God can use anyone and anything (at any given time) to accomplish what He wants in our lives.

In spring 2021, Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC) in Washington, DC, had nine pastoral interns. Eight were 40 years old and under. Seven were coming out of—or would head into—seminary. And one was NASA’s former head astronaut. Pat Forrester was 63 years old. He’d been to space three times to put together the International Space Station. To do the internship, he’d stepped down from his job as chief of the astronaut office—the highest position an active astronaut can have—and moved from his corner office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to a white plastic table in a CHBC Sunday school room. Pat didn’t make the switch because he was tired of liftoffs or spacewalks. Pat Forrester waves at a teammate inside Discovery’s cabin during a spacewalk in 2001. / Courtesy of NASA “I loved what I was doing,” he said. “It felt like I was serving the nation well. But I had a restlessness. I felt that there was more than this for me.” A big reason for that was his church situation. As Pat and his wife, Diana, had grown in their ecclesiological convictions, they’d stopped attending their old church in Houston and hadn’t been able to find a new one. When he made trips to NASA’s headquarters in DC, Pat would attend CHBC. He and Diana loved the expositional preaching and the feeling of community. Pat was in town so often he started coming to CHBC Bible studies and stopping by meetings of CHBC interns. These guys are in the Word and in the church, Pat thought. It was so attractive that when the timing was right, he joined them. “I loved being around the church, being here with a group of men,” Pat said of his fellow interns. “I didn’t know any fellowship quite like that. As an army officer and a pilot, I’ve had a lot of camaraderie—but not with that focus, where it was centered on the Lord. I loved it.” And so when Pat finished the internship, the Forresters chose to stay in DC. Without a job in ministry, Pat accepted a position advising top NASA leaders in the DC office. Then, this spring, he did it again, leaving his high-profile job to become the fundraiser for 9Marks, a ministry established by CHBC pastor Mark Dever to help pastors and church members build healthy churches. “For however many years the Lord gives me, I would like to serve him with all that I have,” Pat said. “I want to be in an organization whose direct mission is the spread of the gospel.” “God’s Word is true, he is building his church, and he is coming back,” Diana said. “Pat is now vocationally participating in that. It’s really cool to get this opportunity at this age in life—what a privilege.” Growing Up Military Pat was born to serve his country. His grandfather served in World War I. Three of his great-uncles fought—and one died—in World War II. Before Pat graduated from high school, his career-military father had spent a year in Korea, earned a master’s in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and been awarded a Silver Star for commanding troops in Vietnam. Pat in the army in 1990 / Courtesy of Pat Forrester After high school, there was no question where Pat was headed next—the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. But even though he expected it to be hard, the transition was tough for a kid who had a great time in high school playing sports, dating, and not working too hard for his A’s. For the first time, Pat realized he needed something or someone outside of himself. “I remember going to talk with the chaplain, and he put me in a Bible study,” he said. “That was the first time I remember using a Bible for something other than a church service.” Pat’s parents had raised him in the Methodist church, but it was in late high school and college that he first felt the conviction of sin. “I became a believer then,” Pat said. “I understood about having a relationship with Christ.” But he didn’t yet understand about church. Pat and Diana Pat was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, and preparing for Ranger School—the army’s toughest course—when the daughter of old family friends caught his eye. Both Pat and Diana fell hard. “Pat was such a person of integrity and faithfulness,” Diana said. “You can see the trajectory a person has, even if their character isn’t fully developed yet. Even though we were young in our faith and hadn’t experienced intentional discipleship, I could see he loved the Lord.” Pat and Diana were married in 1981. / Courtesy of Pat Forrester A few years later, they got married. But Pat and Diana didn’t settle down. In their first decade, the couple moved to Hawaii so Pat could be a platoon leader and fly helicopters for the army, to Virginia so he could earn a master’s in aerospace engineering, to California and Maryland so he could learn how to be a test pilot, and to Alabama so he