This has been an atypical year for many of us, but for me at least, one thing stayed constant. I read a lot of great books. I think between my Kindle, free ebooks, and physical books, I read close to 30 books this year.

This year, I made a point to read a wider range of authors so my list includes a few women, several people of color, an Australian, and some favorites of mine like Chuck DeGroat at Western Theological Seminary and Ed Stetzer at Wheaton College. Some of my top ten books I found myself nodding along in agreement, others challenged me to see things from a new perspective, and others presented views that I am still considering what I agree with and what I may want to discard. For me, at least, the goal of reading is not to confirm my current beliefs, but to challenge and explore what I think I know to see where I may need to grow, change, or reconsider in light of scripture or others expertise. (For example, I know nothing about rocket science, but I learned a ton about leading in unknown circumstances from a book about how rocket scientist think.)

So without further ado, following are the “top” ten books I read in 2020, in no particular order:

1. The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby – Tisby in this sweeping books highlights the many ways the church has compromised to the gospel to support slavery, segregation, and white supremacists views throughout our nations history. This was a really hard book to read.
2. Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez – Du Mez is a professor at Calvin University and in this survey of 75 years of evangelical history she highlights choices made that, from her view, have compromised out witness in the world. I read this book in a week and have been troubled by it as I continue to process the insights she brought to evangelical history.
3. Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen – Allen is the founder of the IF gatherings and is a delightful writer. She is very influential among many women and brings great insight into how we can better manage our thought life.
4. Leadership for a Time of Pandemic by Tod Bolsinger – Bolsinger, from Fuller Seminary, has written some really impactful books on leading the church in a changed culture and this little book spoke to the importance of prayer, reflection, experimentation, and community during the upheaval of the pandemic.
5. Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley – I realized recently that I mostly read commentaries written from a white European perspective and so read this great introduction to how the black American church reads scripture. It was really well worth every minute of my time.
6. Reframation by Alan Hirsch and Mark Newell – Hirsch is a “futurist” of the church and in his latest book urges the church to rethink how we think about church.
7. Think Like a Rocket Scientist by Ozan Varol – Varol shares lots of fascinating stories about leading change and designing new things.
8. Fierce Free Fire by Jen Hatmaker – Hatmaker is just really very funny and I can’t remember much about this book except how much I enjoyed reading it back in April. I think I stole some stories to use as sermon illustrations early in the pandemic.
9. When Narcissism Comes to Church by Chuck DeGroat – DeGroat wrote a fascinating book on how church culture can draw narcissists into pastoral leadership and even reward them for their narcissism. I have often joked that you have to be a bit of a narcissist to be a preacher and think God has a message to give your congregation each week through you. Apparently, a lot of pastors are narcissists and so it’s not much of a joke, just a sad reality.
10. Christians in an Age of Outrage by Ed Stetzer – I have read this book three times now, twice this year. It remains for me an insightful and timely book about the anger and division of our present culture and how as Christians we can respond in ways that put the focus back on the gospel.

What books have influenced you this year?

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather online at 9 and 11 am. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

Most of us are familiar with the events of the first Christmas, The manger, The shepherd watching sheep. The angels singing. The wise men. The little baby wrapped in cloths lying in the manner. But what if this birth is not just any birth, but the one event on which all of history turns and that can transform our lives. Join us this advent season as we meet Jesus who comes to us as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This week, we meet Jesus who comes to us as the true Prince of Peace.

Christmas is just around the corner. As your family celebrates Christmas this year, plan on joining us for our Christmas Eve worship service at 4:00, 6:30 and 9:00 pm on Christmas Eve. The service will include a reading of the Christmas story for kids, some classic Christmas carols, and a message about the certainty of our God in uncertain times. Join us at zionreformed.online.church to start your Christmas celebration focused on the our savior.

Grow in Community
Harv Berens was admitted to the hospital last night due to a hemorrhaging on his brain. They are hoping to have surgery on Friday or Saturday to relieve pressure. Please keep both Harv and Harriet in your prayers as they are apart during this time due to the hospital Covid policies. Prayers for healing, comfort, and hope are greatly appreciated.

