The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are
- (5.0) If God is Love Don’t Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith that Makes us Better Humans by John Pavlovitz (Westminster John Knox Press, 2021)
- (5.0) Shelter Theology: The Religious Lives of People without Homes by Susan J. Dunlap (Fortress Press, 2021)
- (4.5) A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church: A Multi-Gospel Single-Year Lectionary – Year W by Wilda C. Gafney (Church Publishing, 2021)
- (4.5) Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America by Eyal Press (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2021)
- (4.5) Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith by Daniel Silliman (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2021)
- (4.0) Hiding in the Pews: Shining Light on Mental Illness in the Church by Steve Austin (Fortress Press, 2021)
- (4.0) Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler (Penguin Press, 2021)
- (4.0) There is No God and Mary is His Mother: Rediscovering Religionless Christianity by Thomas Cathcart (Fortress Press, 2021)
- (3.5) Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together edited by Charles E. Moore (Plough Publishing House, 2021)
- (3.5) Evangelical Thought Leader: The Liturgy of Radically Engaging the Culture of Paradigm Shifts by Matthew Pierce (2021)
If God is Love
John Pavlovitz new book, If God is Love, is deeply personal account of his spiritual journey over the last decade and a half. It is a story of losing his original faith, and discovering a new more expansive one. And, it is an invitation for readers to take a deep look at how their own religious understanding has changed, is growing, and may evolve into the future. Most importantly, Pavlovitz talks about real issues directly ranging from small religion and small views of God to using religion to help rather than hurt to overcoming unhealthy and relatively common views about the role of America and human sexuality.