You might be thinking about what to pack for beach reading during your family summer vacation. Perhaps you’re wondering what to read during a lazy summer afternoon in your hammock out back. Maybe you have a son or daughter or other family member who just graduated, and you want to offer them something to read this summer that will guide them as they enter the next phase of life.
Whatever your reason, we’d like to offer our summer reading suggestions for your enjoyment and edification. We chose the books on this list because they present some aspect of work, business, and economics from a Christian perspective. They weave faith and culture together in though-provoking ways. They also provide further exploration into the many topics related to faith, work, and economics that we’ve covered here on the blog.
Here are seven books IFWE recommends for your summer reading list:
Weight of Glory C.S. Lewis
Touching on themes of self-interest, reward, vocation, inequality, and collectivism, Lewis sheds light on many tough individual and collective topics of our day through sound theology and cultural examination in this essay compilation.
The Poor Will Be Glad Peter Greer & Phil Smith
Greer and Smith draw on their personal experiences to narrate the pitfalls of traditional approaches to poverty relief and outline a new model of economic development aimed at breaking the cycle of dependency.
When Helping Hurts Brian Fikkert & Steve Corbett
Most churches in America do not realize they are unintentionally hurting the very people they are trying to help. Fikkert & Corbett present a practical way to remodel church poverty outreach strategies through building human dignity, true economic progress, and focusing on whole-person development.
Economics In Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy, and Life Choices Victor V. Claar & Robin J. Klay
This book is a must-read for Christians who want to think carefully about economics. Claar and Klay cover how Christian principles and values relate to economic theory, just policy, and human flourishing.
Business As Calling Michael Novak
Work is more than just a job, it’s a calling. Novak ties together crucial questions like, “Why does doing a good job matter?” by explaining the meaning of work as a vocation.
Defending the Free Market: A Moral Case for Free Enterprise The Rev. Robert Sirico
Many people believe the free market is inherently greedy, immoral, and corrupt, but Sirico argues the opposite: free markets are not intrinsically corrupt, rather they are the only true way to ensure human flourishing and a morally just society.
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling Andy Crouch
Christians are not only called to engage culture, but to create culture. Crouch describes the complexities of how culture works and gives readers the tools for cultivating and creating culture from a Christian perspective.
Tell us what is on your summer reading list! Leave your comments here.
