2007 A Year in Books

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The tradition continues, although a bit belated since we are well into 2008 already.  Last, year’s list is available here: 2006 A Year in Books.

Books are listed in alphabetical order, by author’s last name, with brief commentary/synopsis.  I hope you are encouraged to read some of the books on this list and I would love to hear what you are reading.

Top Ten

  • Adams, Jay E.  Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling ISBN: 0310511402
    • This book was fantastic.  Although it was written in 1970 and somewhat dated, the truths contained within this book are obviously timeless.  His critique of secular psychology was spot on and his biblical model of counseling needs to be put into effect into more of our churches.  With that said I am not the biggest fan of the term counseling, namely due to its connotation in our current cultural environment and the specialization attached to that connotation.  Furthermore, the aim of godly counsel, or biblical counseling, is making disciples and thus I would prefer terminology which reflects this aim.  This book, however, is not for the specialized counseling elite.  On the contrary, it provides every believer with a biblical methodology for discipleship and addressing the issues of life as a community of believers because of this I would recommend it for all to read.
  • Brock, Charles.  Indigenous Church Planting: A Practical Journey ISBN: 1885504276
    • Building off his prolific experience in church planting Charles Brock provides the reader with the simplest and practical work on church planting that I have read.  What I enjoy the most is that he provides the reader with an all-inclusive church planting strategy designed to equip and empower indigenous churches and indigenous church leadership.  I also glad to see that Brock takes indigeneity seriously to the degree that when starting a Bible study if the individuals show up unprepared, without pens and paper, to cancel the meeting and tell them to return prepared to study, and this in a region where individuals would have walked several miles to participate.  Brock is also diligent to confront numerous other issues concerning the nature and essence of the church, which I find extremely helpful.  Dr. Brock’s works are available from his website Church Growth International.
  • Driscoll, Mark.  The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out ISBN: 0310256593
    • Like everything Driscoll does, this book is hard-hitting and provocative.  He is both hilarious and frank in this work that seeks to establish a firm biblical understanding of mission and evangelism in a post-Christian America.  Driscoll confronts the status quo and does what the title says as he issues a “radical call to reform the church’s traditionally flawed view of missions.”  This is a must read.  If you have not read this book then read it, if you have read this book then read it again.
  • Harris, Greg.  The Cup and the Glory: Lessons on Suffering and the Glory of God ISBN: 0977226212
    • I have been greatly blessed to sit under Dr. Harris for a year at The Master’s Seminary and am greatly in his debt.  If you were to read one book on this list then this is the one.  Dr. Harris shares his amazing testimony and profound knowledge of Scripture in a book that will revolutionize your understanding of the glory of God.  I also highly recommend a sermon series he did at Grace Community Church on this book.
    • Keep a look out for his upcoming books The Darkness and the Glory, The Stone and the Glory, and The Face and the Glory.
  • Hershberger, Guy F.  The Recovery of the Anabaptist Vision (Dissent and Nonconformity) ISBN: 1579787983
    • I had originally began the year hoping to read A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology: Biblical, Historical, Constructive by Thomas N Finger; however, as soon as I found this work I knew I had to read it instead, although I still plan to read Finger’s work soon.  At times, I felt this work lacked the interaction with source material, as found in The Reformers and their Stepchildren by Leonard Verduin, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The Anabaptists are my favorite group of individuals in church history; they desired a radical reformation and a return to the biblical understanding of the church, for which they paid with their lives and the lives of their families.  This book provides much insight into the theology and practice of the Anabaptists and exhorts us to recover their vision for the people of God.  I have read numerous works on theology this year and this has been by far the most enjoyable and challenging.  One of the most insightful aspects of this book is the last section that chronicles various Anabaptist groups and what has become of them over the course of history.  Sadly, this last section brings the work back to its title and demonstrates why we must recover the Anabaptist vision, namely because the vision has been lost and the numerous ways in which the vision was lost should serve as a sobering exhortation to us all.
