Summer is a great time to catch up on your reading. This year, we'e selected two books that we are recommending as great summer reads:
On the Road with Saint Augustine: Real World Spirituality for Restless Hearts by James K. A. Smith
This is not a book about Saint Augustine. In a way, it's a book Augustine has written about each of us.
Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith has spent time on the road with Augustine and invites us to join him on this journey with an ancient African thinker who knows far more about us than we might expect. Augustine, says Smith, is the patron saint of restless hearts--a guide who has been there, asked our questions, and knows our frustrations and failed pursuits. Augustine spent a lifetime searching for his heart's true home and he can help us find our way.
On the Road with Saint Augustine offers a fresh articulation of Christianity that speaks to our deepest hungers, fears, and hopes. Addressing believers and skeptics alike, this book shows how Augustine's timeless wisdom speaks to the worries and struggles of contemporary life, covering such wide-ranging topics as ambition, sex, friendship, freedom, parenthood, and death.
A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World by Paul Miller
In our current culture, the church and prayer are often dismissed as irrelevant. But when believers gather and pray together, powerful things happen: the Spirit equips the saints for ministry, the helpless are met with help, and believers experience the joy of being led by the Spirit of Jesus. In this book, Paul E. Miller, bestselling author of A Praying Life, casts a vision for a return to the simple yet life-changing practice of praying together.
Through personal stories and biblical examples, Miller teaches the why, what, and how of praying together. Readers will learn how praying with other Christians can transform their communities into beacons of hope and be given practical strategies―such as finding a prayer partner and prioritizing a structured prayer time―to implement these changes in their own church.
Both books are great for personal reads or for small group discussion. In fact, we might plan some discussion nights by the end of the summer. A limited number of copies will be available at church on Sunday for a reduced cost (while supplies last).