Young, Restless, and No Longer Reformed is about Austin Fischer. No matter what the author’s intent was, it is hardly a book about theology and is very much a work arising from Fischer’s feeling that he has far more to say and . . . Continue reading →
As I emerged out of Southern Baptist evangelicalism in 1980–81 John Stott and J. I. Packer were two of the most influential writers in my journey out of Baptist evangelicalism. Hitherto my theological staples had been things on the order of Navigators Bible study materials and Rosalind Rinker’s book on hearing voices from God. I am not entirely sure how I found Stott’s Basic Christianity and Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Back then we had a Christian bookstore downtown, where I mostly bought contemporary Christian records (e.g., Larry Norman and Barry McGuire). Perhaps the manager directed me to them? Those books were a Godsend. They were thoughtful, intelligent, gracious and thoroughly evangelical in the best sense of the word. They were gospel books. They pointed me away from myself and my experience and toward Christ. In the summer of 1981 Packer’s Knowing God was a major influence in my embrace of Reformed theology, piety, and practice. Continue reading →
Up to chapter four, Gordon has focused on the form of preaching. But at this point he turns to questions of content. He says, “In addition to the cultural matters that have concerned me throughout, I also believe that preaching today fails . . . Continue reading →
I am a fan of T. David Gordon. He writes well. He speaks plainly. He does not mince words. With some writers, it is quite possible for five people to read them and come away with five different conclusions about what the . . . Continue reading →
Recently, I have been removing a large stump from my back yard. The task has required more than one tool at different phases of the process. At times, I need a chainsaw to get deep cuts on certain sections. Other times, I . . . Continue reading →
Books on New Testament theology are often stale and lack depth of real theological analysis. I have regularly felt that when biblical studies attempt to do theology, the fruit is either obvious or seriously off track. Against this backdrop, Matthew Harmon’s exploration . . . Continue reading →
The church has had pastors since our very beginning. Although that observation may seem obvious, we may yet overlook the important point that the pastoral craft is very ancient. We likely often envision the pastoral role only in terms of our modern . . . Continue reading →
Whenever someone introduces himself to me as a worship pastor, my standard response is, “Me too.” Inevitably, my reply prompts inquiry about how I lead worship. So, I explain that I call the church to worship, I pray a lot, I read . . . Continue reading →
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When the strongest criticism I can make of a book is that the author used an obscure word (complexify, 45) that says something about the strength of a work.1 Let me say at the outset, I really like this book. This is . . . Continue reading →
Myles Coverdale (1488–1569) was a champion of the Word of God in sixteenth-century Europe, especially in England. He translated the Word, preached it, embraced new insights into its meaning vis-à-vis justification by faith alone, rejection of Christ’s physical presence in the Lord’s . . . Continue reading →
Girolamo Zanchi (1516–90) is certainly not a household name in Christian circles. He was very well known among seventeenth-century Reformed Christians, however. For just one example, Puritan Thomas Goodwin wrote that Zanchi was “the best of Protestant Writers.”1 So why are many Reformed . . . Continue reading →
Leadership comes with the territory of pastoral ministry. The trouble is that we do not always embrace it as a reality. It can be hard to see how the obviously distinct aspects of the pastoral call fit alongside normal assumptions about leadership . . . Continue reading →
Can we learn anything from the disputes between two seventeenth-century theologians in England, John Owen and Richard Baxter? In this book, Tim Cooper makes the case that we can. And if we can, there are few better-qualified guides than Dr. Cooper. Extensively . . . Continue reading →
To say that this is a lifetime’s work by an elite historical theologian may be an understatement. Professor R. Scott Clark, who has taught Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary in California for decades, has been working on this project for decades. He . . . Continue reading →
As a minister who has the privilege of serving the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis, I would love for more Christians to grow in their appreciation and understanding of what it is, what it does, and why we should want it . . . Continue reading →
Eschatology is one of those perennially discussed (and often debated) topics in Christian theology that, in my estimation, can often miss the main point by getting caught in the details. Usually, the first question it prompts is about what someone’s view of . . . Continue reading →
Among the sins you and I both have wrestled with is the sin of unjust anger. When faced with injury or injustice—whether real or perceived, whether against our person, someone else, or some group of people—we have been moved to respond in . . . Continue reading →
As advocates of the Presuppositional approach to apologetics remind us ad infinitum, no one is neutral epistemologically. That is true enough. We must not, however, draw the fallacious inference that no one is objective. That does not follow. In Histories and Fallacies . . . Continue reading →
Another book on worship? Well, yes. Though there seems to be a perennially voluminous output on the topic of worship (at least from among the Reformed and Presbyterian wing of Christendom), nevertheless, debates and disagreements on worship seem to persist. Beyond the . . . Continue reading →
The recent resurgence of classical Trinitarianism has borne tremendous fruit in bringing the reality of who God is to bear in the church’s ministry and proclamation. Even in confessionally Reformed circles where subscription vows have at least maintained a background fidelity to . . . Continue reading →