  • Piper, John.  God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God’s Love As the Gift of Himself ISBN: 1581347510
    • I often hear it said that if you have read one Piper book then you have read them all and to some extent that is true as there are numerous themes that resonate throughout all of his works.  I greatly appreciated this book for its clarity and conciseness as he unpacks the gospel.  This work is especially needed due to man’s constant propensity to make the gospel, and everything else, about himself.  Piper stands against this propensity and boldly declares that the gospel is about God, it is initiated by and exists for His glory, and by His grace alone we benefit from it.  We need to preach and teach this in our churches and embrace this central truth in our evangelism and apologetics.  Anything less than a God-centered gospel continues to propagate the rebellion that began in the Garden of Eden.
  • Sanders, J. Oswald.  Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer ISBN:0802467997
    • I have read numerous books on leadership, by both Christian and secular authors, and this books simplicity makes it one of my favorite works on the topic.  Rather than provide the reader with a how-to-manual for leadership Sanders presents principles, which should guide and instruct leaders, and would-be leaders as they develop their abilities.  This work is extremely practical and finds immediate and natural application within the context of life.
  • Stetzer, Ed and David Putman.  Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community ISBN: 9780805443592
    • Unlike The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out, mentioned above, Stetzer and Putman present a slightly tamer understanding of what it means to be missional.  Do not get me wrong this book will challenge your understanding of what the church is, what the church does, how we are failing in those areas, and what needs to change if we are to be effective in the emerging glocal context.  Far too often churches operate on the Field of Dreams “build it and they will come” mentality.  What Stetzer and Putman recognize is the church has been sent by God, we are to function as the body of Christ and be about His work as we corporately seek to live as a missionary in our community.  One of this works weaknesses is that it frequently uses churches as examples, of what it means to be missional, that I would not consider to be exemplary.  With that said I highly recommend this book and am currently rereading it and discussing it with several individuals.
  • Thompson, Mark D.  A Clear and Present Word: The Clarity of Scripture (New Studies in Biblical Theology) ISBN: 083082662X
    • At a time when Scriptures clarity is under attack by numerous groups both outside of and within the church this work is a welcome manifesto.  The most noteworthy feature of this work is Thompson’s fantastically thorough examination of past works criticizing and defending the clarity of Scripture.  Surprisingly, this work is also extremely brief.  If you are struggling to defend the clarity of Scripture or you yourself doubt its clarity then you must read this book.
  • Vos, Geerhardus.  Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments ISBN: 0851514588
    • This year has been an exciting year as I have discovered a new field of theological study, namely Biblical Theology.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the topic, as I was, Biblical Theology, as defined by Vos, “deals with the material from the historical standpoint, seeking to exhibit the organic growth or development of the truths of Special Revelation from the primitive preredemptive Special Revelation given in Eden to the close of the New Testament canon.”  Whereas Systematic Theology deals with various topics and what they mean today Biblical theology is concerned with how these topics are developed as the narrative of Scripture unfolds as well as the metanarrative itself.  I read numerous books on Biblical Theology some dealing with topics, like the work by Mark D. Thompson mentioned above, and others dealing with the overarching narrative of Scripture.  This work deals with the overarching narrative of Scripture.  This text is actually taken from lectures delivered by Vos, which gives the work a great sense of flow at the same time it took a while for me to adapt to his writing style.  Vos is thorough and his exegesis is profound.  I look forward to reading this work repeatedly.  For those seeking a simple introductory text to Biblical Theology I would highly recommend According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Graeme Goldsworthy (see below).

