Singled Out (Pt1)

The first few months of 2010 saw me up to my neck (almost literally!) in books on the topic of singleness. Yes, I’m single. No, I wasn’t immersing myself in books on singleness just for the fun of it (Psssst…trust me when I say, some of those books weren’t much fun!).

The reason for all the singleness books that littered my desk for months on end was that I was preparing an EQUIP10 elective on the topic, and I wanted to be informed about what other Christians were saying about the Bible’s teaching on singleness.

As a result of my research and reading, two things became very clear to me:

1. There are only so many ways that the word ‘single’ can be incorporated into clever puns for book titles on the topic. To all the budding authors out there, I’m sorry to say that I think they have all been exhausted at this point!

2. There have been a LOT of Christian books written on the topic of singleness, and after reading most of them, I was sad to discover that there were very few that I felt comfortable recommending to others.

That’s why I am so enthusiastic about ‘Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must be Reinvented in Today’s Church’. Not only does it boast one of the better ‘single’ title puns… but I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending it as a great (and biblically faithful) read on the topic of singleness.

In fact, by the time I had finished the book I was so excited that I jumped straight on Google to locate an email address for the authors. Here is an excerpt of what I sent to them:

"It was with MUCH thankfulness and rejoicing that I just finished ‘Singled Out’ yesterday! Finally a book I can put on my resource list and which I can whole-heartedly endorse. It was wonderful to be exhorted and encouraged (in accordance with Scripture) about the joys, challenges, sadnesses and purpose of being single this side of the cross. My soul was greatly refreshed by the biblical and theological truths you outlined in ‘Singled Out’."

And so that’s my prayer for us over the next month here on the EQUIP Bookclub – that God will refresh our souls as we come to consider the biblical and theological truths of singleness in the lives of his people.

I’m looking forward to spending the next month with you all!
EQUIP Book ClubSingled Out