My Best Reads of 2021
As we get ready to wrap up another year, I thought I would share some of my favorite reads from 2021. Most of these books were released this year, but some were just new to me. My list is primarily about Bible and Discipleship books since that’s the focus of this blog, but there are a few others thrown in for fun. Let me know your thoughts if you have or end up reading any of them! And… I would love for you to comment with the best books you’ve read this year. Help a girl out with some good recommendations!
Discipleship: The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas
Pastor Rich Villodas points out that it is possible to be committed to the external activities of Christianity while still living lives that are incongruent with life in the Kingdom of God. It is certainly possible to be committed to a shallow form of Christianity without being deeply transformed by Christ. He challenges us with five transformative values that can root us in the way of Jesus. Packed with practical application, this would be a great January read. In fact, our January series at COMMUNITY will be influenced by it.
Bible: Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael Gorman
Dispensational interpretations of Revelation always left me frustrated and confused and kept me away from the last book in the Bible for far too long. This year I decided to dig into this book and asked several people (including New Testament scholar Scot McKnight) for recommendations. Michael Gorman’s book was the first one they all mentioned. This helpful volume helped me enter into my study of Revelation with a fresh perspective. I think it’s a great overview book before digging into more detailed commentaries.
Politics: What is God’s Kingdom by Cesar Garcia
It’s funny that I label this short book “politics” because I had no idea that’s what it was about when I bought it. I was preparing for a series on the Kingdom of God and thought it might be useful. Instead, I read one of the most helpful guides I’ve come across on how our allegiance to Jesus should challenge and reshape our loyalties to political systems and governments. Mr. Garcia is not an American so he doesn’t have a fight to win in the Democrat vs Republican war. Yet, I believe he has a lot to say to us in this country and especially those of us in the church.
History: The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
Dr. Barr is a historian at Baylor University whose study of church history led her to see that many of the contemporary teachings about women’s roles in the church arose from a set of clearly definable historical and cultural moments. Her argument is that so called “biblical womanhood” is more about power structures than the message of Christ. Obviously, this topic is deeply personal to me as I’ve tried to be faithful to the calling God has placed on my life. Works such as Scot McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet and Jo Saxton’s More Than Enchanting helped me form a biblical and theological framework for that calling. Dr. Barr’s historical work helped me see the long list of women who have gone before faithfully teaching, preaching, and leading. She also helped me more deeply understand why at times the way has been hard.
Bible: The Story of God Bible Commentary - 1 & 2 Samuel by Paul S. Evans
Nerd alert. I like to read commentaries from cover to cover. I have found this new “The Story of God Bible Commentary” series incredibly insightful and enjoyable. I’ve gone through several of the volumes and have found them helpful both for personal study of Scripture and for ideas on how to teach the Scriptures. One of the volumes I went through this year was on 1 and 2 Samuel, and I thoroughly enjoyed this author’s scholarship on the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David. If you, too, are a nerd, check it out!
Biography: A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson by Winn Collier
I listened to this as an audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the life and ministry of the beloved pastor, Eugene Peterson. I’ll admit, I often saw his “The Message” translation as such a colloquial version of the Scriptures that I was often careful to label it a “paraphrase” when I’d quote it. However, listening to this book made me realize what a scholar Peterson was and the intention that went into his translation. Most of all, I loved learning about Peterson’s heart as a follower of Jesus, a pastor, and an author. This guy was in it for the right reasons. We’d do well to learn from him and follow his example.
Discipleship: Live No Lies by John Mark Comer
John Mark Comer is becoming one of my favorite writers. If you like reading authors who have read tons of stuff you’ll never read and can synthesize and present it in an insightful, practical way, check out his books. In this book, he tries to open our eyes to three enemies we fight every day of our lives: the devil, the flesh, and the world. A little old school? Yes. But we need to be aware of how these forces are causing us to buy into lies and live in ways that contradict the way of Jesus. Personally, I thought the section on “the flesh” was worth the price of the book.
Bible: Revelation and the End of All Things by Craig R. Koester
OK, so I read a lot of books about Revelation this year so a second one makes my list. I found this volume extremely helpful. The first third of the book provides an overview of the history of interpretation of Revelation. It was news to me to realize the dispensational readings that are so popular today are rather a recent development. I also found this book to be one of the most helpful in terms of providing chapter by chapter commentary on Revelation.
Discipleship: When Everything’s on Fire by Brian Zahnd
I recognize that some people find Zahnd controversial; I find him thoughtful. Remember, you don’t have to agree with everything an author says to learn from that author. In an age when so many people are talking about “deconstructing,” I see Zahnd as a pastor who wants to help people hold on to Jesus and not abandon a historic Christian faith. If you haven’t read his own story of change, I’d recommend Water to Wine (maybe even read it before this new book). After all we’ve been through the past few years, I found Zahnd’s latest book provides an honest take on hard and frustrating realities, yet he offers hope in the midst of this dumpster fire we find ourselves in. There are some things we’ll be better off letting burn. I needed to hear Zahnd’s hopeful view of the future.
Discipleship: What If Jesus Was Serious About Prayer? by Skye Jethani
This is the second in what seems will be a series of devotion-style books from Skye Jethani. I highly recommend the first one which takes you through the Sermon on the Mount. This one has lots of great insights on prayer. Plus, there is an illustrative sketch for each short entry that makes it visually engaging. I consider this a great “while you’re eating breakfast” book.
Fiction: The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
Should out to my sister who turned me on to Louise Penny’s “Chief Inspector Gamache” series a couple years ago. These are murder mysteries, but the focus is really on the development and lives of the characters (not just solving a crime). Over the past couple years, I listened to the audiobooks of all 17 of the novels including this latest one released this year (Tip: I was able to listen to all of these for free through my local library.) It took me a couple volumes to fall in love with the characters, but now I’m hooked. Start with the first volume, Still Life, if the series is new to you. Fiction is fun!
History: The Library Book by Susan Orlean
I love listening to narrative non-fiction! (Again, free through the library.) This book is about the fire that destroyed most of the Los Angeles Library some three decades ago. Really, it’s about the entire history of that library. It might sound boring, but when narrative non-fiction is written well, as this book is, it is as engaging as any best-selling novel. If you have some great narrative non-fiction titles to recommend, you might become my new best friend!
