I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

Looking Unto Jesus: The Christ-Centered Piety of Seventeenth-Century Baptists by Stephen Yuille. Yuille is an underrated Puritan scholar from Canada who pastors a church down in Glen Rose, Texas. He has published several different works on the Puritans in the last few years and one recent effort is this slim volume Looking Unto Jesus. The book begins with a marvelous introduction where Yuille gives four reasons for why he keeps coming back to the Puritans: they are God-fearing, heaven-seeking, sin-hating, and Christ-exalting. The rest of the work is occupied with two lesser known Puritans, Thomas Wilcox and Vavasor Powell (“The Whitefield of Wales”). Chapter 1 is a reproduction of Wilcox’s A Guide to Eternal Glory and chapter 2 is Yuille’s commentary on the life and work of Wilcox. The patter repeats itself in chapters 3 and 4 with Powell’s Saving Faith Discovered in Three Heavenly Conferences. I found this approach to be novel and useful. For those familiar with the Puritans you could read the original offerings from Wilcox and Powell, and then scan Yuille’s commentary. But for those who find Puritan works daunting, Yuille’s commentary will be a sure guide through the old works. I’d love to see more Puritan titles reprinted in this format. Wilcox’s work is stimulating and Powell’s Conferences offers discriminatory gospel application at its finest.

Churchill by Paul Johnson. I read this not long after it came out in 2010 and had been meaning to reread it for some time. Johnson is a great historian and was a young teenager at the end of World War II, thus he is unique suitable to write a brief bio on The Last Lion. Churchill comes in at just over 180 pages, so those looking for in depth analysis of Winston’s life should consult other sources. But I don’t know of a better introduction to that most famous of 20th century leaders. Johnson offers five lessons from Churchill’s life in the epilogue and this section alone is worth the book’s weight in gold. Every leader would do well to consider Johnson’s analysis:

1. “The first lesson is: always aim high. As a child Churchill received no positive encouragement from his father and little from his mother. He was aware of his failure at school. But he still aimed high.”
2. “Lesson number two is: there is no substitute for hard work…Mistakes he constantly made, but there was never anything shoddy or idle about his work.”
3. “Third, and in its way most important, Churchill never allowed mistakes, disaster–personal or national–accidents, illnesses, unpopularity, and criticism to get him down.”
4. “Fourth, Churchill wasted an extraordinarily small amount of his time and emotional energy on the meannesses of life: recrimination, shifting the blame onto others, malice, revenge seeking, dirty tricks, spreading rumors, harboring grudges, waging vendettas…There is nothing more draining and exhausting than hatred. And malice is bad for the judgment.”
5. “Finally, the absence of hatred left plenty of room for joy in Churchill’s life…He liked to share his joy, and give joy. It must never forgotten that Churchill was happy with people.”

Ballistic by Mark Greaney. The entire world is after Court Gentry, the popular protagonist in Greaney’s Gray Man series, yet the man is impossible to catch. I wondered after reading book two if Greaney hadn’t set “up a trajectory that tempts believability.” Ballistic, book three in the series, proved my fear worthwhile as it repeatedly tries to convince the reader that with Gentry, everything impossible is oh so possible. The action packed book moves is a rapid page turner, but Greaney needs something more than shoot ’em up, bang ’em up virtuosity to make the series compelling. I’ll move on to book four in the hope that Greaney himself can channel the Gray Man and do something unbelievable: offer up more than a one-dimensional thrill ride.

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

Christ and the Future: The Bible’s Teaching about the Last Things by Cornelius Venema. Back in 2000 Venema published his masterful study of eschatology entitled Promise of the Future, which was a modern reshaping and update of Anthony Hoekema’s landmark The Bible and the Future.¹ Banner of Truth felt the size and weight of Promise of the Future would prevent many church members from feasting on its truth. So they commissioned Christ and the Future, an abridgement that cuts down Promise and the Future by over 50%. Venema deals with everything from inaugurated eschatology to the intermediate state to the millenium to final judgment with clarity and color. This book remains my “go to” recommendation for interested lay members. It doesn’t hurt that Venema is a convinced amillennialist.

Perspectives on Pentecost: New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Richard Gaffin. Originally published in 1979, this work remains entirely relevant to the contemporary discussion on spiritual gifts. Gaffin’s careful exegesis of the relevant New Testament texts will be daunting for some, but slow reading will be rewarded. The book is short (just over 110 pages) and the tone is irenic, so anyone interested in the debate would do well to wrestle with this one. Chapters 4 and 5, “Prophecy and Tongues” & “The Question of Cessation” will be of unique interest. Regardless of where you stand in the debate on spiritual gifts Gaffin’s work should have a home on your shelf.

