Pastoral Notes for Sunday, January 7, 2024

Dear Cornerstone Family,

Every year I publish a list of some of my favorite reads. This year I’m limiting myself to five favorite reads in five different categories: history, culture, literature, theology, and miscellaneous.

Now, when I say, “favorite read,” I don’t mean I agree with everything in the book, nor do I mean you should necessarily read the book. Qoheleth is right, “...of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). Therefore, we all have to make hard decisions every day about what to read, listen to, and watch in the limited time God gives us.

With that in place, if a book below interests you, I’d be happy to talk about it and even help you assess whether it’s worth your time. With no further ado, here are my twenty-five favorite reads of 2023.

History

• The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church by Matthew Barrett

• Presbyterians and American Culture: A History by Bradley Longfield

• The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Steven Runciman

• Dreams of El Dorado: History of the American West by H.W. Brands

• The Rest is History: From Ancient Rome to Ronald Reagan by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook

Culture

• Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post Christian West by Andrew Wilson

• Generations: The Real Difference Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents––and What That Means for The Future of

  America by Jean Twenge

• Them: Why We Hate Each Other and How to Heal by Ben Sasse

• Nostalgia: Home in a Homeless World by Anthony Esolen

• The Courage to be Protestant by David Wells

Literature
• The River Why by James David Duncan
• A Place in Time: Twenty Stories of the Port William Membership by Wendell Berry

• Many Dimensions by Charles Williams
• Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott
• Watership Down by Richard Adams

Bible/Theology
• In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul by Richard Gaffin
• Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Practice ed. by Chad Van Dixhoorn
• Prophets and Hermeneutics: Toward a New Introduction of the Prophets by Christopher R. Seitz
• Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture by Christopher Watkin

• The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus our Shepherd, Companion, and Host by David Gibson

Miscellaneous
• Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Colin Hansen
• Devotions: Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver
• Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
• How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key

• Will the Circle Be Unbroken by Sean Dietrich

What was your favorite read this year?

Your servant,