One of the great pleasures of our work at Christianity Today is getting to spend so much time with books—with the scholarly discoveries, impassioned arguments, and pastoral encouragements shaping evangelical intellectual life today.
Every year, we honor a small subset of these books in our annual CT Book Awards. Publishers submit books for consideration in one or several of our categories. Top contenders are reviewed and ranked by dozens of expert judges, including theologians, pastors, novelists, and other influential thinkers. A select group of our editors considers a handful of books for the Book of the Year and Award of Merit winners, reading in full a few titles that speak particularly to our moment.
This year, two books rose to the top in their responses to wider cultural narratives that threaten the truth, peace, and purity of God’s people. In a Western culture where institutions generally and the church particularly have fallen out of favor, we’re delighted to award the Book of the Year spot to Brad Edwards’s debut book, The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism.
Our Award of Merit goes to Robert S. Smith’s The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory. Smith critiques the central claim of transgender theory—that the sexed body is separate from the gendered self—and lucidly points readers to the truth that we receive the bodies God gives as gifts.
May the books you encounter below prove valuable resources in your own life of the mind.
—CT editors
Book of The Year
The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism by Brad Edwards (Zondervan Reflective)
The past few years have seen a curious pattern of skeptics announcing a newfound respect for Christianity or even converting outright. Is this revival or something like it? Perhaps it’s too soon to say. But it’s not too soon to say that the time was right for The Reason for Church. Brad Edwards’s incisive yet gracious book is apt for this moment—in which even many Christians imagine they can do without the community and obligations of a local congregation—and its call of steadfast commitment to the body of Christ will always be needful and true.
—Bonnie Kristian, deputy editor
The Reason for Church lucidly melds the vertical and horizontal reasons for going to church. There individuals learn about God, who already knows each name, and our neighbors, who often do not—nor do we know theirs. The popularity of Wendell Berry books is partly due to the yearning many of us have for small towns. Brad Edwards shows how, amid urban anonymity and suburban individualism, churches are the indispensable small towns centered on a steeple.
—Marvin Olasky, editor in chief
In a cultural moment shaped by isolation and division, Brad Edwards reminds us that God’s design for his people is essential for our flourishing and our witness.
—Scott Pace, professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Award of Merit
The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory by Robert S. Smith (Lexham Academic) | CT review
The Body God Gives is an expansive and compassionate book detailing how gender is grounded in biological sex. Smith has done his homework: He engages with secular gender theorists, highlighting where transgender theory has gone off course. In a world that says we are self-defined, Smith’s book makes the biblical position credible to outsiders.
—Ashley Hales, editorial director, features
Robert S. Smith has read widely among Christian and non-Christian authors on transgender issues and his response is prophetic, pastoral, and compassionate.
—Andrew Ike Shepardson, apologetics professor at Denver Seminary
Apologetics and Evangelism
Winner
The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory
by Robert S. Smith (Lexham Academic) | CT review
Award of Merit
Walking Through Deconstruction: How to Be a Companion in a Crisis of Faith by Ian Harber (IVP) | CT review
Finalists
The Gospel After Christendom: An Introduction to Cultural Apologetics edited by Collin Hansen, Skyler R. Flowers, and Ivan Mesa (Zondervan Reflective) | CT podcast episode
Every Believer Confident: Apologetics for the Ordinary Christian by Mark J. Farnham (P&R Publishing)
Biblical Studies
Winner
Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Gospels and the Restoration of Israel within First-Century Judaism by Paul T. Sloan (Baker Academic)
Paul Sloan’s thesis—that Jesus came heralding the restoration of God’s people—reframes how many have long understood (and taught about) his relationship to the law of Moses. Through careful and comprehensive analysis of Jesus’ legal teachings and interactions with his interlocutors, Sloan helps us to understand these as intramural debates over how to keep the law “in light of the dawning of the eschatological age.” Biblical scholars regard this book as an important—even field-shifting—contribution.
—Jeannine Hanger, associate professor at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Award of Merit
The Genuine Jesus and the Counterfeit Christs: New Testament and Apocryphal Gospels by Simon J. Gathercole (Eerdmans)
Finalists
Paul, Apostle of Grace by Frank Thielman (Eerdmans)
Thinning the Veil: Encountering Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation
by Shane J. Wood (IVP Academic)
Bible and Devotional
Winners
Reading the Psalms as Scripture by James M. Hamilton Jr. and Matthew Damico (Lexham Press) | CT review
Reading the Psalms as Scripture transforms casual psalm reading into careful treasure hunting, equipping readers to discover the rich coherence underlying Scripture’s hymnbook.
—James Coakley, professor of Bible, Moody Bible Institute
Everything Is Never Enough: Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness by Bobby Jamieson (WaterBrook) | CT review
A slow, searching exploration of modern life in conversation with the words of Qohelet (the “Preacher”), Everything Is Never Enough engages with Ecclesiastes through an honest, personal style, incorporating scholarship while remaining accessible. This is a very rich book indeed.
