Too Many Books, Not Enough Time

I love to read, but don't seem to have enough time to do it right now. There are multiple books sitting on my shelf just waiting to be devoured. Maybe you are in this same situation.

I'm currently reading:

E. M. Bounds on Prayer

Institutes of the Christian Religion

Outgrowing the Ingrown Church

This Momentary Marriage

What's sitting on my shelf waiting to be read:

Biblical Preaching

Essential Church

Francis Schaeffer Trilogy

Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints

The Atonement

The Intimate Marriage

Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond

Twelve Challenges Churches Face

If you like to read, but cannot find the time, how do you deal with this? Do you read a book thoroughly, or do you skim?

What are you reading? Do you have any suggestions for good books to add to my shelf?

"In My Place Condemned He Stood"

My favorite biblical doctrine and the one I cherish the most is the atonement of Jesus Christ.  If I ever return to school (yikes) this is the subject that I hope to study in depth.

Because of this, I enjoy reading about the atonement more than any other subject.  The latest book that I've completed on this subject is In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement.  This relatively short text (about 150 pages) is composed of a series of essays by J. I. Packer and Mark Dever.  I've enjoyed reading both of these men in the past so I assumed this book would be a good investment of time and energy.

Several positives stand out for this book.  First, the subject is at the heart of Christianity so the material itself is automatically compelling.  Second, both of the authors are great scholars.  Third, they both understand that the atoning work of Christ was a definite atonement as opposed to a potential atonement.

The only negative for me personally is that I struggle a bit with J. I. Packer's writing style.  In a somewhat ironic twist, in this book Packer describes John Owen's writings as difficult to read.  And I thought Packer was difficult!

The last section of this book by itself, which is not even one of the essays, is reason enough to purchase it.  Ligon Duncan has compiled an excellent annotated bibliography (25 pages) on the subject of the atonement.  This will come in very handy for later intensive study of this subject.

This book is a good read.  If you purchase it, I suggest reading it along with a few other books that may be a bit easier. 

Interesting Book, Wrong Title

Have you ever read a book that you thought was worth the time, but by the end realized that is has the wrong title? This just happened to me as I was completing Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples.

This book, written by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, would be much more accurately entitled something like "Focused Church" or "Streamlined Church." The reason for this is that what they propose is not really simple. Rather, they suggest a process by which churches can focus or streamline what they are trying to do. The church may end up being just as complex as before, but at the end of the process everything will at least be flowing in the same direction.

Let me explain. This book is worth reading because of the research that Rainer and Geiger put into it. The authors looked at churches that were growing compared to those that have plateaued in attendance. They asked many questions and discovered some interesting things.

In general, Rainer and Geiger found that when a church is focused around a common vision of how they will make disciples, and when the people of the church buy into that vision, the church is likely to thrive. However, if a church has several different vision statements and is not particularly focused, that church struggles to make and keep disciples.

It seems that in the focused church the people are able to rally around a common goal. They know both what they believe and what they are doing while together as a church body. In churches that are not focused, there appears to be a decent amount of confusion about what the church is attempting to accomplish.

The results of this book are helpful. They have made me ask why we do what we do. Any church could benefit from this. Additionally, most churches could probably cease certain activities that do not have anything to do with the church's focus.

Now to the title of the book. What Rainer and Geiger propose in this text is that a church be focused. The reality is that they do not suggest simplicity. What the authors want is for churches to look at what they do, ask why they do what they do, focus on one discipleship plan, and give all attention to that plan. This may all continue to happen within the same structure that the church already has in place. Even a mega-church, with thousands of members, could focus by reading this book. That is hardly the same thing as simple.

When I think of simple church, I think about the most basic aspects of the church as we see it in the bible. This type of simple church is followers of Jesus Christ spending life together, serving one another, bearing one another's burdens, and witnessing to the lost. This simple church is about people as opposed to buildings and programs. This is simple in focus and structure.

