Neighboring is more than an occasional act of kindness. It’s a way of life. Like any worthwhile pursuit, neighboring is learned over time through experience, reflection, and intentional practice. Along the way, we've found a handful of books that have challenged the way we think about faith, community, hospitality, and loving our neighbors well. While this list is far from exhaustive, it's a great place to start. Whether you prefer a paperback, an eBook, or an audiobook, most of these titles are readily available through your local library or favorite bookseller.
Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making
by Andrew Peterson
Our key takeaway: Discovering your unique calling and learning how to use it.
At first glance, this may seem like a book written for artists, musicians, and writers. In reality, Andrew Peterson's memoir is about something much deeper: discovering the unique calling God has placed on each person's life and why it's there. A master storyteller, Peterson creatively reflects on how our vocation is never detached from our love for others. Read through the lens of neighboring, Adorning the Dark becomes a beautiful reminder that whatever gifts God has entrusted to us are meant to be offered in service to others.
Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People
by Bob Goff
Our key takeaway: Learning to love your neighbors well.
Jesus said the world would recognize His followers by the way they love one another. Bob Goff takes that invitation seriously, encouraging readers to move beyond good intentions and into joyful, practical acts of love. Each memorable story and surprising encounter is shared with humor and unexpected warmth, challenging readers to love people who are often inconvenient and difficult, yet wonderfully different from ourselves. Everybody Always is an encouraging reminder that neighboring isn't reserved for a select few. It's simply what love looks like in everyday life.
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World
by Rosaria Butterfield
Our key takeaway: Inviting others into the "normal" parts of life.
Hospitality is about far more than entertaining guests. Rosaria Butterfield paints a compelling picture of opening our homes—but more importantly, our lives—to the people God places in our paths. Through deeply personal stories, she shares how ordinary meals, conversations, and routines become extraordinary opportunities for the Gospel to take root. For anyone wondering what neighboring can look like on an average Tuesday evening, this book offers a compelling vision.
Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Our key takeaway: Building and cultivating authentic community.
Written from Bonhoeffer's experience leading an underground seminary during the rise of Nazi Germany, Life Together is both timeless and remarkably relevant. Rather than offering an idealized picture of community, Bonhoeffer reminds readers that authentic fellowship is built through humility, listening, forgiveness, prayer, and shared life. His conviction that "the first service one owes to others is listening" remains one of the most profound lessons on neighboring we have encountered. If neighboring begins with seeing people as God sees them, then Life Together provides a solid foundation for living that out.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
by John Mark Comer
Our key takeaway: Creating the margin to notice your neighbors.
It's difficult to notice our neighbors when we're constantly rushing past them. John Mark Comer argues that hurry has become one of the greatest obstacles to spiritual health, growth, relationships, and love itself. Through practical rhythms and lifestyle suggestions, he invites readers into a more intentional pace of life. Neighboring requires presence, and presence requires margin. This book is a compelling invitation to cultivate both.
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Robert Johnson
Director of Formation, NeighborLink Foundation Inc
Robert is the Director of Formation at NeighborLink. Before stepping into this role, he served for six years on staff with NeighborLink Fort Wayne, most recently as Director of Communications and Development. Robert enjoys telling stories about neighbors and the transformational impact of neighboring. Outside of work, he loves traveling with his family, reading, and pursuing a life shaped by the Gospel.