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Book Reviews by Darrell Ferguson
A Thirst For God: Reflections of the Forty-second and Forty-third Pslams
Sherwood Eliot Wirt 168 pages
These reflections I found slightly helpful in thinking through these Psalms, but mostly Wirt just uses each phrase in the psalm as a springboard to discuss the topic of that phrase. I lost interest in the book about 2/3 of the way through.
Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave
Edward Welch 285 pages
Helpful book on the topic of addictions. The focus in more on especially severe addictions, so if a person struggles with an enslaving sin that isn’t life-dominating, he may come away from this book failing to appreciate the seriousness of his sin. But for those in life-dominating enslavement to a sin, this is an excellent resource. Welch includes help for caregivers and friends of addicts as well.
Age of Opportunity
Paul Tripp 289 pages
Paul Tripp is the brother of Tedd Tripp (author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart), and so it’s not surprise that his approach is very similar. Age of Opportunity takes the principle of shepherding the heart and applies it to raising teenagers. Simply using punishments and rewards to modify behavior falls infinitely short of the mark of good parenting. This book gives great insight on how to raise godly, free moral agents whose faith will be strong by the time they move out of the house. I can’t recommend this book strongly enough for parents of teens or children who are approaching their teen years.
At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry
Steve Gallagher 294 pages
I’m not sure I would recommend the beginning of this book. In an effort to relate to the struggles men face, Gallagher describes various sexual sins in ways that could potentially increase temptation in the minds of men who struggle with lust. The most helpful chapters are ch.12-17, where he gives solutions.
A few minor concerns – on p.202 he seems to confuse repentance with victory. He describes a situation where a man who is remorseful but continues to stumble, and suggests that his ongoing stumbling shows a lack of repentance. He also holds to a view of demonic atmospheres, where demons of certain sins dominate a particular area (p.231). And on p.257, he makes a point about how love involves serving, regardless of emotion. That is true, but I think he goes too far in understating the importance of emotion. A man should serve his wife, but he should also take delight in her and have desire for her.
The most helpful principle I found in the book was his point about how lust is selfishness. When a lustful temptation arises, remind yourself that it would be selfishness, and think about what you can do to serve someone. If nothing else, pray for someone.
Overall, I think there are more helpful books on the topic of sexual purity. I recommend Finally Free by Heath Lambert.
Biblical Eldership
Alexander Strauch 324 pages
This important book is a masterful exposition of all the major passages in Scripture on eldership. Strauch’s exegesis is accurate and comprehensive, and his writing is edifying and motivating.
Strauch has marshaled the most powerful argument for Elder rule imaginable. For anyone who has any doubt, this book removes any possibility of any Biblical argument for any other form of church government. But he does far more than just argue for elder rule. He also provides detailed instruction on the elders’ job description.
This is an important book for everyone to read, as it will help you in selecting a good church as well as in understanding your pastor/elders. If you have any interest at all in eldership, this book is absolutely essential. There is also a workbook that can be used for training elders.
The Book on Leadership
John MacArthur 210 pages
John MacArthur is one of the key leaders in the Church worldwide today. This book is mostly a summary of what he learned about leadership in his study of 2 Corinthians and in his experience as a church leader over the past 40 years. He briefly develops 26 characteristics of a good leader. It isn’t the most helpful thing I’ve ever read from MacArthur, but there are definitely some worthwhile principles.
Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
Ed Stetzer and David Putman 240 pages
I do not recommend this book. It is dominated by typical seeker philosophies. Throughout the book success is equated with numerical expansion, and it is assumed that very few Evangelical churches are compromising the Gospel. Churches like Saddleback (or any other large or growing churches) are set forth as exemplary.
Brokeness, the Heart God Revives
Nancy Leigh DeMoss 157 pages
This little gift-book could be read in one sitting, and there are some very good insights. Chapter 4 on how to discover pride in your heart I found especially helpful – very convicting.
There are many questionable interpretations in this book, however. The vast majority of her assertions are not supported by Scripture. I would only recommend this book to the most discerning of readers. The assertions she makes are so well-stated and sound so good, there is a great temptation even for the discerning reader to assume them to be true just because she says them. The only people who should read this book are the ones who know how to spot that, and who have the discernment and self-discipline to differentiate between a principle that comes out of Scripture and a wonderful sounding idea that came from human reasoning.
Called to the Ministry
Edmund P. Clowney 90 pages
The first half of the book is about God’s general calling on all believers, summarizing the concept of calling in Scripture. The second half is about the calling to pastoral ministry. Pastoral ministry is not a ministry of high rank, but rather of high responsibility in servant hood. All authority derives from Christ. The work is primarily the ministry of the Word, but also includes leadership, oversight, mercy ministries, evangelism, etc. The various titles for an overseer point to the wide variety of gifts required for the work. The final chapter, “Clear Calling,” is the portion I found most helpful. The primary point of that section is that each one is responsible to use the gifts that he has received. If a person has been gifted for pastoral ministry, then the church should recognize that and he should use those gifts and service to the church. We are not permitted to neglect our gifts, but are rather commanded to fan them into flame.
The Christian Counselor’s Manual
Jay Adams 463 pages
This is the best book I know of on the specifics of an official counseling ministry. It goes a long way in showing the value of official counseling ministry (as opposed to the unofficial capacity of counseling that all believers are called to). The book is loaded with good exegesis and practical applications for counseling – an invaluable resource. I don’t agree with everything, which is to be expected in a 463 page book that addresses dozens of the most controversial and difficult issues we deal with (I disagreed the most with the chapter on anger), however I still highly recommend this book. It is useful not only for counseling, but for simply learning principles of living the Christian life. Few books will teach you more about how to live as a Christian than this volume.
Christian Ethics: Options and Issues
Norman Geisler 310 pages
This book is readable and interesting and has some very helpful insights into ethical issues. I don’t agree with all his views, but that is to be expected for any book that address the most controversial of issues. I found it to be among the most helpful of books I’ve read on ethics.
The Complete Husband
Lou Priolo 293 pages
I found this book very helpful. It’s much more engaging and readable and less textbook-like than The Exemplary Husband. The Exemplary Husband is a great overview of what Scripture says to husbands. This book is not nearly as comprehensive, but it is much better on the practical application side. It’s loaded with very helpful ideas on how to be a better husband. Particularly helpful are all the lists he gives. For example, in one list he gives over 100 ideas for ways to express love to your wife. If you photocopy that list and have your wife check the things that mean a lot to her, and you check the things you think would mean a lot to her, it can be quite eye-opening.
Priolo’s exegesis is a little bit shaky in a few places, but generally speaking the content is much more sound than what you get in most marriage type books that are on the Christian market. I highly recommend this book.
Connecting: The mentoring relationships you need to succeed in life
Paul D. Stanley and J. Robert Clinton 232 pages
I found this book to be extremely helpful in thinking through the concept of mentoring. Most people have kind of a narrow concept of mentoring. This book broadens the per spective, describing seven different kinds of mentoring that range from the more deliberate and intensive (such as what he refers to as discipler, spiritual guide or coach) to the more passive and less deliberate, such as someone who is simply a good model.
For each type he gives lots of examples, specifies when they are most helpful, and describes both how to be that kind of mentor and how to respond to that kind of mentor.
A couple weaknesses of the book are:
* questionable theology in the section on discipleship. He seems to think that not all Christians are disciples – an error of the “anti-lordship” movement.
* Most of the examples in the book have to do with mentoring outside the Church. It would have been more helpful to have more material on spiritual mentoring within the Church.
* The authors seem to be more influenced by psychology than by biblical counseling.
COMMENTARIES
EPHESIANS
The Letter to the Ephesians by Peter T. O’Brien 495 pages
Over the past 2 years studying the book of Ephesians, I’ve been using over 20 commentaries. This one is the best. It is a scholarly commentary, yet very readable for the average person. If you were to buy just one commentary on Ephesians, I would recommend this one.
Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary by Harold W. Hoehner 878 pages
At 878 pages, this commentary is a beast. But when you are struggling to understand a passage, you want more, not less. If you had this and O’Brien’s volume, you would have an excellent chance at understanding most of the passsages in Ephesians.
Ephesians by Ernest Best 660 pages
Best is a liberal who doesn’t know who wrote the book of Ephesians, and his work is somewhat technical, although most people could understand it if they took it slow enough. As helpful as many of the other commentaries were, I include this one as the third that I would recommend because Best does such a good job on the exegesis. Knowing what I know now, if I had to start over again studying Ephesians and could only have one commentary, I think I would choose this one. As frustrating as his liberalism is, there were a number of times when it was this volume that enabled me to understand a passage that I still didn’t understand after reading the other commentaries.
