I am not a voracious reader. I read the other day of a pastor who read 60 books in 2011. That is not me. I have certainly consulted many books this year but I couldn't honestly say I've read each from beginning to end.
Reflecting back on my 2011 reading habits, I'd have to also say that more challenging theological reading was not my forte either. In 2012 I'm aiming to read some more theology. I know theology is very helpful in informing preaching, as preaching's subject is always God! Let's pray that's the case in 2012!
Here's my total list of 2011 reads (having actually finished them!):
Generous Justice - Tim Keller
Simple Church - Thom/Geiger
Porn-Again Christian - Mark Driscoll
Spiritual Formation - Henri Nouwen
Practical Evangelical Spirituality - Alister McGrath
Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament: JAMES - Blomberg/Kammell
Spiritual Direction and the care of Souls - Benner and Moon (eds)
Thinking Spiritually - John Owen
The Pastor - Eugene Peterson
Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament : Galatians - Tom Schreiner
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction - Eugene Peterson
The Grace of Repentance - Sinclair Ferguson
Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective - Greenman/Kalantzis (eds)
The Wisdom Of Each Other - Eugene Peterson
The Dissociative Identity Disorder Sourcebook - Deb Haddock
Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse - M Lew
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Pullman
The Radical Disciple - John Stott
Sex, Lies and the Truth: Developing a Christian Ethic in a Post-Christian Society - Belleville
Honouring the Written Word of God (Vol. 3) - J I Packer
Christian book reviews and comments on Christian books by a pastor who uses them.
Saturday 31 December 2011
Friday 30 December 2011
Reading J I Packer
I've been slowly reading through the four volumes of The Collected Shorter Writings of J I Packer. I started nearly seven years ago in fact, starting with his volume two on the church. That volume is the best theology I have read on the topic of church.
In fact, I really appreciate J I Packer. When I started reading theology at bible college I thought I was going to give up the whole ministry thing altogether. The theology reference texts were dry and dense, but with no seeming end goal. It was theology for the sake of theology using the methodology of the academics' world - arguing against each other (it seemed at least for me anyway) for no apparent purpose other than that. In addition, a lot of the referenced theologians were continental. As you may well be aware, continental theologians have a specific approach to theology with a strong philosophical edge. I was sinking fast.
Then I was introduced to Packer by a friend of mine. And what a joy! Here was a theologian of the highest order, with a razor sharp knowledge of the scriptures, able to brilliantly and graciously critique the theology of those such as Schleiermacher, Barth, Brunner and the like, as well as biblically address Kantian philosophy and rationalism and liberalism. Not only that, he reminded other theologians (and me) that theology must always lead somewhere - specifically, doxology! What a breath of fresh air. Packer's writing has now become a good teacher to me and a biblical mentor in print.
So I am reading volume 3 of his collected shorter writings. It's the collection on scripture. The doctrine of scripture and its authority as God's spoken word is one of the great polarizing topics of our time, especially within the church. I'm only on page 111 of 336, as each page of Packer's is filled with important biblical insight into this doctrine. It's slow going basically. But such gold to mine from his words! Loving it.
For example, in his 1962 essay 'Our Lord's Understanding of the Law of God' (pps 109-124) there are several standout comments that certainly ring true of today. For example:
'We act as if freedom from the law has made it a matter of comparative unimportance whether we keep the law in daily life or not.' (111)
'...we are, it appears, more interested in feeding our own souls than in doing good to our neighbours' (111)
There is an essay too on the authority of reason. Something that stood out for me was Packer's description of the three stages of the undermining of scripture from within on page 60: the first, the 17th century thought 'which made God stand back from man' (Arminianism). The second was at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, being 'the movement of thought which made God stand back from his word' - English Deism - morphing into the continental Enlightenment, with God as the great mechanic building his world then walking away. Finally, stage three was from the 19th century when 'God was silenced' (p60) - 'the era of Kant, Schleiermacher and the liberals' (p60).
I could go on, but may post more as I keep reading. To have the four volumes on your shelf would be a very good move, dear pastors!
Postscript: finished this book the next day. Rivetting and full of biblical/pastoral theology. Topics discussed include hermeneutics, preaching, the authority of the word, women and men, creation, the apocalyptic genre - I could go on. Highly Recommended. A brilliant, reformed, lucid work.
Reading for Philippians
I'm about to preach a series on Philippians called 'Conduct Worthy of the Gospel'. Here are the resources I have used to prepare for my first talk on Philippians 1:1-11:
The Bible and prayer!
