This morning Lynne and I buried our beloved dog, Jem. For 17 years and 8 months, he brought happiness to our home. His sister, Scout, passed last year. Jem and Scout came to us in 2005 – long-haired miniature dachshunds from a Kentucky breeder. At the time, I was not a pet person, so Lynne let me name them after the sibling duo of our favorite American novel. Willie Morris and my former boss, Jack Cotton, wrote books about their dogs, My Dog Skip and A Dog’s Guide to Life: Lessons from “Moose” respectively. Lacking their literary gifts and keen insights into the canine/human affinity, I’ll make only a few comments. Good parents don’t play favorites. That said, I…
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The Completion of C. S. Lewis: From War to Joy (1945-1963), by Harry Lee Poe. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022, 413 pages, $34.16, cloth. Sometimes work forces me to read. Lectures and sermons must be prepared, and reading is indispensable to the process. Whether I find the reading especially enjoyable or not, the commentaries and theological books and articles must be attended to. But apart from work, I read mostly for pleasure, and Harry Lee Poe’s three-volume biography of Lewis has been for me sheer pleasure. In addition to surveying the life of one of the twentieth century’s great writers and formidable Christian apologists, I have had opportunity during the past year to read for the first time several of Lewis’s…
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In his new book, The Birth of Christ, John Fesko gives readers five finely crafted and theologically rich meditations on the meaning our Savior’s birth. I’ll point to but one of the book’s many gems. The Virgin Mary treasured the Old Testament. Its language shaped her praise. Reflecting on the Magnificat, Fesko writes: Bible knowledge is not only for future pastors but for every Christian. Children learn to speak by repeating their parents’ words back to them. We can apply the same principle to the children of God. We learn to speak words of praise by repeating God’s own Word back to Him. Do we know enough Scripture to speak biblically shaped words of praise back to our heavenly Father?…
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Most of us give little thought to matters of government until order breaks down. When institutions critical to life are poorly governed, people are exposed to danger and deprived of the innumerable benefits that sound structure and skilled leadership produce. This is true of government in the home, in the school, in the community, and in the church. In Well Ordered, Living Well: A Field Guide to Presbyterian Church Government, Guy Waters correctly contends that “we all need church government to live our Christian life well” (ix). The ensuing pages give clear biblical instruction on the church — its members, its officers, its assemblies, and the ordination of men to the offices of the church. About the church’s officers,…
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A highlight of this semester has been reading and discussing these books with four students at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. With the exception of Southern Presbyterian Leaders, we read all books in their entirety. Rereading David Calhoun’s two-volume history of old Princeton was especially rewarding. The piety of its professors, the plan of the seminary, and its commitment to preparing theologically minded and biblically grounded pastors makes its history timely for anyone who cares about the future of the Presbyterian church in the United States. At various time, students mentioned various publications of Log College Press. I am grateful for its efforts to keep in print notable works by Presbyterians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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Today marks the 181st anniversary of the founding of First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City. The church has its beginnings in the protracted meetings that once played a vital role in the religious and social life of Southern protestants. Believers from various denominations, some traveling many miles on shabby, bone-jarring roads, gathered to pitch camp and enjoy several days of fellowship, fine cooking, and the preaching of God’s word. In late summer 1841, the kind Methodists of Benton, Mississippi hosted one such meeting. Gathering with them was a handful of Presbyterians from Yazoo City, who organized Yazoo Church on August 15, 1841. The church’s name was changed in 1843 to First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City. The Rev. Richmond McInnis…
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I will be adding Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Ministry 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 word and Reformation theology, and set their riches before God’s beloved church. I can think of no better model of ministerial work. Since 2017 Sinclair Ferguson has served as Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
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Where the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by CNN anchor Zain Asher tells the story of her mother Obiajulu, a Nigerian immigrant and widow who worked tirelessly to educate her four children while living in a poor and dangerous London neighborhood. By the time Ms. Asher became a teenager, Obiajulu was determined to see her attend Oxford University, an ultimately successful endeavor. Her siblings excelled, too: one brother won best actor for his role in “12 Years a Slave.” Another brother is a business entrepreneur and her sister a physician. Obiajulu obtained her secondary education during the Biafran conflict, attending makeshift schools during the harrowing years of Nigerian civil war. To call her approach to parenting and education “tough…
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[My article in the spring 2022 issue.] Change is your opportunity to grow in grace. We say that it’s hard, but that’s not completely true. Change can be easy when it’s something we’ve hoped for, prayed for, and planned for. Difficulties come when we try to adapt to changes that are unwanted and unmanageable. Remember your trajectory. When you become a Christian, you are marked for change. One of God’s promises to you is that you’ll be transformed over the course of your life to be made more like your Savior. The process of sanctification is both beautiful and painful. Outwardly, the world is changing, exerting pressure that we become like it. Inwardly, the Holy Spirit works to mortify sinful…
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The Making of C. S. Lewis: From Atheist to Apologist (1918-1945), by Harry Lee Poe. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021, 399 pages, $32.99. For several years, “deconversions” have been a hot topic on social media as a succession of Christian celebrities—including pastors—have announced their departure from the faith. Apostasy is a tragic but not new phenomenon; one need look no further than the New Testament and Demas (2 Tim. 4:10). While writing this review, I am reading a biography of George Eliot, who abandoned the Christian faith and evangelical doctrine she once ardently espoused. The current interest in evangelical deconversions makes it a good time to examine one of the more remarkable conversions in recent Christian history—that of C. S. “Jack” Lewis.…
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