The rest of the commentaries, in the order I would recommend them, are as follows:
F.F. Bruce (NICNT) Very brief, but reliable and helpful
Meyer Extremely technical and difficult to read, but accurate
Graham This is an exegetical summary of all the other commentaries. It’s very helpful for getting an overview of all the commentators’ views.
Lloyd Jones Jones writes a whole sermon on each phrase. His commentary is 6 volumes. It is very edifying reading – if you have the time.
Lenski Always a good commentator. Very readable, yet scholarly.
Boice A book of his sermons. Good for applications.
Hughes Same as Boice – a book of sermons.
Hendriksen Whenever I lend someone my commentaries, this is always their favorite.
Lincoln - Technical, difficult to use, but some helpful things.
Hodge – Moderately helpful
Not helpful:
Snodgrass (NIV application commentary)
Abbott (old ICC)
Calvin
Moule
Liefeld (IVP)
Patzia (NIBC)
Richie (What the Bible Teaches)
Wuest
Barth
Morris
Findlay
Wood (Expositors)
The Cross Centered Life
C.J. Mahaney 85 pages
This little gift book can be read in one sitting. It’s about like reading through three of my sermon manuscripts. I have great respect for C.J. Mahaney, although I didn’t find this work especially helpful. I definitely agree with the premise of majoring on the centrality of the Gospel. But a much more helpful book on that subject is Piper’s “The Passion of Jesus Christ.”
Mahaney’s discussion of legalism raises more questions than it answers and fails to explain the appropriate place for understanding that God can be pleased or displeased by how we live. I also got the impression that Mahaney’s view of what the Gospel is is somewhat more narrow than Paul’s. Another problem is an overly limited view of the purpose of the Old Testament, which he portrays as speaking primarily about the cross. His view seems to me to imply that the actual readers of the Old Testament would not have been able to interpret the main point of it.
The Deliberate Church: Building your Ministry on the Gospel
Mark Dever & Paul Alexander 202 pages
Mark Dever is known for his excellent book, The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. The Deliberate Church is designed to help pastors move from a less biblical approach to the approach described in Nine Marks. Many practical steps are offered for how to make needed changes. I found the book loaded with many practical gems for how to administrate the church.
The Disciple–Making Pastor: Leading Others on the Journey of Faith
Bill Hull 313 pages
This is the most helpful book I’ve read so far on the topic of discipleship. The author lays out a case for the importance of discipleship, the definition of a disciple, and a very specific program modeled after Jesus’ approach with the 12 for how to produce disciples. The model he laid out include some tips on discipleship that I found very helpful.
The book does have some weaknesses. It seemed to me very repetitive at some points. And the discussion about not all Christians being disciples on pp. 74–76 sounded like it was straight out of a book arguing against lordship salvation (although the author does include a statement commending John MacArthur for the book The Gospel According to Jesus).
Directions for Daily Communion with God
Matthew Henry 163 pages
The best book on Fellowship with God that I have read. The books is small; you could read it in an afternoon – but don’t. Take enough time to implement the principles. If you want to turn your prayer life into communion and intimacy with God life, this book is for you.
Elect in the Son
Robert Shank 239 pages
This volume was written as a companion volume for Shanks earlier work, Life in the Son, which defends the view that true believers can fall away. Shank’s treatment of election is thourough and well-researched, as he interacts extensively with Calvin, Berkouwer and other Reformed writers. Of the three major views of election; Calvinist (unconditional particular election), Arminian (election based on God’s foreseeing faith) and class election (God chooses the Church as a category unconditionally, but chooses individuals to populate the Church conditionally), Shank defends class election. While many of his arguments are good, he fails to deal adequatly with the fact that his system places man above God as the ultimate determiner of his destiny. In a few places Shank misunderstands or caracatures Calvin, but mostly his representation of Calvin is helpful as he quotes him at length.
Every Man’s Battle
Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker w/ Mike Yorkey 224 pages
While there are some biblical principles, mostly this book is comprised of practical tips on how a man can achieve a higher level of purity in the thought life. I still recommend it though. The book is very helpful in its description of what the goal should be for men regarding their eyes and thoughts. I think it is also a good book for women to read, so they can better understand the struggle for men. There is a section at the end of each chapter written from a woman’s point of view.
Face to Face
Kenneth Boa 324 pages
This book is designed to be read over the course of 3 months. Each day there is a list of Scriptures that are placed into the second person so they address God. So, for example, Galatians 3:21 goes from “Are the promises opposed to God’s law? to “Are the promises opposed to Your law O God?” The purpose of the book is to enable the reader to pray the ideas of Scripture to God. I found this to be a wonderful boost to my prayer life. I have enjoyed a depth in my prayers far greater than what they were like before. I highly recommend this book.
Famine in the Land
Steven Lawson 120 pages
Originally published as a series of articles in the DTS journal, this is a passionate call for expository preaching. If you are trying to explain to someone what expository preaching is and why it’s important, this little book might be a good tool.
Finally Free
Heath Lambert 174 pages
This is probably the most helpful book on overcoming enslavement to pornography that I have read. Lambert begins by laying a foundation of grace, and then suggests 8 strategies for fighting lust:
1) Sorrow
2) Accountability
3) Radical Measures
4) Confession
5) Your spouse (or your singleness)
6) Humility
7) Gratitude
8) Desire for nearness to Christ
Fool’s Gold?
Edited by John MacArthur pages
This book is a compilation of articles written about some fads in Christian culture that require discernment. In the first section John MacArthur provides a call for biblical discernment and examines the devastating consequences of a watered-down message to the church. The second section ("Practicing Discernment in your Local Bookstore") examines The Purpose Driven Life, What Saint Paul Really Said, (a book about the “New Perspective on Paul”), Wild at Heart and The Revolve New Testament Bible-zine. The third section ("Practicing Discernment in your Local Church") covers issues in contemporary worship music, altar calls, the American-Christian approach to politics and the consumer mindset. The book wraps up with an examination of "hills to die on" - a doctrinal framework for developing discernment, and a practical plan for personal discernment. This book is an excellent introduction to the importance of biblical discernment. I highly recommend it.
Four Views on Eternal Security
edited by Matthew Pinson 281 pages
This book offers the following 4 views:
1. Classical Calvinism
This view reasons from the classical understanding of TULIP (Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace and Perseverance of the saints) that the idea of a true Christian falling away does not fit logically with those doctrines.
2. Moderate Calvinism
This is Normal Geisler’s view, which is really much more Arminian than Calvinistic. He re-defines the doctrines of TULIP in a decidedly Arminian way, and rejects the perseverance of the saints doctrine altogether, arguing that true believers can and do fall away, but they go to heaven nonetheless.
3. Reformed Arminianism
This view takes the Calvinistic interpretation of total depravity and the Arminian understanding of election (God elects based on what He knows man will decide), and concludes that apostasy is possible for the true believer, and when it happens, the person is forever lost.
4. Wesleyan Arminianism
This view rejects total depravity in favor of the view that prevenient grace makes it possible for all men to decide to be saved without any special internal drawing by God. In this view, salvation is lost when sin is serious enough or goes without being confessed long enough.
I did not like the approach of any of the four writers, because they all began with the theological system, and argued logically from that system. A much better approach is to develop the doctrine about apostasy from the warning passages themselves, and let the theological chips fall where they may. My view is not represented in the book. (I agree in essence with the Classical Calvinism view about God’s sovereignty in salvation, but I do not reason from that that apostasy is impossible.) I did not find the book helpful.
From Creation to the Cross
Albert Baylis 377 pages
I’ve read a few Bible survey books and this is the only one I’ve ever read that was actually interesting reading. This book is very interesting reading and hard to put down. Baylis not only does a great job summarizing the message of each book of the Bible, he includes practical application so the book also has devotional value. I highly recommend it.
Fun Loving You
Ted Cunningham 217 pages
The main point of this book is that by having fun together, you can strengthen love for one another. Most of the book is devoted to suggestions for how to have fun together. I did find some of his suggestions hepful. The 52 conversation starters on pp.97-100 is especially helpful to me. On balance, however, I would not recommend this book. It is too focused on temporal things in my opinion. There is so much focus on food, travel, money, and luxury that it has the effect of making the reader see those things as the source of happiness, rather than forsaking those things in favor of Christ as our treasure. There is really very little in the book about spiritual or eternal things. There is some mention of Christ, but the values tend to be decidedly temporal throughout. It’s always dreams about vacations and 5-star hotels, not ministry or fellowship with God. His use of the Song of Songs is, in my judgment, questionable in several places – forcing a meaning that I don’t believe is actually in the text.
Future Grace
John Piper
The purpose of this book was to take the principles in Desiring God and the Pleasures of God and show how they can be applied in a practical way in day to day Christian living – overcoming anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness, bitterness, depression, and lust. I found this book extremely helpful and I highly recommend it.