—Claire Smith, women’s Bible teacher and author of God’s Good Design
Award of Merit
The Well That Washes What It Shows: An Invitation to Holy Scripture by Jonathan A. Linebaugh (Eerdmans) | CT review
Finalist
Rhythms of Faith: A Devotional Pilgrimage Through the Church Year by Claude Atcho (WaterBrook) | CT essay
Children
Winner
The Good Shepherd and the Stubborn Sheep: A Story of God’s Redemptive Love by Hannah E. Harrison (Zonderkidz)
This book hits the humor mark with a bull’s-eye! Children will reach for it again and again to be taught and tickled through the perfectly illustrated emotion of a wayward, willful sheep. The Good Shepherd and the Stubborn Sheep is saturated with the truth of God’s long-suffering love, a reminder for young and old that we can never outrun his reach and redemption.
—Bonnie Rickner Jensen, author of Bible Stories for Kids and other Christian children’s books
Award of Merit
Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by Katie Wray Schon (Waxwing Books)
Finalists
Jesus Our True Friend: Stories to Fill Your Heart with Joy by Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkidz)
We Sing!: Teaching Kids to Praise God with Heart and Voice by Kristyn Getty (Crossway)
Young Adults
Winner
The Outsider: Ruth: A Retelling by Katy Morgan (The Good Book Company)
Katy Morgan’s third biblical retelling brings the Book of Ruth to a primary school audience with care, color, and fidelity. Scripture’s 4 pages become 158 without distortion. The added scenes, inner thoughts, and supporting figures feel historically plausible and serve the core themes of loyal love, providence, and the God who keeps his people through famine, grief, and risk.
—Mel Lacy, executive director of Growing Young Disciples
Award of Merit
Embergold by Rachelle Nelson (Enclave Publishing)
Finalists
The Gospel-Centered Community for Teens: Study Guide with Leader’s Notes by Robert H. Thune and Will Walker (New Growth Press)
The Song of the Stone Tiger by Glenn McCarty (Bandersnatch Books)
Christian Living and Spiritual Formation
Winner
Ask of Old Paths: Medieval Virtues and Vices for a Whole and Holy Life by Grace Hamman (Zondervan Reflective)
In the medieval world, our ancestors compared the soul to a garden. In Ask of Old Paths, Grace Hamman provides the reader tools for cultivation—holy watering cans, soul shovels, sin pruning shears—and gives us discernment on which weeds to pluck and where to give fertilizer.
—Alex Sosler, associate professor of Bible and ministry at Montreat College
Award of Merit
A Teachable Spirit: The Virtue of Learning from Strangers, Enemies, and Absolutely Anyone by A. J. Swoboda (Zondervan Reflective)
Finalists
A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation by Matthew Bingham (Crossway)
The Big Relief: The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World by David Zahl (Brazos Press) | CT review
Church and Pastoral Leadership
Winner
The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism by Brad Edwards (Zondervan Reflective)
Award of Merit
Making Disciples: Catechesis in History, Theology, and Practice by Alex Fogleman (Eerdmans)
Finalists
Accessible Church: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Including People with Disabilities and Their Families by Sandra Peoples (Crossway) | CT review
Rebranding the Church: Restoring the Image of God’s People in the World by Eric Mason (Multnomah)
Culture, Poetry, and the Arts
Winner
Art Is: A Journey into the Light by Makoto Fujimura (Yale University Press)
Makoto Fujimura’s latest offering is part memoir, part artist statement, threaded with theology as creative practice. He deliberately eschews a linear argument in favor of constructing his text as he does his Nihonga paintings: with slow, allusive layers that glimmer differently in different light.
—Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt, professor of art and art history, Covenant College
Award of Merit
Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age edited by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa (Crossway)
Finalists
Drawn by Beauty: Awe and Wonder in the Christian Life by Matthew Z. Capps (B&H Academic) | CT review essay
The Discipline of Inspiration: The Mysterious Encounter with God at the Heart of Creativity by Carey Wallace (Eerdmans)
Fiction
Winner
The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White (Tyndale)
The Collector of Burned Books masterfully unites historical realities with the personal drama of its characters. Centered around the Nazi occupation of Paris, the novel explores the censorship of literature and the resistance which the written word can provide not only to fascism and tyranny but also to the harmful stereotypes which even those on the correct side can fall into.
—Anthony Cirilla, associate professor of English, College of the Ozarks
Award of Merit
What the River Keeps by Cheryl Grey Bostrom (Tyndale)
Finalists
From the Valley We Rise by Elizabeth Musser (Bethany House)
The Light on Horn Island by Valerie Fraser Luesse (Revell)
History and Biography
Winner
The Beechers: America’s Most Influential Family by Obbie Tyler Todd (Louisiana State University Press) | CT review
As the Beecher clan preached to packed halls, crusaded against alcohol, led abolitionist societies, authored best-selling books, and campaigned for human rights, they lived out their shared belief in the moral power of the person to change both self and society. The Beechers excavates the deeper roots of this holistic gospel—one equally devoted to individual hearts and civic justice.
