Resources for Thinking Better about the Faith and the World
- Fr. Jon Ziegler
Last week I shared some resources for reading the Bible better.
This week I want to share some resources for thinking about the Faith better.
And while we are at it, let’s try to think about the world better—at least let’s learn to think about our culture and the important issues of our day as Christians.
Many of the voices that I’m sharing below are voices that have profoundly shaped the way I approach the faith and understand the world. In them you’ll find my “hermeneutic”—the method of interpretation that I use to interpret not only the Scriptures, but the culture in which we swim.
I invite you spend some time with these voices as well. You’ll find many of them familiar—they are prominent in my preaching and in the vision of our church. But I would love to see how you interact with them and apply them to your own context.
I’ve divided the list into the following categories:
Thinking Christianly
Emotional Health
Multi-Ethnic Church & Race
Christian Orthodoxy
Voices
Thinking Christianly
N.T. Wright – Read his popular books like Simply Christian, Simply Jesus, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters and Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
[This article has a good summary of these books and more: Introduction to N. T. Wright: Books You Should Read]. N.T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham and probably the most well-known New Testament scholar of our times. He currently holds a post at Oxford. His work is one of the big reasons why I eventually became an Anglican.
Ask N.T. Wright Anything Podcast
People write in about all kinds of questions and he answers. He’s a brilliant theologian—but he’s also down-to-earth and pastoral. I can’t recommend this podcast enough.
Stanley Hauerwas & William H. Willimon, Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony.
Stanley Hauerwas’ understanding of the church (as an alternative ‘polis’ –politic or city) has greatly influenced the way I think I about the church. Anyone familiar with his work will hear his voice in almost every sermon I preach. From the book description, “Only when the Church enacts its scandalous Jesus-centered tradition will it truly be the body of Christ and transform the world…Resident Aliens discusses the nature of the church and its relationship to surrounding culture. It argues that churches should focus on developing Christian life and community rather than attempting to reform secular culture.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together and The Cost of Discipleship.
I have no imagination for how to make someone into a Christian outside of a very thick, communal, shared life. Reading Bonhoeffer (alongside my college ministry experience) has me convinced there is no other way. Both of these books deal with growing into the image of Christ within the Christian community. Much of the Cost of Discipleship is a commentary Sermon on the Mount. And here’s a description of Life Together from the seller: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, renowned Christian minister, professor, and author of The Cost of Discipleship recounts his unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years in Germany. Giving practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups… If you aren’t intrigued by the words “underground seminary” than we probably can’t be friends. Like N.T. Wright, Bonhoeffer was a pastor-theologian (the best kind). I love Bonhoeffer’s radical orthodox faith that subverted the faith of the Nazi compromised church which ruled his day.
Richard Mouw, When the Kings Come Marching In: Isaiah and the New Jerusalem.
This is Mouw’s (the former president of Fuller Seminary’s) intro to Neo-Calvinism and the ‘Christ transforming culture’ paradigm. Whereas Hauerwas (above) is a little more skeptical about cultural engagement, Mouw is more positive about Christians’ ability to reform culture in the power of the gospel.
Nancey Murphy, Beyond Liberalism and Fundamentalism: How Modern and Postmodern Philosophy Set the Theological Agenda.
My seminary philosophy teacher Nancey Murphy was a Rockstar—probably one of the most qualified professors at the institution. WARNING: This book is really academic and would probably be challenging for most us (including me) to read. But I wanted to list it here to give her props and if you’re hardcore, give it a read. This book and her class really formed thinking and was big part of my transition into Anglicanism.
Leslie Newbigin, Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship
This short, easy-to-read book makes similar moves to Murphy’s book (above) but it’s just much easier to read. Basically, liberal and fundamentalist Christians are missing something essential to the Christian faith: faith. This book is about leaving behind unhelpful ideas that were brough to us from the Modern Enlightenment area and embracing Christian orthodoxy and ways of thinking.
John Mark Comer & Mark Sayers, This Cultural Moment Podcast.
This Cultural Moment is a collaboration of John Mark Comer of Bridgetown Church in Portland, USA and Mark Sayers of Red Church in Melbourne, Australia. They discuss what it looks like to be a Christian in an increasingly Post-Christian culture. They provide a lot of food for thought.
Emotional Health
Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It's Impossible to Be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature.
Peter Scazzero founded a large, multi-ethnic church in Queens, NY (New Life Church) that incorporates insight from family systems theory in their spiritual formation plan. He says you can’t be “Spiritually mature” if you aren’t “emotionally mature” and the key to living well in diversity is people working through their “stuff”—becoming more emotionally healthy.
Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast
Scazzero discusses the kind of the content that is found in his books. Scazzero can be fun to listen to.
