Some quick notes from ten books I enjoyed or were impacted by in 2024. This doesn’t have any particular order.

The Scandal of the Kingdom by Dallas Willard. Anything new from the “vault” of Dallas Willard is going to be refreshing. I miss his voice and I am grateful for his family carrying on his legacy. What a gift to the Church!

Ghosted by Nancy French is powerful, moving, hilarious at points, and so needed in our day. She peels back the thin veneer of “godly” people and shows the deep anger and nastiness of a Christian “culture” that is rotting the core of American Christianity.

Demon by Tosca Lee was surprising and enthralling.

King by Jonathan Eig is thorough and moving and a needed addition to the King pantheon of biographies. I needed the reminder of the depth of this man.

Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh refreshed me. Bonhoeffer is far more complicated than the “hero” we make of him. His ability to think through difficult ideas in a time of chaos is needed in our time.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell was a fiction book that I was surprised I stayed with, as I don’t like “complicated” novels as a rule. I’m a Baldacci kind of guy. But this one… WOW. It was moving, drawing parallels with world history and projecting it into the future and getting me to think about exploration and exploitation and how religion plays a part. Its tragic ending had me deeply moved.

The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler held my attention and drew me in by her ability to look ahead in our culture and write of things back in the 90s that we feel in 2024.

Jesus and the Powers by NT Wright and Michael Bird was a book we used in a book group at our church as we tried to prepare for the election year. Our discussion was great and Wright and Bird set the theological background we need in times like these.

The Spirit of Our Politics by Michael Wear was also a book group study and I liked his use of Dallas Willard and spiritual disciplines to be the corrective for our current spiritual state in the American Church. It challenged our small group in a different way.

The Great Divorce by CS Lewis was a re-read and it was a healing balm to me as I think about eternity and salvation and the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.