—James Strasburg, associate professor of history, Hillsdale College
Award of Merit
Abortion and America’s Churches: A Religious History of “Roe v. Wade” by Daniel K. Williams (University of Notre Dame Press) | CT review
Finalists
The Wars of the Lord: The Puritan Conquest of America’s First People by Matthew J. Tuininga (Oxford University Press) | CT review
Katharine Barnwell: How One Woman Revolutionized Modern Missions by Jordan K. Monson (B&H Publishing) | CT essay
Marriage, Family, and Singleness
Winner
Good News for Parents: How God Can Restore Our Joy and Relieve Our Burdens by Adam Griffin (Crossway)
In Good News for Parents, Adam Griffin addresses parents with the good news of the gospel as he takes the fruit of the Spirit and applies it to common parenting struggles. He reminds mothers and fathers of the real and moment-by-moment grace of God available in the face of what can feel like the often-impossible task of raising children.
—Heather Davis Nelson, Christian counselor and author of Rest: Creating Space for Soul Refreshment
Award of Merit
Disrupted Journey: Walking with Your Loved One Through Chronic Pain and Illness by Nate Brooks (P&R Publishing)
Finalists
Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God by Emily Hunter McGowin (IVP)
The Deep-Rooted Marriage: Cultivating Intimacy, Healing, and Delight by Dan B. Allender and Steve Call (W Publishing)
Missions and the Global Church
Winner
Pieces of Purple: The Greatness, Grit, and Grace of Growing Up MK by Michèle Phoenix (independently published)
This book is a profoundly relevant resource for families who have global ministry experience. It’s a must-read for anyone who has lived internationally and those related to such a person, especially for teenage and adult children with these experiences who are navigating identity and belonging.
—Brian A. DeVries, president, Mukhanyo Theological College
Award of Merit
Serving God Under Siege: How War Transformed a Ukrainian Community by Valentyn Syniy (Eerdmans) | CT review
Finalists
Satellite Ministries: The Rise of Christian Television in the Middle East by Febe Armanios (Oxford University Press)
Reviving Mission: Awakening to the Everyday Movement of God by Linson Daniel, Jon Hietbrink, and Eric Rafferty (IVP)
Politics and Public Life | CT review
Winner
The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto by Leah Libresco Sargeant (University of Notre Dame Press) | CT review
As the subtitle suggests, The Dignity of Dependence is indeed “a feminist manifesto.” But don’t let that label determine your expectations. Leah Libresco Sargeant’s latest work is a bold yet levelheaded reimagining of what feminism can be at the same time as our market economy, professional norms, and dominant visions of the good life marginalize women—not merely through flawed theory that casts the male as default and the female as “other” but also through the practical exclusion of those who care for the vulnerable. By the book’s end, readers may find themselves asking how Sargeant’s vision ever ceased to be common sense.
—Joel Looper, author of Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity
Award of Merit
Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License by Brad Littlejohn (B&H Academic) | CT review
Finalists
When Politics Becomes Heresy: The Idol of Power and the Gospel of Christ by Tim Perry (Lexham Press) | CT review
Citizenship Without Illusions: A Christian Guide to Political Engagement by David T. Koyzis (IVP Academic)
Theology (Academic)
Winner
Prophet, Priest, and King: Christology in Global Perspective edited by Michael S. Horton, Elizabeth W. Mburu, and Justin S. Holcomb (Zondervan Academic)
This book has the very tough task of trying to socially and ethnically contextualize the wonderful, biblical truth that Christ is prophet, priest, and king across a global context. Without ever succumbing to the temptation to revert to sloppy politicized and ideological interpretations of this wonderful theme, these authors have succeeded in showing how Jesus’ profound fulfillment of these Old Testament roles has resonated throughout the world in amazing ways, across time and cultural differences.
—Marcus Johnson, professor of theology, Moody Bible Institute
Award of Merit
Contesting the Body of Christ: Ecclesiology’s Revolutionary Century by Myles Werntz (Baker Academic) | CT essay
Finalists
Joining Creation’s Praise: A Theological Ethic of Creatureliness by Brian Brock (Baker Academic)
Walking the Way of the Wise: A Biblical Theology of Wisdom by Mitchell L. Chase (IVP Academic)
Theology (Popular)
Winner
The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse by Miroslav Volf (Brazos Press) | CT review essay, CT podcast episode
Miroslav Volf offers a profound critique of competitive striving through a rich theological and philosophical lens. His writing is lucid, humane, and timely, inviting readers to reimagine ambition through the way of love.
—Tara Beth Leach, senior pastor, Good Shepherd Church
Award of Merit
Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters by Carmen Joy Imes (IVP Academic) | CT essay
Finalists
The Nicene Creed: What You Need to Know about the Most Important Creed Ever Written by Kevin DeYoung (Crossway)
Raised in Splendor: The Hope of Glorification for a Secular Age by Jason B. Alligood (B&H Publishing)
