Bob on Books Best of 2025

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Bob on Books Best of 2025

Arriving at a “best books” list is always a challenge. To date, I’ve reviewed 243 books this year and choosing among them was not easy. There are very good and worthwhile books not on this list. A few things about my choices. First, all these are books I’ve read and reviewed in 2025. Second, aside for a couple exceptional backlist books, most were published either late in 2024 or during 2025. This ruled out the mysteries I reviewed, which were all older classics. Finally, I did not name an overall best of the year–it felt too much like choosing between apples and oranges So, without further ado, here are my choices:

Fiction and Poetry

Best Fiction

Buckeye, Patrick Ryan. Random House (ISBN: 9780593595039) 2025. I loved this story centered around two couples in small town, post World War 2 northwest Ohio. Not only is this story of secrets between the couples that affect two boys finely written, Ryan captures the ethos of this part of Ohio perfectly. Review

Best Backlist Fiction

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese. Vintage Books (ISBN: 9780375714368) 2010. Last year, I named Verghese’s Covenant of Water my best of the year. So, I went back to read this work and found the story of two boys born in tragedy and raised at an Ethiopian mission hospital. It was the best older fiction I’ve read. Review

Best Poetry

An Incremental Life, Luci Shaw. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609792) 2025. Poet Luci Shaw died December 1, a month short of 97. I’ve long loved her poetry that mixed scenes of nature with insights into the seasons of life and the transcendent. I reviewed her last published work earlier this year–quite amazing stuff for a poet in her 90’s and a gift by which to remember her. Review

Non-fiction

Best Biography

John Lewis: A Life, David Greenberg. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982142995) 2024. I admired John Lewis and his penchant for getting into “good trouble.” This biography helped me to understand the formative influences of faith and non-violent resistance in love the helped explain his resilience in the long fight. Review

Best History

The Gales of November, John U. Bacon. Liveright (ISBN: 9781324094647) 2025. The story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has long fascinated me for reasons I give in my review. John U. Bacon writes a compelling history of the Fitzgerald, weaving the boat’s construction and history, the personal histories of captain and crew, the conditions they faced during the storm and factors that may have contributed to the sinking. Review

Best Essays

History Matters, David McCullough (edited by Dorie McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill, foreword by Jon Meacham). Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668098998) 2025. I’ve read everything McCullough wrote, So these essays, edited posthumously by his daughter, were a gift. We not only learn about why history matters but he offers vignettes from his research, insights into his writing process, and lots of book recommendations! Review

Best Book on Technology and Society

Against the Machine, Paul Kingsnorth. Thesis (ISBN: 9780593850633) 2025. In a year dominated by news of the tech industry and the rise of Artificial Intelligence, Kingsnorth’s eloquent warning of how machine culture threatens culture and humanity is worth considering before we plunge into the brave new world that beckons. Review

Best Sports Book

The Last Manager, John W. Miller. Avid Reader Press (ISBN: 9781668030929) 2025. Two things I remembered about Earl Weaver, his on-field confrontations with umpires, and that he won. John Miller’s biography traces Weaver’s particular genius and how he changed the role of managers. Review

Best Ohio Book

Runs in the Family, Sarah Spain and Deland McCullough. Simon Element (ISBN: 9781668036280) 2025. Deland McCullough grew up in challenging circumstances on the east side of Youngstown, and then was a star football player for Campbell, and at Miami University, before going on to a successful coaching career. But the most powerful part of the story was his search for his biological parents and the great (and good) surprise when he learned who his biological father was. Review

Best Book on Books

World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading, Jeff Crosby, foreword by Carolyn Weber. Paraclete Press (ISBN: 9781640609457) 2025. I love books about books. Crosby knows his stuff as an author and publisher and leader of a trade association. Here, he explores why we read, offers tips on different genres, and how reading may be a spiritual practice in our lives. And he recommends a lot of books along the way! Review

Best Self Help

The Magic of Knowing What You Want, Tracey Gee. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746223) 2025. Tracy Gee writes for those at pivot points in their lives and careers. She contends that key the key to direction is know what you want. She takes people through a process of clarifying that and turning it into an action plan. Review

Christian Books

Best Spiritual Formation

Insane for the Light, Ronald Rolheiser. Image (ISBN: 9780593736463) 2025. Most spiritual formation books address either young adults or those at mid-life. What was so valuable about this book is that Fr. Rolheiser addresses later life and how even our dying my be a gift. Review

Best Bible Commentary

1 Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral & Missional Commentary, Michael J. Gorman. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802882660) 2025. Gorman strikes a wonderful balance between scholarship and usability for pastors and other church teachers. And he focuses on Paul’s call for us to live cruciform lives. Review

Best Theology

Light Unapproachable, Ronni Kurtz. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514007105) 2024. Ronni Kurtz writes about divine incomprehensibility without being incomprehensible! This is a rich book about how God’s gracious accommodation to his creatures. This slim volume is clear in its development and devotionally rich. Review

