But it’s an art worth reviving, even if it means retraining our attention spans. Books can transport you to different worlds and give you new perspective of your own. They can teach you more about God and what it looks like to live out your faith.

Don’t believe us? Check out these titles. The following selections are perfect for the next time you want to explore a new world or perspective on life. You’ll thank us later.

The Face of Water: A Translator on Beauty and Meaning in the Bible
Sarah Ruden

Sarah Ruden is not a biblical scholar, but a Quaker and an expert on ancient languages who has been translating portions of Scripture from Hebrew and Greek. In her translation work, she finds that we are losing a significant amount of the beauty and the tone of the original texts. Ruden selects three down passages from the biblical texts and explores how reading these passages in the original languages breathes new and fresh life into her reading of them.  The Face of Water is a meaty work that will delight both those who are fascinated by language, and those who care deeply about the Bible and how we read and interpret it.

Exit West: A Novel
Mohsin Hamid

Saeed and Nadia fall in love in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, a nation which soon thereafter erupts in civil war. As the war closes in around them, they find a way out, following in the footsteps of many refugees that are headed to Europe. Mohsin Hamid writes with clean, spare prose, narrating the story, but never accentuating its drama. Saeed and Nadia follow the route of many refugees, from their home country to the Greek island of Mykonos, to London, to the United States.

It is a harrowing journey, no doubt, with perils looming every step of the way, and yet in the middle of the almost unbearable life of a migrant, Hamid gives us moments of extraordinary beauty: a Mediterranean breeze that wafts through their hair, the strains of a favorite song downloaded to a phone. Exit West not only gives Western readers a peek into refugee life, it poignantly reminds us that migrant people are human beings, with the sorts of hopes and longings that are common to us all.

Mohsin Hamid delicately works against the anti-immigrant politics of our day that would reduce refugees to intruders who should be kept out. Instead, as he brings Saeed and Nadia to life before us, we find that despite the hell that they have been through, they are not so different from us.

Movies are Prayers: How Films Voice our Deepest Longings
Josh Larsen

There is a great temptation in our day to simply watch movies or television as amusement – that is, as a distraction that we don’t think much about. Film critic Josh Larsen isn’t opposed to enjoying films, but in this new book, he encourages us to reflect carefully on them and consider what they reveal to us about God and about our identity as humans created in the image of God.

Larsen provides us with 10 different categories of prayer that scenes in movies can evoke for us (praise, lament, confession, and reconciliation, to name a few), and illustrates these sorts of prayers by reflecting on more than 100 films. Movies are Prayers is an delightful and important book that shows us a particular way in which we can encounter God prayerfully in our everyday lives. Although Larsen’s focus here is on film, the language of prayer that he introduces also could easily translate to music, television, video games, or even books.

To consider the ways in which watching movies can be a form of prayer, as Larsen invites us to do, stirs our imaginations about the possibilities of what it could mean to live a life full of prayer, or in the words of the Apostle Paul, to pray without ceasing.

The Light Is Winning: Why Religion Just Might Bring Us Back to Life
Zach Hoag

Zach Hoag offers us a unique mix of memoir and cultural commentary in The Light is Winning.   By telling the story of his own faith journey, which began when his family moved from Florida to Texas to join a cult, Hoag illuminates the challenges and opportunities that faces American Christianity today. Although Hoag gradually distanced himself from his family’s rather toxic faith, he has not given up on religion.

Instead, he makes the case here that religion is what we need in the 21st century to lead us deeper in the sort of flourishing that God intends for humanity. The Light is Winning is an immensely hopeful book, but the hope we find in its pages is not cheap, but rather one that calls us to repent and be changed, transformed by the light of Christ.

The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone
Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach

An utterly fascinating and unsettling book, The Knowledge Illusion shows us how everything we know is bound together with knowledge of others. Sloman and Fernbach break down many of our assumptions about science, how we think and how we know anything at all about the world in which we live. Despite the wide-scale deconstruction, the authors are upbeat.

The illusion, the authors note, is that we don’t know as much as we think we do. But this humbling realization is not necessarily a bad thing. Living under this illusion bolsters our confidence and energizes us to discover new ideas and new connections. The first half of the book explores in detail our best contemporary understanding of how human thinking and knowing works.

The latter half sketches the implications of this understanding of knowledge for science, politics and how we can become smarter as a culture.  The authors don’t spend much time talking about faith and knowledge, but many of their conclusions seem immensely helpful for the work we do in our churches of interpreting scripture, thinking theologically and discerning how we are to live faithfully together as communities of Christ’s followers.

Anyone engaged in the work of nurturing healthy and flourishing communities will ultimately have to wrestle with the questions posed in this book. Sloman and Fernbach help us to do so gracefully, acknowledging the truth of how little we know, and finding hope in this precarious situation. 

Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor
Liz Theoharis

Jesus’ words, “The poor you will always have with you” are often taken as a license to not care for our neighbors in poverty. In this new book, Liz Theoharis, an ordained Presbyterian minister who has spent the last two decades working and organizing among the poor, helps us understand the context in which Jesus spoke these words, what he meant by them and what it all means for us in North America today.

Over the last decade, Christians have become more attentive to the dynamics of their faith in matters like race and immigration, but conversations about economic class have been less prominent in churches. Always With Us? offers us the invitation to reflect on the relationship of our Christian faith and poverty. Specifically, Theoharis emphasizes that Jesus Himself was poor, and she asks what it might mean for us in the affluent West to take Jesus’ economic status seriously.

With a rich mix of contemporary stories and biblical reflection, Always With Us? is sure to challenge our assumptions and stretch our imaginations about what it means to love our neighbors who are in poverty.

The Leavers: A Novel
Lisa Ko

The Leavers is the story of Deming Guo, the young son of an undocumented Chinese immigrant mother in New York City. One day his mother Polly goes to work and never comes home, seemingly vanishing off the face of the earth. Deming is eventually adopted by two white professors in upstate New York, but the dissonance of this new world in contrast to the Chinese community in which he spent his earliest years is unsettling for him, and he flounders through delinquency as a young adult.

Polly eventually resurfaces, and Ko reveals what has happened to her, and interweaves her story with that of her son. The Leavers, Ko’s debut novel, is a strikingly timely work that illuminates the challenges and fragility of the immigrant experience in the United States. Ko’s writing is crisp and her characters brilliantly reflect the good and the brokenness of our human existence.  

Borne: A Novel
Jeff VanderMeer

Set in a dystopian world of the not-too-distant future where biotech firms run amok, Borne is a gripping sci-fi novel. While out scavenging the city, Rachel, the book’s protagonist finds Borne, a creature that captivates her although she doesn’t know even whether it is plant or animal. Borne grows, and Rachel maintains her fascination, even when it throws her life and well-being into jeopardy.

Through this vividly crafted future world, Jeff VanderMeer unveils the tenuousness of our own world and the sorts of stability we find in this shifting world as we reach out to know and be known by our fellow creatures.

Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions
Casey Tygrett

Casey Tygrett is a pastor from Illinois who has always been a curious person. In this book, he invites us into habits of curiosity. Building on the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ own curiosity and the questions that He asked His disciples and others, Tygrett describes a life of discipleship in which we are always asking questions and always learning.

Becoming Curious is wonderfully refreshing, especially for those who feel that modern Christianity has too many answers and not enough questions. This is an important book that will turn many of our deepest convictions on their heads, and if we take it seriously, it will radically transform the way in which we live out our faith from day to day.

But you know how it goes. Genesis and Exodus go pretty well. Leviticus and Numbers are a little more difficult, but you power through. But then by the time you hit Deuteronomy, you’re starting to wonder if you’re really cut out to read the Bible all the way through in a single year, and it’s not even March yet. You decide to try Infinite Jest again instead. 

That’s understandable. Contrary to popular belief, the Bible is a complicated book. We take classes on how to read Shakespeare and Dickinson — it’s not surprising that reading the Bible might take a little extra effort too. But one thing that might be tripping up your Bible reading has less to do with the content itself than the way we approach the content. It’s a way of reading the Bible through a collectivist lens — something that would have been second nature to the Bible’s original audience but is utterly foreign to most contemporary Americans. But if we can learn how to shift our perspective away from individualism and see the Bible through collectivist eyes, we might not only find a richer understanding of the Bible, but a healthier overall spiritual life too. 

That’s the theory of Dr. Randy Richards, provost at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He co-authored Misreading the Bible With Individualist Eyes, which applies his years of experience and research towards helping Western Christians understand some of their own internal biases that shift the original meaning of some significant biblical teachings. 

“The Bible really matters,” Richards says. “It is the Word of God, and it needs to have authority over our lives. If that’s true then I need to read it better. And since it was written by collectivists to collectivists, then understanding collectivism better will help me to read the Bible better.” 

“It doesn’t mean I turn into a collectivist,” Richards continues. “But I do want to try to read The Bible well.”

Richards is an avuncular man, a born professor with a knack for illustrating complex ideas with metaphors and stories. He’s generous too. He doesn’t want people to think he’s “bashing” the idea of the West, which he says is a “gift” to the Church in many ways. But he says there are “certain things we would understand better” if we could learn to use a collectivist approach to the Bible. 

Individualism

“I have a friend who said the easiest way to find out if you’re a collectivist is to answer the question: Would you allow your parents to arrange your marriage? If the answer is no, you’re an individualist.”

Richards says the U.S. and Great Britain are so individualistic in nature that “we make the rest of the individualist cultures look collectivist” in comparison. 

Richards says another way to tell you’re an individualist is to think about how you tell people about yourself. Most Americans start off with whatever’s unique about themselves: their job, their hobbies and interests. 

“But Collectivists will talk about what group they’re a part of,” Richards says. “For example: ‘I’m the son of so and so, and the son of so and so. I’m from this clan and I’m part of this major group.’ Things that aren’t ever going to change.”

As an example, Richards talks about a time when he was in Asia, addressing a group of college students. He wanted to tell them to “toughen up” but realized that their culture not only had no word for that idea, but no real interest in it. Conversely, being “tough” or having “grit” is seen as a moral value in the U.S.

Richards says that having an individualistic context actually can be helpful for understanding certain parts of the Bible, especially when it comes to deeply personal concepts like forgiveness. But in other ways, hyper-individualism distorts some of the original intentions. 

Collectivism

“We use metaphors to illustrate things, but collectivists use them to explain things,” Richards says. “Jesus uses parables not to illustrate some point he made. It was his point.”

This is where the lens of collectivism can help readers understand the Bible and their relationship with God in a bigger way. Richards says that while we tend to approach parables looking for a personal takeaway, the writers of the Bible aren’t trying to tease out a metaphor. They’re referring to cultural moments that would have been widely understood. 

As an example, Richards refers to Jesus’ words in John 17, when he tells the disciples “I no longer call you slaves, I call you friends.” 

“We think, ‘Oh, isn’t that sweet? Jesus is my friend. He’s the old buddy from out of town that I pat on the back,’ Richards says. “But ‘friend’ meant a lot of things in the ancient world. Almost never ‘your best buddy.’”

Instead, Richards says that the disciples would have understood “friend” in a much different way. “It’s a lopsided friendship,” Richards says. The idea of moving from “slave” to “friend” was common in the ancient world. When masters freed slaves, the slaves would often remain in the family as a “freedman.” 

“They just had a new relationship in the family. They were now a freedman — that’s what Jesus was referring to — but we misunderstand it because we read the term through our individualistic sense of, ‘He’s my friend.’” Richards says a better english word might be “client” or even “patron.” 

“They were expected to be grateful and they were expected to be loyal,” Richards says of freedmen. “That’s why, every morning, I should be at this friend’s door, asking what he needs of me. It’s that kind of relationship.”

This idea of long term loyalty isn’t just unusual in our individualistic culture — it flies in the face of our notion of things like freedom and liberty. But in a collectivist culture, being freed into a new understanding of servanthood makes sense. 

“I was in a conference in Beirut of Middle Easterners and Westerners,” Richards says. “And it was on this idea of patronage or being a patron in the Bible. The Westerners always talked about patronage negatively, and the Middle Easterners always talked about it positively. The Westerners wanted to figure out: How do we, as Christians, get rid of it? And the Middle Easterners were asking: How, as Christians, do we use it? It was fascinating. But Paul was using those terms to indicate what our relationship to God is like.” 

New Eyes

As more and more people immigrate to the U.S., collectivism will become a bigger part of the American identity. And while the Americans aren’t always known for humility in the presence of other cultures, Richards says the American Church has a lot to learn from the growing number of collectivists sitting in its pews. “If we’re going to be good neighbors, we need to understand them,” he says. “We don’t need to expect them to turn into us. We don’t turn into them, either. But we need to try to understand them.”

“We want to try to understand and value and treasure the parts they bring to us,” he continues. “The Lord’s table has plenty of room for all of us.”

This is key to understanding Richards’ point. He doesn’t expect people to become collectivists, or even to read the Bible exclusively as a collectivist document. He just thinks American Christians should learn to use collectivism as another lens to use for their Bible reading. 

“The idea is if we can read the text better, then we can understand The Bible better, and we can become better followers of Jesus,” Richards says, “which is the ultimate goal.”

So when you tackle your Bible reading plan and you’re finding it all getting a little stale, consider a new perspective. It won’t change what you’re reading, but it might just change what it does to your spiritual life.

Here’s why each book is a must-read.

1. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy offers a powerful and moving account of his experience as a lawyer working to challenge the death penalty and fight for justice in a flawed legal system. This book shines a light on the racism and injustice that pervades the American legal system and advocates for mercy and compassion over retribution. Its importance lies in its ability to humanize those caught in the system and to inspire action towards justice reform.

2. Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Howard Thurman’s seminal work explores the gospel from the perspective of the oppressed. Thurman delves into how Jesus’ teachings can be a source of liberation for those living under the weight of discrimination and poverty. This book is crucial for understanding the role of faith in the struggle against injustice and offers a profound spiritual foundation for social activism.

3. The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone

James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree draws a compelling parallel between the crucifixion of Jesus and the lynching of Black people in America. Cone argues that understanding the cross through the experience of lynching can lead to a more profound grasp of Black suffering and, ultimately, a deeper understanding of the gospel. This book is important for its historical context and theological depth, challenging readers to reflect on the intersections of faith, race, and violence.

4. Roadmap to Reconciliation by Brenda Salter McNeil

In Roadmap to Reconciliation, Brenda Salter McNeil provides a practical guide to achieving reconciliation in communities divided by race and ethnicity. This book lays out a clear, actionable plan for individuals and organizations seeking to build bridges and create more inclusive environments. It’s vital for its hands-on approach to dismantling barriers and fostering genuine understanding and unity.

5. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith

Divided by Faith critically examines the racial divide within American evangelicalism, highlighting how certain theological and cultural perspectives perpetuate racial segregation and inequality. This insightful analysis is essential for understanding the complexities of race within the context of American evangelical religion and offers a way forward through awareness and dialogue.

6. Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus by Reggie L. Williams

Reggie L. Williams’ Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus explores the influence of Harlem’s Black church on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. Williams details how Bonhoeffer’s exposure to Black spirituality and the struggles against oppression shaped his theological outlook and resistance against injustice. This book is important for highlighting the global connections in the fight against tyranny and the role of faith in social and political activism.

7. God’s Trombones by James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson’s God’s Trombones is a collection of sermons in verse inspired by the traditional African American religious oratory. These poetic sermons capture the rhythm, fervor, and passion of Black preaching, offering a window into the spiritual life and resilience of Black communities. This book is a celebration of cultural expression and an important testament to the power of faith and oratory in the African American experience.

8. Too Heavy a Yoke by Chanequa Walker-Barnes

Chanequa Walker-Barnes’ Too Heavy a Yoke tackles the issue of Black women’s mental health and the impact of the “strong Black woman” stereotype. Through a blend of psychological and theological analysis, Walker-Barnes offers insights into the pressures faced by Black women and the path to healing and liberation. This book is crucial for its focus on an often-overlooked aspect of racial and gendered experience, promoting a more nuanced understanding of Black women’s lives.

And if you ask Rainn Wilson, he’d say a “spiritual revolution.”

“Things are falling apart in our world. From our political climate, to racism and sexism, to income inequality to climate change. More and more young people are feeling this new anxiety, which has turned into a full-blown mental health epidemic for their generation. And there are solutions to be found through spirituality and the tools of spirituality, but we’re not discussing them,” The Office actor explains.

He knows everyone is likely thinking: “Why is the guy who played Dwight writing a book about spirituality?” he literally said.

But it isn’t just a one-off thought Wilson had. It’s something he’s thought about deeply for years, culminating in his latest book, Soul Boom.

“This topic is not just a side hobby of an unemployed actor,” he jokingly said. “It’s really, really important. We need a spiritual revolution.”

Wilson is tired of witnessing people try but fail at solving life’s problems outside of spirituality. Everyone seems to have a different solution, but Wilson sees the clear hole that’s missing in our society.

“We’re talking a lot about positive psychology and how to be happier and more grateful,” he said. “That’s great, but doesn’t seem to be working very well or helping very much. We talk about electing different political figures and politicians and maybe that’ll help if we pass some legislation. That doesn’t really seem to be helping, either.”

Instead, he explains, he wants humanity to “go back to the basics” and begin asking fundamental questions about our purpose on Earth.

“Why are we here? Why are we alive? Why is there something instead of nothing at all in this universe? How should we treat one another? These are essentially spiritual questions as much as they are philosophical ones,” he said.

Going Deeper

Of course, when speaking on spirituality, that can encompass a wide spectrum of opinions, depending on who you ask. Is it all about finding philosophical meaning? Does it only pertain to theology? What does it have to do with yoga and meditation?

Wilson explains that he’s got a much simpler definition than that: “Spirituality is about heart and soul.”

For Christians in particular, he says, spirituality is discovered and cultivated by the Bible and in the Church. And when it comes to a spiritual revolution for Christianity, Wilson wants everyone to take a renewed look at what essentials of our faith need a renewed focus.

While there are countless ways to answer that question, Wilson believes one key path is to emphasize what he calls “divine virtues” — things like kindness, compassion, humility and honesty — in our daily lives.

“These are not virtues that benefit us in any way,” he said. “Those things aren’t going to help you get ahead, right? But these are aspects of the self that are spiritual that can be cultivated through work and through focus. These virtues can help us on an individual level, thinking about the mental health epidemic that’s going on right now, They can give our lives richness and meaning and focus. They can also help us collectively as a species on the planet.”

Wilson knows this from personal experience undergoing a spiritual revolution himself. After growing up in a religious household, Wilson walked away from faith in his 20s.

“I left anything to do with religion hard,” he said. “I turned my back on spirituality and morality and God and religious practice and building community through religion — all of it. I just wanted to go be an actor in New York. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. And I didn’t want anything kind of holding me back.”

As he would quickly find out, his life became full of chaos, spurred on by a variety of addictions and a range of mental health struggles.

“I got very depressed and anxious,” he said. “I had very severe anxiety disorder. I was dabbling in addiction, drugs and alcohol. I was really lost and unhappy.”

After a few years of stumbling around in the dark, Wilson slowly came back to his faith by revisiting and reimplementing the religious practices of his youth.

“It has given my life a tremendous amount of meaning, focus, hope, love and perspective,” he said.

It’s clear to him how his personal journey reflects what’s happening in culture at large. Studies show that society’s interest in religion is on the decline. Only 16 percent of Americans agree that religion is the most important thing in their lives, according to a 2023 report from the Public Religion Research Institute.

Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, believes the data reflects another trend in American religious life: “Americans are increasingly likely to become religiously unaffiliated,” she said.

Wilson believes our culture is at a critical moment as it experiences a crisis of faith, particularly for younger generations. But he’s not losing hope just yet.

We need a spiritual revolution.

“As things continue to disintegrate, I do think young people especially are more and more open to thinking about spiritual ideas,” Wilson said. “They’ve been thinking, ‘There’s been so much corruption involved in religion and so much shame and judgment and crimes committed and perpetrated by religion. We’ve jettisoned it.’

“But I think they’re now realizing, ‘Maybe we’ve thrown the spiritual baby out with the religious bathwater. Maybe there is some truth to be found in the holy texts and some sense of transcendent purpose for us human beings on this planet that can actually practically make our lives better and make the world better.’ Because if it doesn’t do that, then we should jettison it. But if spirituality does make our lives and the world better, then we should focus on that and work toward that.”

A Step Forward

However, acknowledging a need for a spiritual revolution and taking steps to make that happen are two separate things. Once you realize that you need a spiritual overhaul, there are a few ways to begin that journey.

One of the first ways, Wilson explains, is to focus on cultivating a hope-filled mindset by not only remaining joyful but also through spreading that joy to others. Creating positivity and working toward a tangible goal may seem like an insignificant task, but it actually has far-reaching effects.

“If we’re cynical and pessimistic, then nothing gets done,” Wilson said, “and the forces of chaos and confusion, of materialism and of hopelessness and despair, they win.”

Squashing cynicism is also often easier said than done. Just look at news headlines on any given day or take a quick scroll through social media. Negativity and despair are rampant, and it’s easy to convince yourself that nothing will ever change.

Wilson admits that even with years of practice, he still struggles with it.

“It’s really easy to get pessimistic and cynical,” he said. “I find myself falling into that position a great deal. So, on a daily basis, I decide to foster joy and squash cynicism. I tell myself that not only am I going to attempt to feel joy and connect with joy, but I’m also going to spread joy. I’m going to give joy to someone else as a service.”

If we’re cynical and pessimistic, then nothing gets done.

The trick, Wilson shared, is to change your pattern of thinking when it comes to cynicism.

“You’ll never completely get rid of negative thoughts,” he said. “So when that voice comes up — the one that tells you nothing will ever change, this sucks, where humans are just buttholes, it’ll never get any better — we’ve got to squash that impulse and recognize it for what it is and say, that’s not gonna lead to anything good to just to dwell in that. So feel it, acknowledge it, and then let it go and focus on joy.”

Notice how he didn’t say to ignore the negative emotions? Wilson explains that one of the ways our culture has distorted spirituality is by making it all about the good things. Focusing only on happy feelings means we’re ignoring an essential part of our heart and soul.