It is interesting to see what people are saying about simple church (the concept, not the book) on the internet. For example, sites like this, this, and this are all talking about this phenomenon.

Simple Church (the book) is worth the read. However, it needs a more accurate title.

"Spectacular Sins"

John Piper has written yet another book that confronts a difficult topic head on. In Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ, Dr. Piper deals with the issue of God's sovereignty over sin. This text looks at how God can both be in control of all things, and yet very, very bad things still happen.

Piper specifically looks at different accounts in the bible that show God's sovereignty over sin. He shows how God either causes or permits sin in order to bring about His good purposes. Making sure to say that God is not the author of sin or guilty of sin, Piper repeatedly illustrates how God controls events and circumstances to glorify Christ.

My favorite chapters of this book were those that look at specific bible characters, the sin in their lives or those around them, and how God used those situations for His wise purposes. These chapters study the fall of Satan, the disobedience of Adam, the pride of Babel, the sale of Joseph, the sinful origin of the Son of David, and the case of Judas Iscariot.

I appreciate Dr. Piper because he is willing to deal with difficult issues such as this without suggesting that God is somehow lacking in sovereignty. Piper shows how God's complete and utter sovereignty should give us great hope during times of trial. That alone makes it worth buying. It is also a quick read (even for a slow reader like me) - only about 110 pages.

Speaking of buying, this book is on sale right now for only $5.00. Click here to see.

"He Is Not Silent"

Dr. Albert Mohler is one of my favorite authors. I appreciate his desire to be biblical and to confront secular society with the gospel message.

Mohler has recently penned several books. I just completed reading his new text concerning preaching. He Is Not Silent is a call to preachers to confront our postmodern society with the truths set forth in the bible.

Mohler focuses on the need for expository preaching, the importance of doctrine in preaching, and the challenges of preaching to the postmodern mindset. At the same time, Mohler sounds a clarion call to today's preachers to have the courage and fortitude to preach biblically and keep preaching biblically.

This text is not a "how-to" text for expository preaching. Instead, it is designed to be a wake-up call to preachers and teachers about the need for the proclamation of the clear gospel message in the midst of a society that is confused about religion and spirtuality.

If you have never read a book discussing preaching/teaching as it relates to the current postmodern mindset, then I encourage you to read this book. It is fairly short (about 170 pages) and easy to read. If you have read other texts which focus on the importance of expository preaching, then don't bother with this one.

Alistair Begg on Pastoral Ministry

Although I am happy to be a Southern Baptist, I enjoy looking outside the SBC landscape for both sermons and books. One of my favorite preachers is Alistair Begg. Begg is senior pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He also has a radio ministry at Truth for Life. You can download and/or listen to Begg's sermons by clicking here.

I recently completed reading a book about pastoral ministry that Begg co-authored with Derek Prime. The title of the work is On Being a Pastor.

This book is an excellent overview of pastoral ministry within the traditional church setting in both Great Britain and the United States. Since it is co-authored, the text contains many different concrete examples of what pastoral life and ministry is like.

This book is the best that I have read on the subject of pastoral ministry. The reasons for this are that the authors have years of experience, have a high view of biblical authority, write in a humble manner, deal with theoretical and practical issues, and seem to really love the people they are under-shepherding. The book is also engaging and fairly easy to read.

Another positive about this book is that I will be able to use it as a resource in the years to come. For example, if I cannot remember how I should deal with a certain issue, such as church discipline for example, I will pull out this text and read over the section dealing with that. In this way, it is a resource book.

I would recommend this book to anyone involved in pastoral ministry. Even if you do not read it from cover to cover, it will be good to have around for dealing with specific issues.

By the way, if you have never heard Begg preach, listen to some of his sermons. It will be a good investment of your time.

Question: How Do You Organize Your Library?

