Yesterday I shared some of my favorite reads of 2020. Today I want to share my top five books for the year.
5. Side Door: How to Open Your Church to Reach More People was written by Charles Arn. For years churches focused on inviting people to their worship services. Some today refer to that as front-door evangelism. Although that remains the primary (or only) outreach tool used by many churches, it is obviously not as effective as it was in the middle of the twentieth century. Side-door evangelism has been found to be much more effective. A side door is any activity designed to bring people together and help develop relationships between churched and unchurched individuals. I have heard of churches with over 200 such groups meeting on a regular basis, and through those side-doors have been able to reach many people for the Kingdom of God. While these are obviously larger churches, any size church can use this same concept. The key is to identify things people are interested in and persons to lead the groups. Arn does a very good job of laying out exactly how to plan and organize side-door ministries in a church.
4. Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age by David Platt addresses the problem of how the church can best respond to the cultural changes that surround us. Platt looks at some of the issues facing society and the church such as abortion, same-sex marriage, sex slavery, poverty, racism and others and offers a Christian response to each of them. He points out that it is not enough to just take a stand opposing the things we think is wrong, but the church must actively work to correct these injustices. He writes, "It is not possible to love the poor and live in unabated luxury. It is not possible to care for the orphan and the widow without major implications for the makeup of your family. It is not possible to confess gospel convictions about marriage and sexuality without being criticized, It is not possible to profess gospel truth at all and remain popular among all." Like Jesus, he reminds us that we must count the cost if we are to counter the culture around us. This is not a comfortable book to read, but it is an important one.
3. The Leader's Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders was written by John Maxwell. In all the years I've published my top books of the year I don't think a year has gone by without at least one by Maxwell. For me, this was one of his best. The question is asked in the flyleaf, "After leaders have invested in their own leadership growth, what is the best way to accomplish their vision and grow their organizations? Develop leaders!" Growing leaders must be part of the focus of every pastor. Too often as a denominational minister I saw good churches fall apart after a long-term pastor left because there was no one there qualified to fill the leadership vacuum. Maxwell does a masterful job of describing how to identify potential leaders and then mentor them to grow their leadership skills. I really enjoyed this book and found it quite helpful.
2. Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach was written by Kenneth Keathley, professor of Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This book looks at salvation and sovereignty through the lens of Molinism, a doctrine first identified in the 1500s. This view of scripture believes in a strong notion of God's control and an equally firm belief in human freedom. The author explains, "Molinism teaches that God exercises His sovereignty primarily through His omniscience, and that He infallibly knows what free creatures would do in any given situation. In this way God sovereignly controls all things, while humans are also genuinely free. God is able to accomplish His will through the use of what Molinists label His middle knowledge." Christian philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig are Molinists. It is a theological perspective I find interesting and plan to explore it in more detail in the coming year.
1. Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities was written by Roger Olson. I find that many theological books are written by Calvinists. Far fewer are written from the Arminian perspective. This may be one of the best. Olson is a professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The author writes that "This book is for two kinds of people: (1) those who do not know Arminian theology but want to, and (2) those who think they know about Arminianism but really don't." I regret I had not read this book earlier in my ministry because I learned more about what Arminians believe than I had learned throughout my ministry. Whether you are Arminian in your beliefs, Calvinist, or Molinist, this is a must-read book for anyone who wants to better understand theological thinking.
This concludes my annual top-ten reads for 2020. I must say that there were many others I read this year that almost made the list. I should give honorable mention to How to Reach the West Again: Six Essential Elements of a Missionary Encounter by Timothy Keller, One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love by John Perkins, You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church . . . and Rethinking Faith by David Kinnaman, and It's Dangerous to Believe: Religious Freedom and Its Enemies by Mary Eberstadt. If you are putting together a reading list for this year you may want to give these careful consideration.
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