could be one. His job was exciting, and he was good at it. Diana didn’t mind the changing scenery, except for at church. “She’d talk about wanting a church home, and I was like, ‘Honey, I don’t even know what you mean by that,’” Pat said. He didn’t mind attending a local Protestant church one week and services at the chapel on base the next. What more could you want? “I always felt loved, but I didn’t feel deeply embedded,” said Diana. Embedded in Church When Pat was 36, he and Diana and their two boys moved to Houston. His assignment was to work for NASA for three years as an aerospace engineer. When it was done, Pat—along with more than 2,400 others—applied for one of the 35 American slots in the 1996 class of astronauts. He got in. It was exciting to be an astronaut—and fun to be married to one. But the biggest change Diana noticed was that, finally, they’d be standing still long enough to embed into a nearby Baptist congregation. “We were in that church for 20 years,” Pat said. “It was there that I realized what she meant by a church family, a church home.” He’d never been in a congregation for that long. He was able to serve as a deacon and teach Sunday school to middle and high schoolers. Diana found time, between working as a neonatal nurse and volunteering at church and the kids’ school, to join a Bible Study Fellowship group. She encouraged Pat to join her. “That looks like so much work,” he told her, watching her do weekly lessons. “I’ll never do that.” But after a while, that changed. “I think out of my love for her, I decided to go one time,” he said. To his surprise, he loved it. “It became my favorite part of the day,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get off work, go straight to Starbucks, open my Bible, and answer my questions. That’s when I came to really love God’s Word.” View from the Top On August 10, 2001, Pat climbed into the space shuttle Discovery and took off into space for the first time. For about 10 days, his team docked at the International Space Station, bringing supplies and a new crew. On two of those days, Pat put on his space suit and floated out the door. His job was to attach containers of extra ammonia, heater cables, and handrails to the outside of the International Space Station. Pat working on the space station in 2007 / Courtesy of NASA “It’s high-altitude construction,” he said. “You’re going around the earth at 17,500 miles per hour—25 times the speed of sound. You come up on California and then a couple of minutes later you’re passing over New York. It doesn’t feel that fast inside the space station—you feel like you’re floating. But when you’re out on the spacewalk, it does. You feel like you’re falling, because you are.” The view was spectacular. “Looking back at Earth is the most amazing sight to see,” he said. “It’s beautiful.” On his way back into the space station, he stopped to take a picture. One of the pictures Pat took in space / Courtesy of Pat Forrester “And I thought to myself, after all the effort and all the work it had taken to get there, Is this all there is?” said the man who had chased down the most exciting, challenging, and interesting work on—and off—the planet. “Is this all that God has planned for my life?” It’s the same question asked by a lot of people at the top of their professions. The answer: There is more, but maybe not in the way you think. Being a Christian on Earth After Pat got home, he talked to Diana about his questions. She told him to talk to his pastor, who advised him to join his church’s short-term mission trip to Uganda. He liked it so much that he thought about joining Mission Aviation Fellowship after retirement. On his third and final trip to space in 2009, Pat took along a piece from Nate Saint’s ill-fated Piper airplane. Back on the ground, Pat kept working his way through different jobs at NASA. In 2017, he was named the chief of the astronaut office—which meant he managed astronaut resources and operations, developed flight crew operation concepts, and made crew assignments for future trips to space. Pat (third from right) monitors the countdown of the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2019. / Photo by Joel Kowsky / NASA To do this, Pat traveled regularly to consult with NASA’s headquarters. That wasn’t new to him—after spaceflights, astronauts regularly head to the nation’s capital to meet the president, testify before Congress, and lobby for the space industry. Years earlier, he’d asked his son, who lived in DC, if he could recommend a church to visit while he was in town. His son pointed him to CHBC. Pat tried it, then tried it again. The more time he spent there, the more he liked it. Now, with Pat’s increased time in DC, Diana started coming too. “I didn’t have the language to explain what I was observing and experiencing there,” she said. “But I knew that it was good and right.” The Forresters found in