As the seasons change, so do our reading lists. Byron Borger, co-owner of Hearts & Minds Bookstore in Dallastown, Pennsylvania, returns to The UpWords Podcast with his fall roundup of the books most worth your time. Host Susan Smetzer-Anderson and Byron begin by remembering Annie Dillard and Wendell Berry, two literary lights whose work shaped generations of Christian readers, before turning to a remarkable season of new releases.

Byron makes the case for reading the ancients alongside the moderns, previews John Fea’s new look at whether America was founded as a Christian nation, and compares two of the fall’s most debated books: Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Live Laugh Love and Bonnie Kristian’s In Defense of Evangelicalism. The conversation then moves into spiritual formation, with new books on God’s love, the humanity of Jesus, the medieval mystics, silence, and character, and closes with titles on cultural myths, womanhood in art, a theology of place, and the role of faith in a pluralistic democracy.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Remembering Annie Dillard and Wendell Berry
• Why Christians should read ancient literature, and how to read it with discernment
• Two contrasting accounts of evangelical women and evangelical culture
• New books on spiritual formation, from the Trinity to the mystics to the discipline of silence
• Books on cultural narratives, visual culture, sacred place, and religion in public life
• A teaser for anyone who wants to read more but struggles to

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Byron Borger and his wife, Beth, opened Hearts & Minds Bookstore in Dallastown, Pennsylvania, in 1982. Byron writes BookNotes, the store’s long-running review newsletter, and is a longtime conference bookseller and speaker on relating Christian faith to every area of life.

📙 BOOKS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE

• Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea by Emily Wilson
• Christians Reading Classics by Nadya Williams
• From Achilles to Christ by Louis Markos
• Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs
• In God We Trust by John Fea
• Live Laugh Love by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
• In Defense of Evangelicalism by Bonnie Kristian
• The Wisdom of Jesus by N. T. Wright
• Fully Beloved by Timothy Jones
• Vulnerable God by Kenneth Tanner
• Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark by James K. A. Smith
• The Way of the Spirit by Jeremy Sims
• Into the Quiet by John Mark Comer
• Who You’re Becoming by Chuck DeGroat
• The Stories We Live By by Timothy Keller and Michael Keller
• Look Like a Lady by Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt
• Every Somewhere Sacred by Ben Norquist and Brian Miller
• Can Religion Save Democracy? by Matthew Kaemingk and Shadi Hamid

🔗 LINKS

Hearts & Minds Bookstore: heartsandmindsbooks.com

Byron’s BookNotes newsletter: heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes

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CONNECT WITH US
Subscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.

This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.

Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave Conour

Edited by Dave Conour

What does it mean to follow Jesus not only in who you are, but in how you lead, serve, and work? On this episode of The UpWords Podcast, host Joy Fea sits down with guest Joanna Meyer, founder and executive director of Women, Work, & Calling at the Denver Institute for Faith & Work, to explore vocational discipleship: forming people for a whole-life "yes" to God that reaches into their daily work.

Joanna traces her path from aspiring high school social studies teacher to twelve years of campus ministry, a season in global telecom, and more than a decade at the Denver Institute, showing how calling is often formed over time rather than discovered in a single moment. Together, Joy and Joanna walk through core ideas from Joanna's framework for vocational discipleship: influence that flows from hearts renewed by Christ; our identity as image-bearers and stewards; participation in God's renewal of all things; and women as agents of flourishing. Along the way, they talk about productivity and overwork, a redemptive understanding of power, generous leadership, and the mentors who help us see what God is inviting us into.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Why vocation is "a whole-life response to God's voice," not just a category of religious work
• How Christ's renewal of "all things" gives new meaning to daily work, from private equity to HOA boards
• Setting a generous table for women across theological convictions and life stages
• Joanna's candid reflections on overwork and being "addicted to mission"
• A business leader who built pre-apprenticeship on-ramps for people facing barriers to employment
• What a redemptive, servant-shaped understanding of power looks like across a workweek
• Breath prayer and daily silence as portable practices for busy workers
• Why God's hand is often clearer in the rearview mirror than in the road ahead

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Joanna Meyer is the founder and executive director of Women, Work, & Calling, a national initiative of the Denver Institute for Faith & Work that equips Christian women to have a godly influence in public life. She also hosts the Institute's Faith & Work Podcast. Before joining the Institute, she worked in global telecom, nonprofit consulting, and campus ministry with Cru. She holds an MA in Social Entrepreneurship from Bakke Graduate University and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado Boulder. She is the author of Women, Work, & Calling: Step into Your Place in God's World (InterVarsity Press, 2023).

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Women, Work, & Calling: Step into Your Place in God's World by Joanna Meyer (InterVarsity Press)

• Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch

• Culture Making by Andy Crouch

• The Work of Leaders (Jossey-Bass)

• The MBA Oath

• Denver Institute for Faith & Work: denverinstitute.org

• Women, Work, & Calling: womenworkandcalling.com

Send us Fan Mail

CONNECT WITH US
Subscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.

This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.

Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave Conour

Edited by Dave Conour

What does real spiritual transformation actually look like — a powerful moment at a retreat or altar call, or something much slower, deeper, and more relational? In this episode, host Dan Johnson sits down with first-time author Jonathan R. Bailey to talk about his new book, Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation (IVP, 2026). Drawing on years of mentorship from Richard Foster and the legacy of Dallas Willard, Jonathan unpacks the ancient threefold path of Christian spiritual formation — purgation, illumination, and union — and makes the case that transformation can’t be rushed. Dan and Jonathan dig into the difference between transactional and transformational faith, why purgation is pruning rather than punishment, how to build a flexible “rule of life,” and what it means to trade trying for training. Jonathan also shares a personal story of a fleeting taste of union he experienced in a Toys “R” Us parking lot, and offers three simple practices — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — for anyone who wants to begin the journey toward becoming more like Christ.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jonathan R. Bailey is the cofounder of Dwell, an audio Bible app helping people rediscover the ancient practice of listening to Scripture. He writes Three Weekly Lights, a newsletter on spiritual transformation, and serves on the ministry team at Renovaré. He lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Kori, and their three children. Dwelling in Christ is his first book, with a foreword by Richard J. Foster.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• The real difference between a transactional and a transformational approach to faith — and why relationship, not quick fixes, is what actually drives change.
• How to tell God’s pruning apart from self-imposed shame or punishment during hard seasons.
• Why mountaintop spiritual experiences are meant to refresh the journey, not replace the ordinary, sustained faithfulness that follows.
• How to build a “rule of life” that’s flexible rather than rigid — and why an overly aspirational one can do more harm than good.
• The practical difference between “trying” to produce spiritual fruit and “training” toward it.
• What union with God actually looks like in daily life: becoming other-centered instead of self-centered.
• Three simple, relational practices from the Sermon on the Mount — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving — and how each corresponds to a different relationship: with God, with self, and with others.

BOOKS AND LINKS

▶ Get the book: https://www.ivpress.com/dwelling-in-christ

▶ More about Jonathan: https://www.ivpress.com/jonathan-bailey

Send us Fan Mail

CONNECT WITH US
Subscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.

This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.

Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave Conour

Edited by Dave Conour