Have read through the book a couple of times, and my first segment of the whole book a number of times. Translated from the Greek using Bibleworks 6. I've asked God for insight.
Background to Philippi
I've used The Cradle and the Cross (Kostenberger et al), From Pentecost to Patmos (Blomberg), and the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Frank Thielman wrote the Philippians entry) to get a feel for the letter and the city's historical circumstances.
The Text and Commentaries
Again, I've looked at the scriptures themselves and have Philippians constantly open. I have translated the Greek, but now have my ESV Study Bible open as I form my own thoughts and read the exegesis of various commentaries. The commentaries I have and am using are:
Zondervan Expositors' Bible Commentary (Revised): David Garland on Philippians
Just read his initial introduction to the letter (very good) and notes on 1-11. The commentary itself is well laid-out with an overview of each section of the letter he has delineated. The text is on double columns, with endnotes for each section following (using single column). The font itself is easy to read. The footnoting is irritating me already (eg 'Caird, 109, asserts that the state...'). Garland comments on the Greek and also the meaning of the verse in the one section, not in any particular order in that section. There are 10 pages on 1:1-11, so it's not an unsubstantial commentary. I liked his interaction with the Greek but I would have preferred him using the actual Greek word, not the phonetic English equivalent. I guess this commentary is for the layperson so a decision was made not to include the koine. Maybe both could have been used? For me it's actually harder to recognize the Greek word when it is 'phoneticised' into English.
New International Biblical Commentary: Philippians (F F Bruce)
The first thing I notice about my copy of this book was that each page is set at a slant, sloping noticeably down the right at about 5 degrees or so - strange. Problem at the printers?
F F Bruce's introduction is superb - the best of the commentaries and introductions I have - giving a detailed history of Philippi's founding, Roman origins, development and (then) current status. He addresses the biblical record from Acts 16 and the founding of the Philippian church and Paul's subsequent troubles. I appreciated how Bruce gives a postlude to the Philippian church with the account of Ignatius some 50 years after Paul's letter. Ignatius passes through Philippi on his travels, and the Philippians then write to Bishop Polycarp asking for copies of Ignatius' writings. Polycarp's response to the Philippian church survives (see page 8 of commentary).
One thing I am noticing is the phrasing between the commentaries at certain points is VERY similar. That Bruce's commentary is the oldest I own makes me think his little book was consulted by commentaries and introductions following, fairly closely too.
There are about 15 pages of commentary (less three or so pages of endnotes) on Phil 1:1-11. It's a brief commentary but already I feel like this one will be the most useful. It feels like Bruce has breathed in the aroma of the letter and has a depth of insight that the others do not. It's a warmer commentary somehow. Highly recommended. You'll need to go to other sources to get insights into the original language.
Zondervan NIVAC: Philippians (Thielman)
Final one. 24 pages of exegesis and application of the selected text. The organisation and fonts used in this series irritate, especially compared to the well-laid out Expositors' Bible Commentary by the same publisher. Oh well. The pages in my book differed noticeably in contrast - some very light making it harder to read the text, others darker. I'm not sure why you would have a section on 'Bridging Contexts' and then one on 'Contemporary Application' when they are essentially the same.
Thielman is an interesting writer who makes the stock Philippians material and context come to life. He makes application to contemporary situation, and doesn't fall into the trap of just talking about American life, as such commentaries often do.
The Bible and prayer!
Have read through the book a couple of times, and my first segment of the whole book a number of times. Translated from the Greek using Bibleworks 6. I've asked God for insight.
Background to Philippi
I've used The Cradle and the Cross (Kostenberger et al), From Pentecost to Patmos (Blomberg), and the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Frank Thielman wrote the Philippians entry) to get a feel for the letter and the city's historical circumstances.
The Text and Commentaries
Again, I've looked at the scriptures themselves and have Philippians constantly open. I have translated the Greek, but now have my ESV Study Bible open as I form my own thoughts and read the exegesis of various commentaries. The commentaries I have and am using are:
Zondervan Expositors' Bible Commentary (Revised): David Garland on Philippians
Just read his initial introduction to the letter (very good) and notes on 1-11. The commentary itself is well laid-out with an overview of each section of the letter he has delineated. The text is on double columns, with endnotes for each section following (using single column). The font itself is easy to read. The footnoting is irritating me already (eg 'Caird, 109, asserts that the state...'). Garland comments on the Greek and also the meaning of the verse in the one section, not in any particular order in that section. There are 10 pages on 1:1-11, so it's not an unsubstantial commentary. I liked his interaction with the Greek but I would have preferred him using the actual Greek word, not the phonetic English equivalent. I guess this commentary is for the layperson so a decision was made not to include the koine. Maybe both could have been used? For me it's actually harder to recognize the Greek word when it is 'phoneticised' into English.
