Logos Staff
Editor’s note: The resources recommended in our On the Shelf series are the opinions of the featured individuals, not those of Logos. We are publishing a breadth of voices to reflect varying perspectives within the church.
Alisa Childers is the author of the bestselling book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity. In this book, she describes the years-long journey she took as she wrestled with questions that struck at the core of the Christian faith and found the truth.
Her new book, co-authored with Tim Barnett, is called The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond, which analyzes and responds to the growing deconstruction movement.
She is a wife, mom, author, podcaster, and speaker. She was a member of the award-winning CCM recording group ZOEgirl. She hosts The Alisa Childers Podcast and the Unshaken Faith Podcast. Alisa’s story was featured in the documentary American Gospel: Christ Crucified.
Alissa’s top 30 resources are listed below. Where possible, we’ve linked to where you can purchase the resources from Logos.
1. The Confessions of St. Augustine
I love this book because it’s a peek into the the brilliant thoughts of a devoted yet flawed man contending with the God he loves.
2. Cold Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospel by J. Warner Wallace
I read this book three times when I was coming out of a deep faith crisis that revolved around questions regarding the reliability of the New Testament. It’s a rigorous, accessible, and thorough investigation into why the NT is trustworthy.
3. Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Convictions by Gregory Koukl
I love this book because it taught me how to have meaningful conversations surrounding topics that could otherwise be contentious.
4. Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Paul Copan
This book helped me understand some of the more confusing and difficult passages of the Old Testament.
5. Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture by Natasha Crain
Natasha is such a clear, wise, and relevant thinker. This book is an encouragement to remain faithful to Christ in a culture that is opposed to his Word.
6. Walking in Unity: Biblical Answers to Questions on Race and Racism by Krista Bontrager & Monique Duson
This is the captivating story of two Christian friends, one white and one Black, who overcame barriers in the discussions about race and racism. This book is thoughtful, insightful, and encouraging.
7. The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes by Nancy Pearcey
This book was an eye-opening look at the history of masculinity, and provides a biblical answer to the cultural trope of “toxic masculinity.”
8. Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality by Nancy Pearcey
This book is a systematic takedown of cultural ideologies that oppose God’s design for sex and gender.
9. Seven Days that Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science by John C. Lennox
This is a wonderful little book about the different views of the creation account in Genesis and helps Christians think through the most important issues.
10. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story by Christopher Yuan
Holy Sexuality is a thorough look at the biblical sexual ethic that serves as a constant resource in my home!
11. A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption by Becket Cook
Becket’s story of converting to Christianity after spending years as a gay man living a successful life in Hollywood is both inspiring and deeply encouraging.
12. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics by Robert A. J. Gagnon
My physical copy of this book is falling apart because I have used it so much as a resource when arguments for same sex marriage and relationships come up.
13. Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age by Rosaria Butterfield
This book is a direct confrontation to the lies our culture believes about sex, sexuality, gender, and marriage. Highly recommend!
14. Can We Trust the Gospels? by Peter J. Williams
This book is a gem! It’s a short and concise presentation of the case for the textual and historical reliability of the gospels.
15. The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate by Michael J. Kruger
This book helped me understand how we got our Bible and why it contains the books it does. This should be on everyone’s shelf!
16. Ancient Christian Writers Collection (Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Church Fathers)
I turn to this primary source over and over again when I want to understand what the early church believed and practiced.
17. The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Michael J. Kruger
This book answered a huge question I had when my faith was in crisis. How do we know the difference between heresy and orthodoxy? Was early Christianity theologically diverse to the point that it was just the theological winners who got to write the New Testament? This book settles that debate.
18. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
Although this book is over 100 years old, it is fresh and relevant for today’s church as we battle progressive Christianity.
19. Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul by Simon Gathercole
Substitutionary atonement is one of the fundamentals of our faith, and this wonderful book addresses the arguments against it and offers biblical evidence for this precious doctrine.
20. The Four Gospels: A Guide to Their Historical Background, Characteristic Differences, and Timeless Significance by William S. Stob
This made the gospels come to life for me! It helped me understand more about the authors, their historical contexts, and their original audiences.
21. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
Chesterton’s defense of orthodox Christianity is beautiful, breathtaking, and savagely brilliant.
22. Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks for God? by A. W. Tozer
Tozer is one of my favorites, and he makes many Old Testament passages come to life while he challenges contemporary church culture in a way that is convicting and encouraging.
23. Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church by Holly Pivec & R. Douglas Gievett
This book is a thorough and accessible look at the theology of the New Apostolic Reformation and Bethel Church in Redding, California. Learn what this movement teaches and the biblical response.
24. God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies by Costi W. Hinn
This book is a challenging, compassionate, and truthful biblical response to the prosperity gospel heresy.
25. Shepherds for Sale by Megan Basham
This book was an eye-opening look into the influx of critical theory, environmental activism, and other progressive ideologies into the church.
26. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Frank Turek
If you want a 30,000-foot fly-over of general apologetics, look no further. You will learn the case for the truthfulness of Christianity beginning with the question, “Does truth exist?”
27. Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World by Larry Hurtado
This is one of those books I return to again and again to remind myself what life was like for the earliest Christians who were standing for the sanctity of life in the Roman Empire.
28. Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible by John D. Meade and Peter J. Gurry
This book helped me understand how we got the Bible. It starts with the invention of writing and brings the reader all the way to the finalization of the canon. It also takes a helpful look at translations.
29. Crisis of Confidence: Reclaiming the Historic Faith in a Culture Consumed with Individualism and Identity by Carl R. Trueman
In this beautifully written book, you will understand the importance of creeds and confessions in the life of the Christian.
30. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart
This is a basic primer in hermeneutics that will help you interpret the Bible for yourself.
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Tom McCall
Timothy Muehlhoff
