It’s sometimes amazing to consider how quickly societal mores change, how quickly an idea can go from unthinkable to acceptable, from having great social stigma attached to its acceptance to having even greater social stigma attached to its rejection. There may be no better example of this than transgenderism. Less than a generation ago, few…
It’s not like we’re hurting for books about a Christian understanding of work. In fact, the past few years have seen nothing short of an explosion of interest in the subject. So when yet another showed up in my mailbox, I was tempted to set it aside. I was tempted, that is, until I saw…
I’ve seen churches where the pastor has been treated terribly—a slave forced to cede to the congregation’s every whim. I’ve seen churches where the pastor has been treated heroically—a superstar who exists above all critique and accountability. Surely the biblical position avoids both extremes and treats the pastor far better than either a slave or…
We’ve all heard the witticisms about death and taxes as the world’s only inevitabilities and about humanity’s mortality rate continuing to stick stubbornly at exactly one hundred percent. We all know we are going to die and that we ought to prepare ourselves accordingly. But what’s equally inevitable and perhaps even more painful, is that…
Over the past few decades, evangelical churches have been shaped and reshaped by the church growth movement. This movement held out a model of local church ministry that some have labeled “attractional.” The idea was to make churches attractive to unbelievers so they would have compelling reasons to come to church where they could then…
I write this review of Tim Keesee’s new book A Company of Heroes at the end of a year-long journey around the world. Twelve times in the past year I boarded a plane and began a long journey to a distant nation. Twelve times I disembarked and got oriented and began a search—a search for…
Have you ever wondered why books often have a foreword? Why would one author ask another to write a little mini-chapter at the front of his book? Having been asked to provide one for Jamie Dunlop’s Budgeting for a Healthy Church, I had to think it through. I believe the reason is two-fold. First, it’s…
Over the past few years, we have been blessed with an incredible volume of resources related to biblical counseling. From primers for amateur counselors to in-depth examinations of specific issues, we are now well-served with resources meant to address a host of common issues. New to the field is Jonathan Holmes’s Counsel for Couples: A…
We all suffer in this messy, sin-stained world. Sometimes our suffering is the direct result of our own sin and sinfulness. Sometimes it’s because others sin against us. And then sometimes we suffer through the suffering of those we love. And while it can be difficult or even gruelling to walk alongside a loved one’s…
It’s that time again! I couldn’t possibly read or review every good book (not to mention every bad book) that finds its way into my mailbox. However, I do like to look them all over and let my readers know about some of the new ones that are most notable. So here are the new…
Somewhere along the way, it seems like the New Calvinism became about everything but Calvinism. Somewhere along the way, we stopped thinking and writing about the very doctrines that brought the movement together in the first place. Maybe we had already mastered them, so it was time to move on to more advanced topics. Or…
It’s ironic and more than a little pathetic that a doctrine as glorious and comforting as Christ’s impending return has been a source of such vehement disagreement among Christians. Though we universally agree that he will return, the timing, circumstances, and sequence of events are all matters of much dispute. Some respond to these disagreements…
I get books. I get lots and lots of books. As you well know, once a month or so I like to try and thin the pile a little bit and distill it down to the ones I think may be of most interest to people like you. I hope you find at least some…
One thing that has always been true of this movement labeled “the New Calvinism,” is that it has included more professing charismatics than practicing charismatics. Though from the very beginning many, and perhaps even the majority, of its adherents have been open to the ongoing miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, very few have lived…
I woke up far too early and feeling far too discouraged. I had spent a restless night trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable through pain. I eventually gave up, slid out of bed, went downstairs, and got my coffee brewing. I knew this would be a day in which my hands would hurt too much to…
Are you still looking for that elusive perfect Christmas gift? Or maybe you’re just looking for something to read over the holidays. Here are some of the new and notable books that arrived on my doorstep recently. There might just be something here for you or for someone you love. Here’s the complete list:
I admire any Christian author who is willing to take on the subjects of homosexuality or same-sex attraction, and especially those who choose to take a “traditional” rather than “progressive” view of it. The subject is so raw and so controversial that any serious discussion is likely to generate barrages of fire from within the…
We pray. We pray because we believe prayer matters, we pray because God hears, we pray because God chooses to act on our prayers. We pray because we can and we pray because we must. These prayers are not hopes whispered into a void or wishes cast into a cold and empty universe. They are…
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I underwent a significant shift in my understanding and practice of the Christian faith. Though I had spent my younger years in the Dutch Reformed tradition, I found myself increasingly drawn to Reformed Baptist churches. Though that transition was quite smooth, there is one issue…
If you’ve ever seen a photo of a mountain or a waterfall—something grand and majestic—you know how important it is to also capture an object in the foreground. By putting an identifiable object in front of a mountain, you provide a visual cue as to the size of what’s behind it. Based on a photo,…