Summer Reading

James 1:5- “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

As the school year ends, there is one gift that teachers often give students before they leave for the summer vacation. Just as they are about to head out the door, free of all responsibilities, they get the summer reading list. So much for all their free time! Actually, I find that books stretch me and help to inspire new understanding about my faith. Reading will often spark a series of ideas that help me to truly discern the direction God might want me to go. Knowing that summer is almost upon us, I wanted to provide you a suggested list of books that you might curl up with in the hammock this summer. I promise if you give them some time, God will open up your heart and mind in new and unexpected ways.

Peter Gomes- The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart (353 p.)- I came across this book as I began to seriously consider going to seminary. Gomes helped the Bible come alive to me by taking seriously difficult issues like race, gender and sexuality while also exploring what scripture says about joy, suffering, evil and goodness. I would recommend this book to any who struggle with the Bible and wonder how it can address the contemporary issues that face us every day.

Tony Jones- The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier (220 p.)- Something seems to be going on in the world. People, in the churches and outside, are questioning authority, forgoing traditional worship experiences and seeking to understand God on their own terms. In small pockets across the country, faith communities are responding in unique ways as they seek to explore God in ways relevant to the modern generation. This new way of doing church has come to be called “Emergent worship.” Jones book is very down to earth and helped me to discover new ways in which people are experiencing Jesus and to begin to rethink just what it means to “do church.”

Peter Rollins: The Orthodox Heretic and other impossible tales (183 very small pages)- Jesus taught his disciples through stories because they helped to inspire thought and imagination. Rollins tries to capture this dynamic by offering 33 new parables that teach critical lessons about exploring faith in the 21st century. Though each of the parables is only a few pages long and can be read in minutes, they can inspire hours of thought and conversation by coming at concepts of faith in a different way. If your not into long novels but just want to inspired in little bits and pieces, this is the book for you!

Lisa Dodson- The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert and Unfair Economy (211 p.)- This book was recommended to me several years ago and I found it compelling. Though it isnʼt a Christian book persey, it explores the difficult moral dilemmas we can face when -if- you work in the corporate world. The book uses the voices of ordinary Americans to try and explore the difficulties of trying to live and work with compassion in a “bottom-line” corporate world. It would be great for any one who struggles with how to live out their faith and values while working in the corporate world.

I have these four books and many more that Iʼm always happy to lend out. May God bless your reading with new insights and inspiration!