Building Her House: Commonsensical Wisdom for Christian Women by Nancy Wilson. This book was one of several I gave my wife for Christmas and it is a treat. I raced through it so I could converse with my wife on its content.  Nancy, the wife of Doug Wilson, writes with a direct style and offers exactly what the subtitle proclaims: commonsensical wisdom. Building Her House is broken up into five parts: 1) Service, 2) Family Relationships, 3) Marriage, 4) Mothering, and 5) Attitudes. The chapters are super short and packed with meditative truth; I could see this being a great discipling tool for women. I plan to add a couple copies to our church’s bookshelf.

One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. I happened across One Summer on Amazon and it sounded so intriguing that I added it to my Christmas wish list. My in-laws graciously feed my book addiction so this was one of several titles I received at their house on Christmas Eve. And oh my, what a read! Bryson walks the reader through life as it was in America during the summer of 1927, a surprisingly potent season in our nation’s history. Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic, Babe Ruth was on the way to his magical 60, Al Capone ruled corrupt Chicago, the enigmatic Calvin Coolidge dressed up as a cowboy, and a Jack Dempsey fight attracted 150,000 fans. Bryson compellingly weaves the various story lines together, even if many of the characters are treated somewhat irreverently. This was the most fascinating book I’ve read in a long time.

On Target by Mark Greaney. On Target is the second book in Greaney’s Gray Man series, which focuses on the exploits of one Courtland Gentry; a man that everyone wants to catch, but no one can (think Jason Bourne). The series’ first installment was thrillingly paced, but the plot line was thin. On Target has a much more engaging storyline punctuated by surprises. The book’s abrupt ended is redeemed by a solid epilogue, but I do wonder if the conclusion sets up a trajectory that tempts believability. I mean, can Gentry really escape a world, quite literally, every known power in the world? We shall see.

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

You Lift Me Up: Overcoming Ministry Challenges by Al Martin. For years I had heard of Martin’s peculiar power in preaching, but it was only last year that I actually listened to a few sermons and found myself saying, “Now that is unction!” Back in 1990 Martin preached a series of messages at a pastor’s conference on the topic of “Warnings Against Ministerial Backsliding and Burnout” that were received with “unusual benefit” (9).

So it was that 23 years later the addresses were published as You Lift Me Up. Martin offers seven warnings related to ministerial backsliding and burnout: Beware of 1) distractions from devotion, 2) neglecting generic Christian duties, 3) trading off a good conscience, 4) isolating yourself from the congregation, 5) having priorities shaped by others’ perceived needs, 6) hiding your real humanity, and 7) neglecting your physical body. Every pastor, young or old, would be wise to feast on the wisdom Martin provides. His wisdom offers a medicinal balm of correctives, restoratives, and preventatives.

The Lord’s Supper as a Means of Grace: More than a Memory by Richard Barcellos. Every useful book I’ve ever read on the Supper has been from a non-Baptist. So I was excited to see Barcellos, a Reformed Baptist, offer up a brief primer on the reality of the Supper being a means of grace. His “specific focus is to show how the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace.” To show how he turns to three texts: 1 Corinthians 10:16, Ephesians 1:3, and Ephesians 3:14-16. His argument from these texts essentially is, “In the Lord’s Supper Christian’s have real, present participation in the present benefits of the exalted Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit.”

I appreciated his chapter on historical theology that showed how the argument is not only a centuries old in the Reformed and Presbyterian heritages, but also the Particular Baptist heritage. The argument is clouded by technical Greek discussion and a fair amount of redundancy, making it largely inaccessible to a church member. To be fair, Barcellos admits he is writing for pastors and theological students (16). So we are still waiting for a popular level, Baptist treatment of the Supper as a means of grace.

No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come as You Are Culture in the Church by John Burke. Burke says our postmodern and post-Christian culture brings five unique struggles into the church and they all need to be deconstructed. The struggles are those of trust, tolerance, truth, brokenness, and aloneness. To answer these struggles Burke says a local church should strive to create a culture of authenticity, vulnerability, understanding, and healing. To show how this can work he gives the reader lots – and I mean LOTS – of illustrations and stories from his church, Gateway Church in Austin. The proposed solutions are predictable, but nonetheless useful in helping a pastor evaluate how his church his church’s “welcoming” culture.

The Gray Man by Mark Greaney. I have often thought that if I could be one movie character for a day it would be Jason Bourne. So when I see a book series declared to be “Bourne for the new millenium” I am bound to read it. This title is the first of Greaney’s Gray Man series revolving around one Court Gentry, a veritable legend in the covert world. The Gray Man proved to be exactly what I was expecting, and that’s not a bad thing. Are the Gentry’s amazing and many escapes from death unrealistic? Probably. Are the fight scenes somewhat bombastic? Probably. Is the story strikingly similar to Bourne? Probably. But is it an enthralling read? Undoubtedly.