Best Religious Memoir

Why I Believe in God, Gerhard Lohfink, Linda M. Maloney, translator. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814689974) 2025. One might think this would be a dense, erudite work. Rather, it is an extended testimony to the growth of Lohfink’s faith over the course of his life. Reading this made me want to read more of him! Review

Best Book on Theology and the Arts

Makers by Nature, Bruce Herman. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009802) 2025. This wonderful book by Christian artist and professor Bruce Herman explores, through a series of letters, calling, artistic process, style, and his own sense of the intersection of faith and art. Included are color plates of his work. Review

Best Children’s Book

Abigail and the Waterfall, Sandra L. Richter, illustrated by Michael Corsini. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514008928) 2025. This beautifully illustrated book describes a family hike to a waterfall, the creatures encountered, and the invitation this experience offers to care for God’s world. Review

Best Backlist Theology

Loving to Know, Esther Lightcap Meek. Cascade Books (ISBN: 9781608999286) 2011. This book is a wonderful antidote to our epistemic crisis–our uncertainty about knowing the truth. Meek avoids both sterile rationalism and relativism in laying out an epistemology in which knowing is personal and relational, even as we focus on what is to be known. I wish I’d read this while I was still in icollegiate ministry! Review

Well, there it is, my best of 2025. Perhaps it will give you ideas for gifts. And maybe there is something here for you as well. I hope so!

Review: Watching the Chosen

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Cover image of "Watching the Chosen" Robert K. Garcia, Paul Gondreau, Patrick Gray, Douglas S. Huffman, editors

Watching The Chosen, Robert K. Garcia, Paul Gondreau, Patrick Gray, Douglas S. Huffman, editors. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885463) 2025.

Summary: Essays exploring the imagination, storytelling, Christology and treatment of persons, especially women, in “The Chosen.”

Recently, another book I was reviewing had a chapter titled, “Can I call myself a Christian if I Don’t Watch The Chosen?” I resonated, having sometimes wondered in the last couple years whether I was the last Christian in my circles not to watch The Chosen. I’d just seen too many bad movies and videos by Christians, and I didn’t need to watch more. Then this book came. And I felt that I couldn’t review the book without having watched at least a bit of the series. Honestly, Season one, Episode one hooked me, when Jesus healed Mary Magdalene. Now I’m through most of Season Three, having watched most of what the book covers.

One of my discoveries is that many of the contributors to this volume had similar experiences to mine. That is, they approached skeptically and were won over by the imaginative storytelling, the very human and yet divine Jesus, and the way Jesus in The Chosen treats persons, especially women. The essays, seventeen in all, are divided under four topics.

Part One considers “Imagination and Interpretation.” Douglas S. Huffman leads off looking at how the series balances authenticity, plausibility, and relatability. But sometimes people have criticized the imaginative reading between the lines of scripture. David Kneip looks at Philip and Nathanael under the fig tree in John 1:43-51 and how the early church fathers offered similar renderings. Dolores G. Morris considers the show’s approach to the problem of evil and the hiddenness of God, noting the epistemic humility that runs throughout. She also responds to charges that the show adds to scripture, reminding critics that this is historical fiction based on the gospels, which viewers are urged to read. Concluding this section, Kenneth Gumbert, explores the wide appeal beyond Dallas Jenkins own evangelicalism, noting how the storytelling also appeals to the sacramental imagination.

Then Part Two digs more deeply into the storytelling and narrative art of the series. The first essay explores the storytelling through the lens of attachment theory and dual processing models of information. Then T. Adam Van Wert explores how The Chosen affirms the sufficiency of story to invite us to live within the story. Jeannine Hanger focuses on stories from John’s gospel and how these move viewers to take in more of scripture, a reaction of many. Finally, John Hilton III explores how to use The Chosen in the classroom. He offers a helpful set of questions to use with many episodes.

Part Three focuses on Christology and history. Paul Gandreau addresses the very human portrayal of Jesus in the context of historical Christological debates. Daniel M. Garland Jr. elaborates the bridegroom theology portrayed in the series’ treatments of John’s gospel. But how does the portrayal of Jesus relate to the “quests” for the historical Jesus? James F. Keating takes up this subject. Finally, in this section., Patrick Gray considers how The Chosen portrays the traditional Evangelists: Matthew, Luke, and John.

One of the most compelling aspects of The Chosen for me is how Jesus encounters various individuals. Jesse Stone considers this emotional resonance. Deborah Savage shows how this portrayal of Jesus in relationship exemplifies John Paul II’s personalism. Then Robert K. Garcia builds on this, showing the portrayal of the infinite worth of each individual. Finally, the concluding essays center on the women in The Chosen. The first shows how dialogue amplifies women’s voices. The second offers a rhetorical analysis of Jesus’ interactions with women and how these elevate the status of women.

