Books I read in 2023.
A listicle of titles I finished last year.
One of the end-of-the-year pastimes I always enjoy is reading everyone’s “books I read” list. I am always amazed at the discipline of some of my contemporaries whose lists tally upwards of one hundred or more books in a single calendar year. All I can do is tip my cap to those who are able to accomplish such a feat. Nevertheless, I give you my humble collection of books I’ve read in 2023. As with previous entries, this list is arranged alphabetically (by the author’s last name), which is just to say that this list should not be understood as some sort of “ranking.” As always, I’ll add a comment or two as I see fit.
Athanasius’s On the Incarnation
It is my shame that it took me this long to read through St. Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, which is, perhaps, the premier example of orthodox reasoning on the doctrine of the Son of God taking on flesh. “The achievements of the Savior,” the illustrious church father says, “effected by his incarnation, are of such kind and number that if anyone should wish to expound them he would be like those who gaze at the expanse of the sea and wish to count its waves” (107). This work is an unparalleled look at the Christ of God who was born of the Virgin Mary, demonstrating not only the hope of such a belief but the impossibility of hope otherwise. For any aspiring theologian or churchman, this is a must-read.
Robert Capon’s The Astonished Heart
While the late Episcopal priest and theologian Robert F. Capon is more well known for his considerable work dissecting Jesus’s parables, it is his foray into church history that sees him at his most quippy. In The Astonished Heart: Reclaiming the Good News from the Lost-and-Found of Church History, Capon traces the ebbs and flows of the church over the centuries, scrutizning each era’s unique foibles and fumbling of the message of grace. “Faith,” he says, “is not a gadget by which I can work wonders. It is just trust in a person who actually can work them — and who has promised me he already has” (41). The author’s wit and flair for theological subversion make this volume an effortless read.
Robert Capon’s The Mystery of Christ…and Why We Don’t Get It
Another in Capon’s oeuvre that’s not as widely known is his The Mystery of Christ . . . and Why We Don’t Get It, which sees the theological wordsmith rummage through a series of conversations, each of which offer varied glimpses at some of the misconceptions that have gained traction in the Body of Christ. Whether clergy or layman, one’s faith is often found grappling with one’s own misgivings and second guesses regarding the work of God in Christ to reconcile all things to himself. Despite the fact that this reconciling work has already been completed, we are often prone to doubting its efficacy and sufficiency to atone for our misdeeds. But this is why the message of Scripture is such good news since it announces that, as Capon puts it, “The guilt shop has been closed, boarded up entirely and for good by God’s grace and nothing else” (27). The marvelous mystery of the gospel insists that all of the world’s guilt, sin, shame, and death have been swallowed up by the Lord himself.
James M. Hamilton Jr.’s What Is Biblical Theology?
On Sunday nights at my church, I led our church through a series on biblical theology, which, I would contend, is the most important theological discipline needed in the church today. It is one thing for one to know or have a familiarity with what the Bible says, but it is quite another thing for one to know why the Bible says what it says. This is where the project of biblical theology shines since, at its heart, it is an endeavor to both pinpoint and preserve the unfolding story of redemption throughout the pages of Scripture. As James M. Hamilton Jr. says, “Studying biblical theology is the best way to learn from the Bible how to read the Bible as a Christian should” (19–20). This comes from his book, What Is Biblical Theology? A Guide to the Bible’s Story, Symbolism, and Patterns, which essentially serves as a primer on biblical theology for the church. If you are interested in dipping your toe into the waters of this vital discipline, this brief book is a great place to start.
Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman’s Rediscover Church
After the upheaval of the “year that shall not be named” and its blast virus, church leaders of all stripes and backgrounds were left asking similar questions. In the aftermath of lockdowns and church splits over face coverings, the weightiness of the physical gathering of God’s people seemed more tenuous than ever. Such is the impetus behind Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman’s endeavor in Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential, in which both of these respected voices in the church articulate not only what makes the church “The Church,” but also why that necessarily involves a corporeal assembly of Christ’s saints. As Leeman says in Chapter 3, “What makes gatherings so powerful? The fact that you are physically there. You see. You hear. You feel” (46). The gospel of God’s flesh and blood descent from heaven to earth to deliver sinners is best grasped when it is heard in flesh and blood with fellow sinners.
Michael Horton’s Christless Christianity
Although not a “new” book, Michael Horton’s Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church was new to me and I’m so glad that I came across it. The undertaking behind Christless Christianity examines the state of the church in America and the culprit behind much of the theological and doxological malaise that has mired the church at large in the sludge of strife and scandal for decades. As it turns out, much of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of those who have been entrusted with shepherding these churches, that is, the pastors themselves. Rather than faithfully and fervently expounding the Scriptures with an eye on Christ alone, preachers have embraced the “psychobabble and pragmatic, utilitarian, self-help triviality” of modernity (10–11). Even though this book was written in 2008, its message and themes are trenchant for 2023 and beyond.
