Given the election cycle we find ourselves in the midst of, I’m picking three titles that help us engage this political moment from new angles. Fénelon was a bishop in King Louis’ court, and he was pushed to a remote parish in the countryside because he refused to bend to Louis’ power. I wrote a book on Fénlon, so I’m surely biased. I think Fénelon is a voice we need to hear, however, and a life we need to know.

Kuyper was a Dutch politician, but he was also a theologian. How often (or well) do those two titles sit on one business card? Kuyper offered at least one vision for how to think through the church’s role in the world, the way the church is to contribute to a good society. You may not agree with all of Kuyper’s answers, but he was valiant for asking the questions ... and seeking to live them with conviction and generosity.

When Christians talk about how to live well in a society, the name Bonhoeffer inevitably comes up. For these reasons (as well as a popular biography recently published), Bonhoeffer has been getting a lot of attention lately. However, few people actually read his sermons, the words he wrote for his congregations attempting to live out Christian witness in tumultuous times. If you want to do more than read about Bonhoeffer, this is a good place to start.

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