It’s time to finalize my preliminary list of books to consider for best of 2016 (xian, mostly evangelical, nf, in english). Once again, this is going to be a tough decision. The list, as I have it so far, is below. So what books have I missed? (* = newly added suggestion.)
- Michael Allen and Scott Swain (editors), Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic (Baker)
- Gerald Bray, The Church: A Theological and Historical Account (Baker)
- Heidi Campbell and Stephen Garner, Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture (Baker)
- Don Carson (editor), The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Eerdmans)
- Tim Challies, Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity (Challies)
- Tim Challies and Josh Byers, Visual Theology: Seeing and Understanding the Truth About God (Zondervan)
- Scott Christensen, What about Free Will?: Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty (P&R)
- Crossway, The ESV Reader’s Bible in six volumes (cloth and leather)
- Andy Crouch, Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing (IVP)
- Bob Cutillo, Pursuing Health in an Anxious Age (Crossway)
- Carlos Eire, Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450–1650 (Yale)
- Sinclair Ferguson, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance — Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Crossway)
- Sinclair Ferguson, Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification (Banner of Truth)
- Dave Furman, Being There: How to Love Those Who Are Hurting (Crossway)
- Gloria Furman, Missional Motherhood: The Everyday Ministry of Motherhood in the Grand Plan of God (Crossway)
- Crawford Gribben, John Owen and English Puritanism: Experiences of Defeat (Oxford)
- Bruce Gordon, John Calvin’s ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’: A Biography (Princeton)
- Duncan Hamilton, For the Glory: Eric Liddell’s Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr (Penguin)
- Richard Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Baylor)
- Tim Keller, Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical (Viking)
- Thomas Kidd, American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths (Yale)
- John Kilner, Dignity and Destiny: Humanity in the Image of God (Eerdmans)
- Meredith Kline, Genesis: A New Commentary (Hendrickson)
- Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire (IVP)
- John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Crossway)
- George Marsden, C. S. Lewis’s ‘Mere Christianity’: A Biography (Princeton)
- David Mathis, Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines (Crossway)
- Jonathan McKee, 52 Ways to Connect with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kid: How to Engage with Kids Who Can’t Seem to Pry Their Eyes from Their Devices! (Shiloh Run)
- Ben Merkle, Ephesians: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (B&H)
- Alec Motyer, Psalms By the Day: A New Devotional Translation (Christian Focus)
- Andy Naselli and J. D. Crowley, Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ (Crossway)
- Trillia Newbell, Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts (Multnomah)
- John Piper, A Camaraderie of Confidence: The Fruit of Unfailing Faith in the Lives of Charles Spurgeon, George Müller, and Hudson Taylor (Crossway)
- John Piper, A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness (Crossway)
- John Piper, Living in the Light: Money, Sex and Power (Good Book Co.)
- David Powlison, Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness (New Growth)
- Vern Poythress, Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God: A Handbook for Biblical Interpretation (Crossway)
- Nabeel Quereshi, No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity (Zondervan)*
- Mike Reeves, Theologians You Should Know: An Introduction: From the Apostolic Fathers to the 21st Century (Crossway)*
- R. R. Reno, Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society (Regnery)*
- Ronald Sider and Ben Lowe, The Future of Our Faith: An Intergenerational Conversation on Critical Issues Facing the Church (Brazos)
- James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit (Brazos)
- Mitch Stokes, How to Be an Atheist: Why Many Skeptics Aren’t Skeptical Enough (Crossway)
- Larry Taunton, The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist (Thomas Nelson)
- Paul David Tripp, Parenting: The 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family (Crossway)
- Kevin Vanhoozer, Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity (Brazos)
- Kevin Vanhoozer, Pictures at a Theological Exhibition: Scenes of the Church’s Worship, Witness and Wisdom (IVP)
- Stephen Wellum, God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ (Crossway)
- Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God (David C. Cook)
- Jen Wilkin, None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (And Why That’s a Good Thing) (Crossway)
- Jared Wilson, Unparalleled: How Christianity’s Uniqueness Makes It Compelling (Baker)
Tony Reinke 
The Vine Project by Payne and Marshall
Tim Keller’s book on Prayer? (“Prayer – Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God”)
Agreed with The Vine Project. A book worth its weight in gold. Also, I really enjoyed Union with Christ by Wilbourne.
Thanks for this list, Tony. I always look forward to them.
Alas, a 2015 book, one of the top of 2015 in my list last year.
The union book is amazing. Tell me more about TVP. I gathered it was a follow up book.
Because evangelical Christians are eventually going to have to face the tidal wave of evidence (genetic and otherwise) for biological evolution, at least one of the following should be on the 2016 list:
Luke J. Janssen, “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Genesis and Human Origins”
Carl W. Treleaven, “The Unexpected Perspective: The Implications of Darwin and the Big Bang for Christians . . . and Everyone Else”
Joel Edmund Anderson, “The Heresy of Ham: What Every Evangelical Needs to Know About the Creation-Evolution Controversy”
Katheryn Applegate & J. B. Stump (Eds.), “How I Changed my Mind about Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science”