How often do you find a 13-in-1 theology book that is focused on making disciples? The answer is – Once. “Real Life Theology” is the one. The 13 mini books that have been compiled into this single large volume are written by people with terminal degrees and people who are interested not just in academics but in practical application.
Considering that the book is nearly 800 pages long I won’t have time to get into every aspect of the book but I do want to make a few general comments.
First, the authors are people who genuinely care about a few important things – God, the Bible, truth, and God’s people. That is an important start. Each author has a terminal degree.
Second, each book is written to be worked through fairly quickly, consisting of five chapters per topic with bibliographic information for further reading and extensive end notes on helpful resources cited in each chapter. The end notes alone are worth the price of the book.
Third, I can’t think of 13 more relevant topics than the ones they choose which include,
Book 1 – The Grand Metanarrative: God’s Story as an Invitation to Theology by Tony Twist and Mihai Malancea
Book 2 – God’s Word: The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture by Orpheus Heyward
Book 3 – Christian Convictions: Discerning the Essential, Important and Personal Elements by Chad Ragsdale
Book 4 – The Gospel Precisely: Surprisingly Good News About Jesus Christ the King
Book 5 – Faithful Faith: Reclaiming Faith from Culture and Tradition By Mark Moore
Book 6 – New Birth: Conversion and Baptism by Michael Strickland and Anessa Westbrook
Book 7 – Holy Spirit: Filled, Empowered, and Led by David Young
Book 8 – Disciple Making: the Core Mission of the Church By Bobby Harrington and Scott Sager
Book 9 – Kingdom Life: Experiencing God’s Reign Through Love and Holiness
Book 10 – Countercultural Living: What Jesus Has to Say About Life, Marriage, Race, Gender and Materialism by Carol Swain
Book 11 – The End: The Return of King Jesus and the Renewal of All Things By Gary Johnson
Book 12 – Truth About God: What Can We Know and How Can We Know It? By Richard Knopp
Book 13 – Eternal Security: Walking in Faithfulness By Bobby Harrington
Conclusion: What You Can Do Right Now By Bobby Harrington and Daniel McCoy
As you can see these are topics that are essential to a biblically well grounded disciple who is making deep disciples. These books can be bought all in one in the link above or individually by title on amazon. With a compilation from so many different authors it is tempting to get into comparisons or rankings but I won’t do that. Instead I will tell you that the book is worth getting, reading and using to deepen your walk with the Lord and share that knowledge with others. And that, I believe, is the intent of this book in the first place! The only adjustment I would have made to the book is…how do you include a book on eschatology and not put it last?!? 🙂