Some book recommendations we’ve received…
To refresh the soul…
‘Let Nothing Disturb You’ A 30-day selection of readings from Teresa of Avila
In ‘Let Nothing Disturb You’, readers discover the timeless spiritual counsel of St. Teresa of Avila in an easily accessible format. Selections from Teresa’s writings have been carefully chosen and arranged for morning and evening meditation.
‘Live no lies’ John Mark Comer
With warmth and encouragement, John Mark Comer offers guidance and advice to help us recognise the lies and resist the forces that seek to steal our happiness, wholeness and holiness.
‘Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth’ Richard Foster
Hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality, Celebration of Discipline explores the central spiritual practices of the Christian faith. Along the way, Foster shows that it is only by and through these practices that the true path to spiritual growth can be found. Dividing the Disciplines into three movements of the Spirit, Foster shows how each of these areas contributes to a balanced spiritual life.
‘The Collage of God’ Mark Oakley
‘This is literally a collage of a human being’s experience of God in moments of delight and near despair. Laughter and tears, delight and duty, are all touched upon …I read it on a commuter train and it transformed my journey from one of purgatory to one of pilgrimage.’ ― Retreats magazine
‘The deeply formed life’ Rich Villodas
During our chaotic times, discover five forgotten values that can spark internal growth and help us reconcile our Christian faith with the complexities of race, sexuality, and social justice. Winner of the Christianity Today Book Award.
‘Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life’ Tish Harrison Warren
In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God’s presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us.
…Sharpen our practice…
‘Faithful Anti-Racism – Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change’ Christina Barland Edmondson and Chad Brennan
This book takes confidence from the truth that Christ has overcome the world, including racism, and offers clear analysis and interventions to challenge and resist its pernicious power. Compelled by our grievous social moment and by the timeless truth of Scripture, Faithful Antiracism will equip readers to move past talk and enter the fight against racism in both practical and hopeful ways.
‘Finding Meaning, the Sixth Stage of Grief’ David Kessler
A brilliant, caring, practical guide to help us understand grief.
‘The Resilient Pastor’ Glenn Packiam
This book is for all who are burdened by the challenges facing the church as well as the turbulence of our times. With infographics, enlightening data, and insights from other ministry leaders, this book is the perfect resource for church leaders who want to cultivate resilience in their ministry today.
‘Positively Irritating’ Jon Ritner
The Western church finds itself in the midst of a seismic cultural shift, as secular paradigms threaten to remove any spiritual explanation for life, and Christianity is often viewed with skepticism and cynicism. Jon Ritner invites you on his journey across two continents, as he moves away from a disciple-making strategy relying on centralized property, programs, and professionals to one that empowers all the people of God to join his mission and make disciples in the everyday spaces of life.
‘Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age’ Andy Root
Congregations often seek to combat the crisis of decline by using innovation to produce new resources. But leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows that the church’s crisis is not in the loss of resources; it’s in the loss of life–and that life can only return when we remain open to God’s encountering presence.
‘Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times’ Peter Steinke
Anxious times call for steady leadership. When tensions emerge in a congregation, its leaders cannot be as anxious as the people they serve. Knowing how to deal with anxiety and how to work through complex challenges can lead a congregation to new insights, growth, and vitality. With this book, internationally respected consultant Peter Steinke goes deeper into the requirements of effective congregational leadership.
…Stretch our minds
‘Reading While Black – African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope’ Esau McCaulley
Growing up in the American South, Esau McCaulley knew first-hand the ongoing struggle between despair and hope that marks the lives of some in the African American context. ‘Reading While Black’ is a personal and scholarly testament to the power and hope of Black biblical interpretation.
‘George MacDonald: An Anthology’ C.S. Lewis
Lewis is famous for his Narnia books and his apologetics. Yet many of his ideas and outlooks come from the Scot George MacDonald, who was not only a minister and theologian but an early science fiction writer and practical mystic. This anthology shows the richness of MacDonald’s thought, and how he found a creative yet orthodox path through his Calvinist upbringing.
‘The Body in Pain – The Making and Unmaking of the World’ Elaine Scarry
Part philosophical meditation, part cultural critique, ‘The Body in Pain’ is a profoundly original study that has already stirred excitement in a wide range of intellectual circles. The book is an analysis of physical suffering and its relation to the numerous vocabularies and cultural forces–literary, political, philosophical, medical, religious–that confront it.
‘The Evolution of the West’ Nick Spencer
In a time of secularisation, we can feel as if the Church and Christianity are being eradicated from public life. Spencer shows how much of the modern West derives from Christianity, and how Christian assumptions continue to inform human rights, humanism, and democracy.
‘The Widening Circle’ Graham Tomlin
Sometimes, in the midst of stress and change, we can lose sight of what the Church and those engaged in ministry are for: what our purpose is, and what God calls us to be and do. In this book, Tomlin offers a theological account of ministry that draws upon both Reformed and Anglican traditions, and makes us appreciate just how important we are to God’s mission.
‘Letters to a Young Theologian’ Henco van der Westhuizen
In this helpful volume, Van der Westhuizen has assembled an outstanding and diverse array of theologians who each offer their wisdom and reflection on what it means to be a theologian through a brief letter written to someone considering becoming a theologian. Each letter is as unique as its author, and together they form a rich symphony on the art and craft of being a theologian.