Honorable Mentions

  • Beale, David O.  In Pursuit of Purity: American Fundamentalism Since 1850 ISBN: 0890843511
    • As the title implies Beale profiles, American fundamentalism the work is very readable and I found it to be particularly informative of an era with which I am not very familiar.  However, I would appreciate it if Beale had provided the reader with a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of this movement.
  • Bevans, Stephen B.  Models of Contextual Theology ISBN: 1570754381
    • Bevans is a Catholic and with that said there are clearly areas where I disagree with him.  His Catholicism aside I found this book very helpful not in understanding how to contextualize theology, as many of his models if applied to a cross-cultural context would result in syncretism, but in providing a framework for discovering indigenous worldviews.  With that said, I would not recommend this book except to very discerning readers.
  • Brock, Charles.  Indigenous Church Planting In Review ISBN: 1885504381
    • This is simply a brief review of Brock’s book mentioned above.
  • Brock, Charles.  Manual for Volunteers
    • Available from Brock’s website this is a fantastic booklet intended to prepare volunteers to go on short-term mission trips.  I would recommend these to any church that is engaged in cross-cultural ministry.
  • Brock, Charles.  Leading a Bible Study by Indirect Methods
    • Used in conjunction with Indigenous Church Planting: A Practical Journey this book will train you to lead Bible studies indirectly so as to prepare indigenes to lead rather than foster dependence upon your leadership as you plant indigenous churches.
  • Bryant, Eric Michael.  Peppermint-Filled Pinatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love ISBN: 0310273846
    • Eric is a Navigator at Mosaic in Los Angeles.  He does not go into detail as to how to present the gospel, or what the gospel entails, he does explain how you are to go about building relationships for the purpose of sharing the gospel.  He does this using personal stories and examples from Scripture.  I appreciate his down-to-earth writing style and the humor with which he writes.  Too often Christians look like the world in that we merely tolerate those who do not think or look like us, Scripture has not called us to toleration, it has commanded us to love; this is the thesis of Bryant’s work.  Because he does not provide the reader with a detailed exposition of the gospel I would recommend reading this book in conjunction with the John Piper book mentioned above or another work that thoroughly explains the gospel.
  • Burnett, David.  Clash of Worlds: What Christians Can Do in a World of Cultures in Conflict ISBN: 1854245708
    • There are several works that I read this year addressing cults and world religions, this work is unique in that rather than focusing on developing a Systematic Theology of Hinduism Burnett deals with various cults and world religions in terms of their underlying worldview.  Because of its uniqueness and his insights as an anthropologist and a theologian, it is worth the read.
  • Clowney, Edmund P.  Preaching and Biblical Theology ISBN: 0875521452
    • This work is extremely brief, only 124 pages, and there were moments of tremendous insight; however, it seemed too disorganized and this detracted from the pleasure of the reading experience.
  • Davis, John Jefferson.  Evangelical Ethics: Issues Facing the Church Today ISBN: 9780875526225
    • This is one of two books on Christian ethics that I read over the past year; both were fantastically researched and outlined in a similar manner.  I was really surprised by both of these works I had expected a quick treatment of what a biblical perspective on certain issues would be and instead found both to be meticulously researched and a tremendous wealth of information.  Either of these books would be a great read.
  • Enns, Paul P. The Moody Handbook of Theology ISBN: 0802434282
    • I only read the introduction and the section on Biblical Theology in this book; however, I greatly enjoyed what I read.  I would recommend this resource to everyone it is fantastic in that it is divided into five sections on Biblical Theology, Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, Dogmatic Theology, and Contemporary Theology.  It is like having five books in one!  Like all books I disagree with him at times however the breadth of topics covered make this a fantastic resource.
  • Galloway, Bryan K.  Traveling Down Their Road: A Workbook for Discovering a People’s Worldview
    • Dr. Galloway is an experienced missiologist and researcher and it shows in this brief, yet extremely thorough, workbook for discovering an individual’s or a culture’s worldview.
  • Garrison, David.  Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World ISBN: 0974756202
    • I enjoyed the historical aspect of this book as it studies recent church planting movements throughout the world.  One of the sad features of this work is the laughable examples of a church planting movement in North America, although this is the reality in America I would rather him honestly say that such a movement does not exist in North America than see him stretch the paradigm to include the North American examples that he includes.  Overall, I enjoyed this book; if you are looking for a how to manual then this is not the book for you as it is descriptive and not prescriptive.
  • Goldsworthy, Graeme.  According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible ISBN:0830826963
    • You should read this book.  I could have placed this in my top ten for 2007; however, I appreciated Vos’s exegesis more than I appreciated Goldsworthy’s readability.  Goldsworthy provides the reader with a simple and straightforward Biblical Theology.  He is diligent to present the reason for and importance of Biblical Theology.  He does this and presents the overarching storyline of Scripture without using footnotes, endnotes, or anything complicated and scholastic.  If you want to understand the gospel and what God is doing in human history then you need to read this book.  I would caution, however, that his lumping the biblical covenants under one supra-covenant, the covenant of grace, is an incorrect position, though it is a consistent position within his theological heritage.
  • Grudem, Wayne.  Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine ISBN: 0310286700
    • I have really enjoyed reading Grudem’s Systematic Theology for class, I still have a ways to go; however, I appreciate his focus on application and the praise that should result from knowing God as he ends each chapter with a hymn.  I disagree with him at some points but overall this is an extremely readable work that covers the various aspects of theology, as he expounds opposing viewpoints and defends his viewpoint, in a way that is practical and not highly scholastic.