Multi-Ethnic Church and Race
In reality, my theological education was more white that would care to admit. Many of the books above reflect that whiteness. In seminary my lens on race was sharpened not through reading books so much as what was distilled to me through professors. I picked up on the teachings of black theologians like James Cameron Carter and Willie James Jennings through class lectures without having read them for myself. Similarly, much of my thinking about “multi-ethnic church” has developed from spending times in multi-ethnic churches and ministries—but I haven’t really taken the time to read the literature for myself. [Basically, this topic has been key to my formation, but I learned about it directly from people, professors, and mentors more than I have from books]. But this topic is so important, I feel the need to make recommendations of few books, even if I haven’t had the chance to read some of them myself.
Teesha Hadra & John Hambrick, Black and White: Disrupting Racism One Friendship at a Time.
Teesha worked as a pastor here at Rez and she is powerful communicator. You’ve probably appreciated her voice in the pulpit. I recommend listening to her voice on the page as well. This book is unique because it’s co-written by a black woman and white man sharing their experience. We need more of this.
Esau McCaully, New York Times.
The Dr. Rev. Esau McCaully is a Canon Theologian in our Diocese, the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others. He is also a professor at Wheaton college who writes regular opinion pieces in the NY Times from his African American, Christian perspective. I recommend you start following him on Facebook and Instagram and listen to his Podcast, The Disrupters. (Did I mention Esau did his PhD under N.T. Wright?)
Esau McCaully, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope.
This book just came out. I own it (it’s been shipped to my house in L.A.) but I haven’t been home to pick it up yet. Knowing what I know about Esau, it’s going to be really good. You should pick up a copy.
George Yancey, Beyond Racial Gridlock: Embracing Mutual Responsibility.
Janna is finishing this one now and I hope to pick it up soon. It came recommended from people I hold in high regard on this topic. From the seller: Sociologist George Yancey surveys a range of approaches to racial healing that Christians have used and offers a new model for moving forward. The first part of the book analyzes four secular models regarding race used by Christians (colorblindness, Anglo-conformity, multiculturalism and white responsibility) and shows how each has its own advantages and limitations. Part two offers a new "mutual responsibility" model, which acknowledges that both majority and minority cultures have their own challenges, tendencies, and sins to repent of, and that people of different races approach racial reconciliation and justice in differing but complementary ways. Yancey's vision offers hope that people of all races can walk together on a shared path--not as adversaries, but as partners.
Willie James Jennings, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race.
I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but if you are looking for a post-colonial deconstruction of white theology from an African American perspective—this would be a seminal work.
Christian Orthodoxy
Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World,
“Schmemann suggests an approach to the world and life within it, which stems from the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church.” This book is a classic on the Eucharist and its connection to world. It’s powerful and mind-altering.
Michael Ramsey, The Anglican Spirit -
Ramsey was the beloved Archbishop of Canterbury (1961-1974) and his impact is still felt today. In this short book he describes the “spirit” and history of Anglicanism. It’s a good read.
Tish Warren, Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life
Tish is a fellow priest in the ACNA. Her 2018 bestseller really struck a chord. It won Christianity Today’s Book of the Year in two categories, “Spiritual Formation” and “Beautiful Orthodoxy.” It’s all about uses the lens of the liturgy to connecting with God in the mundane stuff of life.
Simon Chan, Liturgical Theology: The Church as a Worshiping Community.
This book was on the reading list for Anglican ordination—but it was written by a Pentecostal (Assemblies of God) professor, theologian and minister from Singapore. From the description of the book: Bad worship produces bad theology, and bad theology produces an unhealthy church. In Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan issues a call to evangelicals to develop a mature theology of the church--an ecclesiology that is grounded in the church's identity as a worshiping community. Evangelicals
Voices
Here I want to list some voices you can listen into. Most of these folks write books. For the ones that are still alive, you can follow them on social media or listen in to sermons, talks, etc.
Soon Chan Rah – Professor/Author. Instagram: @profrah - a powerful Asian American voice for justice and the multi-ethnic church
Esau McCaully – see above
Rich Villodas – Latino Pastor that took over the leadership of New Life Church (Queens) from Scazzero. I enjoy listening to his voice on Instagram @richvillodas and he has a book coming out: The Deeply Formed Life
Todd Hunter – Our Bishop in The Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (aka C4SO). He writes books, has a podcast, and makes really great posts on Facebook and Instagram.
Scot McKnight – One of our C4SO canon theologians and a professor at Northern Seminary in Chicago, has a popular blog called “Jesus Creed” and wrote a few books you should probably read like Reading Romans Backwards and The King Jesus Gospel.
Albert Tate – founder of a large multi-ethnic, non-demonational church in Monrovia – Fellowship Monrovia. Tate is one of the most popular preachers and conference speakers in the evangelical America. Follow him on Instagram or listen to his sermons. He seems to be doing a really great job of forming people for deep racial reconciliation.
Justo L. González – Cuban-American, Methodist Theologian. Author of Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective
C.S. Lewis – Anglican thinker and one of the most influential Christian writers of the last century. Read Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters, Surprised by Joy, and the Problem of Pain—the Space Trilogy is really good too if you need some Sci-fi in your life or if you just open to allegory.