Top 5 books everyone should read, Dr. Brent’s 2025 wrap up show

Welcome to Creating the Future with Dr. Brent Simpson, Where we dive into stories, truths, and deep questions that help shape our faith, our families, and our future.

In this special 2025 Wrap-Up episode, Pastor Josh Jordan, Saturday Pastor at Arise Church, sits down with Dr. Brent Simpson to reflect on a year marked by healing, preparation, and deep personal formation.

This conversation looks back at the books, podcasts, music, and themes that shaped 2025—and looks ahead to what God may be stirring for 2026.

 

📚 Dr. Brent’s Top Books from 2025 (Must-Reads)

Dr. Brent shares the books that most shaped his thinking this year:

• From Broken Boy to Mended Man: A Positive Plan to Heal Your Childhood Wounds and Break the Cycle — Patrick Morley
• Second Half for the Man in the Mirror: How to Find Your Significance — Patrick Morley
• Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling — Nijay Gupta
• The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us About How and When This Crisis Will End — Neil Howe
• The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness — Morgan Housel

Bonus pick:

• Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis — Scott Payne & Michelle Shephard

 

🎧 Dr. Brents Top Podcasts Worth Listening To

Podcasts Dr. Brent Listens To:

• Sloth Theology: Simple Faith for Chaotic Times — AJ Swoboda & Nijay Gupta
• Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture — Talbot School of Theology (Biola University)
• The Sean McDowell Show

Top Creating the Future Episodes from 2025:

• 7 Questions for Reinventing Yourself for Life’s Next Season
• The Controversy & Crisis That Created Trinitarian Theology — Interview with Dr. Bryan Litfin
• What Quantum Physics Can Teach Us About Prayer — with Dr. Craig Sterling
• Bonus Episode: Easter Name Traditions Podcast

 

🎶 Dr. Brent’s Top Songs of 2025

• Made for More — Josh Baldwin & Jenn Johnson (Bethel Music)
• When a Cowboy Prays — Brandon Lake
• Momma Loves Me — NEEDTOBREATHE

 

📖 All Books Dr. Brent Read in 2025: 

Here is the complete reading list from last year:

• 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos — Jordan B. Peterson
• A Love Journey with God — Marziyeh Amirizadeh
• A Million Little Miracles: Uncover the Supernatural Work of God Through Everyday Things — Mark Batterson
• And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle — Jon Meacham
• Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life — Jordan B. Peterson
• Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West — Cormac McCarthy
• Captive in Iran: A Remarkable True Story of Hope and Triumph amid the Horror of Tehran's Brutal Evin Prison — Maryam Rostampour & Marziyeh Amirizadeh
• Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis — Scott Payne & Michelle Shephard
• Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World — Tom Holland
• Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown — Eric Blehm
• Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus — Mary Shelley
• From Broken Boy to Mended Man: A Positive Plan to Heal Your Childhood Wounds and Break the Cycle — Patrick Morley
• Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 — William Strauss & Neil Howe
• Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization — Brad Wilcox
• Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance — Bob Buford
• How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen — David Brooks
• Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter — T. Wright
• John Wycliffe: A Life From Beginning to End — Hourly History
• Living in the Line of Fire: How to Stand Strong Against the Attacks of the Enemy — Michael L. Brown
• Loved Like Never Before: Experiencing the Heart of the Father — Ken Shigematsu
• Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts — Oliver Burkeman
• Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ — Dallas Willard
• Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge: The Gripping True Story That Inspired the Movie — Booton Herndon
• Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering — Malcolm Gladwell
• Rivals!: Frenemies Who Changed the World — Scott McCormick
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari
• Second Half for the Man in the Mirror: How to Find Your Significance — Patrick Morley
• Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You — John Ortberg
• Spirit-Led Living in an Upside-Down World — Stephen E. Strang
• Stepping Stones to the Father Heart of God — Ken Shigematsu
• Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling — Nijay Gupta
• The Assemblies of God: A Chapter in the Story of American Pentecostalism — Edith L. Blumhofer
• The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy — William Strauss & Neil Howe
• The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us About How and When This Crisis Will End — Neil Howe
• The Generous Life: 10 Essential Virtues for Leading a Purposeful and Prosperous Life — Rob Ketterling
• The Joy Model: Seven Steps to Build a Joyful Life — Jeff Spadafora
• The Man in the Mirror: Solving the 24 Problems Men Face — Patrick M. Morley
• The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway
• The Other Talent: A Story of Two Elite Athletes and the Power of Courage — Matt Fitzgerald
• The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness — Morgan Housel
• The Seven Mountains Mandate: Taking Your Place of Influence — Laurie Skipper
• The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives — Dallas Willard
• The Story of the Trinity: Controversy, Crisis, and the Creation of the Nicene Creed — Bryan Litfin
• Think and Grow Rich — Napoleon Hill
• Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us — Seth Godin
• We Who Wrestle with God — Jordan B. Peterson
• While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America — Yeonmi Park
• Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?: What We Can Learn from Ancient Biography — Michael R. Licona

You can shop the majority of these titles here!

✨ Connect with Dr. Brent

💬 All Social Media: @DrBrentSimpson
🌐 Website: BrentSimpson.com
🏡 Church: MyAriseChurch.com
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👉 https://creatingthefuture.podbean.com/