My 2022 Reading List

*A few of the books I read this year. Photo by* *Mark Hackett*.

Last year I published my annual reading list for the first time. I was surprised by how much of a hit it was so I’m doing it again! December is shaping up to be overwhelmingly busy between work, family, and our church community, hence my posting this in November instead of the last week of the year.

I read a total of 13 books that covered a wide array of topics and ideas in the Christian faith, some fiction, and a bit of political commentary. I hope at least one or two of these books sound interesting to you.

The Word On Fire Bible: The Gospels

by Bishop Robert Barron & co.

This is easily my favorite Bible I have ever owned. The biblical text is translated into the New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition with commentary from Bishop Robert Barron, quite a few of the church fathers and saints, mystics, and scholars throughout the centuries of the Church. It also includes beautiful art to highlight certain passages found in the four Gospels.

I am not Catholic so, for me at least, I found it helpful as my first serious introduction of sorts to the tradition. More importantly, I feel that it presents the person of Jesus in a compelling and refreshing way. I imagine someone who is curious about the Christian faith would find it welcoming and incredibly helpful. Get your copy here.

A Non-Anxious Presence: How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders

by Mark Sayers

About 20 pages in I felt like Sayers wrote this book specifically for me (spoilers: he didn’t, or did he?). Like many Christians the past several years I’ve personally wrestled with the anxiety brought on by the pandemic, America’s cultural sorting, and the seemingly endless political turmoil and church scandals. Living through this time as a nonprofit leader includes a whole extra set of challenges. Doors that were once open to me are now slammed shut and, like quite a few of you pastors and NPO leaders reading this, I’ve experienced being sabotaged by other leaders I wrongly thought I could trust.

What Sayers shows is how crisis is the great revealer of who we really are and what we really believe. He also speaks to how crisis includes great opportunity and always precedes renewal, as well as how those of us who walk into the wilderness can find new ways forward in a world that isn’t slowing down anytime soon. I read this book shortly after writing my most recent piece on my time in the wilderness and was left feeling rather hopeful. Get your copy here.

Station 11

by Emily St. John Mandel

I read another fiction book about a pandemic. Maybe my subconscious finds it cathartic in processing the last few years? I dunno. What I do know is that there are plenty of good reasons why Mandel’s book is a national bestseller, National Book Award Finalist, and Pen/Faulkner Award Finalist. This is fiction at it’s finest.

Station 11 raises all kinds of deep questions about human connection, beliefs, and fragility. The plot is stunning: a small troupe of actors and musicians dedicated to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive travel through the wastelands of what was once the United States. When they encounter a violent prophet in a small town, their lives are threatened and the story takes off against the backdrop of a world crying out to come back to life. And if you are a nerd like me and love to examine writing styles, Mandel is one of the most gifted writers I’ve encountered. Get your copy here.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth

by Dr. Beth Allison Barr

I can’t think of another book that so thoroughly eviscerates complementarian theology as this one does. Barr provides a brilliant mixture of church history, biblical exegesis, and personal experience to show why modern Christianity patriarchy is at the heart of so many of the American church’s problems. I asked several people who adhered to the cultural standards of complementarianism to read this book. Only one of them is still complementarian today, and he’s now about as soft in his beliefs as one can be. This book is that powerful.

Beth was gracious enough to join me for an awesome conversation on the podcast. If you want a taste of the book, I encourage you to give it a listen. Get your copy here.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

by Suzanne Collins

The long-awaited prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy wasn’t quite what I expected, and I’m glad that’s the case. As popular as the books and movies were I still believe the themes explored in the story are not fully appreciated. Collins does an excellent job of not only filling in some of the missing backstory scattered throughout the trilogy, but also does an impressive examination of how systems of control and coercion can turn ordinary people into monsters. Here’s hoping the upcoming film adaptation is as good as Catching Fire was. This could be a really solid movie.

Readers are forced to see Panem less as a post-apocalyptic country ruled by the brutal and hedonistic Capitol and more as one logical outcome of cultural fear and historical circumstance (sounds a little too real, right?) The characters are more muted than those in the trilogy. At first I found that a bit disappointing; however, about a third of the way in, I came to see it as a brilliant feature of the story considering where on the timeline the characters fall. Anytime an author can make you feel some empathy for the main villain, you know they are on to something. Prequels often feel unfulfilling. This one meets expectations and, much like the trilogy, left me wanting to know more about this fictional world Collins has created. Get your copy here.

What If Jesus Was Serious?

by Skye Jethani

Like many Christians my age and younger, I find daily devotional books out-of-touch and so hyper-individualistic it’s borderline nauseating. This one is the exact opposite. Jethani examines some of Jesus' most demanding teachings and pushes us to ask whether we're really hearing what Christ is saying. The hand-drawn doodles also make every section memorable to read, and Skye's reflections are incisive.

I’m co-leading a group of diverse guys at our church through the book and it has led to some engaging and frank conversations on the state of the American church, race relations, and so much more. I’ve read this book through on my own and it was a great experience, but the communal study was even better. Get your copy here.