You can still join us in reading through the New Testament over the next year. We are encouraging everyone to use the Through the Word app on Apple or Android devices. This app not only has the scripture readings, but also a 9-10 minute teaching on the passage of the day. This could be a great way for our Discipleship Triads to study together or for a small group or family to do devotions together. If you are unsure how to install the app, we have made a short instructional video to show you how to do so on an iPhone. You can find that video here.

The reading schedule for this week is below:
Monday: Matthew 16
Tuesday: Matthew 17
Wednesday: Matthew 18
Thursday: Matthew 19
Friday: Matthew 20

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Beginning in January, Sheila Johnson will be leading a book discussion on the book The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. If you are interested in thinking together about racial divisions in our culture and the role of the church, this would be a great place to be a part of that conversation. If you are interested in this book discussion, please contact Sheila at sheilaj2494@yahoo.com.

Serve the World
Many of you may have seen news stories about the rising homelessness issue in our Grand Rapids community. This year for our Christmas Eve Service we will be holding a special offing to support the Interfaith Hospitality Network. The IHN provides children and their families with shelter, basics needs, and assistance in finding housing. Unlike many homeless shelters, dads and older boys are able to stay with the rest of the family which is so important in maintaining the strength of their family unit. 90% of the families they serve find housing and 85% are still housed two years later. If you are able, we encourage you to give to this important work in our community at this time.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget:  $294,175.84
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $277,995.35
Giving Last Week: $25,487.00

If you are reading through the New Testament with us this year, you read Matthew 9 this morning. This chapter ends with a call from Jesus to pray for workers for the harvest is plentiful in Matthew 9:36. And then I came across this article from Christianity Today that considers how the church ought to respond when the culture turns away from church and regular church attendance. And then, last week, in a book our staff is reading together, the author pointed out that in a recent survey, more Christians have prayed to win the lottery than are regularly playing for people far from God to come to know God.

Our culture is shifting away from church, Jesus says to pray for workers for the harvest, and more of Christians pray to win the lottery than to see people come to know Jesus. Something needs to change in us. We need hearts for the harvest, the attitude of a missionary, and a genuine love for our neighbors who don’t yet know personally the love of our God.

Will you join me this week in praying each day at 9:36 am and/or pm each day that God would raise up workers for the harvest?

– Greg

Connect to God
This Sunday we will gather online at 9 and 11 am. You can find the services either on our Facebook page or at zionreformed.online.church. We will also rebroadcast the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday.

We have a great service planned for this Sunday. Our kids in 3rd through 5th grade will be leading us in a retelling of the Christmas story. Our younger kids and their parents will be reading Luke 2. And, Harlow Boeskool will be singing with our praise team. While our annual Christmas program does not look quite like it normally does, it will be a great opportunity to both encourage your children and come in wonder again to the manager of our king.

Most of us are familiar with the events of the first Christmas, The manger, The shepherd watching sheep. The angels singing. The wise men. The little baby wrapped in cloths lying in the manner. But what if this birth is not just any birth, but the one event on which all of history turns and that can transform our lives. Join us this advent season as we meet Jesus who comes to us as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. This week, we meet Jesus who comes to us as the Everlasting Father.

Grow in Community
You can still join us in reading through the New Testament over the next year. We are encouraging everyone to use the Through the Word app on Apple or Android devices. This app not only has the scripture readings, but also a 9-10 minute teaching on the passage of the day. This could be a great way for our Discipleship Triads to study together or for a small group or family to do devotions together. If you are unsure how to install the app, we have made a short instructional video to show you how to do so on an iPhone. You can find that video here.

The reading schedule for this week is below:
Monday: Matthew 11
Tuesday: Matthew 12
Wednesday: Matthew 13
Thursday: Matthew 14
Friday: Matthew 15

You can also find the reading schedule on our website under the Ministries tab.

Beginning in January, Sheila Johnson will be leading a book discussion on the book The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. If you are interested in thinking together about racial divisions in our culture and the role of the church, this would be a great place to be a part of that conversation. If you are interested in this book discussion, please contact Sheila at sheilaj2494@yahoo.com.

Serve the World
If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Chip Harkes, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is chip@harkeslandscape.com and his phone number is 616-299-4804.

Administration
We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to Date Budget:  $283,669.56
Fiscal Year to Date Contribution: $252,508.35
Giving Last Week: $16,831