Pastoral Reading Reflections
This is a space for our pastoral staff to reflect on what they are reading. These are not reviews, recommendations, or summaries, but short reflections on books they've read.
The Great Dechurching by Jim Davis and Michael Graham
In the last 25 years, 40M Americans have left the church. It’s the greatest religious movement in the history of the United States. In The Great Dechurching, Jim Davis and Michael…
6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
When two friends whose organizational minds I trust (shout out to PH and EF!) recommend the same book in the same week, I take notice. Now I find people talking…
The Loneliness Epidemic by Susan Mettes
A 2015 BYU study showed that loneliness and social isolation actually shorten your life—as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Relationships (or the lack thereof) affect our physical health!…
Right Color, Wrong Culture by Bryan Loritts
We’re narrative creatures, and sometimes the best way to make a point is by telling a story. Bryan Loritts calls his book Right Color Wrong Culture a ‘Leadership Fable.’ It’s…
Grace Defined and Defended by Kevin DeYoung
The Canons of Dort were written in 1619 in response to the Remonstrance of 1610. Hey, wake up! Did I lose you? Sometimes we have a “present bias” where we…
A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
“I’m sorry.” “It doesn’t make any difference.” These were the two lines that Jeff Green learned to use at age 7 when his mom left. He felt invisible. He didn’t…
Think Again by Adam Grant
Red Sox fans hate Yankee fans. And Yankee fans hate Red Sox fans. How would that change? Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania…
Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson
Just Mercy is heavy. Really heavy. It’s a compelling read—a real page turner—but it’s filled with injustice and brokenness. And that fills my soul with grief. Bryan Stephenson tells the…
Mother to Son by Jasmine Holmes
Jasmine is married to Phil and they have two boys: Wynn and Langston. They’re members at Redeemer. Wynn, now 4, is named after Wynn Kenyon, who was an Elder at…
Telling the Truth by Frederick Buechner
This book is for preachers. Some of you just stopped reading—but may I suggest that we’re all preachers? Martin Luther said we are to preach the gospel to ourselves every…
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Jim Collins’ book Good to Great is a study of what distinguishes successful companies from the rest. For this study, a great company had to beat the market and comparison…
Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
I was first exposed to Jesmyn Ward while sitting under the teaching of Dr. Patrick Alexander and Dr. Otis Pickett (one of our elders). Lecturing in one of the only…
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
“It’s day 45 of quarantine, and I’ve finished Nexflix,” the joke goes. In these days of physical distancing to protect life and flatten the curve, our working, studying, exercising, shopping—and…
Parenting by Paul David Tripp
I believe the gospel; sometimes it just doesn’t show in my parenting. You know what I mean, don’t you? Some days, in my sorority house of 6 girls ages 11-18,…
Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend
“I wish I had read this earlier.” It’s the sentiment of many who read this book. Imagine living with an aging mother who manipulates with guilt, a 9-year-old son who…