  • Heisler, Greg.  Spirit-Led Preaching: The Holy Spirit’s Role in Sermon Preparation And Delivery ISBN: 0805443886
    • Heisler covers a topic that often receives little to no treatment in works on preaching, namely the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching.  In this, extremely brief yet informative work that details the role of the Holy Spirit in preparing the pastor as he prepares the sermon.  This would be a wonderful supplement to a quality book on sermon preparation.
  • Hesselgrave, David J.  Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond ISBN: 0801022223
    • The content in this work is some of the best researched and exegeted material on church planting I have read; however, I think several matters of organization are detrimental to this work.  First, he presents the reader with a chart that he calls the “Pauline Cycle” the chart is great and explains how Paul planted churches; however, while he gives the full chart over the course of the book he does this in sections and the reader is never presented with a complete version of the “Pauline Cycle.”  Each chapter is divided into sections on Revelation (exegesis of Scripture), Research (studies in anthropology and sociology), and Reflection (examples of how these principles have been applied in the past).  I would have rather seen the book organized into these three categories so the reader could better understand the complete “Pauline Cycle.”  As it stands the work feels somewhat choppy.
  • Hill, Michael.  The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics         ISBN: 187632645X
    • This is one of two books on Christian ethics that I read over the past year; both were fantastically researched and outlined in a similar manner.  I was really surprised by both of these works I had expected a quick treatment of what a biblical perspective on certain issues would be and instead found both to be meticulously researched and a tremendous wealth of information.  Either of these books would be a great read; however, I enjoyed this work the best.  They both took similar positions so it is a mere preference over writing style so you may very well enjoy the other work more.
  • House, H. Wayne.  Charts of World Religions ISBN: 031020495X
    • This is one of three reference works on world religions and cults; each of these works has their strengths and each has their weaknesses.  Furthermore, there are several discrepancies concerning dates and various other data that arise when comparing these works.  None of these books is a silver bullet I would recommend buying several books on world religions and cults and comparing the data in each.
  • Jensen, Peter.  The Revelation of God (Contours of Christian Theology) ISBN: 0830815384
    • I have enjoyed the works I have read in the Contours of Christian Theology series as they aim to supplement traditional works on systematic theology by covering aspects of various topics that traditional systematic theology works do not cover.  This particular volume focuses on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the means by which we acquire the knowledge of God.  The knowledge of God is not data acquired by scholastic study.  The knowledge of God is the person of Jesus Christ whom we know in relationship through the gospel.  There are times when I felt Jensen rambled; however, I greatly appreciated this work and continue to return to it as I study the gospel.
  • Kostenberger, Andreas J. and Peter T. O’Brien.  Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology) ISBN: 0830826114
    • I was thoroughly excited to read this work, namely due to its exegesis of mission in the Old Testament.  This work is a fantastic reference for New Testament exegesis, most of its content is verse-by-verse exposition of mission in the New Testament, so in that sense it is a fantastic work.  However, I was disappointed with its treatment of the Old Testament.  Rather than ask, “What was mission like in the Old Testament and what has occurred that changes that mission into the mission we find in the New Testament?”  They instead ask, “Does New Testament mission find its roots in Old Testament or Intertestamental Judaism?”  Mission finds its roots in God and I had hoped this work would discuss mission in the Old Testament and then explain how the reality of Jesus Christ has transformed mission into what we find in the New Testament.
  • Kraft, Charles H.  Christianity in Culture: A Study in Biblical Theologizing in Cross-Cultural Perspective ISBN: 1570755884
    • I did not think I learned anything from this book and it was an extremely frustrating read.  Since I finished I have returned to it numerous times to quote it in various papers and such.  However, there is a point when you have to spend so much time filtering the water that your time would be better spent drinking from another well.  With that said there are better books to read.
  • Lewis, C. S.  Mere Christianity ISBN: 0060652926
    • Until I began this work, I had never read anything by Lewis besides the Chronicles of Narnia.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mere Christianity Lewis has a way of writing that feels like you are having a conversation with him.  Theologically I have some serious issues with him but as an author, he displays a literary genius that makes him a pleasure to read.  He is prone to rambling and excessive analogizing and his apologetic could be better; however, this is a classic work and will likely be read for generations to come.
  • MacArthur, John.  Philippians ISBN: 0802452620
    • I love John MacArthur and his commentaries are among my favorite due to their practical ministry focused nature.  If you are looking to begin studying the Bible in a more in-depth manner then purchase one of MacArthur’s commentaries to aid you as you study Scripture.  This is one of three commentaries that I am reading as I slowly, due largely to procrastination, work my way through Philippians.
  • Machen, J. Gresham.  Christianity and Liberalism ISBN: 0802811213
    • Machen is profound and easy to read as he addresses early twentieth-century liberalism in this classic work.
  • Martin, Walter and Ravi Zacharias.  The Kingdom of the Cults ISBN: 0764228218
    • This is one of three reference works on world religions and cults; each of these works has their strengths and each has their weaknesses.  Furthermore, there are several discrepancies concerning dates and various other data that arise when comparing these works.  None of these books is a silver bullet I would recommend buying several books on world religions and cults and comparing the data in each.
  • McDowell, Josh and Don Stewart.  Handbook of Today’s Religions ISBN: 0840735014
    • This is one of three reference works on world religions and cults; each of these works has their strengths and each has their weaknesses.  Furthermore, there are several discrepancies concerning dates and various other data that arise when comparing these works.  None of these books is a silver bullet I would recommend buying several books on world religions and cults and comparing the data in each.
