My Top 5 Books of 2020
December 31, 2020 2 Comments
2020 is almost over, so here is my annual round up of the best books I read during the past twelve months:
- Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
Many Christians are familiar with the work of Christ: His fulfillment of the Law, His substitutionary death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead. However, most are less familiar with the heart of Christ: how does Jesus relate to and feel about those who are His? In Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortlund explores this important topic and its implications for Christians who live in a world tainted by sin and suffering. Each chapter looks at an aspect of Jesus’ character from His ability to sympathize with us to the richness of His love and mercy even when we sin against Him. Throughout the book, Ortlund draws not only from Scripture, but also from The Heart of Christ by Thomas Goodwin as well as multiple works by John Bunyan.Gentle and Lowly is certainly one of the most encouraging and uplifting books I have read in a long time. I rarely get emotional reading books, but definitely teared up with thankfulness for my Savior multiple times as I read. The chapters are short, yet still packed with theological truth that will deepen your love for our gentle and lowly Savior. If you only read one book in 2021, make it this one.
“Our sinning goes to the uttermost. But Christ’s saving goes to the uttermost. And His saving always outpaces and overwhelms our sinning, because He always lives to intercede for us.” -Dane Ortlund
- The Everything Store by Brad Stone
In The Everything Store, Brad Stone traces the early history of Amazon from it’s origins in the mind of Jeff Bezos through it’s early years and up to much of what we know as Amazon today: a multi-faceted conglomerate that now includes web services, physical locations, WholeFoods, and a massive (and growing) logistics infrastructure. The book is a fascinating look at Bezos’s creativity, ambition, and relentless drive to bring about his vision. I was struck by how forward-thinking Bezos was in the early days of the internet and how he realized there was a limited window in which he had to execute on his plan before it would have failed to achieve its potential. As an Arkansan, I also appreciated his admiration of Sam Walton and, ironically, how that led to a strong head-to-head battle with Walton’s brainchild Walmart. In addition, Bezos’s willingness to model and push for frugality within the company in order to conserve resources for expansion and to allow for lower prices (inspired by Walton) was a great example of recognizing the value of delayed gratification and the discipline required to achieve it.However, Bezos’s style of leadership did come at a cost. Stone doesn’t hide the fact that Bezos was so focused on moving Amazon forward that it often led (and still leads) to heated arguments, broken relationships, and burnt out employees. In that respect, as much as there is to learn from Bezos and the Amazon story, I wouldn’t recommend imitating his leadership style and the management culture he installed at Amazon.
“It’s easier to invent the future than to predict it.” -Jeff Bezos
- Practical Religion by J.C. Ryle
How should a Christian live, act, and behave? J.C. Ryle uses his concise and clear writing style to answer this question in Practical Religion. In a culture that is so confused as to what true Christianity is, Practical Religion serves as a strong apologetic for what the true Christian faith looks like as it is lived out. In each chapter, Ryle examines a spiritual discipline, characteristic, or reality that should mark a true Christian. Each topic is handled with pastoral care, exhorting the reader to examine himself or herself in light of Scripture and to strive, with the Spirit’s help, to live a life that pleases the God who saved him or her. As a companion to his classic Holiness which defined what holiness is, Practical Religion explains what holiness looks like on a daily level.Ryle’s chapter on prayer in particular is one of the best treatments of the discipline I have read. If you find yourself faltering in your prayer life, then this chapter will be of utmost encouragement to you. The chapter on “the best friend” is also of benefit, especially in our culture that settles for shallow friendships or a “lone ranger” mentality. As is usually the case with Ryle, Practical Religion is approachable, soaked with Scripture, and a needed encouragement to pursue a holy Christian life.
“You will not find such love as the Bible describes, except in the soil of a heart thoroughly imbued with Bible religion. Holy practice will not flourish without sound doctrine. What God has joined together, it is useless to expect to have separate and asunder.” -J.C. Ryle
- The Lord’s Prayer by Thomas Watson
The Lord’s Prayer is probably the most well-known and often-recited prayer in human history. Even those with rudimentary knowledge of the Christian faith can recite it by heart. But have you ever stopped to consider what this “model prayer” is actually teaching us? In The Lord’s Prayer, Thomas Watson takes an in-depth look at each of the six petitions of the Lord’s Prayer and how our prayer lives can be shaped by each one. The book begins by looking at the opening line of the prayer–“Our Father in heaven”–and has a beautiful list of encouragements related to God being our Father. Watson helps explain what each petition means, gives examples in Scripture, and then provides advice on how to pray in line with that petition during your daily prayers. While it does get a bit wordy at times, this book has lots of quality insights and quotes that will help bolster your prayer life, strengthen your relationship with our Father, and give you a fresh appreciation for this model prayer that Jesus gives to His disciples to teach them how to pray.“When sin becomes exceeding sinful, free grace becomes exceeding glorious. God’s pardoning love can conquer the sinner, and triumph over the sin. Consider, thou almost despairing soul, there is not so much sin in man as there is mercy in God.” -Thomas Watson
- The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhou
Most management books are written by seasoned executives and seniors leaders for seasoned executives and senior leaders. While they still contain good insights, they aren’t as helpful for the first-time or frontline manager. Zhou’s The Making of a Manager is a wonderfully practical and short handbook for those stepping into their first management role. The author begins by explaining what the role of a manager is and how being a team leader differs from being a team member. In the subsequent chapters, Julie draws on her experiences as a new manager to explain the importance of things like managing yourself, hiring the right people, and giving feedback. She addresses common doubts and worries that a new manager may wrestle with while also providing practical advice on how to navigate building a team versus inheriting a team. If you are a new manager or want to explore if management might be right for you, then pick up The Making of a Manager as a resource for personal development.“This is the crux of management: It is the belief that a team of people can achieve more than a single person going it alone. It is the realization that you don’t have to do everything yourself, be the best at everything yourself, or even know how to do everything yourself. Your job, as a manager, is to get better outcomes from a group of people working together.” –
Honorable Mentions:
- Traction by Gino Wickman
- The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
For an overview of all the books I’ve read this year, click here.
Reading is an invaluable discipline that will help to make you a more well-rounded person in addition to deepening your knowledge. For those that enjoy reading, I recommend setting up a Goodreads profile (it’s also a great way to keep track of what’s in your library). If you’d like to keep up with what I’m reading now and what I’ve read in the past, check out my Goodreads profile. Happy reading!
Have you read any of these books or do have a book that would recommend reading in 2021? Share your recommendations in the Comments below.
BONUS: My Top 5 Books of 2019 || My Top 5 Books of 2018 || My Top 5 Books of 2017 || My Top 5 Books of 2016 || My Top 5 Books of 2015 || My Top 5 Books of 2014 || My Top 5 Books of 2013