From "The Prodigal God," by Tim Keller:

It is hard for us to realize this today, but when Christianity first arose in the world it was not called a religion. It was the non-religion. Imagine the neighbors of early Christians asking them about their faith. "Where's your temple?" they'd ask. The Christians would reply that they didn't have a temple. "But how could that be? Where do your priests labor?" The Christians would have replied that they didn't have priests. "But... but," the neighbors would have sputtered, "where are the sacrifices made to please your gods?" The Christians would have responded that they did not make sacrifices anymore. Jesus himself was the temple to end all temples, the priest to end all priests, and the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

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In case you’re not familiar with Tim Keller, he’s a New York Times bestseller, a gifted orator and founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. To those fond of Keller, he’s often regarded as the “thinking person’s pastor,” with sermons that are culturally relevant, exegetically sharp and profoundly practical. On any given Sunday, Keller can in one breath be heard quoting C.S. Lewis, an Old Testament prophet and an op-ed from The New Yorker.

Having visited Redeemer church a dozen times or so, I can attest to Keller’s ability to connect with the casual New Yorker, and by casual I mean well-read, successful and impeccably groomed. His congregation, which now hovers around 5,000 people, have known for years what many Christians outside Manhattan are finding out—Tim Keller is a powerful figure in the church.

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I read a ton of books in 2008, but most of them did not come out this year. However, I did read a few that were released since January, and the following is a list of my top five favorite books of 2008.

5) The Reason for God, Tim Keller
I love Tim Keller. The Manhattan-based pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian has a strong but compassionate way about him, and his writing voice demonstrates this. He commands a very high level of respect. This book is a pretty straightforward apologetic for Christianity, but it’s one that feels more humane and less didactic/argumentative than some of the others (though no less rigorous). It’s a compelling, smart argument for belief in an age of skepticism, for meaning in a meaningless age.

4) Culture Making, Andy Crouch
In the midst of a glut of “Christians and culture” type books, this one stands out because it takes a step back and forces us to contend with the very word, “culture.” What is it? How do we “make it”? Andy Crouch offers a thoughtful, extremely helpful reality-check of a book for anyone with an inkling to “change the culture” in any way. It goes beyond all the usual clichés and offers a back-to-basics, from-the-Bible justification for why Christians should be thinking about but also participating in culture making. It’s a rare book that challenges Christians to do more than just criticize or boycott culture but to make and remake it ourselves.

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