Who’s Reading What? is a monthly feature at Lifeway Pastors. We survey a few pastors, business leaders, theologians, professors, writers, and other culture shapers with these four questions:
What are you currently reading?
Who is the author?
Which genre is it?
Why are you reading it?
No reviews. No summaries. It is a quick list to help expand the borders of your intake.
Enjoy!
Brian Bowman, lead pastor, Valley Life Church
What: The Great Gatsby
Who: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Which: Fiction
Why: Because Gatsby would have dominated Instagram. I’m looking for insight into the pursuit of lavishness and the language to express it.
Sharon Hodde Miller, wife and mom, author of Free of Me
What: As Kingfishers Catch Fire
Who: Eugene Peterson
Which: Christian Life
Why: A number of people I highly respect recommended it. The structure is also very accessible for my season of life—it’s a collection of sermons, so each message is the perfect amount to digest each day.
Santosh Ninan, associate pastor, Bethel Grove Bible Church
What: The Blazing World
Who: Siri Hustvedt
Which: Fiction
Why: It’s my summer beach book and I didn’t finish it.
What: Leading from the Second Chair
Who: Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson
Which: Leadership/Management
Why: I am the second chair at my church and need to know how to function in this role better.
Trillia Newbell, speaker, author of God’s Very Good Idea
What: The Songs of Jesus
Who: Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller
Which: Devotional
Why: I love reading additional material from time-to-time to supplement what I’m reading daily in my Bible.
Ed Stetzer, title, church, etc.
What: The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody
Who: David W. Bebbington
Which: Evangelism/History/Protestantism
Why: I’m trying to understand Evangelicalism better (for a forthcoming book) and also learning more about Moody Church (while serving as interim).
Marty Duren, executive editor, Lifeway Pastors
What: Baptized With the Soil
Who: Kevin M. Lowe
Which: History/Protestantism/Rural Life
Why: I’m curious what those of us living in post-industrial times miss from the Bible, which was written during an agrarian era.
