Books of 2018

Wow! What a year for reading it has been. There are a few reasons why this was a big year for the reading department. As a family we set time aside to read together on Sunday afternoons, or weekday evenings. Also, I have had a lot of direction with the program I have begun this spring. I am participating in the Doctor of Ministry program to continue to grow. So I have had a lot of help selecting books to read to challenge myself.

I am proud to report that I hit a personal best! This list includes books, articles, audio-books, catechisms, tracts substantial enough to be remembered.

Some highlights include:

Can I just say the Reformation?!? Teaching Sunday school has always offered me a lot of direction when it comes to what I read and how I prepare. Teaching a Sunday School class on the Reformation offered me some wonderful material to read. I preferred the original writings but enjoyed the new biographies, too. It was especially fun to read biographies from authors with vastly different backgrounds. Metaxas and Roper offered an interesting tension between them. Metaxas' book aligned with other readings while Roper's book seemed to be overly critical and somewhat theologically biased, too. They were good to read together to balance each other and remember Luther's boldness while also remembering he was human and prone to err.

Reading for the first time A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. (I'm sorry, I just had to do it)

Some of the small details of the movies make sense now after reading it in the book. Also, what is happening with the sense of time in this book?! It's wild! But it is an amazing story about change that happens in Scrooge's life to effect the world he lives in under a little divine intervention. It's surprisingly full of biblical metaphor and imagery and I appreciated it.

There were a lot of great other books along the subject of spiritual theology and spiritual formation. But instead of pointing out a book, I wanted to recognize the author Eugene Peterson. I have read other things by him in other years, of course. But this year, also the year of his death, I read the most books by him and had some wonderful opportunities to reflect on spiritual development and Scripture reading from some wonderful points of view. This theme culminated in reading his memoir, The Pastor shortly before the end of the year. It was fun to read that book and see how the themes woven in his other books were tied in to major life themes in his final work reflecting on his life and ministry and his own formation. I will be continuing to explore his work in the following years to come.

Books of 2018
The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, D. A. Carson (90 pp)
For Love of Dying, Tiffany Smead (61 pp)
The Love of God, Chapter 1: Distorting the Love Of God, D.A. Carson (27 pp)
Preaching, Tim Keller (240pp)
Who’s Afraid of the Multiverse, Jeffery A. Zweerink (65 pp)
Who Was Charles Dickens?, Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso (105 pp)
Who Was Pablo Picasso?, Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso (103 pp)
Who Is Wayne Gretzky?, Gail Herman (106pp)
Who Was Roberto Clemente?, James Buckley Jr. (106 pp)
Who Is Babe Ruth?, Joan Holub (112 pp)
95 Theses, Martin Luther
Sola Fide, J. I. Packer (40 pp)
The Organic Reformation, Tom Johnston & Mike Chong Perkinson (128pp)
Too Deep For Words, Thelma Hall (120 pp.)
Spiritual Autobiography, Richard Peace (112 pp)
Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved, Kate Bowler (178 pp)
Love To The Uttermost, John Piper (30pp)
Contemplative Bible Reading, Richard Peace (96pp)
A Pilgrimage Through Grief: Healing the Soul’s Hurt After Loss, James E. Miller (97 pp)
Paul on the “Soul” - Not What You Might Think, J. Richard Middleton (4 pp)
Spiritual Theology, Simon Chan (300 pp)
Sacred Reading, Michael Casey (134 pp)
A Little Book on The Christian Life, John Calvin (132 pp)
Perfect Game, Fred Bowen (145 pp)
I Am A Church Member, Thom Rainer (79 pp)
Why I Left, Why I Stayed, Tony Campolo and Bart Campolo (160 pp)
Out of Solitude, Henri Nouwen (63 pp)
The Vanishing Power of Death, Erwin Luther (161 pp)
Why Elders?, Benjamin L. Merkle (105 pp)
Legacy: 60 Life Reflections for the Next Generation, Stephen A. Macchia (212 pp)
The Life of The Body, Valerie Hess & Lane Arnold (192 pp)
Looking for God in Harry Potter, John Granger (224 pp)
Desiring God, John Piper (307pp)
The Purpose of Christmas, Rick Warren (130pp)
Views on Dichotomy and Trichotomy, Kamei Landaisin (11 pp)
From Death to Life, Allen S. Nelson IV (200 pp)
The Cloud of Unknowing (146 pp)
Exodus To Advent, Esther Baird (113 pp)

Audiobooks of 2018
Bless This Mouse, Lori Lowry (160 pp)
The Benedict Option, Rod Dreher (304 pp)
Why The Reformation Still Matters, Tim Chester and Michael Reeves (224 pp)
Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas (272 pp)
Meet Martin Luther, Anthony Selvaggio (168 pp)
The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther, Steven J. Lawson (160 pp)
What Is The Gospel?, Bryan Chapell (128 pp)
The Gospel, Ray Ortlund (144 pp)
Gospel Fluency, Jeff Vanerstelt (226 pp)
Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus, Nine Marks: Building Health Churches (146 pp)
The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges (256 pp)
Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet, Lydall Roper (545 pp)
Martin Luther, Eric Metaxas (451pp)
The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (130 pp)
Summary, Analysis, and Review of Rebecca Skoot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lax
Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard (269 pp)
Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places, Eugene Peterson (368 pp)
Eat This Book, Eugene Peterson (180 pp)
The Fire of The Word, Chris Webb (193 pp)
Pilgrim Progress, John Bunyan (Abridged) (195 pp)

Grace Abounding To The Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan (Abridged) (100 pp)
The End of Your Life Bookclub, Will Schwalbe (352 pp)
Liturgy of the Ordinary, Trish Harrison Warren (157 pp)
King Me, Steve Farrar (Abridged) (264 pp)
Taking God At His Word, Kevin DeYoung (144 pp)
The Gospel Comes With A House Key, Rosaria Butterfield (240 pp)
A Long Obedience In The Same Direction, Eugene Peterson (216 pp)
Daring Greatly, Brene Brown (290 pp)
Advent Conspiracy, Rick McKinley and Chris Seay (160 pp)
When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert (274 pp)
Summary, Analysis, And Review of Melody Beattie's Codependent No More
Loving My Actual Christmas, Alexandra Kuykendall (144 pp)
Do More Better, Tim Challies (120 pp)
The Pastor, Eugene Peterson (320 pp)
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (122 pp)