President Stuckwisch Offers Suggestions for Good Reading
Some Books for Consideration
It’s been about a year and a half since I shared some reading suggestions, and it occurred to me over this past weekend that I’ve discovered a number of worthwhile books since then. Most of these I’ve read (or listened to) over the past year, whereas a few have come to my attention and are now on my list of “books to read” (which is always growing faster than I can keep up with).
G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man (1925), and What’s Wrong with the World (1910). I’ve enjoyed and appreciated numerous quotes and excerpts from Chesterton’s work over the years, but until this past year I had never actually read any of his books, despite the fact that Orthodoxy had been on my “to read” list for decades. In finally taking up that book to listen to on Audible while driving, I discovered Heretics which preceded it and The Everlasting Man, which came after. Of those three, The Everlasting Man was definitely my favorite, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to do it justice. It is Chesterton’s “Mere Christianity,” so to speak, but even better than that familiar work of C.S. Lewis. What’s Wrong with the World is likewise excellent, and it is remarkably timely in its discussion, despite being written well over a century ago.
C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (1956), The Pilgrim’s Regress (1933), and Surprised by Joy (1955). I’ve read plenty of C.S. Lewis over the years, to be sure, but I’ve been discovering some more things from him (in addition to revisiting old friends, as well). My wife and some of our daughters have long since known Till We Have Faces, but I was not previously familiar with it. Wow! It is a profound recasting of an ancient myth, crafted with Lewis’ consummate skill. The overall impact of the tale is comparable to a powerful eight-hour sermon of Law and Gospel. By way of contrast, though also homiletical (and apologetic) in character, The Pilgrim’s Regress is Lewis’ mythical recasting of his conversion from naturalistic atheism to Christian faith; whereas Surprised by Joy is his autobiographical description of that same journey. If you’ve not already seen it, “The Most Reluctant Convert” (2021) is a fine film adaptation of his coming to faith.
Louis A. Markos, C.S. Lewis: An Apologist for Education (2015). My wife and I listened to this excellent little book earlier this year; it’s just a few hours long on Audible. Not only is it a clear and succinct summary of Lewis’ profound and insightful views on education, but it also provides an engaging and interesting look at various aspects of Lewis’ life and career.
Bernard Bull, Faithful and Flourishing: Strategies for Leading Your Christian School with Excellence (CPH, 2025). The most recent book on this list is by our Synod’s own Dr. Bernard Bull, President of Concordia University Nebraska. He is a careful and insightful thinker, as well as a lucid and straightforward writer. And what he has provided in this book is a valuable look at those attitudes, approaches, and activities that characterize and contribute to solid and successful Lutheran schools. His guidance is candid, practical, and reasonable, evangelically gracious, and governed by a commitment to the Word of God as the firm foundation and focus of our schools.
Edward Koehler, A Christian Pedagogy (CPH, 1930). Almost one-hundred years earlier, Edward Koehler, a professor at Concordia River Forest (now Concordia University Chicago) wrote this little book – still in print from Concordia Publishing House – on the theology and purposes of Christian education. It summarized the guiding principles and convictions of Lutheran thinking and practice on this topic, for the sake of training future elementary and secondary teachers for the congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Koehler also highlights and insists upon the fundamental importance and necessity of the Word of God as the heart and center of a Christian school, not solely for the sake of knowledge, but especially for the faith and salvation of the students, which are the driving goal and purpose for which congregations have schools.
Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (2004). I suppose it is because I’ve been reading and listening to G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis that this book, now a couple decades old, started showing up in my Amazon suggestions. The title caught my eye and piqued my interest, and the description and reviews convinced me to purchase a copy. I’ve been listening to it over the past week or so now, and I’m really glad to have gotten it. It’s really well done, both with respect to its thorough and comprehensive content and in regard to its approach, tone, and organization. The authors are not Lutheran, and there are a few passing comments that rankle a bit, but such things are quite minimal and can easily be set aside. The thrust of the book is a cogent defense of truth, theism, creation, the Scriptures, the historicity of the Gospels, the miracles of Jesus, and the solid evidence for His Resurrection from the dead.
Lee Hagan, Faithful, Hopeful, and Bold: Encouragement for the Church (CPH, 2025). This is the second most recent book on this list, written by the Reverend Dr. Lee Hagan, President of the Missouri District. It is not an “apology” of the faith vis-à-vis atheism, but an encouragement for Christians in the face of the assaults and accusations of the devil, the world, and our own flesh. That encouragement and hope are rooted in the sure and certain Word and promises of God in Christ Jesus, by which we and the whole Church on earth are strengthened and sustained unto the Life everlasting. I’ve only been able to peruse the book so far, so it’s still on my “to read” list at this point (not being available on Audible makes it more challenging for me to find the time), but I can see already that it will be an enjoyable and edifying read. As my friend and colleague, Dr. Hagan, is presently hospitalized, I am thankful that the encouragement and hope of which he writes in this faithful and evangelical book is also a sure and certain promise of God for him.
Dorothy Sayers, The Man Born to Be King (1943). This is another book that I was able to listen to on Audible with my wife as she traveled with me recently. It works well in that format, as it was written as a series of radio plays which were broadcast on the BBC. The author, Dorothy Sayers, was a friend and colleague of C.S. Lewis, of similar intellect and acumen. Although she did exercise some poetic license in crafting this dramatic retelling of the life of Christ Jesus, it is faithful to the New Testament Gospels, and it does not deny or downplay our Lord’s miracles or His Resurrection from the dead. Listening to it really brought home the humanity of the Gospels, reminiscent of Dr. Luther’s Christmas sermons. I’ve been told that the book includes extensive notes explaining many of the details and interpretive decisions that Sayers made in her telling of the story, so I’m hoping to acquire a printed copy in order to read through that information.
Evelyn Waugh, Helena (1950). This book, by the author of Brideshead Revisited, is a work of historical fiction recounting the life of Helena, the mother of Constantine. Another of my friends and colleagues on the COP, Rev. Heath Curtis, recommended the book to me back in February, and I was able to listen to it not long after that. It really is well done and worthwhile, and I’ve recommended it to others since. It weaves together what we do know about Helena along with some of the various legends and traditions surrounding her, filling in the gaps with reasonable conjectures, all set within a compelling historical context and beautifully written.
As a bonus, here are three more recent books from my “to read” list that I’d also recommend for your consideration: The Lord’s Supper: A Guide to the Heavenly Feast (2025), by John Kleinig, who is always so good and worth reading; How the Light Shines Through: Resilient Witness in Dark Times(2024), by Chad Lakies, who had good and worthwhile things to share with us from his book at the northern pastors’ conference this past spring; and Embracing Your Lutheran Identity (2024), by Gene Edward Veith, who is such an engaging, thoughtful, and lucid author, here touching on a topic of increasing importance in the life of the Church on earth.
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