The Game Plan
Joe Dallas 222 pages
Joe Dallas, a man who has had serious moral failures, now has a more than 20-year track record of purity. He has written a manual designed to enable men to gain victory over their struggle with sexual sin and establish a life pattern that will enable long-term victory. The book has some excellent principles combined with a few psychological theories. The most disappointing chapter is the one on boundaries, which buys in to a bit of a worldly view of self-protection. Nevertheless, I recommend the book as the best of the books I have read on the subject of sexual purity (although for anyone struggling with that or any other enslaving sin I would recommend Piper’s Future Grace even more).
The Glory of Christ
John Owen 281 pages
John Own is considered by many to be among the most profound of the puritan writers, and this work was written at the end of his life. He is also known to be among the most difficult writers to read. This book does not disappoint on either count. The parts I could understand were very profound and enlightening, but much of it I was not able to follow. I highly recommend the book for those who are good readers. It is worth the hard work. Owen’s thesis is that all our spiritual health and growth comes from beholding Christ’s glory.
Gospel Treason: Betraying the Gospel with Hidden Idols
Brad Bigney
If you struggle with anger, or anxiety, or depression, or worry, or envy, or fear, or if you have any marriage or relationship struggles - I strongly recommend that you read this book or listen to the 9 sermons it came from (especially the first 3). This is the best teaching on idols of the heart I've ever heard. I would love it if everyone in my church read this book. It would certainly make my job as a pastor a whole lot easier.
I do, however, have two points of disagreement with the book. Bigney At one point later in the series he says that when we make idols of good desires (like ministry or your spouse), the problem is that you desire that thing too much. I disagree. I think the problem isn't desiring it too much, but rather having desire terminate on that thing, rather than enjoying that thing as an expression of God's love.
For example, imagine a couple that is newly married, and the wife wants to express her love to her husband, so when he arrives home from work she has his favorite meal prepared for him. He sees the meal, interprets it exactly for the expression of love that it is, and it brings him to tears. He gives his wife a huge hug and kiss.
Now imagine that 20 years later the marriage has gone downhill. Now he comes home, sees the meal, and sits down to eat without so much as saying hello to his wife or even acknowledging that she's in the room. He scarfs it down, thoroughly enjoys it, and the only thing he says to his wife is, "Go make me some dessert."
What is the problem? Is it that he enjoys the meal too much and needs to learn to enjoy it less? No. The problem is he is enjoying it the wrong way. His desire terminates on the food rather than using the food to enjoy his wife's love. In the first case, when he enjoyed the meal the right way, it was good that he enjoyed it a lot. In fact, when he enjoys it that way, the more he enjoys it the better.
So when we make idols out of good things like marriage or ministry, the problem is not that we desire those things too much. The problem is we desire them the wrong way - we are looking to those things as joy sources rather than expressions of God's love. So our enjoyment in enjoyment of those things rather than enjoyment of God through those things.
My second critique has to do with the problem of making an idol out of the approval of others. The solution Bigney offers is that of realizing I have God’s love and approval. I don’t need others to affirm me, because God affirms me.
There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying God’s approval and affirmation and love. We most definitely should do that. But we need to be careful about why we seek that approval. Is it to validate our self-importance, or is it to enjoy God’s love?
If my biggest goal is self-importance, then it’s no great virtue for me to pursue that goal through God’s affirmation rather than human affirmation. Either way, my desire terminates on me being important. Much greater joy is to be found in me being lost in the crowd and enjoying God’s importance. If I give up my desire to be on stage and receive all the shouts and applause, and I prefer instead to be one of the shouting, clapping fans who is thrilled by what he is watching on the stage (God), I will be much happier.
In Romans 12:3 we are given the solution to pride: each one must think of himself in accordance with the measure of faith given him. That means my importance depends on how much I trust in God. My importance is not based on how much others think I’m worth, and not even so much on how much I’m worth to God, but rather on how much God is worth to me. Whoever values God the highest – that’s the greatest soul.
Imagine a group of chefs who all desire fame. And they know that the best way to become famous is to win the “Chef of the year” award from the world’s greatest chef. So they all go to his school. But that great chef cares about these people and he knows that there is no real happiness in achieving fame. It promises happiness, but doesn’t deliver. It just makes your life hard. And what he wants is for them to be truly happy. So here’s what he does: He sets up the chef of the year award so that the only way to win it is by enjoying his cooking. Every night he makes these amazing dinners. And if a student will show up to those dinners, and learn how to appreciate all the amazing flavors, that person is rewarded. Each person is hooked up to a meter that can detect pleasure sensations in the body. Whoever reaches the highest levels of pleasure while eating the great chef’s food, wins the chef of the year award. That way, the great chef knows that each chef will be striving for greater and greater enjoyment, and will go away happy and satisfied (rather than having all the disappointment that goes with becoming famous and then realizing that it doesn’t satisfy).
When I find the idol in my heart of the craving to have people make much of me (to be famous in their sight), the solution is not to turn that desire toward God so that God will make much of me. That won’t work. First, because I know that God loves and accepts all His children, so His loving and accepting me won’t satisfy my desire to be famous or to be on stage receiving applause. The solution is for me to change my focus from desiring the joy of being applauded, to the much greater joy of applauding a spectacularly wonderful thing – the glory and goodness and beauty of God. Just as people pay money at a theater, not to stand in front of the audience but to be in it; or they pay money for a concert not to be on stage but to enjoy what is on stage – so we must exchange our desire to be affirmed for the enjoyment of affirming that which is truly marvelous.
Greek for the Rest of Us by William Mounce
William Mounce
This is what Mounce calls a “baby Greek” course. The object is to teach enough Greek to enable the average Christian to be a much better interpreter of Scripture and to understand the scholarly commentaries. The main difference between baby Greek and a regular first year Greek class is the baby Greek approach doesn’t require the memorization of the word endings or vocabulary. In fact, the only memorization required is in chapter one where he tells you to memorize the Greek alphabet.
I recommend this book very highly. Mounce is an outstanding Greek scholar and Bible commentator, and in this book he covers not only the basics of Greek, but also the basics of hermeneutics and a great introduction to the best tools available. And the best part about the book is no reading is required! Mounce’s lectures are all on a CD ROM that comes with the book. If all you do is listen through the lectures and do the exercises, you will profit immensely. If you follow the pace in the book, you will finish in six weeks.
Humility: True Greatness
C.J. Mahaney 170 pages
Wonderful basic treatment of humility. Recommended.
If Ministers Fall Can They be Restored?
by Tim LaHaye 190 pages
This is the best book I have read on this subject. LaHaye takes very seriously the gravity of sexual sin by a pastor, but at the same time exhibits wonderful compassion and understanding. He makes careful distinctions for various different circumstances and provides excellent advice both for avoiding sexual sin in the first place and for restoration. This book is essential reading for anyone dealing with the results of the fall of a pastor through sexual sin.
If I’m a Christian Why Am I Depressed?
Robert Sommerville 238 pages
The best book on depression that I’ve read so far. The numerous stories of people who suffered with depression and recovered are engaging and encouraging, and they help the non-depressed person understand what it’s like. It is a good balance between acknowledging the difficulty while still holding forth the sufficiency of Scripture for recovery. And the final chapter written for those who care for depressed people is outstanding.
If You Bite & Devour One Another
Alexander Strauch 162 pages
Excellent book on how to live together in harmony as a church, and how to deal with conflict in biblical ways. I would love for every member of my congregation to read this book. The book does not bring up any especially unique insights. Most are fairly basic principles. But they are very important principles, and often forgotten. Highly recommended.
Intended for Pleasure
Ed Wheat 210 pages
While I do not agree with all Wheat’s conclusions, I recommend this book for all married couples. Wheat (and M.D.) does an excellent job providing tasteful, accurate and helpful information about sex in the Christian marriage from a biblical point of view. I do not recommend the chapter on contraceptives, as Wheat seems ignorant about the abortifacient nature of methods such as the pill. However the rest of the book is quite good.
Interpreting the Gospel of John
Gary M. Burge 185 pages
Burge is the author of the NIV Application Commentary for the book of John. His commentary is a bit ecumenical for my tastes, and I did not find it especially helpful. This work, however, is a wonderful little book with very helpful insights into how to interpret the 4th Gospel as well as some excellent general insights on how to interpret Scripture and prepare sermons. It is somewhat technical, but mostly understandable for anyone. I highly recommend it.
The Joyful Christian
C.S. Lewis 236 pages
I bought this book because I wanted to learn to have more joy. I was disappointed to discover that the book is not really primarily about joy. It is a collection of Lewis’ writings about a wide variety of topics related to the Christian life. Each section is just one or two pages. It’s kind of like a “best of C.S. Lewis.” It is very edifying reading, but the title is misleading.