“The ‘negative emotions’ are there to help us,” he shared. “They’re there to guide us. We live in a state right now, especially with young people, where they’ve convinced themselves they shouldn’t be feeling these negative emotions. They shouldn’t be feeling depression, anxiety, overwhelmed, disconnection, loneliness. But those ‘negative emotions’ can be very valuable teachers.”

It’s a thin line to balance, Wilson said, to focus on cultivating positive virtues while maintaining awareness of the negativity of the world. But how else are we supposed to know where our society needs help if we ignore the hurt, he asks? How are we supposed to push back on the negative forces at work in the world if we don’t acknowledge they’re even there in the first place?

“In a way, it’s a really good time to be pessimistic,” Wilson joked. “The mental health epidemic is off the charts. Climate change is terrible. Political systems are corrupt and divisive and hate-filled. Our culture is more and more just materialistic every day. It’s a good time to get depressed.

“But there are two forces at work going on in the world right now: the forces of integration and the forces of disintegration,” he continued. “It’s really easy to get stuck looking at the forces of disintegration. Things are falling apart. They’re getting more disunified. So what to do is shift your focus ever so slightly to where integration is happening. There’s plenty of content on social media, websites, grassroots organizations, people working to make a better world. It’s easier said than done, but we have to focus on the integration and start to let the disintegration go.”

For the last several years, Wilson has made a concerted effort to be part of the force of integration. He’s partnered with several nonprofit organizations, including LIDÈ Haiti, an educational initiative he established that uses the arts and literacy to build resiliency and empower adolescent girls in rural Haiti, helping them to transition into academic or vocational education; ArcticBasecamp, an organization focused on bringing awareness to the melting polar caps (Wilson did his part by briefly changing his name to “Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson”); and through SoulPancake, a digital media company that created inspiring, uplifting online content.

If we all do our little bit, one step at a time to make the world a better place.

“We created over 3,000 pieces of content,” Wilson said. We got over a billion video views, and it was an amazing run. We were one of the very first to be making videos on mental health. We did a documentary on the intersection of mental health and comedy,  and a science-based show on the study of positive psychology. We even made a kid president.”

Suffice to say, Wilson knows what he’s talking about. By making minor changes to focus on the light in the world each day, he’s able to experience joy and peace in the midst of disorienting chaos. He can find laughter and happiness even when the world is surrounded by deep sorrow. And if “that guy who played Dwight” can do that in his own life, why can’t everyone?

“I know some people will read my book and think, ‘But I’m just one person, so how much difference could I make?’” Wilson said. “But the truth is, we all need to partake in a spiritual revolution. We don’t make a difference out in the world if we don’t start with ourselves first.

“If we all do our little bit, one step at a time to make the world a better place.”

God will do big things like they’re little things.

Sakichi Toyoda was born on February 14, 1867, in a remote farming community in rural Japan. The son of a carpenter, Sakichi grew up in a sawdust-covered workshop. Like his father, he loved tinkering with anything. His passion for innovation would eventually earn him the moniker King of Japanese Inventors.

As a young man, Sakichi got his hands on Self-Help, a book first published in England in 1859. Profiling some of history’s greatest inventors, author Samuel Smiles championed the merits of self-help. How? By paying attention to absolutely everything.

One day, while watching the way his mother and grandmother labored on their manual looms, Sakichi was inspired to design a power-driven loom. Thus began Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. The driving force behind Sakichi’s innovation was a trial-and-error tactic he called genchi genbutsu—“go and see.” A hands-on approach to problem-solving, it was the heart and soul of what would become known as the Toyota Way.

After World War II, the Japanese economy was devastated and the automobile company started by Sakichi’s son was on the brink of bankruptcy. Its debt was eight times its capital value! Fast-forward seventy-five years, and Toyota’s net worth is $236 billion. What happened? The short answer is kaizen, an uncompromising commitment to continuous improvement. But the catalyst was a “go and see” field trip.

In 1950, Sakichi’s nephew Eiji Toyoda took a team of engineers on a twelve-week tour of automobile plants in America. The Toyota team expected to be amazed. Instead, they were surprised by the inefficiencies they found in American assembly lines. With a bit of brazen—and a lot of kaizen—they believed they could beat America at the automobile game. Considering Toyota is now the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, it could be argued that they did just that.

No matter what you do, kaizen is key. It starts with a growth mindset. You’ve got to stay humble, stay hungry. You benchmark your progress, but you never really arrive. In fact, there is no finish line.

Little by Little

There is a three-word phrase buried in the book of Exodus that produces mixed emotions for me: “Little by little.” Let me set the scene, then I’ll explain the mixed emotions. The Israelites are getting ready to possess the Promised Land, but God throws a little monkey wrench in the plan. “I will not drive them out in a single year.” This is where mixed emotions enter the equation.

I like nonstop flights—economy plus, if possible! Are you picking up what I’m throwing down? I want to get where I want to go without any connections. Of course, it rarely works that way. This fact is evidenced by the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings. The journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land was supposed to take eleven days, but it turned into a forty-year flight with forty-two stops.

I’ve had a few flights that have turned into—shall we say—adventures! After one of those travel debacles, which ended with me renting a car and driving through the night to get where I needed to go, I had a little revelation. No matter how many detours and delays we experience as modern-day travelers, it still beats a covered wagon! Am I right? That’s the way I flip the script on frustrating flights!

The stations of the Exodus numbered forty-two! When the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land, I bet they wanted it to be a one-stop shop! Not so fast.

Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

God delivers us little by little.

God promotes us little by little.

God grows us little by little.

The question, of course, is, Why? In this instance, the reason was more ecological than theological. “Because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.” Let’s be honest—our ability to anticipate consequences is unreliable at best. God has reasons that are beyond human reason. That’s hard for us to accept, but we resist at our own risk.

We hate playing the waiting game, especially if it’s the dating game. We want God to deliver on His promises yesterday! We plant on Monday and want to harvest on Tuesday. News flash to nonfarmers: it takes a little longer than that. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,” said Robert Louis Stevenson, “but by the seeds that you plant.” 

Excerpted from Win the Day: 7 Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less & Accomplish More Copyright © 2020 by Mark Batterson. Used by permission of Multnomah, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Guy Montag, a firefighter, meets a young girl who opens his eyes to the reality that there might be more than force-fed entertainment on the television screens around their home. Montag eventually meets up with an outcast group of scholars who have memorized great literary works. And when the world is ready for books again—they will be ready to recreate these great works.

While today’s culture is not filled with book burnings (although there seem to be an increased number of book bannings), we must ask ourselves a hauntingly related question: Are we closing our minds to ideas that challenge what we have always believed? Our immediate answer is probably “No, not at all.” We would do well to pause as take stock in what we have read lately. When is the last time you read something that challenged your beliefs, assumptions or deeply held convictions? What follows is a list of four books that have been challenging to me. But before we launch into the list, there’s one disclaimer: There is a school of thought that believes that we should avoid all things “heretical.” This kind of thinking creates an echo-chamber of sorts, where we only read things we agree with. Some call this “confirmation bias”—where we read only thing that confirm our already pre-conceived ideas.

The reality is that we need to expose ourselves to a diversity of opinion, even if we do not agree with the perspective. In this case, we need to learn from what the person is presenting. Why do they hold this position? How might this position make sense? In what ways do I agree? This kind of process is more fruitful than just rejecting what someone’s position as “wrong” and reject them, and their position, out of hand. Jesus asked questions and engaged in dialogue with people—and that is what I hope the books listed below do for you, as they have for me as well. So, instead of metaphorically burning these books, let’s be open to learning from them, especially if they are on the other side of theological spectrum.

When we engage and converse with others on the opposite side of the theological spectrum, we tend to develop a stronger, more robust faith. We may still hold to the same belief after many conversations and readings—but now we know why we believe what we believe—and can articulate it in a respectful, intelligent manner. And if we end up changing a theological idea, we realize the world did not come collapsing down. God is not afraid of our questions (and even our doubts). He is not afraid of the pursuit of a more robust faith.

With that said, here are four books to consider.

Questions to All Your Answers: The Journey from Folk Religion to Examined Faith

Here, Roger E. Olson examines ten sayings common to the Christian vocabulary, ones which are catchy, common and often go unexamined. For example, I cannot count the time I have heard a believer say, “Judge not.” Olson tackles this saying in chapter nine, subtitled “So how can we preach to sinners?”

This book was personally challenging because there were sayings I was guilty of uncritically proliferating, perhaps the most common one being, “God is in control.” At face value, this saying makes all the sense in the world and seems biblically authentic. The question is this: Do we really know what we mean when we say this? If God is in control, how do we explain the issue of evil and why the world is in such a mess?

In chapter two, “God is in Control: So Why is the World such a Mess?” Olson offers a different perspective of God’s providence, “God is in charge even though He doesn’t control everything” (52). Olson uses the example of a professor in a classroom. The professor may be in charge, but not in control. A professor cannot control what the students will do, how they will respond or the reviews they leave on ratemyprofessor.com.

The challenging part of this book is that it causes the reader to step back and question what they really believe—and why. It uncovers our presuppositions and that can be scary and vulnerable, leaving us to wonder what else we have not thought through.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

In our country, it seems that nationalism and faith are connected, an unwritten assumption that the American Dream and the Kingdom of God go hand in hand—as if faith and nationalism were just different sides of the same coin.

Greg Boyd’s book, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church, challenges these assumptions, forcing us to ask hard questions about why we believe about the intersection of country and God. Was our nation truly based upon Christian principles? What kind of “Christian” principles? Were they “evangelical” principles, like the ones we know today?

Several years ago, I was asked to preach a sermon on politics and faith—not an easy task. In preparation I tried to read both sides of the faith and politics divide. I read Greg Boyd, John Howard Yoder, Shane Claiborne, to name just a few. The reason was that I wanted to present a balanced approach. Of all the books I read, The Myth of a Christian Nation was the most engaging, challenging and thought-provoking.

Boyd is clearly pushing back against the idea of God’s kingdom of America. For many, this idea will be challenging because many churches associate America with God’s blessing—but what if this idea was not “gospel fact?” What if this idea has taken our focus off the kingdom of heaven? Would it shake our faith? What if the kingdom is greater than one expression? Is America really the best expression of the life and teachings of Jesus—or are they beyond any specific political expression? No matter where you might fall on the spectrum of faith and nationalism, this book will challenge why we believe what we believe—and after all, shouldn’t we welcome those challenges?

Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions

Stories draw all ages together, break down barriers and help us understand who someone is, where they came from and their journey. And that is exactly what Rachel Held Evans did in her book Faith Unraveled (previously entitled Evolving in Monkey Town). Evans vulnerably told her story of growing up in the same town of the Scopes Monkey Trial, which made national headlines in 1925 and for the first time nationally brought serious doubt to the certain held tenets of the Christian faith.

Some 80 years later, Rachel experienced her own doubt of the fundamentalist faith she was brought up in. She described how her doubt started when watching the documentary, Behind the Veil, which highlighted the oppression of women and human rights by the Taliban. One event in particular started Evans on a journey to ask more questions, no longer accepting the status quo of trite sayings. She shared the story of Zarmina, a woman accused of killing her husband, who was executed in a stadium with 30,000 spectators to make an example of her.

Evans wrote:

Each time I got angrier and angrier with God. God was the one who claimed to have formed Zarmina in her mother’s womb. It was God who ordained that she be born in a third-world country under an oppressive regime. God had all the power and resources at his disposal to stop this from happening, and yet he did nothing. Worse of all, twenty years of Christian education assured me that because Zarmina was a Muslim, she would suffer unending torment in hell for the rest of eternity. How the Taliban punished Zarmina in this life was nothing compared with how God would punish her in the next. (90–91)

Evans raised a lot of very good, faith challenging questions, ones that if we desire to have a robust faith, we must wrestle with. It is not always necessary to agree with any author’s conclusions—but it is vital to a healthy Christian faith that we ponder these troubling, complex and sometimes seemingly contradictory issues.

How do we wrestle with the fact of the mistreatment of women not only in our country but across the world? How do you justify a God who allows evil or to use the theological term—theodicy and the problem of evil? Again, these questions are vital to wrestle with, because when done in a healthy manner, we will develop a more robust, informed faith.

Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future

When a friend encouraged me to read Friedrich Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, I had no idea it would take me nearly a month to finish! It was one of the slowest reads I have ever had—not because it was dull, but because I was exposed to so many new ideas. Not only did I have to process those ideas, I also had to look up the definition of multiple words on almost every page!

Friedrich Nietzsche was a 19^th century classicist and historian known for his radical views that challenged the very foundation of our Western intellectual tradition. Perhaps most famous for his claim that “God is dead,” Nietzsche argued that traditional ways of understanding foundational concepts like knowledge and truth were outdated and misguided. With his rejection of a “God’s-eye” perspective as the basis of value, Nietzsche worked to understand how we can make sense of life in the wake of such a monumental loss. His philosophy has gone on to have a huge impact on subsequent thinkers, from autocrats and artists to scholars and revolutionaries.

In Beyond Good and Evil, we learn that since the universe is in a constant state of flux, so is our language and the concepts built from it, including those things we might call “good” or “evil.” The idea of getting beyond fixed ideas of good and evil is to rid ourselves of the idea that the world is to be understood according to only two options. Rather, words and language change, meanings change, and since there is no absolute way of determining which values are true (according to Nietzsche)—that is, since “God is dead”—it makes no sense to evaluate things in terms of absolutes. To do that, the meaning of things needs to be set on a fixed point, but everything in existence is constantly changing.

This book is very challenging because it really confronts our deepest belief—that God created the universe and everything in it. Interestingly, Nietzsche was honest about his conclusions: Without God, there is no ultimate or universal reason for life. While as Christians, we would not accept that conclusion, nor the premise that God is always changing like our language and words, the book challenges us to think deeply about why that is. Do we simply say, “Well, God says so in the Bible …” often proof-texting our way to a preconceived position?

This book challenges us to think deeply and profoundly about what we believe about God, the reason for life and our own personal existence in this world. While this may sound like a heady philosophical discussion (read: not relevant), nothing could be further from the truth. These are the exact questions people struggle with regarding the existence of God and our place in the history of the world.

Obviously, these are only a few of the books out there that will challenge and shape our thinking. You may know of others to add to this list. I would suggest that reading books like these rather than tearing down faith, should do the exact opposite—sharpen our thinking and developing a more robust, informed faith. And isn’t that what God calls to?

Stories transport us to other times and places, they teach important lessons, they inspire us and show us what we have in common.

And while fiction is wonderful and valuable, stories are all the more compelling if they’re true.

It’s impossible to compile a definitive list of best biographies and autobiographies—you could probably spend a lifetime reading well-written tales of inspiring people—but here are a few we think are worth your time.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

The story of a German pastor and anti-Nazi who got involved with a plot to kill Hitler is interesting in and of itself, but Eric Metaxas broadens the story, showing the history of Hitler’s rise to power and weaving in Bonhoeffer’s writing and thoughts. The result is a fascinating narrative that is both informative and, in ways, devotional. While Bonhoeffer’s Ethics and The Cost of Discipleship have become classics, the thoughts behind them are even more rich in the context of the what the writer himself had to sacrifice. More than just a look into the mind of one of the great theologians of the 20th century, Bonhoeffer is a story of one man’s dedication to following Christ’s leading amid the changing morals of pre-WWII Germany.

Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer

With its insertions of personal conversations with the author and descriptions of his life and times from real memories, Jack: A Life may be the best “gateway biography” for any Lewis enthusiast. This is the most personal of Lewis’ biographies, with an intimate feel that cannot be emulated by Lewis’ other biographers who did not know him as a friend. Ask yourself who you would choose to write your own biography: a friend who knew you behind closed doors, or a scholar 30 years on, full of Freudian ideas of the subconscious, and working only on your books, correspondence, and others’ recollections and impressions of you. Granted, other biographies of Lewis are valuable because they are distant from him, but Sayer’s friendship with Lewis does not make him shy away from the controversial issues surrounding the author’s life. He faces them head on and judges fairly.

The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day

The Long Loneliness, Dorothy Day’s story of conversion and dedication to the Catholic Worker’s Movement, is a challenge to all Christians to love as Christ loved. Although her early adult life was spent as an iconoclast and a socialist, including stints in jail and an abortion, she began feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit. Upon the birth of her first child, Day joined the Catholic Church and eventually met Peter Maurin, with whom she would found the Catholic Worker Movement. Day’s approach to the faith was at once orthodox and unconventional, deeply influenced by the teachings of Christ about the poor and oppressed—those on the fringes of society Day felt the Church had become complacent toward. In spite of Day’s controversial character, The Long Loneliness is a must-read “spiritual autobiography” with broad appeal across religious denominations, political affiliations and social views.

John Adams by David McCullough

Along with being a fascinating story of one of our country’s founding fathers, John Adams is one of the few biographies on anyone to cross into the realm of beautiful writing and nearly perfect prose. It is not only a well-researched, well-paced biography, it is fine literature and can be as compelling and moving as any fiction. McCullough’s portraits of 18th century Philadelphia, London, Paris, New York and Washington and the personalities inhabiting those cities are just that, masterful portraits painted with a careful “brush.” What sets McCullough apart from other biographers is his impeccable choice of detail. He knows just when to describe a meal, a suit of clothes, or a weather forecast for a particular day. McCullough is to biography what Tolkien is to high fantasy—a towering genius unmatched by most of his imitators.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Although it’s an autobiography, Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place is really the story of a whole family and their dedication to serving Christ in Holland during WWII. The Ten Booms, a humble and simple family, risked their lives to hide Jews in their home. As a critical component of the Dutch resistance movement, the family is forced to make difficult and often morally ambiguous choices that ultimately land them in Dutch and German concentration camps. The Hiding Place is not an easy read—it plumbs the depths of despair, hopelessness and doubt. Yet there’s intense victory in the darkness, owing to a hidden Bible and the unwavering desire of Corrie and her sister to share Christ’s love with the other prisoners and their Nazi captors. This is a biography that resonates long after the final page is turned.

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Even if you’ve already seen Steve Mcqueen’s Oscar-nominated film adaptation, this autobiography is well worth reading. The story of a free black man in the North who’s kidnapped and sold into slavery, 12 Years a Slave is a rare, heartbreaking look into what life was like for slaves in the South. Northup shows the cruelty and cowardice of the slave owners he witnessed with a fair hand, and keeps a hopeful tone even while depicting the horrors of slave life. While it’s not an easy read (you may want to keep a box of tissues nearby), it’s an important one.

Chronicles of Wasted Time by Malcolm Muggeridge

Malcolm Muggeridge earns his place as the post-Chestertonian voice of Christian reason in Chronicles of Wasted Time—an autobiography cited by many as the single best of the 20th century. The work follows the journalist, intellectual, spy and onetime atheist and communist sympathizer from his early life through his conversion to Christianity. Chronicles is the rare work full of literary depth, social critique and brilliant humor in equal measure, with references to a variety of characters from Churchill to Chanel. What makes it essential reading, however, is Muggeridge’s life story, which spans nearly the entirety of the 20th century and captures the wholeness of his conversion: from Stalin sympathizer to fierce critic, from hedonist to ascetic, from lifelong agnostic to Christian in his sixties. It’s a thrilling adventure that proves, in Muggeridge’s own words, that “Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us—and the art of life is to get the message.”

Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows by Jay Bakker

Sex, lies, drugs and greed: they sound like sketchy nouns reserved for scandalous TV shows or celebrity tabloids. But how does the narrative of those words change when they’re all intertwined with the family of a…preacher?

You may or may not have heard of Jim Bakker. A famous televangelist in the 80’s, Bakker would be convicted of defrauding loyal followers of his “PTL (Praise the Lord)” ministry. His family was ravaged by drug abuse, adultery and, tragically the unabashed condemnation of other famous Christian leaders at the time.

In this book, Jim Bakker’s son Jay does more than offer a glimpse into the Bakker family: he rips down the entire curtain to show all the flaws and tribulations of a pastor, his wife, and their children. Despite the pain and shame felt by all members of the Bakker family, Jay shares just how God’s love and grace redeemed him and his family.

To that end, here are four books that can help you on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel

by Elias Chacour

In this touching autobiography, Elias Chacour recounts his family’s ancient connection to Galilee. An Arab citizen of Israel, he writes movingly of his work to improve the lives of his people while seeking the common good for all who live in the Holy Land. Chacour’s story focuses on faith and social justice, pushing readers to think biblically about the conflict and seek out peace and reconciliation. His story is also a powerful reminder that the ongoing conflict is not just a political issue, but also a human one.

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Israel-Palestine Conflict

by Dale Hanson Bourke 

News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often seems to have an agenda. In a conflict that wraps up politics, religion, nationality and identity, it’s difficult to find the truth admist all the bias. But digging in to all sides of a story is the only way to figure out truth from propaganda. Bourke’s book will helps sift through all the noise to encounter and understand people and perspectives on both sides.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East

by Sandy Tolan

Combining history with a true story of hope and reconciliation, Tolan brings the conflict down to its most human level, exploring the complicated issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians and the shared history and future that unites them. At first glance, it may seem as if there’s no possible end or resolution to this war. But as Tolan describes, there is a way forward that results in peace and unity for all.

by Michael Oren

Historian and author Michael Oren recounts the Six-Day War that occurred in June 1967, linking how every crisis and escalation that has taken place since — from the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to the current Isreal-Gaza war, is a direct consequence of those six days of fighting.

Understanding this war, Oren argues, is key to understanding the conflicts occurring today. History is not singular, it is often connected in more ways than one. And understanding a brief bu important war from decades ago will help you understand what lies ahead for Israel and Palestine.

Here are nine insightful and engaging books you may not have heard of that span a wide range of social justice issues and will be worth reading this fall.

The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence

by Gary A. Haugen and Victor Boutros (Oxford University Press)

Although we have made great strides in the battle against global poverty over the last three decades, Western generosity alone will not eliminate poverty. This important book looks at various forms of violence—for instance, rape, slavery, land theft—and how they contribute to the cycle of poverty. The authors make a convincing case that efforts to work for a world beyond poverty must include the messy work of resisting violence.

Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?

by Eugene Cho (David C. Cook)

Never afraid to ask a pointed question, Eugene Cho calls us not just to love and talk about justice, but to be actively engaged in seeking justice. It is not just others who need to be healed and transformed, but we ourselves as well, and Cho maintains that we start to find our own transformation in working for change among others.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness


by Michelle Alexander

The New Jim Crow is probably the most important book about race in America that has been written in the last decade. Michelle Alexander unmasks the fundamental racism that pervades the criminal justice system in our nation.

The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food

by Dan Barber (The Penguin Press)
This new work by Dan Barber is likely the most important book on food to be published this year. Barber argues that the food produced by neither conventional agriculture (the first plate) nor local and organic agriculture (the second plate), is a sustainable way to farm and eat. Rather, he argues for the third plate, “an integrated system of vegetable, grain and livestock production that is … dictated by what we choose to cook for dinner.”

Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, White—Who’s More Precious In God’s Sight?: A Call for Diversity in Christian Missions

by Leroy Barber 

Rooted in over 20 years of urban ministry, Leroy Barber’s newest book makes the pointed observation that people of color almost never serve in the mission field. Red, Brown, Yellow, Black, White explores the implications of this observation, and argues persuasively that a diversification of both church and mission field is sorely needed.

by Mary E. DeMuth

Author and advocate Mary DeMuth urges the church she loves to rise up and face the evil of sexual abuse and harassment with candor and empathy. Based on research, survivors’ stories and Scripture, DeMuth unpacks the church’s response to sexual violence and provides a healthy framework for the church to become a haven of healing instead of an institution of judgment.

Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength

by Chanequa Walker-Barnes (Cascade Books)
“Ten years ago I came to a startling realization:” begins Walker-Barnes, “I was a StrongBlackWoman, and being one was not working for me.” Over the remainder of the book, she dismantles the myth of the StrongBlackWoman, and emphasizes the role churches should play in unraveling the mythology.

The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose

by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson (Oxford University Press)

Drawing up deep sociological research, Smith and Davidson explore the effects of generosity in 21st century America. Their conclusion? “More generous people are happier, suffer fewer illnesses and injuries, live with a greater sense of purpose, and experience less depression.” Sounds an awful lot like the way of Jesus.

Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community

by Leah Kostamo (Cascade Books)
Planted is Leah Kostamo’s well-crafted memoir of the journey that she and her husband made to starting A Rocha, the first Christian environmental center in Canada. “Maybe a major contribution this book can make to the Christian community these days,” writes Eugene Peterson, “is to challenge the widespread reluctance, a procrastination to embrace creation care—right now.”

Of course, anyone can face the threat of losing it all, but I’m specifically talking to those who are doing what it takes to bear fruit for the gospel and paying the price. I’m talking to those who are in this Jesus-serving thing up to their necks, whether in secular or religious spaces.

Unless we’re bitten by rabid self-ambition, our contribution doesn’t have to be big. All our meaning-craved souls really need is for it to be fulfilling, to feel like we’re actually working with God instead of trying to coax Him into working with us.

But this coming-of-age isn’t typically marked by a personal sense of thriving. Rather, it’s marked by a harrowing suspicion that somebody out there hates you. Somebody . . .

big

and powerful

and vicious

and patient

and deceptive

and mean

and alluring

and beautiful

and terrifying

and knowledgeable.

Somebody who knows your secrets. Your effective fruit bearing imposes the biggest threat to his agenda. His primary interest in your secrets is in leveraging them most effectively to stifle, smear, or stop your successes.

If the devil is doing his best work, you will think the somebody in question is God. There will be times you’re convinced to your bones that God Himself is opposing the very thing He called you to do. Rather than believing that the One who called you is faithful to perform it (1 Thessalonians 5:24), you may feel like the One who called you is systematically, frustratingly keeping you from performing it.

You might be tempted to think that God tricked you into something and then refused to support you. Or that He talked you into something beyond your natural abilities and then abandoned you, leaving you to fend for yourself.

When the devil is doing a superb job, you may feel like God called you and then changed His mind about you, as if He didn’t know who He was getting when He chose you.

If this reads like your present season, it’s likely you are awakening to the war. Your eyes just haven’t adjusted to the darkness yet. See if any of these statements have a familiar ring to them:

You didn’t know serving God would be like this.

When you surrendered to Jesus, you had no idea what you were stepping into.

You figure you must have done something wrong for it to be this hard. It wasn’t like this when you started.

You must have been too prideful. Maybe you enjoyed serving too much.

Your previous fruit must have all been a fluke. You’re a one-work wonder.

You’re too embarrassed to tell anyone about the battle you’re in. They’ll think you brought it all on yourself.

If you’re single, the challenges you’ve navigated with minimal effort before now loom over you like a tidal wave. Methods you’ve sworn by and shared with others no longer seem to be working. If you’re married, your marriage, which you’ve boasted about publicly, now looks like it’s about to go up in smoke. If you’re a parent, your kids, who up until now have been obediently fulfilling your own dreams and making you tremendously proud, look like they’re coming unhinged. The remarkable blessings of God on your job, your serving life, or your ministry now seem bafflingly absent. Your rising star feels like a sinking stone.

Half the time, you may think you’re losing your mind, and you hope nobody has noticed. You’re getting criticized. You’re attracting a lot of opposition. You daydream about quitting and moving to a remote island, wearing loincloths, drinking milk out of coconuts, and swimming with dolphins. At night, you have nightmares that you hung in there in your calling and it slaughtered you.

Congratulations. You have come of age.

What you’re going through is how it goes for nearly everyone who’s serious about serving Jesus. Now that you’ve come of age and had the faith and the audacity to bear much fruit, you have come of notice to the devil. Simultaneously, your unstoppably faithful God, who loves you immeasurably, has made a covenant at the Cross not only to save you but to conform you to the image of His Son.

Out of His exquisite grace, His obligation is to grow you up. And there is anguish in growing up. Among other things, growing up forces us to face the deceiver and pretender in our own mirror.

If this is the season you find yourself in, I can fairly confidently assure you it won’t always be this brutal. It will always be hard. At times it will be horrific. But this season of eye-bulging, nobody-ever-said-it-would-be-like-this pestilence won’t last forever. 

Much of the war against the devil is about whether you’ll quit. Or whether you’ll get sloppy. Or whether you’ll hang on to what drove you in the beginning:

Jesus.

Scripture.

Godly passion.

Holiness.

And it’s not just about hanging on to these things but about pressing further into them, with fresh faith. Questions like these have particular relevance in the culture surrounding us: Will we resolve to do what it takes to become a bona fide, tested-and-tried disciple of Jesus Christ—bearing what we have to bear, learning what we have to learn, denying what we need to deny, and embracing all there is to embrace? Or will we slip into the seductive black hole of busyness and business, platform and position, notoriety and name making, marketing, carnality, self-importance, celebrity, and branding?

After the fiercest battle of your life, when you are no longer naive, what will you do? Will you just go with the current and figure degeneration naturally follows regeneration? Or will you fight to get a pure heart back? Will you delegate to someone else the fight for the ground God entrusted to you? Or will you fight with everything you’ve got until you’re bloody and bruised?

Coming of age is the most critical intersection of your calling. It’s the place of Spirit and slaughter. It’s the corner where you take one of two turns: either your fruitfulness will be devoured by the devil or your own flesh, or you will allow God to crucify your ego, fear, and lethargy and raise you to be immensely fruitful for His gospel.

If you’re in a season of pestilence, fight it out. If you’ve gotten sloppy, tighten it up. If you’re neck deep in sin, repent. Go back on your face before God. Open a Bible and plant your nose in it. Memorize Scripture. Learn how to fast and pray. Quit talking about Jesus more than you talk to Him. Quit letting your mouth overshoot your character. Become that person you’ve made fun of for taking Jesus too seriously. Live and love valiantly. Give generously. Help the poor.

You’ll come out on the other side of every well-fought fight with something far better than an immense quantity of quality fruit. You’ll come out knowing Jesus in a way you formerly believed He couldn’t be known.

Taken from Chasing Vines: Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life by Beth Moore. Copyright © 2020. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.  All rights reserved.

As it usually goes on busy street corners, the conversations typically begin with civility. It starts with the evangelical heavyweights: Lewis, Chesterton, even Tolkien. Then we make the rounds through heroes of the bygone eras, tossing around names like Bunyan, Edwards and Spurgeon. And before I can get a word in, we’re spiraling through the contemporary, pop-Christianity canon. A John Piper fan sternly rebukes a lover of Rob Bell’s work. Donald Miller gets a nod, and Henri Nouwen a gentle sigh of approval. Someone mentions The Shack and a debate about the Trinity ensues, then someone brings up Narnia and common ground is established once again

And that’s when I start wailing on the bullhorn. “But guys, what about fiction?! What about Faulkner? Melville! Does the name Steinbeck ring any bells?!” I cry, as the crowd trickles away, whispering about the guy with crazy eyes and a copy of East of Eden in his hand. One bold soul hands me Calvin’s Institutes and is on his way.

Perhaps I’m exaggerating a bit. OK, a lot. But my frustration stems from a deep belief that fiction deserves a place in these conversations. And this is not to say the established canon of great Christian literature is anything less than just that. We need those books. We need the words of wise thinkers to keep our theology tight, to keep our minds sharp and filled with good things. And of course, we need the Bible most of all.

But, putting my bullhorn aside, I’d like to make a case for the imagined stories, the ones that can throttle our hearts and challenge our biases, and for the fictional characters who, if we get close enough, can become real.

It’s dangerous to approach any art form with the intention of finding some sort of personal benefit. When I started reading fiction years ago, I didn’t do so because I was seeking anything, except, perhaps, the thrill of saying I’d finished The Brothers Karamazov. But aside from that typical bit of teenage vanity, I did it because I liked stories. And that is, on the surface, the one qualification for reading fiction. That being said, I could ramble for days about the unexpected joys, benefits and lessons I’ve learned from the novels I’ve read, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll distill it down to two practical ways that reading fiction can benefit Christians: beauty and empathy.

The first is both simple and vast. I wouldn’t be so bold as to name the purpose of art, but I think one thing that unifies its many forms is the desire to distill the chaos of existence, in all its wonder and tragedy, into a single, unified image of beauty. An abstract painter offers a canvas of lines and colors to present her own unique slice of what she finds beautiful. A folk-singer puts a melody on top of a chord progression as his offering. Robert Frost said poetry gives “not necessarily a great clarification … but a momentary stay against confusion.” Storytelling is, at its core, the very same thing. The writer takes the chaos of what he sees, and does his best to weave a unified story that is somehow reflective of that experience. And it’s not necessarily his message or theme that is his offering of what is beautiful. The story itself is the offering. The story is the prayer.

So, if stories can be prayers, the danger here would be to think that it’s only safe to read books by people who believe exactly as we do. But with our roots planted deep in the truth of Christ, even the darkest, most secular-seeming work of fiction can refine, highlight and remind us of our own beliefs. (But wait, I’m not saying you should go pick up 50 Shades of Gray to remind you of what you believe. Please, please, no.) In The Art of Fiction, John Gardner says fiction “helps us to know what we believe, reinforces those qualities that are noblest to us, leads us to feel uneasy about our faults and limitations.”

I’ve never put down a novel and said, “Phew, I can now confidently say this author is a Christian.” I have, however, found myself deeply affected by a sense of God’s immense beauty in made-up stories. I’ve been floored by the truth of grace in the redemption of made-up people.

Listening with full attention and commitment to another person’s story is perhaps the first step in learning to love them. And when we give our imaginations over to the stories of imaginary characters, especially ones who are seemingly unlike anyone we would ever dream of meeting in real life, we engage in a similar process. Though it may sound bizarre, engaging with fictional characters on a deep emotional level can be a sort of thought experiment in empathy, where we briefly step outside of our self-constructed glass boxes and engage with people who are both vastly different and the same on an intimate level.

Obviously, I’m not saying if you stay in your room all day and commune with imaginary characters then you will achieve the virtue of empathy. I’m saying we shouldn’t overlook the power of stories, both real and imagined, to move us, break down our walls and send us out wanting to love more.

Because the more novels and short stories I read, and the more times I feel an unspeakable connection to imaginary characters and their stories, the more convinced I become that every story is, in some mysterious way, my very own. So, why wouldn’t I listen?

If you’re like me, you know your own story like you know the streets of your hometown. I think it’s about time that we get lost in another city.

When we met, the husband explained that he was going to get DNA testing to find out whether he was the father. If he wasn’t, he planned to stay with his wife and try to work things out. But if the child was his, he was going to leave his wife for the other woman.

We might as well have been on the set of an afternoon talk show, but the tears that were flowing made it clear there was nothing staged about this painful situation.

When I asked the two of them how they’d ended up in this spot, they both agreed that their marriage had been unhappy and contentious for many years.

“We’ve prayed over and over and over again that our marriage would turn around,” the wife said. “We’ve waited and waited, but it never happened.”

And that was the problem.
 They had waited and done nothing.
I can’t help but wonder how things might have been different if, after praying that God would heal their marriage, they both had done the most loving thing they could think of for the other person at that moment. And then again the next day and the day after that.

Perhaps after several months or years of putting aside their own needs in favor of the other spouse, and after countless acts of sacrifice and love, they may have found that there was a relationship worth saving there.

Instead, they waited for the marriage they desired to be handed to them. And it wasn’t.

For them, it wasn’t desire and good intentions that were missing. It was grit. It was the relentless tenacity to run after what they said they wanted most. But instead, they just waited.

As much as I wish I could tell you that I can’t relate to that couple, the truth is that I can. My desires and good intentions have never been the problem.

I want to consistently lay down my own desires in favor of my wife.

I want to raise my kids in a way that gives them solid direction for their lives and sets the stage for a great relationship with them after they leave home.

I want to exercise self-control when I’m being drawn down a destructive road.

I want to be the kind of friend who serves others at the drop of a hat.

I want to honor people, not just in my actions but also in the way I think about them.

I want the life of Jesus.

But if I were completely honest with you, I’d have to say that sometimes I want all of this handed to me. My intentions are good, but good intentions alone will never lead us to the life we’ve been promised.

As Eugene Peterson writes in Run With the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best: “We don’t become whole persons by merely wanting to become whole, by consulting the right prophets, by reading the right book. Intentions must mature into commitments if we are to become persons with definition, with character, with substance.”

At some point, intentions must mature into commitments. Good intentions can get behind the wheel, but unless grit hits the gas, you’re not moving anywhere. Transformation comes on the other side of doing the hard work of going after the life you’ve been promised with unyielding grit.

Earning and Effort

With all this talk about grit, maybe you’re starting to wonder what ever happened to that other g word—grace. Isn’t following Jesus all about God’s undeserved favor?

The answer is yes—sort of. We are made right with God by 100 percent pure, unfiltered grace. Grace tells us there is nothing we can do to make ourselves any more loved and accepted by God than we already are. But this book isn’t about how we are made right with God. I’m talking about what happens after we’ve been made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. I’m talking about how we grow. I’m talking about what it means to follow Jesus.

Coming home to God is easy because Jesus has already done all the heavy lifting on our behalf—and we can’t add to that. But growing in Christ, being transformed into His likeness, becoming who we were made to be, stepping into rich and full lives—well, that takes some grit.

Dallas Willard, in his book The Great Omission, says, “Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. In fact, nothing inspires and enhances effort like the experience of grace. … Becoming Christ-like never occurs without intense and well- informed action on our part.”

Salvation is a pure, unadulterated gift—absolute grace.

And it is that same grace that compels us to get up, get in the game, and live differently in light of all we’ve been given—absolute grit.

When we try to earn God’s acceptance, our morality becomes the point, and duty becomes our motivation. We relate to God out of fear because we don’t want to upset the slave master.

We work and strive, trying to earn what is already ours to begin with. But grace says that we can’t earn any more of God’s love, nor can we lose an ounce of it because of anything we’ve done or ever will do. It’s grace. It’s a gift. It’s ours for the taking. Trust it and receive it.

Grace is always opposed to earning, but it’s not opposed to effort. In fact, grace makes demands. Grace calls out the best from us. Grace reorients everything we thought we knew about life. Grace confronts us in ways that may be uncomfortable.

God’s grace is a fighting kind of grace. It pokes and prods and confronts and pushes us toward the path that leads to a rich and satisfying life. Grace will not let us settle for mediocrity and small living. It compels us to change.

It’s tempting to think that because God is gracious and loving, he’ll just let everything slide, never holding us accountable for making tough choices or following through on them. But this picture of God as a doting grandfather is flawed—not just because it misrepresents mercy, but also because it completely misunderstands love. God’s love for us is far too relentless—far too gritty—to let us stay the way we are.

Heavy vs. Hard

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus makes a fascinating statement to anyone willing to follow Him:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

Following Jesus isn’t burdensome. It isn’t a heavy load. His yoke is light and easy to bear because He bears the weight of it. The hoops we think we need to jump through in order to gain God’s favor have crumbled under an earthquake of grace.

We can rest.

But here’s the catch. The kind of rest that Jesus describes here is not a rest that comes from sitting back and doing nothing. It’s the kind of rest and peace that come from knowing that the life we’re pursuing is the only one that truly matters.

This is why, right in the middle of these promises from Jesus, we find a challenging invitation that we can’t afford to gloss over: “Let me teach you …”

In our willingness to open ourselves to everything Jesus wants to teach us and show us, we may need to bend and conform our will to His. That’s the hard part, and not everyone is willing to do it. In fact, there was a time when some people who were following Jesus responded to His instruction by saying, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” And “from this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.”

If you’re a Christian, you didn’t sign up for the easy life. You signed up for the good life. And sometimes good demands something of us. Or as F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “Nothing any good isn’t hard.”

Of course following the real Jesus is not going to be easy.

Why would we expect it to be? The greatest treasures in life are often the ones we work and sweat and bleed for.

If you make music, the songs you create have value to you because of all the work you put into them, not because of any monetary gain you might receive.

If you’re an athlete, the countless hours of sweat, blood and tears that you’ve invested in your sport are what make it valuable to you.

If you’re a parent, the home you’ve created has value because of the relentless love you’ve poured into the relationships formed in that space.

We inherently attach value to the things we’ve worked the hardest to accomplish. And on the other side of all that effort, perseverance and pain, we expect it all to be worth it.

By choosing to follow the real Jesus, you’ve chosen a path that will be difficult, demanding and trying at times. But you’ve chosen it with the belief and faith that in the end this way of life is both good and best. On the basis of that faith, you move forward, putting one obedient foot in front of the other.

After you’ve done that again and again and again, you’ll find yourself living in ways you never imagined you would, giving gifts you never thought you’d give, forgiving people who don’t deserve it and haven’t asked for it and becoming the person you never thought you’d become.

All because you stopped waiting and started moving.

This article was adapted from an excerpt of Jason Mitchell’s book, No Easy Jesus. Used with permission.

Although there are undoubtedly hundreds of excellent books that can serve as wise and formative guides to growing spiritually, these seven will unsettle many of the ways you think about life and faith and culture. But as they unsettle, they will stir your imagination with the hope of a deeper, more substantial and more joyful way of following Jesus in the 21st century.

To Know As We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey

By Parker Palmer

To be a disciple is to be a learner, and odds are that you will be called upon to teach something at some point in the home, church or workplace. This powerful little book challenges the ways we think about knowledge and about how we learn and mature in our churches. The first chapter alone, “Knowing is Loving,” is worth the price of the book.

The Grand Paradox: The Messiness of Life, the Mystery of God and the Necessity of Faith

By Ken Wytsma

This is the book that I wish I had when I went through a crisis of faith in my twenties. Acutely sensitive to all of the technological and philosophical challenges of our day, Wytsma wrestles with questions of faith and doubt, justice and happiness, love and vocation. Despite all his refreshingly honest questioning, Wytsma ultimately comes out on the side of faith, hope and love: faith that God is sovereign, hope that guides us through the darkness of doubt, and God’s love that ever sustains us and helps us to grow.

Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry and Mission in Practice

By Jonathan R. Wilson

In our age of increasing individualism, Why Church Matters is a vital book for understanding our calling to be the Church, a community of God’s people. Wilson examines worship, baptism, Eucharist and other shared practices of the church, helping us to understand their role in forming us into a body in the likeness of Christ. The chapter on “Discipleship as Human Flourishing” is perhaps the book’s most important.

Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe

By Erin Lane

A nice companion book to Wilson’s Why Church Matters, Erin Lane’s Lessons in Belonging chronicles her story of struggling to belong to a church. Not only this book a lively and honest memoir of Lane’s experiences with church, but along the way, she makes a compelling case for the virtues that make thriving church communities to which we want to belong. Lane paints for us a vibrant image of the wonderful brokenness that church can and should be.

Wisdom Distilled From the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today

By Joan Chittister

In this delightful and challenging book, Chittister uses the ancient Rule of St. Benedict as a launch pad for exploring what a deeper Christian faith might look like today. In Benedictine practices like humility, hospitality and stability, she finds powerfully transformative wisdom for shaping the shared life of our ordinary church communities, even if we have no aspirations of becoming monastics.

Gilead: A Novel

By Marilynne Robinson

This Pulitzer-prize winning novel is perhaps the most important novel of the 20th century for Christian readers. Told through the voice of a dying minister in rural Iowa, Gilead is a love song of sorts offered in gratitude for the wonder and beauty of life. And if that isn’t recommendation enough, Gilead offers a vibrant, realistic picture of faith unfolding over decades amidst a community of people in a particular place.

What Are People For? Essays

By Wendell Berry

Clearly the best collection of essays from a Kentucky farmer-philosopher, this book demonstrates the breadth of Wendell Berry’s work, as well as his status as one of the most important commentators of our time on matters of community, land and ecology. In addition to the provocative essay, “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer” and the superb title essay, we also have Berry’s keen reflection on “The Work of Local Culture.” Over the course of the book, Berry also introduces us to several important, but lesser-known writers, including Harry Caudill, Liberty Hyde Bailey and Wallace Stegner.

