Being Sons & Daughters of Issachar.
I’ve continually encouraged people to emulate the sons of Issachar, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (I Chronicles 12:32). However, we must consider what many observe as an ongoing weakness, if not a crisis, of the faithful relevance of evangelical discipleship in twenty-first century culture. There are pressures from the culture–change, choice, speed, technology–and weaknesses from within, even for those who sincerely affirm the Lordship of Christ and count “the cost of discipleship.” Still, too often, as Richard Foster writes in his classic Celebration of Discipline, our age is defined by “the curse of superficiality.”
THREE PROBLEMS
- Crisis of compartmentalization (dualism)
- Crisis of erosion of the Christian mind (anti-intellectualism)
- Crisis of cultural captivity (accommodation/ideology)
These problems contribute to a crisis of vocational distinctiveness and innovative faithfulness in public life generally, and the work-world specifically. Some may describe this as a failure to robustly embody uniquely Christian ways of practicing one’s career, related to a thin view of integrating faith and thinking.
THREE (PARTIAL) SOLUTIONS
- Reading widely: God cares about all of life.
- Reading seriously: God wants us to learn much.
- Reading attentively: God calls us to be discerning.
Such wide reading helps us realize that all of life is being redeemed in Christ, that we can witness to His grace and point towards His Kingdom most fruitfully as we live out a uniquely Christian perspective in our callings and careers. An integrated Christian way of working and living requires a framework, a foundation, a coherent narrative, which some call an intentionally Christian worldview. Reading faithfully is one tool for developing a Christian worldview, way of life, and normative way of working. In order to grow in such faithfulness, we must see ourselves as life-long learners.
WORLDVIEW
Heaven is a Place on Earth: Why Everything You Do Matters to God Michael Wittmer (Zondervan) One of the most accessible, practical and enjoyable books on a Christian worldview. A great book for those new to this approach.
Creation Regained: Towards a Reformational Worldview (Eerdmans) Nearly a classic, very influential; very Biblical, showing how a Christian way of seeing life must recall the goodness of creation, the seriousness of the fall, and the broad scope of Christ’s redemption.
The Transforming Vision: Developing a Christian Worldview Brian J. Walsh & Richard Middleton (IVP) The history of dualism, the rise of secularization, the idols of the age, and a feisty, wholistic Christian agenda… follow this up with their provocative Truth is Stranger Than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age (IVP.)
Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity Nancy Pearcey (Crossway) Magisterial, perhaps a bit more philosophical than some, tracing the rise of the dichotomy between facts and values, and how our dualisms erode Christian conviction as public truth. Are secular gatekeepers using this as a strategy to banish Biblical truth? Are Christians themselves guilty of hold a merely subjective faith? Some say Pearcey is the Francis Schaeffer of our time.
Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation James K.A. Smith (Baker) One of the most talked-about worldview books in years, this is the first of what will be a three part series. (The much-anticipated sequel, Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works will release in February 2013.) This is a fabulously rich rumination on how worldviews are not merely constellations of intellectual notions, but are imagined and lived out, largely informed by our deepest desires, which are shaped by our rituals/habits. Perhaps our ubiquitous secularizing rituals have formed us more than our rather thin and inconsequential worship liturgies…
VOCATION AND CALLING
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose in Your Life Os Guinness (W Publishing Group) One of my all time favorite books, this is richly written, thoughtful, and very inspiring. Christ calls us so decisively that it effects all that we are and all that we do. A must-read.
Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good Amy L. Sherman (IVP) No book explores the ways in which a serious approach to vocation can equip us to make a difference in the world as thoroughly and thoughtfully as this. Sherman explores four “avenues” or levels of how to serve God in one’s career, making sure that our best efforts are, indeed, serving others and being a blessing. A moving afterward by Steve Garber. Highly recommended for those who mean business!
Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work Tom Nelson (Crossway) Written by a pastor who expertly equips his congregation to serve God in their various occupations and professions. Since it was published just one year ago it has become one of the most popular and esteemed books on the subject. Sidebars tell of several workers in different careers at his church (including a lawyer) explaining how they related worship and work. Very highly recommended.