Ever since returning from the mission field, I have been collecting books. It is a passion of mine to read all I can of theology, the church, preaching, Christian biographies, etc. I can't even keep up with the books I have purchased. One problem I have is that there is a discount Christian bookstore within just a couple of miles of Chevis Oaks. It is a great source of temptation (good, I hope).

Back to the subject at hand. Since I am collecting books to form a theological library, I want to organize them in the most useful way possible. Currently, my books are semi-organized according to subject and author. This is not the best system, and is sometimes completely confusing.

So, if you have a personal library (theological or not), how do you organize your books? Do you go strictly by the author's name, the subject, or something else? Please let me know becuase my situation is not good now and will continue to deteriorate as I collect more.

Thanks.

"Atheism Remix"

I love short books. When I say "short," I'm not talking about a 20 page book. What I mean is a book that is 100-150 pages long. For the most part, books of this length get right to the point, don't mess around, and don't contain added fluff.

Atheism Remix is just such a book (108 pages). In this book, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, analyzes the new brand of atheism that is creeping more and more into mainstream American life. Mohler's purpose is to both discuss the dangers of the New Atheism, and to call Christians to continue to proclaim the truth of biblical theism.

Mohler suggests that atheism is on the rise in American culture. This is due in no small part to the writings of four men: Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. These four men, who Mohler says could be called "The Four Horsemen of the New Atheist Apocalypse," have all written and spoken about the benefits of a naturalistic/materialistic worldview. They see religion as untenable and even dangerous.

Mohler helped me better understand the New Atheism by listing and discussing eight of its characteristics:

1. The New Atheism is marked by an unprecedented new boldness.
2. There is a clear and specific rejection of the Christian God of the Bible.
3. The New Atheists explicitly reject Jesus Christ.
4. The New Atheism is specifically grounded in scientific argument.
5. The New Atheism is new in its refusal to tolerate moderate and liberal forms of belief.
6. The New Atheism attacks toleration.
7. The New Atheists have begun to question the right of parents to inculcate belief in their own children.
8. The New Atheists argue that religion itself must be eliminated in order to preserve human freedom.

I find numbers 3, 7, and 8 particularly frightening.

What are Christians to do in the face of the New Atheism? Mohler writes, "Then, as now, the task is to articulate, communicate, and defend the Christian faith with intellectual integrity and evangelistic urgency. We should not assume that this task will be easy, and we must also refuse to withdraw from public debate and private conversation in light of this challenge."

I highly recommend this book. I appreciate Dr. Mohler's work in opening my eyes to this new strain of an old unbelief.

"The Truth War"

I highly recommend almost every book I read. This book, however, does not fall into that category.

John MacArthur, in The Truth War, certainly has much good to say. As is typical with MacArthur, he doesn't pull any punches. MacArthur stresses the importance of biblical truth being objective as opposed to subjective. Biblical truth is determined by God, not by human feelings.

MacArthur rightly criticizes the postmodern view of truth, which suggests that truth is ultimately unknowable. Postmoderns, instead of seeking truth, stress a warped humility that suggests that truth is beyond us. What this leads to is relativism and subjectivism.

In talking about postmodernism's seeping into churches, MacArthur speaks out against the false teachings of Brian McLaren. McLaren has written several books from a theologically postmodern view. His most well-known work is entitled A Generous Orthodoxy. MacArthur correctly criticizes McLaren for his refusal to stand up for the truth of the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

MacArthur also describes emerging churches, which are generally churches that adhere to postmodern thought.

Most of what MacArthuer writes needs to be said. For that, I appreciate this book.

The problem with The Truth War is that it seems somewhat repetitive and redundant. I could have read the first two chapters and that would have been enough. The remainder of the book seems to rehash what has already been said, while adding a few more details.

If you have studied postmodernism before, then don't bother with this book. If you have not looked into the problems with postmodern thought, then I recommend that you check this book out of your local library and read the first two chapters. That will be enough.

"Respectable Sins"

Jerry Bridges is fast becoming my favorite author.

