Confession time: summer is my least favorite season. I don’t have much use for the heat. Working up a sweat just sitting down is unappealing to say the least. I have even less use for the beach. Sand is just nature’s glitter, getting everywhere and never washing out.
But there’s one thing I love about summer. The slower pace and traveling that often comes with summer is a great time for reading and I love recommending books. You haven’t asked me for book recommendations but, if you did, here are a few that I’ve read this year and heartily suggest to you.
You Are What You Love by James K. A. Smith – Have you ever wondered why you do the things you do? Smith tries to answer that question with a question. What do you love? No, I mean what do you really love? Each of us was made to worship, to give our life in love and devotion to something or someone beyond ourselves. Work, family, friends, God, all these things count. This act of self-giving is worship and we worship what we love. This is a fantastic work about worship, examining the idolatries of our own hearts and how a deeper love for God can shape everything we do.
The King Years by Taylor Branch – I’ve come to realize over the past year that there’s so much I don’t know about the Civil Rights Movement. The movement was important in American history, calling us to live up to the claim that all of us are created equal. However, it’s also profoundly important in American Christian history, as Christians struggled to bear witness to the love of God by loving their neighbors in the face of intense hatred. This book is a shorter work based on Branch’s magnificent (but much longer) trilogy on Martin Luther King, Jr. Parts of this book horrified me; parts of it inspired me. All of it helped me. I hope it will do the same for you.
On Being Presbyterian* by Sean Michael Lucas – This book saved my bacon as I was preparing for ordination exams. I know – the title makes it sound like this is going to be a dry textbook and telling you I used it for exam prep doesn’t help. But it’s far from a bore! Lucas does a fantastic job of discussing Presbyterian beliefs, practices, and history in a way that is concise and engaging. This book is a wonderful overview of who we are and where we came from. I’d love to get this book in the hands of every Presbyterian I know.
Hopefully that gets you started. Whether you read one of these, one of Pastor Don’s recommendations, or something else altogether, I hope you’ll find time for a good book this summer. If you do, be sure to let me know. I’m always looking for recommendations!
In Him,
Tom
*indicates book is available in the church library