A Journey Worth Taking: Finding Your Purpose in This World Charles Drew (Presbyterian & Reformed) Informed by the same vision as Guinness about the need for a thoughtful doctrine of vocation and calling, this is more systematically developed following the unfolding Biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption. Excellent.
Your Work Matters to God Doug Sherman & William Hendrickson (NavPress) For years, this has been my go-to book, inviting Christians to a profound approach to our callings in the marketplace. Very well done.
Work Matters: Lessons from Scripture Paul R. Stevens (Eerdmans) Stevens is a master of this topic, having published many books on the interface of faith and the marketplace, Christianity and work, the role of the laity, etc. In his insightful hands, these “jobs in the Bible” come alive, profound, insightful, useful. Very, very good. Read any of his many books!
Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work Timothy Keller with Katherine Leary Alsdorf (Dutton) Keller makes a good case explaining God’s intention for people to work, on His behalf, serving and sustaining the common good. He gives solid Biblical and theological foundations for marketplace mission and, in the practical second half, offers helpful observations and guidance for keeping faith in the work-world. I highly recommend this exceptional book from one of today’s most respected pastor/theologians.
Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work Miroslav Volf (Wipf and Stock) In this deep theological work, Volf comprehensively explores calling in terms of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Insightful discussions of how work in such areas as industry, agriculture, medicine, politics, and art can be empowered by God. Also includes wonderful analyses of the nature of work in both capitalist and socialist societies and of how modernistic work has caused alienation in society. Volf argues that all work is cooperation with God in the preservation and transformation of the world.
CHRISTIAN MIND
A Mind for God James Emory White (IVP) I love this wonderful little book, and re-read it often. Inspiring, handsome, full of insight and encouragement.
Your Mind’s Mission Greg Jao (IVP) This not yet released inexpensive booklet — due out in December 2012 — is a beautifully written invitation to the life of the mind, teaching us to use our thinking and scholarship in missional ways for God’s glory and the world’s good. Our bookstore is mentioned, so we’re particularly pleased to tell you about it. Short, insightful, and very useful for students or anyone wanting an overview of the call to use our mind in Christian ways.
Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind Mark Noll (Eerdmans) The long-awaited serious follow-up to the seminal Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Beautiful and stimulating, asking precisely what our theology about Jesus has to say to the project of nurturing the Christian mind.
Philosophy: A Student’s Guide David Naugle (Crossway) This is the best brief overview of the need for a Christ-honoring strategy of integrating faith and learning, essential for learners of all sorts. Very wise and truly enlightening.
CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT
The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World Gabe Lyons (Multnomah) The first half of this upbeat book explains the ways a more wholistic and nonpartisan vision of the Kingdom can help us avoid the distractions of the culture wars and the second half makes a case for seven key shifts that younger evangelicals seem to care deeply about. This book is important for the bell-weather shifts it helpfully explains, and, I believe, because it is truly Biblically faithful. We indeed need to hear these concerns and embrace this vision of being God’s agents for cultural restoration.
A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good Miroslov Volf (Baker) Volf is one of the more popular theologians working today and these lectures wonderfully capture the need to be involved in faithful Christian witness even as we recognize the quandaries of pluralism. Highly recommended. For a lovely and profound collection of short essays by Volf, see his Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities (Eerdmans.)
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling Andy Crouch (IVP) If you haven’t read this yet, you owe it to yourself to consider his call to honor the joys of taking up the cultural mandate and reflecting more intentionally the image of our creative God. The section evaluating various postures towards culture (just critiquing? merely copying?) is worth the price of the book.
You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith David Kinnaman (Baker) After the research done for his important book Unchristian, this fine author, head of the Barna Group, offers conclusions drawn about how to keep young adults involved in church and faith. Really interesting and exceptionally important for most churches, wishing to keep our 20-something engaged and faithful.
Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction Richard Mouw (Eerdmans) Mouw is a gracious and clear writer and here he tells why discovering this Dutch theologian of the ninteenth century, a social critic (and Prime Minister) was a life-saver for him. The best simple explanation of Kuyperianism — very highly recommended! This is the guy, you know, who preached that Christ claims “every square inch” of his creation. I love this little book, and am grateful for Mouw’s contribution.
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christian Faith in the Late Modern World Davidson Hunter (Oxford University Press) Again, this is a much-discussed and often-debated book about how best to embody a “faithful presence” in the workplace as a way to slowly and effectively bring God’s hope to a hurting culture. Erudite, significant.
Evil and the Justice of God N.T. Wright (IVP) Again, any effective and faithful approach to living out the social implications of the gospel simply must relate to the problem of evil and embrace the brokenness of our times. Wright is a solid scholar and faithful preacher of the resurrection. Few have so helpfully related Christ’s death and resurrection to this question.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
Reordered Love Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness David Naugle (Eerdmans) What does it mean to love the right things, in the right way? Can we be happy as we allow God to change our desires and give us the right priorities. I think this is one of the great books of recent years, one that should be better known among us. Naugle writes out of a very intentional, distinctively Christian worldview, with a keen awareness of the importance of our interior lives. Wonderful.
Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior Steven Garber (IVP) Garber did advanced scholarship researching how young adults apply what they know, how we take advantage of our college experiences, and how new-found faith can be lasting into mid-life and beyond. With great theological and literary depth he identifies three things that allow learning to last, faith to grow, and belief to be woven together in the whole of life. A long-time friend of CLS, Garber is the extraordinary director of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture.
A Traveler’s Guide to the Kingdom: Journeying Through the Christian Life James Emery White (IVP) White takes us on a virtual journey around the world, teaching an essential Christian truth at each place. Go with him to the Eagle and the Child, Billy Graham’s NC home, the Ten Boom House in Holland, Chartres Cathedral, Iona Abbey, Luther’s Wittenberg, Dachau, to and more. A wonderful way to learn so much, about Christian history, about the world, and about our daily discipleship.
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ Dallas Willard (NavPress) This newly re-issued paperback is a gem, perhaps his most accessible and useful book. What does it mean to become transformed into the ways of Christ?
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eat This Book, The Jesus Way, Tell It Slant, Practice Resurrection Eugene Peterson (Eerdmans) All five of these meaty “conversations on spiritual theology” are well worth working through – each illustrates Peterson’s profound and mature ways of relating Bible, theology, spirituality and daily discipleship with great insight and a no-nonsense style. In years to come this set will be considered as among the most important enduring Christian books of the last decade. If you’ve never read Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (IVP) is still his most popular. Where Your Treasure Is: Psalms That Summon Us From Self to Community (Eerdmans) is a personal favorite.
Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation Ruth Haley Barton (IVP) I highly recommend any and everything this wonderful writer does, but this may be my favorite. One of the best studies of the classic spiritual disciplines, inviting and vital. See also the companion volume Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence (IVP.)
Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home Richard Foster (HarperOne) I suppose you know his many books, but these two are the most true and enduring classics. Read any and all of his, regularly.
JUSTICE
Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just Timothy Keller (Dutton) Clearly rejecting the tradition which sees evangelical faith concerns about personal salvation and the “social gospel” concerned with only societal reform, Keller insists that the classic doctrine of justification should give us great passion for social justice. We dare not bifurcate doctrine and action, and true evangelical piety should lead to commitments to care about justice. Very, very helpful.
The Little Book of Biblical Justice Chris Marshall (Good Books) This is as succinct and basic as it gets, with solid, Biblical teaching, quite detailed, full of the nuance of the Bible itself, yet inexpensive and brief. (75 pages.) Makes an excellent small group study.
The Good News About Injustice and Just Courage – 2 excellent books from Gary Haugen (IVP) The International Justice Mission may be one of the most exciting and fruitful international Christian legal organizations of our time. These are foundational, evangelical studies of God’s heart for justice and how we can be involved as agents of His healing and reconciliation. Powerful, basic, vital.