I recently read The Great Exchange. It is the best book I've read in quite a while.

Since that was so good, I decided to read another of Bridges' books, entitled Respectable Sins.


Respectable Sins is a challenging book to read because Bridges deals with many of the subtle sins that Christians, myself included, try to rationalize away and "sweep under the rug." For example, Bridges has chapters devoted to ungodliness, anxiety and frustration, discontentment, unthankfulness, pride, anger, etc.

I appreciate Jerry Bridges because he writes as if he is sitting down talking with the reader. Also, he is very transparent, admitting to many of these subtle sins he discusses. One very helpful aspect to the book is that he offers specific bible verses that he uses to assist him when dealing with temptation to sin in these areas.

This is basically a book about sanctification. If you have been a Christian for a while, you probably no longer commit what we often consider to be the "big sins." However, we all still struggle with sins that we (not God) somehow consider to not be quite so bad. God doesn't want these in our lives. Before we can deal with these, we must admit that they exist. That's where this book is helpful. In a straightforward but loving manner, Bridges takes on these various sins and points out how they manifest themselves in our lives.

I highly recommend this book to all Christians. If we want to grow in Christ, we must learn to mortify all sin in our lives, even those sins that society and, dare I say it, the church, have deemed respectable.

"What Women Wish Pastors Knew"

I recently realized that I rarely read books written by women. I'm not sure why this is the case. It may be that most theological books seem to be written by men. Regardless, I wanted to read a good book by a woman.

I was pleased when I ran across What Women Wish Pastors Knew at a local bookstore. The author is Denise George, who is the wife of Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.

This book is interesting because it is based on the results of a survey of hundreds of women. This survey looked at various aspects of church life through the eyes of women. The purpose of the survey was to learn how women feel about their churches and what they wish their pastors knew about them.

Since I'm a new pastor, this book seemed very appropriate. I'm glad I read it because I learned a great deal about how women view the church in general and the pastor in particular. Before reading this book, I think I knew that women see the church differently than men do, but now I know this to be the case. I do not mean that to be a criticism; rather, it is probably a good thing. Men and women can both bring their strengths to church life, thus building up the body more effectively.

One interesting thing that I learned was what Mrs. George first mentioned. The results show that women want their pastors to know that they are tired and that they hurt. It was beneficial for me as a pastor to be reminded of just how busy young mothers often are. One description of a typical week in the life of a young mother had me exhausted just reading it. I also benefited from being reminded that many women are hurting in a wide variety of ways.

Another interesting piece of information came up in a chapter entitled, "Pastor, we have some problems in our church." Mrs. George discussed the eight concerns that she said kept occurring over and over. They were:

#1 - Men and women working separately
#2 - Lack of respect shown to women
#3 - Women lacking new opportunities
#4 - Women treated as second-class citizens
#5 - Age discrimination
#6 - Men and leadership issues
#7 - Competition among women
#8 - Secularism in the church

Because the above problems were mentioned by many different women, it's clear that they are occurring in many different churches. It was helpful for me to read this, and then think about how these sorts of things may be happening at Chevis Oaks.

If you are a pastor or active male at a church, I would recommend reading this book. It is good for us to be reminded that women and men have different needs, and see the world somewhat differently. The church should be a place where both men and women feel welcomed and needed.

A church only functions well when all its members are working together as Christ intended.

The Best Book I've Read in a Long Time

Hyperbole is all too common is the blog world. I am probably guilty of it myself from time to time. However, that is not the case in this post.

The Great Exchange is the best book I've read in a long time. In this text, Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington do a masterful job of looking at all of the biblical passages from Acts through Revelation that deal directly with the atonement of Christ.

The authors repeatedly emphasize the absolute necessity on the part of man for someone to take our place. We as sinful people have no righteousness to present to God. We stand guilty and condemned. Bridges and Bevington show time after time how Jesus Christ stepped in and exchanged His righteousness for the guilt of all the redeemed. He bore that guilt on the cross, and paid for our sins so we wouldn't have to.

