“Faithreads” for Fall

A book recommendation from Marilyn Miller

Biographies inspire me. I’ve read three in recent months, learning about the lives of Eugene Peterson, Tim Keller and Beth Moore.

I was reading about Tim Keller during the last days of his life (he passed in May 2023), which made it feel even more important. “Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation” by Collin Hansen is not written in typical biography format. Rather, it was written about those who influenced Keller throughout his life, “a rich account of the sources of his spiritual formation.” It fit Keller’s humble spirit not to desire a book that detailed his life experiences but instead to focus on those who he found to be wise and meaningful counsel.

Keller’s focus was on the lost. When he began Redeemer Presbyterian in 1989, he avoided making the opening public. He wasn’t seeking Christians, but he wanted to interact with New York City religious skeptics. When his books became popular, he was not delighted to see people standing in line after services for him to sign their books. That exercise only kept him from the important conversations with seekers.

With a thriving church in Manhattan, his influence was critical in the days after the 9/11 attacks. Afterward, when people were leaving Manhattan in droves, Keller encouraged his parishioners to stay and serve and help the city heal.

Tim was an avid reader, even in his final days. He read and understood philosophy and science so he could have intelligent conversations that pointed to Jesus. I have found his podcast, “Questioning Christianity with Tim Keller,” to be a great source of help in conversations with non-believers and his video series, “Discovering the Gospel in Every Book of the Bible,” fulfills its title.

Throughout my read, I found myself quoting Keller often. Then I got to the end of the book where Keller encourages readers NOT to quote him, but to quote those who he found worth quoting. Sorry, Pastor Keller.

“Only if our highest love is God himself can we love and serve all people, families, classes, races; and only God’s saving grace can bring us to the place where we are loving and serving God for himself alone and not for what he can give us.” Tim Keller

A BOOK RECOMMENDATION FROM DAVE WEEMHOFF

I’ ve enjoyed Albert Tate as a speaker over the last couple of years, and I recently heard his interview, The Art of Vulnerable Communication, on Craig Groeschel’s leadership podcast. He mentioned his book, “Disobedient God,” and I was intrigued not only by the title but also an anecdote that he shared on the podcast.

While writing the book, Albert was learning that we all have a longing inside of us, and we all have a reach within us; but what we long for isn’t always what we reach for. The anecdote that stuck with me was - he’d have a hard day at work and would long for comfort but reach for a Big Mac, a 20 minute fix that would end up backfiring.

Albert is a hilarious speaker but brings you really close at certain points and convicts the listener. I decided to read, “Disobedient God,” and his writing is much the same way as his speaking. You can hear his voice in his writing. You laugh with him and at other moments, your heart is breaking with his.

The subtitle of the book is, “Trusting a God Who Goes Off Script.” I think this speaks to all of us. We tend to have plans and dreams, and we hope that God will fit into those. But what happens when he doesn’t follow our plan? An illness. An addiction. A broken relationship. A prodigal child. What does it look like to trust God in those “off-script” moments? Albert shares some of his own real life stories where God has gone off script and the challenge of trusting Him in those events. It is heartfelt and transparent. He uses scripture to help make sense of it and points to Jesus as the only hope to get through it.

If you have ever gone through something that leaves you doubting God or lacking trust in Him, this book will encourage you to dig deeper. It will point you to the word of God and remind you that you are not alone. The whole world seems to be off script right now, so this book will encourage anyone who reads it!