5 Books that Impacted Me In 2019

I love to read. I also love to recommend books for others to read. Having said that, I am giving you a "Top 5" list of books that impacted me in 2019. These books weren't necessarily written in 2019, but books I read throughout the year.

I also want to give a disclaimer: I don't have to believe everything someone writes to be impacted by him or her. In fact, many of the books I have read over the years that moved me deeply were books that I fundamentally disagreed with. That is what I love about reading and learning. It has given me the ability to hear things that challenge me, causing me to reach deep inside myself and figure out what I believe and why. 

So I don't espouse everything in the books below. Some of them have confirmed things I have already believed, pushed me deeper in areas I haven't considered, and some have caused me to re-evaluate long held positions as I think through very important topics of faith, church, and Christianity. 

Without further wait, here is the list (in no particular order). Also, if you are interested in the books mentioned below, just click on each image for a link on where to buy them. 

Richard Hodges

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1. Letters to the Church - Francis Chan

SUMMARY:
God’s Church started as a radical, spiritually intimate gathering of believers that ultimately changed history. Yet millions today are content to be mere observers at church. Many more have left, brokenhearted and cynical. But God is waking up His people—people who will risk anything and sacrifice everything to be the dynamic, world-changing Church of Scripture.
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MY TAKE:
The overall question that frames the book and challenges readers is, “What does God want for His Church? When Jesus returns, will He find us caring for His Bride—even more than for our own lives?” I was very convicted by the question personally and as a Pastor. When I look at my life and the life of the church, it seems that we have drifted to preference rather than mission. It is easy to care more about production than it is about people.

​Chan has had people go through the thought experiment of being stranded/growing up on an island, cut off from everything, and the only book you have is the Bible. For years you read it and study it until one day you are rescued. Upon your rescue you are brought to civilization, and introduced to the church, but you fail to recognize it because it looks nothing like the church of the New Testament. 

Before you give a hearty "amen," consider that this has nothing to do with music, lights, seating, etc. Chan's argument is that we have missed the point on much bigger issues like loving one another, discipleship, and sacrifice for the mission. 

​So, if you want to explore some hard-hitting subjects and have a heart check for your faith, you definitely don't want to miss this one. 

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2. Irresistible - Andy STanley

SUMMARY: 
Once upon a time there was a version of our faith that was practically . . . irresistible. But that was then. Today we preach, teach, write, and communicate as if nothing has changed.  As if “The Bible says it,” still settles it.

It’s time to hit pause on much of what we’re doing and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and humanly speaking, little chance of survival.

What did they know that we don’t? What made their faith so compelling, so defensible, so irresistible? More importantly, Andy will invite you to embrace the version of faith that, against all odds, initiated a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. A version we must embrace if we are to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.

MY TAKE: 
I have always been a fan of Stanley's writing, but when the circus started with the reviews on this book I had to read it. Stanley claims that we must "unhitch" our faith from the Old Testament, and with that conclusion, the sparks in the theological circles began to fly. And I, for one, didn't like the sound of it. 

​After purchasing the book and making my way through it, I found little to disagree with. When given the chance to draw out his thoughts, Stanley's conclusion was spot on: Christians were given one command by Jesus, to love one another. That's it. Everything about God's will can be summed up in looking at how Jesus loved us sacrificially, and then giving us the marching orders to go and do likewise with one another. He also concludes that too often we reach back into the Old Testament and try to justify a belief, a doctrine, a political cause, etc, and when we do, we distort the pure and powerful idea that Jesus Christ walked out of the grave on the third day and changed the course of the entire world! 

I have in no way adequately described the book, but if you want to settle in for a long read that will help you unpack a ton of issues in a very reachable and thoughtful way, this one is for you. 

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3. Searching for SundaY - Rachel Held Evans

SUMMARY:
Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals--church culture seemed so far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing her back to Church. So she set out on a journey to understand Church and to find her place in it.

MY TAKE: 
Until her recent death, I had never read anything from RHE. Big mistake on my part! In 2019 I plowed through three of her books, and honestly, any of them could have made this list. 

​The honesty and realness and rawness of her conversation with the reader draws you in. The things she struggled with, the things that have brought her pain and hurt are the same things I have struggled with and continue to do so. While she might have reached some different conclusions than I have, I was challenged by her view of the church, and the love she has for what it can be and should be. 

If you have ever struggled with the things mentioned in the summary, this one is a must read. 

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4. The Blue Parakeet - Scot McKnight

SUMMARY:
Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it.

In The Blue Parakeet, McKnight again touches the hearts and minds of today’s Christians, this time challenging them to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic theology but to see it as a Story that we’re summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.

MY TAKE: 
Let me start by saying this: If Scot McKnight writes it, you should read it. End of discussion. 

​As someone who sees the Bible narratively rather than systematically, this was a home run! If you aren't sure what either of those terms mean, don't worry, the book is still very accessible to everyone. 

People have struggled with reading the Bible since it has been written. McKnight unpacks a view of the Bible that allows us to engage with it in real ways that challenge us and the world around us. 

I know his conclusions are controversial to some, but I think he hits it out of the park with this one. I would highly recommend it to anyone holding a Bible and wondering what to do with it, and to anyone wondering what an ancient book has to do with a modern world. 

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5. Everybody Always - Bob Goff

SUMMARY: 
In his entertaining and inspiring follow-up to the New York Times bestselling phenomenon Love Does, Bob Goff takes readers on a journey into the secret of living without fear, constraint, or worry.

The path toward the liberated existence we all long for is found in a truth as simple to say as it is hard to do: love people, even the difficult ones, without distinction and without limits.

MY TAKE: 
It's Bob Goff, so READ IT! Serious life-changer!

The premise of the book is Love everybody, and love always. Sounds simple enough, but that is a difficult and daunting task. Bob tells story after story of what that kind of love looks like in this world, and it honestly shakes you up! The stories are real and impactful, and they cause you to think about what your life, the lives of those around you, and the life of your church would look like if we took love seriously. 

After reading the book, I wanted to hear more stories. Bob is a master storyteller. But I realized that the best thing I could do, even better than reading another chapter and listening to another story, would be to go and love everybody, always.

Also, Bob publishes his cell phone number in the book and invites people to call him and chat. So Jacob and I did just that; we called and he answered. If you want to see the video of that, just let me know and I will sent it to you (seriously). 

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Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments below what you thought of them. Also, let me know what you top 5 are! I am always looking for good books to read.