20 Books I Recommend on Holiness, Peace, Vocation and More

Each August, I take some time away from my normal responsibilities for a month or so to pray – listen – think - read - study – rest – experience new places – connect with my wife – have some fun – and outline the next few months of teaching. Here are some of my favorite reads from this past Study Intensive:


  1. Vocation: The Setting For Human Flourishing by Michael Berg

  2. God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom by Graham A. Cole

  3. A Long Obedience In The Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson

  4. Dwell: Life With God for the World by Barry Jones

  5. Unleashing Peace: Experiencing God’s Shalom in Your Pursuit of Happiness by Jeremiah J. Johnston

  6. Shalom Yesterday, Today, and Forever: Embracing All Three Dimensions of Creation and Redemption by Mark DeVine

  7. The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right by Lisa Sharon Harper

  8. Peace by Walter Brueggemann

  9. Advent: The Season Of Hope by Tish Harrison Warren

  10. Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society by Amy L. Shermon

  11. Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps by Richard Rohr

  12. Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller

  13. Engaging the Old Testament: How to Read Biblical Narrative, Poetry, and Prophecy Well by Dominick S. Hernandez

  14. You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News by Kelly M. Kapic

  15. Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer by Tyler Staton

  16. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

  17. The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence: A Journey to Personal and Professional Success by Scott Allender

  18. The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints by Jessica Hooten Wilson

  19. Never Settle: Choices, Chain Reactions, and the Way Out of Lukewarminess by Greg Holder

  20. Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him by Jackie Hill Perry


Have you read something recently that inspired you? Is there a book, based on this list, you think I should read?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Terry SmithComment