Each year I publish a Top 10 Books of the Year list highlighting the ten best books I read that were published that year. And, each year, I mention the two books on that list that had the greatest impact on me personally. The list below brings together the top two books from each of the last five years to create a list of the best books of the 2020s (listed in alphabetical order by author’s last name):
- Jennifer Garcia Bashaw. Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims. (2022)
- Diana Butler Bass. Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way and Presence. (2021)
- Amy Butler. Beautiful and Terrible Things: Faith, Doubt, and Discovering a Way Back to Each Other. (2023)
- Bruce Reyes Chow. Everything Good About God is True: Choosing Faith (2024)
- Matthew Desmond. Poverty, By America. (2023)
- Mark Elsdon. We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry. (2021)
- Casper ter Kuile. The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities Into Soulful Practices. (2020)
- G. Jeffrey MacDonald. Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving Without Full-Time Clergy. (2020)
- Grace Duddy Pomroy. Funding Forward: A Pathway to More Sustainable Models for Ministry. (2024)
- Bob Smietana. Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why It Matters. (2022)
If you’d like to learn more about some older books with similar impact, check out my Top 20 Books of the 2010s.