While school breaks and extended leisurely summer vacations have long passed by a lot of us, I think we all still look at summer as a time for beach reads, leisurely weekends and cold drinks by the pool. If you’re interested in learning more about how actually to help the world’s poorest people, what better time than this summer to pick up a few books that could teach us all a thing or two?

I did some crowdsourcing with friends who work in international development, and we came up with this list of seven books to read if you want to learn how to care for the poor.

The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children – and the World: Roger Thurow

Thurow spent more than three years researching his latest book, and before that, more than three decades working around the world as a foreign correspondent and reporter for the Wall Street Journal. This guy brings solid journalist creds to his writing and research, and he dedicates this book to figuring out why exactly the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (basically from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday) is so critical to their long-term health and well-being. While a topic like this could quickly get in the weeds for public health wonks, Thurow’s writing style is narrative and light, keeping his reader engaged throughout the book.

Getting Better: Why Global Development is Succeeding: Charles Kenny

With bad news around us every day, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that nothing is getting better, and that the aid system is completely broken. While it’s true that—like any other system—there are ways aid work could be improved, Kenny’s background as an economist helps him take a good look at the numbers and give readers an in-depth understanding of what’s happening in the world of global development. According to UNICEF, since 1990, global development has helped to cut the rate of child deaths in half. This is good news. And Kenny shares more helpful intel like this in his book.

The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence: Gary Haugen & Victor Boutros

Sometimes we’d like to think that there are “quick fixes” to ending poverty, but the reality is much more complex than that. In fact, finding solutions to global poverty is much like rocket science—complicated and multi-faceted. Haugen and Boutros follow this line of thinking in their book, outlining the importance of addressing one of the root causes of poverty—institutional violence—as one critical step toward ending poverty and bringing hope to the world.

Humanitarian Ethics: Hugo Slim

When you want to learn about something, it’s always best to go to the source. Slim has worked for multiple different aid organizations, including Save the Children, Oxfam, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, and the British Red Cross. It’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about the challenging ethical situations aid workers find themselves in every single day. In this book, he attempts to provide aid workers with a pocket guide to ethical action. Even if the closest you’ll get to working “in the field” is following your friend on Instagram when they take a church missions trip, this book provides unique insights into the ethical dilemmas faced in this work—and how best to approach them.

Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity: Ron Sider

Even though this best-selling book was first published nearly four decades ago, Sider still finds a way to make his arguments relevant in today’s world of the “haves” and “have nots.” In particular, he challenges the Church to get their hands dirty in the fight against poverty, even if it may cost us along the way.

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor: Brian Fikkert & Steve Corbett

There is an American sentiment that looks at those in poverty and asks, “Why don’t they just ‘pick themselves up by their bootstraps’ and fix it?” Fikkert and Corbett do their best to take apart that argument, piece by piece, and illuminate those of us who still see poverty as the fault of those caught in its web. They take a look at approaches that have helped—as well as those that have hurt—communities in poverty, and they offer some hopeful approaches to poverty-reduction programming for the future.

Letters Left Unsent: “J.”

Humanitarian worker, author and widely read blogger “J” has chosen to keep his identity anonymous while he still works full-time as an aid worker in order to share the good, the bad, and the even sometimes ugly realities of humanitarian work. His current blog, AidSpeak, the archives of his former blog, Tales from the Hood, and his books, including his first non-fiction piece, Letters Left Unsent, should be required reading for any student of humanitarian aid.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Cor. 1:3–5)

The good life is found lamenting the brokenness of the world, longing for the way things ought to be, and helping God make others’ lives better.

God’s Comfort

First-century Second Temple Jewish people had much to mourn. The pagan, idol-worshiping Romans dominated and oppressed God’s people in the promised land. Injustice was a bad odor that filled the air, a toxin that polluted and negatively affected Jew and Gentile alike. Bryan Stevenson makes a keen observation when he writes:

An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair until we all suffer the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others.

Rome was brutal toward the Jews, and many in the Jewish elite religious class were brutal to Jews of the lower social status. The sinners, the chronically sick, and the tax collectors were considered unclean by the Jewish religious establishment; thus, they were forbidden to participate in Jewish religious life. Jesus comforted the rejected ones and those who mourned. It was unheard of for a rabbi to share a meal with the unclean, but Jesus was a different kind of rabbi. He is the Messiah. He does not have to preserve his cleanness from the unclean; he makes the unclean clean.

I often wish I could have seen with my own eyes the meal that Jesus shared with the infamous sinner Matthew, the tax collector.

While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt. 9:10–13)

Jesus is the doctor who performs surgery with a scalpel called mercy. He does not write healing prescriptions in ink but in his blood. As the Great Physician, he also gives the sick universal health insurance, in which he assumes the debt and pays for all the expenses.

Sadly, many of the Jewish religious leaders were infested with sin-sickness, and their homemade remedies of religiosity only made them more hostile toward Jesus. Many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, two leading Jewish religious groups, were known for their religious sacrifice, but not known for giving mercy to the sinner, the sick, and the outcast. Jesus mourned over Jerusalem and their rejection of him:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’!” (Matt. 23:37–39)

Jesus lamented how the Pharisees and Sadducees were hypocrites who “shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces,” preventing their entry (Matt. 23:13). He lamented how the dark power had corrupted those who were to lead the people into God’s kingdom, and that they were themselves “whitewashed tombs,” a brood of vipers, full of greed, and self-indulgence (Matt. 23:15–33). Jesus yearned to gather the Jewish people under his wings, but like the prophets of old, he was rejected, and ultimately nailed to a cross.

In the Old Testament, one of the metaphors for God is that he is an eagle hovering above his children and protecting them under his wings. The Great Eagle himself had landed; he was among them, but they shooed him away:

He watches over his nest like an eagle and hovers over his young; he spreads his wings, catches him, and carries him on his feathers. (Deut. 32:11)

How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. (Ps. 36:7)

Jesus lamented the state of things as they were. He was the happiest person to ever live, yet he was still called “a man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3 NLT). Lament was not absent from Jesus’ life. He can relate to us in every way.

Adapted from The Good Life. Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Derwin Gray. Published by B&H Publishers, Nashville, TN. Used by Permission

With the busyness of jobs, family, church involvement, and possibly even a social life, taking time every day to read and pray can feel like a chore. That’s what makes well-written devotionals so great.

With short, daily entries that tackle a single principle at a time, they can help make reading the Bible and theology a natural part of your schedule—even if it’s already full.

Here’s a look at six of devotionals everything twentysomething should read. From classic works of by iconic thinkers to contemporary books written for modern audiences, they each offer a daily dose of spiritual wisdom, condensed to a single page.

Classics:

My Utmost for His Highest – Oswald Chambers

Though dozens of books have been compiled from his notes and personal writings, My Utmost for His Highest remains Oswald Chambers’ most popular book, and one of Christianity’s most beloved devotionals. Originally written for students and young followers of Christ, the book offers readers 365 short yet profound lessons on the fundamentals of Christian life, the Bible, prayer and serving others.

From the book:

The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.

If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.

Morning and Evening – Charles Spurgeon

One of Christianity’s great teachers, Spurgeon was known for writing deep theological messages in a style that’s still approachable a century later. Morning and Evening remains one of his most popular, dedicating each day’s writing to digging deep in to different passages of Scriptures. It’s not exactly light reading, but each entry’s manageable length make it an accessible way to get a daily Bible lesson.

From the book:

Many Christians remain stunted and dwarfed in spiritual things, so as to present the same appearance year after year. No upspringing of advanced and refined feeling is manifest in them. They exist but do not “grow up into Him in all things.” But should we rest content with being in the “green blade,” when we might advance to “the ear,” and eventually ripen into the “full corn in the ear?” Should we be satisfied to believe in Christ, and to say, “I am safe,” without wishing to know in our own experience more of the fulness which is to be found in Him. It should not be so; we should, as good traders in heaven’s market, covet to be enriched in the knowledge of Jesus.

The Imitation of Christ – Thomas à Kempis

Still revered for its unique approach to spiritual development—focusing on an individual’s “interior” life and personal communion with God—Imitation of Christ has been a staple of Christian literature for more than five centuries. Though it’s not really a breezy daily read, Thomas à Kempis’ intellectual, often poetic prose, is an examination of a kind of monastic devotion to simplicity, humility and seeking to truly live like Christ. In the era of non-stop noise and ever-present social media, it’s a compelling daily look at what it means to be still before God.

From the book:

Jesus has now many lovers of the heavenly Kingdom but few bearers of His cross.

This is the greatest wisdom—to seek the Kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish. It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come. It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life. It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.

Contemporary:

The President’s Devotional – Joshua DuBois

Imagine being a twentysomething who has found himself tasked with creating a daily devotional reading for the most powerful person in the world. That’s actually what happened after Joshua DuBois emailed (then Senator) Barack Obama with spiritual encouragement. Along with serving as the religious outreach director (and later leading the White House’s community and faith-based partnerships) DuBois wrote daily devotions that were personally delivered to the President. He compiled those writings into his book, which has drawn praise from fellow faith leaders including Russell Moore, Andy Stanley, Rich Wilkerson, Rick Warren and others.

From the book:

So often we think that if God does one more miracle—answers one more request—then, we’ll trust him and obey. “Just prove yourself one more time, Lord,” we say. “Show me evidence of your power on this occasion, and I’ll never forget it.” But it doesn’t work that way. Jesus told a story of a man burning in hell, who begged Father Abraham to allow him to return to earth and warn his brothers so that they would avoid the same fate. Abraham declined the man’s request because Abraham knew that even if these brothers saw their own resurrected sibling, they still would not change their ways.We must avoid making our obedience situational, dependent on some miraculous action of God. Either we belong to him and follow his instructions, or we don’t. Let’s not make God prove his worth.

Jesus Calling – Sarah Young

Sarah Young writes things she has felt Jesus say to her—based in Scripture and prayer. The messages are both comforting and challenging. In a world of ever-increasing busyness and distraction, we all need a reminder that Jesus is calling us to rest in Him.

From the book:

I am your living God, far more abundantly alive than the most vivacious person you know. The human body is wonderfully crafted, but gravity and the inevitable effects of aging weigh it down. Even the most superb athlete cannot maintain his fitness over many decades. Lasting abundant life can be found in Me alone.

Do not be anxious about the weakness of your body. Instead, view it as the prelude to My infusing energy into your being. As you identify more and more fully with Me, My Life becomes increasingly intertwined with yours. Though the process of aging continues, inwardly you grow stronger with the passing years. Those who live close to Me develop an inner aliveness that makes them seem youthful in spite of their years. Let My Life shine through you, as you walk in the Light with Me.

Unshakeable – Christine Caine

This 365-devotional book from Christine Caine is a great entry point for daily readings. Each of the readings includes a Bible verse, a short story or reflection and a quick starting-point prayer. The devotionals focus son the unwavering strength we each of us can find in God’s Word.  also includes recipes meant to be shared in community. It’s easy to read and encouraging for wherever you are in your walk with God.

From the book:

Just like in a race, when you trip and fall in your effort to live a Christlike life, you are not disqualified. You are out of the race only if you don’t get back up and carry on. But the Enemy wants you to believe that because you’ve fallen, you are no longer fit to run. That’s just not true!

God’s grace is greater than most of us realize. He never gives up on us. He is the God of second chances, third chances, fourth chances—an endless number. On this side of eternity, there is always another chance with God.

Sin may have consequences, but no matter what you have done, you can still finish your race. And you can live free of guilt and shame when you get back up and take your sins to Jesus, and leave them with Him.

Growing up, I collected my own bookshelves and occasionally just stare at the books on them for inspiration.

My books have surrounded me, comforted me and helped me interpret life.

As a Christian, my books have also helped me make sense of Christ. They’ve taught me truths of the Bible and aided in interpreting tricky chapters or books. As I crossed the stage and took a degree in theology at graduation, I was fairly confident in my beliefs — in large part because of the books on my bookshelf.

The only problem was that my bookshelf was mainly composed by white men. Without realizing, every book I bought was another brick in the wall dividing my whiteness and maleness from others, cementing me into a racism that still blurs my vision from the truth of Christ.

Shaped by History

White men enslaved people. White men used theology to silence minorities and women. White men lynched innocent Black citizens.

Our privilege began before the country was founded and has extended into America today, imbued within Americana along with the Fourth of July and fundamentalism.

I do not represent the worst that my gender and ethnicity have done. But my voice is still conditioned through years and years of privilege and stability. My great-great-great grandfather was a justice of the peace. My great-great grandfather worked as a mechanic. My granddad owns a furniture store. My dad teaches. I’m a grad student. Our family tree has roots which are not obstructed or blocked by slavery, Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration or voter suppression.

Is it any surprise that my view of the world will be incomplete? Is it any surprise that my definition of suffering will be limited? And with these limitations, my own interpretation of the Bible suffers from lack of perspective.

Whether I want to or not, I bear the history of my race and the history of my gender just as I represent my last name. I’m not defined by them, but I sure am shaped by them.

The Black Christ and a Change in Perspective

I began reading Black Theology last semester because a question refused to leave my mind: How could a people enslaved by “Christians” become Christians themselves? How could they realize the truth of the Gospel that escaped their captors?

I started my search by reading James Cone. He’s famous for making the argument that Christ was Black expressly because Christ was Jewish (God of the Oppressed). To be a Jew in Jesus’ day meant to be oppressed by the Roman empire. Jewish people didn’t have the same rights that Romans had and were marginalized by the empire-at-large. If you had a White person and a Black person standing side-by-side, Christ’s story and perspective would look more like the Black person’s in America.

The things Christ said and the people Christ talked to must be seen in the lens of His world, and perhaps the best people to explicate this aren’t a people privileged in society but those who have been and continue to be systemically silenced and pushed away.

Reading the Bible from One Perspective

After reading about liberation and the Black Christ, I realized that Jesus’ words cannot rely on my sole interpretation or the interpretation of any one, isolated demographic.

I’ve always found great solace in Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I’ve spent years wanting to carry the yoke of anxiety and fear and have sat in these verses for long periods of time. I firmly believe Jesus speaks to me and each person in their suffering through these verses.

However, I’ve learned to also read this in its literal context: to a marginalized people. This speaks to communities seeking physical liberation and oppression in an unjust society. It is for people weary of being bought, sold, silenced, ghettoed, lynched and shot unarmed.

These verses can and should be spiritualized and applied to suffering in every context, but I cannot use this as an excuse to ignore their literal call to be someone of solace, to seek liberation and to forcibly remove myself from the continuation of unjust systems.

Something Practical

The process of removing myself from racism will begin by not being racist with my books (as well as sexist … but that’s for another article). I’ve only just begun the process, but I’ve found the following books to be really helpful:

1. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)
2. Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman (Beacon Press, 1949, 1996)
3. The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone (Orbis Books, 2011)
4. Roadmap to Reconciliation by Brenda Salter McNeil (IVP Books, 2016)
5. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (Oxford University Press, 2001)
6. Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance by Reggie L. Williams (Baylor University Press, 2014)
7. God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse by James Weldon Johnson (Penguin Classics, 2008)

Do you have any suggestions? My bookshelf is expanding!

The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Have we considered the cost of following Jesus? Bonhoeffer challenges us to imagine a faith that is about something bigger than our own personal selves, inviting us into the shared life of Christ’s body, the Church. Bonhoeffer lays the foundation for a life of faith that is rooted in God’s transformation of our lives and the life of creation as a whole.

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
by N.T. Wright

In many parts of evangelical Christianity, there is a strong temptation to focus on the hereafter, our eternal life with God. N.T. Wright challenges us to fight this temptation and focus on living faithfully in the present, bearing witness to God’s healing and reconciling work today. The good news of the Gospel is not just about the future, but is indeed good news for all humanity in this present age as well.

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

While not strictly speaking a Christian book, Brené Brown puts her finger on one of the virtues that lies at the very heart of who Jesus is—vulnerability. Brown invites us into the way of vulnerability, which is the way of Christ-like love. Like Bonhoeffer, she reminds us that our faith and life must be about more than our own comfort or security; we must learn to take risks for sake of loving others.

Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism
by Drew Hart

Since the earliest days of slavery, through the Jim Crow era and into the criminal justice system today, the United States has been formed by its long history of racism. Our churches are not immune to this history. Hart clearly and succinctly narrates the story of how the deep brokenness of race in America has shaped our churches today and orients us in the direction that we will need to go in order to find God’s healing.

Trouble I’ve Seen challenges us to lament our past, to recognize the depth of racism in ourselves and our churches, and to change our ways, beginning to move toward the rich fellowship that God intends for all people.

The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver’s well-crafted novel brings us face to face with vital questions about what it means to proclaim the gospel in a country that is not our home. To what extent are we teaching the way of Jesus, or to what extent are we teaching a gospel in which Jesus is mixed up with the culture of our native land? Set in the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s, the Price family, who are Baptist missionaries there, must come to grips with these questions as they learn the realities of this central African land.

Silence: A Novel by Shusaku Endo

Recently adapted into a film by Martin Scorsese, this novel wrestles with similar questions as The Poisonwood Bible, but in a very different era: seventeenth-century Japan. The book’s title implies one of its central questions: How do we know what it means to follow Jesus, when God so often seems to be silent? Father Rodrigues, a Portuguese missionary, faces the dilemma of whether it is better to adhere rigidly to one’s Christian faith, when publicly renouncing it would save the lives and suffering of other Christians.

A Generous Orthodoxy
by Brian McLaren

Brian McLaren sketches the contours of a Christian faith that has a deep respect for tradition, but yet generously (or, one could say, charitably) applies the virtues of that tradition to the challenges of the present. This course steers clear both of tossing tradition to the wind and of being so tightly bound to tradition that we cannot respond faithfully and courageously to the realities of our times. For a brief but insightful introduction to the concept of generous orthodoxy, I recommend Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast episode of the same name.

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren

A modern classic, Rick Warren’s book is a 40-day spiritual journey that aims to help readers understand their purpose and how it fits into God’s broader plan. It’s a transformative work that challenges and inspires individuals to think about the significance of their lives in relation to God’s intentions. You may have read this book when it initially came out, but it’s always worth a re-read and a great way to kick off a new year.

This week, Barnes & Noble announced plans to open 30 new stores next year. The bookseller, like many local bookstores, had been shrinking for more than a decade as it struggled to compete with online retailers like Amazon.

But the move looks to be part of a larger turnaround for booksellers. Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that local bookstores had not only survived the pandemic, but a majority were actually thriving. In the last two years, more than 300 bookstores have opened across the country.

A big part of this shift has been an increase in book sales overall. Bookstore owners shared they saw 40 to 70 percent increases during the pandemic. The Times spoke with bookstore owners who shared their customers would show up asking for more recommendations or simply wanting to chat about their current read.

“People are really looking for a community where they get real recommendations from real people,” said one bookstore owner. “We’re not just basing things off of algorithms.”

Christians, skeptics and atheists alike all have their preconceived notions of who and what God really is and how He sees them.

Even those who claim they never give God a thought throughout their day are living lives that declare something about the Creator of the universe.

Everyone has formed their own paradigms about God based on experiences they’ve had with believers (whether good or bad), what they’ve been taught about God growing up, what the media says or what has been preached at them from the pulpit. When those paradigms aren’t challenged by actually digging into God’s Word to see what’s really true and asking Him to reveal the genuine nature of His character we miss out on real and dynamic intimacy with God.

While the Bible is sufficient for all teaching about God and it needs no supplement, I keep coming back to a few key books over the years that have helped shape the way I view and interact with God. I became a believer while finishing my graduate degree in Boston and these books helped shift so many false thoughts about faith I had formed over years of living apart from and skeptical of God. They’ve given me permission to restore both mystery and creativity in my own relationship with a God who “loves me with an everlasting love and draws me with unfailing kindness.”

Most of all, they’ve helped me remove God from the well-defined box that conservative, cultural Christianity is so often tempted to put Him in. I hope if you pick up just one, or all, of these books that they’ll do the same for you and inspire you to wrestle with God and ask Him more questions about who He really is.

The Cross and the Lynching Tree
James Cone

Paradigm shift: “The cross and the lynching tree interpret each other,” writes Cone, drawing deeply provocative comparisons between the death of Jesus and the suffering endured by Black Americans.

James Cone passed away in 2018, leaving a legacy of rigorous theological engagement, studied biblical scholarship and a radically honest assessment of American history. The Cross and the Lynching Tree brings his various areas of expertise together into one narrative as compelling and persuasive as its heartbreaking and, frequently, infuriating. To Cone, fully grasping the meaning of the cross required “standing in solidarity with those who are powerless” and identifying with the ongoing struggles of the suffering.

“Until we can see the cross and the lynching tree together, until we can identify Christ with a “recrucified” Black body hanging from a lynching tree, there can be no genuine understanding of Christian identity in America, and no deliverance from the brutal legacy of slavery and white supremacy,” Cone wrote.

Life of the Beloved
Henri Nouwen

Paradigm shift: God’s not mad at us; He’s enthralled by us because we are created in His image. We are deeply known, chosen and loved by God and our value comes from Him alone.

Henri Nouwen wrote this slim classic as a response to a Jewish friend’s request for a book explaining the spiritual life with God in non-theological terms. Sadly, most non-Christians and even Christians have a nagging feeling that maybe God just doesn’t like them. Worse than that, many people who have been harmed by the Church’s harping on sin and God’s wrath actually think God hates them and is resigned to putting up with them. This little book exposes that falsehood and explains the reality of how God actually sees us and why we were made. It’s up to us to believe and embrace it:

Long before any human being saw us, we are seen by God’s loving eyes. Long before anyone heard us cry or laugh, we are heard by our God who is all ears for us. Long before any person spoke to us in this world, we are spoken to by the voice of eternal love. Our preciousness, uniqueness and individuality are not given to us by those who meet us in clock-time — our brief chronological existence — but by the One who has chosen us with an everlasting love, a love that existed from all eternity and will last through all eternity.

The Hiding Place 
Corrie ten Boom

Paradigm shift: God brings beauty out of evil and ashes and redeems suffering.

