In general, there are two approaches to daily Bible-reading: reading for intimacy or reading for familiarity. Intimacy with the Bible comes through slow, meditative reading that focuses on small portions—deep study of key books, chapters, and verses. Familiarity with the Bible comes through faster reading of much larger portions—the entire sweep of the biblical narrative. Both are fine approaches to the Bible and Christians thrive on a healthy mixture of the two. There is great benefit in knowing the Bible …

Over the past couple of weeks the blogs and sites I read have been humming with list after list of the top books of 2020. It seems that just about every avid reader I follow is eager to share his or her picks for the year that was. I love these lists and especially love comparing them to see which books become the consensus favorites. With that in mind, and based on perhaps 20 or 25 such lists, I analyzed …

As we come into the final stretch of 2020, Christian publishers continue to release some very good books. In this article I’ve compiled a selection of the ones that stood out to me as being especially noteworthy.  Talking Back to Purity Culture: Rediscovering Faithful Christian Sexuality by Rachel Joy Welcher. I expect the coming years will see a number of analyses of so-called “purity culture.” This, to my knowledge, is the first. “It’s time to talk back. The generation born …

Though we are late enough in the year that we may be past prime book-release season, there are still some good titles coming our way. I sorted through the stacks that arrived at my door in October and settled on some that, for one reason or another, I consider especially noteworthy. To that end, here are October’s new and notable books for Christians. (Note: In most cases I have not thoroughly read these books and the information provided is the …

The good books continue to roll in! As September turns to October I thought it would be good to provide a roundup of some of the best books to cross my desk over the past month (acknowledging that, in reality, I’m posting this a day late). As usual, I need to add the disclaimer that I haven’t yet thoroughly read them. With that in mind, here are my picks for September’s new and notable books for Christians. Devoted to God’s …

Several years ago Jules Koblun and I began to create graphics together. I would find an inspirational quote and she would use her graphic design skills to set it atop an image. Over the years we’ve created nearly 1500 of these quote graphics, covering a wide range of topics. I expect you’ve seen them embedded in the daily A La Carte posts and shared through social media. Over the years I’ve had many requests for the definitive collection, so have …

As summer turns to fall, and as we seem to creep incrementally back towards normalcy, the new books continue to pour in. I’ve sorted through the many (many!) books that have shown up at my doorstep over the past four weeks and have narrowed them down to this list of a dozen. For each one I’ve included the editorial description. I hope there’s something here that jumps out at you! Deeper Still: Finding Clear Minds and Full Hearts through Biblical …