They say this of II Corinthians 5:21, which happens to be my favorite bible verse, "It would not be an understatement to view this verse, properly understood, as the single key verse of the entire bible."

This book is well-written, gospel-saturated, and fully biblical. I highly recommend it. It is not a text that you will want to read quickly because of the deep truths the authors discuss. The writing style is not difficult; rather, the atonement is such a rich doctrine that it should not be sped through by the reader.

Since the book chapters correspond to the books of Acts through Revelation, the book itself breaks down into 10-15 relatively short reads. Understandably, the chapters on the books of Romans and Hebrews are longer than the rest. The Hebrews chapter is one of the best chapters in any book I have ever read.

In case you aren't convinced, this is what Alistair Begg says about The Great Exchange, "The next time I am asked for my top-ten reading list, this will be included! Clear and comprehensive, it leaves the reader in no doubt that this 'great exchange' is not only the heart of biblical theology but also the pivotal event of human history."

"The Beauty of the Small Church"

As pastor of a relatively small church, I look forward to reading as much as I can about the nuances and peculiarities of small church life. I'm thankful to Les Puryear for putting together a 30 page booklet entitled The Beauty of the Small Church. In this booklet, Les describes various aspects of churches whose average attendance is less than 200.

One of Les' main points, with which I whole-heartedly agree, is that the small church is not broken. There is nothing wrong with a church just because it has 100 in attendance. Related to this, a church of 500 is not automatically better than a church of 50.

What is most interesting for me is that Les describes very closely what I am now experiencing. For example, family is very important in the small church. This is certainly the case at Chevis Oaks Baptist Church. Certain traditions are also important at Chevis; Les talks about this in his booklet. In fact, I've run into very little that Les did not describe.

One other bit of information that Les spelled out is that the vast majority of Southern Baptist churches are small churches. This booklet shows that over 25,000 of the roughly 40,000 Southern Baptist churches average less than 100 in primary worship service attendance. Another 8,300 average less than 200. Meanwhile, less than 2 percent of Southern Baptist churches have over 1,000 in attendance.

Despite these numbers, Southern Baptist denominational leadership is always dominated by pastors of mega-churches and prominent figures from Southern Baptist seminaries. A primary example is that in June Dr. Johnny Hunt was elected as the latest SBC president. He is also pastor of the large First Baptist Church of Woodstock (GA). This is life as it is within the SBC.

Getting back to the topic, if you are a member of a small church, regardless of denomination, this booklet would be helpful to have. If you are a pastor of a small church, it would be a great benefit.

If you want to order copies of this booklet, e-mail Les at lespuryear@hotmail.com with the quantity of booklets you need.

Les, thanks for writing this booklet. I look forward to handing it out to our church members at Chevis Oaks.

I Can't Wait for This to be Released!

I've already pre-ordered the ESV Study Bible. You should, too.

Two Quick Reviews

Since I had some free time today, as my family drives back to Georgia from New York, I decided to finish reading a couple of books.

The first is a text that I have been working on for quite a while - The Practice of the Presence of God. Based on Brother Lawrence's discussions with his followers about 300 years ago, this book is challenging because the author delves into his close relationship with the Lord. He discusses in depth the minute-by-minute communion he has learned to cultivate over years of abiding with God.

The Amazon.com description of this book says, in part, "Here is one of the most beautiful and touching stories of Christian devotion ever written. Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite Brother known for his profound peace and deep relationship with God; many came to seek spiritual guidance from him. The wisdom that he passed on to them, in conversations and in letters, would later become the basis for the book."

One of my favorite quotes from the book reads, "It is not enough to know God as a theory, from what we read in books, or feel some fleeting motions of affection for Him, brief as the wave of feeling, or glimpse of the Divine, which prompts them; our faith must be alive, and we must make it so, and by its means lift ourselves beyond all these passing emotions to worship the Father and Jesus Christ in all their divine perfection."

