Given the abundance of top-whatever lists this time of year, it seemed right to point out 5 of my favorite books of the year. It was kind of hard to choose 5, but here they are…

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UnChristian

Sometimes it’s easy for Christians to forget that we have a reputation with outsiders. After extensive research by the Barna Group, Kinnaman and Lyons label this reputation UnChristian. It’s not pretty, but extremely important for us to be aware of. While many in my generation are well aware of what this books describes, I think it could be particularly useful to the Boomer generation of Christian leaders who are content with how things are in the church.

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Serve God, Save the Planet

Some books are quick reads. Others make a lasting impact long after you set it down. This one is both. Written by Dr Mathew Sleath, a former physician, this book is a passionate plea for the church to take it’s rightful place as the advocate for all of creation. Filled with a bunch of stories to compliment the statistics, this book is extremely practical and would be perfect for a group of friends to read together and talk about.

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Hungry Planet

The most fascinating book I read- and looked at- all year. Extensively researched, the book documents what families around the world eat in a given week. What makes this so captivating is that the author’s husband takes beautiful photos of the family, including one of the family with all the food they eat in a week. The contrast of a family in, say, Texas, and one in Sudan must be seen to be believed.

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The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

I’ve quoted Newbigin a few times on the blog recently. This book is a bit of work to get through- not that it is inaccessible, but because each page is absolutely packed with insight. This is the one that probably impacted the way I think about “doing church” the most this year. I would love to talk with any of you who tackle it.

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The Divine Hours

This summer, for the first time, I used this book of prayers in my devotional time. The stream of Christianity I grew up in values spontaneous praying, so I don’t have much experience with liturgical or historical prayers. This was a rich experience for me as I found myself praying about and for things that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. I also appreciated the role of the Psalms in daily prayer. I may be hooked because this coming year I will be using The Ancient Christianity Devotional.