New International Biblical Commentary: Philippians (F F Bruce)
The first thing I notice about my copy of this book was that each page is set at a slant, sloping noticeably down the right at about 5 degrees or so - strange. Problem at the printers?
F F Bruce's introduction is superb - the best of the commentaries and introductions I have - giving a detailed history of Philippi's founding, Roman origins, development and (then) current status. He addresses the biblical record from Acts 16 and the founding of the Philippian church and Paul's subsequent troubles. I appreciated how Bruce gives a postlude to the Philippian church with the account of Ignatius some 50 years after Paul's letter. Ignatius passes through Philippi on his travels, and the Philippians then write to Bishop Polycarp asking for copies of Ignatius' writings. Polycarp's response to the Philippian church survives (see page 8 of commentary).
One thing I am noticing is the phrasing between the commentaries at certain points is VERY similar. That Bruce's commentary is the oldest I own makes me think his little book was consulted by commentaries and introductions following, fairly closely too.
There are about 15 pages of commentary (less three or so pages of endnotes) on Phil 1:1-11. It's a brief commentary but already I feel like this one will be the most useful. It feels like Bruce has breathed in the aroma of the letter and has a depth of insight that the others do not. It's a warmer commentary somehow. Highly recommended. You'll need to go to other sources to get insights into the original language.
Zondervan NIVAC: Philippians (Thielman)
Final one. 24 pages of exegesis and application of the selected text. The organisation and fonts used in this series irritate, especially compared to the well-laid out Expositors' Bible Commentary by the same publisher. Oh well. The pages in my book differed noticeably in contrast - some very light making it harder to read the text, others darker. I'm not sure why you would have a section on 'Bridging Contexts' and then one on 'Contemporary Application' when they are essentially the same.
Thielman is an interesting writer who makes the stock Philippians material and context come to life. He makes application to contemporary situation, and doesn't fall into the trap of just talking about American life, as such commentaries often do.
Thursday 29 December 2011
New Testament Introductions
There are a lot of them out there. As a bible college student I remember one of my NT lecturers telling us in a 4th year class, "We don't want you to leave here just going back to preaching with an NT survey or Selwyn Hughes notes". Fair enough, after 4 years of intense Greek study and exegesis!
I DO, however, like to start my research into an NT book by getting an overview of that book. So I do like to have an NT introduction or two on the shelf.
At college here in Australia our recommended text for first year was Carson and Moo's introduction (first edition). I have to say 'though, I hated it. Why? Well, I think it was Carson's writing style. It was intensely academic (at least for someone in first year bible college) and, unlike Carson's other books such as 'The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God', this book was full of dense peripheral discussions with frequent reference to obscure academic arguments. There was little about the content of each book. So I got rid of my copy.
When the second edition came out I thought I'd try it again. the aesthetics of the book (eg font and layout) were much better, there was a little more survey of the actual content of each NT book, but essentially I still had a problem with it. Feeling like a heretic, I gave it away to another student below me.
These are the surveys I now use as a pastor, in ascending order of use:
5. Encountering the New Testament: Gospels and Acts (Walton/Wenham)
This was my initial replacement for Carson and Moo's book. Written by UK evangelicals, it's a text for college/seminary students and I found during my course that it was VERY useful for answering all those essay topics that come up about the historical Jesus and gospel sources.
4. Jesus and the Gospels (Craig Blomberg)
A very handy overview of the gospels. Dr Blomberg is academically thorough and an excellent writer to boot. This survey is both deep and accessible and gives me everything I want to know from an introduction.
It seems slightly petty I guess, but I wished the book were a little prettier (ie fonts bigger and easier to read/more margin space/slightly better structure), it would have made for an even better book to use. Maybe if Zondervan were the publisher and gave it an aesthetic reworking?
3. Jesus According to Scripture (Darrell Bock)
Similar to Blomberg's 'Jesus and the Gospels', although I prefer the layout and structure of this book over Blomberg's. Simple overviews of each gospel and some basic discussion of the content in each gospel also. Bock is a guru of the gospels and knows his material very well.
