For more than a decade, I have posted an annual Top 10 List of books I read the previous twelve months. Sometimes I included my favorite ten books of the year, sometimes it was the most impactful ten books of the year. It was named the 10 Best Books of the year once or twice. This year’s list is a combination of my favorite, the most impactful, and the best books I read in 2025.
Here are some of my previous book lists: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020,
As in previous years, I had a difficult time narrowing my list to ten this year. Many significant, great, and entertaining books were overlooked. But rules are rules, and this is a Top 10 Book list, not a Top 11, 14, or 16 list.
Cue drum roll.
1. Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age
byJay Y. Kim
This might be the most important book I read in 2025. It could be the most important book you will read in 2026. If you are a pastor, church planter, church leader, digital church advocate, or a consumer of social media, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
2. Spontaneous Revivals: Asbury College 1905–2006
by Robert J. Kanary
Highly recommended by my good friend Jim Laffoon. I almost always read books Jim recommends. This one inspired me to pray, “Do it again, Lord!”
3. Conquests and Cultures: An International History
by Thomas Sowell
If you haven’t read any of Sowell’s 45+ books, this is a good one to get you started. Prepare to have your assumptions challenged by historical data and facts.
4. John Wimber: His Life and Ministry
by Connie Dawson
JW was one of the most influential church leaders of the twentieth century. This book will tell you why.
5. The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms
by Michael S. Heiser
This might be my most enjoyable book of the year. If you love the Bible, especially obscure characters and esoteric truth, you will love this book.
6. What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church
by Gavin Ortlund
This book asks and gives biblical and historical answers to important theological questions. Highly recommended for campus missionaries serving at Roman Catholic universities, pastors preaching in Roman Catholic or Orthodox-majority nations, and everyone with a Roman Catholic or Orthodox background.
7. Crossing to Safety
by Wallace Stegner
For days and weeks after reading the last page of this novel, I found myself deeply pondering the hope and privilege of lifelong friendships. Special thanks to Morgan and Carrie Stephens for giving me this book when I visited Mosaic Church in Austin, Texas.
8. Nathan Coulter: A Port William Novel
by Wendell Berry
William and Rachel (my eldest son and daughter-in-law) have often prodded me to read Wendell Berry books. I finally read WB’s first book, a rambling stream of consciousness with unforgettable people and places. And no discernible plot. My 8th-grade English teacher would have demanded a rewrite with a plot. But millions of readers, including me, have so identified with Berry’s people and places that his plot allergy doesn’t seem to matter.
9. Acts for Everyone and The Challenge of Acts
by N.T. Wright
From January to December, I read through the Book of Acts over and over and over. These two books—one written for the pew, the other for the pulpit—were helpful guides as I journeyed with Peter, Barnabas, Paul, Luke, and others from Jerusalem to Rome.
10. From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
by Arthur C. Brooks
Q: How much did this book impact my life?
A: I gave copies to at least a dozen Every Nation colleagues who have “fluid intelligence” in their rearview mirror and “crystalized intelligence” in their face.
If you are over 50, do yourself and your friends a favor and read this book. Slowly.