This summer we want to help you craft the perfect Summer Reading List. We asked Southeastern Seminary professors what books they would recommend, and we’ll share their recommendations in coming weeks.
Today, Sharon Chung, Director of Marketing and Communications, recommends books for your summer reading list.
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
By Jeremiah Burroughs (The Banner of Truth, 1981)
Chung: This little Puritan paperback is full of timeless wisdom that can be applied directly in your lives, today. Dr. Julia Higgins also recommends this book all the time and I can see why. This is worth reading over the summer in preparation for another busy school year if you want to be able to balance life well without compromising excellence for Christ.
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion
By Rebecca McLaughlin (Crossway, 2019)
Chung: Everyone preparing to go into ministry or having a desire to engage with our culture for Christ needs to read this book. McLaughlin tackles hard questions with reasonableness and winsomeness while remaining ardently orthodox. She is also a very skilled writer, and this is a surprisingly quick and easy read for how well and deeply it handles difficult challenges to our faith. She also released a small volume worth picking up titled, The Secular Creed.
Hope in Times of Fear
By Timothy Keller (Viking, 2021)
Chung: Though Easter has passed, this is a book that will encourage any reader to have hope in the Resurrection of Christ. Keller originally set out to write a counterpart to his Hidden Christmas. However, as he started to write, the pandemic hit, and he needed to really address all that was going on and the hope we have through the Resurrection showed to be extremely relevant. As you read through the book, you can sense the deep pastoral concern Keller has for the people of God and this is his encouragement and exhortation of hope in a time that seemed hopeless.
Previous Summer Reading Lists
- Ken Keathley: The Controversial First Evangelical
- Benjamin Quinn: How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going
- Penny Keathley: Thriving in a Godless Culture
- Matt Mullins: From Poetry to the Trail of Tears
- Keith Whitfield: Responding to a “Dizzying” New Reality
- Ryan Hutchinson: Getting Back on Mission
- Karen Swallow Prior: “As Refreshing as a Summer Breeze”
- Kristin Kellen, Jeremy Bell, and Lauren Pratt: On Suffering