  • McManus, Erwin Raphael.  Soul Cravings: An exploration of the Human Spirit ISBN: 0785214941
    • While I have some theological issues with McManus I enjoy listening to him, as he is a great speaker and I have enjoyed reading his previous works.  This book was a completely different story.  I tried to finish this book and I may in the future but could not seem to get through it.  This was not because it was loaded with theological error but it just did not make sense to me for me to begin to evaluate it.  It seemed to ramble continuously with no end or purpose in sight.
  • Murray, Iain H.  Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the  Years 1950 to 2000 ISBN: 0851517838
    • I thoroughly enjoy church history and I greatly enjoyed this book both because Murray is an excellent historian and so much of what he discusses has immediate application to our situation today.  Pastors we need to be encouraging our churches to read this book if we are to understand what it means to be an evangelical and how we, as evangelicals, arrived where we are.  What I appreciate most about Murray’s writing is his healthy criticism and examination of history; we must not merely know history we must learn from it and in this regard he is extremely helpful.
  • Nettles, Tom L. and Rush Bush.  Baptist and the Bible  ISBN: 9780805418323
    • This work is meticulously detailed and extremely thorough as it presents the Baptist position on the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture in the form of mini biographies of Baptists throughout history.  Not only is this the leading work on the subject it is also creatively outlined and the profiles could be read in a one a day devotional type fashion.
  • Niebuhr, H. Richard.  Christ and Culture ISBN: 0061300039
    • Niebuhr provides the reader with five paradigms of how Christ relates to culture.  This is a classic and worth the read.  His paradigms are extremely helpful in understanding how we can relate to culture.  His historical analysis of how various individuals and groups have interacted with their culture is also very helpful.  However, the work suffers because he places the way that various biblical writers interacted with culture at odds, when one needs to realize how each author interacted with culture and then hold these various biblical positions in tension rather than placing them in conflict with one another.
  • Piper, John.  Let the Nations Be Glad! ISBN: 080102613X
    • If you read any book on missions read this one.  Piper writes with a level of intelligence and missiological zeal for the glory of God that is unmatched.  I reread this as Nick Cooper and I were writing the missions Fuel Group for Ignite UK and it was as much a pleasure and challenge as it was the first time I read it.  As a word of caution, I will warn you that if you read this book you may start doing radical things for Jesus!  Did I say that you should read this book yet?  Seriously, read this then read it again and then read it with a friend.
  • Ryken, Leland.  Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were ISBN: 0310325013
    • When reading historical works I enjoy summary but I want to read authors who interact with source material and Ryken does this thoroughly.  In the opening pages of this work he states his aim as letting the Puritans speak for themselves and he does just that as every chapter contains over a hundred quotations from the Puritans and their works.  This work suffers from two shortcomings.  First, as he examines their shortcomings he criticizes them for things that he praises in prior chapters.  Second, he makes no mention of Jonathan Edwards who most would affirm as the last and greatest of the Puritans.
  • Strauch, Alexander.  Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership ISBN:0936083115
    • I think this is the premier work on eldership.  Strauch begins by defining the nature of biblical eldership, he then exposits every passage concerning eldership found in Scripture, and he concludes with two practical chapters on appointing elders and the relationship between the elder and the congregation.
  • Vincent, Marvin R.  A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon (The International Critical Commentary) ISBN: 0567050319
    • The International Critical Commentary series is a scholastic series that is focused on interacting with the Greek text.  I have read sections of various commentaries in this series before and have strong disagreements with those who take critical to mean criticizing the text rather an acute examination of the text.  One aims to find fault the other is interested in the unpacking the truth of Scripture.  Vincent’s volume fits in the later category and so far, his exegesis has been sound and profoundly insightful.  Aside from his interaction with the text itself, his introductory material dealing with the background and history of Philippi has been very helpful in understanding this epistle.
  • Walls, Andrew F.  The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith ISBN: 1570750599
    • This book is a series of journal articles written by Walls and edited for this volume.  Because these are individual articles compiled to form a single work they differ in quality and there is a lack of flow between the articles that one would find between the chapters in a book.  Some of the articles are extremely helpful and others are not but that is the nature of a volume like this.
  • Walvoord, John F.  The Revelation of Jesus Christ ISBN: 0802473091
    • This is one of the best selling commentaries on an extremely difficult book of the Bible and because of this I think deserves our attention.  Walvoord is one of the leading dispensational scholars of our time and he clearly articulates a premillennial dispensational interpretation of Revelation in a way that is both textually focused and theologically oriented.  He writes clearly in a way that will aid all in understanding a very difficult book of the Bible.
  • Wilson, Douglas J.  Persuasions: A Dream of Reason Meeting Unbelief ISBN: 1885767295
    • Rather than a manual on apologetics, Wilson writes simplistically to demonstrate what Presuppositional Apologetics looks like in practice.  This work is divided into a series of conversations between an individual named Evangelist and individuals of various philosophical persuasions.  I greatly appreciate how he is able to demonstrate a very difficult topic in a way that small children will grasp.  If you have never read a work on apologetics before or you are a seasoned apologist, I would recommend this volume to you.  Parents buy this book, read it for yourself, and read it to your children.  Pastors get this book for your congregation; show them that apologetics is not esoteric, but finds ample application in everyday life.