In sum, reading these essays enhanced my appreciation for the storytelling artistry and the historical authenticity of the series. They also confirmed the high view of scripture evident in this “historical fiction.” All this suggests to me that the series creators have immersed themselves deeply in the gospel narratives. Above all, the discussion confirmed my own sense of the compelling portrayal of Jesus, the most believable I’ve seen. While one doesn’t need this book to watch The Chosen, reading it will enable you to enter more deeply into the series. It has for me.

_______________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus

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Cover image of "Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus" by Dave Ripper

Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus

Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus, Dave Ripper. InterVarsity Press | Formatio (ISBN: 9781514013106) 2025.

Summary: How the approach of Dallas Willard to reading scripture may transform us as disciples.

The late Dallas Willard was not only a distinguished academic philosopher. He also was known for his teaching on spiritual formation. At the heart of that teaching was the idea of experiencing transformation from the inside out, becoming more like Christ. Willard understood this in light of the biblical idea of discipleship. He observed that “disciple” occurs 269 times in the New Testament whereas “Christian” occurs only three times. For Willard, that transformation as disciples came, at least in part, through his reading of scripture. His own Bible was marked up on every page with underlines, circles, and notes.

As Dave Ripper read the works of Dallas Willard and then had the chance to meet him, Willard’s engagement with scripture fascinated him. Whereas for many, reading scripture was about information, Willard encountered Christ as he read scripture. So, Ripper wanted to read the Bible like Dallas Willard. Both during Willard’s life and through his writing, he came to understand how Willard immersed himself in the text But Willard never wrote a book about this. This is that book.

Ripper begins with Willard on John 17:3. Jesus says to his disciples, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (NIV). Willard stressed that this is relational, intimate, personal knowledge and by this we experience that eternal life of God in us now. Willard urged expectancy that as we read, we will experientially know God. He goes on to elaborate Willard’s view of scripture as establishing the boundaries of what he will say to us. While we may hear God in prayer, it will always be within these boundaries. But Willard expected God to speak, as Ripper describes in writing about Willard as a mystic. He believed God would both speak through this text and speak personally.

But how do we read like Willard? Similar to Mortimer Adler, Willard was a believer in marking up the text. He believed in the over-arching story of scripture of God forming a People for himself, a theme he traced in fifteen movements. Willard also believed it was more important to get scripture through us than to get through a lot of scripture. He stressed meditating on shorter texts and doing so through memorization of those texts.

Ripper explores Willard’s adaptation of both lectio divina and Ignatian approaches. Ripper then distills Willard’s ideas into a seven-step process defined by the acronym IMMERSE. These steps are;

  1. Immersion. Our posture of reverence and expectancy that God will speak.
  2. Meditation. Spending extended time mulling over what we’ve read before God.
  3. Memorization. Start with key passages and memorize as much as you can.
  4. Encounter. Using our imagination, we become a participant in the text, addressing and being addressed by God.
  5. Response. How are we being invited to act upon what we’ve heard? What does it mean for us to trust and obey?
  6. Supplication. Asking God for what we need for what we’ve heard to become so for us.
  7. Experience. Knowing God to be truly present with us amid our circumstances.

Through this process we move from communication to communion to union with God.

Then Ripper devotes two chapters to elaborating how Willard experienced the Old Testament and then the New. Finally, Ripper discusses how to teach scripture like Dallas Willard, offering ten short aphorisms. For example, the first is “speak from the overflow of a satisfied soul.” I liked the fourth as well: “Give ’em heaven!” If all of us who teach heeded these ten, the church would be immeasurably enriched. And it would not be at the expense of our souls.

This book is hardly a substitute for either the scriptures themselves, nor the writings of Dallas Willard. But the ideas here may well whet your appetite for a richer engagement with scripture and the Lord who waits to speak to us. It was twenty years ago that I heard Willard speak and read his books–and not all of them. Ripper’s study of Willard is a spur to me that led me to move a couple of the unread books to my TBR pile.

_______________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Loving to Know

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Cover image of "Loving to Know" by Esther Lightcap Meek

Loving to Know

Loving to Know, Esther Lightcap Meek. Cascade Books (ISBN: 9781608999286) 2011.

Summary: A proposal for covenant epistemology, bridging the subject-object divide with the idea that knowing is a personal, loving act.

Esther Lightcap Meek believes we are in desperate need of “epistemological therapy.” Since Descartes, knowledge has been focused on objective facts and a sharp disjunct exists between the knowing subject and the thing known. It leads to all kinds of binaries: facts versus beliefs, science versus imagination and art, the public versus the private to name a few. More recently, the post-modern turn has challenged all this, proposing that our “objective” knowledge is socially constructed. Hence, truth is relative to the observer. We can all have our own truths. This explains the epistemic crisis of our age, one that has been called “post-truth.”

