Top 20 Religious Books of 2015 - My Selections


For the past several years I have named a Best Book and then the remaining ten or so that I thought were worthy of top billing.  This year I'm doing it a bit differently.  I'm laying out my top twenty books (all religious) that I read and were published during 2015. Most of these books were provided to me by the publisher for review. To them I give thanks.  Several of them especially challenged my thinking on matters theologically. Perhaps none more so than Grace Ji-Sun Kim's Embracing the Other.  Each book, however, is worth reading closely.  For each book you can follow the link to the original review.   I realize there are many other great books out there that I didn't read, but here is my list -- Alphabetically:





1.  Jeanne Bishop. Change of Heart: Justice, Peace, and Making Peace with My Sister's Killer. (Westminster John Knox Press)

2. Walter Brueggemann. Chosen? Reading the Bible Amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. (Westminster John Knox Press).

3. Diana Butler Bass. Grounded: Finding God in the World -- A Spiritual Revolution. (Harper One).

4. Eric Elnes. Gifts of the Dark Wood: Seven Blessings for Soulful Skeptics (and other Wanderers). (Abingdon Press).

5. Josh Graves. How Not to Kill a Muslim: A Manifesto of Hope for Christianity and Islam in North America. (Cascade Books).
 
6. Mike Graves. The Story of Narrative Preaching: Experience and Exposition. A Narrative. (Cascade Books).

7. Stanley Hauerwas. The Work of Theology. (Wm. B. Eerdmans).

8. Ronald Higdon. In Changing Times: A Guide for Reflection and Conversation. (Energion Publications).
Note:  I edited the series in which Ron's book appears (the Academy of Parish Clergy's Guides to Practical Ministry). While I didn't write a review, I highly recommend this book that was targeted for interim ministers, but has a much wider application.

9. Sandhya Rani Jha. Pre-Post-Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines. (Chalice Press.

10. Grace Ji-Sun Kim. Embracing the Other: The Transformative Spirit of Love (Wm. B. Eerdmans).

11. Frits de Lange. Loving Later Life: An Ethics of Aging.  (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).

12. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre. A Faithful Farewell: Living Your Last Chapter with Love. (Wm. Be. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

13. Ruth A. Meyers. Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission: Gathering as God's People, Going out in God's Name. (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).  

14. Otis Moss III. Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair. (Westminster John Knox Press).

15. Thomas Jay Oord. Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence. (IVP Academic).

16. Amy Plantinga Pauw. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible). (Westminster John Knox Press.

17. Leah Payne. Gender and Pentecostal Revivalism: Making a Female Ministry in the Early Twentieth Century (Christianity and Renewal - Interdisciplinary Studies). (Macmillan Palgrave).

18. William H. Willimon. How Odd of God: Chosen for the Curious Vocation of Preaching. (Westminster John Knox Press).

19. Norman Wirzba. From Nature to Creation: A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World. (Baker Academic).

20. Nicholas Wolterstorff. The God We Worship: An Exploration of Liturgical Theology. (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).











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