What I Look Forward to Reading Next Year

My reading goals constantly change as I engage the topics that I hope to study.  This means that I will not read all of these books and I will read many others that are not on this list.  I also have many books that I am reading for school which are not on this list.

  • Allen, Roland.  Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? ISBN: 0802810012
  • Cole, Neil.  Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens ISBN: 078798129X
  • Blaising, Craig A. and Darrell L. Bock.  Progressive Dispensationalism ISBN: 0801022436
  • Edwards, Jonathan.  The Works of Jonathan Edwards (In Two Volumes) ISBN: 1565630858
    • A Careful and Strict Inquiry into the Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of Will (Vol.1)
    • A Dissertation on the Nature of True Virtue (Vol.1)
    • A History of the Work of Redemption (Vol.1)
    • Inquiry Concerning Qualifications for Communion (Vol.1)
    • Narrative of Surprising Conversions (Vol.1)
    • Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Vol.2)
  • Finger, Thomas N.  A Contemporary Anabaptist Theology: Biblical, Historical, Constructive ISBN: 0830827854
  • Goldsworthy, Graeme.  Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture ISBN: 9780802847300
  • Lawson, Steven J.  Foundations of Grace 1400 BC – AD 100: A Long Line of Godly Men (Volume One) ISBN: 1567690777
  • Littell, Franklin H.  The Anabaptist View of the Church (Dissent and Nonconformity) ISBN: 157978836X
  • Newbigin, Lesslie.  The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission ISBN: 9780802808295
  • Pratt, Richard L., Jr.  Every Thought Captive: A Study Manual for the Defense of Christian Truth            ISBN: 0875523528
  • Saucy, Robert L.  The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism: The Interface Between Dispensational and Non-Dispensational Theology ISBN: 0310304415

Meaning versus Significance: Hermeneutics and Evangelical Political Activism

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The presidential primaries are in full swing and so are the Evangelical political activists.  Yes, another post on politics . . . do not worry, there are nine months until November and I am already sick of it too.  My concern here is not to propose a full-blown theology of politics, but to briefly examine the hermeneutics behind the “political mandate,” namely the idea that Christians are required to be highly involved in the political process.

Hermeneutics 101

Before continuing a biblical hermeneutic must be established so that it can be contrasted with the hermeneutic of Evangelical political activism.  In the simplest of terms a biblical hermeneutic operates upon five key principles.  A common thread is woven throughout these principles, namely the importance of context.

Literal: Scripture must be interpreted literally.  Scripture is not a fairytale, it does not begin with “once upon a time,” it is history and future revealed authoritatively, inerrantly, and infallibly by the one who spoke the world into being.  The first step to understanding any passage in Scripture is to understand its literary context; as the Word of God it is unlike any other piece of literature known to man and as His Word it lays claims upon us that can be made by no other piece of literature.

Historical: Scripture must be interpreted within its historical and cultural setting.  God who exists outside of time has chosen to act and speak both within time and at particular times.  The paradox continues as one considers how the timeless Word of God is composed of words whose meanings are inextricably tied to the time and culture into which they were spoken.  The second step to understanding any passage in Scripture is to understand its historical context.

Grammatical: Scripture must be interpreted according to the rules of grammar.  Scripture is a series of words arranged into phrases and phrases arranged into sentences and sentences arranged into paragraphs etcetera.  Because the unified Word of God is comprised of the “words of God” one must understand the structural relationships that exist between these words.  The third step to understanding any passage in Scripture is to understand its grammatical context.