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

Death By Living: Life is Meant to Be Spent by ND Wilson. Wilson didn’t disappoint in this long awaited follow-up to his much acclaimed Notes from a Tilt-a-Whirl. He says, “This book hangs on a creature’s narrative motion through time (past, present, and future) and is (slightly) more linear [than Notes].” I am not so sure I would call it linear, but it is a collection of marvelous meditations on life, death, and everything in between. I was brought to tears multiple times through laughter, simple reflections on life, and the sadness of a loved one crossing over. As the book concluded a renewed vigor to live this vapor in the wind with passion and purpose thudded on my soul. Undoubtedly one of the best books I have read all year.

Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change by Paul David Tripp. I had thumbed through this book several times, but never got around to reading it until last week. Tripp’s soul-care manifesto is a one stop shop of biblical wisdom for pastors, counselors, and Christians in general. The book can be broken up into two parts with the first section detailing the theology foundation for helping people change and the second section showing a practical method to employ. His framework of “Love, Know, Speak, Do” is mighty helpful. The book is longer than it needs to be (360 pages), which is very Tripp-like, but I would still recommend every pastor read it.

A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules by Robert Stein. I loved the whimsically serious nature with which Stein teaches basic principles for interpreting the Bible in this book. When he teaches on interpreting narratives he does so under the heading of “The Game of Stories”; when it’s poetry he calls it “The Game of Rhythm.” Each section is long enough to cover the necessary bases, but not so long to tempt the reader’s interest. All in all, this is a useful introduction to hermeneutics. It may have been the one I’d recommend if it wasn’t for . . .

40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer. I love Kregel’s “40 Questions About Series” because each entry is accessibly exhaustive – 40 questions on a given topic is usually sufficient to his all the high points. Plummer’s entry on hermeneutics is my now go to volume to introduce Christians into the discipline. Plummer covers everything you would want him to with clarity and care. Highly recommended!

The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. My dad has tried to get me to read Clancy for quite some time, so I finally dove in with the first Jack Ryan novel. Maybe it was because my dad’s rave reviews created unrealistic expectations or maybe it was because I already knew the ending from watching the movie; whatever the reason, I was quite disappointed. The book is bloated with technical naval jargon and Clancy jumps around so much with the narrative that character development didn’t seem to be on his radar. I did enjoy how the Cold War’s ideologies were appropriately collided throughout the novel. Ryan gets surprisingly little spot time in the book, so I can’t help but think that if Clancy didn’t bounce around so much and focused more solely on Ryan and Ramius (the Soviet protagonist) the narrative would have been tighter. I am not disappointed enough to give up on Clancy, I will just stroll in to the next book with lower expectations.

End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James Swanson. Swanson’s first two books, bestsellers I might add, focused on the chase for a presidential assassin and the presidential funeral pageant that followed. So I guess he is uniquely equipped to writ about JFK’s assassination and everything it includes. And I am glad he did. Swanson is one of those rare historians who can write history with the gripping prose of expert storytellers and this trait is on full display in this latest work. I was so absorbed with the interwoven fates of Kennedy and Oswald that I read the entire book in two sittings. Conspiracy theorists will surely want to excoriate Swanson’s simple conclusion that “perhaps the reason (for Oswald assassinating the president) is much simpler and more fundamental and lies beyond rational human understanding: Lee Harvey Oswald was evil” (297). The book abounds with fascinating insights (such as how Jackie started the Camelot Court mythology) and I think would satisfy the JFK expert or novice.

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief by John Frame. I am not sure if it would be appropriate to call this Frame’s magnum opus, but it is undoubtedly a fitting capstone to his decades of teaching. Everything you would expect from Frame is in this volume: emphasis on God’s lordship, extended sections on epistemology, a warm tone, and, oh yeah, loads of triads. As DeYoung pointed out Frame’s ST gives overwhelming attention to the doctrine of God, doctrine of the knowledge of God, and doctrine of the Word of God. I wish these sections would have been thinned out to give more room to areas of salvation, ecclesiology, and eschatology. After completing the book I felt as thought ST functions like a “John Frame’s Greatest Hits” album. It really is not much more than a smashing of his 4-volume lordship series with Salvation Belongs to the Lord. That being said, it is an outstanding achievement. If I had to recommend a 1,000+ page systematic for a layperson this might be the one.

Five Points: Towards a Deeper Experience of God’s Grace by John Piper. I loved this little (just over 80 pages) volume. Piper walks through the five points of Calvinism with pronounced pastoral care and warmth. He gives appropriate attention to what Scripture says about each point and is not immune to the common objections. If you wanted to walk through the doctrines of grace with a new believer or wanted to recommend an accessible treatment for skeptical Arminians, this would be the place to start. I particularly appreciated his discussion on how perseverance in the Christian life is a community project. Kudos to Piper for also including a final chapter that surveys how the doctrines of grace impacted men like Augustine, Edwards, Whitefield, Mueller, and Spurgeon.

