The Hobbit Encyclopedia by Damien Bador, Coralie Potot, Vivien Stocker, and Dominique Vigot. Translated by Alayne Pullen and Matthew Clarke. Frances Lincoln, 2023, 336 pages, $18.69. Quite a few books that were lost on me as a young reader have come to be cherished, read, and reread through the years. In my case, I can point to the novels of Austen and Eliot, which made for dreary reading earlier in life but have long since become treasured literary companions. Within the last several years, Tolkien has joined their ranks. Our introduction did not go well. I completed The Hobbit in high school only under the threat of a failing grade. I reread it again not too many years later with little…
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I was baptized 65 years ago today. Here, my Uncle John is holding me in his lap. He drove from Memphis to Farmington, Missouri to baptize me on January 10, 1960. At the time, my father was assistant superintendent of the Presbyterian Home for Children of Missouri. Three weeks earlier, just before my second birthday, I was formally adopted into the family of George and Roberta Wingard. Good Presbyterians, they believed the promises of the covenant are for believers and their children. Together, parents and child, share the sign and seal of the covenant – baptism. _____ The toy chest in the lower right corner is the only piece of furniture I possess from my childhood. It gives me pleasure…
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When I finish reading or listening to a book, I add it to my annual “books read” list. My 2024 list is at the end of this post. READING HIGHLIGHTS One of the first books I purchased after becoming a teaching elder in 1985 was John Stott’s exceptional book on preaching, Between Two Worlds. Several times he referenced Anglican minister Charles Simeon, who served Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. Hundreds of future ministers, missionaries, and chaplains sat under his ministry and his influence was felt throughout the world. To learn more about him, I purchased Hugh Evan Hopkin’s Charles Simeon of Cambridge and began what has become a forty-year interest in his life, ministry, and sermons. Late…
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Alan D. Strange, Empowered Witness: Politics, Culture, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church. Wheaton: Crossway, 2024. $16.99, paperback. 2024 is a polarizing election year in America. Widely divergent political visions strive for cultural dominance. To be sure, claims about the breadth of the division are frequently overwrought and untrue. Today’s situation is not comparable to the fissures that cracked the foundation of society in antebellum America, fault lines that would eventually shatter national unity and lead to civil war. Still, contemporary forces on the political right and left compete vigorously for adherents among the electorate. The church is not exempt from cultural turmoil. Many congregations are deeply divided both over political issues and the question of how (if at all)…
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William Boekestein, Finding My Vocation: A Guide for Young People Seeking a Calling. Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2024. $16.95, paperback. As a pastor, I have come alongside both 20-something and older congregants who struggle for vocational clarity. Could one of the reasons be that pastors, churches, and parents have failed to speak sufficiently to our youth about this critical topic? If so, Christian young people and those who guide them will find a valuable resource in Finding My Vocation. The book’s three parts – Pondering Vocation, Preparing for Your Vocation, and Practicing Vocation – provide a concise, biblical, and practical theology. The author has drawn from the deep wells of Reformed teaching on the topic, as well as more recent literature.…
Read MoreWe all need mentors. With so many voices telling us what to do, it’s vitally important that we have godly, thoughtful, experienced people showing us what to do. Preparing for a life in ministry in the PCA is demanding work—and I’m not just talking about your seminary workload. You need real-life pastoral experience under the direction of a mentor. I serve as director of field education at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Much of my work involves talking to students about their relationships with their pastoral mentors. Since 1987, I’ve mentored men preparing for ordination. While serving on Boston’s North Shore, I mentored many men in the Gordon-Conwell field education program. Before coming to RTS, I employed men pursuing ordination. Mentoring has…
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William Boekestein, Jonathan Landry Cruse, and Andrew J. Miller, Glorifying and Enjoying God: 52 Devotions through the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2023. $22.00, clothbound. “Catechisms are small books of big doctrines” – that’s the claim made by the authors of Glorifying and Enjoying God: 52 Devotions through the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Catechisms, they write, “boil down Scripture into major theological themes reflecting the high honor Scripture gives to doctrine” (33). Page by page, the authors back up their claim. The scriptural doctrines set forth in the Westminster Shorter Catechism are presented, accompanied by clear expositions of their biblical foundations. The devotional quality of the book lends itself to profitable personal use by believers at every…
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C. S. Lewis in America: Readings and Reception, 1935–1947, by Mark A. Noll. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, xviii + 158 pages, $18.69, paper. The works of C. S. Lewis have found a home in America for nearly nine decades. His technical studies in literary criticism, imaginative works, and expositions of the Christian faith have been well received by Christians of various denominations. Avid Lewis readers are found among adherents of both Protestant and Catholic traditions. Reviews of Lewis’s books were numerous and not limited to Christian publications, but also appeared in secular magazines and journals. One would be hard pressed to think of other writers so highly acclaimed by such a diverse readership. With modest revisions, the book contains…
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The Psalms occupy a prominent place in the pastor’s life and work. He uses them to summon his congregation to worship. Their vocabulary and poetry shape the language of his prayers, both public and private. With them, he comforts the sick, gives hope to the despairing, and consoles the mourner. They supply cherished words to lead his flock in praises, thanksgivings, and intercessions. No pastor’s toolbox is properly furnished without the Psalms. To be used effectively, any tool must come with instructions for its proper use. Experienced craftsmen must teach their apprentices—which is why pastors will find How to Read and Understand the Psalms a valuable resource. Like master craftsmen, Bruce Waltke and Fred Zaspel instruct readers about the structure of…
Read MorePastoral care is an act of love. God’s minister provides pastoral care because he loves the Word of God, and he loves God’s people. His care brings the ministry of the Word to wherever his flock is found, whether gathered before his pulpit on the Lord’s Day or in his study during the week: homes, hospitals, cemeteries, and prisons become places of the Lord’s mercy and grace. This requires that the man of God be available to his people – ready to go to them, and willing to care for them. It is the God-breathed Word that comforts the mourner, encourages the struggler, directs the confused, and rebukes the careless. The caring pastor trains his congregation in righteousness. Biblical pastoral…
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