Leading with Love
Alexander Strauch 188 pages
Strauch takes each of the elements of love in 1 Cor.13 and applies them to leadership. Very helpful book for anyone, but especially leaders in the church. Highly recommended.
Meetings That Work
Alexander Strauch
Very helpful little book on how to conduct profitable elder meetings. The principles would also be helpful for deacon meetings or other leadership meetings. And there are also helpful principles on eldering in general. I highly recommend this book for church leaders.
Mere Morality
Lewis Smedes 276 pages
I do not recommend this book. Smedes does a poor job interpreting Scripture, imports his political opinions into his interpretations, and elevates human reason as high (and sometimes higher) than Scripture.
Men and Women: Equal Yet Different
Alexander Strauch 117 pages
A wonderful little book on the key passages about role distinctions. Strauch offers an exposition of the various passages in a very readable, balanced and fair way. Both the subject matter and Strauch’s style make this a good book to give to teens.
Mortification of sin
Alexander Strauch 117 pages
A wonderful little book on the key passages about role distinctions. Strauch offers an exposition of the various passages in a very readable, balanced and fair way. Both the subject matter and Strauch’s style make this a good book to give to teens.
Not Even a Hint
Joshua Harris 144 pages
This is a new book written on the same subject as Every Man’s Battle: How to achieve purity in the thought life. I think it is a better book. Harris does a better job at drawing principles from Scripture rather than merely using human wisdom and common sense.
The New Testament Deacon
Alexander Strauch 159 pages
Just as he did in his earlier book, Biblical Eldership, Strauch does a masterful job of exegesis in explaining exactly what the Bible teaches about the office of deacon — without mixing in any church tradition. I do not agree with Strauch’s conclusion that “the women” in 1 Tim. 3 refer to deacons’ wives rather than to deaconesses, but I highly recommend the book nonetheless.
Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers
John Owen
A classic work on how to kill sin by the Spirit based on Romans 8:13.
Synopsis
A sin is “mortified” (killed) by a habitual weakening of it, constant fighting against it (understanding the danger and the ways it tends to get success against you) and then in gaining frequent success (so the sin isn’t disrupting his peace or hindering his duty).
A sin is especially problematic if it is inveterate (so frequent that it no longer startles the conscience), or finds acceptance or toleration in the heart, or if you claim God will show mercy in this one area because of faithfulness in other areas, or if there is frequent failure in that area, or if the only motive for avoiding the sin is punishment, or if this sin has withstood God’s chastisement.
How to kill a sin:
* Displace the sin with the corresponding virtue.
* Make sure there isn’t disobedience in other areas (God sometimes allows weakness in one area because of disobedience or neglect in other areas).
* Get a clear sense of the guilt, danger, and evil of the sin and “load” the conscience with the sense of guilt
* Load your conscience with the guilt of it (by letting the law do its work, and by considering the grace this sin is done in the face of.
* Get a constant longing, breathing after deliverance from the power of the sin.
* When there is a natural predisposition toward that sin, realize that increases guilt, and that it puts you in greater danger requiring greater watchfulness.
* Beat your body and make it your slave by things like fasting and watching
* Be alert to the things that excite sinful desires.
* Rise mightily against the first actings of your sin
* Think much of the excellency of the majesty of God
* After sinning, speak no peace to your heart until God speaks it
* Think more about Christ and the cross than about the sin and expect help from Him.
The Peacemaker
Ken Sande 298 pages
I can hardly recommend that book highly enough. It is an outstanding summary of what God’s Word says on the topic of peacemaking in relationships, combined with practical, real-life examples of what the principles look like in action. Years ago I wrote a book titled Forgiveness and Reconciliation, and when we ran out of copies, I started working on updating the book. But after reading The Peacemaker, I’ve decided to scrap that project because there’s no need for it. I don’t think I could say it any better than Sande has in this book. I would love it if every person in our church read this book. If you are looking for a book to go through with your small group, this is an excellent choice. It would really be a good book for a men’s group to go through, so the men cannot only be peacemakers in this church and in their own marriages, but they can teach their children the principles of peacemaking.
One especially helpful portion is Sande’s “4 G’s” of peacemaking:
1. Glorify God (make sure all your responses are designed not for your comfort or revenge, but to honor God)
2. Get the log out of your own eye.
3. Gently restore – Gal.6:1.
4. Go and be reconciled.
And there is a very helpful checklist in the appendix of that book for how to do each one of those. There is also an appendix titled “Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Your Church.”
Of Temptation
John Owen 80 pages
This whole book is an explanation of Jesus’ instruction in Mt.26:41: Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. Ch.1 defines temptation as anything that occasions sin, or that entices or draws us toward sin. Ch.2 describes what it means to “enter” into temptation. Owen argues that entering into temptation is not merely being tempted, nor is it falling to temptation. It is possible to be tempted but still not enter into temptation, and it is possible to enter into temptation without actually succumbing. Jesus entered into temptation and did not sin. But He taught us to pray that we not enter it. Entering temptation is when Satan intensifies the temptation much more than normal, so that if we slack the least bit in our vigilance and defenses, we will certainly fall. We enter into temptation when we become entangled in it and fall under its power. This happens when 1) God grants Satan a special season of permission to sift us as wheat, or 2) our latent lusts meet up with specially provoking and alluring occasions for sin. (David probably had plenty of sexual temptations prior to Bathsheba, but didn’t fall because the hour of temptation hadn’t come). We allow the hour of temptation to come when we entertain the sin in our minds, thinking of justifications, or when the soul is not filled with hatred and distain for it, or when the heart attaches it to things that are not evil. Then temptation becomes relentless and you know it has reached its high noon.
The solution? Watch and pray.
Ch.3 lays out our duty to avoid entering into temptation. Jesus commands it, and warns of terrible disaster if we fail in this duty. Temptation will find lusts lying dormant within us that we didn’t even know about, and their activation will bring horrific disaster.
But we must remember our own weakness. The heart’s natural defenses (concern for reputation, fear of shame, fear of loss of peace, or even concern about the vileness of sinning against God) will not be enough to stand against the temptation. When we enter temptation it darkens the mind, entangles the affections, and fuels our lusts.
The man who willingly allows himself to enter into temptation puts a question mark on his very salvation.
Ch.4 – how to know if you have entered into temptation. All sin comes from temptation, however, entering into temptation goes beyond just being tempted. It’s when temptation wreaks havoc. It happens when one loves that which feeds his lust.
When a person who is normally passionate about Scripture, prayer, and fellowship become negligent or apathetic about them, he has entered into temptation.
Ch.5 – to avoid entering temptation:
1) Realize the tremendous evil of temptation. Don’t pretend to hate the fruit (sin) if you don’t also hate the root (temptation)
2) Realize your total inability and rely fully on God. Pray hard!
Ch.6 – the typical seasons of temptation:
1) Times of outward prosperity or strength (Ps.30:6)
2) Times of neglect of communion with God
3) Times of great enlightenment or spiritual privilege
4) Times of self-confidence
Ch.7 – Various kinds of watching.
1) Watching your heart. Know yourself well enough to be alert to your points of vulnerability and weakness.
2) Be alert to occasions and opportunities that are likely to be a problem.
3) Guard your heart with things like the peace of God (Php.4:7) and other provisions that will put you in a position of strength against temptation.
4) At the first sign of temptation…
A. Be alert enough to achieve early detection
B. Think of the aim and goal of the temptation (the worst of evils and ultimate destruction)
C. Have thoughts of faith concerning Christ on the cross
D. If you’re surprised and entangled, then…
i. Pray hard
ii. Run to Christ for help in time of need
iii. Look for God’s means of deliverance, such as…
• An affliction that could mortify your heart
• Some providence that would pull you out of the fire
• Tread Satan under your feet
• Increase your supply of grace
• Give comfortable persuasion of good success
• Remove it altogether
iv. Find the breach where temptation was able to enter, and patch it up
Ch.8 – In Rev.3:10 the church of Philadelphia is promised deliverance from the hour of temptation because they kept the word of His patience. Therefore, to be delivered from the hour of temptation one must keep the word of His patience.
1) The Word of His patience is the gospel (patience with believers, with the not-yet-saved elect, and toward the lost).
2) Keeping His word includes…
A. Knowledge (knowing it as a word of grace that can save us, a word of holiness to sanctify us, a word of liberty to free us, and as a word of consolation to comfort us).
B. Valuation (holding the keeping of His word as the highest treasure)
C. Obedience
When we keep His word in these ways, it is promised that we will be delivered. It keeps us so close to God that the idea of disobedience is repugnant and holiness is attractive. Do this by remembering Christ’s eye is always on you, by remembering Christ’s victory over temptations, and by frequent thoughts of the potential loss of God’s favor and smile.
