My Top Reads of 2024
I love to read! This year I read (and listened) to over 30,000 pages from a wide range of topics like theology, Christian living, counseling, biography, sociology, history, fiction, and more. A friend recently suggested I share a list of my top books for the year. While it's hard to narrow it down, here are a few of the books that I enjoyed the most in 2024. They are listed in no particular order. I hope you'll find something below that inspires you in your own reading (or audiobook listening) in 2025. 
Made for Friendship: The Relationship That Halves Our Sorrows and Doubles Our Joys by Drew Hunter
Friends are the relationship that halves our sorrows and doubles our joys. This book is part celebration of friendship, part theology of friendship, and part how-to guide on developing friends that last. I put this book down and felt incredibly grateful for my friends.
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
This book is a must-read for all parents of children and teenagers today. Far too many parents have unquestionably adopted the culture's values regarding cell phones and social media. Jonathan Haidt argues this is not only a grievous mistake, but it's akin to a form of widespread social experimentation on our young people. Although this is not a Christian book, every Christian has an interest in the minds and hearts of our young people. Reading this book may go a long way to helping us protect them better.
The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Timothy and Kathy Keller
This book has been around for a while but I never got around to reading it until this year. Holly and I listened to it together while speeding down the Autobahn in Germany (Perhaps that's part of the reason why I love this book so much!). Out of the many books Holly and I have read on marriage through the years, this is one of the best. The Kellers are clear, insightful, provocative, and rigorously biblical.
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century by Louise Perry
This book is both troubling (for what it reveals about popular sexual practices in our culture) and refreshing (for its common grace affirmation of a sexual ethic that rejects the status quo). A good follow-up to Louise Perry’s book would be what the Bible says about sex. Yes, women have been conned by the sexual revolution. But there is light and hope, even if Louise Perry doesn’t entirely understand where it can be found.
When Christians Disagree: Lessons from the Fractured Relationship of John Owen and Richard Baxter by Tim Cooper
As someone who loves history and making truth clear and practical, I absolutely LOVED this book. Cooper tells the story of a big disagreement between two big names in church history. Yet he doesn't tell the story in a dry academic way, but with an eye to how Christians can learn from their disagreement and learn how to disagree better with one another today. This book is unique in its approach and its execution was near flawless.
The Disciple-Making Parent: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Raising Your Children to Love and Follow Jesus Christ by Chap Bettis
Holly and I have read scores of books on parenting through the years. And this one is by far the best. Yes, it IS comprehensive. Bettis addresses far more parenting topics than most books on the subject, but so much of it is gold. Do yourself (and your kids!) a favor and commit to slowly work through this book in 2025.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
This one was just so much fun. We read it with the entire family. We laughed, we cried (at least the ones with a heart did), and we loved every minute. The movie is good too, but the book is phenomenal!
The All-Encompassing Return of Christ: An Introduction to Amillennialism by Michael Carpenter
Michael Carpenter is another pastor in our area and a good friend to me and my church. Here's what I wrote about this book when he asked me to review it for him: Many books on last things are sensational and speculative. Mike Carpenter's book is neither. The All-Encompassing Return of Christ is a clear, simple, and rigorously biblical explanation of what the Bible teaches about the end of the world. Read this book to better understand the end times yourself, or to help others who are uncertain about what they believe. Most importantly, read this book to increase your longing for the all-encompassing return of Christ!
There you go. Happy reading!