Whenever I have the chance to spend some time with another pastor, I usually ask them the question, “What have you read lately that helped you?” I don’t always get a good answer (or any answer), but many times I am pointed to a book or a writer that I didn’t know about and am glad to discover myself. With that in mind, here are some of the books I’ve read this year (and am still reading, for that matter) that have proved helpful to me. I will try to organize them by category.
Commentaries:
R. Kent Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing
As I have preached through Genesis this has been by far my favorite commentary. I love Hughes’ sermonic commentaries. His illustrations are very good as well.
N.T. Wright, The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon
I know that Wright caused no small stir with his recent book, New Perspectives on Paul, but prior to this, Wright had been a sound scholar and writer. I have found his commentaries to be fresh and insightful.
Tremper Longman, Song of Songs
I spoke at a marriage retreat this year, and taught from the Song of Solomon. I appreciated Longman’s honest approach to this difficult book. He avoids allegory and imposed typology.
Theology and Christianity:
Russell D. Moore, Tempted and Tried
Russell Moore is my favorite contemporary theologian. This book is a fresh and powerful look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. I highly recommend it.
Carson, D.A., The God Who is There
I have come back to this book several times to reference something Carson said about a particular Biblical theme. This is an overview of the Scriptures and it is excellent.
Steven Smith, Dying to Preach
I was only recently introduced to this book. Though I am not completely finished with it, it has already challenged me deeply. If you are a preacher, get this book. Now.
Craig L. Blomberg, Sung Wook Chung, A Case for Historic Premillennialism
This book is a series of lectures given on a premillennial position other than dispensational premillennialism. I haven’t finished it yet and it is not the most exciting book. It is, however, thought provoking. The subtitle is “an alternative to ‘Left Behind’ Eschatology.”
Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan
Idleman pastors a large “Christian” church, whose doctrine I would not totally agree with. However, this book is really good.
Other:
Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of Maladies
This book is essentially a biography of cancer. It is written by an oncologist, but most of the language is pretty accessible. I really enjoyed certain parts of this book.
Wendell Berry, The Distant Land
This collection of Berry’s short stories is a great read. Reading fiction makes you a better preacher, and this is good, clean fiction.
Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life
I love biographies, and especially historical biographies. This one is exceptionally good. (The end is the best)
David R. Stokes, The Shooting Salvationist
This book covers the story of Pastor J. Frank Norris’ trial for murder, after shooting a man in his office at the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth. Though Stokes seems to have a bit of a bias against Norris, the story is still worth telling and reading.
Ron Owens, Manley Beasley: Man of Faith – Instrument of Revival
I have heard the name of Manley Beasley for years. This biography helped me to understand why. Beasley was a unique servant of God in his day, and would be even more so today.
Obviously, I don’t endorse everything in these books or by these authors. However, these books stuck out in my reading this past year. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. God bless!
By the way, all of these books were read on my Amazon Kindle. If you don't have a Kindle, shame on you.