Corrie ten Boom was a dutch watchmaker who loved God and became a heroine of the Resistance during World War II and a concentration camp survivor. She and her family risked their lives to help Jews escape from the Nazis in WWII Europe. She was the only person of her family who survived the death camps. Her personal account of those years and where God was in the midst of it all, is a beautiful and riveting account.

Her story shifted my thinking from, “There is no God because bad and evil things happen,” to, “In the midst of bad things, there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” It’s written across the pages of the Bible, penned thousands of years ago, but that story is still being told through others today; that God’s love overcomes, heals and restores.

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
Austin Channing Brown

Paradigm shift: White Americans have learned to prioritize “diversity,” but efforts to achieve it routinely miss the mark in ways that continue to deny Black Americans a seat at the table, even in the Church.

Brown’s astonishing book is more than a memoir about growing up Black in white spaces. It’s a story about how white spaces fail people of color, even when intentions may be well-meaning. Brown uses her own life story to unveil the racial complexities of American institutions from the education system to the job market to the evangelical church, why it so often alienates Black people and how God is still working to bring anti-racist justice to these spaces.

The Saving Life of Christ
Major W. Ian Thomas

Paradigm shift: We don’t live the “Christian life” by following a set of rules or by our own efforts and strength but by abiding in Jesus himself and allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

“There is something which makes Christianity more than a religion, more than an ethic and more than the idle dream of the sentimental idealist.” This short but powerful book opens with this zinger and when I first read it I knew it would change the way I saw this living relationship with Jesus that we’ve come to call Christianity. Thomas writes that the very element that makes Christianity so much more is the fact that Jesus Himself is the very content of the entire Christian faith. As Philippians 2:13 says “… for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” By the gift of the Holy Spirit, God himself dwells in us, yet so many Christians still lived in self-imposed spiritual poverty apart from the power of God.

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Francis Collins

Paradigm shift: Faith and science can not only peacefully co-exist but like well coordinated dance partners, they mutually support each other.

This was the first book on faith I ever read while I was still in grad school as I was trying to sort out if I really believed in Jesus — or God at all for that matter. The author, Francis Collins, was a former skeptic and self-professed “obnoxious atheist” in his younger years who became a physician-geneticist who led the mapping of the Human Genome at NIH and became a Christian in his 40s. The book presents a beautiful interplay between faith and science and helped me understand that a genuine relationship with Jesus didn’t demand that I believe that science undermines faith as I previously believed.

Many Christians grew up in a similar way, holding horror at arm’s length. So it’s interesting how many horror movies have the exact opposite attitude towards Christianity. While horror classics like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen aren’t exactly “positive, encouraging” movies, they’re all deeply rooted in biblical theology. The relationships don’t end there. Modern horror movies from The VVitch to last year’s Netflix smash Midnight Mass are in conversation with Christianity, as is The Conjuring franchise and many of Scott Derrickson’s freaky features. Wes Craven, the late, great “Master of Horror” who created the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises, was a Wheaton grad.

And yet, for years, horror’s love affair with Christianity went unreciprocated. Except for one very notable exception: Frank Peretti.

A failed pastor making ends meet in a ski factory, Peretti became extraordinarily popular in the 1980s as the writer of books like This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness, which adapted Stephen King-like thrills and supernatural spooks for Christian audiences. In many of his novels, the spiritual world may be largely invisible, but it’s very tangible. Musclebound angels and terrifying demons are doing battle all around his human protagonists, with warfare both strategic (like influencing bad behavior and local politics) and literal (physical battles than can be influenced by the prayers of true believers).

These books weren’t exactly regarded as sound theology, but they sold like crazy, to the tune of over 15 million copies worldwide. In his writing, horror was a tool to motivate Christians towards prayer, taking the activities of Satan and demons seriously. And Peretti had a huge edge over horror writers like Craven and King. In the minds of many of his readers, the monsters were real.

Daniel Silliman is the author of Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith, a book that takes a look at the fiction that shaped the Christian imagination. He talked to RELEVANT about Peretti’s influence on Christian thought and the complex legacy of his books.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

RELEVANT: So help me understand the divide between the general Christian disdain for horror in the 80s and how Peretti crossed that divide. 

SILLIMAN: I think there’s two things that are happening. In the ’80s, Evangelical Christians feel caught in between these two cultural trends. One is an increasing secularization, and horror turns out to be a space where Americans are open to a reenchantment. The idea of there being any religious themes in a realist novel, for example, is almost impossible. But Stephen King is doing all sorts of religious stuff, and it’s widely accepted. It’s a way to talk about otherworldly entities, and a transcendent purpose, and evil that isn’t just people being selfish, but has some ability to actually transform you against your will. I think that part of the horror genre actually appeals to Christians, and evangelicals in particular. You see this with Jack Chick, too, right?

Sure. 

But then the resistance to horror is definitely there, and I think it’s partly concern about “New Age” stuff, it’s partly concern about how playful horror can be. I think the conversation probably would have been really different if it had mostly been 20-year-old and 30-year-old Christians thinking about, “do I like horror?” Instead, it was like, “how into Chucky do I want my 10-year-old to be?”

So then Peretti’s books come onto the scene. Does that change everything immediately?

It’s Amy Grant who makes it a thing.

You have to understand that Christian fiction, as a business, had really only started in the late ’70s. So it’s only seven, eight years old at the time that Peretti is shopping around his book, which at that point is called The Heavenlies. Everything is romance novels and the idea of all the romance novels is, if you believe in Jesus and you follow the Bible, you will have the best possible life.

Peretti’s trying to sell his novel, and he’s saying “sometimes being faithful means struggling, sometimes being faithful means your life sucks, it sucks hard, and you’re failing all the time, and you need to pray.” It’s a very different idea of what belief is like in the modern world and publisher after publishers is just like, “Ah, nope, no one’s interested in this. This is not a thing. We don’t do this.”

Until Crossway picks it up. They embrace it, they publish it, they give it the much better title of This Present Darkness, but they don’t really know how to sell it. They send it out, and nothing happens.

So Peretti is actually, at this time, a failed Assemblies of God pastor, living in a trailer home on Vashon Island in Washington, and working in a ski equipment factory. Once a month, he gets a call from the publisher about how many they’ve sold and talks in interviews about it being, like, 40 books.

And then one day, he gets his call, and it’s like, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000. He has no idea why, and Crossway has no idea why. And it turns out, it’s Amy Grant.

She’s crossed over from Christian pop star to legit pop star, she has several Grammys, she’s booking larger and larger concerts. And exactly at that time, her life is also falling apart. She’s having struggles with her husband, who has an intense drug addiction. Christians come out against her for no apparent reason, with horrible stuff, like going backstage and getting a bouquet of roses, and the note just says repent.

The secular press was also incredibly cruel to her. I found several instances where people are sort of openly having conversations about how much they do or don’t want to have sex with Amy Grant, as if this is a totally normal and acceptable just topic to have on a Tuesday. It’s really gross and really overwhelming.

At some point, she’s depressed and can’t get out of bed, and someone gives her a copy of This Present Darkness. She finds exactly the same thing I was talking about: “Oh, this is faith in struggle. This gives me a new way to just imaginatively think about how hard My life is. And what if I am struggling to get out of bed, and I imagine demons as part of that depression? Demons cheering at my struggles, and on the other hand angels, these amazing, exotic, Fabio-looking angels cheering me on?”

She really resonates with that, it really helps her, and she starts talking about This Present Darkness on stage as part of her stage patter. People immediately go from the concert to the Christian bookstore. There are lines of people at the Christian bookstore, and people start buying it like five and 10 at a time to give to their friends. That’s what launches it into bestseller status, is that moment.

I remember reading this as a kid, and it really shaped how I thought about spiritual warfare. In This Present Darkness, angels and demons fights are basically like the X-Men. It was very exciting, and I’m wondering if Peretti meant for readers to take his vision of the spiritual world as literally as many of us did at the time.

From Peretti’s point of view, demons are real, exorcism is an important part of Jesus’s ministry and should still be relevant today, and angels are real. But the point of them in the book was just to imaginatively provoke Christians, really, to prayer. There’s a version of the way the book reads that’s like: “You think it’s a political conflict? Actually, your problem is you’re not praying hard enough. If you would really pray, then you wouldn’t want to be mad at your neighbor at the school board meeting.”

So there’s definitely some elements of reality. His cosmology certainly involves demons who are active, but he did not think he was doing theological treaties. He did not think he was lightly fictionalizing what actually happens. He thought he was telling a story that was going to pull people in. But some people took it literally, and took it as a handbook.

Peretti took the concern that he was making people think that this was exactly how the world works pretty seriously. So later, some of his books actually have warnings in the front. Like, “Any resemblance to real characters, it’s purely coincidental. This is not a work of theology. This is a novel. Please engage responsibly.”

So what would you say is Peretti’s legacy in modern culture?

Peretti, like Francis Schaefer, really thought everything was God’s and everything could be claimed for God. That included different kinds of art. You could use anything. They also are promoting all sorts of different art, and encouraging younger Christians to think about art in interesting ways and engage in different styles and genres and forms. So it does have that effect, I think.

If you’re eight and read This Present Darkness, I don’t think there’s any reason that 10 years later, you’re going to run into a horror novel and think, “I can’t read this, I’m Christian.” The possibility of there being deep Christian themes in horror is totally easy for you to grasp.

But I think Peretti is a really interesting. It’s a fascinating creative moment. The effects are complicated. This is a whole world that this guy created using theology but also making a bunch of stuff up, and it’s fascinating how many people it has engaged and how compelling it is to so many people, this invitation to imagine our world filled with invisible, but very visceral things.

The thing I love about Peretti’s demons is how physical they are, and yet, also really invisible. I don’t know if you’ve ever sat in a philosophy class, but there’s always a moment in an intro to philosophy class, where someone’s like, “Imagine a pink elephant.” And then you are. And they’re like, “Is that real or not real?” And it’s this interesting, epistemological and ontological question. Peretti did that with millions of people, and also did it in a way that was super entertaining. Imagine a creepy, crawly demon behind you, right now. It’s invisible, but also it has warts.

You see that influence across a lot of other Christian art at that time. I’m thinking especially of Carman.

It also like totally speaks to that kind of fighting chief, which is not exactly new to Christianity, but it matches a certain machismo and masculinity, which [Jesus and John Wayne author] Kristin Du Mez has talked about so well. It’s really hard to imagine laying down my life for a neighbor. It’s much easier to imagine praying the demons they’re sending me away.

Reading Evangelicals: How Christian Fiction Shaped a Culture and a Faith is available here.

That said, the Bible is not a dictionary, a text book or a manual. It’s an ancient library with many different authors, covering centuries of art, history, theology, prophecy and correspondence. That means that a lot of it exists in tension — something for us to wrestle with. If all you’re looking for is answers, that can be frustrating. But if you like a good story and want a book you can really engage with, even if it doesn’t check every box on your personal checklist, then the Bible definitely delivers.

There are plenty of mysteries in the Bible. Who were the Nephilim? What does “Selah” really mean? What do all of John’s visions on Patmos actually signify? And, well, here are a few more of our favorites.

Where Is the Ark of the Covenant?

The Raiders of the Lost Ark Mcguffin is actually a real mystery. The Israelites built the ark per God’s own specifications as a place to store their holiest objects, such as the Ten Commandments. After Solomon built a temple for God, the Ark was placed within for safe keeping. But then the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem in 587 B.C. and it’s been missing ever since.

Theories as to where it ended up abound. One prominent one is that the Ark was safely smuggled out of Jerusalem and into Egypt by Solomon and Queen Sheba’s secret son well before the Babylonians attacked. From there, it may have moved to Ethiopia where, according to legend, it remains today. A monastery in Aksum claims that it actually has the Ark today but, just one slight hiccup, no one is allowed to see it. One monk is selected to spent his life in the Ark’s compound, praying over it until he dies and someone else picks up where he left off. So is the Ark actually in there? The only person who knows for sure is sitting there now, and won’t ever come out.

Read Paul Raffe’s fascinating investigation into the Aksum monastery here.

When Was Jesus Actually Born?

In a perfect world, Jesus’ birth year would be a straightforward Year Zero. But alas, this world is not perfect, which is why he was born in the first place.

The Bible has plenty of clues as to Jesus’ real birth year. The Bible says it took place during a Roman census mandated by Herod, and history tells us there was a census in Judea around 6 AD. Unfortunately, Herod had died around 10 years earlier, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact year. Most scholars believe sometime between 4 and 7 AD is the most likely range — which also puts the birth of Jesus around three years before both the appearance of Haley’s Comet and the convergence of Saturn and Jupiter. Either of those celestial marvels could have been the “star” that alerted the wisemen to the presence of Jesus.

Where is the Holy Grail?

The Holy Grail — the cup Jesus drank from at the Lost Supper — has always been a subject of fascination for the Church. However, its existence is a bit more speculative. It’s easy to see why the Ark of the Covenant might have bene preserved for millennia, but it’s less clear that anyone in Jerusalem would have thought to hold on to Jesus’ cup for safekeeping. Still, it’s the source of dozens of legends. If you’re familiar with your Indiana Jones, you know of the legend that the Knights Templar took the grail to the Holy Land. There’s currently one in Valencia, Spain that has been legitimized by its use by two different Popes. (Next time you’re in Spain, you can go check it out.)

But a new challenger approaches! In 2014, two historians identified a cup in León, Spain, as the true grail. It’s the right age, spent several centuries in Basilica of San Isidoro and appears to match our oldest written descriptions of what the grail looked like. And it’d just been sitting in a basement since the 1950s so, who knows for sure? No one. Just don’t drink from it if you’re not absolutely sure. 

Where Is Noah’s Ark?

“I don’t know of any expedition that ever went looking for the ark and didn’t find it.” That’s a quote from Paul Zimansky, an archaeologist who specializes in the Middle East. That speaks to just how rapid — and rash — these ark expeditions can be.

Many Christians believe the boat’s final resting place is in Turkey, hidden somewhere on the treacherous Mount Ararat. A quick Google search will show you any number of satellite images and 3D imaging that claims to show a suspiciously boat-like structure somewhere in Ararat’s many crevices and caverns. Feel free to believe any of them you like.

However, many biblical scholars believe Noah’s Ark is probably long gone. In the immediate aftermath of the flood, timber would have been in short supply and it’s easy to imagine Noah and his family chopping the ark up for firewood and lumber. But don’t worry. There’s always Williamston, Kentucky.

Who Wrote the Book of Hebrews?

For centuries, it was widely assumed that Paul wrote Hebrews, just as he wrote most of the New Testament epistles. However, more recent scholarship has cast severe doubt on that theory.

The writing style differs from Paul at key points, and mysterious author writes that “salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” This would suggest a “second-generation” Christian, while Paul always referred to himself as an apostle of equal standing with the original twelve. The author also refers to Timothy as a “brother,” while Paul usually referred to him as a “son.” This makes Paul’s authorship pretty unlikely, though it seems clear that it was someone close to Paul. But who?

Some scholars suggest Luke, Barnabas or — Martin Luther’s pet theory — Apollos — all early leaders among the Early Church. One intriguing theory proposed by German biblical scholar Adolf Harnack is that Hebrews was actually co-authored by the influential husband and wife duo of Aquilla and Priscilla, with the bulk of writing done by Priscilla. It’s certainly possible, but as the author declined to sign the letter, we just don’t know.

“Today marks a significant day, the beginning of a magnificent statewide program which will put books in the hands of California children at a young age, opening the door to limitless possibility for their future,” said Sen. Shannon Grove, who co-authored the bill that was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill flew through with bipartisan support, because who’s going to say no to Dolly Parton?

The program is open to any of California 2.4 million kids, whose parents or legal guardians can sign them up here.

In a 2018 address to the Library of Congress, Parton said that she started the Library to honor her father, Robert Lee Parton Sr., who had never learned to read. “I had the idea to do something special for him,” she said. “You know, in the Bible where it talks about honoring your father and your mother. I don’t think that necessarily means just to obey them. I think it means to bring honor to their name.”

As of August 27, Hoover had sold 7.3 millions print copies in 2022, compared to 5 million copies of the Bible. The “Queen of BookTok” currently holds four of the top 10 spots on the New York Times best-selling list.

The report comes just a few weeks after a Gallup study found that only 20 percent of Americans say the Bible is the “actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.” A large number of respondents said they believe the Bible is “the inspired word of God, but not everything in it should be taken literally,” while a rising number of Americans said they see the Bible as a collected book of fables.

Hoover’s place on the best-seller lists highlights a potential new trend that Americans are more interested works of fiction than reality.

Our call to Christian discipleship then is a call to learn what it means to follow in the way of Jesus and to grow deeper in our faithfulness to this way. We need guides on this journey, fellow travelers who have walked portions of this road and can share their wisdom.

We’ve already suggested a few social justice books worth reading this fall, but as you put together your reading list, here are 10 new books (plus one bonus book) that point us in the direction of a deeper Christian faith to consider including. Some of these books were released within the last year, others will be coming out this fall.

The Sacred Year: Mapping the Soulscape of Spiritual Practice—How Contemplating Apples, Living in a Cave, and Befriending a Dying Woman Revived My Life

by Michael Yankoski (Thomas Nelson)

In The Sacred Year, Yankoski artfully narrates his own story, guiding us on a pilgrimage with him as he explores a multitude of spiritual practices—including attentiveness, creativity, solitude, Sabbath, gratitude and many more—that usher us into a deeper life with ourselves, with God and with one another.

The Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines.

by Nathan Foster (Baker Books)

Foster, the son of Richard J. Foster who wrote the classic book Celebration of Discipline, sets out to explore the spiritual disciplines in the 21st century. Living in the shadow of his father’s work, he describes his own struggles to practice these disciplines and how he ultimately came to find a rich joy in them.

Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now

by Walter Brueggemann (WJK Books)

Amidst the fast pace of Western Culture in the 21st century, Sabbath is one of the most difficult practices for us to learn. Celebrated Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann makes a compelling case for why we should do so and explores the social benefits that might emerge from practicing Sabbath.

This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems

by Wendell Berry (Counterpoint Press)

Reading poetry is its own sort of spiritual discipline and what better place to start than the Sabbath poems of Wendell Berry? This Day is the complete collection of Berry’s Sabbath poetry to date. These poems emerged out of Berry’s own longstanding practice of Sabbath, and the attentiveness to the land and creatures that he encounters on his Kentucky farm.

Slowing Time: Seeing the Sacred Outside Your Kitchen Door

by Barbara Mahany (Abingdon Press)

Slowing Time is a very practical guide to learning how to slow down and be attentive to the abundant gifts of God that surround us at any given moment. By probing deeply the nooks and crannies of the home-front, Mahany points out that the reader need not venture far to find what matters most. And the questions stirred will linger, long after the page is turned.

Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith

by Jen Pollock Michel (IVP Books)

Teach us to Want is a compelling mix of personal narrative and biblical reflection that ever-so-gently nudges us into deeper contemplation of our desires, the God who created us to desire and the ends towards which our desires are driving us.

Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart

by Christena Cleveland (IVP Books)

The Modern age has been one of fragmentation, and an important part of growing deeper in Christ is an increasing attentiveness to the divides that separate us and learning not to impede the reconciling work that God intends to do. In Disunity in Christ, Christena Cleveland keenly points out why Christians who have a heart for unity have such a hard time actually uniting, and offers wisdom on how we might begin to listen to and work with others who differ from us.

We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation

by Brian McLaren (Jericho Books)

Brian McLaren offers 52 brief, weekly readings that immerse us in the biblical story and that guide us toward a deeper and more active faith in our particular places. We Make the Road by Walking offers everything you need to explore what a difference an honest, living, growing faith can make in our world today. It also puts tools in your hands to create a life-changing learning community in any home, restaurant, or other welcoming space.

Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice

by Belden Lane (Oxford University Press)

Lane tells his own story of hiking through the American Southwest with little more than a backpack and a collection of classic spiritual writings. Backpacking with the Saints is an inspiring exploration of how solitude, simplicity and mindfulness are illuminated and encouraged by the discipline of backcountry wandering, and of how the wilderness itself becomes a way of knowing-an ecology of the soul.

Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity

by Jen Hatmaker (NavPress)

Interrupted tells the story of how God grabbed Hatmaker’s attention and guided her—and her family—out of a comfortable consumer Christianity. It is also an invitation for us all to follow on a similar course into a deeper life shaped by the reconciling mission of God.

BONUS: Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus

by John Pattison and C. Christopher Smith (IVP Books)

I’m including this book as a bonus on this list, because I co-wrote it and am obviously biased about whether it belongs here. Check out this review and decide for yourself whether Slow Church is a helpful resource for cultivating a deeper faith.

“Attached is a list of all books that were challenged last year. By the end of today, I need all books pulled from the library and classrooms. Please collect these books and store them in a location. (book room, office, etc.),” wrote executive director of Keller ISD’s curriculum and instruction Jennifer Price in an email, according to The Texas Tribune.

Among the books was Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer, Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Ashley Hope Pérez’s Out of Darkness and Anne Frank’s Diary. And, once again, the Bible.

God’s Word was presumably not the target of the group that made these challenges. Especially since the three newest school board members who approved of the decision were financially backed by Patriot Mobile Action, a Christian political action committee that exists to “support and defend our First Amendment Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion,” according to the group’s website.

Critical Race Theory is a once obscure corner of legal study that has become a broad and poorly understood term in the culture wars, with political activists accusing teachers of using this field of academia to indoctrinate children against America. How exactly the Bible ended up as part of this crusade isn’t clear although, to be fair, it’s not like the Bible doesn’t have a lot of social justice in it.

“Right now, Keller ISD’s administration is asking our campus staff and librarians to review books that were challenged last year to determine if they meet the requirements of the new policy,” the school district said in a statement. “All of the books included in Tuesday’s email have been included on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy.”

In life, he wrote some of the beautiful pieces thoughts about God ever put into the english language. Over the course of 39 novels, memoirs and other books, Buechner (BEEK-ner) wrote about a God better than we dared imagine, a God who delighted in His people, poured grace out freely and offered each precious day of life as a gift.

