Thursdays with Jesus (TWJ)

Thursdays with Jesus is a book discussion group that meets each Thursday from 10:30am-noon. The group is currently meeting online. You can join on Zoom (or also in person at the church on the first Thursday of each month.)

TWJ Book List

The following books have been suggested for consideration for our next read:

• Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus (Elaine Pagels, 2025) (Merry M)
• Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 2017) (Brian W)
• Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America From the Culture of Contempt (Arthur C. Brooks, 2019)
• The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Naomi Klein, 2007) (Brian W)
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (Robin DiAngelo, 2018) (Brian W)
• Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist (Eli Saslow, 2018) (Brian W)
• After Whiteness, An Education in Belonging (Willie James Jennings, 2021) (Rob M)
• Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus (Robin Meyers, 2009) (Merry M)
• God And Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now (John Dominic Crossan, 2009, rev. 2020) (Brian W)
• Render Unto Caesar: The Struggle Over Christ and Culture in the New Testament (John Dominic Crossan, 2022) (Brian W)
• The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity (Thomas Sheehan, 1990) (Rob M)
• Beyond Contempt: How Liberals Can Communicate Across the Great Divide (Erica Etelson, 2019) (Elizabeth M)
• Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (Dacher Keltner, 2024) (Merry M)
• The Empathic God: A Critical Theology of At-Onement (Frank Woggon, 2024) (Julia R)

Previous Reads

The following are books we've recently read together

• Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife (Bart D. Ehrman, 2020) (May 2024)
• The Gospel of Mark (February 2024)
• Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (Greg Boyle, 2011) (December 2023)
• Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage (Anne Lamott, 2021) (September 2023)
• Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 2020) (June 2023)
• Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint (Nadia Bolz-Weber, 2013) (April 2023)
• How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (Bart D. Ehrman, 2014) (January 2023)
• Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life (Henri J.M. Nouwen • 2013) (November 2022)
• Do I Stay Christian: A Guide for Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned (Brian C. McLaren • 2022) (July 2022)
• Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Savior, Lord, Way and Presence (Diana Butler Bass • 2021) (April 2022)
• After Jesus Before Christianity: A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements (Erin Vearncombe, Brandon Scott, Hal Taussig, Westar Institute • 2021) (November 2021)
• Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (Atul Gawande • 2014) (September 2021)
• Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Wes Howard-Brook, Anthony Gwyther • 1999) (July 2021)
• Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People (Nadia Bolz-Weber • 2015) (February 2021)
• The Greatest Prayer: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord's Prayer (John Dominic Crossan • 2011) (December 2020)
• Humankind: A Hopeful History (Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore, Elizabeth Manton • 2020) (July 2020)
• The Common Good (Robert B. Reich · 2019) (April 2020)
• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner • 2011) (January 2020)
• Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today (John Shelby Spong • 2018) (October 2019)
• Inspired: Slaying Gians, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again (Rachel Held Evans • 2018) (August 2019)
• Finding Your Emotional Balance: A Guide for Women (Merry Noel Miller • 2015) (June 2019)
• Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs (Johann Hari • 2016) (April 2019)
• Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life (Karen Armstrong • 2011) (February 2019)
• Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (Richard Rohr • 2011) (January 2019)
• Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks (Diana Butler Bass • 2018) (October 2018)
• The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels (Jon Meachum • 2018) (August 2018)
• What You're Getting Wrong About Appalachia (Elizabeth Catte • 2018) (July 2018)
• The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon (John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg • 2009) (May 2018)
• The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Final Days in Jerusalem (Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan • 2007) (March 2018)
• Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (R. Marie Griffith • 2017) (January 2018)
• The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Birth (Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan • 2009) (December 2017)
• Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Robert Putnam • 2001) (September 2017)
• Parables from the Back Side: Bible Stories with a Twist (J. Ellsworth Kalas • 1998) (June 2017)
• Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (J.D. Vance • 2016) (April 2017)
• Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (Richard Rohr • 2016) (November 2016)
• A Letter to My Anxious Christian Friends: From Fear to Faith in Unsettled Times (David P. Gushee • 2016) (September 2016)