2. From Pentecost to Patmos (Craig Blomberg)
As you may have guessed, I'm a huge fan of Craig Blomberg's clear, concise, ordered writing. I get a detailed overview of the setting, context and purpose of each letter in this second volume of his NT introductions. I even get a snappy one line theme statement with each chapter in this latter book - handy! This book is better organised than the first (letter by letter lends itself to a more straightforward structure), but both are very useful tomes.
1. The Cradle, The Cross and The Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament (Kostenberger, Kellum, Quarles)
At last - an NT introduction that ticks all the right boxes! Beautifully and simply organised. Easy to read fonts and sidebars, and good use of maps and charts that keep my interest and give me helpful historical context. Well-crafted academic writing that is accessible at the same time.
The first two chapters deal with the nature and scope of scripture, and the political and religious background of the New Testament. Chapters 3-7 deal with the gospels. Chapters 8 through to 15 discuss the early church and Paul (and his letters). Chapters 16-20 deal with the general letters and Revelation. There is also a final chapter on unity and diversity in the NT.
The chapters on each gospel and letter address the history, literature and theology of each book. The discussion assumes readers are at a seminary level so it's not a simple summary (this is good!). The introduction sticks to its goal consistently - to deliver a thorough, seminary-level introduction to the NT books - and delivers without dipping incessantly into the peripheral academics.
It's an excellent starting point for further study and exegesis for any pastor. In my humble opinion, this last introduction is by far the best I've come across. Having this and Dr Blomberg's books together in your library would be the ideal situation.
I DO, however, like to start my research into an NT book by getting an overview of that book. So I do like to have an NT introduction or two on the shelf.
At college here in Australia our recommended text for first year was Carson and Moo's introduction (first edition). I have to say 'though, I hated it. Why? Well, I think it was Carson's writing style. It was intensely academic (at least for someone in first year bible college) and, unlike Carson's other books such as 'The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God', this book was full of dense peripheral discussions with frequent reference to obscure academic arguments. There was little about the content of each book. So I got rid of my copy.
When the second edition came out I thought I'd try it again. the aesthetics of the book (eg font and layout) were much better, there was a little more survey of the actual content of each NT book, but essentially I still had a problem with it. Feeling like a heretic, I gave it away to another student below me.
These are the surveys I now use as a pastor, in ascending order of use:
5. Encountering the New Testament: Gospels and Acts (Walton/Wenham)
This was my initial replacement for Carson and Moo's book. Written by UK evangelicals, it's a text for college/seminary students and I found during my course that it was VERY useful for answering all those essay topics that come up about the historical Jesus and gospel sources.
4. Jesus and the Gospels (Craig Blomberg)
A very handy overview of the gospels. Dr Blomberg is academically thorough and an excellent writer to boot. This survey is both deep and accessible and gives me everything I want to know from an introduction.
It seems slightly petty I guess, but I wished the book were a little prettier (ie fonts bigger and easier to read/more margin space/slightly better structure), it would have made for an even better book to use. Maybe if Zondervan were the publisher and gave it an aesthetic reworking?
3. Jesus According to Scripture (Darrell Bock)
Similar to Blomberg's 'Jesus and the Gospels', although I prefer the layout and structure of this book over Blomberg's. Simple overviews of each gospel and some basic discussion of the content in each gospel also. Bock is a guru of the gospels and knows his material very well.
2. From Pentecost to Patmos (Craig Blomberg)
As you may have guessed, I'm a huge fan of Craig Blomberg's clear, concise, ordered writing. I get a detailed overview of the setting, context and purpose of each letter in this second volume of his NT introductions. I even get a snappy one line theme statement with each chapter in this latter book - handy! This book is better organised than the first (letter by letter lends itself to a more straightforward structure), but both are very useful tomes.
1. The Cradle, The Cross and The Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament (Kostenberger, Kellum, Quarles)
At last - an NT introduction that ticks all the right boxes! Beautifully and simply organised. Easy to read fonts and sidebars, and good use of maps and charts that keep my interest and give me helpful historical context. Well-crafted academic writing that is accessible at the same time.
The first two chapters deal with the nature and scope of scripture, and the political and religious background of the New Testament. Chapters 3-7 deal with the gospels. Chapters 8 through to 15 discuss the early church and Paul (and his letters). Chapters 16-20 deal with the general letters and Revelation. There is also a final chapter on unity and diversity in the NT.
