Whether your summer involves a trip to the beach, tiring your kids out at the neighborhood pool, or nights spent on your back porch enjoying the fireflies, chances are you will be cracking a book or two open in the next couple of months. Here is a comprehensive list of book recommendations from our staff. 

We hope you enjoy these books as much as we have!

Books on Current Events

1. The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church At It's Best

by Irwin Ince, Jr.

Racial, ethnic, and ideological differences are tearing our world apart. This disunity is seen in our politics, our family relations, and our churches. In this book, pastor and theologian Irwin Ince unpacks the reasons for our divisions while leading us to our true hope for reconciliation and wholeness which is Christ. To reflect the beautiful community of our triune God, the Gospel prompts us to pursue our own beautiful community where unity exists in the midst of diversity.

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2. The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism

by Jemar Tisby

The Color of Compromise is a painful and compelling account of the history of the American church's perpetuation of unjust ideas and practices. This book isn't meant to promote the blame of white evangelical Christians. Diving into the painful history of the church is meant to promote love and a desire to fight for a racially unified church today.

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3. Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference

by Timothy Keller & John Inazu

How do we as Christians today interact with those around us with radically different beliefs in a way that shows respect and remains faithful to the Gospel? Timothy Keller and John Inazu have brought together illuminating stories from a range of artists, thinkers, and leaders to answer this vital question. These stories provide varied and enlightening approaches on how to faithfully reach across deep and sometimes painful differences.

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Books on Creativity

1. The Arts and the Christian Imagination

by Clyde Kilby

Dr. Clyde Kilby was a champion for the arts particularly among Evangelicals who at the time were suspicious of imagination and aesthetics. In this collection of his essays, Kilby writes reflections on the themes of arts, beauty, and literature, and how each of these relates to each other and Christianity. While the relationship between Evangelicals and the arts is more positive than in the time Kilby was writing his essays, Kilby's work is still powerful today because he demonstrated how the arts can be used to bring glory to God.

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2. Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and the Arts

by Jeram Barrs

We are all surrounded by art, books, music, and movies. However, not many of us can articulate what makes certain books, movies, or songs really resonate with us. In this book, Professor Jeram Barrs provides us with the three key elements for evaluating art. He then demonstrates how to use these qualifications by looking at the works of Lewis, Tolkien, Rowling, Shakespeare, and Austen.

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3. Faithful

by Amy Grant, Ruth Chou Simons, Amanda Bible Williams, et all.

Faithful is a beautiful, eclectic collection of photos, lyrics, and writing from some of the most influential Christian songwriters and authors. This book will guide readers through the stories of women in Scripture and how these stories influence the lives of women today. Through the works in this book, women will be encouraged to recognize their empowerment through the faithfulness of God.

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