21 Book Recommendations for 2021
If you know me, it’s no secret I’m a reader. It wasn’t always like this. In fact, I didn’t become a “reader” until just a few years ago.
I wasn’t that interested in readung during elementary, middle, and high school. And it became a necessary evil during college — even bible college! (Am I allowed to admit that out-loud?)
But, something clicked after graduation; maybe my impending marriage — and wanting to appear (or actually become) smarter than I was; my re-entry into vocational church ministry — and the chasm between what I felt prepared for and what was ahead; or just wanting to want all the things that come along with dreaming of days filled with sipping coffee and starring out the window looking at the rain — which in Southern California, doesn’t happen all that often.
Anyways, every year I’ve set out a reading goal — how many books to read per year. And a few years ago, I started using Goodreads to keep myself accountable and to compensate for my staggering lack of memory.
Because of that, I can look back on 2020 with some stellar book recommendations:
Spiritual Growth & Formation
Union with Christ The Way to Know and Enjoy God — Rankin Wilbourne
Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus Into the Everyday Stuff of Life — Jeff Vanderstelt
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World — John Mark Comer
Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You — John Ortberg
The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation: How Knowing Ourselves Can Make Us More Like Jesus — A.J. Sherrill
Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best — Eugene H. Peterson
The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction — Justin Whitmel Earley
The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship — Dallas Willard
Scattered Servants: Unleashing the Church to Bring Life to the City — Alan Scott
Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church — Paul David Tripp
Culture, Race & Politics
“Here Are Your Gods”: Faithful Discipleship in Idolatrous Times — Christopher J.H. Wright
Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging Politics — Eugene Cho
Faith for Exiles: Five Ways to Help Young Christians Be Resilient, Follow Jesus, and Live Differently in Digital Babylon — David Kinnaman, Mark Matlock
Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture — Mark Sayers
Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity — David W. Swanson
Woke Church — Dr. Eric Mason
Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise — Jon Tyson
Marriage & Parenting
Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting — Phil & Diane Comer
Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home Through Time, Moments, and Milestones — Matt Chandler, Adam Griffin
Domestic Monastery — Ronald Rolheiser
Fun & Fiction
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe — Charles Yu
Happy reading!
— Bert