This requires taking advantage of these preserving principles:
A. Living by faith (which relies on Christ, not self)
B. Loving the saints, and not wanting them to suffer the consequences of your sin (Ps.69:9)
If you want to be preserved from temptation, don’t lean on your own understanding, don’t rely on good things like prayer and fasting if you neglect other important things, and don’t rely on the doctrine of eternal security. Beware of times when the works of Christ are under attack, and beseech Christ to give help in time of need.
Ch.9 – If you asked the sick and the maimed in a hospital how they got that way, and they all pointed to one thing, you would take pains to avoid that thing. That’s the case with temptation. Neglecting the “watch and pray” duty will mean certain failure. Remember we are always under the eye of the one who commanded this duty. And consider the judgment that will come from failure.
Pagans in the Pews
Peter Jones 240 pages
Peter Jones has done a massive amount of research studying the problem of paganism, and his findings are alarming to say the least. If you like to be informed about large cultural trends and movements, you will enjoy this book. Jones shows how ancient Gnosticism is taking over our culture in alarming measure – both inside and outside the doors of the church. He shows how liberal “Christianity” has abandoned their anti-supernaturalism, and has returned to spirituality. But instead of Christian spirituality, they are embracing pagan monism (the “all is one” religion of paganism).
This modern revival of ancient Gnosticism is not only non-Christian, but it is, at the very core, anti-Christian. The main tenets are pretty much whatever is the opposite of what the Bible says. For example, the great hero in Gn.1-3 is the serpent, who liberated humanity from being controlled and manipulated by Yahweh. The next big hero is the woman, who led humanity into the knowledge of good and evil. Foolish Adam was just the original clod, and the worst character of all is Yahweh. Jones shows with startling evidence how doctrines like that (along with the attendant immorality) are being embraced within Christianity – particularly among liberal and feminist writers and teachers.
One particularly interesting point was how the present day Gnostics despise the “binary” system of the Bible (good and evil, heaven and hell, truth and error, male and female, etc.). The reason homosexuality and androgynism are considered so important is because of this distain for God’s distinctions.
The following comment by Pastor Gary E. Gilley is a fair critique: “Pagans in the Pews is not an easy read and much of its material is beyond the experience of most who will read it. His quotes and examples are from scholars unknown to most, fringe New Agers, ultra-liberal “Christians” and self-avowed evangelicals who fit no definition of evangelicalism (e.g. Virginia Mollenkott —lesbian feminist). One has to wonder if these influences have really penetrated the evangelical church or even society, to the extent indicated. While this is an excellent book and should be mandatory reading for all Christian leaders, there is a missing link. It would have been most helpful, and would probably require another whole book, to show how this new spirituality is being embraced in less radical form and eased in the side door of the church. There is absolutely no mention here of “moderate” Christian mystics such as Richard Foster and Brennan Manning. Nothing is said about the adoption by evangelicals of Eastern mystical practices such as contemplative meditation and the Labyrinth; nor is the role of Roman Catholic mysticism, which has become so popular of late, explored. Connecting these dots would have been of great value. So Mr. Jones, how about another book? In the meanwhile, I would recommend Ray Yungen’s A Time of Departing.”
The Practice of the Presence of God and Spiritual Maxims
Brother Lawrence 112 pages
The main point of this little book is to argue that we should strive to exist in an awareness of God’s presence and a communion with Him all day long, so that every action throughout the day is a little act of communion with God. While I wholeheartedly agree with that premise and found the book helpful and inspiring, much of it is too mystical for my tastes. The most alarming portions of the book are the repeated statements that for Brother Lawrence there was no difference between his prayers during his daily activities and his private prayers in solitude. He seems to believe that when that is true there is no longer any need for the latter. From the gospels, however, we find that not even Jesus was so spiritual that He didn’t need to get away to be alone for extended times of prayer.
The Pursuit of God
A.W. Tozer 128 pages
Many of Tozer’s points in this book seem to come from his own speculation rather than from Scripture. Nevertheless, many of the points that do come from Scripture are profound and rich, making the small amount of time required to read this book well worth it. Especially helpful are Tozer’s observations about the necessity for the believer to follow hard after God relationally and the nature of faith as “the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.”
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
This review is by Jackie Alnor from The Christian Sentinel
The good news of the gospel according to the Bible is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for our sins on the cross, taking upon Himself the penalty our sins deserve, so that we could have eternal life with our Creator. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9. From the time of the apostles there have been two extremes that nullify the true gospel. One extreme, which the apostles dealt with in Acts 15, is legalism. Legalists promote the belief that we are saved by our good works — the result: spiritual pride. The other extreme that often is an overreaction to legalism is license — the result: unrestrained sin. The Bible condemns both! The Ragamuffin Gospel promotes the heresy of license. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul asks, "Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be" (Rom. 6:1-2), is his answer. But, Brennan Manning’s view of the gospel is devoid of the teaching of sanctification, whereby a believer is conformed into the image of Christ, turning from sin to serve the Savior. Manning excuses sin as human weakness that his gospel of love will cover regardless of whether the sinner is repentant or not. He attempts to demonstrate from the Bible that Jesus was not concerned about sin. Referring to the woman caught in adultery on page 173, he writes, "He [Jesus] didn’t seem too concerned that she might dash back into the arms of her lover." Yet we know from Scripture that Jesus told her to go and sin no more.
Manning’s hall of fame on page 29 includes, "the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son;" "the woman who had an abortion… but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives;" and "the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last ‘trick,’ whispers the name of the unknown God." In each case Manning justifies the sin and does not require the turning away from it. Compare his hall of fame with that of the Bible in Hebrews 11. They don’t jibe. Worst, Manning, quoting another author approvingly, holds heaven open even for those who take the mark of the beast. "And he [Christ] will say to us: ‘Vile beings, you who are in the image of the beast and bear his mark, but come all the same, you as well’" (pg. 17). This is certainly contradicted by the Bible in Rev. 14:9-11 where it says that those who take the mark of the beast will receive the wrath of God and be cast into everlasting torment.
Manning needs to balance his teaching on the love of God with God’s justice and holiness. He lambastes the church for speaking out against sin in our world, ignoring the biblical injunction to "reprove, rebuke and exhort" (2 Tim. 4:2). He takes special issue with the church’s stand on homosexuality and alcohol consumption. Manning’s inspiration for Ragamuffin is clearly seen by the experts he cites. These include humanist philosophers, heretics, and mystics. Without apology or disclaimers, he quotes such noted new age leaders as Joseph Campbell, inner healers like Francis MacNutt, heretical mystics like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, humanist occultists like Carl Jung, and false teachers like Morton Kelsey. He also appeals to Zen philosophy and other humanistic writings. These he attempts to harmonize with the Bible, but they just don’t mesh. His teaching on meditation cannot be distinguished from the Eastern/New Age style of mind emptying. He instructs the readers to repeat an eight-word mantra for ten minutes while visualizing one’s idea of what Jesus might have looked like — something that cannot be done accurately. He also says, "Don’t try to feel anything, think anything, or do anything." He adds, "Simply relax in the presence of the God you half believe in and ask for a touch of folly" (pp. 205-206).
There are other offensive things in the book. On page 46 he gives a detailed account of how he learned to masturbate. Elsewhere he uses a lot of vulgarity to get his point across. The bottom line is that The Ragamuffin Gospel is another gospel (2 Cor. 11:4). The new believer and the undiscerning could be easily stumbled by the book. It is an aid in quenching the conviction of the Holy Spirit right out of a believer’s life if it is taken at face value.
The most shameful thing about the book is that it was published by an evangelical Christian publishing house — one that claims to uphold purity of doctrine and one that is connected to a very respectable Bible college — Multnomah College of the Bible. Manning, a new age-influenced Catholic, did what comes naturally, but Multnomah should be held accountable for allowing such an infiltration to take place in the evangelical church.
Rebuilding Your Broken World
Gordon MacDonald 224 pages
After falling into sexual sin Gordon MacDonald wrote this book to help people 1) avoid a failure like his and 2) recover after a life-shattering event of any kind. There are a number of helpful ideas in the book, but it is mostly human wisdom. MacDonald draws almost all his principles from illustrations from his observations of life, and then supports them with Bible verses. Reading human applications of illustations became so tiresome I have to confess I only read about half way through the book.