Buechner was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Godric, his 1981 novel about a 12-century holy man attempting to rid himself of pride. And his Lion Country, about the a fake priest fleeing an ugly past, was a National Book Award finalist in 1971.

Buechner suffused his novels with bad and unusual people who are shocked to find themselves the recipients of endless mercy, and in turn become conduits of that mercy for others. Buechner’s God dispensed of grace in boundless quantities that defied reason and stunned the senses.

Buechner himself found that grace throughout his whole life. After a rootless childhood with a father who struggled to keep steady work before dying of suicide, Buechner attended Princeton and then began writing in earnest in New York City. He attended seminary after publishing a couple critically acclaimed novels, and his writing took on its celebrated exploration of divinity in the mundane.

“Contrary to widespread religious belief,” he wrote in an essay for The New York Times, “I don’t think God goes around changing things in the sense of making bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people, or of giving one side victory over the other in wars, or of pushing a bill through Congress to make school prayer constitutional.”

Instead, Buechner believed that “God opens up possibilities of redemptive human change in the inner selves, even of people who wouldn’t be caught dead believing in Him.”

Through his many books, essays and pieces of criticism, he wrote of God in ways that his many, many fans have internalized. Among his many treasured quotes:

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” – Wishful Thinking

“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.” – Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation

“Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all.” –  The Clown in the Belfry: Writings on Faith and Fiction

Longsuffering isn’t a word I want to be part of my story. It means having or showing patience despite troubles. And I don’t particularly want troubles to begin with, let alone for any extended period of time.

Thankfully, this passage of Scripture offers us encouragement for when we’re not sure we can endure our season of suffering for one more second.

In Jeremiah 29, the children of Israel got news from the prophet Jeremiah that they were going to be held in captivity by Babylon for seventy years. Think about how long seventy years is. If we had to go to prison today for seventy years, for most of us that would mean we’d probably die in captivity. Seventy years feels impossibly long, incredibly unfair, and horribly hard. It would seem like a lifetime of hardship without a lifeline of hope.

But here’s what God told the people of Israel: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).

This is the scene and the setting where we then get these familiar and glorious promises I love to cling to:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you …” (Jeremiah 29:11‒14, ESV).

God is assuring His people that His thoughts and intentions toward them are fixed and established. His plans are for their “welfare” not for hurt. His sure and steady promise is one of restoration.

But He also reminds them of what they must do as they await the fulfillment of His promise. They need to call on Him. They need to intentionally and wholeheartedly seek Him.

When we seek God, we see God. We don’t see His physical form, but we see Him at work and can start to see more of what He sees. Trust grows. If our hearts are willing to trust Him, He will entrust to us more of His perspective.

If we want to see Him in our circumstances and see His perspective, we must seek Him, His ways, and His Word. That’s where we find His good plans and promises for hope and a future.

If we find ourselves in an incredibly disappointing place—a place we don’t want to be—it’s easy to start feeling that some of God’s good plans don’t apply to us. We can even lapse into the mentality that we somehow slipped through the cracks of God’s good plans.

But the truth is, God is closer than we often realize. Like I’ve stated before, He sees things we don’t see, and He knows things we don’t know. He has a perspective from where He is that allows Him to see all things—the past, the present, and the future—from the day we were conceived to the day we breathe our last breath, and even beyond that into eternity. He declares He is our rescuer. He is the One who will sustain us. And He is more than able to bring His plans to pass (Isaiah 46:3–11).

All these things were true for the Israelites. And they’re true for us.

For the Israelites, the news that they would be in captivity for seventy years was absolute reality. But the truth that God had a good plan and a purpose not to harm them but to give them a future and a hope—that promise was very much in process all the while they were in captivity.

Don’t rush past that last sentence too quickly. God’s promises for you are in process as well. Right now. Even in circumstances where you can’t see any evidence of good yet. Just remember “not yet” doesn’t mean “not ever.”

Let’s cry out to Him in the midst of our suffering. Let’s earnestly seek Him and ask Him to help us look at our circumstances through the lens of certainty in who He is even when we are uncertain about how things will work out. We are not forgotten. And our longsuffering won’t seem nearly as long or nearly as painful when we know God’s perspective is to use every single second of our suffering for good.

Father God, thank You for reminding me I can trust You in the waiting. Thank You for being present even in these moments. I know You will carry me through, and I trust You in the process. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Adapted from Seeing Beautiful Again: 50 Devotions to Find Redemption in Every Part of Your Story by Lysa TerKeurst Copyright ã March 2021 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.ThomasNelson.com

“We support individual parents’ choices concerning their child’s reading and believe that parents should not have those choices dictated by others,” said ALA President Patricia Wong in a press release. “Young people need to have access to a variety of books from which they can learn about different perspectives.”

So, why are people trying to ban these books?

Many (though not all) of the books in question focus on themes of racial identities and sexual orientation. Efforts to ban or otherwise limit access to them are often tied, directly or otherwise, to political controversies around things like Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ equality. Books like Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give and David Levithan’s Two Boys Kissing are drafted into a culture war in which depictions of the Black experience in the U.S., non-gender conforming relationships and other subject matter are seen as pushing certain agendas.

Tell me more about these books.

Over 1,500 books have been targeted by various bans at the state and local levels, and they run an enormous gamut in terms of content. Some, like Dr. Carrie Leff and Dr. Lisa Klein’s Celebrate Your Body 2: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Preteen and Teen Girls, simply contain frank drawings and descriptions of changing bodies that are deemed “pornographic.” Others, like Ashley Hope Perez’s Out of Darkness and Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, were targeted because some considered its raw depictions of sexual abuse to be inappropriate. Many more were put on blast for centering on the experiences of LGBTQ people.

Who, exactly, wanted these books banned and what does “banned” mean? 

Again, it’s a pretty broad list, but experts say this recent push to ban books is unique from past challenges in that it’s being driven less by private citizens and more by political groups who have the organization and resources to elevate these efforts into legitimate challenges. Social media campaigns whip up numbers who can then move these concerns forward in a way past challenges could not.

In many cases, the attempts came from political leaders and education officials. In Wyoming, a county prosecutor’s office weighed charges against library employees because the library has books like Sex Is a Funny Word. A bill was introduced in the Oklahoma State Senate that would prohibit stocking books that focus on sex and sexual identity. In Tennessee, the McMinn County Board of Education voted to remove Maus from an eight-grade module on the Holocaust.

So “banning” often means limiting or outright denying access to such books in places where kids can get their hands on them.

Why do they want these books banned? 

Some groups say books like Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale contain certain perspectives and opinions they don’t want their kid reading. A group called No Left Turn in Education says such books are “used to spread radical and racist ideologies to students.”

For example, The 1619 Project is an enormously popular target for its historical evaluation of slavery in America — an evaluation that argues slavery played a far more central role in the formation of the United States than has been popularly acknowledged. In this telling, the triumphant vision of America’s Founding Fathers throwing off the chains of tyranny to become a “shining city on a hill” runs up against the fact of how much of America’s founding owes to the oppression of Black men and women forced into labor.

But the broader issue is one of parental control. Parents’ rights groups say parents have the right to determine what their kids do and don’t learn about, particularly when it comes to sensitive issues like sex. “The bottom line is if parents are concerned about something, politicians need to pay attention,” said Tiffany Justice, a former school board member and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, in an interview with the New York Times. “2022 will be a year of the parent at the ballot box.”

OK. So what’s the pushback? 

There are general concerns about providing children with a wide variety of perspectives and just general concerns about fostering a culture of open thought in which parents guide their children responsibly instead of banning all alternative views. More specifically, other groups say that banning these books restricts the rights of parents who do want their kids to read these stories. They say that parents who don’t want their children to read such books can reach out to teachers individually and ask for an exception.

Longtime Marvel bad guy Exodus is an ancient telepath who spent much of his early life as a French crusader named Bennet du Paris, a mutant and religious fanatic. These days, he’s in an uneasy alliance with his erstwhile enemies the X-Men in helping run a fledgling nation where all mutants, good and bad, can have refuge from human persecution. Unbeknownst to the world at large, the citizens of this new mutant nation have discovered a way to bring people back from the dead (comics!) and there’s been a lot of tension about the right way to wield this power.

That’s what sparks Exodus’ observation. “The Nazarene mutant inspired a church among the humans by raising a couple from the dead,” he muses. “I just watched you beat that in the last five minutes.”

So, what does it all mean? Is Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, a mutant in Marvel Comics? Let’s take a look at the evidence.

For starters, a core theme of the X-Men comics is that mutants are people too and having a mutant “gene” does not fundamentally change their humanity. At their best, the X-Men fight for justice and equality because many mutants face so much bigotry, discrimination and persecution. In other words, mutants are an ostracized group in Marvel Comics, and if Jesus identifies with one group in any multiverse, it’s the ostracized.

Now, that being said, we’re not given any indication that Exodus knows what he’s talking about here. X-men x-pert Connor Goldsmith, host of the mutant-centric podcast Cerebro, speculated that Exodus would naturally assume any human capable of miracles was actually a mutant, whether or not it was actually the case. “It’s a perfectly sensical line coming from him, but it’s presumably just his assumption,” Goldsmith tweeted. In other words, Exodus heard about a man who could heal the sick and raise the dead, and he naturally assumed it was a mutant power without really considering was “the Nazarene” was claiming about himself.

In any case, plenty of Marvel characters think of Jesus as God. The X-Men count many Christians among their number. Most notably, the classic blue, fuzzy teleporting German Kurt Wagner, nicknamed Nightcrawler, is a Roman Catholic, a former priest and the subject of a surprisingly theological episode of the old animated X-Men series.

And don’t forget the Illuminator. In the ’90s, Marvel teamed up with Thomas Nelson to create a spiritual superhero called the Illuminator, whose powers grew in accordance with his faith in God. It was a short-lived series, but it referenced events taking place in other Marvel Comics at the time, so that means it is part of Marvel’s main continuity.

So, yes, Christians exist in Marvel Comics (as do Jews, Muslims and followers of the ancient Egyptian deity Khonshu). Exodus may be making some big assumptions about Jesus but just look at this fit. Does he seem like the kind of guy who plays it safe when it comes to making assumptions?

But Maus isn’t alone. There are other uncomfortable plots lurking in the school library that our precious children could pick up and read at any time. In order to be thorough in the quest to protect kids from anything that might upset the fragile theme park of their developing minds, here are other stories we should ban, just to be safe.

Lot Fleeing the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 

This story is already dicey with the divine destruction of an entire city, but the aftermath with Lot and his two daughters in the desert, getting up to unspeakable and incestual hijinks? Not in our schools.

Source: Genesis 19: 30 – 38

Jael Murdering Sisera

This story starts off with Deborah the prophetess leading Israel’s armies against the Canaanites, which might inspire some younger readers to think God might call women to lead. Bad turns to worse when the Israelite army routes the Canaanites and their general Sisera takes refuge in the tent of a woman named Jael, who pounds a tent peg through his skull. The idea of a young mind internalizing such woman-on-male violence is almost too horrifying to be considered.

Source: 2 Samuel 18: 6-33

The Song of Solomon

This one is just …well, look. We can’t have kids reading it, OK?

Source: The Song of Solomon

David Wins Michal’s Hand in Marriage 

Everyone loves the story of David and Goliath, but we should really stop teaching it to kids, since David’s life is full of lessons no child should be reading. As just one example, his father-in-law to-be King Saul requires David win his daughter’s hand in marriage by bringing him 100 Philistine foreskins. That would be a dangerous enough way to teach kids about healthy dating, but David actually goes over the top and brings Saul 200 foreskins.

Source: 1 Samuel 18:25-27

Teenagers Mauled by Bears

On its surface, this is just a story about young people learning to respect their elders. Nothing wrong with that, you might be thinking. But you’d be wrong, because in this case, the prophet Elisha sicks two bears on a group of teenagers mocking him for his baldness. A terrifying story at any age. Surely we can teach children the importance of respecting bald people without threatening them with being eaten by bears.

Source: 2 Kings 2: 23-25

A Fish Pays Peter’s Taxes

When Jesus and the disciples are asked to pay taxes, Jesus says it’s the right thing to do so that they don’t offend anyone, and tells Peter to go catch a fish that will miraculously have enough money stuck in its mouth to pay what they owe. Neat trick on Jesus’ part, but giving Peter a handout robbed him of learning a valuable lesson about good, hard work. Definitely not something to pass along to children.

Source: Matthew 17:24-26.

“There is some rough, objectionable language in this book,” said Lee Parkison, the director of schools for McMinn County, according to minutes of the meeting. The book is by Art Spiegelman and tells the true story of him learning about the horrors his father witnessed as a Jew in Germany during World War II. In the book, Jewish people are depicted as mice and German Nazis are cats. The school board objected to the book being part of eight grade curriculum on account of several curse words and a drawing of naked mice in Auschwitz.

The school board probably didn’t intend to make Maus more popular, but the outrage over their decision went an unexpected direction. On Thursday, Maus was #1,945 on Amazon’s bestseller list. As of this writing, it’s #23 and climbing, clinching the very top spot in several categories. This comes as the Anti-Defamation League is sounding the alarm about a rise in anti-semitism in the U.S., as well as a movement to ban books about the U.S. history of racism.

As it just so happens, Thursday was Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Spiegelman told the New York Times that he was baffled that a school board would want to sanitize the ugly realities of one of the ugliest chapters in modern world history for a classroom. “This is disturbing imagery,” he said. “But you know what? It’s disturbing history.”

In 1967, Smith published a sequel that picks up where 101 Dalmatians left off and if you’re not sitting down, it’s time. As recently highlighted by religion reporter Bob Smietana on Twitter, the plot is almost too wild to not be immediately and ravenously consumed.

It’s called The Starlight Barking, and it’s a cosmic adventure across time and space involving a supernatural plague, intergalactic canine gods, the threat of nuclear holocaust and existential ruminations on love and humanity, all starring our pals Pongo and Perdita from One Hundred and One Dalmatians. 

Mystified? We haven’t even gotten started. We’ll summarize the plot here as best we can so beware of spoilers for a 50 year old book from here on out, although you’re probably better off treating this as a fair warning before you read the actual book, which you should definitely do.

The plot kicks off one morning when our Dalmatian pals wake up to find their human owners and every other non-dog creature on earth trapped in a non-responsive slumber. Moreover, all dogs seem to have woken up with super dog powers, including the ability to communicate with each other telepathically across huge distances. Our Dalmatian heroes all gather at Buckingham Palace where the Prime Minister’s dog has assumed power in his owner’s coma and attempt to strategize a solution.

Their first thought is that their old nemesis Cruella de Vil is behind all this (somehow?) and they send — this is all in the book, remember — a team of canine assassins to her home to take care of this problem with extreme prejudice. However, they find Cruella in the same state catatonic state as the rest of humanity. The dogs spare her life.

Every dog in the world then receives a telepathic message, instructing them to gather in open spaces in their communities by midnight. Our Dalmatian friends head to Trafalgar Square with the rest of England’s dogs where they meet Sirius the Lord of the Dog Star, who says he is lonely and offers every dog on earth the opportunity to join him in an intergalactic canine paradise. Sirius is gravely concerned about the threat of nuclear war (fair enough), and is giving earth’s dogs a chance to get while the getting’s good. If they agree to join him, the rest of the world will wake up with no memory of dogs ever existing on earth. No harm, no foul.

The earth dogs let Pongo make the call and he, after speaking with a few strays who don’t want to leave and miss out on the chance to find true love with a real human owner (awww), decides to reject Sirius’ offer. For Pongo, true paradise is found in loving and being loved by humans. Sirius sadly accepts the decision and returns everything to normal.

Except we can never be normal again, because now we know that One Hundred and One Dalmatians takes place in a cinematic universe with paranormal laws that make the Marvel movies look downright pedestrian in comparison.

Now, some of this makes sense. Like the rest of the world at the time, Smith was justifiably concerned about the threat of nuclear war. The world was also in the midst of a scifi and fantasy moment, so the departure from the original made sense on paper to many publishers. It did not, however make sense to Walt Disney, who’d expressed interest in adapting more of Smith’s work but unfortunately passed on The Starlight Barking, which is a true shame because can you imagine?

It’s not the first legacy name that’s pulling double duty in Marvel Comics, where superhero titles are often treated like mantles to be passed along. There have been (at least) two Spider-Men swinging around New York City simultaneously for several years now, with both Peter Parker and Miles Morales handling web-slinging duties. And “Wolverine” is being used by both gruff old Logan and his clone/daughter Laura (comics!) in the X-Men franchise. And tracing the legacy of the various Captain Marvels throughout the ages is a headache for even the most studious superhero nerd. DC Comics is also juggling two different Batmen (both Bruce Wayne and a future version who is the son of a Wayne Corps employee named Lucius Fox), two Supermen (both Clark Kent and his son, Jonathan) and Wonder Women (both Princess Diana and a Brazilian Amazon named Yara Flor).

But Captain America comes with extra weight, saddled as he is with the American flag and its associated dream. That dream can look very different depending on whether you look like Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson, and Marvel tried to navigate that complex social commentary in Disney Plus’ Falcon and the Winter Soldier series. That show saw Wilson taking up the mantle of Captain America while also wrestling with the nation’s legacy of racial injustice. No mean feat, and reviews were mixed on how nimbly the issue was handled. But maybe such legacies can be handled better in superheroes’ native environment: comic books.

Steve Rogers’ adventures will appear in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and drawn Carmen Carnero, Tochi Onyebuchi and artist R.B. Silva will handle Sam Wilson. On the movie side of things, Captain America 4 is currently in development with Mackie in the lead role.

You’ve probably heard the Mahatma Gandhi quote: “I like your Christ, but not your Christianity.” This was Rice’s attitude. Though raised Catholic, Rice spent much of her life as an atheist. That changed in 1998 when she returned to her beloved New Orleans and, along with it, the Catholic Church, with which she suddenly found a deep bond. As she would write in her memoir Called Out of Darkness: 

In the moment of surrender, I let go of all the theological or social questions which had kept me from [God] for countless years. I simply let them go. There was the sense, profound and wordless, that if He knew everything I did not have to know everything, and that, in seeking to know everything, I’d been, all of my life, missing the entire point. No social paradox, no historic disaster, no hideous record of injustice or misery should keep me from Him. No question of Scriptural integrity, no torment over the fate of this or that atheist or gay friend, no worry for those condemned and ostracized by my church or any other church should stand between me and Him. The reason? It was magnificently simple: He knew how or why everything happened; He knew the disposition of every single soul. He wasn’t going to let anything happen by accident! Nobody was going to go to Hell by mistake.

In 2005, she wrote Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, a fictionalized account of Jesus’ childhood. But in 2010, she posted a lengthy statement on Facebook declaring that while she still loved Jesus, she no longer wanted to be identified with American Christianity.

“Today I quit being a Christian,” she wrote. “I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

Shortly thereafter, she released a clarifying statement, saying that while Jesus was still central to her life, “following Christ does not mean following His followers.”

Anthony Broadwater spent 16 years in jail for the 1981 rape of Sebold when she was attending Syracuse University. She wrote about her attack and its aftermath in Lucky, which was published in 1999. She’s gone on to write books like The Looking Glass, The Almost Moon and The Lovely Bones, which was adapted into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci.

“I never, ever, ever thought I would see the day that I would be exonerated,” Broadwater said, sobbing, after court vacated his conviction, according to the Post-Standard of Syracuse.

“I’m not going to sully this proceeding by saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ That doesn’t cut it,” said the Onondaga county district attorney, William Fitzpatrick. “This should never have happened.”

In a Medium post, Sebold wrote that she regretted the fact that she “unwittingly” had a role in “a system that sent an innocent man to jail.”

“I am sorry most of all for the fact that the life you could have led was unjustly robbed from you,” she wrote. “And I know that no apology can change what happened to you and never will. It has taken me these past eight days to comprehend how this could have happened.”

In Lucky, Sebold relates her experience of being raped by a stranger when she was a freshman at Syracuse. Months later, she says a Black man smiled at her while she was walking, and she was certain it was her attacker.

“He was smiling as he approached. He recognized me. It was a stroll in the park to him; he had met an acquaintance on the street,” wrote Sebold, who is white. “‘Hey, girl,’ he said. ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’ …I looked directly at him. Knew his face had been the face over me in the tunnel.”

A police officer told her Broadwater may have been the man in question, but Sebold, who is White, didn’t identify him in a police lineup. Instead, she identified a different man. Nevertheless, Broadwater ended up being convicted after Sebold later identified him in court. He was released from prison in 1999, after being denied parole a number of times because he refused to admit his guilt, and was released as a registered sex offender. Since then, Broadwater has worked as a handyman and trash hauler. He told the AP that the rape conviction has made finding steady work difficult, and has ostracized him from family and friends. He unsuccessfully tried to clear his name five times.

When Netflix picked up Lucky for an adaptation, producer Tim Mucciante of Red Badge Films noted some serious flaws in Broadwater’s case while reading a first draft of the script. “I started poking around and trying to figure out what really happened here,” he told the Associated Press.

He dropped out of the film project but continued investigating the story itself, working with a private investigator and a Syracuse law firm to dig deeper into Broadwater’s conviction. Ultimately, they cleared his name.

In a conversation with the New York Times, Broadwater said he appreciated Sebold’s apology.

Dr. Hillary McBride addresses this issue in her new book, The Wisdom of Your Body. McBride, a licensed psychologist and award-winning researcher, explores the broken and unhealthy ideas we have inherited about our body and how embodiment can lead us to find healing, wholeness and connection. McBride spoke with RELEVANT Associate Editor Emily Brown about embodied living and how recognizing the way our body is connected to emotions and spirituality gives us a holistic view of ourselves.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Emily Brown: Why do you think it’s important that people understand that your body is more than something physical?

Dr. Hillary McBride: I think it allows us to fully inhabit ourselves. I think it is about coming home to ourselves more fully, and actually living with more nuance, more richness, more depth. So much of our existence is in the body, and yet we have relegated our sense of identity to this tiny little piece of tissue in our frontal lobe that’s responsible for conscious thought. We think that that’s where most of us exists, and we’re missing the rest of it.

