Zach Dietrich

CALLED TO FREEDOM: RETRIEVING CHRISTIAN LIBERTY IN AN AGE OF LICENSE
REMAKING THE WORLD: HOW 1776 CREATED THE POST-CHRISTIAN WEST
THE MYTHMAKERS: THE REMARKABLE FELLOWSHIP OF C.S. LEWIS AND J.R.R. TOLKIEN

Do you need summer reading recommendations? Here are some of my favorite books of 2025.

For those interested in applied theology, I recommend Called to Freedom: Retrieving Christian Liberty in an Age of License by Brad Littlejohn. “Freedom” is an overused but little-understood term, and Littlejohn offers long-overdue wisdom.

For history buffs, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson is delightful! Wilson shows how dramatically the world shifted in 1776. The Declaration of Independence is only one of many events and inventions that turned the world upside down that year.

And for my literary friends, The Mythmakers: The remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix was a window into the friendship (and sometimes animosity) of two of the 20th century’s greatest writers.

Cody Crigger

FRUITFUL THEOLOGY

Fruitful Theology by Ronni Kurtz has been a fun refresher and an insight into theology. Highly recommend!

Colby Fiscella

DISCIPLESHIFT

I loved the example in the book, DiscipleShift, when it says, “Often people ask me how I define what a disciple is, and I point them to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 4:19: “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’” (Putman 2013, 45).

He goes on to break down this verse into three distinct requirements for a disciple of Christ. The first is to “follow me.” This command tells us that each disciple should be striving after Christ and taking up their cross daily. Following Christ, first and foremost, is what makes a disciple.

Second, the phrase, “I will make you,” implies not that the work has already been done for us, but the work we are about to do is only done by the hand of God propelling our words and actions towards impacting others for the sake of the gospel. Our reliance on or ignorance of Christ and His Spirit for gospel work can make or break our mission before it even starts.

The last part of the verse explains that we should be “fishers of men.” For an entrepreneur like myself, I can be tempted to be fishers of fish or to focus on building my life on worldly success. However, if we are to be true followers of Christ, we must be focused on heavenly reward which comes from winning souls for the gospel.