Recommended: Read Wisely and Widely

“When you come, bring...the books.”
(2 Timothy 4:13)

My Mama introduced me to reading at a very early age and she never stopped encouraging me to read. Each year Mama signed me up for our local library’s summer reading program and she took me as often as I needed to go. Since our library had a five-book checkout limit, we went a lot, especially during the summer when I was nine years old. My Dad was a steelworker who was out of work that summer due to a plant layoff. Our family finances were really tight and there was no money for a summer vacation.  Mama, a survivor of the Great Depression, refused to listen to my childish complaints by wisely saying, “Read a book and you can go anywhere in the world!” That little gem of wisdom is still one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received.

 Tim Challies, author of challies.com, gives these helpful tips for improving our reading:

• Read - just do it!

• Read widely – try different genres, authors, classics, new, etc.

• Read deliberately - choose your books carefully 

• Read interactively (with your pen, notebook, and highlighter)

• Read with discernment

To his tips, I would add:

• Look for pockets of reading time throughout your day or week, instead of extended chunks of time.

• Keep a book or e-book with you so that waiting time, is reading time.

• And if you start a book and just aren't interested in it, find another one that you will finish. It's not unusual for me to have 3-5 books that I'm working through at any one time.

All of the books recommended in this post are currently on my nightstand. I’ve recently finished reading:

• Hope in Times of Fear, Tim Keller’s latest release written in the middle of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment. This is one of Keller’s best books.

• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman’s 2020 award winning masterpiece on cultural amnesia, expressive individualism and the road to sexual revolution. This book is a challenging, but important, read destined to become a classic.

• Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund, a 2020 award winning and best selling book that examines the heart of Jesus.

• Fault Lines, Voddie T. Baucham, Jr., already on Amazon’s best seller list and reviewed below.

• The True Story of the Whole World, Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, If you’ve ever wondered how the Bible hangs together, this book is a must read. The book’s subtitle is “finding your place in the biblical drama.” The authors portray the Bible as God’s one true story, a drama of six acts.

I’m working on finishing the books below, but have read enough of them to also recommend:

• Taming the Tongue, Jeff Robinson, Sr. – how the Gospel transforms our talk

• The Secular Creed, Rebecca McLaughlin – a short book for engaging five contemporary claims

Normally we tend to think of summer reading as recreational, but the culture and times in which we live are anything but normal. If I could only recommend one book for you to read this summer, I would highly recommend Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham, Jr.  This important book helps to explain the sinister worldview behind the current social justice movement and Critical Race Theory that has already infiltrated some seminaries, led to internal denominational conflicts, and canceled careers.  Baucham writes, “Like a fault line, it (CRT) threatens American culture in general—and the evangelical Church in particular.”

Fault Lines isn’t, however, just a social commentary or cultural analysis; it’s also an autobiography of a young black man raised in the Los Angeles projects by a single Buddhist mom. Voddie Baucham’s personal journey leads him out of the projects and into full-time Christian ministry. Baucham now serves as the Dean of the School of Divinity at African Christian University in Zambia. Voddie Baucham’s book is a fascinating page-turner that I literally couldn’t put down until I finished.

The book of 1 Chronicles gives us some helpful insight for how we are to live “in such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). The Chronicler describes, “men armed for battle who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” (1 Chronicles 12:23,32) I believe God calls all of us to do the same: be armed for battle and understand the times so that we will know how to live.

This summer as you plan your vacation and map out your calendar, remember to read widely and wisely so that you can think biblically.