The chapters on each gospel and letter address the history, literature and theology of each book. The discussion assumes readers are at a seminary level so it's not a simple summary (this is good!). The introduction sticks to its goal consistently - to deliver a thorough, seminary-level introduction to the NT books - and delivers without dipping incessantly into the peripheral academics.
It's an excellent starting point for further study and exegesis for any pastor. In my humble opinion, this last introduction is by far the best I've come across. Having this and Dr Blomberg's books together in your library would be the ideal situation.
Hermeneutics Introductions
I'm about to preach a series on Philippians. I've been more aware this year - having preached basically every week since I began at my church nearly three years ago - of the danger of preaching 'flatly'.
When I say 'flatly', I mean that every sermon starts to sound the same despite the sermons being on different books in the bible. There can be a similarity in the structure of my sermons which I've become aware of.
So to counter this, I've been re-reading excerpts from some hermeneutics books to remind myself of the different genres and methods of approaching the different books of the Bible.
I have a couple of books on my shelf from my bible college days at Moore Theological College.
One is Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by Craig Blomberg et al. I read through their chapter on the epistles, and was reminded of the importance of the historical specificity of each letter. Philippians comes under a subtopic of a 'family' letter. It was written with personal and pastoral news, while at the same time telling us more of God's character, as we see Paul's insistence on unity amongst the believers. So a good start here. I'm a big Blomberg fan as he writes in a very readable and clear style.
Another reference has been Sidney Greidanus' 'The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text'. I read the section on the epistles, as well as some excellent practical tips on getting to the main idea of the section of a letter you are preaching on so as to avoid getting stuck into red herrings and the like instead of the main message of the text. All basic stuff for pastors, but very good to be reminded!
Again, historical context and specific purposes of each letter are vital when then getting into the detail of breaking down letters into sections for preaching, says Greidanus. All good advice!
When I say 'flatly', I mean that every sermon starts to sound the same despite the sermons being on different books in the bible. There can be a similarity in the structure of my sermons which I've become aware of.
So to counter this, I've been re-reading excerpts from some hermeneutics books to remind myself of the different genres and methods of approaching the different books of the Bible.
I have a couple of books on my shelf from my bible college days at Moore Theological College.
One is Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by Craig Blomberg et al. I read through their chapter on the epistles, and was reminded of the importance of the historical specificity of each letter. Philippians comes under a subtopic of a 'family' letter. It was written with personal and pastoral news, while at the same time telling us more of God's character, as we see Paul's insistence on unity amongst the believers. So a good start here. I'm a big Blomberg fan as he writes in a very readable and clear style.
Another reference has been Sidney Greidanus' 'The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text'. I read the section on the epistles, as well as some excellent practical tips on getting to the main idea of the section of a letter you are preaching on so as to avoid getting stuck into red herrings and the like instead of the main message of the text. All basic stuff for pastors, but very good to be reminded!
Again, historical context and specific purposes of each letter are vital when then getting into the detail of breaking down letters into sections for preaching, says Greidanus. All good advice!
My Top 5 Christian Books of 2011
Not all of my reads were published in 2011, nevertheless - here we go, counting down.
5 - Generous Justice (Tim Keller) and The Pastor (Eugene Peterson)
Yep, a tie. I've put Tim Keller's book in my theology reference section. Evangelicals (I put myself in this category) need to be aware that our theology must lead to godly Christian living. In other words, our input must lead to a visible output. J I Packer once said something along the lines of 'theology must always lead to doxology'. So Keller's book is very good to remind us (as it did me) about these things.
Eugene Peterson's book was very good also. There is another way to be a pastor besides relentless formulaic programming, and that is to be a student and servant of the word, to keep praying, keep preaching faithfully, and to enter the lives of your congregation to pray and weep with them.
I enjoyed this book immensely as it gave me (a pastor) a real shot in the arm to keep going with what I am doing.
My only criticisms were that he did spend a lot of time in the book talking about his new church building and its architecture (although good to see how theology can really influence church architecture!) and not a lot of time on his later works (eg the writing of the Message and later years).
4 - Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament: James (Blomberg/Kamell)
This whole series is fantastic for pastors like myself. It contains the original Greek text as well as commentary and theology of each book. I think it's the best commentary I've seen so far for week-to-week preaching help. I preached through James this year and found Blomberg's commentary outstanding for its ease of use, comments on the Greek and theology. It's probably the first commentary I've read from beginning to end. Well done Zondervan!