Redeeming Church Conflict
Tara Klena Barthel & David V. Edling 226 pages
Helpful book on not only resolving church conflict in a godly way, but in spiritual growth in the midst of the conflicts. The authors point out the conflicts in the NT church, and exhort the reader not to run from conflict, but to address conflict in biblical ways. On p.55 they give this helpful statement: “Redeeming Church conflict is less about resolving specific problems than it is about seeing conflict as a means by which God is growing his people into true Saints, true eternal children who are being continuously conformed to his holy image.” God is not working for our comfort and ease; he is working on our growth (p.56). Every single person in the church needs to grow and change, and God uses conflict in the church to bring that about.
There is also some interesting discussion about the hired hand in John 10 who cares nothing for the sheep and therefore runs away when the wolf arises. Many leaders are prone to just run away from a conflict – sometimes thinking that is the mature thing for them to do. But it shows a lack of love for the sheep. “a call to ministry is not merely something perceived by the pastor as the one called, but it is equally as binding and action on those who issued the call and therefore cannot easily be laid aside by either party as is done in the secular world” (p.93).
At the end of each chapter the authors recommend a handful of books on the topic discussed in that chapter. The books they recommend are excellent. They would make an outstanding reading list - with one exception. They recommend a book by Tullian Tchividjian. I would not recommend anything by him, as his understanding of law and grace is quite skewed – to the point where he was asked to leave the Gospel Coalition. Aside from that one point, I highly recommend this book.
Reflection on the Psalms
C.S. Lewis 152 pages
Lewis has some wonderful insights on general themes in the Psalms. I do not agree with all he says, but I found the book worth the time it took to read.
Religions of the World
Lewis M. Hopfe 405 pages
This was my textbook for the World Religions course at Trinity. I found it very well-written, readable and informative.
Religious Affections (the)
Jonathan Edwards 382 pages
Facing the crisis of having to discern the wide range of responses coming from the revivals, Edwards does a meticulously careful analysis of what affections are (the inclination of the soul in favor or against something), signs that are not evidence of the truth or falcity of affections, and signs that are evidence of true religious affections. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to think deeply about proper responses, attitudes and emotions toward God.
Restoration Manual: A Workbook for Restoring Fallen Ministers and Religious Leaders
Thomas L. Pedigo 110 pages
This book can be used as a guide for a restoration team seeking to restore a fallen pastor. The team is urged to examine the following “checkpoints” of restoration: procedural, scriptural, formal, denial, spiritual, moral, behavioral, emotional, mental, marital, intellectual, psychological, relational/social, familial, vocational, financial, volitional, phyisical, medical, legal, temporal, personal/recreational, ecclesiastical/pastoral, positional, supernatural/supranatural, sexual, and professional. I dissagree with many of the points and quotations in the book, but the model of examining all the various checkpoints is a helpful one.
Restoring the Fallen
Earl & Sandy Wilson 201 pages
Earl Wilson was a Christian Counselor and seminary professor who was discovered to be involved in adultery with multiple women over a period of many years. When he was caught he repented and was restored to ministry after a three year process that is described in this book. The book contains many helpful principles for restoring a fallen leader, however there are also a number of very disturbing doctrines taught in the book. Wilsons recovery team was headed up by an unbelieving psychiatrist, who espouses some very unbiblical ideas which are endorsed in the book. The book exalts human wisdom above Scripture, asserting that an experienced unbeliever is more qualified than an inexperienced pastor in addressing spiritual problems (p.121). Perhaps the worst of the books errors is the very unbiblical concept of forgiveness. It is asserted that victoms of sin are not obligated to forgive and “when someone says, ‘I am asking for your forgiveness’ that is not an apology, but is simply more abuse and victimization.” (p.195). I do not recommend this book.
Sacred Sex
Tim Alan Gardner 209 pages
Gardner’s thesis is simple: sex is holy. Its holiness is the reason why it is so profaned by the world and also why it is so powerful in creating oneness and intimacy in marriage and in reflecting union with Christ. Reading about the sacredness of sex has a two-fold effect: it raises all sexual activity within marriage to an incredibly high spiritual level, giving it profound meaning. At the same time it shows the true horror of anything that would profane sex in any way. For this reason the book is helpful for anyone, married or single, who is struggling to be pure. I highly reccomend the book for all people – particularly the first three chapters.
Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage
Kevin Leman 240 pages
This book is not a Bible study on marriage. Rather, it is a practical guide for improving sexual intimacy in marriage. And for that purpose it is the best resource I have found. Leman does a good job highlighting the importance of the sexual relationship in marriage, stressing the fact that it is a responsibility before God, and an aspect of the marriage vows - as well as a key ingredient to improving many different aspects of the marriage relationship. He discusses ways for husbands and wives to make the sexual relationship more fulfilling and delightful to their spouse. I think the book would be especially helpful for marriages with one higher desire spouse and one lower desire spouse. The descriptions are very frank and explicit, but always, I believe, tasteful and appropriate.
Leman is a psychologist, and his high view of psychology comes through in his writing, giving the impression that more severe problems require a professional psychologist rather than a biblical counselor. Also, in chapter 2 he sets forth his birth order theories in ways that reflect the typical over emphasis on the effect of one’s past that is so often a mark of secular psychology - giving the impression that you are the product of your past in a virtually unchangeable way. This is not a major theme in the book, but it does show up in some measure in ch.2.
I strongly recommend that couples read this book together, so each partner can ask, “Are there any of those things you would like?” Or “Are there any of those negative things he describes things that I do that diminish your level of enjoyment?”
Smart Church Management
Patricia Lotich 64 pages
A wonderful little handbook on how to recruit, manage, organize, and retain volunteer workers. The book is written to apply to any kind of nonprofit organization, and is mostly geared toward larger, more complex organizations. However, there are some very helpful instructions for any size church. This is an excellent tool for any ministry coordinator or leader who deals with workers.
Spiritual Fathers: Restoring the Reproductive Church
Dan Schaffer 194 pages
The thesis of this book is that since the health of the church is deeply dependent on the spiritual leadership of the men, we must be mentoring men by functioning as their spiritual fathers (seeking to reproduce ourselves in them). The natural barriers to this are 1) All men experience a “father vacuum” (areas where, as a result of their human fathers falling short, they are left with a deep need for another father figure), 2) the church lacks a safe environment for men (churches are designed more for women’s needs, and therefore feel unsafe to men), 3) men and church leaders don’t trust each other, 4) men see their relationship with God as an obligation rather than an opportunity. The pathway toward maturity must be visible, joinable, definable, and populated by the current leaders in the church.
The author makes some helpful points about discipleship.
• Jesus invested Himself personally in the training of a small group of men.
• The concept of being a spiritual father for another man is a biblical idea (Paul referred to Timothy as his son), but is not emphasized much in the church. (Although – while Schaffer emphasizes “father” in the sense of progenitor, I think in the case of Paul and Timothy it was more of father in the sense of mentor, guide, teacher, etc.).
• While some of his statistics seem somewhat questionable to me, one of them that was striking was that 80 percent of men will not change outside of a close, personal friendship, and 90 percent of men in church do not have such a friendship in the church.
• Men tend to be goal-oriented, and so they respond to attainable, clear goals. Most men like order, and will not get involved in a chaotic process.
• I was glad to see that Chaffer included a chapter on repentance, and emphasized not just turning from sin, but turning back to God.
While I am thankful for the helpful insights above, there are some considerable weaknesses in the book.
• Most of the main points come from statistics, surveys, and the author’s experiences and observations about men, rather than from God’s Word. Psychological theories are presented as truth, rather than as theory. Many, many times in the book assertions are simply made, with no biblical support, and then taken as fact from that point on. And when Scripture is used, Schaffer frequently misuses it with improper or out of context interpretations and applications.
- In his discussion of 1Jn.2, which is the basis for the “fathers” theme of the book (p.6), he suggests that the reason fathers appears next in the list after children is to make the point that a man has not reached maturity until he has reproduced himself. These seems to be a stretch. More likely, the reason for unusual order is to draw attention to the third in the list – young men.
- Schaffer takes Gn.27 as a model intended to teach us how to bless one another, following the pattern of meaningful touch, spoken word, attaching value to the one being blessed, picturing a special feature of the one being blessed, and an active commitment to fulfill the blessing. The account is simply a record of what one man did. Nothing in the text calls for us to imitate it. The authors treats this act of pronouncing blessings as a father figure as an almost magical act that has power in itself to help the one being blessed. On pp.185-186 he tells of how he pronounced a blessing on a woman who had been translating for him, and says, “That blessing, an act of spiritual fathering, changed her life…”
• Schaffer makes the point that having your “quiet time” should not give you the expectation that you will have a pain-free day. That is correct. However he also says it is wrong to think having your quiet time will result in you having a good day. I disagree. Surely one’s day would be better if it began with fellowship with God, even if it were an especially painful, trouble-filled day. He consistently downplays the value of a quiet time. But if the purpose of one’s quiet time is to seek God and draw near to Him, such a time is supremely valuable. On p.165 he seems to imply that failure to have a quiet time has no impact on the reception of God’s promises. But James 4:8 teaches that if one comes near to God, God will respond by coming near to that person (which implies that if one does not come near to God, God will not come as near to that person).
