Every year, Christian publishers produce thousands of helpful resources. We can get any of them within 48 hours for minimal expense at the click or swipe of a button. But owning a giant stack of books still leaves us with the question, “What should we read?”

According to Scott Manestch, books played a significant role in the life of Calvin and his company of pastors in the 16th century. But, surprisingly, Calvin only owned about 300 volumes. According to Manestch, most of Geneva’s pastors had a “modest collection of exegetical and theological books that served as a kind of ‘tool kit’ for their daily ministries.” Limited by books’ relative expense and the few opportunities for access to them, these men had to know which books were good and use them thoroughly. Maybe we can learn something from Calvin’s tool-kit approach. We could have all the books, or we could really benefit from a few of the best books.

With all the Christian titles that come out every year, it’s always a fun challenge for us at TGC, along with dozens of key contributors, to take stock of the best Christian books across 11 categories. Using this list as a tool-kit, you should make sure to pick up a book or two—and take advantage of steep discounts from our online bookstore on most of these titles.

Lastly, would you consider making a donation to TGC as part of your end of year giving? We rely heavily on the ongoing generosity of our supporters to keep doing what we do.

Merry Christmas,