Five Books to Read in 2020

I read each of these in 2019 and loved almost every page of every book. Some of them were very politically timely (Creation Care and Love Thy Body), one was pastorally helpful (Work), and others simply personally enriching (Journey Inward, Telling the Truth). If you aren't sure what to read next, start here!

5. Work

We often say at Redemption that All of Life is All for Jesus, but how does that play out in our workplaces? This book helps us understand, realistically, what it means for Christians to be faithful and effective at work. Many books have been written on work, and right now, this is my favorite.

4. Creation Care

I wish that every Christian was required to read this book before they made comments about "climate change" or "the environmental crisis" on social media, but that isn't likely to happen.

3. Journey Inward, Journey Outward

This book, written in the 1960s, discusses how a church pursued emotional health as well as missional faithfulness and speaks powerfully to the internal processes that foster emotional connection to the Spirit.

2. Telling The Truth

This book demonstrates the literary beauty of the Scriptures and the Story they tell all while connecting the good news of Jesus thematically to the different literary genres of comedy, tragedy, and fairy tale. This is one of the more engaging books I've read in a long time.

1. Love Thy Body

This is not just the best book I ready in 2019; it might be the best book I've read in the last five years. Nancy Pearcy weaves the best of theology, psychology, biology, sociology, and philosophy together to answer hard questions about abortion and LGBTQ issues. It is not a breezy read, but Nancy's work, in my opinion, is the best thing in print about the human body and what it means to be a person.