I love to read. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind by P.T. Forsyth. A few months ago I noticed a trend in several of the preaching books I’d read: some of the best parts of each book were nothing more than quotations from Forsyth’s Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind. “Ad fontes!” I cried and so here we are. Forsyth’s opus on preaching was originally delivered as part of the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale University in 1907. The Scottish theologian barrels out of the gate saying, “It is, perhaps, an overbold beginning, but I will venture to say that with its preaching Christianity stands or falls” (3). “You sir,” I say, “are worth listening to.” Forsyth wanders around more than I’d prefer, but he often finds himself in a place of brilliance. His thoughts on preaching and “Religious Reality” are particularly smashing. This isn’t a fast read, but you’re preaching will be helped.

The Soul of Prayer by P.T. Forsyth. I liked Positive Preaching enough to pick up Forsyth’s much shorter (95 pages) work on prayer. The book is straightforward enough as it consider seven attributes of prayer: Prayer’s inwardness, naturalness, moral reactions, timeliness, ceaselessness, vicariousness, and insistency. He rambles about again without a cohesive center, but—like Positive Preaching—the rambling proves to offer continual spiritual profit. I found myself freshly challenged to prayer through an old man illuminating old truths in fresh ways.

Constrained by His Love: A New Biography of Robert Murray M’Cheyne by J.L. Van Valen. Originally published in Dutch in 1992, Christian Focus translated Van Valen’s work and made it the most recent major English-language bio of M’Cheyne in 2002. The work reads less like a chronological narrative and more like a systematic treatment of M’Cheyne’s thought/practice. Once I got around that—and what seemed to be some literary verve lost in translation—I found my soul edified. Frankly, it seems impossible to me for anyone to write anything about M’Cheyne and not edify the reader. The Scotsman is just that compelling. Pictures of M’Cheyne’s cultural context, personal letters, and major figures help illuminate the story at every turn. Van Valen’s final chapter of summary thoughts on the man’s life and legacy is worth the price of the book.

Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservatives and American Culture by Barry Hankins. I picked up Hankins book as something of a personal treat after completing my spring seminars at The Institution back in early June.  Hankins book attempts to answer the question, “How did the conservative leaders of America’s largest Protestant denomination come to hold culture views that put them at odds with the moderates who had preceded them in the leadership positions of their denomination?” His short answer is, “Conservative leaders came to believe that America, including the South, was in the throes of a cultural crisis that necessitated a warlike struggle against the forces that were hostile to evangelical faith.” Sounds fun, doesn’t it? I thought so. As a conservative Southern Baptist I predictably disagree with some of Hankins’ more moderate conclusions, but on the whole this is some mighty fine denominational history.

Baptists in America: A History by Thomas Kidd and Barry Hankins. The month of Baptist history continued with Hankins joining forces with the redoubtable Tommy Kidd. They ably tell the fascinating story of Baptists rise from persecuted minority to the Protestant majority in our country. Their research is impeccable and immense, best seen in the very personal vignettes woven into each chapter regarding forgotten individuals. I did, however, find this literary approach giving the story some narrative slack. But these brothers can be forgiven. The chapters on “Slavery, Schism, and War” and “Black Baptist in Babylon” were particularly insightful. At the end of the book the authors write, “In all of this, Baptists are notorious for two things—evangelism and schism.” Sounds about right to me. Well done!

Reforming Marriage by Doug Wilson. I know some think of Wilson as the dark lord of Reformed theology, particularly all you “TR” (Truly Reformed ©) brothers. But I love him. Not that I agree with everything he says, far from it. But, Wilson always makes you think and he writes with skill that’s, as the kids say, “stupid good.” I’ve long considered his Future Men as my manual for raising boys, so I decided to dip into the rest of the Family Series catalog. First up was his little treatise on marriage. And let me say what many don’t want to say, this is brilliant. I thought his chapter one honoring the marriage bed is as good as anything I’ve yet read on the topic. This is biblical conviction worth listening to.

Fidelity: How to Be a One-Woman Man by Doug Wilson. Wilson ups the ante in Fidelity by saying, “Some of what is said here may be offensive to some Christian women, but the point is certainly not to give offense. The point is to provide biblically specific and pointed help for Christian males” (13). “Help on what?” you might ask. The answer is, of course, being a one-woman man grounded in God’s word (1 Tim. 3:2). So, while the book is certainly not for all people, it does have many helpful things to say about “the various allurements which distract Christian men from their sexual responsibilities.” While I didn’t find every chapter useful, his work on “Lust and Pornography” and their incumbent perils is oh so helpful.

How to Exasperate Your Wife and Other Short Essays for Men by Doug Wilson. The cover and title are quite hilarious, but they belie a serious little book. After Reforming Marriage and Fidelity I wondered if Wilson’s latest was going to be something of a “Doug’s Best Hits on Husbandry” album. So I was pleasantly surprised to find him treading on familiar ground in a fresh way. Every chapter is short, packed with pithy little punches and delightful spiritual digs at much of the masculine bufoonery plaguing Christian men today. I’ve already invited a few men to read the book with me as I think it will be quite edifying for all as we desire to represent Christ in our homes.

Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship by John Macarthur. Every Tuesday morning at 7:30am I meet with the other two staff members of IDC and we’re always working through a book. I can’t remember how it came up, but one of them suggested we read Macarthur’s Strange Fire. And read we did. And that particular staff member still isn’t sure if his decision was a good one. He thought Macarthur’s arguments were compelling biblically, but failed the “winsomeness test.” I’m not sure if I agree with the latter issue, but I can see how Macarthur’s utter confidence in his interpretation of God’s word can come across as arrogance to some. I still believe anyone looking for a popular, evangelical case for cessationism would do well to read and wrestle with this book.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. One day while running—any good thought I have usually comes while on a run—I decided I’d been away from Middle Earth for far too long. I soon realized it’s because I last ventured into the original, literary world of Tolkien about thirteen years (!) ago. That’s terribly long for a Hobbit loving soul like mine. So back to the world of hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards, rings, and bad guys I went. I’d forgotten how much singing there was in middle earth and actually managed to lose a few characters over the years (Beorn being the most notable). After the book finished you know what first popped into my mind? “My, my how Peter Jackson bungled the whole Hobbit franchise.”

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit again managed to weave it’s way into my mind as I read the next book in the series. I was surprised to find how many little asides—Radagast anyone?—in the cinematic Hobbit actually came from The Fellowship of the Ring book. The Fellowship’s glory and beauty remain unstained, I am pleased to report. Tolkien’s longer introduction to the history of hobbits in this volume caused me to realize something for the first time: my natural disposition is strikingly hobbit-like. Let those who know me best and love “the trilogy to rule all trilogies” understand.

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