The Just Church: Becoming a Risk-taking, Justice-Seeking, Disciple-Making Congregation Jim Martin (Tyndale) Co-published with IJM this is a guidebook moving us “from apathy to action.” Passionate and Biblical, this is loaded with helpful examples, ways to take “next steps” and things congregations can do. Foreword by Gary Haugen.
When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert (Crossway) Seasoned activists explain the ins and outs of serving the poor, reforming social policy, and working in sustainable ways for the good of all. Very popular, because it is very impressive.
Justice: Rights & Wrongs Nicholas Woltersdorff (Princeton University Press) Recently reviewed in the CLS Christian Lawyer journal, this is serious, philosophical stuff, by an eminent Christian philosopher. Anyone called to legal work in any capacity needs to reflect long and hard on the nature of justice, and this scholarly work will help. Important and weighty. See the vital continuation, deep ruminations called Justice and Love (Eerdmans.)
CITIZENSHIP & POLITICS
Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World Richard Mouw (IVP) I continue to say this is one of my all time favorite (and so very necessary) books, delightfully and reasonably calling for public etiquette, charitable but vibrant public witness, offered with principled civility. If only…
The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends On It Os Guinness (HarperOne) This thoughtful and passionate work goes beyond the obvious call for public manners, but offers a framework and structure, based on the strengths of the American Bill of Rights, for freedom from and freedom for expression of our deepest convictions. This is an urgent and necessary contribution, an important, balanced perspective. One need not agree with every detail to recognize the genius of this pluralistic approach.
God and the Constitution: Christianity and American Politics Paul Marshall (Rowman & Littlefield) This great hardback is somewhat mis-titled as it is not really about the Constitution as such. It is the best overview of a distinctively Christian view of government yet done, relating properly explore Christian principles to contemporary political philosophy in a very balanced way. Very helpful for anyone pondering the role of government and a Biblically-informed view of politics. Political Visions and Illusions: A Survey & Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies David Koyzis (IVP) No one volume is a profound and readable in its study of the roots of Western thought and the history of the development of political theory. Koyzis astutely exposes the Enlightenment roots of both liberals and conservatives, and helps us understand the dynamics of ideological conflict in the modern world. Very significant.
A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future Os Guinness (IVP) Here, Guinness has finally written out further work on a topic for which he is known, offering a brilliant assessment of the genius of the American framers and the brilliance of the American experiment. Yet, as he painstakingly shows, to sustain freedom requires certain habits of the heart, civic virtues, including freedom of religion, and the subsequent virtue that emerges from a freely religious people. This is a civic education essential for freedom to flourish, offered by a Brit who has deep gratitude for, and fears about, the American ideals.
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? John Fea (Westminster/John Knox) Nominated for the prestigious Washington Prize, it is good to see such balanced, thoughtful scholarship that takes into account the diverse religious convictions of our founders and framers. Wonderfully written and quite helpful.
Church, State and Public Justice: Five Views edited by P. C. Kemeny (IVP) Five scholars offer their take on uniquely Christian politics, and then the other four respond. Excellently presented views include a Catholic perspective, a classical “separationist” view, a moderate Anabaptist approach, a “principled-pluralist” neo-Calvinist view and a mainline Protestant social justice emphasis. Wow.
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About the author Byron Borger is a passionate advocate for deep reading in the Christian worldview. He believes that all spheres of life are supposed to be integrated in Jesus Christ for God’s glory. Bob Robinson and Byron have been friends for years and Bob credits much of his understanding of these things to Byron’s depth of wisdom. Byron and his wife Beth own Hearts & Minds Bookstore in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. He offers insightful articles on the latest books at Hearts & Minds BookNotes. He is the go-to bookseller for conferences all across the Mid-Atlantic region. He writes regularly for several magazines, including Comment and Critique. He is always open to help anyone with choosing the best book, simply email him at read@heartsandmindsbooks.com or call Hearts & Minds at (717) 246-3333. Readers of (re)integrate receive a 20% discount on all orders.
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