CHBC what they’d first met in Bible Study Fellowship—a love for digging into God’s Word. “We were sitting under expositional preaching,” Diana said. “The gospel of Jesus Christ was preached every Sunday. There was consistency—the right thing was being done over and over again.” Back in Houston, Pat and Diana tried an expositional-preaching church plant. They liked it, but it was over an hour—sometimes two hours, depending on the traffic—from their house, which made it hard to embed themselves in the church family. Eventually, the long commute wore them out. “We tried a couple of other places, but nothing stuck,” Pat said. “Then we just quit going to church. On Sunday mornings, we’d listen to a sermon from CHBC and pray.” Internship About a year into the Forresters’ online church attendance, the rest of the world joined them. During the pandemic, everyone began thinking and talking about what it meant to attend—or not attend—church in person. Dever preached on Hebrews 10:24–25, and those verses convicted Pat. “I think we’re living in sin at this point, not being in a church,” he told Diana. He felt so strongly about it that he suggested they move to DC. Not only could he do CHBC’s pastoral internship, but they could also be members of CHBC. At first glance, that proposal sounds ridiculous. Pat flew jets, planned trips to space, and sat where Alan Shepard once sat. The CHBC internship is five months long, pays $1,300 a month, and is meant for young men heading into the pastorate. But whenever he was in DC, sitting in on intern discussions, he’d think, Wow. Here is a group of men talking about the Lord and the church, surrounded by the pastors of the church. “I’d never been around anything like that,” he said. “What better thing could you be doing with your time than reflecting on God’s Word and the church, learning with mentors?” Dever saw Pat’s interest. “It was clear to me that Pat was a man of honor and concerned about local churches—particularly, the health of local churches,” he said. “Pat was immensely respected by his peers and carried great natural leadership abilities, with the humility still to learn from others.” He asked Pat to join. “It was very appealing to me,” Pat said. “[It seemed] the Lord was inviting us into church membership, deep fellowship, and a chance for me to grow in my understanding of ecclesiology.” And maybe, at the end of the internship, he could work in ministry. In December 2020, Pat stepped down from the chief astronaut position and took a leave of absence from NASA. He and Diana sold their house and moved to an apartment in DC. Theology + Relationships Before he even started, Pat was nervous about the internship, which requires reading more than 5,000 pages of text and writing about 100 papers. “I’m a slow reader, and I’m not a great writer,” he said. “The internship was one of the harder things I’ve ever done . . . but to me it was like a dream come true.” Pat (middle) was the oldest intern at CHBC in spring 2021. / Courtesy of Pat Forrester One key reason was his fellow interns and the CHBC staff. Pat felt as strong a bond with them as anything he’d experienced in the army or on his flight crews. “Those are very close relationships, particularly within the astronaut office and particularly among crew members,” Diana said. “They are really, really intentional with those relationships. They work in close proximity to one another, share an office, and build so much closeness during that training flow.” But few of Pat’s work colleagues—and even fewer of his shuttle crew members—were believers. “When you don’t share the essence of who you are as a follower of Christ with another person, it’s like being in a family where they don’t know you,” Diana said. Pat explains the gap in relational intensity between work friends and church friends like this: “It’s like the difference between loving your friend’s kids and then holding your own kid. It’s just different.” This was the component he and Diana had been missing from online church. They’d had good theology. But now they were adding relationships. “I loved being around the church,” Pat said. He enjoyed it so much he was hoping for a job in ministry at the end of his internship. But that didn’t happen. Back to NASA At the end of Pat’s internship, he was offered a position at NASA’s DC headquarters. “NASA had just selected a new head of human spaceflight, and her office reached out and asked if I’d like to be her advisor,” Pat said. It was a senior executive position with influence, authority, and travel to all the launches. Pat and Diana with their two sons, two daughters-in-law, and grandchildren in 2023 / Courtesy of Diana Forrester For the next three years, he was glad to do that job. But sometimes he missed the chief astronaut job—like when he listened to Dever’s talk at the 2022 T4G conference. “Dever was talking about what good authority is and how it