Esther Lightcap Meek offers an alternative epistemology which she frames for us in Loving to Know. The title offers a clue. Drawing foundationally on Michael Polanyi, she argues that true knowing is a personal loving act in relation to what is being known. She calls this “covenant epistemology,” signifying a committed personal relationship, an “interpersoned” character between knower and the known in the knowing.

Part One of her book explains why we need epistemological therapy and lays out the basic contours of her proposal, as discussed above. Most of the remainder of the book consists of “conversations” with thinkers who were influential for Meek. Essentially, she retraces her process in developing covenant epistemology.

Then Part Two consists of her interaction with Michael Polanyi and James Loader. Polanyi contributes the idea of knowing as subsidiary focal integration. We move between something focused upon and intuitive clues as to its nature, and knowing is the integration of the two, a transformative moment. Her conversation with James Loader further unpacks the transformative aspect.

But where does the covenantal aspect arise? Part three develops this in conversation with John Frame and Mike Williams. Frame sees human knowing as stewardship in response to God’s disclosed relationship of covenant relationship as sovereign Creator and Lord. Our knowing imitates God’s covenant relationship with the created order in understanding, preserving and developing that world. Williams likens covenant relationship to our marriage covenant, a pledge of care for that which we are knowing. We commit to love in order to know.

So, this all sounds very personal rather than the detached knowing that characterizes our “science.” Rather than back off this idea, Meek doubles down in part four. She draws on John MacMurray to support the interpersonal character of human knowing. Martin Buber’s shift from I-It” to “I-Thou” relationships further supports the interpersonal encounter in knowing. Meek includes one of several “Texture” sidebars at this point to discuss the nature of friendship as “knowing with” another. I thought this worth the price of admission! Following this, James Loader talks about knowing before the Holy, that all of our knowing is before, and part of, knowing God. In addition, there are chapters in this part on healthy interpersonhood, knowing as dance (Colin Gunton on perichoresis), and on reality as gift.

Finally, in part five, Meek draws all the threads of this 500 page work together in “Contours of Covenant Epistemology.” She then addresses how we might respond to all this in “inviting the real.” She describes this as an “etiquette” of knowing and offers specific practices for the well-mannered knower. For example, under comportment she discusses our pledge or covenant, trust, obedience, humility, patience, saying “you” and listening. She concludes by discussing “knowing for shalom,” her hope that covenant epistemology will indeed be transformative for her readers.

I believe Meek offers an effective epistemological therapy if we will receive it. For Meek, all knowing is an interpersonal loving act in the presence of our loving Creator and Lord. To love that which we seek to know is to treat it with personal care, allowing the beloved to disclose itself rather than imposing our understanding upon it. Covenantal knowing means a “knowing with” both the ultimate source of all knowledge but also with other knowers. All this undercuts the privatized assertion of “my truth.” Such knowing, as was the case with Polanyi, reconciles exacting processes and creative imagination, science and art. Above all, this proposal invites epistemological humility as we recognize that all our knowing is a gift from a good Creator.

Review: The Fate of the Day

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Cover image of "The Fate of the Day" by Rick Atkinson

The Fate of the Day

The Fate of the Day (The Revolution Trilogy), Rick Atkinson. Crown (ISBN: 9780593799185) 2025.

Summary: A history of the Revolutionary War covering the period between 1777 and 1780, from Ticonderoga to Charleston.

It is a season for for Revolutionary War history as the United States approaches its 250th birthday. Not only has Ken Burns just debuted a new series, Rick Atkinson has released the second volume of his Revolution Trilogy. A good Revolutionary War history has to accomplish a number of things well simultaneously. First of all, it has to chronicle the battles. Behind the conflicts, it needs to describe the command structures and the strategic challenges each faced. Then there is the politics. Washington’s efforts to get more support from Congress and each of the state governments. King George III and his cabinet ministers and Parliament. Louis XVI and French ambitions. Finally there is the diplomatic story, how the fledgling country enlisted France’s support and precipitated a world war.

What distinguishes this history is that Rick Atkinson offers us a chronological account of the events of 1777 to 1780 that incorporates all of these elements. For those who are fans of military history, Atkinson provides detailed battle accounts with battlefield maps. He traces the war in upstate New York from the fall of Ticonderoga to the decisive defeat of the over-extended British at Saratoga. Meanwhile, General Howe executes a counter-stroke in seizing Philadelphia after the defeat at Brandywine. Yet fears of being cut off lead the British to abandon both Philadelphia and Newport. The Continental Army has won few battles but the British really hold only territory around new York City.

Then General Clinton, Howe’s successor decides to exploit American weakness and the presence of sympathizers in the South. Atkinson traces the progress of Clinton’s second in command, Cornwallis from Savannah to the fall of Charleston. The southern part of the new country appears on the brink of falling as Atkinson’s account closes in 1780.

The losses in the South reflect Washington’s struggle to maintain the support of Congress and the States. Revolutionary fervor has cooled even as the British have refused to fold up. Meanwhile, Washington deals with tensions in his own command from Benedict Arnold who feels his contributions haven’t received their due and Charles Lee, who Washington must release. At the same time, two foreigners make signal contributions, Lafayette and Steuben.

