Slideshow image

Each summer I go through a predictable and depressing routine. I place an empty suitcase on the bed and ambitiously place two or three books in it. “Ah! Summer holidays,” I naively say to myself, “Two weeks to relax and catch up on some reading.”
I don’t know how many more years I can kid myself that I will actually read the books I pack. I’ve never done it yet. I always return with at least one or two of those ‘two or three books’ unopened, unread, and merely taking up valuable weight allowance in mynluggage that should have been used for chocolate.
This year, having reflected on years of hopelessly ambitious packing, I took just one book with me to Europe. And I made it through half of it. (In my defense, I must point out that this was a really long book – over 500 pages.)
I have no doubt that you, dear parishioner, are better at reading than I am. I mean, you’re reading this, right? So, in the hope that you will succeed where I have abjectly failed, over the next few weeks I’ll use my newsletter article to recommend some books that you might want to dip into when you are at the beach.
But first, here’s the Surgeon General’s health warning. You won’t find any of these titles in the fiction section of your digital bookstore. The truth is that I always fall asleep when I read fiction. I prefer to consume stories visually – in the movies or on TV.


So, here’s my first book recommendation:

Steps: A Guide to Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough

by John Ortberg.

Ortberg has always been one of my favorite Christian writers. He’s down to earth, practical, and extremely funny. However, in recent years there hasn’t been much to laugh at for John. I won’t go into the gory reasons (you can easily discover them for yourself), but Ortberg was forced out of pastoral ministry a few years ago following a grave error of judgment. He’s been out of the public eye since then, but has now humbly stepped back to share with us what he has learned from his fall from grace.
If you want one of those Christian books that is all about being victorious and mighty, then don’t go here. Ortberg is honest about his failure, deeply penitent, and is not afraid to own his pain and that which he has caused other people.


This book is a practical working out of the 12 steps of AA. Ortberg is not an alcoholic, but he is a broken human being who has messed up and wants with all his heart to live right before God and humans. In his recovery from his own mistakes, he has come to see that he is as dependent on the resources of God as any addict is.


Be warned. You will not be able to read this book without your heart being touched by Ortberg’s humility and by God’s indescribable grace to help you when you are struggling with moral or professional failure.