• In the section on wrestling with God, the author states that such wrestling is good and not sinful as long as it is a movement toward God and not away from Him. But the description he gave involved shouting, screaming, raging and fuming at God for His providential work (p.154). Such a response is not movement toward God, but is rather a rejection of God’s providence and a failure to trust in God’s goodness.
• Chapter 15 is titled “Pursuing God,” but none of the most basic ways Scripture gives us of pursuit of God are described (prayer, Scripture, faith, waiting, etc.). Instead, Schaffer describes how the Abrahamic Covenant was one-sided, and then seems to imply that our covenant relationship with God is also one-sided, in that nothing is required of us, and our only role is to respond with gratitude and service to what God has promised. Schaffer’s goal in that is to guard against the legalistic approach of seeking to earn God’s favor. I see two errors here. First, our covenant relationship with God is not one-sided. Nor is it unconditional. It is conditioned on faith. Unless we believe, we do not receive the promises. Secondly, moving all of our responsibility into the category of response is not necessarily a safeguard against legalism. Very often people fall into what John Piper calls the “debtor’s ethic,” in which we serve God out of gratitude, but our service is an effort to repay God. This is also legalism.
• The author consistently disparages programs in the church. However a program is simply an organized effort to do something. The alternative, it seems, would be lack of organization, which would result in the very chaos that he says men will not join. In his effort to describe the difference between programs and reproduction, he states that programs emphasize doing (p.180) rather than becoming. And yet, the entire book is a call for men to do the things he describes in the book (mentor other men). Scripture never divorces doing from becoming.
• I found much of the book difficult to understand. The author uses catch phrases like “doing life together,” that are not clearly defined. After reading that phrase numerous times in the book, I still don’t know what it means.
• In ch.6 the author commits the fallacy of affirming the consequent. He points out that controlling leadership results in division and rebellion. Therefore if there is division and rebellion, it must be that the leadership is controlling. He fails to recognize the fact that there may be many other causes of rebellion. The whole world rebelled against God, but that was not because of anything that was wrong with God’s leadership style.
Overall, the book is good in the general point it makes (we should strive to serve as spiritual fathers for other men), but I did not find it very helpful for understanding practical ways to bring that about in the church. I do not recommend this book.
Spiritual Leadership
J. Oswald Sanders 158 pages
I loved this book. I found it a very easy read, encouraging, motivating, convicting, instructive, and helpful. I especially enjoyed the chapters on prayer and time. Highly recommended for leaders.
Toward and Exegetical Theology
Walter Kaiser Jr. 250 pages
Kaiser attempts to do what he says seminaries are failing to do – teach the preacher how to get from exegesis to sermon. Most preachers either preach raw exegesis or non-exegetical homilies. Kaiser shows how to bridge the gap between exegetical information and sermon through principlization. This is a very helpful book and crucial for any teacher or preacher of Scripture. It is a bit difficult at times, but worth the work.
The Treasure Principle
Randy Alcorn 91 half-sized pages
This is a wonderful little book on “discovering the secret of joyful giving.” It’s such a small book you can read it in one sitting, but it’s packed with motivational and inspirational thoughts on the topic of giving.
Treasury of David
C.H. Spurgeon 3 volumes
Each paragraph of each psalm is followed by Spurgeon’s verse by verse commentary and then by a section entitiled “Explanitory Notes and Quaint Sayings” which are collections of devotional comments by various other authors on the verse. In most cases there are more life-changing insights in the “Explanitory Notes and Quaint sayings” section of a single psalm than in the entirety of most devotional books. I cannot recommend this work highly enough.
Three to Get Ready
Howard Eyrich 250 pages
A premarital counseling guide written from a biblical counseling perspective. While I think Eyrich is somewhat influenced by human wisdom and psychological theories (particularly with regard to personality profiles), this is the best resource I know of for premarital preparation. Eyrich gives an arguement for the value of pastoral premarital counseling based on the fact that since marriage is a divine institution, pastors are the most qualified to prepare people for it. Secondly, establishing a good counseling relationship with a couple during premarital counseling (a time when most are willing), increases the likelihood that the couple will come back for counsel when they encounter marital problems. The book lays out an approach that involves 7 sessions.
The Trellis and the Vine
Colin Marshall & Tony Payne 196 pages
The trellis represents church structures and programs, and the vine represents spiritual growth and life. The authors suggest that the tendency of churches is to focus far too much on the trellis while neglecting the vine. If a program is extremely well-attended and has a lot of busy workers, it is considered successful – regardless of whether it is actually accomplishing the work of making disciples. Trellis is needed in order for the vine to grow, but the trellis itself is only a means, not the end. Rather that searching for people to fill the voids in our organizational structures, we should seek to discover the giftedness and passions of each person and encourage them to do what they are best suited to do. The authors strongly emphasize the importance of individual, face to face discipleship and training unto godliness, rather than relying too much on sermons and classes.
I found the book very helpful. I think they probably understate the effectiveness of structures and systems at times, but overall the book has an excellent message.
Uprooting Anger
Robert D. Jones 188 pages
The best book I’ve read so far on anger (although Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo is also very good). Jones provides a very helpful definition of anger, and a helpful, clear explanation of how to discern if anger is righteous anger or not. It is a practical book, with specific steps to take toward making progress in this area, and provides numerous recommendations for further study. I highly recommend this book.
What’s Best Next
Matt Perman 339 pages
This book has dramatically improved my life. I’m working fewer hours and getting much, much more done. Instead of always having over 100 emails in my inbox, now my inbox gets down to zero every day. Instead of having stacks of paper sitting around my office, and having things fall through the cracks because they are the bottom of the stack, now my office is clean and my calendar reminds me of things I need to remember. I am also reading about place as fast as I used to – all thanks to the insights from this book. More importantly, Perman does a great job giving the Biblical reasons for increased organization and productivity. I highly recommend this book! Up
When I Don’t Desire God: How to fight for joy
John Piper 234 pages
This books starts out good and the further you read the better it gets. Piper gives very practical advice on how to have a good routine of Scripture, prayer, fellowship and worship as well as a chapter on how to use the 5 senses in the fight for joy and what to do when the darkness does not lift (depression).
The chapter I enjoyed the least was ch.3, where Piper makes his case for why we should fight for joy. He draws a connection between joy and faith, and then points to Scriptures that talk about fighting for faith. Almost any two truths can be connected in Scripture, but joy really isn’t the same thing as faith.
I highly recommend this book.
When Life is Hard
James MacDonald 200 pages
I read this book at a time when I was going through some significant suffering and hardship, and the Lord showed me many wonderful and encouraging truths from His Word about suffering through this book. The book is the result of MacDonald’s own search for comfort and instruction in Scripture during a time of great suffering in his own life. There are no simplistic, shallow platitudes in this book.
There are, however, a couple doctrinal points that I believe are in error. MacDonald teaches that God does not cause or send hardship into our lives. He merely allows it. In my judgment, this points to a very low view of the sovereignty of God.
Secondly, MacDonald implies that the benefits of suffering promised in Scripture only apply to suffering that is not a result of one’s own sin or folly. If that were true, the great majority of our suffering would be without benefit or comfort. I believe that God works the benefits of suffering through any kind of suffering – including suffering we bring upon ourselves. Indeed, isn’t the pain of the consequences of our own sin very often the most painful kind of suffering we have?
When People are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man
Edward Welch
Outstanding book on the fear of man. Thesis: Fear of man is, crippling, unloving and sinful; and the solution is fear of God. Welch does a masterful job at showing the extreme variety of manifestations the fear of man takes, making it clear that we are all guilty of it to one degree or another. He is also right on with his solution – fear of God.
The biggest weakness of the book is probably the section on needs. His premise is that desires are fine, but they should not be elevated to the status of needs. What follows is a somewhat confusing discussion of the difference between the two. Essentially it boils down to the idea that once a desire becomes too strong it becomes a need, and needs to be reduced back to desire status. Among the desires Welch says are not needs are psychological desires – particularly the desire to be loved. Much of what he says is very good, but I think he goes too far. He says we should want to glorify God rather than pursue our own self-interests. But the two are not opposed to each other – our greatest self-interest is the very thing that glorifies God. And things like comfort, rest, sympathy, joy etc. are legitimate desires, and should therefore be very strong. The error is not when they become too strong, but when they are sought from people rather than from God.
The rest of the book, however, is excellent, and I highly recommend it.
