Twenty twenty-two was a landmark year for me. I (finally) completed my doctorate in Practical Theology. Phew. Look for a published version of my dissertation to arrive later this year from Wipf & Stock. After spending years reading about charismatic prophecy, it was a relief to turn to other books. This list reflects everything from doctoral material to MCS course material to listen-while-I-run audiobooks.

If you’re new to this blog, I read about a book a week—a practice I’ve kept since I attended Seminary in 2000. My reading journal, which began in a paper notebook in 2000, moved online in 2008. You can check out a map of my mind complete with links to reviews of every book I’ve read since 2008 on the Book Review tab (if you want to). You should also know that I have book reviews scheduled to be published months ahead of time so this retrospective technically only reflects the book reviews I published on my blog in 2022.

A couple notes before we begin. The categories are not perfect but they’ll do the job. They have fuzzy edges, especially between Theology and Spiritual Formation. All the books are linked to my book reviews if you’re curious. Finally, for the OCD among us, each section is alphabetized by the author’s last name.

Theology

• The Spirit and the Common Good by Daniela C. Augustine
• Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World by David E. Aune
• The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr
• The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology by Mark J. Boda
• Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
• The Spirit of Life by Jürgen Moltmann
• Pentecostalism, Secularism, and Post Christendom by Bradley Truman Noel
• Arminian Theology by Roger E. Olson
• A Mouth Full of Fire by Andrew G. Shead
• The Laments of Jeremiah and Their Contexts by Mark S. Smith
• The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral and Practical Theology by James Woodward and Stephen Pattison
• The Spirit of the Book of Revelation by Robby Waddell
• The Hermeneutical Spirit by Amos Yong

Three books rise to the top in this category. Augustine’s Spirit and the Common Good is a profound theological vision of what it would look like for humanity to live out its communal being, rejecting violence as essentially iconoclastic. This book is infused with the wisdom of the Orthodox tradition and demands a slow reading. Boda’s Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology has reframed the way I consider the coherence of the Old Testament on the basis of three recurring creedal themes. Ultimately, it was the detailed exegetical work of Esau McCaulley, along with the generative impact of his positionality that makes Reading While Black the most significant book of theology I’ve read this year.

Fiction

• Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
• Godric by Frederick Buechner
• The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
• An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
• Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James
• The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
• A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
• The Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
• Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams
• The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams
• The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams

There is a lot of Robert Jordan and Tad Williams in this list—their epic worldbuilding fantasy via audiobook has kept my feet running all year long. When it comes to the best work of fiction, though, the answer is a two-way toss-up. Both Greene’s The Power and the Glory and Buechner’s Godric are tales of unexpected holiness. These books are affective—more than a narrative of other people’s (fictional) experience, they awaken a sense of longing in the reader. Incidentally, both of these books were recommended by Eugene Peterson as top fiction for pastors to read.

Church Leadership

• Pastoral Theology by Daniel L. Akin and R. Scott Pace
• The Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges
• Canoeing in the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger
• Tempered Resilience by Tod Bolsinger
• Leadership Theory by John P. Dugan
• The New Pastor’s Handbook by Jason Helopoulos
• The Disciple-Making Pastor by Bill Hull
• The Self-Aware Leader by Terry Linhart
• Creating Community by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits
• The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Z. Witmer

Admittedly, this list is weak. I read a number of these to prepare to teach Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Leadership Workshop. It’s strange how the Pastoral Theology field is dominated by the Reformed tradition. Where are the Pentecostal voices? The runner-up in this category is Dugan’s Leadership Theory. This ‘secular’ textbook provides a helpful taxonomy of leadership theories and models. The clear winner in this category is Bolsinger’s Canoeing in the Mountains. This book make’s Heifetz’s Adaptive Leadership theory accessible to church leaders. I can’t think of a more significant leadership model for our age.

Spiritual Formation

• The Making of an Ordinary Saint by Nathan Foster
• The Pietist Option by Christopher Gehrz
• PreachersNSneakers by Ben Kirby
• Enjoying the Bible by Matthew Mullins
• Run with Horses by Eugene H. Peterson
• The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas
• Preparing for Jesus by Walter Wangerin Jr.
• When Everything’s on Fire by Brian Zahnd

I discovered Richard Foster and Dallas Willard back in 1990s. It was their Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible that prompted my series of meditations on Ezekiel. With that background in mind, Rich Villodas is the clear winner for me. The Deeply Formed Life draws on the tradition of Foster and Willard to create a fully-orbed vision of spiritual formation that fits the contemporary multi-cultural post-Christendom context. This is the sort of book you’ll read, then buy copies of for your friends. It’s that good.

Homiletics

• The Practices of Christian Preaching by Jared E. Alcántara
• Preaching God’s Word by Terry G. Carter, et al.
• Topical Preaching in a Complex World by Sam Chan and Malcolm Gill
• Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones
• Telling God’s Story by John W. Wright

Can you guess that I taught Homiletics this year? Alcántara’s work is brilliant. In Practices of Christian Preaching, he avoids the exegetical/topical dichotomy to encourage authentic gospel preaching. I use Alcántara’s work as a text book. However, the stand-out book from this category has to be Wright’s Telling God’s Story. He presents a theologically informed way of narrative preaching that intentionally challenges the kingdoms of this world. Thanks to Jess and Joyce at the Down to Earth podcast for recommending this book. Preachers—buy this book.

Biography

• A Passion for God by Lyle Dorsett
• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
• Pastor Jack by David S. Moore
• True Believer by Abraham Riesman

Ah, biographies—this year I read about two pastors, a shyster, and a rock star. Grohl’s Storyteller is the clear stand-out here. While his stories are fascinating, it’s Grohl’s undeniable likeability that drives this book. Rock stars and moral excess is an old cliché. Grohl’s life tells a different narrative. He’s the sort of person that you want to hang out with. After reading the book, I learned that Grohl narrated the audiobook version himself. If you haven’t yet read Storyteller, that’s the way to go!

Other

• Documentary Film by Patricia Aufderheide

So there you have it—everything I read in 2022 categorized and considered. Have you read any of these books? What do you think? What would you recommend? Feel free to let me know in the comments. If you’re interested in these sort of things, this is the fifth year I’ve written a post like this. Here are the previous four:

• 2018: A Reading Retrospective
• 2019: A Reading Retrospective
• 2020: A Reading Retrospective
• 2021: A Reading Retrospective