I think the secondary piece of that is, we need to undo systems that have disconnected us from our body, and the only way to do that is to come into ourselves more fully. I think that embodiment is a way that we undo some of the damage of patriarchal culture, of colonization, of fatphobia, of white supremacy, sexism and so many other things. I think that embodiment is part of how we create a more just and loving world. 

Can you explain what you mean when you say “embodiment?”

I like the definition that really comes from the academic sphere. Merleau-Ponty and Niva Piran, their work has really influenced me and my understanding of this, so I’ll borrow from their definition heavily, that says, “Embodiment is the lived and felt experience of being a body — not just having a body, but being a body — and then how that experience is shaped by our engagement with the social world around us.”

So to be a body is not a solitary or isolated experience. It’s something that is worked out, nuanced and shaped by the social spheres that we’re in, that tell us about which bodies are good or not, how to show up in our space physically, et cetera. 

One of the chapters of your book explores how the body stores trauma and stress, which I think is a really interesting concept a lot of people aren’t aware of. Can you explain a few ways that trauma and stress tend to manifest itself in our bodies without us realizing it?

The first way to understand how trauma is stored in the body is to flesh out our conceptualization of what memory is.

When we think about memory, most of us think about the lists that we make in our mind that we use to then help us go grocery shopping. We think about this list with categories and items that we could remember and recite. That’s actually only one very specific kind of memory.

Our nervous system in our body has the ability to form a memory associated with procedures and emotion and implicit experiences. So what that means is that our body is storing memory that doesn’t actually have anything to do with language or specific time stamped memories.

One of the ways that it does that is it codes sensory information based on our current surroundings, and locks those together with the intensity of the response that we had when we encountered something. An example might be we smell something, and then we have a scary experience, and because those things are together, next time we smell that thing, our body’s going to queue up all of the intensity, we need to get out of there so that if we’re in danger, like we were the time before, we don’t get hurt because we didn’t see it coming.

It can also work in terms of having a more pleasurable embodied experience, but primarily, our body is really good at trying to keep us alive. Sometimes we have these experiences where we’re really worked up about something, and we think it’s about the thing in front of us. And most of the time, it’s not about the thing in front of us; it’s about what the thing in front of us reminds us of. But our body doesn’t remind us in a linear cognitive way. It reminds us in a felt, experiential, unconscious way.

How can knowing that people might have these traumas or stress living in their body make us more sensitive?

I think being sensitive to people’s reactions and not personalizing them — in a way that we think we have to get defensive — is really important.

I think I’ve learned a lot from Black women in the activist space, who are talking about tone policing. The way that white culture problematizes Black women’s anger, we need to remember that that’s not necessarily something we need to get defensive about. We actually get to say, “There’s something important happening here. And if I’m not rushing into assuming that this is about me, necessarily, then I can hold space for your anger. I can hold space for all of the ways that you have been silenced in the past instead of rushing into silence you.”

So I think that’s one application of it; anticipating things, reading body language, talking about things ahead of time, giving people consent to go into a traumatic area of conversation or whatnot. 

I kind of want to switch gears a little bit, because there’s another part of your book that I really want to talk to you about. It’s the chapter on the spirit side of the body. You share this one idea that, in the Church, we are taught that the flesh is the enemy of the spirit and you talk about how hearing that message can make us have this negative view of our bodies.

How can Christians change our language to make sure we’re not spreading these negative body ideas?

So much of the way that we have constructed this mind-body dualism in the Church has had a really significant, negative influence on culture at large.

Most of our cultures, whether you like to believe it or not now, were influenced deeply by theological ideas and interpretation of scripture, and that was deeply wrapped up in colonization, white supremacy and all of the other narratives that go along with that.

So I think one of the changes that we can do is start to develop a more critical hermeneutic of scripture. Reading the text with an understanding of what’s going on culturally for the writers and the interpreters — I just think that’s a really important piece of this Be aware of how it is interpreted and so many of us read our own biases into Scripture.

If we can be aware of our assumptions, and how those are impacting our reading, we can start to see how there are things that we’re seeing in the texts that aren’t necessarily there, and that’s shaping the stories that we tell about bodies in our faith communities.

Maybe an antidote to this as well is remembering that the incarnation is at the center of the Christian faith. There is no way for us to see that bodies are bad, while also seeing that the whole premise of this faith rests on God taking on flesh, God becoming enfleshed in a body. And so these ideas are fundamentally incompatible with the idea that the body’s bad, but the spirit is good. Jesus, who is without sin, is in a body! That means that maybe we’re misunderstanding, or maybe there’s something more complex going on here in those ideas that are being fleshed out in Scripture. 

Hillary McBride’s The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living is available now.

On Saturday, chief creative officer and publisher of DC Jim Lee announced that Superman’s new mission statement will be “truth, justice and a better tomorrow.” In a press statement, DC Comics said that the statement got an update “to better reflect the storylines that we are telling across DC and to honor Superman’s incredible legacy of over 80 years of building a better world.”

“Truth, justice and the American way” hasn’t always been tied to Superman. The statement was actually birthed during the war effort in the 1940s, when it was added to the “Superman” radio series as a way of showing support for overseas troops, who were devouring superhero comics. It made another appearance during the 1950s TV show, when Hollywood was especially eager to prove its patriotic bonafides against accusations of secret Communist sympathies.

But the motto underwent a change in the 1960s for the animated “The New Adventures of Superman” series, where Superman declared his belief in “truth, justice and freedom.” However, the iconic Christopher Reeves movies revived the “American way” spin on the motto, cementing Superman as a distinctly American hero. Still the Lois and Clark TV show just went with “truth and justice,” full stop while Brandon Routh’s 2006 Superman Returns went with “truth, justice, all that stuff.”

But the new motto feels official in a way those tweaks did not, and part of a larger overall rebranding of Superman. Earlier this month, the company had Superman’s son Jon Kent — who also goes by “Superman” in the topsy turvy world of superhero comic book timelines — is bisexual. Ta-Nehisi Coates is hard at work on a new Superman movie in which the Man of Steel will be Black.

In the meantime, it appears Batman is still obsessed with fear.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Available now 

This thrilling novel is one of those can’t-put-down, stay-up-all-night-to-read books. The story follows Jacob Finch Bonner, a once promising young novelist turned MFA-program professor who publishes a student’s work under his name after the student dies. But then Jacob’s secrets start to catch up to him and someone — but who? — threatens to expose him. Will Jacob be able to keep up with his lies? Who exactly was this student of his? And who is trying to reveal the truth? Jean Hanff Korelitz keeps readers on their toes and ready to turn the next page. 

Misfits by Michaela Coel

Available now

In case her Emmy win for Outstanding Writing wasn’t enough to convince you that Michaela Coel is a gifted author, perhaps Misfits will. The creator and star of I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum penned a beautifully written story about the ups and downs of trying to stand out. “By embracing our differences,” she says, “we can transform our lives.” Misfits is an honest account that champions all of us to be “misfits” ourselves. 

Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace by John Mark Comer

Available now

In our daily lives, John Mark Comer explains, we face three major enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world. In Live No Lies, Comer identifies each of these enemies and the role they play in our lives, and how we can overcome them. You can learn how to find and maintain tru peace by identifying the lies and replacing them with truth. 

He spoke with the RELEVANT Podcast about his book ahead of its launch, which you can listen to here. 

The Wisdom of the Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living by Hillary McBride

Available October 12

Hillary McBride, a psychologist and award-winning researcher, explores the broken and unhealthy ideas we have about our body in The Wisdom of the Body. In this book, McBride expertly explains how various systems of influence in our world shape the way we view ourselves and our bodies. She combines personal narrative with years of research to provide practices and tips on how we can view our bodies in a holistic and healthy mindset. “Instead of the body being a problem to overcome, our bodies can be the very place where we feel most alive, the seat of our spirituality and our wisdom.”

Divine Disruption: Holding on to Faith When Life Breaks Your Heart by Tony Evans, Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Anthony Evans, Jonathan Evans

Available November 9

Dr. Tony Evans is joined by his four children — Chrystal, Priscilla, Anthony, and Jonathan — in their first book together as a family. Divine Disruption explores the various hardships we all experience in life and how God can break through with the power of hope. In the book, the Evans family discuss their faith-shaking experiences, from the grief of losing six loved ones in less than two years’ time, including the family matriarch, to an exploration into dealing with the various hard, unexpected curveballs. It’s a timely message that everyone can find a way to relate to. 

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

Available November 9

Emily Ratajkowski, model, actress, entrepreneur and now, writer, gets deeply vulnerable and honest about what it means to be a woman and a commodity in My Body. The essays explore moments from Ratajkowski’s life while investigating the culture’s fetishization of girls and female beauty, its obsession with and contempt for women’s sexuality, the perverse dynamics of the fashion and film industries, and the grey area between consent and abuse. Ratajkowski’s experience in her career and personal life make her an excellent choice to give insight on the topic of our culture’s commodification of women.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult 

Available November 30

Jodi Picoult is an accomplished author of 27 bestselling books. From The Book of Two Ways to Small Great Things, Picoult knows how to turn a dark situation into a hopeful experience.

In Wish You Were Here, Diana O’Toole’s life is derailed when her trip to the Galápagos rapidly derails. She finds herself isolated and out of her comfort zone, slowly unraveling the truth about her relationships, her choices, and herself. Picoult weaves humor and wit with moments of truth and vulnerability in her latest novel. 

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

Available December 7

Presidential inaugural poet and New York Times bestselling author Amanda Gorman has a way with words. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores this chaotic moment in time and turns it into a melodic poem of hope and healing. She leaves no stone unturned in her poems, exploring history, language, identity, grief and erasure to reflect on our past and be a voice of hope for the future. 

Using new interviews with Burton and others involved in the show, Butterfly in the Sky will “honor the show’s legacy and teach younger generations about this milestone in television history in our current era of distance learning.”

Co-director Brett Whitcomb said that “Reading Rainbow was my window into the big city and into diverse cultures …With segments like those in ‘Hill of Fire,’ ‘Liang and the Magic Paintbrush,’ and countless other episodes, Reading Rainbow was arguably the first time I encountered ‘documentary-style’ television as a young person, planting a seed that would inspire me for the rest of my life and lead me to where I am in my career to this day.”

“As a Mexican-American growing up in Houston, I was always surrounded by diversity. More than any show on television, Reading Rainbow reflected the cultures that surrounded me,” agreed Whitcomb’s co-director Bradford Thomason. “When the book fair came to my school, I went straight for the Reading Rainbow titles. I didn’t know it at the time, but the show’s mission statement was manifesting itself in me. I devour books to this day and I know Reading Rainbow had a hand in that.”

Reading Rainbow kicked off its 26-year run in 1983, and would go on to win 26 Emmys and a Peabody, along with ushering children into the world of literature made for them. Burton was a winsome host, whose love of books was addictive but, of course, you never had to take his word for it. He brought on a dazzling array of guests (some of whom he flew in from his night job on the starship Enterprise). Sesame Street gave kids the building blocks of education and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood taught emotional intelligence, but Reading Rainbow‘s focus was on equipping their imaginations. A peek behind the curtain to see how they did it ought to be a good, wholesome time.

After catching up in the hallway outside the sanctuary, I knew Nicole just needed a break. She worked a full-time job and had two kids under five years old. Then, as I was praying for her to find rest and peace, something said to me, Why don’t you offer to watch her kids? She needs a break, so give her a break. But I pushed the thought aside and asked God to make a way for her.

No one intentionally tries to ignore people in pain (unless they are a psychopath or someone who kicks little dogs). But sometimes, in our busyness, we fall into dangerous patterns, repeating the same old go-to verses and walking through emotionless prayers by rote. We can get so used to the autopilot ritual or praying for each other that we stop believing we might actually be the answer to someone’s prayer, the solution to someone’s problem.

Throughout the entire book of Ruth, we see a specific theme that occurs in every chapter. It is the blessing of “lovingkindness” given as a prayer over those in need. The Hebrew word is hesed, a summation of the characteristics of God: loving, compassionate, kind, good.

So when Boaz blessed Ruth in chapter 2, verses 11–12, he essentially said, “Ruth, your character and reputation precede you. Everyone is talking about your hard life, but also how you love the Lord and have come here to live among God’s people. I have heard you’ve been loyal and faithful to your mother-in-law, which is so honorable. I pray God will provide for you with food, friends, and family.”

Boaz, a man of stature and status, publicly blessed a barren Moabite widow. His prayer of lovingkindness (hesed) was asking God to provide what Ruth had lost: a home, a family, a husband, a baby, and a future.

There are many functions of prayer, but the one I want to focus on is this: Sometimes prayer changes the heart of the one who is asking.

I want to reiterate something I mentioned briefly before. After Boaz prayed that Ruth would be rewarded by God for her faithfulness, he effectively answered his own prayer. Boaz prayed that God would protect and care for Ruth. Was that prayer answered? Yes. Who did God send to answer the prayer of Boaz? Boaz! I will argue, based on this text, that sometimes we will answer our own prayers.

While praying for Nicole, I dismissed the idea that I might offer her anything other than the prayer itself.

It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized how absurd that was. Sure, I couldn’t pay preschool fees for Nicole’s children, but I could clean her house. I wasn’t available as a permanent nanny, but I could babysit for a night. So that’s exactly what I did. Like Mary Poppins, I came in with a big bag of tricks (aka cleaning supplies, DVDs and junk food for the kids) and sent Nicole out for a manicure. In no way was I trying to be a savior or a fixer, but I knew surely there was something I could do to help her. As Boaz prayed for Ruth to experience God’s hesed, I prayed for Nicole to experience the same blessing. As it turned out, that meant me answering my own prayer.

Sometimes we shy away from helping because we feel our help is inconsequential or meaningless. But hesed is never without effect. We might be the answer to someone’s problem. We might be the solution to someone’s issue. We might be the hesed we are praying for. Be brave and look for ways to help those in need. Maybe you have a friend who’s struggling with her weight and lack of motivation. What would it look like to reach out and go for a walk together? Maybe you have a family member struggling financially. Could you send them a note and a gift card to make them feel loved? It might not feel like a big donation to you, but in a moment of lack it might feel like a divine provision to them.

Small gestures feel like big love. You’ve got this!

This article is excerpted with permission from How to Have Your Life Not Suck: Becoming Today Who You Want to Be Tomorrow (Zondervan) by Bianca Juarez Olthoff.

That’s right, Schitt’s Creek fans. Our favorite father-son duo Eugene and Daniel Levy, co-creators and stars of the heartwarming TV hit, are working together again. This time, they’re releasing an official Schitt’s Creek book titled Best Wishes, Warmest Regards. (Fans will remember this is also the title of the official Schitt’s Creek documentary on Netflix.)

When the series ended last year, fans had mixed feelings about saying goodbye to the Roses. Their larger-than-life personalities tread the line of being just this side of too much, but they were always one pop culture’s more lovable family units. The series wrapped up everyone’s storylines in a very neat bow, leaving fans with happy memories of our pals. After the series wrapped, Dan Levy said he had no plans to continue the show, unless “an idea pops into my head, [but] it has to be really freaking good because this is a nice way to say goodbye.”

The book won’t be a continuation of the series, but rather a celebration of the show. According to Glamour magazine, the book will capture the “essence and alchemy of all six seasons,” including, “the town, the characters, and the state of mind that is Schitt’s Creek.”

“As a self-proclaimed fan since its launch in 2015, I’m delighted to part of the global phenomenon that is Schitt’s Creek,” said Jamie Coleman, the Publishing Director at Trapeze Books. “The show has established a position as the kind of escapist television that we’ve needed in tumultuous times. To enter the world of Schitt’s Creek is to escape to somewhere you don’t want to leave and for so many viewers, the series finishing left them bereft. 

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards will be available October 26, 2021.

The book is called At Love’s Command by Karen Witemeyer, and it won this year’s Romance Writers of America’s Vivian Award for best romance with religious or spiritual elements. The award brought new scrutiny and attention to the book’s plot, and led to a number of romance novel fans expressing frustration and disappointment with its depiction of the events at Wounded Knee. Hoo boy.

According to Religion News Service‘s Emily McFarlane Miller, At Love’s Command follows the story of Matthew Hanger, a fictional ex-cavalry officer haunted by his actions at the very real Wounded Knee Massacre. The book’s prologue finds our “hero” attempting to disarm the Lakota Calvary — taking comfort in Scripture as he does so — when a “medicine man” starts “stirring up defiance,” leading to a Lakota soldier firing his weapon. Hanger gives the order for his calvary to retaliate. What follows is a massacre.

Students of history may note some discrepancies between this telling of Wounded Knee and what actually happened in 1890. We don’t know who fired first. Some tellings of the event do note that a Lakota man’s rifle went off first, but it may have done so accidentally as soldiers were attempting to take it from him. What is clear is that more than 250 Lakota men, women and children were dead by the time it was all over. For years, the massacre was popularly referred to as a battle and 20 U.S. soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. But in 1970, historian Dee Brown’s bestseller Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee exposed the horrors endured by the Lakota people at the battlefield, and the true nature of the day’s events began to overtake the myth. In 1990, Congress passed a resolution expressing “deep regret” for the massacre.

That’s all to say, it’s a very ill-advised setting for a Christian romance, no matter how tortured our hero is by his deeds. That’s how many readers and fans of the genre felt.

“As a Taino, I’m not at all surprised that a book has romanticized genocide,” wrote novelist Mimi Milan. “However, I am VERY disappoined [sic] to see it won an award.”

Novelist Kristan Higgans agreed. “As a past member (chapter president, national board member, speaker, etc.), & despite the efforts of so many who tried so hard to make [Romance Writers of America] better over the years, I think it’s time to disband the @romancewriters organization. It cannot be taken seriously any longer.”

This is far from the first controversy the RWA has weathered in recent years. In fact, the the Vivian Awards are new this year, replacing the old annual RITA awards after the the former president and board of directors all resigned en masse following anger at the lack of diversity. While it was hoped that the overhaul would bring some much needed new energy to the RWA, many writers took At Love’s Command win as a sign that nothing had really changed. This was especially disappointing since Vivian Stephens, the author who founded the Romance Writers of America organization, is herself a Black woman.

As a romance novel fan named Kymberlyn Reed put it, “A ‘romance’ in which the ‘hero’ commits genocide against Native Americans is honored with an award named after the pioneering Black woman founder of RWA is why the organization continues to bleed membership.”

Many other fans noted that the book’s plot felt rung particularly offensive given the hundreds of unmarked Indigenous graves discovered near residential schools across Canada earlier this year. Those stories have brought renewed attention to the atrocities committed against Native Americans, often with the blessing of the Church.

RWA President LaQuette posted a statement acknowledging the controversy and defending the selection, saying At Love’s Command follows Hanger’s redemptive arc. “Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements, as a subgenre of romance, requires a redemptive arc as a genre convention,” LaQuette wrote. “Essentially, the character can’t be redeemed by human means; only through their spiritual/religious awakening can they find redemption for their moral failings and or crimes against humanity.”

Of course, nobody’s arguing that a fictional character can’t experience fictional grace and forgiveness, no matter what they did. But the broader question is whether or not this story is doing the same work as the many, many similar tales that came before it: whitewashing atrocities and then centering the perpetrators rather than the victims.

According to Held Evans’ website, the book is a collection of essays “that ask candid questions about the stories we’ve been told—and the stories we tell—about our faith, our selves, and our world.”

“This book is for the doubter and the dreamer, the seeker and the sojourner, those who long for a sense of spiritual wholeness,” the site continues. “Through theological reflection and personal recollection, Rachel wrestles with God’s grace and love in an imperfect world, looks unsparingly at what the Church is and does, and explores universal human questions about becoming and belonging.”

This is Held Evans’ second posthumous publication this year. What Is God Like?, her first book for children, was likewise started before she died and completed by her friend Matthew Paul Turner.

In life, Held Evans was enormously beloved as a challenging, provocative writer who championed a more open, gracious space for Christians who didn’t fit the accepted White Evangelical mold she and many others had been raised in. With books like Searching for Sunday and Inspired, Held Evans fearlessly challenged sacred cows, but did so with a warmth and wit that made her a lifeline for many believers who didn’t know if there was room for them in the Church. She assured them there was, and her legacy is one of acceptance, belonging and, yes, wholeheartedness.

Well, not quite. For one thing, just about everything you’re looking forward to about that post-quarantine lifestyle can be improved by reading, whether you’re flying to the beach, jogging on the treadmill or sitting shotgun on a trip to the mountains. Your brain is a muscle, and reading is cardio, so don’t be afraid to let the book bug that bit you during lockdown become part of your new normal. You won’t regret it. 

For another thing, a whole host of authors are releasing a ton of great new books this year. Some of these are already your favorite writers. Some are about to be. And all of them have work that’s well worth your time and attention. We at RELEVANT put our heads together and found the books we’re most excited about this year. There should be something for just about everyone. Your summer of fun awaits …and that fun includes some great reading.

For Growing in Your Faith

When We Stand: Seeking the Power of Justice Together by Terence Lester

Why isn’t the Church making a bigger impact? In this book, Lester has a compelling answer: We’re just not close enough to the problem. When We Stand is an argument for proximity — moving physically closer to people in need to stand (literally, when necessary) in solidarity with them. 

What If Jesus Was Serious …About Prayer? by Skye Jethani

For the next book in Jethani’s ongoing series about taking Jesus seriously, prayer gets a serious evaluation that might just transform not only the way you pray, but also the way you think about God.

It’s Not Your Turn: What to Do While You’re Waiting for Your Breakthrough by Heather Thompson Day

Sometimes God gives a green light. Sometimes a red one. But what do we do with the yellow ones, when we feel like we’re in a holding pattern? This book is about a journey to patience and ultimately, contentment.

Don’t Give Your Enemy a Seat at the Table by Louie Giglio 

The title for Passion City Church pastor Louie Giglio’s provocative new title came from a friend. Giglio says he was being “petty” and seeking vindication for a perceived sleight when his friend stopped him in his tracks with a text message that would become the book title. “I realized I’ve just let the enemy come and sit down at my table, and I needed to take control of my table,” he says. “This is the enemy putting these thoughts in my head, and I’m not going to give him a seat at my table.” He told RELEVANT that this was the beginning of an experience that led him to surrender his thought life to God. Now, in his new book, he’s ready to share how he did it.