blesses others, and it hit me that was what I had been to the astronaut corps,” he said. “I had left the chief astronaut position not realizing the Lord was using me there as a believer. I treated people fairly. I spent hours talking with them. I knew their families. I loved them and led them well as a believer. When I heard the sermon and read Jonathan [Leeman’s] book, my heart sank. I thought, Oh, I left where I was serving the Lord best and didn’t realize it.” Pat wondered if he’d done the wrong thing by moving to DC. He had to remind himself that he and Diana had prayed about their decision. That they hadn’t left a church home in Houston. That they’d both felt convicted about coming. That the Lord knew about good authority and knew what Pat—and NASA—needed. Pat and Diana with their grandchildren / Courtesy of Pat Forrester “We had to keep reminding each other to be steadfast, because we had prayed about it,” he said. “We had to trust that what we were doing was what we were supposed to be doing in God’s providence. The Lord is steadfast—we read it a thousand times. We knew we needed to be steadfast because he is steadfast.” Pat and Diana also reminded themselves of the ways God was blessing their move. “Coming to DC, my primary focus was enjoying being in church membership,” Diana said. “There is such a discipleship culture here—we’re always walking or having coffee meetings.” “I’ve loved seeing my wife grow in theology and her love for the local church,” Pat said. He can say the same about himself: “I knew if I did the internship I’d know and love the Lord more. And that’s been true.” Development Manager for 9Marks As Pat and Diana got to know CHBC, they also got to know 9Marks. They met Drew Allenspach, the development manager, and learned he wanted to pastor a church somewhere. “Knowing I wanted to be in ministry, I had a fleeting thought that it would be a kindness of the Lord to move into Drew’s job,” Pat said. “I didn’t even know what a development manager was. When I found out, I thought, No, that wouldn’t be good.” That’s because “development manager” is another name for fundraiser. Allenspach’s job was to tell people about 9Marks and ask if they’d mind donating to the work. In 2024, Allenspach took a job as an associate pastor at Ogletown Baptist Church in Newark, Delaware. Before he left, 9Marks began looking for his replacement. A friend, who knew Pat wanted to work for 9Marks, told him to at least call executive director Ryan Townsend to see what the job entailed. Townsend told him to stop by. “I got there, and Ryan and Drew were in the conference room with notebooks,” Pat said. “I got home and told Diana, ‘I think that was an interview—and I think I got the job.’” Sure enough, Ryan called with a job offer. But Pat didn’t know how to raise money, nor did he have a desire to do it—“Man, it’s so hard for me to ask somebody for something,” he said. “It’s true, he had no experience or background in fundraising,” Townsend said. “But I reckoned I could teach him the technical skills he needed to do the job. He has a pretty good track record at learning complex things. And the things Pat had that I could not teach—his character, experience, wisdom, humility—are priceless.” Pat and Diana prayed about it for a few weeks. Then he talked to Ryan. “I’ve thought about this, and I don’t think I’m the right person,” Pat said. “You should go with your No. 2 guy.” “Brother,” Ryan told him, “we’ve got no No. 2 guy.” Pat laughs when he tells the story: “You need to know that’s how I got the job.” That’s how a senior NASA official left a highly decorated, hugely successful 31-year career—for the love of ministry and the local church. For the Love of Ministry Pat’s been the 9Marks development director for about nine months now. Some days it’s hard. “Part of my flesh wants to move to the mountains and hike,” he laughs. “It helps that John Piper ruined that for all of us.” Some days it’s uplifting. “I’ve been in several elite organizations in my life, but 9Marks does more with a few people and a small budget for the kingdom than you could’ve convinced me could be done,” Pat said. “I love this organization, and I love the people.” He does more than fundraising: Pat talks with every class of interns. He spends time with young men in CHBC, amazed that they want to hear his stories and his advice. Earlier this year, he shared his testimony with more than 10,000 young people at the Cross Conference. A few months ago, he and Diana spent a weekend in a cabin with three young couples from the church. “I’m going, ‘All right, Lord, I guess this is how you are using us,’” Pat said. “I’m going to trust you.” The more he’s around the church, the more he loves it. “I’ve served with some fine people who dedicated their lives to service, but man, these pastors,” he said. “Honesty, if I could serve pastors for the rest of my life, how cool would that be?”