But important elements of the conflict originated in Great Britain and France. Atkinson’s King George III comes off as a capable, cogent but stubborn leader. Privately, elements in his cabinet had doubts about the war. Lord North talked of retiring. Meanwhile, in France, Ben Franklin, along with the urgings of Lafayette succeeded in moving the French to increasing support, and ultimately, an alliance with Spain, and some inconclusive sea battles.

Atkinson offers a fascinating account weaving all these elements together, going into detail while maintaining the big picture. And that big picture? A Continental Army undersupplied and manned, avoiding defeat without the ability to decisively defeat the superior British forces in open battle. A British military wrestling with how to bring this conflict to an end. An entrenched King who allows a revolution to become the pretense to a world war with France and Spain.

While most of us know the rest of the story, Atkinson leaves us wondering how this impasse will resolve. I look forward to the concluding volume of this trilogy!

See my review of The British are Coming

The Weekly Wrap: November 30-December 6

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The Weekly Wrap: November 30-December 6

Will AI Replace Writers?

One of the articles posted in this Weekly Wrap addresses the concern of writers that AI will replace them. At least half of UK novelists think this possible. And to be honest, I think it possible. AI can produce works in the style of any writer. For some readers, this may be all that’s necessary. Personally, I think to accept that is “welcome to The Matrix” material.

Yet real novelists who are good at their work don’t write in a “style.” There is a certain mystery to the human creative process, but it involves synthesizing a variety of elements and one’s own vision of the world into a story that is recognizably unique.

The challenge is not to write better than Atwood, McEwan, or King (even if you are them). Rather, it is the hard work of birthing words on the page out of that mysterious process, something very different from Large Language Models. I suspect there is a significant cadre of readers who will be able to discern and want the products of such a process.

Still, I think there ought to be some safeguards. The biggest is transparency. Ultimately, most people don’t want to be deceived that something they thought human authored was not.

While Amazon will sell most anything, with some exceptions, bookstores don’t have to. And perhaps it is time for those who buy books to decide, will I buy AI-written books? The danger I see is that the low cost of producing AI books might allow discount pricing that makes this attractive to buyers on a budget. And if an AI book can be written that is a page-turner, that might be all you need at the airport. But do you want to fill your life with airport fare?

People feared that print books would die with the advent of e-books. They haven’t, although the mass market paperback may be on the ropes. I wonder if we will see something of the same here. I also wonder if we will see a resurgence of small indie publishers who will go against the grain of those publishing AI material. What strikes me is that publishers and authors won’t decide this. Readers will–at least I fervently hope so!

Five Articles Worth Reading

The article I referenced is “A troubling question has been raised around human authors vs AI.” The article raises an interesting question about only the rich being able to afford books by human authors.

Technology has also changed public discourse. Formerly this was the purview of a class of intelligentsia. Now everyone with a smartphone is part of the conversation. Dan Williams thinks the elimination of “gatekeeping” a good thing. In “Let’s Not Bring Back The Gatekeepers” he argues that the once privileged who are on the margins need to learn to engage and persuade, not whine about media-facilitated populism.

The theory that Hamlet was inspired by the death of Shakespeare’s son has gained currency with the publication Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet in 2020 and the movie adaptation of it recently released. James Shapiro engages this trend in “The Long History of the Hamnet Myth“

The work of giving reasons for one’s faith, know as apologetics, was always a part of my collegiate ministry experience. So I was very interested in this interview, “Godly Persuasion,” with Ohio historian Daniel K. Williams on his new book studying the character of Christian apologetics from the English Puritans down to contemporary evangelicals.

Finally, many are turning to Hannah Arendt as a kind of prophet concerning totalitarianism. In “Hannah Arendt Is Not Your Icon,” New York Times non-fiction reviewer Jennifer Szalai profiles Arendt and proposes that one may find someone quite different than who they are looking for.

Quote of the Week

Poet Rainer Maria Rilke was born December 4, 1875. There are various versions of this translated quote, but one I’ve seen is:

“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it, you will live along some distant day into your answers.

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve written before of the exceptional place Hearts and Minds Bookstore is. Owned by Byron and Beth Borger, they stock a wide array of thoughtful Christian books and other genres. They can get anything. Late last week I ordered three books. They arrived Tuesday, carefully packed and undamaged in a sturdy box. In addition, while on their website, you can sign up for Byron’s “Booknotes,” a regular newsletter reviewing books, usually on a theme, and all are discounted!

I’ll be compiling my “Best Books of 2025” to post next Friday. I choose an overall book as well as exceptional books in a number of categories. Don’t miss it!