I recommend that you buy this book and plan to read it over the span of about a month. Brother Lawrence delves into some deep ideas that can't be fully comprehended quickly. It would be a good book to read as part of a daily devotional time. The chapters are short, which makes it easy to just read a little each day. This book will challenge you to walk closely with the Lord every minute of the day.

The second book is Thabiti Anyabwile's What is a Healthy Church Member? This is part of a series of short texts put out by IX Marks Ministries.

I'm surprised to watch myself write this, but I was a bit disappointed with this book. The reason is simple: it seems like a rehashing of a book that was already published - Mark Dever's Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. It is understandable why this all happened. Anyabwile used to serve at Capitol Hill Baptist Church with Dever. Also, this book is designed to follow in the same line of thought as the first Nine Marks book. If I had never read Dever's book, then I think Anyabwile's book would have been more interesting.

In What is a Healthy Church Member?, Anyabwile takes each of the nine marks of a healthy church, and and places it squarely on each church member. He looks at the church member as he ought to relate to preaching, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, discipline, discipleship, etc. The content and writing style are both good, but as I was reading this book I felt like I already knew what was coming on the next page.

Because of its short length (about 120 pages), this would be a good book for any church member to read - even those who don't normally like to pick up a book. It might help some Christians better think through what it means to be a member of a church. However, if you have already read the previous Nine Marks book, then don't bother with this one.

"The End of Reason"

In his latest book, Christian theologian and apologist Ravi Zacharias refutes the secular-humanist worldview. In particular, Zacharias responds to atheist Sam Harris' book entitled Letter to a Christian Nation.

I appreciate Zacharias because he is extremely gifted at seeing through the illogical arguments of those who attack the Christian faith. In The End of Reason, he shows the weaknesses of the atheistic positions held by men like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens.

For example, on page 30 Zacharias writes, "As you well know, everyone has a worldview. A worldview basically offers answers to four necessary questions - questions that relate to origin, meaning, morality, and hope that assures a destiny. These answers must be correspondingly true and, as a whole, coherent." Zacharias then goes on to clearly show how the atheistic worldview offers no satisfying answers to any of the above four aspects of worldview.

Toward the very end of this book (pages 126-127), Zacharias makes an interesting statement. He writes, "Secularism simply does not have the sustaining or moral power to stop Islam. Even now, Europe is demonstrating that its secular worldview - one that Harris applauds - cannot stand against the onslaught of Islam and is already in demise. In the end, America's choice will be between Islam and Jesus Christ."

I highly recommend this book for several reasons. First, it shows the reader where the atheistic-secularists stand in this country. Second, it clearly lays out the emptiness of the atheistic worldview and arguments. Third, it is a relatively quick and easy read (only 128 pages). Finally, it helps the Christian be strengthened in his faith.

This book would be beneficial for any Christian.

"Boy Meets Girl"

I recently finished reading Joshua Harris' book entitled Boy Meets Girl. Since this book flows against the grain of modern views about dating, it was both challenging and interesting to read.

Ever since reading Harris' previous book (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), I have been thinking about what responsibilities Christian parents have in guiding their children toward a godly marriage. To make it personal, I have a 14-year-old daughter who I want to guide and assist in honoring the Lord as she moves toward marriage (if that is what God has for her).

I have come to the conclusion that the modern concept of dating is nothing more than unbiblical divorce practice. Although dating cannot be supported by anything at all in the bible, most churched-people go right along with secular America in accepting this practice. Some Christians even get angry in defending their children's right to date. I can't figure it out.

Alice and I hope to convince all our children that courting is the biblical model and what honors God. Courting, if done well, honors God by keeping both the young man and woman pure while they purposely get to know one another. By acting this way, if they do get married they will have no regrets. If they do not get married, then they will be able to part ways knowing that they have honored the Lord and each other as brother and sister in Christ.