Contextual: Scripture must be interpreted within the context of the surrounding Scripture.  Because the multitudinous “words of God” comprise the unified Word of God one must be diligent to understand every particular passage as it both relates to and correlates with Scripture as a whole.  The fourth step to understanding any passage in Scripture is to understand its textual context.

Redemptive: Scripture must be interpreted as it properly relates to Christ.  Throughout the Gospels, most notable the road to Emmaus encounter, it is clear that both the Disciples and Jewish community as a whole suffered from a critical flaw in their understanding of Scripture, namely its relationship to the Messiah.  The fifth step to understanding any passage in Scripture is to understand its redemptive context.

Even beyond the aim of this post, I hope the outline above proves useful in your own study of Scripture.

Examining the Political Mandate

The aim of this post is to examine the hermeneutic of Evangelical political activism, namely as it pertains to the “political mandate.”  The “political mandate” is often justified or explained by the gross misuse of the metaphors of “salt and light” found in Matthew 5:13-16.  I am assuming that most of you can read and do so according to the basic rules of grammar so rather than go into a lengthy technical discussion of the relationship between these words I want to define them and then make several overarching observations.

Salt: This was an extremely valuable commodity; in ancient times it was referred to as divine, used to ratify covenants, and even used as money in some cultures.  The salt used in this region was from the Dead Sea and was often polluted with Gypsum a mineral that degrades the salts flavor and effectiveness as a preservative.  Various commentators have noted and argued for varying functions of salt: as a seasoning, as a preservative, as a chemical that induces thirst, and as an irritant to name a few.  Regardless of these particular functions salt was an extremely valuable commodity.

Light:  This word can function one of three ways: to describe the light itself, to describe an object emitting light, and to describe something that is illuminated.  Within Oriental, culture light was typically viewed as the means by which one sees in Greek culture, however, light was viewed as both the means and object of sight; a concept which has strong correlations to the idea of spiritual blindness.  Noting the three functions of light described redeemed man is certainly not the object by which blind men see this is an act of a sovereign God.  Redeemed individuals have been both illumined by Christ and reflect His radiance.  If taken in this sense the act of being illuminated is prerequisite to radiating light and thus the latter must be taken as the final function of the word; because Jesus Christ, the light of the world, has given us light to see we are thus fit vessels to radiate His glory.

In summary, those redeemed by God are to be particularly valuable to society and in so doing radiate the glory of Christ, so that fallen man, by both perceiving the value and its source, will glorify and worship God.  Neither the means nor the end of what Christ describes here is explicitly political.  Throughout the Gospels Christ continually refutes politicized interpretations of the Messiah.  The reaction of His Jewish hearers, who were fervently political, clearly did not interpret Jesus’ words as a political mandate as Scripture describes them as being amazed, rather than revolting against Rome.  Overall, the Sermon on the Mount has numerous references to political entities and yet the common response is submission and servitude rather than political engagement.  The early church did not interpret this text as a political mandate, nor did the apostles, who even under intense persecution did not take political action.  Furthermore, interpreting this text as a political mandate renders it irrelevant for most of the known world, as America is one of the few countries where the citizens play such a crucial role in politics and where Christianity is not persecuted by the government.  How is a Christian living in a Muslim country under Sharia law to fulfill this supposed political mandate?  Christian jihad?  Should American Evangelicals reinvent the Crusades and overthrow these governments so Muslim background believers can fulfill their political mandate via democratic process?

Addressing the Real Issue: Meaning versus Significance

The issue here is not one of meaning it is one of significance  “Significance is always ‘meaning-to,’ never ‘meaning-in.’  Significance always entails a relationship between what is in a man’s verbal meaning and what is outside it” (E. D. Hirsch Jr., Validity In Interpretation [New Haven and London: Yale Varsity Press, 1967], 63).  More simply stated, meaning is fixed, Scripture objectively and eternally means what God intended it to mean.  Significance, however, addresses the relationship between that meaning and our present context.  The text means that “those redeemed by God are to be particularly valuable to society and in so doing radiate the glory of Christ, so that fallen man, by both perceiving the value and its source, will glorify and worship God.”  The significance of that meaning will depend upon the context in which you apply it.  The way one goes about being particularly valuable to society and radiating the glory of Christ, although regulated by certain biblical principles, depends largely upon the context in which one is ministering.  This means that there is no political mandate.  This does not mean that redeemed individuals cannot be involved in politics.  It means that redeemed individuals must discern whether political involvement is the best way to be particularly valuable to society and radiate the glory of Christ.  What about me and what about my context?  Judging our current cultural context and the lack of discernment and discretion shown in past events I do not feel that what I see among Evangelicals is either particularly valuable to society or particularly glorifying to God, but arguing that point will have to wait for another day.