The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor

by Kaitlyn Schiess

This ended up being one of my favorite books I read this year even though my experience with it was a bit strange. At first, I did not fully appreciate Schiess’ work as I was convinced long ago by the arguments she makes. Schiess deftly explains why younger generations of Christians are exhausted by seeing their faith tied to political battles they didn't start and why they're so frustrated by the failures of leaders they thought they could trust. If you’ve read just about anything I’ve written, you know I’m there.

It took a few months of just living in the real world before the wisdom in this book really sunk in. Schiess shows that the church's politics are shaped by its habits and practices even when it is unaware of them. That’s a recurring theme in my own writing; however, Schiess goes further to show how historic formative spiritual practices can be applied to the political sphere. That’s the true genius of this book to me. She calls us to truly see the power of the political forces around us and then to recover historic Christian practices that shape us according to the truth of the gospel. Sounds way better than culture warring, right? Get your copy here.

A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing

by Dr. Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer

If you’re a frequent reader of this site —and I hope you are— then you know that churches across much of the United States are a complete disaster right now. Respected theologian Scot McKnight and former Willow Creek member Laura Barringer speak deeply to this sad truth that churches of all shapes and sizes are susceptible to abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse. They show how abuses occur when Christians neglect to create a culture that resists abuse and promotes healing, safety, and spiritual growth.

McKnight and Barringer then ask what can be done to begin permanently changing things and show a path forward for those who are serious about reform. Interestingly, this book has gotten some criticism from the performative masculinity “theobro” types in white American evangelicalism who are responsible for much of the destruction that is underway in countless churches. That’s a strong sign that McKnight and Barringer are onto something really important in their book. Get your copy here.

Yes We (Still) Can

by Dan Pfeiffer

President Obama's former communications director wrote this colorful account of how politics, the media, and the internet changed during the Obama presidency in ways that brought Trumpism crashing into the mainstream of our political discourse. Pfeiffer recounts how Barack Obama navigated the increasingly insane political forces that created Trump, explains why everyone got 2016 so wrong, and offers some important ideas on a path forward. It’s part memoir and part political examination.

I listen to Pod Save America, which Pfeiffer cohosts and my brother and I went to Nashville to see a live-recording of in August. This book takes the same no-BS approach to our recent and current political moments. If the past several years disturbed you and left you missing Obama and…well…sanity, this is a book you will find some hope in. Get your copy here.

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

by Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry

The debates surrounding white Christian nationalism in the American context are intense and heated. This ideology has been building up for years and finally exploded with the January 6th, 2021 insurrection. I predicted way back in 2016 that Trump’s presidency would end in bloodshed, something I was laughed at for saying more than once. But even I was shocked by the brazenness of what we saw on Jan 6: a wooden cross and gallows, Jesus saves signs, the Christian flag blowing above the fray alongside the Trump battle flag, and a truly disturbing and deeply evangelical prayer in the overrun Senate chamber.

Gorski and Perry succeed in answering the basic questions about white Christian nationalism: what it is, where this ideology comes from, and why it is a threat to the American experiment. This book does not beat around the bush at all. The future of American democracy, Gorski and Perry argue, will depend on whether a broad spectrum of Americans —stretching from democratic socialists to classical liberals— can set aside their differences and unite in a popular front to defend the liberal democracy we all love. Sign me up. Get your copy here.

Bourgeois Babes, Bossy Wives, and Bobby Haircuts: A Case For Gender Equality in Ministry

by Michael F. Bird

New Testament scholar Michael Bird was formerly in favor of distinct gender roles in church life, a viewpoint commonly called complementarianism. But inconsistencies in practice and careful biblical study convinced him to rethink his position. I think that’s why this book is often so compelling to complimentarians who are having doubts. Bird is straightforward and provides good cultural context with a healthy dose of humor (I mean, that title is gold, right?) He doesn’t bash complimentarians and shows why the complimentarian vs. egalitarian framing of these issues isn’t a full picture of the options in front of us. This is about as perfect a resource as one could ask for when it comes to moving a conversation forward about gender roles in a church. Get your copy here.

All of Grace

by Charles Spurgeon

This book is Spurgeon’s simple and eloquent presentation of basic salvation through grace alone. I read it earlier in the year with a buddy who moved down to Texas and we texted about each chapter as we worked our way through it. The theology presented in the book was super familiar to me and I don’t think I learned anything new; however, the conversations it sparked were all wonderful and helped us both work through a few things. Get your copy here.

Hearing Her Voice: A Biblical Invitation for Women to Preach

by John Dickson

Based on his study of a key word for “teaching” in the New Testament―an activity often thought to be prohibited to women―and on various other kinds of public speaking in which women in Scripture clearly participated, scholar John Dickson builds a case for women preachers. My sense is that Dickson is trying to convince complementarians to reconsider their views, so I personally didn’t gain much from this book as I’m not complementarian. Still, if you have believed gender hierarchy in the church is God-ordained but feel uncomfortable with some of its manifestations I think you will find this book helpful. Get your copy here.

Thank you so much for being a part of this online space in 2022. I’ve appreciated your comments and encouragement as we critically examine the past and present of American church culture and where our faith goes from here. I’ll be publishing my ten favorite podcast episodes in December so please keep an eye out for those.

Until then, what books should everyone read in 2023? Comment below!

I explore faith and American church culture from Memphis, TN. Never miss an article by signing up for my free newsletter or becoming a member. You can also subscribe to my podcast.