Finally! You’ve finished exams and can take a break from that well-worn copy of The Canterbury Tales, your business ethics textbooks, the notes on the history of nuclear physics, or whatever else you studied this fall.
Now you’re lounging on the couch, taking in the soft glow of Christmas lights, the carols playing in the background, and wondering what to do with yourself. For a few weeks, you create the syllabus. What will you read?
In case you’ve had your nose buried in anatomy drawings all semester, here are a few recent books to feed your heart, mind, and soul through Christmas break.
The Story of God, The Story of Us by Sean Gladding
Sean Gladding has been telling God’s story for ten years. He sets the scene with candles or a fireplace, and if it’s too cold or city-crowded to see real stars, he strings up white Christmas lights. The point is to prepare listeners to hear God’s story, the Bible, the way others have heard it – the way the Israelites remembered their beginnings as God’s people and the early church shared their reasons for following Jesus. It’s Genesis to Revelation told by characters wrestling with questions we still wrestle with, trying to make sense of what God is doing and calls us to do.
Whether read alone or with your family, as an advent reflection or small group preparation, you may just find your own story within these pages.
The Passionate Intellect by Alister McGrath
Studying theology may sound like a dry activity, but Alister McGrath argues that theology is “a passion of the mind,” the result of a longing to learn more about who God is and what our response to Him should be. McGrath’s own excitement is evident when he affirms that theology keeps us salty and rooted. Then we can go on to influence our culture.
If you’re new to studying theology, the first two chapters provide a decent overview of the language and tradition. The rest of the book focuses on how Christian thinking influences the study of natural and social sciences, and what postmodernism and atheism say in response to religion’s role in academia. If you’re a seasoned reader of theology or just dipping your toes in, McGrath’s passion is catching.
Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle by Kent Annan
Are you considering signing up for an Urban Plunge over spring break or a Global Urban Trek next summer? Read this book first. Serving God in the slums should not be romanticized; it is difficult and painful work, and the results can be a long time coming.
As Kent Annan recounts his three years in Haiti, he shows why such a move can be good when made in obedience to God’s call. He shares how his personal struggles with privilege, personal security, and culture-shock shaped his faith. Whether you hope to do a spring break trip or long-term ministry, Annan’s book will help prepare your heart and mind for “dwelling among your neighbors” as Christ did.
Deep Church by Jim Belcher
If you’re a senior or just graduating, one of the hardest transitions to make is finding a new church community. It’s an all-too-common story that disappointment with the church stops people’s attendance altogether.
Jim Belcher examines our disappointments with both the traditional church and emerging church, and he suggests a third way, one that returns to how Jesus called us to live. For any reader struggling with church community, Belcher provides an encouraging vision of what the church can be and of how each of us can contribute to make it better.
Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson
The first two words, “Don’t Panic!” set the tone for the rest of the book. From chocolate to trash, Julie Clawson describes where the things we consume come from and who their production affects. She asks tough questions about how we show love to God’s people and what the Bible says about being made in God’s image.
But her first words are reassuring. Her point isn’t to rack her readers with guilt if they forego fair trade cereal to keep within budget. She acknowledges that one person can’t change everything and can’t change immediately. She does believe our everyday choices can have positive implications and that we can honor God through our consumer habits.
The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright
If your Christmas break is already pretty full, this slim volume on the Lord’s Prayer won’t take long to read, but will leave you with plenty to ponder. Based on a series of sermons, each chapter parses a phrase from the familiar Lord’s Prayer and examines how Jesus’ life and ministry reflected this prayer, and how our life can too. “Our Father” and “Give us our daily bread,” are familiar words, but N.T. Wright’s study will give them greater significance when you pray them in your personal life and in intercession for the global church.
All books, except for N.T. Wright’s The Lord and His Prayer, are available through InterVarsity Press.
