Since 2009 I have reviewed and/or rated more than 1,200 newly published books focused on ministry and leadership here on So What Faith. And, each December I've published a list of my top ten books of that year (for the latest edition, see 16th Annual Top 10 Books of the Year). A decade into this I decided to begin publishing a list of all authors who appeared on two or more top ten lists. I have since shared expanded versions of that list in 2024 and 2025. The list grew from 12 to 16 to 18 Read More …
Brian McLaren
Best of the Best: Top Authors (#2215)
Over the last 16 years I’ve read widely in the fields of ministry and leadership. Here on So What Faith, I've shared reviews or ratings of more than 1,100 of these recently published books . At the end of each year, I publish a Top 10 Books of the Year list featuring the very best books I've read that were published that year. Six years ago this month, I wrote Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 sharing the dozen authors who had appeared on more than one top 10 list. Last year, I updated this Read More …
5 Star Books Published in 2024 (#2179)
Welcome to the sixth annual edition of So What Faith’s 5 Star Books of the Year! This list is comprised of books rated 5 or 5+ on a scale of 1 to 5. To be eligible the book must have been published in 2024 and I must have read and rated it this year. This year, just 15.4% of all books rated received a rating of 5 or 5+ to earn this honor (in prior years the percentage has ranged from 15% to 17%). Bruce Reyes Chow. Everything Good About God is True: Choosing Faith. Mark Elsdon, Read More …
Great New Books for June 2024 (#2127)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are Baptizing America I've read more than my fair share of material on Christian Nationalism. I've even reviewed and/or rated a number of book length considerations of the topic here on So What Faith, including The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming the Faith, and Refounding Democracy by Jim Wallis (2024), The Psychology of Christian Nationalism: Why People are Drawn In and How to Talk Across the Read More …
So What Faith’s Top Authors: 2009-2024 (#2117)
Over the last 15 years I've shared reviews or ratings of more than 1,000 recently published books I've read. Each year, the best of the best are featured on a top 10 books of the year list. Five years ago this month, I wrote Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 sharing the dozen authors who had appeared on more than one top 10 list. This group has since grown to 16. The links for each year mentioned take you to that year's top 10 list. Best of the Best Only five of the top 16 authors have Read More …
Great New Books – July 2022 (#2006)
The best new books I’ve read in the last month are (5+) Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw (Fortress Press, 2022)(4.5) Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned by Brian D. McLaren (St. Martin's Press, 2022)(4.5) It's Not You, It's Everything by Eric Minton (Broadleaf Books, 2022)(4.5)The Trayvon Generation by Elizabeth Alexander (Grand Central Publishing, 2022)(4.0) Practicing the Kingdom: Essays Read More …
Top 10 Books of 2021 (#1964)
Welcome to the 12th annual So What Faith list of the top ten books of the year (books are listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name): Brian Alexander. The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town.Diana Butler Bass. Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way and Presence.Dustin Benac & Erin Weber-Johnson (editors). Crisis & Care: Meditations on Faith and Philanthropy.Sarah Damaske. The Tolls of Uncertainty: How Privilege and Read More …
5 Star Books Published in 2021 (#1963)
Welcome to the third annual edition of all books published in the current year that received a rating of 5 or 5+ (on a scale of 1-5) from So What Faith. This year, 15% of all books rated received this honor. After Jesus Before Christianity: A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements by Erin Vearncombe, Brandon Scott, and Hal Taussig for the Westar Christianity Seminar (HarperOne, 2021)At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge by Jack R. Reese (William Read More …
10 Most Liked Tweets in Last 10 Years (#1957)
My ten most liked tweets of the last ten years are So What? I've tweeted nearly 18,000 times in the 12 years and one month since joining Twitter. Given that volume, it is interesting to see that my top ten most liked tweets are comprised of quotes from a rather small group of seven people Barbara Brown Taylor - 2 tweets (2 of the top 3!)Brian McLaren - 2 tweetsGreg Smith - 2 tweetsRozella Haydee WhiteDiana Butler BassWilliam J. Barber IIILenny Duncan As you read Read More …
Thinking Theologically: Exploring 5 Tweets (#1931)
I've been tweeting as @SoWhatFaith since 2009. In 2021, the majority of my tweets have been quotes from new books. Interestingly, according to Twitter's built in analytics, my top tweets this year consist of four such tweets alongside one I wrote in response to a very difficult day. I invite you to read these five tweets, and select one to explore in greater depth. Carry the words of that tweet with you for a few days, then share your reflections. Brian McLaren. "Eventually, I came to Read More …