Summer Reading
Summer is nearly upon us, and that means (hopefully) time for extra reading. The RCL staff team wanted to share recommendations for summer reading: books we especially enjoy and think are important for your spiritual formation.
Below you’ll find our list of recommendations, as well as a few sentences from each staff member about why they’re recommending these books. Happy reading!
My recommendations:
A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. This short and highly readable book is one of the best I’ve ever read on what it means to live as a Christian.
Living Into Community by Christine Pohl. I reread this book recently with RCL’s Gotham cohort and was impressed again by how practical, biblical, and counter-cultural Dr Pohl’s insights are. If you’re looking for a book to deepen your experience of and participation in community, this is a great place to start.
African Pearl by Pamela Brown-Peterside. Dr Brown-Peterside has been a friend and mentor to both my wife and me. Thus, it was a moving experience to read this spiritual memoir about her life and work in western Uganda. In this memoir she tells a story of loss, redemption, and the wonders of grace, all amidst devastating public health crises.
Maryane Mwaniki recommends:
Redeeming Your Time by Jordan Raynor. This book provides a set of practical and Bible-centred principles to help people create balance and purpose in their busy lives. Summer is typically the time people use to refresh and recuperate. This book will be a helpful tool for evaluating and refreshing one’s current rhythms and habits.
Now That’s a Good Question by RC Sproul. Both new believers and those mature in the faith will find this book a solid resource for exploring challenging questions of life and faith. The book answers over 300 challenging questions about doctrinal points and contemporary issues.
Luke Hamilton recommends:
London’s Hidden Walks (three volumes) by Stephen Millar. At RCL we are seeking the renewal of London, a beautiful city with more than 2,000 years of history. These walking guides are full of stories, history, and facts about the incredible city we get to call home. In using these books as I’ve walked across London, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of what has gone before, how the church has played a pivotal role in the city over hundreds of years, and the cultural makeup of different parts of London today. As we grow in knowing the history and context of our city, we’re better placed to reach and serve those in London as we hope to see the city become more than just an influence in the financial, art and political arenas, but also a city of influence for Jesus.
The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield. A repeated phrase in this book is radically ordinary: one radical thing Christians can do is to simply obey the ordinary biblical call to show hospitality to strangers. In a city like London we are surrounded by people every day, from those that live in the same building to those we share an office with. In this book, Rosaria inspires us to practise hospitality as a way of showing an often lonely and skeptical city what love and authentic faith looks like. God uses ordinary, everyday hospitality for his extraordinary purposes.
Edward Smith recommends:
Knowing God by JI Packer. Jim Packer went to be with the Lord in the summer of 2020, and his passing pushed me to read his seminal work which had been sitting on my bookshelf for some time. Within the first few pages, I understood why this book had become a classic. Packer’s main emphasis is to exhort readers into the study of God, recognising that we do ourselves a great disservice by neglecting the study of the nature, the person, and the character of God and his word.
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This classic is a relatively short allegory following the journey of “Christian” from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, with a host of accompanying characters along the way. Mainly I recommend reading Pilgrim’s Progress because it is a vivid, beautiful, and relatable portrayal of every Christian’s spiritual journey: there are moments of doubt, of fear, of failings, and moments of hope, joy, victories, and triumphs.
PS: it works well as an audiobook!
George Style recommends:
The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders. This book examines the centrality of the Trinity in our salvation and the Trinity’s presence in the reading of the Bible and prayer. It’s wonderfully written, filled with rich imagery, vivid illustrations, and persuasive arguments.
Telling a Better Story by Joshua Chatraw. This book is an imaginative and creative resource aimed at helping Christians effectively share their faith. There are touch points that are common in human experience, and this book shows you how to identify what those common touch points are, as well as how to connect them to the Christian story, showing how Jesus is the better answer to the heart’s deepest questions and longings.
