I set a goal to read 52 books this year and finished my 53rd this week. I read several memoirs and biographies this year, more than I would in a typical year. Here’s a quick overview of my favorite reads from the past year and a few that, while they may not have made my favorite list, I’d recommend to you.
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story
I listened to this one because it was read by the author and included 40 unique recordings of U2 songs. Well worth the listen, as it contains keen insight into Bono’s spiritual formation and a window into the dangers of celebrity culture that has made its way into much of modern ministry culture.
Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
If you’ve followed my top reading lists in the past, you’ll know I’m a fan of Annie Duke’s writing and research. This is an example of counterintuitive thinking, especially for people who often are told to “just have faith” and to “preserver.” It’s helpful to remember from time to time, that God often called people to quit one thing in order to follow the Spirit fully.
You Are Not Your Own
This is a badly needed message for a culture filled with people “pouring their fluid selves into whatever container the culture offers them at any particular moment.”
All My Knotted-Up Life
The best memoir I’ve read this year. Period.
Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution
This one will be problematic and frustrating for some and encouraging for others. The bottom line is that ideas have consequences, and those consequences are being lived out before us.
Atomic Habits
Okay, I’m way late to the game on this one, but this is certainly one of the best books on habit formation that I’ve come across and highly recommend it to you.
Unclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality, and Mortality
Maybe one of the most important books I’ve read in the past few years. If you’re a church leader, read this book please.
Everything Sad is Untrue
It is another wonderful memoir that I read this year and probably the one I enjoyed the most. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Nayeri’s experience as a childhood refugee, and it works in a way that is just about as perfect as it gets.
Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work
I love social psychology books, and this one was especially interesting.
Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest
I read this one at the recommendation of a reporter interviewing me for a story related to immigration-related concerns in Florida. We got to talking about the practice of sabbath, and she noted that she’d recently picked up Barton’s book at the recommendation of a coworker. It’s an excellent resource for anyone, especially those considering how to create patterns of work and rest in professions with irregular work and rest cycles.
Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History
This was my book of the year, at least for pastors and those serving in church leadership. Dickson does an excellent job of demonstrating what apologetics needs to look like in today’s culture that is quick to point out the flaws and faults of people of faith.
In Need of Your Patience and Prayers: The Life and Ministry of Hiram F. Reynolds
This is another book that I can’t recommend enough to pastors serving in the Church of the Nazarene. It’s become popular to story our origin back to the work of Phineas Bresee and the founding of the Church of the Nazarene in California, but this is only part of the story, and it neglects to recognize the significant priority of Global Mission in the development of our church. Every Pastor needs to read this book to fully understand our origins, missional priorities, and leadership influences.
Called to the Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi; the Story of Dr. Charles Johnson
I’ve read this before, but when Chet Bush accepted a call to serve a congregation here in Orlando, I thought it would be good to revisit this important work. If you’re a Nazarene and haven’t read the account of Dr. Charles Johnson’s life, you owe it to yourself and to your brothers and sisters in Christ to pick up a copy.
Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs
The best leadership book I’ve read in the past year. If you’re a leader, do yourself and those you serve a favor and pick it up.