In the summer we read books together. It’s a well-loved GCF tradition.
We spend the whole academic year gaining knowledge about our particular areas of study. And so it seems only right that we’d spend time doing the same–gaining knowledge–with regard to our faith. And reading and discussing thoughtful books most certainly helps us toward that goal.
So, check out the books we’re reading together this summer. AND join in a small group.
Night, by Elie Wiesel. This is a famous and haunting autobiographical account of a teenage boy’s years spent in Nazi death camps. For the Christian reader, it will beg many questions about the goodness of God, the evil present in humanity and more. The book group will meet once at the end of summer.
How Not to Be Secular, by James K A Smith is a philosophical guide to Charles Taylor’s seminal work, A Secular Age. Along with asking questions about our culture and present age, we’ll think together about how to not be secular. It’s not a novel concept. But it seems like it might be a novel (and worthwhile) discussion for our own commuinty. This book group will meet twice during the month of July.
Strong and Weak; Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing, by Andy Crouch makes the argument that, to live the Christian life well, we must pursue both strength and weakness. We must be willing to stand for what is true and suffer when necessary. True leaders, argues Crouch, are those who use their privilege and authority to lift up those who don’t share those things. This book group will meet twice during the month of August.
Teach Us To Pray, by Gordon T. Smith. This little book traces the movements of thanksgiving, confession and discernment as it describes the ways in which authentic prayer shapes us into people who truly desire to see God’s kingdom come and his will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. This book group will meet twice during the month of September.
The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity, by Soong-Chan Rah, examines the ways that the largely white, Western church has succumbed to the cultural traps of materialism and individualism. This has compromised the the witness of American Evangelicals. Rah looks to thriving immigrant, ethnic and multiethnic churches as he paints a picture of where the church needs to go to survive and thrive in the 21st century. This group will meet once monthly during July, August and September.
Lets read!