One of the secrets to writing and editing well is reading a lot. It’s an important part of our jobs as we publish books and evaluate others for the annual book awards. The editorial team at The Gospel Coalition loves to read. We read to get ideas. We read to understand the world better. We read because we love stories. As the year draws to a close, we want to share our favorites with you. We’ve covered some of these books here at TGC with book reviews or podcasts. However, many were discovered along rabbit trails in research or from recommendations by friends. No matter how we found these books, we hope you enjoy them too. Winfree Brisley Mark Vroegop, Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life (Crossway, 2024) In a culture of instant downloads and same-day delivery, we have fewer and fewer occasions to wait—and perhaps more frustration when waiting can’t be avoided. We’ve come to assume waiting is a problem to be solved, but Vroegop encourages us to embrace it. His thoughtful, biblical perspective on waiting has provided great fodder for discussion in my church small group this fall. Regardless of age or life stage, relationship status or vocation, everyone in the group is waiting on something. Vroegop’s book has helped us connect over a common struggle and grow together in waiting on the Lord. [Read TGC’s review.] Beth Moore, All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir (Tyndale, 2023) Growing up, I knew Beth Moore’s name because I often saw it on book covers in my mom’s basket of devotional materials. Her books and Bible studies equipped and encouraged a generation of Baptist women, like my mom, who were eager to study the Word and apply it to their lives. And she set an example for girls like me, that we could teach and write about the Bible. I didn’t know what to expect as I picked up her memoir, but I couldn’t put it down. Moore is a captivating storyteller, taking readers along for the twists and turns of a hard and complicated life, both personally and professionally. It was a good reminder that as much as we might feel like we know people by reading their books or following their social media accounts, there’s always more to the story. Though it was hard to read at times, Moore’s story is a hopeful one, because she ultimately tells it as a story of God’s faithfulness. James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms Volume I and Volume II (Lexham Academic, 2021) I gathered a stack of commentaries on the Psalms this year for a writing project; these volumes by Hamilton were invaluable. His particular care in analyzing the psalmists’ use of chiastic structure improved my understanding of each psalm and gave me a clearer sense of how to lead others through it. His exposition is thorough and insightful, and his connections to Christ are well established, never seeming forced. Hamilton’s extensive study and understanding of the Psalms comes through on each page, but he conveys it all in a way that points me again and again to the beauty of God’s Word and how carefully each part is crafted. Kendra Dahl Abigail Favale, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory (Ignatius Press, 2022) I appreciated this book on many levels. Favale is Roman Catholic so I differ with her on some theological conclusions. Still, I found her beautifully written perspective refreshing. More people should read this to be equipped to engage in thoughtful discussions about our culture’s ever-shifting approach to gender and identity. [Read Themelios’s review.] Edmund P. Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament (P&R, 2013; orig. 1988) I love biblical theology, so I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to pick up this classic. But I read it this year with a group of women from my church and we all enjoyed it. Clowney helps readers look at the Old Testament with fresh eyes, showing Christ not as a rabbit-out-of-a-hat but as a true presence in the text. Collin Hansen, Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation (Zondervan, 2023) Tim Keller’s teaching and writing played a significant role in my spiritual formation, as it did for many others. But despite noticing Keller’s humility, I’d never given much thought to what shaped him. I enjoyed this glimpse into his life and thought (especially after just reading Clowney, one of Keller’s big influences). I especially loved Hansen’s approach to this intellectual biography; it challenged me to think deeply about what’s shaping me. Collin Hansen Allen Levi, Theo of Golden (pub. by author, 2023) Levi introduces us to the fictional city of Golden, where we meet the kind of characters who welcome readers into their friendship. There’s beauty all around us in this world when we see as God does. Levi lends us his lenses to see how God is making all things new. Stories may end, but the best characters stick with you forever. William Heinesen, The Good Hope (Dedalus, 2010) This portrait of an imperfect, though faithful, pastor may seem exaggerated but nevertheless highlights important aspects of ministry. Set in the late 17th century on the Faroe Islands, the book recounts how evil preys on the simple people of Tórshavn. It’s not hard to relate to the pressure faced by Heinesen’s protagonist to capitulate under the oppressive and corrupt government. Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Penguin, 2024) Every book by Haidt jumps to the top of my to-read pile. But many people especially anticipated this one. His thesis is that technology, particularly smartphones, has made childhood much more stressful, resulting in rising levels of mental illness among minors. Already Haidt’s work has changed policies in schools, states, and even nations. Haidt’s research is compelling if also extremely concerning. It should change the way you raise your family. Megan Hill Mary Ropes, The Story of Mary Jones and Her Bible (Gospel Standard Trust Publications, repr. 2013) I sometimes wonder if the reason we don’t see more extraordinarily godly children is because we don’t even believe it’s possible. It simply doesn’t occur to us to expect that children would be captivated by thoughts of Christ or compelled to serve him wholeheartedly. The true story of Mary Jones—who saved her pennies for six years and then, in 1800 at the age of 15, walked 26 miles barefoot to purchase a Bible in her native Welsh—gives me a vision for what childhood piety could look like. More than that, it gives me a vision for piety at any age. Lord, grant me a hunger for your Word like that of Mary Jones! Leif Enger, Peace like a River (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2001) I read this with my book club over the summer and immediately passed it along to my teen son and then to my husband. Enger’s story of a family fracture is a rich exploration of human response to both virtue and injustice. Perhaps because of its young narrator, Peace reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird and Everything Sad Is Untrue—stories in which the reader confronts moral complexity through the fresh eyes of a child. What’s more, for the Christian reader, Enger’s frequent allusions to biblical themes and stories are fascinating to parse. Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Yearling, 2007) I’m always looking for bedtime read-alouds for my 7-year-old daughter that are interesting to both of us. Birdsall’s novel (the first in a series of five books) is a contemporary story that feels charmingly old-fashioned. The Penderwick sisters are reminiscent of classic girl-protagonists like Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters or Noel Streatfeild’s Pauline, Petrova, and Posy—girls with varied strengths and interests whose ordinary life together becomes an engaging adventure for the reader. And although the Penderwicks are preteens living in 21st-century western Massachusetts, there’s not a phone or tablet in the whole novel. And why would there be? These girls’ lives are brim-full of backyard soccer games, brownie baking, book reading, pet sitting, and a little spying on their mysterious neighbors. It’s a book I would have devoured as a child, and I’m not ashamed to admit I love it now as an adult. Betsy Childs Howard Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Kings: The Wisdom And the Folly (Christian Focus, 2008) Davis’s commentaries on the Old Testament have fed me spiritually for the past decade. Davis aims to increase the personal piety of the reader rather than pronounce on manuscript anomalies. His work isn’t only meaty and intelligent; it’s a pleasure to read. Though I’d read it twice before, I found this commentary on 1 Kings especially helpful in an election year. The Lord sets up kings and deposes them. He orchestrates the rise and fall of nations. He also shows mercy and care to his faithful servants and is a refuge for all who put their trust in him. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley’s Secret (Oxford World Classics, 2012; orig. 1862) This classic novel has the page-turning plot of a thriller told with Victorian restraint. After the disappearance of his friend, Robert Audley determines he must not only find him but hold those responsible for his disappearance to account. Audley’s quest transforms him from an idle loafer to a man of purpose. I enjoyed the thoughtful authorial commentary on the human condition woven through the mystery. Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter (HarperCollins, 2008; orig. 1940) One of my favorite parts of parenting is the opportunity to revisit classic books as an adult. The Long Winter tells the story of the winter of 1880–81, which the Ingalls family passed in De Smet, South Dakota. Because the region was hit by blizzard after blizzard, snow accumulation prevented trains carrying food and coal from getting through. The whole town faced the threat of starvation. While the story is told from a child’s perspective, an adult reader senses the tremendous pressure her parents feel during the crisis. The Ingalls will live in my memory as an example of patient perseverance in the hardest times. Jared Kennedy Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage, 1990; orig. 1927) Cather’s 1927 classic tells a story set during the late-1800s growth and institutionalization of Catholicism in the American Southwest. Cather doesn’t hide the features of the New World Catholic faith that most trouble orthodox Protestants. She tells of unaccountable priests abusing power, syncretism with Mexican folk belief, and the veneration of Mary. Yet Cather’s episodic Western—replete with desert adventures, a dramatic rescue, Native American spiritualism, and even the appearance of cowboy Kit Carson—humanizes the Catholic Southwest. Cather focuses on the friendship of two missionary bishops from France, Jean Marie Latour and Joseph Vaillant, who go west not to find gold or adventure but to plant gardens, baptize children, and shepherd souls. J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, 1993) This is a more technical expansion of Motyer’s lay-level volume on Isaiah in the Tyndale OT Commentaries series. I wish this volume had a more up-to-date layout—with printed Hebrew rather than transliterations and an English translation of the text. But despite these weaknesses, Motyer’s commentary is so well written that it can be read straight through devotionally. Motyer provides careful linguistic and poetic analysis and clear outlines for preaching and teaching. His focus is on giving an apologetic for Isaiah’s unity and preexilic date and on expounding its rich intertextual connections and theology. He ever has his eye on Christology and Isaiah’s significance for the church. Colby Newton, SEC Football: How a Regional League Became a National Obsession (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024) I read Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy, co-written by John M. Heisman and Mark Schlabach, more than a decade ago. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by well-written college football history. Newton’s book fits the bill. I particularly appreciated his chapter on the first nationally televised SEC game—the 1969 matchup of Alabama and Ole Miss that was delayed by The Lawrence Welk Show—and his section on Nick Saban’s legacy. Brett McCracken Garrett Soucy, Between the Joints and the Marrow (Fernwood Press, 2024) I love a good book of poetry, and this just-released collection from Soucy (of the folk duo Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Soucy) is unlike any other. Soucy describes the project as “an imaginative tour of the Bible,” with one poem inspired by each of the Bible’s 66 books. Poetry is, in part, meant to make the familiar strange and to slow us down so we can savor and digest big ideas and majestic beauty. Soucy’s poems absolutely accomplish this. Some left me with phrases and images I’m still thinking about. It’s a book to read slowly, perhaps as a poetic companion to your devotional Bible reading. Sean DeMars, Rebel to Your Will: A Story of Abuse, Father Hunger and Gospel Hope (Christian Focus, 2024) I read this in two sittings and sometimes had to pause to catch my breath or regain my emotional composure. It was a visceral experience in the best sense, cinematic in its use of language to convey raw emotion and remembered trauma. Books like this remind me no drama in life rivals the drama of the transformations made possible by God’s amazing grace. Read this to boost your faith—and give the book to others who need reminders that nothing is impossible with our resurrecting God. Byung-Chul Han, Vita Contemplativa: In Praise of Inactivity (Polity, 2024) This was the year I (and many others) discovered the brilliance of Han, the contemporary philosopher whose insights on contemporary culture are both pithy and profound. I read five of his essay-books in 2024, but Vita Contemplativa was my favorite. I underlined almost every sentence. It’s a radically countercultural book that subverts the logic of our optimize-your-life technological society. But that’s why it’s prophetic and important. Ivan Mesa Robert Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Knopf, 1974) While I anxiously await the fifth and final volume of Caro’s biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, I finally got around to reading his first book, The Power Broker, which celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year. How does a book about a New York bureaucrat continue to captivate readers? Perhaps it’s Caro’s brilliance as a writer with his turn of phrase; or his singular ability to pull back the curtain on how one man exercised such power to change the architecture of New York City; or his uncanny ability to showcase the use of power for good and ill, often in the same person; or his meticulous method of “turning every page” in an effort to understand people and events. Of course, it’s all of the above and more. Caro is rightly heralded as a one-of-a-kind writer that’s in short supply these days. John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters (Penguin, 1990; orig. 1969) From January 29 to November 1, 1951, Steinbeck began each writing session of his work on East of Eden by “warming up” with a letter to his editor, filling the left-handed pages of his notebook with these letters while drafting the novel on the opposing page. East of Eden is a favorite of mine, and reading this behind-the-scenes collection gave me a greater appreciation for Steinbeck’s magnum opus—and just the motivation I needed for my own writing projects. We see the final product of East of Eden, but the letters show that every writer’s life continues apace. For Steinbeck, as for many writers, the “grist of life” both prevents and is the fuel of creativity. Cal Newport, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout (Portfolio, 2024) Newport—my productivity sherpa—came through again in his latest work, where he urges, “Do fewer things. Work at a natural pace. Obsess over quality.” He confronts the cult of pseudoproductivity and advocates for a slower, more steady pace. Much of this book consolidates Newport’s “best hits”—tactical strategies showcased in his New Yorker articles and his podcast, The Deep Life. I especially appreciated the ample use of historical examples, featuring figures like John McPhee, Benjamin Franklin, Jane Austen, Jack Kerouac, Ian Fleming, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Grisham, Neil Gaiman, and J. R. R. Tolkien, which shows how creativity often springs from the fodder of ordinary life. Andrew Spencer Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (Banner of Truth, 2021; orig. 1652) I found this gem by reading Megan Hill’s review, which is part of our Rediscovering Forgotten Classics series. Since then, I’ve given away half a dozen copies and recommended it to many more people. Brooks is practical and theologically precise as he details ways that Satan can lead us into temptations of various kinds. More