I’ve just started Michael Grunwald’s We Are Eating the Earth which makes the case that our current practices of food production are unsustainable and contribute to climate change. I hope he offers practical help concerning what ordinary citizens can do.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Rick Atkinson, The Fate of the Day

Tuesday: Esther Lightcap Meek, Loving to Know

Wednesday: Dave Ripper, Experiencing Scripture as a Disciple of Jesus

Thursday: Robert Garcia, Paul Gondreau, Patrick Gray, Douglas S. Huffman, eds., Watching The Chosen

Friday: Bob on Books Best Books of 2025

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for November 30-December 6.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: Brave Companions

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Cover image of "Brave Companions" by David McCullough

Brave Companions

Brave Companions, David McCullough. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668003541) 2022 (first published in 1991).

Summary: Short profiles of exceptional American men and women from biologist Louis Agassiz to writer Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Recently, I reviewed a posthumously published collection of essays by David McCullough. I’ve loved his work ever since devouring his mammoth biography of Harry Truman. But in browsing the list of his books, I discovered there was one I had missed–this one! Obviously I’ve now remedied it.

In this work, McCullough offers brief sketches of a number of extraordinary historical figures, mostly Americans. Collecting these essays for this book, McCullough observed:

“Reading these essays again, selecting and arranging them as a book, I am struck by how much they have in common. In my way, I see now, I have been writing about the same kinds of people all along. And I see, too, the extent to which they have revealed the world and times past for me, and things about myself, that I would not have known otherwise” (p. xi).

It was indeed the case that this collection revealed more than the people, but also glimpses of our world and history in five sections.

First, he addresses “Phenomena.” He begins with the extraordinary journey of Alexander von Humboldt in South America from 1799-1804, accompanied by Aime Bonpland. Essentially, the pair rediscovered rediscovered South America. He follows with a portrait of biologist Louis Agassiz, whose first instruction to students after giving them a preserved fish was “Oh, look at your fish!” He and Asa Gray were friends and phenomena at Harvard who came to loggerheads over Darwin’s theories, which Agassiz couldn’t accept. He concludes the section sketching the life of Harriet Beecher Stowe. McCullough portrays the extraordinary renown for a woman she achieved as well as her renunciation of her father’s Calvinism.

Part Two on “The Real West” portrays life in the cattle town of Medora, in North Dakota’s Badlands. He does so though the lens of two figures, both who lost a fortune there–Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores. Roosevelt went there an asthmatic stripling. Work alongside cowboys exhilarated him and turned him into the adventurous, robust figure we know. The other vignette is of artist Frederic Remington, through whom many Americans saw the West portrayed.

In Part Three, McCullough turns to “Pioneers.” He begins with the pioneer railroad engineers who built the first Panama Railway in the early 1850’s, overcoming both topography and disease. The next two essays concern the Brooklyn Bridge, on which McCullough wrote a full-length book. The first focuses on the Roeblings, father and son. Washington Roebling’s extraordinary engineering accomplishment, despite the effects of Caisson’s Disease, is underscored in the second, in which McCullough chronicles his discovery of the meticulous engineering plans for the bridge. Many bore Roebling’s initials and are works of art. McCullough describes his efforts to preserve this treasure. Finally he portrays a trio of early aviators who also wrote: Charles Lindbergh, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Beryl Markham.

Then in Part Four, McCullough turns to contemporaries in “Figures in a Landscape.” The first essay is a peril for anyone who already has too many books on the TBR pile. He profiles Conrad Richter, a novelist portraying life on America’s extending frontier. I learned he even wrote a trilogy on the early settlement of Ohio. Then he sketches the work of lawyer Henry Caudill and his fight against strip mining interests denuding the landscape of eastern Kentucky (which continues to this day). We meet zoologist Miriam Rothschild who has studied marine biology, entomology, and farming. Finally, he accompanies photographer David Plowden in his efforts to capture small town America.

The concluding Part Five, “On We Go” is different in not focusing on biography. First, McCullough remembers Washington, DC as he knew it–a very different place from today. The next is a from a magazine assignment, summarizing fifty years of history between 1936 and 1986. I lived through thirty-two of those years and the essay makes me think what I’d write about the next forty. Then McCullough advises Middlebury College graduates in a commencement speech to learn history by traveling. Finally, “Simon Willard’s Clock” is a reflection on the U.S. House of Representatives that I wish all present members of the House would read.

A few of these essays reprise material from McCullough’s longer books. Sometimes a snack rather than a full meal is just right and that is what these essays were. I was particularly fascinated to learn about Alexander von Humboldt, Conrad Richter, and Henry Caudill, a co-belligerent with Wendell Berry. But the particular strength of this book was the chance in brief to glimpse a number of seminal figures, and perhaps find one or two to probe more deeply. We all need our pantheon of brave companions.

Review: Am I a Better Christian on Zoloft?

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Cover image of "Am I a Better Christian on Zoloft?" by Mark Tabb

Am I a Better Christian on Zoloft?

Am I a Better Christian on Zoloft?, Mark Tabb. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746285) 2025.

Summary: Mark Tabb asks questions we might hesitate to admit having to other Christians.