What do you mean by “the enemy” specifically? How do we know what thoughts are from the enemy versus what aren’t?

We’re talking about the capital E “Enemy” in this book. The text I got connected to was Psalm 23: “I prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies.” God is offering me the opportunity to have this intimacy with Him in the middle of the conflict, but the enemy can get into our minds so quickly.

And how do you know the thoughts are from the enemy? The ones that aren’t what Paul writes about in Philippians 4 are not from God. The thing that struck me when I got into this [book] was when you start hosting those thoughts, you’re actually in a conversation. You’ve let him sit down at your table. Psalm 23 says for us to be at that table with our shepherd.

We don’t want to be negative people. Why is it so hard for us to say no to that?

I think, deep in our fallen nature, we are not prone to the positive. I’m a new creation in Christ, but that new creation is residing in flesh. If given the chance to either speak positively or negatively about something, more often than not, we choose the negative route. That’s when the enemy slides in.

He’s not going to say, “Hey, I’m going to wreck your life.” He just says, “Man, things at work are tough.” Before you know it, you’ve spent about a half an hour in your mind thinking about how hard things at work are.

It’s a lot of work, a lot of retraining the way we think. What’s on the other side of all of this?

Doing what God created us to do. The average human being spends an inordinate amount of life wasting mental energy on negative thoughts when they were created to use that same mental energy to create something positive for the world. On the other side of getting the enemy away from your table is sleep, peace, rest and the creativity that God put you on planet earth to be a part of.

For a Great Story

God Spare the Girls: Kelsey McKinney

When a megachurch pastor’s affair is exposed, it sends his two daughters into spiritual and relational turmoil, grappling with the foundations of their belief in God, their commitment to their ideals and their love for their family. The older sister, Abigail, fights to hold on to her faith. The younger one, Caroline, isn’t so sure. 

The story is fictional, but far too familiar to many who were raised in the church. That includes the author, first-time novelist and Deadspin alum Kelsey McKinney, who herself grew up in church. She says she hopes her novel helps expose the complicated process of re-evaluating what you thought you knew about God when your spiritual heroes let you down.

“I wanted to write a book for people like me: people who grew up with a faith wrapped around them until they were mummified inside of it, and who one day cut themselves out of it and were left standing, free but insecure, unable to feel so snug and safe again. I wanted to write a book that acknowledges what a beautiful, cathartic, and communal thing a faith community could be while refusing to ignore the problems that can grow in those communities.

God Spare the Girls is a story about two sisters who know the evangelical church for all its failures and triumphs and who are disproportionately affected by them. It is a story about sisterhood, and trying to figure out who you are, and sexuality. But at its core it is a story about the pain of questioning where you come from. It’s a book I wish I had been able to read, and that I hope can be a balm, or at least a reassuring shoulder squeeze for others.”

More Great Novels Releasing This Year:

No One Is Talking About This: Patricia Lockwood

It’s hard to tell a good story about social media without succumbing to “kids these days” type cringe, but Lockwood has pulled it off with No One Is Talking About This, which chronicles one woman’s ascent (or is it descent?) into social media stardom.

Fake Accounts: Lauren Oyler

A woman discovers that her boyfriend is the leader of an online fringe conspiracy group and things get rapidly worse from there in this very funny and observant novel from Oyler, who keenly understands the way that something doesn’t have to be true for it to shape who we are. 

The Committed: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Fresh off his Pulitzer Prize winning The Sympathizer, Nguyen’s new novel is set in 1980s Paris, where two friends grapple with new ideas, old habits and dishonest lines of work. More than anything, The Committed is about the way modern culture can tear friendships apart, and what it takes to cross that distance. 

For Your Mental Health

Why Do I Feel Like This?: Peace Amadi

Dr. Peace Amadi is a pastor’s kid who became a mental health expert, and realized the gulf between those two worlds was larger than it needed to be. Today, she’s trying to bridge the gap between psychology and spirituality — equipping people of faith to navigate their emotional health with modern tools. In her first book, she lays out practical tools for understanding the way you’re feeling and dealing with it effectively. 

What sort of gaps have you found between the Church and modern psychology? 

One example is anxiety, which is something that I have struggled with personally. I have a pretty solid understanding of where it comes from, being a trained clinical psychologist. But the talk around my anxiety was like, “Well, just pray. If you pray enough, God’ll take all that anxiety away.” 

And as ideal and beautiful as that sounds, the reality of the situation is, when you’re really struggling with anxiety, you need tools and support to come alongside you and help you through that journey.

I was finding that the more that I leaned on my faith community, the less I really knew what to do besides get on my knees and ask God to take it away. And the more I leaned into my psychology side, I realized it didn’t have to be this hard for so long. God isn’t insecure. I can lean into these resources. I can lean into the science. I can lean into people who look at this from different points of view and embrace all that without takinh anything away from the fact that God is my healer. God is going to work through these methods as well.

Whenever Christians start talking about turning to any subject outside of the Church for help, what you hear is, “Well, you don’t think God is sufficient?” How would you answer that?

I would say, “Yes, God is sufficient. But how does God work?” I always go back to physical health, for some reason, people understand that a little bit more. Your loved one has symptoms, you take them in and find out they have cancer. What do you do? You start looking for the best doctor and you pray. You start praying that God will show you to the best doctor. You start researching, how can this person heal? “God, help me figure this out.” It all works together. It’s not either/or. 

God is our ultimate healer. God has also put us in this situation and designed it so that we can lean on each other’s support, expertise, schooling, everything. That’s just how He built it. He’s sufficient, because He’s so creative with how many things He’s given us to get the help and support we need.

More Great Mental Health Books:

Companions in the Darkness: Seven Saints Who Struggled With Depression and Doubt: Diana Gruver

A compelling read that takes a look at the emotional lives of Christian icons like Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. The more we understand the ways these spiritual giants wrestled with their own mental health demons, the better we can understand our own. 

Learning to Be: Finding Your Center After the Bottom Falls Out: Juanita Campbell Rasmus

One of the hardest parts of dealing with severe depression episodes is feeling like nobody understands what you’re going through. As an author and pastor, Juanita Campbell Rasmus is familiar with that pain, and her book does an excellent job of helping people navigate their darkest days without ever patronizing them or offering simplistic answers. 

Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep: Tish Harrison-Warren

A reflective, beautifully written book for anyone who’s ever felt like God is just too remote for prayer to do any good. Few writers understand that struggle better than Tish Harrison-Warren, and few are better equipped to help others overcome it.

Barton says most students can identify only Jefferson and Franklin in paintings: “Isn’t it interesting that we’ve only been trained to recognize the least religious founding fathers?”

— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) June 27, 2021

The whole thing calls to mind a quote often attributed to Sinclair Lewis: “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”

That quote also popped up in response to a “sermon” from Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke, who used his pulpit time to spew wild tales from the scuzziest corners of QAnon, including conspiratorial allegations of subterranean tunnels under the U.S. Capitol building being used for sex trafficking.

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross”
-Upton Sinclair

— Black Leeds (@LeedsBlack) June 27, 2021

(In the above case, the quote was attributed to Upton Sinclair, a contemporary and friend of Lewis …but not the same guy.)

Locke’s antics are far more extreme than Jeffress’s Freedom Sunday, but it’s true that both raise eyebrows about just how far into bed the church is willing to get with Christian Nationalism. The quote attributed to Lewis certainly rings plausible in both cases, and ought to provide a pause for Christians who are aware of how easily religion can be manipulated by the powerful to coerce the religious.

But if we’re going to be in the business of fact-checking others, we need to be careful with the truth ourselves. And in this case, we could find no evidence that Lewis ever said such a thing.

It wouldn’t have been out of character for him. Lewis, author of books like Babbitt and Arrowsmith, was also a political activist whose stories included biting commentaries on American capitalism. He was the first American novelist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, and his works were enormously successful during his lifetime, although his posthumous legacy hasn’t quite the same gravitas as the likes of Ernest Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Lewis likely would have agreed with the sentiment about fascism and the cross. In fact, Illinois State’s Sinclair Lewis Society has dug up several quotes that sort of mirror its point. In his famously prescient It Can’t Happen Here, Lewis wrote, “But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst Fascists were they who disowned the word ‘Fascism’ and preached enslavement to Capitalism under the style of Constitutional and Traditional Native American Liberty.”

Similar ideas have been expressed elsewhere too, including — surprisingly enough — a 1936 issue of Christian Century, which covered a James Waterman Wise Jr. address, in which he told his audience fascism would not come with a “shirt” or “insignia” but “wrapped up in the American flag and heralded as a plea for liberty and preservation of the constitution.”

Snopes also found a passage in John Thomas Flynn’s As We Go Marching which echoed the sentiment in 1944.

The book is a work of fiction, McKinney stresses. The story she’s telling is made up. But the tensions faced by Abigail and Caroline Nolan will resonate with anyone who’s felt their spiritual footing shift underfoot with a growing awareness of a world that doesn’t fit into the bubble they were raised in.

McKinney talked about her growing up experience and reflected on her novel with our senior editor Tyler Huckabee. She’s in a very different place spiritually than she was as a teenager, but she still has an enormous amount of compassion and even admiration for the evangelical culture that molded her. She told us why writing the book was so scary, whether or not she has hope for the Church and why she still “respects the h*** out of Beth Moore.”

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

TYLER: Were you a youth group kid? 

KELSEY: Oh, yeah. For sure. I led a middle school girls Bible study in high school, which is unfathomable to me now. I’m like, “In no way was I, at 17 years old, capable of teaching any 13-year-old anything.” But yeah. I was “a really good kid”, quote unquote. I’ve hit all those checkboxes you were supposed to hit. All my closest friends were in the youth group growing up, for sure.

I think that can be really hard when you start to go through a doubt or deconstruction process. You feel an obligation to the people who poured so much time in you, and can feel a little guilty about rejecting some of those things. 

Totally. I think that’s part of the hardship of recognizing who you are as a person in general. If you grew up in a place where certain things are black and white, good or bad, and you realize that you’re in the black section, you have to come to terms with, “OK, so is it that I am “bad”, or is it that maybe these lines weren’t great to begin with?”

When I went to college, I had to deal a lot with my own sexuality. Even though I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart, I was bi. I grew up loving women. So it was really hard for me to reconcile that, “OK, I believed this really strict doctrine on this. So if I feel this way, does that make me innately bad, or does it make the doctrine wrong, or is it both?” That’s a terrible spiral to fall into at 22.

Do you keep up with any of your friends from that time? 

It’s interesting. The people I was closest to at that time, even though we all were in the same environment, all kind of ended up in a similar place.

A lot of people that I grew up with have read the book. My parents have read the book. Everyone who I’m extremely close friends with has read it before it comes out. I thought they would have more pushback than they would, to be honest.

Why’s that? 

I don’t think that this book paints the evangelical megachurch in the nicest light in the world, is what I will say. Luckily, it is fiction. This is not the church I grew up in. This is not the way that the pastor preached at my church, growing up. So it’s been interesting to see who is able to draw that firm line of like, “Oh, yeah. Some churches are bad, but not ours,” and who’s like, “Oh, this kind of hit a little bit too close to home. It’s painful to me.”

Is it hard to write a book a like this, knowing that some of your readers — especially those who know you — are going to take it personally? 

It was a little scary. I was scared of what people would think of it. I’m still scared of what people will think of it. It’s a vulnerable space to be. Even though the whole book is fiction, the questions in it are really personal. “How do you know what to believe? How do you decide what truth is? Who gets to tell you what to do? What is right and what is wrong?”

All of those questions are true for me, and so it’s hard to be like, “Yeah, here. Take this little book with all of the worst questions I’ve ever asked myself, and shred it.”

As you were going back to study evangelical culture, did you come across anything that you still have fondness for? Or was it mostly bad memories? 

Yeah. What is that song? The song “Dive,” who wrote that? Is it Michael W. Smith? Oh, I can’t remember.

You’re thinking of Steven Curtis Chapman.

I am, yes! My Spotify shuffle is completely borked now. I’d forgotten half of the songs I listened to growing up, so when I was working on the book I was trying to get back into this head space and I made all these playlists. Now my Spotify thinks that I just want those songs. So it will be like, “Oh, two St. Vincent songs, Phoebe Bridgers, Steven Curtis Chapman,” and I’m like, “No.” But then it keeps going and I’m like, “OK, this song kind of slaps.”

Did it end up helping you process the past? Did it change you?

I think when I started writing this book, I was processing through a lot of the pain that the Church had caused me. The earlier drafts of it, I think, show that a lot more. But through the process of working on it and remembering and doing a lot of memory exercises to recall learning hand motions for VBS, I think it brought me to the point where I can say, “I loved growing up in the church that I grew up in and it gave me a lot.” I hope that comes through in the book. I think for me, it was cathartic in the opposite way that people think it might’ve been cathartic, in that like writing about it gave me a newfound appreciation for something that I thought had just been bad for me.

I think it’d be hard to write a book like this and not get preachy with it, which is a balance you navigate very well. 

Thank you. Even in the sisters’ journeys with their faith, I wanted it to be clear that there wasn’t a right answer here. The end of this struggle is not clearly, “You should come out of it believing this or deciding this.” I wanted it to be more complicated than that.

My upbringing in the church was mostly un-traumatic. It was really great for me for a really long period of time, and there are things that I learned there that hurt me. Holding both of those truths in your hand is really hard to do. To say both of these things is important: This is a loving space, and it can hurt people.

Is that something you think evangelical readers will be able to take away from reading the book? 

I hope evangelicals read this book. I hope that they don’t think of it as an attack on their churches. If you can, read it as a lens to view who decisions are made for. The church, in doctrine, is great at being like, “We make our decisions for the least among us.” But, in practice, often the decisions that are made are for the people with the most power. That is the point of the book.

I don’t think every church is bad, but I think it is good to look at your own church and say, “Where do we make decisions for powerful people instead of the least among us?”

In your day job as a journalist, I’ve seen you cover issues of power and abuse quite a bit. Where do you think the church’s abuses of power are distinct from more general institutional abuses. And where is it the same? 

I think the Church is really similar to a lot of other powerful organizations. Evangelicals as a whole are huge voting bloc, but they’re also a huge financial group in America. There’s a ton of money in the evangelical church.

I don’t want to say that wanting power is evil. But I think that power attracts people who want to take advantage of it. I think every form of power has that problem. From the PTA president to the President of the United States. I think that is something you have to be really careful of, and the church, in teaching, does a really good job of being like, “None of us are powerful. None of us matter at all. Like the only leader of this church technically is God.”

But then practically, the way decisions get made are 12 men sit in a room and vote. It’s like, “OK, so why? And why them? Can we just make a graph of how much money those men donate to the church, just see what’s going on there?” I think those are the kinds of things where [the Church] is exactly the same as corporations and other places. You’re making decisions that help the church make money.

I think great churches don’t do that. Great churches say, “We want to make decisions for our community, or for our people, or for the people who don’t attend our church.” They push back against a standard. But if your church is structured the exact same as a Fortune 500 company, that should give you a lot of pause.

I think the pushback you’d get on this is that these men aren’t trying to protect their institution as much as they’re trying to protect “the Truth.” Or, at least, the Truth as they understand it. 

Prove it. Show me where it says women can’t preach more than once in the original Greek translation. They can do it, but then there are all of these loopholes where they’re fine to let women preach.

The Beth Moore thing was… I respect the h*** out of Beth Moore. I think the ability to admit that you’re wrong is uncommon in most people and I admire it. She’s been preaching for decades. The conversation we’re having is, “Should women be allowed to preach?” Beth Moore has been preaching for decades, she’s just only been preaching to women.

I understand the idea that we believe something and we hold onto it really tightly, and we want to protect that. I’ve read the Bible my whole life. I love it. I think it’s a great book. I am obsessed with it in a lot of ways. But the thing that it says over and over again is that your job is to love people, and your job is to help the poor. I don’t know how you can read dozens and dozens of verses in the red type saying help the poor, turn around and say, “It’s important for us to protect the power seat of this group.” I don’t know.

Did the Trump stuff surprise you in 2015? That evangelicals backed him so aggressively? 

I don’t know. I wanted to be surprised, I’ll say that. A lot of the people I wanted to surprise me did not. This is going to get me canceled. I’m so sorry to the evangelical church. I love you guys so much and I think that’s what’s hard for me. This place was so good for me and in ways that I don’t think it even intends, can be bad for people. I think the core beliefs of Christianity could change the world, and I think politicking and money gets in the way of that.

Do you have hope of it getting better? 

I look at Semler and her work, and I think there’s a huge wave of people our age right now coming out and saying, “I had a really hard time in this.” I do find that inspiring, to hear people say, “I’ve lost parts of my faith, but not all of it,” Or, “I’ve changed my mind about this.” I find that really inspiring.

The tenants of Christianity, I think, when you look at them as loving each other as much as you can, treating other people the way that the Lord would treat them and helping the poor and feeding the hungry, I think that those are classics. They never go out of style. That is where I think change can happen, and I do think that’s kind of happening now.

God Spare the Girls is available now.

But just how deep is Marvel willing to dig into its back catalog? Because there is one character languishing in obscurity whose time has come. A superhero who brings not dark vengeance or grim justice, but the cleansing light of divine purification. A hero whose brief time in comics was outweighed by his mighty — even heavenly — potential. We speak, of course, of the Illuminator — Marvel Comics’ short-lived Christian superhero.

Illuminator: Origins

The story begins in the early 1990s. They were lean times at Marvel, which was still more than a decade away from any luck at the box office. To supplement the lack of interest in actual superhero comics, Marvel was entering into partnerships with lots of different brands. One of those partnerships was with Thomas Nelson, the Christian publishing firm that was in the midst of its own attempt to modernize its output, launching a record label and books division. Thomas Nelson was interested in printing some Christian comics and Marvel liked the idea. Nelson Comics was born.

At first, Nelson Comics kept things superhero-free, working on graphic novel adaptations of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and a few comic book Bible stories. But in 1992, Nelson decided they wanted to get in on the cape and costume action. They wanted a superhero. They got the Illuminator.

The Illuminator Rises

Andy Prentiss is a mild-mannered teen bookworm who stumbles across a strange light in the sky when he gets lost at summer camp. Andy decides the light must be extraterrestrial in origin, even as it surrounds him and gives him the power of flight and a ethereal glow. Back home, he uses this power to save himself and his brother from a demon-possessed amulet-wielding drug dealer (comics!) and meets Gus, an elderly biker who recognizes Andy’s newfound powers as being divine in nature. He gives Andy his motorcycle helmet and jacket, which become the Illuminator’s uniform.

The series follows Andy coming to terms with his God-given powers. He’s a man of science, not given to belief, but his new powers get stronger and weaker depending on his level of faith. So, reasonably enough for a crime fighter in such a situation, he becomes a Christian to take a stand against a number of demonic villains.

This was a new one for Marvel Comics, which has been traditionally shy about religion. Daredevil and the X-Men’s Nightcrawler are both Catholic, Ben Grimm and Moon Knight are Jewish and Ms. Marvel is a Muslim, and while their respective faiths do factor into their characterizations, none of their powers have ever been directly tied to their beliefs. The Illuminator literally has to be “true believer,” or he’ll be powerless to fight the demonic villains who seem to be crawling all over his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Hey, why should New York City get all the superheroes?

Speaking of New York, Andy’s friends do reference some events taking place in the X-Men comics at the time so, yes, the Illuminator is definitely in the official Marvel Comics timeline. Or he was, for all of the three issues The Illuminator ran before being unceremoniously canceled for meager sales.

There are a few reasons the series didn’t take off, but quality isn’t necessarily one of them. The book was written by Glenn Herdling, who’d done solid work for Marvel in the past including a well-regarded stint on Namor the Sub-Mariner. The art, by Marvel veteran Craig Brasfield, was serviceable as well. Both of these guys are genuine pros, and neither seemed to be phoning the job in. True, the stories were a little heavy-handed, but it’s not like that’s ever hurt Christian fiction in the past. Left Behind would become one of the bestselling books in the country just about a year after The Illuminator made his debut, and no one would accuse that series of theological nuance.

No, what more likely hurt the comic was Thomas Nelson’s insistence that the books be longer than the average Marvel Comic but have none of the usual ads Marvel used to offset the price. This took an enormous chunk out of the book’s profitability and would have made publication a squeeze even if the series had been a big hit. Each issue of The Illuminator retailed at $4.99, an enormous sum for a comic book in those days, especially one featuring an unknown character.

Frankly, the series never stood a chance. But whether it was because the rights issues got complicated or Marvel was embarrassed, the three issues are not available on Marvel Unlimited, the digital app that stores Marvel’s vast library of comics. If you want to read the comic, you’ll have to do it collector-style on Amazon or flip through the used section at your local comic book store.

The Illuminator …Returns? 

Cancellations happen all the time in the comic book industry. A new creative team launches a brand new take on a beloved character like Batman or Captain Marvel, the idea fails to ignite fan interest, and the company shuttles the idea, gives the character a breather, and then tries again with a new team and a fresh vision. This is how we got from the smiling, square-jawed Caped Crusader of the 1960s to the grim, moody Dark Knight of modern times.

So if that worked for Batman, why couldn’t we try again with the Illuminator? The time is ripe. The MCU should give the Illuminator his own feature film or at least one of those Disney+ shows. Christian movies are doing great business right now (say what you will about those God’s Not Dead flicks but they make money), Disney has never been a company to turn down an easy buck and bucks don’t get any easier than marketing to a Christian audience.

You could even get one of those Hillsong groups to curate some sort of special soundtrack or, hey, even cast a Hillsong Young + Free member as Andy Prentiss himself. That’s called synergy and it’s about as surefire a strategy as you can find in filmmaking these days.

Even more synergistic? The idea of a character being resurrected. Death is a fickle thing in superhero comics, so bringing a character back after a two decade hiatus would be hardly unusual, but it’d make even more sense for the Illuminator — a character with resurrection right there in his DNA.