Wild at Heart
John Eldredge
Seeking Wildness of Heart
The central idea of this book is that men have three desires that should be pursued: to fight a battle, to live an adventure, and to rescue a beauty (pp.9-14). I agree with much of what Eldredge says about these three God-given desires. They are part of what it means to be a man. And if all the book were saying is that pursuing these desires can be a way to alleviate boredom, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. The problem is the book elevates those needs to far too high a level. He says they can’t be disregarded without losing one’s very soul (p.9). The initiation into manhood (through the pursuit of these desires) seems to be elevated to the level of being the equivalent of salvation. Jesus’ invitation in Rev.3:19-20 BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK. IF ANYONE HEARS MY VOICE AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND EAT WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME, rather than a call to repentance becomes an offer by Jesus to “take me into my wound” – a key step, says Eldridge, in attaining fulfilled manhood.
The point of inviting Jesus into your wound is to recover from the emotional stress of some past suffering. That recovery is actually equated with redemption, and is portrayed as much more important than the forgiveness of sins. In fact, forgiveness of sins without this is portrayed as cruel (pp.128,129).
The desire for adventure, competition or winning a woman’s heart are God-given desires that help a man have the energy to do many of the things men need to do – such as earn a living. And there is nothing wrong with a father teaching his son to be aggressive in appropriate ways and appropriate times. But does Scripture elevate that to the level of redemption? Isn’t the greater emphasis in Scripture the exhortation to limit our aggressiveness? We are called to gentleness and meekness. Eldredge does make some mention of this, but by far the great emphasis in the book is in the opposite direction. When his son is confronted with a bully, Eldredge urges him, “I want you to hit him…as hard as you possibly can” (p.78). He goes on to explain that this is compatible with turning the other cheek, because before turning the other cheek you must first establish the fact that you are able to retaliate, and that is done by hitting the guy as hard as you can (p.79).
The resulting attitude is anything but the meekness Scripture calls for, as is seen in the key advice that changed Eldredge’s life: “Let people feel the weight of who you are, and let them deal with it.” A far cry from denying self and considering other more important than yourself (Mt.16:24, Php.2:3)
Open Theism
Open Theism is the belief that God doesn’t know the future. I have heard that Eldredge denies being an open theist, but there are statements in the book that at the very least demonstrate a horrendously inadequate understanding of the sovereignty and foreknowledge of God. God is portrayed as someone who does not know which way things will go, and who is hoping for the best. “God is a person who takes immense risks” (p.30). Risks? If God is sovereign and works out all things in conformity to the purpose of His will (Eph.1:11), what risk could He possibly face?
Eldredge demonstrates the shallowness of his understanding of God's sovereignty: “He can’t be moving all the pieces on the board, because people sin all the time.” (p.30) The idea is that if someone sins, God can’t be in control of that action, therefore God is not in control over events that involve human or angelic decision making – an idea that flatly contradicts passages like Gn.50:20, Acts 4:28 (which show God in control even of the outcome of sinful decision making without Himself being guilty of the sin).
This tendency toward open theism reaches alarming proportions in the discussion of why God didn’t warn Adam about the possibility that Eve would be tempted. Why didn’t God warn Adam? “Because God believes in Adam. This is what he’s designed to do – to come through in a pinch.” (p.50) How else can that be interpreted other than God didn’t warn Adam because He (mistakenly) believed that Adam would “come through in a pinch”?
Human wisdom
Another major problem with this book is the reliance on human wisdom. Numerous Bible verses are referred to, but they are used in much the same way as poems, song lyric quotes, movies, etc. – illustrations of a principle. But the principles themselves are drawn from human reasoning, psychology, and (especially) movies. In fact, when Eldredge discovered he had a problem with an explosive temper he determined that it came from fear and loneliness (?), and he was seeking a solution to that problem. “My answer came through several movies.” (p.126)
Unbiblical assumptions that come from the world of secular psychology are asserted without defense, and then pressed into the Bible. How could a person discover from the Bible itself that Eve was “hiding in busyness or demanding that Adam come through for her”? Or that God is seeking to thwart the false self by taking a man into his wound (ch.6)? Or that the cause of anger is fear from some hidden, past pain (which, he hastens to add, is not your fault – p.129)?
Part of the danger of this is a practice that some have referred to as “psychobabble.” When I use that term, I don’t mean it to be a general slam on all psychological ideas. What I mean by that term is the practice of using terminology that by itself doesn’t really have any meaning in order to disguise and idea that would otherwise enjoy little acceptance. It’s hard to argue against the practice of inviting Jesus to enter your wound, because those words don’t have any clear meaning. What does it mean to enter your wound? I may be wrong, but the impression I got from the book is that entering your wound means revisiting some past suffering in an effort to “heal” from it. That is an idea that is much of the backbone of Freudian psychotherapy, but that contradicts the more biblical approach of forgetting what is behind and pressing on toward what lies ahead.
There are several other smaller problems with the book, such as:
Unnecessary vulgarity. One wonders if the several references to sex organs is really necessary. Especially objectionable is the retelling of the story of Ruth and Boaz. As Eldredge tells it, Boaz wasn’t giving Ruth what she needed (a ring), and so she seduced him. “(Boaz) had been working from dawn till dusk…they’ve just finished and now it’s party time. Ruth takes a bubble bath and puts on a knockout dress; then she waits for the right moment. That moment happens to be late in the evening after Boaz…is drunk, which is evident from what he does next: pass out…There is no possible reading of this passage that is ‘safe’ or ‘nice.’ This is seduction pure and simple – and God holds it up for all women to follow” God wants all women to follow the pattern of seducing a boyfriend by crawling under the covers with him when he is drunk?
Lack of discernment. Not only does Eldredge show little discernment, but he seems to be opposed to the idea of doctrinal discernment altogether when he sums up what was wrong with the Pharisees by saying they were “doctrine police” (p.24). Jesus had a lot of complaints about the Pharisees, but policing doctrine was not one of them. In fact, Jesus “polices” their doctrine.
Questionable views on the voice of God. The words Eldredge attributes to the only wise God sound more like thoughts that came from the mind of man. He tells the story of how one day he asked God if He was pleased with Eldredge, and he claims that God spoke to him and said, “You are Henry V after Agincourt…the man in the arena, whose face is covered with blood and sweat and dust, who strove valiantly…a great warrior…yes, even Maximus. You are my friend.” Does that sound to you like the voice of the Creator? Could God find no better example of a powerful warrior than a character in a popular movie?
The idea the God gives direct revelation through subjective feelings is a dangerous doctrine. We end up being the author of God’s Word, and we mistake our feelings for divine revelation. This is illustrated as Eldredge describes another statement that changed his life: “God…speaks in ways that are peculiar to our own quirky hearts – not just through the Bible… To Stasi he speaks through movies. To Craig he speaks through rock and roll (he called me the other day after listening to “Running Through the Jungle” to say he was fired up to go study the Bible) …God’s word to me comes…through…books. I’ll be browsing through a secondhand bookshop when out of a thousand volumes one will say, “Pick me up.” [It should be noted that the song "Running Through the Jungle" is by the group Impetigo, who have some of the most obscene lyrics imaginable.
Most men who read this book (including me) are encouraged by many of the ideas (especially the part about your wife signing on to you getting a motorcycle!), but the errors of emphasis, errors of theology, elevation of human wisdom over Scripture, and the general misuse of Scripture make the book especially damaging and dangerous.
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Every Man’s Battle 224 pages
Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker w/ Mike Yorkey
While there are some biblical principles, mostly this book is comprised of practical tips on how a man can achieve a higher level of purity in the thought life. I still recommend it though. The book is very helpful in its description of what the goal should be for men regarding their eyes and thoughts. I think it is also a good book for women to read, so they can better understand the struggle for men. There is a section at the end of each chapter written from a woman’s point of view.
Not Even a Hint 144 pages
Joshua Harris
This is a new book written on the same subject as Every Man’s Battle: How to achieve purity in the thought life. I think it is a better book. Harris does a better job at drawing principles from Scripture rather than merely using human wisdom and common sense.
- Darrell
Every Man’s Battle 224 pages
Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker w/ Mike Yorkey
While there are some biblical principles, mostly this book is comprised of practical tips on how a man can achieve a higher level of purity in the thought life. I still recommend it though. The book is very helpful in its description of what the goal should be for men regarding their eyes and thoughts. I think it is also a good book for women to read, so they can better understand the struggle for men. There is a section at the end of each chapter written from a woman’s point of view.
Not Even a Hint 144 pages
Joshua Harris
This is a new book written on the same subject as Every Man’s Battle: How to achieve purity in the thought life. I think it is a better book. Harris does a better job at drawing principles from Scripture rather than merely using human wisdom and common sense.
- Darrell
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