The end of the year often sparks two things: “best of” lists and resolutions or goals for the new year. I thought it would be good to have these themes for this end of year post and to do them in reverse order, going first with the resolution or goal and then with the “best of.”

A goal for this blog for next year will be to “Blog the Belgic.” What do I mean by that? The goal will be to go through the Belgic Confession, which is one of the oldest Reformed confessions and one of our church’s statements of belief, article by article (there are 37 of them) throughout this year. My hope is to help us know the doctrines it teaches, not just with our heads, but how they affect our lives, as this document features what I like to call “Truths that Transform” and also truths that the writer and many others died for back in the 16th century (more on that next week, Lord willing). This also means you can keep me accountable to this goal — if you see me slipping behind, let me know and challenge me. This focus on the Belgic Confession will not preclude other posts on topics that people are asking about or issues that emerge in the coming year — so keep on passing along questions and ideas for topics to discuss!

While other bloggers are doing the “Best Books of 2016” or the “Best Books I Read in 2016,” I do not feel like I am in a position in which I can even remember, let alone rank, the books that I have read over the past year. Therefore, rather than look at the best books of 2016, I want to highlight books that have been very formative for my spiritual journey, inspired in part from a question I received from a member at a campus I recently visited about some of my favorite books. While there are many biblical numbers to choose from (3, 7, 10, 12)….I’ll go with 7 because that sounds good!

1. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. This book really opened up my eyes to the fact that I am a person who likes to use the law and behaviors to rank myself and think that my worth in God’s eyes is based on what I do, rather than what Christ has done for me. This book taught me to “preach the gospel to myself every day,” realizing that the solution to issues in life is not “Try harder” but “Believe in Christ” more and more.
2. Cost of Discipleship and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is tough to pick between these two books of Bonhoeffer, so I put them together, as they both are so awesome. Life Together taught me to cherish Christian community, to know that I must be with others but also alone (you can’t do one without the other), that I need to remember that Christian community is a gift not all have (which Bonhoeffer knew as a guy who lived as part of the German church persecuted by Nazis), and that we should not over-idealize Christian community (which I tend to do!). Cost of Discipleship told me that Christ calls me to come and die to follow him; that I must love Christ more than anything else in the world. I remember reading it recently now as a parent and thinking, “Is my prayer that my children would love God more than me?” Convicting and challenging!   
3. Desiring God by John Piper. I will admit, John Piper is tough to read and is not for everyone, but this book, which I first read when I was in college, is one that made me realized that I need to really delight in the Lord, that I glorify God by enjoying him forever (as Piper articulates). Piper introduced me to the idea that God is most glorified when I am delighted in him — and the goal of the universe is to bring God glory.
4. Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. I don’t remember all the details of this book, but I do remember reading it and being totally awestruck by God; it wasn’t quite Isaiah’s experience of seeing God in Isaiah 6, but it was something similar for me. A similar book in this vein that might tie on this list is A.W. Tozer’s Knowledge of the Holy, which describes who God is in an incredible way.
5. Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. While all of Willard’s books are wonderful, this one is the one that caused this realization: when I sin, I am actually show the true reflection of my heart. This counters how we often speak about someone doing something and saying “that is so unlike them.” No, it is actually just like him or her! Thank you Dr. Willard. (Disclaimer: Willard can be hard to read. John Ortberg picks up on some of his ideas and writes about them for a more popular audience).
6. What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. Do you see a theme of grace in these books? This book also helped me think more about grace and what it means in real life, including how messy it can be. His book The Jesus I Never Knew also helped me think more about who Jesus really is and wiping away misunderstandings I might have about him.
7. The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis. While Mere Christianity is often the most quoted and well-known Lewis book, this essay is one that I have found to be full of great quotes and ideas that have stuck with me. Here is an example: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Those that know me well might wonder how no books by Tim Keller make this list — that might be tied to the fact that I was first introduced to him in his speaking, so I had heard many of his ideas before they were written and they didn’t seem quite as revolutionary since I had heard them before!

There are many other authors I find helpful and have formed me, but those will have to wait for another day — or year!

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