Church Revitalization or Church Planting — Again

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Research shows that 90% of SBC churches are plateaued or declining and only 2-3% (Aubrey Malphurs) or 3-5% (Ed Stetzer) will ever recover.  What does this tell us about how our resources and energy should be focused?  Where do you think our resources and energy is currently focused?

On a lighter note, was this extraterrestrial, supernatural, or just Elvis?  You make the call.

I will try to have my “2007 A Year in Books” posted sometime before 2009 but I am quite busy right now, so hopefully it will be up sometime in February.

My First Book: Well, Almost . . .

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Many of you know that Nick Cooper and I have been teaching a Fuel Group at Ignite UK this semester on missions.  We finally have both the teacher’s manuscript and class handouts completed and posted on the web for download.  Before I post the links, I have to give an extra extra special thanks to my awesome wife who took the time to proofread all 150 pages of it both before each class and before its posting here.  I would also recommend checking out the Ignite UK Resources page, as all of our Fuel Groups for this semester will soon be up.

Sold Out: The Sufficiency and Supremacy of Christ in Missions (Class Handout)

Sold Out: The Sufficiency and Supremacy of Christ in Missions (Teacher’s Manuscript)

Rick Warren on Missions

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In my last post, I gave you the following quote from an individual whose identity I did not reveal at that time.

These problems, and the answers, are not new.  But the way we intend to tackle them using the small groups of local churches in large numbers is revolutionary.

The bottom line is that we intend to reinvent mission strategy in the 21st century.  This will be a new Reformation.  The First Reformation returned us to the message of the original church.  It was a reformation of doctrine – what the church BELIEVES.  This Second Reformation will return us to the mission of the original church.  It will be a reformation of purpose- what the church DOES in the world.

In the first century, mission strategy was always congregationally based.  The first missionaries were sent, supported, and accountable to local churches.  The church at Antioch was the first to do this.  There were no mission societies, mission boards, or parachurch organizations.  Local churches accepted the responsibility for Jesus’ Great Commission and his Great Commandment, and the growth of the church worldwide was explosive.

Today, most local churches are sidelined and uninvolved when it comes to missions.  The message from most mission and parachurch organizations to the local church is essentially “Pray, pay, and get out of the way.”  But in the 21st century . . . [We] intend to help thousands of other local churches move back to the frontline in missions, in compassion, and in providing the social services that historically the church provided.  I believe the proper role for all the great parachurch and relief organizations is to serve local churches in a supportive role, offering their expertise and knowledge, but allowing the local churches around the world to be central focus and the distribution centers.

I deeply believe that any organization that marginalized or minimizes the local congregation’s responsibility to “Go”, or bypasses the local church’s moral authority to fulfill the Great Commission,  is out of sync with the strategy God intended, and modeled in the book of Acts.

Rick Warren said that as he described the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, the specific quote is available here.  After the above quote Warren goes on to say, “We intend to leverage the attention that the Purpose Driven Life has garnered to bring about a whole new way of thinking and acting in the church about our responsibility in the world.  This is a stewardship we must be faithful to fulfill- with humility, generosity, and integrity.”

I think he has spoken with profound insight.  These parachurch organizations and mission societies/boards are, as he puts it, “out of sync with the strategy God intended.”  They are robbing the church of her responsibility.  Local churches must fulfill their responsibility and bearing the burden of fulfilling the Great Commission.  As a Southern Baptist, I am familiar with the structures within the Southern Baptist Convention and the typical mindset of “We gave to the cooperative program and are therefore fulfilling our responsibility to ‘go make disciples’” just does not cut it.  That is an unacceptable and unbiblical attitude.

Such a strategy also necessitates that churches be involved in the task of raising up, sending out, and empowering their best leaders.  The typical corporate ladder mindset of most American pastors is horrifically unbiblical.  Rather than our most skilled pastors continually seeking bigger churches and higher salaries, which is often a detriment to those churches, these pastors should employ their skill where it is needed most, the hard places and pioneer areas.  Sadly, I do not expect this to be the case as most pastors in America are more concerned with building their empire than God’s kingdom.

What do you all think?  Has the church lost her mission?  Do we need a second reformation that recovers what the church does?  Before we can do that I think we need a second reformation that recovers what the church is, but that is for another post.