With the shelter-in-place that's been in effect during much of 2020 I've spent a lot of time reading. This year I've done something I haven't done in the past. I've been reading a lot of fiction. More specifically, I've been reading books from the Star Wars story. Yes, I enjoy Star Wars so I decided to read some of the books rather than just watching the movies over and over again. What I didn't realize is that there are over 350 of them including young adult, ebooks, etc., and the list keeps growing. I doubt I'll get them all read!
However, I've also been reading non-fiction and thought since we are beginning the second half of the year I would share some of my favorite reads so far this year.
By far, my favorite read (based on the amount of highlighting and margin notes) is Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach by Kenneth Keathley, a theology professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. As the subtitle indicates, this book looks at theology from a Molinist perspective. I found it very interesting as the author looks at the differences between Calvinists, Arminians, and Molinists regarding salvation. He replaces the TULIP approach of Calvinism with a ROSES approach.
I also enjoyed reading Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger Olson, a professor of theology at George W. Truett Seminary. This was probably the most helpful book for understanding Arminian theology that I have found. Olson is very kind to Calvinism but clearly addresses the myths many Calvinists believe about Arminianism.
No year goes by without me reading at least one book by John Maxwell. This year it was The Leader's Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders. This book discusses the importance for leaders to develop other leaders. This is a book that is greatly needed in much of the church world today as we in ministry do not always do a great job of developing leaders in our churches. Of course, it is equally important that all organizations invest in leadership development. This was a good read.
Sometimes in our efforts to help others we actually do them harm. This is the thesis in When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. They emphasize that good intentions are not enough. Churches have to find ways to provide assistance to those needing it without making them dependent upon that assistance. Every church with a ministry to the poor should read this book.
The final book I'll mention is It's Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies by Mary Eberstadt. Most Christian leaders understand that we are facing religious freedom challenges today that we've not seen before in America. The author points out how recent laws and court decisions as well as the attacks on many university campuses towards Christian viewpoints are serious threats to religious freedom. I found this book very enlightening.
I would recommend each of these books to any church leader.
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