For the last twelve years I’ve published an annual list of my top ten books published each year. While these lists have been alphabetical rather than in rank order, they’ve also included mention of two books from each list that had the greatest impact on my life and ministry during that year. To begin 2022, I'm taking a look back at the eleven most recent lists, which provides 22 must read books for 2022. (The list appears in alphabetical order by author last name.) Diana Butler Bass. Read More …
Books
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 …
Great New Books – December 2021 (#1962)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (5.0) Evangelical Worship: An American Mosaic by Melanie C. Ross (Oxford University Press, 2021)(5.0) 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)(5.0) At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge by Jack R. Reese (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2021)(5.0) Read More …
Great New Books – November 2021 (#1958)
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 Read More …
Great New Books – October 2021 (#1954)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (4.5) How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation by Lorenzo Lebrija (Church Publishing, 2021)(4.5) Community as Church, Church as Community by Michael Plekon (Cascade Books, 2021)(4.5) Church After: Finding Transformation in Unexpected Change by Anna Mitchell Hall (Cane Mill Press, 2021)(4.0) Generation We: The Power and Promise of Gen Z by AnneMarie Hayek (Lioncrest Publishing, 2021)(4.0) Somehow Saints: More Read More …
Great New Books – September 2021 (#1949)
The ten best recently published books I read over the last month are (5+) Crisis & Care: Meditations on Faith and Philanthropy edited by Dustin D. Benac and Erin Weber-Johnson (Cascade Books, 2021)(5.0) What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society by Minouche Shafik (Princeton University Press, 2021)(4.5) Open and Relational Theology: An Introduction to Life-Changing Ideas by Thomas Jay Oord (SacraSage, 2021)(4.5) Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Read More …
Great New Books – August 2021 (#1945)
Here are the ten best new books I read last month. (5+) The Ninefold Path of Jesus: Hidden Wisdom of the Beatitudes by Mark Scandrette (IVP, 2021) (5.0) The Tolls of Uncertainty: How Privilege and the Guilt Gap Shape Unemployment in America by Sarah Damaske (Princeton University Press, 2021) (4.5) Faith-Based Organizing: A Congregational Planning Resource for Addressing Poverty by Charles Fredrickson, Violetta Lien, Herbert E. Palmer, and Mary Lou Walther (Fortress Press, Read More …
Great New Books – July 2021 (#1940)
The ten best new books I've read over the last month are (5+) We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry by Mark Elsdon (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021)(5.0) Staying Awake: The Gospel for Changemakers by Tyler Sit (Chalice Press, 2021)(4.5) In Defense of Kindness: Why it Matters, How it Changes Our Lives, and How it Can Save the World by Bruce Reyes-Chow (Chalice Press, 2021)(4.5) Out of Many, One: Portraits of American Immigrants by George W. Bush Read More …
Top Posts of 2021 (January – June) (#1939)
In a few days, we will reach the midpoint of 2021. Many of my blog posts this year have focused on how churches and other ministries are reopening, and how the next normal will differ from what had been normative in a pre-pandemic world. Additionally, the first post of the month each month introduces great new books. Not surprisingly, all five of the top posts for the first half of this year fit in one of those two categories (top posts as defined by total page views): Reopening for Read More …