Boy Meets Girl was wonderful for me to read because it confirmed for me that what Alice and I are trying to do is being done by others and has great results. This book is Harris' own story of his courtship of his wife, Shannon. It was so refreshing to read about a young couple who put the Lord first in the way they treated one another.

This is what Harris says about his book on his website: "I wrote Boy Meets Girl the year after I was married. It was a great chance to answer many of the questions that were raised by my first book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. I know the last thing most singles want is more rules and, in Boy Meets Girl, I wanted to offer an alternative: an intentional, God-pleasing game plan for finding a future spouse. In the book, I discuss how biblical courtship (a healthy, joyous alternative to recreational dating) worked for me and my wife Shannon, to give an encouraging and practical example for readers wanting to pursue the possibility of marriage with someone they're serious about. This updated version includes a new foreword, a new chapter, an all-new '8 Great Courtship Conversations' section, and some updated material throughout."

I strongly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to parents. Courtship is a practice that all our families and churches should begin to promote as a biblical alternative to dating.

One of the Signs of Homeschooling - Lots of Books

What you see at the left is a badly taken photo (I took it with my phone) of a stack of books that I just returned to the local library. Under normal circumstances this is not my duty, but since my family drove to New York State on Thursday, the job of returning the books fell to me.

My wife, my mother, and my three kids are spending about two weeks up north. First, they will hang out at my uncle's cabin on Seneca Lake, and then they will visit with Alice's parents near Adirondack Park. I could have gone with them, but I decided to remain here to focus on my new ministry at Chevis Oaks Baptist Church.

When I first saw the stack of books pictured above, I was a bit shocked. However, I then began to think about just how much our children read. Caroline (age 14), Mary (11), and Bobby (9) seem to almost always have a book in their hands. They read about a wide range of topics. Beyond the books they read for school, they spend quite a bit of time simply reading for pleasure. While the girls tend to read quite a bit of historical fiction, Bobby's focus is more on knights, castles, and various adventures.

For whatever reason, when I was a child I did not enjoy reading very much. I'm not sure why this is. Part of the blame probably stems from the structure of the school system. When you have to read books that everyone else is reading because it is part of the school's required curriculum, you end up reading a lot of stories that don't seem interesting at all. Also, when reading = homework, it's not very fun.

Homeschooling naturally lends itself to a love of reading. This happens for several reasons. First, reading takes place at home, where life is more comfortable and less stressful than the institutional school setting. Our kids can read while sitting on their beds if they want to. Second, the books we choose for their curriculum are books we know they will be interested in. Our kids don't have to be squeezed into some sort of pre-selected state or county curriculum. Third, because our kids like the books they have to read for school, they want to read more books outside of school. These are the ones that come from and get returned to the library all the time.

When I arrived at college, the reading load almost overwhelmed me at the beginning. I would generally try to get through the day by reading as few pages as possible (that all changed at seminary). Since Caroline, who was in 9th grade this past school year, was required to read 50-70 pages each day for school, and then chose to read many more simply for pleasure, the reading load in college will not be much of a challenge.

Our kids aren't out of the ordinary. This is fairly typical for kids educated at home.

I'm hoping that all three kids carry their love of reading throughout their lives. There is no reason to think they won't, for which I am very pleased. The main reason I'm happy about this is that God has revealed Himself to us primarily through the bible. As you know, the bible is a literary work. When we approach it that way, and read it regularly, we get to know God better and better. This is what I want for my kids more than anything else.

Southern Baptists - More Diverse than You Might Think

Southern Baptists are such a large group (supposedly around 16 million, but the real figure is much smaller), that after you get beyond the basics of the gospel, there is much diversity within SBC beliefs and practices.

I was recently looking at Ed Stetzer's blog, where he mentions David Dockery's conclusions about different groups within the SBC. I'm not sure whether or not I completely agree with Dockery, but what he has to say is interesting to think about.

