascinating and devastating. The final pages of Kidd’s work will enrapture the reader, but it will leave the Christian reader uneasy and even heartbroken for how Franklin’s life ended.
—Recommended by Jesse Owens
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Jonathan Leeman, Reverberation: How God’s Word Brings Light, Freedom, and Action to His People (Chicago: Moody, 2011), 196 pages.
Christians sometimes forget the beauty and power of God’s Word. We neglect the source of light, freedom, and action that fulfills our needs. In Reverberation, Jonathan Leeman reminds us to make God’s Word central in the life of the church. Leeman describes how God’s Word reverberates through the life of the church. These areas include singing, prayer, discipleship, and evangelism. The book is less about method or practical advice than it is about the central role of God’s Word within the church. This book is a great read for any pastor or layperson seeking to make God’s Word central in their ministries.
—Recommended by Zachery Maloney
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C. S. Lewis, The Silver Chair (1953; repr., New York: Harper Collins, 1981), 272 pages.
C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series has delighted readers of all ages for the past sixty years. As a child, I read through the series multiple times because I enjoyed them so much. Recently, I reread The Silver Chair, which is the fifth book in the series. This stand-alone work follows two children on a quest to find the lost prince of Narnia.
Their adventures are enjoyable, but the real worth of the book comes from Lewis’s unparalleled ability to represent deep spiritual truths allegorically. In The Silver Chair, he emphasizes the importance of hiding God’s Word in our hearts so we can fight well against this present darkness. While it is a fun book to read on your own, it is also a great book for family reading.
—Recommended by Phillip T. Morgan
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H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1951), 259 pages.
Ethicist Paul Ramsey called Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture “the one outstanding book in the field of basic Christian social ethics.”[3] Frequently, it appears on lists as being one of the most important Christian books of the twentieth century.[4] Christ and Culture puts forth five ideal-types concerning the relationship of Christ and culture: Christ against culture, the Christ of culture, Christ above culture, Christ and culture in paradox, and Christ the transformer of culture. This typology is very influential in Christian ethical literature.
Like any number of great works containing typology, Christ and Culture must be interpreted according to its intended purpose. To interpret Niebuhr too literally is to miss his project entirely. Niebuhr doesn’t intend for these five types to be mutually exclusive to one another, nor does he intend for the historical examples he offers for each type to be applied absolutely. He explains that most people will employ some combination of these types at different times and in different ways.
Niebuhr’s point in isolating these different models of church-culture engagement is to explore the general dispositions and motifs of a given model by isolating them in more pure forms, like a scientist isolating a molecule for study in the lab, nonetheless knowing that reality is more complicated. Christ and Culture is a hugely important and compelling work, especially for those interested in Christian ethics or in the relationship between Christ and culture or grace and nature.
—Recommended by Matthew Steven Bracey
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Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 158 pages.
In this short book, Jen Wilkin emphasizes the importance of serious personal Bible study. She clearly explicates the harmony of Scripture, emphasizes the need for proper understanding of a passage’s literary and historical contexts, and provides practical instruction for successful, in-depth study. Her method can certainly give guidance to those who feel overwhelmed or lost when wanting to understand the Bible deeply. This book also is an excellent selection for a women’s book or Bible study.
—Recommended by Christa Hill
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Douglas Wilson, Wordsmithy: Hot Tips for the Writing Life (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2011), 128 pages.
Want to write prose like J. R. R. Tolkien? Or a clever insight like C. S. Lewis? How about turning a phrase like G. K. Chesterton, or a play-on-words like P. G. Wodehouse? Of course we all do, yet many believe that these skills are innate or inevitably out of reach for the average writer. Doug Wilson’s book Wordsmithy helps aspiring writers hone their craft with practical advice.
In seven chapters, Wilson lays out a helpful path for those seeking to enrich and refine their writing craft. What is particularly helpful is not only what Wilson is saying, but also how he says it. After all, it’s quite a feat to write on how to write. For that reason, readers should not only read what Wilson says, but also how he says it. Don’t read between the lines, but read the lines themselves and soak in Wilson’s applied principles.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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Tom Wolfe, The Kingdom of Speech (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2016), 192 pages.
My book recommendations this month are intertwined. Tom Wolfe, a well-known and sometimes controversial novelist and journalist, recently published this engaging book. It could probably be best described as part science, part linguistic theory, and part historical sketch. Wolfe draws together two seemingly unrelated stories: the back-story to Charles Darwin’s work on evolutionary theory and Daniel Everett’s discoveries among the Pirahās of the Amazon.
Some of the questionable and incomplete aspects of Darwin’s legacy are unveiled, probed, and critiqued as only Wolfe can do. Then the connection is made between Darwin’s deficiencies and Everett’s work in linguistics and how that creates tension within the typical scheme of evolutionary theory. Wolfe’s language is salty (in more than one way), ideas dense, and implications provocative. Readers can learn more about these two books at my post on the Commission for Theological Integrity’s blog.
—Recommended by W. Jackson Watts
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Andrew Zirschky, Beyond the Screen: Youth Ministry for the Connected but Alone Generation (Nashville: Abingdon, 2015), 160 pages.
It’s no surprise that we live in an age of distraction, one laden with screens, apps, and social media technology. Media ecologists like Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman warned us about these dangers, and some have listened. Youth ministry has especially felt the impact of technology. Andrew Zirschky has arguably written the seminal work on the intersection of youth ministry and social media technology.
Zirschky argues that students aren’t indulging in social media because of the “moth myth,” their social ineptitude, or any other litany of reasons. Rather, he argues that their use is rooted in a sociology of networked individualism and in a lack of community. The first half of the book surveys these problems, but Zirschky also helpfully looks forward, instructing youth ministers on how to cultivate “communion” within their youth ministries. This book is timely and insightful.
—Recommended by Christopher Talbot
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[1] Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters (New York: HarperPerennial, 1982), 24.
[2] Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1997), 54.
[3] Stephen Crocco, “Bibliographic Remarks on Christ and Culture,” Insights: The Faculty Journal of Austin Seminary, vol. 115, no. 1 (Fall 1999): 16.
[4] See “Books of the Century: Leaders and thinkers weigh in on classics that have shaped contemporary religious thought,” Christianity Today, April 24, 2000; http://www.christianity today.com/ct/2000/april24 /5.92.html?start=2; accessed June 20, 2017; Internet.
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