New and Exciting from Zondervan

Last week I spent a day in Grand Rapids and most of that day was taken up with meetings at the head office for Zondervan. As you probably know, Zondervan will be publishing my next couple of books, so we had a series of meetings to discuss, among other things, marketing plans (that’s right—we met to figure out how we can force you to part with a few of your dollars and hand it to us!). We also shot a bit of video and talked about plans for the next book.

As I was touring around the offices, I found quite a few interesting new products, some of which I knew of already and some of which were entirely new to me, that I thought I’d make you aware of. And make sure you read to the end—I’ll make it worth your while (or someone’s while, anyway). Here are a few of the products that caught my eye:

God So Loved, He Gave: Entering the Movement of Divine Generosity by Kelly Kapic with Justin Borger - You may know the name Kelly Kapic as one of the co-editors of the modernization of John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation. If you haven’t got a copy of that book, well, you really need to. It’s a good one. Kapic is also the author of a new book called God So Loved, He Gave. He  managed to get endorsements from a long list of people including Tim Keller, Jerry Bridges (who calls it “an amazing book”), Bryan Chapell, Michael Horton and quite a few others. Here’s the publisher’s description: “God So Loved, He Gave places the practice of giving within the larger story of God's generosity. Here we discover how our participation in the overflow of divine giving is vitally connected to the Trinitarian nature of God, the unfolding drama of Scripture and ultimately the Gospel itself.” And here is Jerry Bridges’ glowing endorsement: “God So Loved, He Gave is an amazing book. In it Kelly Kapic deftly moves from our being recipients of all God's generous gifts through Christ to our being stewards of God's gifts as we share them with others. This book is both encouraging and challenging. It should be read attentively and prayerfully.” [Westminster Books [2] | Amazon [3]]

A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir by Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge. According to the publisher “In A God-Sized Vision, Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge recount the fascinating stories of revivals throughout history--from biblical times to the Great Awakenings to more recent revivals in China--strengthening your understanding of God's work in the past and deepening your faith in the possibility of revival today.” This book also sports quite a list of endorsers including Tim Keller and Jerry Bridges (deja vu), Nancy Leigh DeMoss, George Marsden and D.A. Carson. Here is what Keller says about it: “The importance of spiritual revival and the necessity of conversion is being questioned in many evangelical and Reformed circles. I'm so glad that this book is appearing now, as a witness both to how God has worked in the church in the past and what he can do in the future.” [Westminster Books [4] | Amazon [5]]

The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life (DVD) - Tim Keller’s book The Reason for God has proven to be a hit and even made its way onto the New York Times list of bestsellers. “Captured live and unscripted, pastor and author Timothy Keller meets with a group of people over six sessions to address their doubts and objections to Christianity. Using literature, philosophy, real-life experiences, and the Bible, Keller and the group explore the truth of Christianity.” This is one that I haven’t yet had time to watch, but I do intend to do that soon. From the bit I have seen it looks like a great setting for conversation and quite a unique format in which to discuss big issues: Isn’t the Bible a myth? Why does God allow suffering? How can God send good people to hell? [Westminster Books [6] | Amazon [7]]

Politics—According to the Bible by Wayne Grudem. This is Grudem’s long-awaited, very long tome dealing with politics. “Politics--According to the Bible is a readable, comprehensive political philosophy, arguing for Christian involvement based on biblical teachings and a Christian worldview. Covering over 50 specific issues relating to protection of life, marriage, family, economics, environment, national defense, internationalism, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and special interest groups ... this sweeping resource is a must-read for today's Christians.” I like Marvin Olasky’s endorsement which says, in part, “[Grudem’s] biblically-based good sense overwhelms the nostrums of … the evangelical left.” [Westminster Books [8] | Amazon [9]]

The New Matthew Henry Commentary edited by Martin H. Manser. Here is one that took me by surprise. This is a modernization of Matthew Henry’s always-popular Bible commentary. Zondervan says “For nearly 300 years, Christians have consulted the rich insights and brilliant reflections of Presbyterian minister Matthew Henry's commentary on the Bible. Updating the language of the original while retaining its beauty and reliable content, The New Matthew Henry Commentary renders this classic work more accessible than ever.” I did not get a lot of time to look through the book and did not have room in my suitcase to bring it home (the page count is around 2300) but am looking forward to giving it a more thorough read when it arrives in the mail. Part of what Henry did so well was find a single phrase that could summarize an entire argument or an entire area of theology. As long as that strength remains in place, I think this could be a very helpful resource. I can only imagine how much time must have gone into modernizing a work of this length! [Amazon [10]]

So how about I give away a few of these books? Leave a comment here at the blog and I’ll randomly choose 3 of you to receive a copy of God So Loved, He Gave and A God-Sized Vision. That’s right—two books just for leaving a comment.