Resources on Book Reviews
Patience: Waiting with Hope is Megan Hill’s recent contribution to P&R Publishing’s “31-Day Devotionals for Life” series. As I’ve come to expect, Megan’s grasp of the scriptures, practical wisdom, and apt use of illustrations shine on every page. Meditations are brief and thoughtful. During the course of a month, she encourages readers to think afresh about the character of God – our supremely loving heavenly Father and omnipotent King, who is patient with his beloved people. She carefully presents the benefits that come from waiting on him – as well as guidance on how to wait, and what to do while we wait. I was especially struck by her meditations on time as she sympathetically reminds us that from…
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When I finish reading or listening to a book, I add it to my annual “books read” list. My 2021 list is at the end of this post. 2021 Reading Highlights One of the privileges I enjoy as a seminary professor is being asked to read books before they are published. Among the best books I read this year is Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Practice. I will be adding it to my required reading list for students. Twenty-six pastor-theologians, touching upon every major area of ministry, winsomely demonstrate how theology gives shape to a godly pastorate. That this book honors Sinclair Ferguson is especially appropriate — his books, lectures, and sermons mine God’s…
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Christian parents should never stop praying for their children. Nor should they be satisfied with vague and general prayers. Kathleen Nielson’s four books will prove a valuable resource for parents wanting to pray specifically and comprehensively for their children’s spiritual and moral development. One way we learn to pray is by listening to the prayers of others. She models for us how to pray for our children (and grandchildren) at every stage of their lives – for young children, teens, young adults, and adult children. I highly recommend these books.
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Preachers need books on the theology of preaching, works that demonstrate its biblical warrant. Preachers also need how-to books on the preparation and delivery of sermons. Carelessly crafted sermons dishonor the Savior, as does a delivery that fails to compel attention. But there is a third kind of book on preaching that preachers will do well to read. These books offer the mature reflections on the intangibles of preaching—matters of pastoral bearing, mental attitude, and habits of preparation. Jonathan T. Pennington, preaching pastor at Sojourn East Church in Louisville, Kentucky and associate professor at Southern Seminary, provides just this kind of book in Small Preaching. The book’s twenty-five brief essays fall under three headings: the person of the preacher, the…
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Vernon Dahmer is a hero of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. A business owner and president of the Forrest County NAACP, he worked tirelessly to register black voters in Hattiesburg and surrounding communities. He was murdered in 1966 when members of the Laurel-based White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan set his home ablaze. This horrific crime is the subject of Curtis Wilkie’s When Evil Lived in Laurel: The “White Nights” and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer. At the center of this riveting story is Tom Landrum, a courageous FBI informant. His infiltration of the Klan helped bring about the arrest and trial of the man who authorized the deadly attack on Dahmer’s home – Sam Bowers – as well the…
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I love how-to books that offer practical advice on church leadership. Most pastors benefit from step-by-step instruction about organizational management, church finances, crisis response, leadership recruitment and training, and other areas of church administration. Comparatively few seminary students come from backgrounds where they have received extensive training in these areas – and when they arrive at their first church, they need guidance. Right out of the starting gate, ministries can be crippled when godly men are ill-equipped to tend to the quotidian details and processes essential to effective leadership. The pastor who minimizes the importance of practical know-how is foolish. So you may be surprised that I am enthusiastic about Paul Tripp’s Lead, a leadership book that has little or nothing to…
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