Here is my own little contribution to the endless stack of “best of 2015” lists. The following are some of my favorite reads of the year. The rankings are not that significant. But I would certainly recommend these to anyone.
1. Jared C. Wilson. The Pastor’s Justification: Applying the Work of Christ in Your Life and Ministry. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 192 pp. $14.12. (My Review)
Wilson’s book was unquestionably my favorite read of the year. It is full of grace, full of gospel, and wonderfully realistic about the joys and pains of ministry. Give this book to a pastor your care about.
2. Jessalyn Hutto. Inheritance of Tears: Trusting the Lord of Life When Death Visits the Womb. Adelphi, MD: Cruciform Press, 2015. 108 pp. $9.99. (My Review)
No book will be perfect, especially not one on a topic as personal and painful as this one. However, Hutto does the best I have ever seen at combining comfort, understanding, and the sovereignty of God to write a short and powerful work that will help believers who have walked a very difficult road. This is a book you should have on your shelf and be ready to give away.
3. David Gibson. From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. 704 pp. $35.44.
This one took a while, but it was worth it. Gibson and his fellow authors have done a solid job of helping us to look over the issues of the doctrine of particular redemption (limited atonement) and to think about it from a pastoral perspective. Few books doing this level of theology can offer as practical and helpful a set of insights as are found at the end of this work.
4. Edward T. Welch. Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2007. 324 pp. $15.99.
Welch has always been a favorite author of mine. This work on wrestling through personal fears and worry is yet another example of why. This is the kind of book that any believer would benefit from and which pastors should have ready to loan out or give away.
5. Eric Metaxas. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011. 624 pp. $11.52.
By now, I would guess that most believers have seen enough solid reviews of this biography to know it is worth the read. I was encouraged.
6. Rosaria Butterfield. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: Expanded Edition. , Pittsburgh: Crown & Covenant Publications, 2014 208 pp. $13.00.
This book is a helpful look at one believer’s journey out of the gay community and into a new life of faith. Butterfield is refreshingly honest. Her insights into the kindness and hospitality of the gay community will do much to help believers to see the humanity in a community that many Christians ignore. It was also interesting to read Butterfield’s views on church life and even her rationale for her belief in the regulative principle of worship (I don’t totally agree with her there, but it is interesting nonetheless).
Jim Lacey and Williamson Murray. Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World. New York: Bantam, 2013. 496 pp. $30.00.
Good history books are worth a lot. This one, which walks readers through crucial conflicts throughout the course of human history is fascinating.
7. Tim Challies. Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity. Minneapolis, MN: Cruciform Press, 2015. 120 pp. $8.85. (My Review)
This was one of the more simple and practical books I read this past year, and I am enjoying incorporating the advice Challies has offered. If you need to be a more organized person, and if you do not want to wade through a 300 page treatise on business and life management, this is a great place to start.
Of course I could add several more, but this list is among my favorites. I also enjoyed rereading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy with my children. In a future post, I will share some books that I regularly reread for pleasure or for edification.
What are your favorites of the year?
Pastor Travis Peterson 