What do you do when everyone around you seems so sure of their faith? You believe as well…or want to. But you have questions. And you feel like you are the only one.

For writer/collaborator Mark Tabb, his questions had to do with his prescribed use of Zoloft. He struggled for years with depression. Exercise worked…until the endorphins wore off. Bible verses, prayer, community, even reading didn’t work. Finally, he sought medical help and a doctor put him on Zoloft. And it worked! And he really was a better person to be around. But is this the same as growing in Christlikeness? The breakthrough for him came when he realized that humbling himself, admitting he needed help was the place where he experienced grace. Growth was admitting he couldn’t save himself from depression. He’s not saying medications are the answer for everyone. But the step of admitting one needs help may be one of the most Christlike things someone struggling with depression can take. And for him, its OK to be a better Christian on Zoloft.

This is the kind of vulnerable, and often witty, candor that runs through this book exploring some of the questions Christians have that they are afraid to admit to others. One I liked as I’ve been binge-watching The Chosen for another book I’m reviewing is “Can I call myself a Christian if I Don’t Watch The Chosen?” I kind of wondered that myself as I listened to so many friends rave about the series. Like the author, I had seen so many really bad Christian productions, I was gun-shy of one more.

Tabb assures us that if that’s you, its OK to be a misfit. We conform to Christ, not each other. (I should note that I ended up being surprised how much I like the series–the first really human portrayal of Jesus I’ve seen as well as a series that amplifies the voices of the women who were around Jesus.)

Tabb addresses eight other questions:

  • Do I Really Have to Chase My Dreams?
  • Did Not Allowing My Children to Watch The Simpsons Make Any Difference?
  • Is God Sort of Mean?
  • If I Believe God Is in Control, Why Am I So Upset About the Last Election?
  • Why Don’t I Feel It?
  • Did the Church in Ancient Ephesus Have a Creative Arts Director?
  • Can I Claim Jeremiah 29:11 as My Life Verse If I’ve Never Read the Book of Jeremiah?
  • What If I’m Wrong?

Much of what Tabb does is invite us to look beyond evangelical Christian culture to an honest reading of the Bible. In the chapter “Is God So Mean?” he believes an honest reading of the Bible shatters our self-made images of God and challenges us with the question, will we let God be God? For the same reason, he challenges the way we pull verse of scripture out of context, such as Jeremiah 29:11. Reading them in context enriches their message and guards us against misusing them.

The other thing Tabb does is challenge evangelical conventions that may become a burden (as in The Simpsons question). He addresses how hard parenting is, and that evangelicals often add to the guilt when what we need is grace, and to begin anew each day. He assures us that we will not always feel it and that what matters is following, no matter what it feels like (or not).

Finally, the humility that seeks help in depression is the humility that admits the possibility of being wrong. Like Tabb, I find myself most concerned when I encounter those who never ask “what if I’m wrong?” In a study of Mark’s gospel, I found my own “need to be right” challenged as I realized that there was more to being righteous than being right. I discovered that one could think oneself right and plot to kill Messiah.

Tabb may not answer the questions he asks to one’s satisfaction. What is more significant is that this older Christian (about my age) gives permission to voice the questions we’re not sure we can ask. One hopes books like this will shift the character of churches from places with all the answers to places where we may explore our deepest questions. This is so vital. My sense is that many leave, not because the church couldn’t answer their questions. Rather, they leave because they couldn’t ask them or were dismissed when they tried.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

Review: Preaching in a New Key

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Cover image of "Preaching in a New Key" by Mark R. Glanville

Preaching in a New Key

Preaching in a New Key, Mark R. Glanville, IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514010990) 2025.

Summary: A guide to engaging in Christ-centered expository preaching that is culturally resonant in Post-Christian settings.

Mark R. Glanville believes in expository preaching. But he argues that our practice needs to shift in two key ways. First, we need to understand the complexities of believing for people in our culture and communicate both sensitively and effectively. Second, our preaching should focus on nourishing “communities of hope” that extend the healing ministry of Jesus in our neighborhoods. He recognizes that something has shifted in the culture and that preaching needs to be cognizant of that shift. Rather than making authoritative pronouncements from scripture, he argues for the “ironic authority of scripture.” That is, as we exposit the lack of cultural plausibility of the text, it breaks through as a word from God, and not just more Christian culture. In this book, Glanville unpacks approaches that he’s found resonate in Post-Christian settings.

After a prologue studying the nature of preaching in the Bible, he explores the personal awareness preachers need to cultivate in a section titled “Deeper.” This begins with self-awareness and emotional health. We communicate with our whole selves, healthily or not. He then focuses on knowing one’s church, shaping a community pursuing life and the love of Jesus together. Finally, he invites contextually aware preaching–particularly of the doubts and questions people bring. He argues for “reversing the flow.” That is, recognizing these doubts and questions as one opens the scripture and displays the wisdom and beauty of Christ.