3 - Sex, Lies and the Truth: Developing a Christian Ethic in a Post-Christian Society (Belleville)
A handy book, only 114 pages to read, a to-the-point commentary on current social/cultural sexual trends in society and how we as Christians can be effective witnesses to our culture about God's way in the 'sexual' arena. The book addresses the trends of casual sex, same-sex marriage, and heterosexual laxity about marriage. The book has a lot of statistics too (although US-based) which were helpful to back up some of her statements about these trends. Belleville writes that she has been teaching a course on sexual ethics for about 20 years, so she knows what she is talking about. Highly recommended.
2 - The Wisdom of Each Other (Eugene Peterson)
After reading 'The Pastor' (see number 5 above) I followed through on more of Eugene Peterson's books. I found this little one and wanted to see if it would be worth giving to some new Christians in our congregation. It is a brilliant little book. It's a conversation between a pastor and a new believer. The pastor gives advice to the new believer on a range of topics including prayer, good books to read, how to interpret inconsistent Christian behaviour, ups and downs in faithfulness and so on. If you're a pastor give it a read.
1 - The Radical Disciple (John Stott)
John Stott died this year. I can't say I've read a lot of John Stott's books. However when I heard this was his last book I thought it would be good to see what wisdom he might leave with us after such a wonderful global Christian influence. I believe this is a must-read for believers. It was for me having been a Christian for 18 years! It's not a hard read (and really all of the top 5 are popular books except for the commentary) but so helpful in showing a snapshot of wholehearted Christian living. It has chapters on non-conformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation-care, simplicity, balance, even death (amongst others). Excellent biblical instruction and advice about being a follower of Jesus.
5 - Generous Justice (Tim Keller) and The Pastor (Eugene Peterson)
Yep, a tie. I've put Tim Keller's book in my theology reference section. Evangelicals (I put myself in this category) need to be aware that our theology must lead to godly Christian living. In other words, our input must lead to a visible output. J I Packer once said something along the lines of 'theology must always lead to doxology'. So Keller's book is very good to remind us (as it did me) about these things.
Eugene Peterson's book was very good also. There is another way to be a pastor besides relentless formulaic programming, and that is to be a student and servant of the word, to keep praying, keep preaching faithfully, and to enter the lives of your congregation to pray and weep with them.
I enjoyed this book immensely as it gave me (a pastor) a real shot in the arm to keep going with what I am doing.
My only criticisms were that he did spend a lot of time in the book talking about his new church building and its architecture (although good to see how theology can really influence church architecture!) and not a lot of time on his later works (eg the writing of the Message and later years).
4 - Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament: James (Blomberg/Kamell)
This whole series is fantastic for pastors like myself. It contains the original Greek text as well as commentary and theology of each book. I think it's the best commentary I've seen so far for week-to-week preaching help. I preached through James this year and found Blomberg's commentary outstanding for its ease of use, comments on the Greek and theology. It's probably the first commentary I've read from beginning to end. Well done Zondervan!
3 - Sex, Lies and the Truth: Developing a Christian Ethic in a Post-Christian Society (Belleville)
A handy book, only 114 pages to read, a to-the-point commentary on current social/cultural sexual trends in society and how we as Christians can be effective witnesses to our culture about God's way in the 'sexual' arena. The book addresses the trends of casual sex, same-sex marriage, and heterosexual laxity about marriage. The book has a lot of statistics too (although US-based) which were helpful to back up some of her statements about these trends. Belleville writes that she has been teaching a course on sexual ethics for about 20 years, so she knows what she is talking about. Highly recommended.
2 - The Wisdom of Each Other (Eugene Peterson)
After reading 'The Pastor' (see number 5 above) I followed through on more of Eugene Peterson's books. I found this little one and wanted to see if it would be worth giving to some new Christians in our congregation. It is a brilliant little book. It's a conversation between a pastor and a new believer. The pastor gives advice to the new believer on a range of topics including prayer, good books to read, how to interpret inconsistent Christian behaviour, ups and downs in faithfulness and so on. If you're a pastor give it a read.
1 - The Radical Disciple (John Stott)
John Stott died this year. I can't say I've read a lot of John Stott's books. However when I heard this was his last book I thought it would be good to see what wisdom he might leave with us after such a wonderful global Christian influence. I believe this is a must-read for believers. It was for me having been a Christian for 18 years! It's not a hard read (and really all of the top 5 are popular books except for the commentary) but so helpful in showing a snapshot of wholehearted Christian living. It has chapters on non-conformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation-care, simplicity, balance, even death (amongst others). Excellent biblical instruction and advice about being a follower of Jesus.
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