In Dockery’s new book, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal (which I have not yet read but would like to), he lists seven different groups of conservative Southern Baptists:

Fundamentalists: hard-lined people who often have more in common with “independent” Baptists than with the SBC heritage.

Revivalists: true heirs of the Sandy Creek tradition, including their suspicion of education.

Traditionalists: heirs of the Sandy Creek theology, including the strong commitment to evangelism and revivalism, but affirming of education.

Orthodox Evangelicals: an irenic group that looked to Carl F. H. Henry and Billy Graham as models. This group wanted a theological course correction, a commitment to the full truthfulness of the Bible, serious intellectual and cultural engagement, while interacting with all who would claim to great orthodox Christian tradition.

Calvinists: a group that wanted to reclaim aspects of the “Charleston” theological tradition. They have much in common with the “Evangelical” group above. Sub-groups include “Nine Marks,” “Sovereign Grace,” “Founders,” and others. Most among this group no longer tend toward isolation as in years past.

Contemporary church practitioners: a group of pastors who wanted to find new ways to connect with the culture, resulting in new models for doing church, including “Willow Creek Models,” “Saddleback Models,” “Missional,” and even some “emergent church types.”

Culture Warriors: another group of conservatives who desire to engage the issues of culture and society. This group includes a variety of approaches including “church over culture,” “church transforming culture,” as well as “church and culture / social justice types.”

If you have spent any time reading this blog, you can probably guess which above group I fall into (HINT: it starts "C-A-L"). However, I also have some leanings toward the "traditionalists" and "orthodox evangelicals." I have no interest whatsoever in the "contemporary church practitioners."

With this much diversity in the convention, it seems to me that we need to simplify what we stand for (in other words, why do we have a convention in the first place?). As I have said before, the only reason I see for the SBC is missions. As a convention, we ought to work together to take the gospel to all parts of the globe.

The local church can do the rest on its own.

Walking from East to West

Most people, including myself, enjoy reading biographies. I'm not sure why this is, but I think it's because God has programmed us to like stories. Jesus certainly taught many great truths using parables, which are basically stories with a significant meaning.

I would probably rather read a biography than anything else. I just completed an autobiography that was well worth the read. Walking from East to West is the story of Ravi Zacharias' life from his humble beginnings in India to his current status as one of the leading evangelical apologists in the world.

This book had an attraction for me for two reasons. First, since we lived in India for four months, we have a heart for the people and culture there. In this book, Zacharias talks much about what it was like to grow up in Chennai (Madras) and then move to Delhi. He describes exactly what we saw - a country full of contradictions. India is at the same time moving forward as a technological power and stumbling along with many of its people in poverty.

The second reason I wanted to read this text is that Ravi is an amazing thinker. He is not afraid to ask and answer difficult questions for Christians. In this book, he discusses the way God took him from an unbeliever to a young preacher to a leading apologist. It is an amazing story of the sovereign hand of God over the life of a simple Indian man.

In my opinion, the best part about this book is that although Zacharias is world-renowned, he writes as if he is constantly amazed that God has used him as He has. This is not a show, but seems to be authentic humility. Ravi spends the first half of the book discussing his life in India prior to the family's move to Toronto. It is inspiring to read about how God used various circumstances to draw Ravi to Himself.

The second half focuses on the transition to life in North America, his rise as a preacher, his travels around the world, and his current ministry (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries). On the way, Zacharias has run in to many interesting people who have given their lives (some literally) completely to the service of the Lord.

Reading this book was both exciting and challenging. It was exciting to see how God is willing to take someone from nowhere and use him greatly for His kingdom. It was challenging because the book shows people who were willing to obey God no matter what the cost and no matter whether or not it made sense to them at the time.

I recommend this book because it is enjoyable to read, it is edifying for those who have faith in Christ Jesus, and because it causes the reader to ask himself whether or not he has given himself completely to God.