I’m a big believer in reading and sharing those books with others. I read and listened to a handful of books in 2025 and these five were ones I rated “5 Stars” and that I’d recommend to you:

Take Back Your Family by Jefferson Bethke

Undoubtedly the best book on family I’ve ever read and quite possibly the best book I’ve ever read. Bethke shows how the model of American family is a failed experiment and invites readers into a better, more Biblical model of family. He strikes a perfect balance between analytical and practical, theory and application. I’ve bought this book for more than just a handful of parents and will continue to do so!
[If you’d like to read a book review I wrote on Take Back Your Family, you can do so here.]

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

It’s crazy to me that two of the best books I’ve ever read were ones I read this year. Comer isn’t the first to identify the discipleship drought we have in the West but offers a compelling and reachable (by the power of the Holy Spirit) solution: “Be With Jesus, Become Like Jesus, Do as He Did” through teaching, practice, community, and the Holy Spirit over time and through the struggles of life. Comer walks through how we’ve been unintentionally formed (often out of the image of Jesus), how we belief that information = transformation, and how we actually are formed into the image of Jesus, while offering practical and ancient practices of the way of Jesus to help us become more like Jesus. I preached a sermon series and taught a small group at my church based on this book and have already begun to see the fruits of how transformative this message is.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

I love the Chronicles of Narnia. And though this wasn’t my first time reading through them, I really enjoyed The Silver Chair this time through. There’s something really profound and meaningful about someone articulating through fiction the reality of the bonds of Satan being broken.

The Yoke of Obedience by Dennis M. Campbell

This book won’t be for everyone, but for those of you who are ordained or pursuing ordination, it gives an excellent (but brief) articulation of what ordination meant in Scripture, in the early church, in early Methodism, and today. It really helped me have an even better understanding of ordination before I was ordained in the Global Methodist Church this May, as well as how to better articulate the meaning of ordination for others (such as how I articulated it in my blog post “Why Do We Ordain?”).

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley

I listened to this book as an audiobook and it had me crying while doing yard work multiple times. In fact, as I was listening to it, I immediately decided that I was going to go back and read this one via physical copy so that I could take notes and really soak it in. What struck me from this book was the incredible articulation of how discipline connects us with our children and with God. I never would’ve guessed that a chapter on discipline in a parenting book would be so beautiful and have me in tears, but there I was on a lawn mower weeping at the beauty of such a thought.

I hope you find these books as meaningful and helpful as I did!

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If you’re curious to know the books I rated 5 stars last year, here they are:

The Pastor by Eugene Peterson
Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler
Untangle Your Emotions by Jennie Allen

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If you’d like to read books I’ve reviewed over the years, you can check them out here!

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