Here’s the 8 books I read in May. This brings my 2026 total to 38 books. I’ve provided Amazon affiliate links for each book. Happy reading! I almost finished the Count of the Monte Cristo before the end of the month. It will appear on June’s list.
(I must always clarify that I read many books with which I disagree. I learn the most by reading things that do not represent my position.)
What is a Baptist? by Blake White
I will purchase nearly any new book on Baptist polity, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. A book on each topic appears in this log! I appreciated White’s thin book on Baptist distinctives. It serves as an accessible introduction. I loved that it includes a chapter on religious liberty, a key aspect of Baptist life, but one often skipped in short introductions. My only critique is the book gets too causal at points. For example: “They dunk those babies like Shaq catching an alley-oop because they know that baptize means immerse.”
White is the lead pastor of South Side Baptist Church in Abilene, Texas.
Julian of Norwich by Amy Frykholm
In May 1373, a thirty year-old woman living in East Anglia suffered an illness. She received visions—what she later called “sixteen showings”—revealing to her secrets of the love of God. When she fully recovered, Julian recorded and richly explored those revelations, creating what became the first English-language book written by a woman. Frykholm offers a full tribute to the mystic Julian of Norwich. The biography is not straightforward. Julian’s story is told with flare. As it should be told.
Frykholm is the author of numerous books of nonfiction including Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America. Sh is also an award-winning writer for The Christian Century.
The Lord’s Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread by Robert Letham
I’m working through many of Letham’s books. This is the shortest and the first I finished. You’ll see many more in the months to come. Letham provides a very succinct primer on the Lord’s Supper. He highlights the historic Reformed view of the Lord’s Supper in contrast to other views. Of course, you get a lot of John Calvin. The last section deals with practical questions which agrees elements of the Supper, participates in the Supper, and frequency of the Supper.
Letham is senior research fellow at Union School of Theology and the author of a number of books including, the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirits, and The Eternal Son.
This is a fantastic addition to the discussion on the role of women in the church. If one wants to discuss the topic, one needs to interact with Sprinkle’s work. It is a work of scholarship but is written on a popular level. I used it to help gather my thoughts in my recent teaching on 1 Timothy 2. Sprinkle provides a helpful understanding of how Artemis worship in Ephesus is behind some of Paul’s controversial comments on women and authority.
Here is where Sprinkle lands the plane on women in leadership: “I believe the Bible says that women can teach and exercise leadership at every level in the church. I don’t hold this view with the same level of confidence as I hold doctrines like the Trinity or the deity of Christ. I still think some complementation arguments have exegetical credibility. But after a long and sometimes tedious journey, I believe the egalitarian view is more biblically persuasive.” You need to read the book to discover his reasons for landing at such a conclusion.
Sprinkle serves as the president of the Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender and is the host of the Theology in the Raw podcast.
Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Trish Harrison Warren
I grabbed this one from my wife’s stack thinking I would merely thumb through it for a few minutes. I ended up reading nearly half of it in one sitting. I had the rest finished within a few days. The book is a testimony of Warren’s experience with the nighttime prayer of Compline. The book teaches us how to commune with God – even through difficulty.
Warren currently is a writer and an Anglican priest. She serves as the C. S. Lewis Theological Writer-in-Residence for the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. She is a senior fellow with The Trinity Forum and an assisting priest at Immanuel Anglican Church in Austin, Texas.
Baptism: A Solemn and Beautiful Emblem of Our Faith by Tony Wolfe
A very helpful introduction to the Baptist understanding of Baptism. Wolfe covers a lot of ground fairly well in 169 pages. I’m fond of the image of baptism as a “solemn and beautiful emblem of our faith.” This is proper pushback to the causal discussion of baptism as “just a symbol.” Yes, it is indeed a symbol. But it is a powerful symbol.
Wolfe is the Executive Director-Treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
In the late nineteenth century, Lilias Trotter turned away from a life of artistic fame to serve as a missionary in Algeria. Trafton takes readers on a winding, intimate journey by blending biography, personal engagement, and theological reflection. An extremely literary telling of a life. Perhaps too literary at points.
Trafton is a storyteller and artist. Her first two novels for children, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic and Henry and the Chalk Dragon, received starred reviews and multiple award nominations.
Galahad and the Grail (Merlin’s Isle: An Arthuriad) by Malcolm Guite
This is the frontrunner for my book of the year. Guite provides a ballad which takes up the tale of Sir Galahad and the quest to find the Holy Grail. A beautiful addition to the Arthurian legend. It follows in the stylistic footsteps of Spenser’s The Faerie Queen, but it is so much more enjoyable to read. The physical book itself is a throwback to the days of well-crafted books with top-notch design and materials. It is beautifully illustrated by Stephen Crotts. I own the regular edition and the limited edition which was offered during the preorder phase. Both editions are gorgeous.
A ballad is characterized by its rhythm. A classic ballad is written in four-line stanzas (quatrains) that follow an alternating rhyme scheme and rhythmic beat. Guite often extends beyond four-line stanzas for effect. It is poetry at its best. It tells a story. It can be read and understood. The book actually sings of sword fights, chivalry, and adventure.
This is the first of four planned volumes. I eagerly anticipate future releases.
Guite is a poet, scholar, and Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge.
Jeff Gravens 
Glasses thick glasses are in your near future. I would be interested in your opinion on women serving in the church
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What if Katie was called by God to serve in a higher position in the church?
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