This year, we thought it would be fun to share with you some of our Into the Harvest favorite things. Starting with the books that really got us thinking, inspired and excited in 2019. We know many of you have set goals to read more books in the new year, and we humbly suggest you start with some of Andrew and Abigail’s favorites….
Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger
This book draws from Tod’s extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, where he brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory.
He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. If you’re going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools. This book will definitely challenge how you’re doing ministry today.
Andrew was such a fan of this book, he had Tod on the podcast to discuss! You can check out the conversation here.
Letters to the Church by Francis Chan
Speaking of books we’ve talked about before: This book is one Abigail recommended in our “Best of 2019” episode of our podcast. Which you can listen to here. And she still can’t stop talking about it. In fact, if you’re frustrated with how the church just doesn’t seem to fit the descriptions you see in Acts, then this book is for you!
There is a challenge in this book for each of us, and we hope you’ll read it. *hint* it may just be coming up in a future podcast as well! So give it a read so you’ll be ready when we talk about it again.
How (Not) To Be Secular by James Smith
Andrew found this a fascinating read and we think you will too! This book is described as “your hitchhiker’s guide to the present” — it is both a reading guide to Charles Taylor’s monumental work A Secular Age and philosophical guidance on how we might learn to live in our times. And really a great incisive analysis of what it means to live in the post-Christian present.
Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry
Abigail started this book to get a better perspective on how to take on a growing problem in the modern church. In the end she found a great book on sin and finding wholeness in Christ. A book for all of us who are wanting to hone our understanding and explaination of the Gospel. And to once again be reminded what Jesus offers each of us: So much more than a sinful life can provide.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This book may or may not have helped to inspire some of our January series on the podcast. It is stock full of practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. We think you’ll love it as must as we did.
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
See!? We read fiction too! In fact, Abigail is convinced everyone over the age of 5 (that means you!) should read the Chronicles of Narnia. But this year, after re-reading The Last Battle (the last book in the series) again, we think there is so much for us to gain from reading this allegory of Revelations. Written in such a way that even a child can understand it, but so deep that an adult needs to re-read it to get all the spiritual take-aways, we think this book was written for 2020.