The Cross-Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by CJ Mahaney. I last read this book in December of 2010 and loved it. Three years later I find myself even more appreciative of Mahaney’s pastoral sensitivity. He steers clear of the redundancy and reductionism that can mark contemporary gospel-centered parlance. On a side note, should this book have been published any time after 2008 (it was originally published in 2002) I bet it would be titled The Gospel Centered Life. Mahaney would have been wise to have some reflection on Christ’s resurrection and ascension, yet the focus on Calvary is warranted and it comes with great warmth. The gospel clearly affects CJ Mahaney and its inflaming power permeates everything in this little book. Although you can read it in less than an hour, its influence on your life will likely be measured by months and years.

Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation by Henry Virkler. Virkler’s work is one of the more definitive hermeneutical handbooks of the last twenty-five years. The bulk of the book is spent walking through the following four areas of analysis: 1) historical-cultural and contextual analysis, 2) lexical-syntactical analysis, 3) special literary analysis, and 4) transcultural application analysis. Hermeneutics would be a good introduction for prospective or current seminary students. If you want a hermeneutics book to recommend to lay teachers or church members I’d suggest this one.

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly. This is latest volume in Connelly’s bestselling Lincoln Lawyer series. The series left off with Haller planning to run for District Attorney of LA County and I was eager to find out what came of the race. Evidently the Lincoln Lawyer is not D.A. material. The Gods of Guilt finds Haller in his familiar role of defense attorney, having somewhat stupendously flamed out of the D.A. race. Although this entry doesn’t have the twist ending that has marked recent books in the series, it is still a “grippingly” fun read. Connelly has long been a master crime writer, but the LL series is proving him to be also be a master of courtroom banter and strategy.

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. 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.

Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative by Sam Storms. This surely is now the “go to” resource for amillennialism. Storms was trained in classic dispensationalism and the book represents a few decades worth of study, so he is uniquely equipped to deal with the pertinent content. In over 500 pages he covers everything from escatological hermeneutics to systematic strengths/weaknesses of the various positions to exegesis of the disputed texts. Storms writes winsomely and clearly, thus the book steers clear of the dry, academic treatment one usually finds in this debate. If Kingdome Come doesn’t convince you of the amillinnial position it will at least give you the best representative study you can find. Of particular help are his chapters “Problems with Premillinnalism” and “A Cumulative Case Argument for Amillennialism.”

The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Brian & Cara Croft. Croft is the curator of the popular practicalshepherding.com and I was pleased to see his wisdom make its way into print with The Pastor’s Family. The strength of this book is the written interplay between Brian and Cara. At appropriate points in Brian’s chapters Cara will offer up a paragraph or two on perspective from a pastor’s wife (and vice versa on Cara’s chapters). For me, Part Two –  “The Pastor’s Wife: ‘I Don’t Recall Saying ‘I Do’ To This!” – is the strongest part of the book. Few available resources today specifically address the impact of ministry on the pastor’s wife, and this one does it wonderfully. The book would serve any family involved in pastoral ministry, but I can see it being uniquely helpful to younger couples just about to start in ministry. Well done!

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick. I have been hooked on Philbrick ever since reading Mayflower, so I was eager to read his latest on Custer’s last stand. In all my history reading I have never studied much related to the 1870s, the decade with which this book is preoccupied. Although he does dip into military strategy and requisite battle speculation, Philbrick concentrates on Little Bighorn’s principal characters: Custer and Sitting Bull. And what fascinating characters these men were! Philbrick builds their stories to a point that when the battle begins the reader has a deep understanding of the opposing generals. Woven into this work is sober reflection on the decline of life for Native Americans and the government that precipitated it. An excellent introduction to such a small, yet significant battle in our nation’s history.

Still Life & A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny. I came across Louise Penny when I saw her latest publication debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. She is famous for her Inspector Gamache series and quite critically acclaimed. The series sounded like something right up my alley, so I dove in and read the first two Gamache books. Still Life introduces the reader to life in Three Pines, a quaint Canadian village two hours from Montreal. When a well known citizen is murdered Gamache arrives to investigate, for Three Pines falls under his jurisdiction. After some extended character development Still Life eventually gets the tension going and captures the interest. It was a solid read.

When I started A Fatal Grace, book two in the Gamache series, I thought to myself, “Surely this book will be set outside of Three Pines.” But lo and behold, one year after A Still Life ends, someone has moved into the tiny town only to find herself the victim of a intricate killing scheme. Three Pines sure seems to be a cursed little village, albeit unbelievably so. A Fatal Grace was interesting, yet I found the conclusion to be a reach. The jury is still out on whether or not I will proceed to book three (one intriguing plot line was unresolved) as the emotive and delicate prose may keep me away.