Are you ready for book recommendations? Here are eight Christian nonfiction books to read this year!
Some people think winter is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. I think winter is the perfect time to plug in my ear buds and get stuff done. That’s right, I’m an unapologetic, audiobook junkie. And yes, I consider listening to books reading. So when you hear me say, “I just finished reading ______…” It’s safe to assume I mean listening. No matter how you like to take your stories, I know most of us kindred “readers” like recommendations from friends. Today I’m sharing eight great nonfiction books read this year.
If you want different genres recommended, by all means let me know! I’ve got a million books on my “have read” list I’d love to share with you.
I find faith journeys and memoirs endlessly fascinating. Stories are wonderful, and often the true tales are those most perfectly written. The following list of Christian nonfiction books to read is in the order of most recently returned to the library (app.) All of the books below are among those I read in 2019. Descriptions have been pulled from their official blurbs.
Gay Girl Good God
In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could?
Via the official book description
At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel.
Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.
Why I like it: Jackie Hill Perry is a poet and you can tell the minute you start reading. The language might be a little flowery for some, but I found her poetic style perfect for understanding the emotion she conveys as she explains her story.
Becoming a Welcoming Church
Most church members don’t see their churches clearly.
In almost all of Thom S. Rainer’s consultations, church members perceive their church to be friendly. But as he surveyed guests, he found that the guests typically saw church members as unfriendly. The perception chasm existed because the members were indeed friendly . . . to one another.
The guests felt like they crashed a private party.
Bestselling author Thom Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has a game plan for churches to become more hospitable. In a format that is suitable for church members to read individually or study together, Rainer guides readers toward a practical framework for making a difference for those who visit their church. Churches may use Becoming a Welcoming Church to assess and audit where they are on a spectrum between welcoming and wanting. Additionally, churches can use the companion book We Want You Here to send guests home with a compelling vision for what pastors want every guest to know when they visit.
Via the official description
Why I like it: As far as Christian nonfiction books to read go, I loved this book and plan to reread it again soon. As a self-described “church lady” I love the Church and want others to love it too. However, as an individual who has moved frequently and been a visitor to many churches, I understand the hurt that can come from an “unwelcoming” church.
This book is well studied and backed by lots of data. It offers solutions for becoming welcoming on both a corporate and individual level. Best of all, it sees being welcoming as something that may have eternal impact–a perspective I deeply appreciate.
Forensic Faith
Forensic Faith will help readers:
• understand why they have a duty to defend the truth • develop a training strategy to master the evidence for Christianity • learn how to employ the techniques of a detective to discover new insights from God’s Word • become better communicators by learning the skills of professional case makers
With real-life detective stories, fascinating strategies, and biblical insights, Wallace teaches readers cold-case investigative disciplines they can apply to their Christian faith. Forensic Faith is an engaging, fresh look at what it means to be a Christian.
Via the official description
Why I like it: Years ago a friend and fellow high school youth group volunteer told me he’d asked his student small group, “Why are you a Christian.” He said hardly any could articulate a reason. At that moment I was convicted. Could I articulate the reason for my own faith? Since then, I’ve been intentional about feeding my mind “facts for my faith.” I’m not talking deep apologetics or even being able to debate someone. Just easy, consice items I find compelling reasons for my faith.
I’m a huge J Warner Wallace fan. His writing style is engaging and the information he presents makes sense and is easy to apply. I think it’s important for all Christians to be able to give reasons for our belief and J Warner Wallace’s books are a great place to start.
Lies Women Believe
Satan is the master deceiver; his lies are endless. And the lies Christian women believe are at the root of most of their struggles.
“Many women live under a cloud of personal guilt and condemnation,” says Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. “Many are in bondage to their past. Others are gripped by fear of rejection and a longing for approval. Still others are emotional prisoners.”
In this bestseller, Lies Women Believe, Nancy exposes those areas of deception most commonly believed by Christian women—lies about God, sin, priorities, marriage and family, emotions, and more. She then sheds light on how we can be delivered from bondage and set free to walk in God’s grace, forgiveness, and abundant life. Nancy offers the most effective weapon to counter and overcome Satan’s deceptions: God’s truth!
Via the official description
Why I liked it: I have gained so much mental, emotional and spiritual freedom by identifying lies in my life and dispelling them with God’s truth. (See a post all about this here and here.) Lies Women Believe helped me see commonalities in the deception in my life. It also let me know that I’m not the only one who believe hurtful lies. The truth presented is easy to understand and apply to daily living.
Unveiling Grace
From a rare insider’s point of view, Unveiling Grace looks at how Latter-day Saints are “wooing our country” with their religion, lifestyle, and culture. It is also a gripping story of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism, found their way out and what they can tell others about their lives as faithful Mormons.
Via the official description
Why I liked it: This is one of my favorite Christian nonfiction books to read. I liked this book so much I listened to it twice in a row. (All within the allotted fourteen day loan period from the library.) Seriously, I thought it was that good. Unveiling Grace is the best book I’ve read regarding Mormonism. It’s not scandalous–no plural marriages, or abuse here. The pages explore a “normal” family’s life in the Mormon church and how/why they all eventually left and turned to Christ and the God of the Bible.
As a Christian, I’m deeply interested what draws individuals of other religions to Christ. This book cleared up misconceptions and left me less ignorant about a religion that is mainstream in America.
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department’s curriculum.
Then, in her late 30’s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down–the idea that Christianity, a religion she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was. That idea seemed to fly in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a train wreck at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could.
Via the Official Description
Why I liked it: This is another Christian testimony memoir (are you seeing that this is one of my favorite genres?) Rosaria’s testimony is a great reminder that kindness and hospitality are some of God’s best evangelism tools. Rosaria’s heart wasn’t won over by a debate or deep apologetics. Genuine love from a Christian couple softened her heart to God’s truth.
For Christians who think they need all the answers before reaching out to someone of a radically different mindset or culture–this is a great read. Her story is a clear picture of how Jesus still transforms lives–even in our secular culture.
Escape From Camp 14
North Korea’s political prison camps have existed twice as long as Stalin’s Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. No one born and raised in these camps is known to have escaped. No one, that is, except Shin Dong-hyuk.
In Escape From Camp 14, Blaine Harden unlocks the secrets of the world’s most repressive totalitarian state through the story of Shin’s shocking imprisonment and his astounding getaway. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence—he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his mother and brother.
The late “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Il was recognized throughout the world, but his country remains sealed as his third son and chosen heir, Kim Jong Eun, consolidates power. Few foreigners are allowed in, and few North Koreans are able to leave. North Korea is hungry, bankrupt, and armed with nuclear weapons. It is also a human rights catastrophe. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people work as slaves in its political prison camps. These camps are clearly visible in satellite photographs, yet North Korea’s government denies they exist.
Harden’s harrowing narrative exposes this hidden dystopia, focusing on an extraordinary young man who came of age inside the highest security prison in the highest security state. Escape from Camp 14 offers an unequalled inside account of one of the world’s darkest nations. It is a tale of endurance and courage, survival and hope.
Via the official description
Why I liked it: This isn’t strictly a Christian nonfiction book to read. Shin Dong-hyuk’s story isn’t a conversion story. It’s an escape story. I think believers should be invested in prayer toward the priceless men, women and children of North Korea. After his escape, the book does indicate he encountered and embraced Christianity.
Christian NonFiction Books To Read
There you have it! I hope these recommendations of Christian nonfiction books to read come in handy this year. Happy reading (or listening). What books did you love this year?
