Editor’s Note: Most weekends, we feature this “Editor’s Notebook” column. MinistryWatch President Warren Smith offers his opinion on stories in the week’s news or, sometimes, a behind-the-scenes look at how and why we do what we do. Once a quarter or so, however, we use the “Notebook” for Smith’s list of books that were released in the past quarter or that he just got around to reading. To read last quarter’s list, click here.
“Once Concealed, Now Revealed” by Charlie Peacock
In his debut novel, “Once Concealed, Now Revealed,” Grammy-winning music producer and songwriter Charlie Peacock explores the complicated relationship among family, faith, trauma and the secrets people keep from those they love. The story follows two generations of the Taylor family, whose lives are shaped by buried wounds, fractured relationships and deeply held beliefs. When a violent attack on the youngest son brings long-suppressed family secrets to the surface, his older brother, Augie, must confront painful truths of his own. A high-stakes business assignment takes Augie and his girlfriend, Marie, to a Tennessee farm, where unexpected friendships and a different vision of community offer the possibility of healing. Blending literary fiction, psychological suspense and a love story, Peacock asks whether love can survive the demands of complete honesty — and whether even deeply wounded relationships can find new life. You can listen to my interview with Peacock here.
“The Black Echo” by Michael Connelly
This one was a bit of a palate cleanser for me. I am a fan of the “Bosch” television series, so I picked up “The Black Echo,” Connelly’s first book and the one that introduces Harry Bosch, a tough, independent-minded Los Angeles homicide detective. My main interest was to see how the storytelling was adapted to television. I don’t necessarily recommend either Connelly’s or Bosch’s worldview, but the book offers some lessons in storytelling if you are a writer. If you like thrillers and mysteries, it is also a gripping police procedural about loyalty, betrayal, justice and the thin line between justice and revenge.
“Liturgies of the Wild: Myths That Make Us” by Martin Shaw
My friend (and artist) Stephen Crotts recommended this book to me, and I am glad he did. Mythographer and Christian thinker Martin Shaw argues that modern society suffers from a poverty of meaningful stories. Cut off from the ancient myths and rituals that once helped people navigate life’s great challenges, we risk remaining spiritually and emotionally immature. Shaw explores how traditional stories, wilderness experiences and rites of passage can lead us toward greater wholeness, maturity and connection. Drawing on decades of studying mythology and guiding wilderness experiences, he retells powerful ancient tales and reflects on his own remarkable spiritual journey. Most unexpectedly, that journey — including a 101-night vigil in a Dartmoor forest — led him to embrace Christ as the “True Myth.” Blending scholarship, lyrical storytelling and Christian reflection, Shaw offers a compelling argument for recovering the transformative power of story.
Access to MinistryWatch content is free. However, we hope you will support our work with your prayers and financial gifts. To make a donation, click here.
“Through Many Dangers” by Thomas Goodman
Set in East Texas in 1905, this historical novel is about faith, courage and the moral cost of standing against corruption. At its center is a Methodist preacher navigating a world of violence, injustice and powerful interests determined to protect their own. Goodman explores the tension between Christian conviction and the compromises demanded by a fallen world. The novel’s historical setting provides a compelling backdrop for questions that remain relevant today: What does it mean to do what is right when doing so carries a personal cost?
“Confrontation: The Missing Element in Christlike Love” by Bill Newton
Christians often confuse the virtues of love, kindness and peace with “niceness” and a desire to avoid conflict. Bill Newton challenges that assumption in this thoughtful, practical examination of confrontation as an essential expression of Christlike love. Drawing on Scripture and decades of experience in military service, business and pastoral ministry, Newton argues that avoiding difficult conversations often protects our comfort at the expense of someone else’s spiritual well-being. Real-life case studies and step-by-step instructions for how to confront someone offer practical guidance to help readers approach difficult conversations with humility and courage. This is a valuable corrective to a church culture sometimes more comfortable with silence than accountability. I recommend it for church leaders. It is also suitable for small group study.
“Every Table an Altar” by Ian Simkins
In a culture increasingly characterized by division, distraction and loneliness, Ian Simkins offers a refreshingly simple prescription: Pull up a chair and make room for someone else. Drawing on the biblical significance of the table, Simkins explores how ordinary meals and everyday conversations can become opportunities for spiritual formation, genuine friendship and Christian hospitality. He challenges readers to move beyond superficial connections and rediscover the transformative power of being present with others, particularly those who might otherwise be overlooked or excluded. Warm, practical and deeply rooted in the example of Jesus, this book makes a compelling case for hospitality as a Christian calling.
“Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity” by Paul Kingsnorth
Kingsnorth, like the aforementioned Martin Shaw, is a recent convert to Christianity. Their recent conversions add weight to their arguments. In Kingsnorth’s case, the argument of this wide-ranging critique of contemporary civilization is that the “Machine” should be resisted. He describes the “Machine” as the interlocking forces of technology, capitalism, political power and secularism that steadily erode human freedom, community, tradition and spiritual meaning. A virtue of this book is its serious but efficient engagement with like-minded thinkers ranging from Wendell Berry to Jacques Ellul.
Kingsnorth challenges the unquestioned assumption that progress always makes life better. His argument is sometimes sweeping and unsettling, but that is part of its significance. At a moment when artificial intelligence, digital surveillance and technological dependence are transforming society, Kingsnorth offers an important countercultural warning: We may be gaining unprecedented power over our world while losing our understanding of what it means to be human.
I recommend this book in part because it is destined to become a classic, and it should be a part of the thinking Christian’s library and vocabulary. It has already received praise from Michael Lucchese of the Civitas Institute, who compares Kingsnorth’s critique to the work of Richard Weaver and Robert Nisbet.
Francis X. Maier of the Ethics and Public Policy Center is particularly enthusiastic. In an October 2025 essay, he called Kingsnorth one of the three or four best writers he had encountered in the previous decade and described the book as a penetrating critique of contemporary technological culture. Rod Dreher and Ross Douthat also have promoted the book.
Not every response has been uncritical. Andrew Spencer of The Gospel Coalition appreciates Kingsnorth’s diagnosis of modernity but challenges his biblical theology, particularly his treatment of creation, technology and mysticism. He argues that Kingsnorth’s spiritual prescriptions depart from orthodox Christian teaching. I agree with that assessment.
“A Mind of Your Own: Independent Thinking in an Age of Misinformation” by Warren Smith
A couple of months ago, I started getting emails from people who thought I was the Warren Smith who wrote this book. But the senders were serious people asking interesting questions, so I picked up the book and found it more than worth my time.
In a world saturated with competing narratives, ideological conformity and misinformation, independent thinking has become an essential survival skill. Warren Smith (again, not me!) argues that logic is not simply an intellectual gift but a discipline that can — and should — be cultivated. He teaches readers to recognize logical fallacies, challenge assumptions, ask better questions and distinguish evidence from emotion. His central message is refreshingly straightforward: Stop trying to prove you are right and start trying to discover what is true. At a time when political polarization and digital media increasingly reward outrage over reason, Smith offers a timely, practical guide to reclaiming intellectual independence.
“To Set the World Aflame: How Artists Bear Witness to the Fullness of God’s Creation” by W. David O. Taylor
What is the calling of a Christian artist? For Taylor, it is something larger than producing beautiful things or entertaining audiences. Artists are stewards of truth, goodness and beauty, helping the rest of us see the world more fully and recognize its divine Creator. Drawing on theology, Scripture, aesthetics and the history of the arts, Taylor offers a compelling vision of creativity as vocation and spiritual witness. He challenges Christians to take the arts seriously, not as an accessory to ministry but as an essential expression of human flourishing. This is an ambitious, thoughtful invitation to rediscover the sacred dimensions of creativity.
“In Defense of Evangelicalism” by Bonnie Kristian
I am a fan of this book and have said so publicly, so I will say little about it here except to note that you can listen to my conversation with Kristian here.
“Strip Mine Jesus: Hope for the Rural Church, Small Towns, and Overlooked Places” by Charles E. Cotherman
In a culture obsessed with growth, celebrity and bigger platforms, Charles Cotherman makes a compelling case for the spiritual importance of staying put. Drawing on his experience planting a church in economically battered western Pennsylvania, he challenges Christians to rediscover the beauty, goodness and redemptive possibilities of overlooked communities. His emphasis on faithful presence offers an important corrective to ministry models that equate success with size and visibility. The book’s chief weakness is its occasional overinvestment in local history and personal narrative. Still, it offers a thoughtful, countercultural vision of Christian faithfulness rooted in ordinary places.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, both Bonnie Kristian, Charlie Peacock, and Bill Newton are friends — and I recommend their books anyway.