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 …
Derek Penwell
Top 10 Books of 2019 (#1840)
In 2010, I started publishing a list of my top books of the year each year here at So What Faith. The 2019 edition (aka the 10th Annual) of the best books of the year follows. Author Title Chris Arnade Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America Claire Brown and Michael T. McRay Keep Watch with Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers Bruce Deel Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances Lenny Duncan Read More …
Top 5 Posts of 2019 (January – June) (#1809)
I've written more blog posts during the first half of the year this year than any year since 2015. My readers have selected the following posts as the top posts so far this year based on the number of page views each has received year to date. I’m Back: My Return to the Mansfield Mission Center (March)Our Search for a Church 2.0 is Over! (May)Book Recommendations – March 2019 (March)Visiting 50+ Churches in Dallas – Fort Worth (February)Top 12 Authors: 2009-2019 Read More …
Book Recommendations – March 2019 (#1782)
For March I'm sharing my traditional list of the best books I read over the last 30 days that were published this year alongside a bonus list of books I read recently that were published between 2015 and 2018. (5+) Outlandish: An Unlikely Messiah, a Messy Ministry, and the Call to Mobilize by Derek Penwell (Chalice Press, 2019) (5.0) Unsettling the Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs (ORBIS, 2019) (4.5) The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Read More …
October Book Recommendations (#1478)
This month's list features a few well known authors alongside others worth getting to know. All but the lowest rated book below are ones I heartily recommend to those engaged in lay and pastoral leadership roles in communities of faith focused on following the way of Jesus. (5+) Changing Faith: The Dynamics and Consequences of Americans' Shifting Religious Identities by Darren Sherkat (2014) (5) The Mainliner's Survival Guide to the Post-Denominational World by Derek Read More …