I recently flew to the country of Estonia on a mission trip. With all the time I had flying on airplanes and waiting in airports, I was able to read three books during my trip. I wanted to recommend those three books to you and share a few of my thoughts on each.

Christian Books Recommendations

Visions of Restoration by John Young

This is an excellent little book that outlines the history of churches of Christ in the United States. I found this book to be incredibly balanced. It highlights both our desire for unity as well as our struggle with division. It highlights both our desire to follow Scripture and our struggle to figure out exactly what that looks like.

My only complaint with this book is that I wish it had been longer. That said, John Young did an excellent job covering a lot of history in a very short book. Because it is so short, and because there are excellent discussion questions at the end of each chapter, it would make a great book for a class or a small group.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Find Visions of Restoration on Amazon.

A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption by Becket Cook

The author chronicles his story of struggling in his youth with same-sex attraction, living as a gay man, and finally becoming a follower of Jesus and no longer embracing a gay identity.

I loved this story. I particularly appreciated the fact that the author’s love for Jesus (not any single passage against homosexual relationships) is his primary argument in this book. It is an incredibly inspiring story and one that needs to be read and shared.

The book does not deal with some of the more modern theological arguments in favor of same-sex relationships. The author takes the position that Scripture is very clear on the issue of homosexuality. I completely agree with him; however, I doubt this book would change anyone’s mind who is of the opinion that Scripture does not condemn modern, monogamous same-sex relationships.

The only thoughts with which I disagreed were some the Calvinistic ideas, but that was a very minimal percentage of the content. I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Find Change of Affection on Amazon.

Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human by John Mark Comer

Out of the three books I read on this trip, this one was by far my favorite. This book is wonderful and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I very seldom re-read books, but this will definitely be one I read again.

John Mark Comer does a wonderful job explaining how eschatology (what you believe will happen to the earth when our current age ends) affects your thoughts, behavior, and life. If this world is going to be redeemed after the judgment of fire, what difference does that make in the here-and-now? Comer answers that question.

He also deals with work and rest. How should Christians think about their jobs and careers? How should Christians think about Sabbath? I don’t know that I would ever practice Sabbath quite the way Comer and his family practice it, but it sure isn’t a bad idea.

As with any book besides the Bible, I didn’t agree with everything in it. However, it was an excellent read that I would highly recommend. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Find Garden City on Amazon.

I love you and God loves you,

Wes McAdams

P.S. The Amazon links are all affiliate links. This means, if you use the link to purchase an item, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. This commission helps a little with the ever-increasing cost of this blog.

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