Martin E. Marty’s Martin Luther October 31, 1517
One of the more interesting entries on this list is, to be sure, Martin E. Marty’s October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day That Changed the World. Upon first glance at both the cover and the title, you might be given to think that you’ve stumbled upon a bite-sized biography of everyone’s favorite Augustinian monk turned Reformer. However, reading this book is an exercise in false advertising since Marty’s endeavor feels both ill-advised and oddly scattered, with more time spent speaking to “the Catholic soul” than anything else. If I had to summarize this book’s objective, I would say that the author utilizes the basic events leading up to the Protestant Reformation of 1517 to ramble about the need for unity among Protestants and Catholics. Remember how audiences got frustrated at Michael Bay’s WWII epic Pearl Harbor since it turned out to be a love triangle set against the backdrop of the December 7th attacks? This book is like that.
Francis Pieper’s What Is Christianity?
As you might know, in October I had the privilege of speaking at the 2023 Here We Still Stand Conference in San Diego, and one of the books that I took home with me was a reformatted and translated lecture by Confessional Lutheran theologian Francis Pieper, entitled, What Is Christianity? Faith & Morality Reconsidered. In this little work, Pieper passionately speaks to one of the prevailing issues that has plagued the church of Christ throughout the centuries — namely, the place of works and morality in the faith that justifies. And lest you think that this is just an error of a bygone era, Pieper attests that a church whose message comingles faith and works is more than just mistaken, they are fraudulent. “The greatest fraud in the world,” Pieper says, “is a church that replaces the preaching of the Gospel of Christ crucified with human works as the ground of salvation” (20). This brief little book is jam-packed with the grace and truth of God’s good news.
Virgil Thompson’s Justification Is for Preaching
Perhaps my favorite read of the year was the compendium of essays and articles edited by Virgil Thompson, entitled, Justification Is for Preaching. Featuring important work from the likes of Oswald Bayer, Gerhard Forde, Stephen Paulson, and Mark Mattes, this book is a treasury of biblical and theological insight into the most important homiletical project — namely, the announcement of God’s justification of the ungodly. Martin Luther, of course, is famous for suggesting that the doctrine of justification is the pillar upon which the church stands or falls. This collection of essays takes this sentiment as its theme to explain why this is undeniably true. “Justification,” Oswald Bayer says, “is not a separate topic apart from which still other topics could be discussed. Justification is the starting point for all theology and it affects every other topic” (32). Anyone whose occupation requires them to preach regularly should take their time digesting this book.
Jared C. Wilson’s Friendship with the Friend of Sinners
In Jared C. Wilson’s latest book, Friendship with the Friend of Sinners: The Remarkable Possibility of Closeness with Christ, one is treated to a remarkable work that relishes in what the Pharisees meant as a slight when they referred to Jesus of Nazareth as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 11:19). Even though this was meant to disparage his character, they were more right than they knew when they identified the trouble-making Teacher as one who befriends the least and the worst. In Wilson’s deft hands, this theme is teased out over the course of ten chapters that reflect on the unending and unswerving friendship of the Savior who loves his friends even to the point of his own demise. At the risk of sounding kitschy, Jesus is the friendliest friend the world has ever known. He is the friend who “never asks you to impress him,” writes Jared. “He never asks you to prove yourself to him. He never asks you to pay him back. And he never asks you to earn his grace” (129). This is a book that is worth reading and re-reading at regular intervals.
Jeremy Writebol’s Pastor, Jesus Is Enough
I reviewed this book back in September, so I will try not to cannibalize what I wrote previously. However, simply put, Jeremy Writebol’s Pastor, Jesus Is Enough: Hope for the Weary, the Burned Out, and the Broken is a book that every pastor should read. It’s honest, raw, and real, speaking to some of the struggles that pastors experience on a daily basis. I say that from experience, by the way. It is very easy — far too easy — for pastors to get so caught up in dispensing the good news of Jesus for others that they forget that they are just as desperate to hear that announcement for themselves. That apocryphal Lutheran quote that we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day because we forget it every day is decidedly true, for pastors, too. “To be a pastor,” Jeremy says, “is to go back to the gospel again, and again, and again, and again, and again” (95). If I had the means to get this book into the hands of every pastor I knew, I would.
•••
Well, that’s it for this year’s list. I could have added several commentaries but, for the sake of time, I will leave those off for now. If you are interested in some of the sources I used for my sermon series through Hebrews, Jonah, 1 John, and Galatians this year, let me know and I will share some of those. What were some of your favorite reads in 2023? And what are some of the ones that you are looking forward to in 2024? I would love to hear from you.
Grace and peace, friends!