Jessica Hooten Wilson

Reading for the Love of God
Brazos Press, 2023
By Jessica Hooten Wilson

WHO: Jessica Hooten Wilson, a distinguished visiting scholar at Pepperdine University and an award-winning author.

SHE SAYS: “Since the early church, Christians have prized words. We should continue to be those weirdos who spend less time in the virtual ether and more times in stories, poetry, and drama.”

THE BIG IDEA: This book shows readers how to reap the spiritual benefits of reading by showing that reading can help us learn to pray well, love our neighbor, practice humility and much more. 

THE PROGRESSION: In seven chapters, the author helps readers discover what type of reader they are and how reading different books through a Christian viewpoint can help us better appreciate the Bible. The appendices, including reading lists of great books and a twofold reading of Flannery O’Connor’s “The River,” are a great bonus.

“In reading other books, we practice reading the Bible; and in reading the Bible, we read other books by that lens.”

Venture Church: Community for First-Timers

“If people don’t make a single friend at your church, they’re not going to stay.” ~Pastor Di Beals

Farm Fresh Faithfulness

By spring 2024, Cul2vate harvested over 100,000 pounds of food—including potatoes, pumpkins and watermelons—on the Brentwood acres it converted to farmland.

Reaching Gen Alpha

As churches of every size strive to reach Gen Alpha with the gospel, small churches are uniquely positioned to meet this moment.