Top Books from May 2021
Here’s a few of the top books I finished last month.
Everyone a Child Should Know by Clare Heath-Whyte
This is a phenomenal resource for short, sweet, and encouraging family devotions. This little book features a short snippet of 52 different men and women from church history and how they followed their friend Jesus. My kids (and me!) learned a lot by reading this book together!
As the commonwealth of Virginia prepares to legalize recreational marijuana, I spent some time recently studying this topic from a Christian worldview. Authors Granade and Sprinkle have very different perspectives politically, but they share a love for Scripture and a passion to help Christians think carefully and critically about marijuana. They both pastor in a state where recreational marijuana has been legalized for some time, so they offer a unique perspective as men who have pastored through this challenge. I found this book to be enlightening and very helpful as I seek to pastor the congregation God has assigned to me in a state that is about to open the floodgates to legal marijuana usage.
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
I have already posted an extensive review of this book here. But it’s worth mentioning again just how important this book is. If you’re a mom or dad of young girls, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It will not point you to Gospel hope, but it will expose the gritty horrors of the world in which we live. A world that evokes pride from some, but should instead drive us to Christ for help.
The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation by Rod Dreher
I’m a bit late to the party on this one. Four years ago this book was a highly discussed book in Christian circles. I finally got around to reading it. In a nutshell, Dreher argues that Western Christians should stop attempting to transform the culture but should instead learn how to survive it. Of course the Great Commission compels us to go into the world and make disciples, but Dreher is onto something. We’ve got to do a better job ensuring the survival of our faith to the next generation. And that will not come naturally. Much to reflect upon and consider from this well-written book.