importantly, he offers useful ways to resist Satan’s devices. Though first published in 1652, this Puritan book lays down messages that can help us today. I’ll come back to it regularly as I fight against sin in my life. Jerry Seinfeld, Is This Anything? (Simon & Schuster, 2021) This book made me laugh. Seinfeld was a cultural phenomenon during my high school years. First period on Friday usually kicked off with someone rehashing the funniest moments from the most recent episode. This book is a collection of Seinfeld’s standup material over the decades he’s been doing comedy. It’s funnier when you read it in his voice. But it’s also an exercise in thinking about how words work. Reading the book carefully is good for those who speak or write for a living. Rudyard Kipling, Kim (Penguin Classics, 2011; orig. 1901) I read a lot of nonfiction books, though I majored in English in college. This year, I made an effort to fit more fiction into my diet to invigorate my imagination. Kim is a classic story. Though some criticize it as being pro–British Empire, it has a critical edge. Simultaneously, it reflects Kipling’s deep affection for India, his birth country. The story follows the titular character, the orphan child of a British soldier, on his adventures. This is a coming-of-age novel about a boy who fits somewhere between the native and colonial societies. Cassie Watson Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter (Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004) This novel is from the perspective of an elderly widow looking back on the joys and hardships of her life in a small community. As I read, she taught me how to inhabit with gratitude the place and time where God has put me. And how to “live right on” amid life’s sorrows. Berry is also a poet, and even his fiction sounds like a song. I’d often reread sentences—and read them aloud—for the pure joy of them. This was my first Berry novel, and it was so moving that I’ve added his other books to my Christmas wish list. Thomas Charles, Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels (Banner of Truth, 2022; orig. 1836) This is a collection of essays, letters, and papers from 18th-century preacher converted during the Welsh Methodist revival. I first heard of this book when one of my favorite podcasts drew from the first two essays for a four-part series on pride and humility. Revisiting those essays in print was well worth it. The rest of Charles’s writings are likewise filled with piercing biblical insight and warm-hearted application. I’ll return to this volume often. Amy Baik Lee, This Homeward Ache: How Our Yearning for the Life to Come Spurs on Our Life Today (B&H, 2023) Over the past few years, little has influenced my faith more than deepening my longing for heaven. I’m learning to see all the beauty of the world—in birds and trees, in friendship and music, in the godliness of believers—as foretastes of the life to come. Lee explores these everyday beauties and invites us to yearn more for their true fulfillment in our heavenly home. Her writing reveals her as a kindred spirit; she quotes L. M. Montgomery, Wendell Berry, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. I only had one major problem with this book: It’s just the kind I’d want to write someday, and Lee has already done it. Sarah Zylstra Ben Mcintyre, The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War (Viking, 2018) I love mysteries and biographies, and this book is the best of both. Set in Russia and England during the Cold War, it teases out the secret and complicated life of Oleg Gordievsky, a double agent who worked for MI6. Well researched, beautifully written, and suspenseful, this one was hard to put down. Melissa Kruger, Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age (Harvest House, 2024) I’ve got two teen boys, and as they move through high school and college, we’re constantly renavigating our relationship. Do you still need your mom to make you a haircut appointment? To check you’re in church on Sunday? To pay your tuition? On days when I don’t know what I’m doing, Kruger’s book is a fresh reminder that my job is mainly to attend to my own heart and relationship with Christ. Highly recommend it, whether your kids are toddlers, teens, or out of the house. Agatha Christie, The Secret Adversary (Vintage, 2019; orig. 1922) If you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot—or Nick and Nora Charles—the Tommy and Tuppence series will be a delightful read. The Secret Adversary is mystery, adventure, and romance all tangled up together in post-WWII England. It’s clever, fun, and quick enough to be a good vacation read. And if you enjoy it enough to want more, it’s the first in a series.

In this lecture, Don Carson introduces a new series, “The God Who Is There.” He explores the creation account in Genesis, highlighting key attributes of God and humanity. Carson also emphasizes the importance of Genesis 1–2 for understanding the fall in Genesis 3, the concept of a new creation through Jesus, and the foundational differences between the biblical worldview and other religious or philosophical systems. He teaches the following: Why it’s important to understand the Bible’s organization and structure How God reveals himself supremely through his Word The significance of the creation narrative How creation’s intelligent, complex design points to a Designer The attributes of God as revealed in Genesis 1–2 How humanity bears God’s image How the context of Genesis 1–2 helps us understand the fall in Genesis 3 The connections between human responsibility and God’s

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