Then Glanville gets down to “Craft” in Part Two. He begins with composing, following the structure of the text. He emphasizes identifying the “through line.” Derived from one’s exegetical summary, it is the idea running through the text. He describes artisan skills consisting of eight practices and eight “licks” (Glanville’s a jazz musician) that make an exposition come to life. “Playing with Heart” speaks to the appropriate appeal to emotion–from the heart to the heart. This chapter also includes a very practical schedule for preparation. Glanville concludes the section by explaining his preaching sketchpad, which integrates the various elements he has been unpacking. Here’s the sketchpad:

Available for free download at: https://www.ivpress.com/Media/Default/Downloads/Excerpts-and-Samples/A1099-Preaching-Sketchpad.pdf

Part Three turns to “Tradition.” By this, Glanville is referring to representing scripture accurately in all its richness. “Learning the Tradition” focuses on knowing the story, being clear on the gospel, understanding the nature of witness, and what is biblical ethics. “Trusting the Tradition” returns to the idea of authority, and the centrality of Jesus. Finally, “Exegeting the Tradition” offers guidelines for the exegetical work basic to developing a message.

The final part of the book turns from the mechanics of preparation to the artistry of preaching. “Creativity” focuses on how we weave beauty into sermons through the use of imagination and the arts. Then “Posture” creates space for people to explore and consider in safety. This includes intercultural sensitivity and awareness of traumas experienced in the community. Turning to the “Church,” Glanville explores how one weaves together rhythms of scripture, the local congregation, the neighborhood and the wider church. However, beauty doesn’t preclude addressing violence in scripture and texts that teach about justice in society. This is the focus of the final chapter in this section.

In addition, the book includes three appendices on preaching on a theme, preaching a short text, and connecting to the Monday through Saturday vocations of people. Throughout, Glanville uses graphics to explain points, offers a number of lists of practical suggestions, and relates all this to his own work.

In conclusion, Granville offers an approach to expository teaching that exegetes not only the text but the listening community and that moves from head to heart while remaining faithful to the biblical text. Practical considerations are balanced by attention to the health and heart of the preacher, so crucial in a time prizing authenticity. This book distills so much wisdom about preaching that one might call it a shop manual for preachers. This book will not only be read once and set aside. You will find yourself referencing it in different seasons of your preaching life.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Advent

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Cover image of "Advent" by Tish Harrison Warren

Advent

Advent: The Season of Hope, (Fullness of Time series), Tish Harrison Warren. IVP Formatio (ISBN: 9781514000182) 2023.

Summary: Explores how we may wait with hope around the three advents of Christ, offering themes, prayers, and helpful practices.

I grew up in a tradition that didn’t focus on Advent. At all. Getting ready for Christmas was about presents, decorating, family plans, Christmas music and going to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church where we sang “Silent Night” by the light of hand held candles. That was it.

Only in recent years have I learned about the rhythm of the Christian year that begins with the season of Advent. Or come to appreciate the focus on the comings of Jesus, of his Incarnation and return. As I’ve done so, I find myself longing for a third coming–in my life as I encounter Jesus afresh. I want to meet Jesus afresh as I begin this new year in the life of his people!

I was delighted to find these same yearnings in Tish Harrison Warren’s thoughtfully written little book on Advent. This is where she begins–with our yearnings for the three Advents of Jesus. She describes her own awakening understanding of this season with “its quiet beauty and doleful hymns” that reflects our waiting in “darkness before we celebrate the dawn.”

Then in a chapter on longing, she centers on four themes of Advent: waiting and hope, darkness and light, repentance and rest, and emptiness and filling. Following this, she discusses two prophets of Advent who prepared the way of the Lord–Isaiah and John the Baptist. Scripture readings from these two prophets are a focus of the lectionary readings for this season. Warren focuses on cosmic rescue in Isaiah and cosmic justice in the prophecy of John.

In the fourth chapter, titled “Stirrings,” Warren reflects on four collects, or short prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, used during Advent. Particularly illuminating for me was the fourth, a prayer that God would “stir up his power.” She links it to Mary and the Magnificat, a focus of the scripture readings, with her being overshadowed by the power of the Most High. Mary willingly yielded her self to that power, to be the instrument of God’s deliverance, through her son.

The fifth chapter is on “Approaching,” which offers eight practices for Advent. However, Warren doesn’t legislate these but relates her own practice. Rather than rules, these are invitations. Nor does she have rules about when to decorate or when it’s OK to play Christmas music.

Warren writes, “Part of why we observe Advent is to make Christmas weird again, to allow the shock of the incarnation to take us aback once more.” “The most wonderful time of the year” can only really make sense when we emerge from the darkness. Only in longing for deliverance can the wonder of the babe who is the world’s deliverer make sense.

Summing it all up, Warren offers a thoughtfully written guide to our own Advent journey. So, I will be reading the book again with several friends as I wait with longing and hope.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.