"A room
without books is like a body without a soul." ~G.
K. Chesterton
Books that promote sound Christian thinking and
the
discipline
of putting the weightiness back into our
Christian discourse and preaching. If you have a review
you'd like to post, or a book you'd like to
advertise, see
Submissions
below. On the Shelf and Resources will
soon be posted.
Exegesis is the process
we use to read through and listen to the
text of Scripture. Well, it should be.
This discipline is not isolated to the
study of words and phrases, or even
grammar and syntax. A good exegete will
pay attention to how a biblical author
puts his document together. The text of
Scripture, especially a book or letter,
is more than just words on parchment.
Tobin reminds us that Paul’s letter to
the Romans has a context and an
argument, and is more than a one-sided
conversation. There is a rhetorical
context, how Paul crafts his argument;
and, a social context, how we are to
hear Paul’s argument within a real life
environment (Rome, the church community
of Paul’s day). I highly recommend
Tobin’s volume on Romans because it is a
superb example of how to examine,
exegete, and listen to a Bible book. He
takes into consideration sociological
backgrounds (e.g., the Gentile and
Jewish communities in Rome), as well as,
a structural-literary analysis (e.g.,
noting literary clues in Paul’s Letter)
that amplify his argument and point(s).
This approach runs counter to how most
popular bible study methods take, that
is, in moving from the text to
interpretation to sermon to
application. Rather than starting from
its parts (the small units of thought),
Tobin starts from the whole of Romans
and its socio-rhetorical context and
moves to the Letter’s smaller units—the
chapters and paragraphs. It is not
Tobin’s interpretive conclusions that I
am recommending (although I agree with
most of them); it is his method I wish
for you to learn from. Anyone serious
about studying or preaching through
Romans will benefit from Tobin’s work.
In fact, once this volume is read, its
method and approach would be beneficial
when studying any New Testament book of
the Bible. Tobin has offered a fresh
way of reading and listening to Paul’s
Letter to the Church in Rome. Although
somewhat heavy for the average
lay-person (though they should give it a
try), pastors and bible study leaders
should wade through its content when
preparing for sermons and bible studies
on Romans.
Read some further
Margin
comments on Tobin's book...click
The
Real Face of Atheism by Ravi
Zacharias, Baker Books (September 2004)
$9.95 at Scripture Truth Books.
Atheists who hold that
God does not exist, not only operate
within their own system of faith,
they do so with one that has many
philosophical and practical
contradictions. The Psalmist’s words
still ring wise and true: “A fool has
said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”
(Ps 14:1). Ravi Zacharias does not just
ask the all-important question, “Does
God exist?” He asks, “Is atheism a
sustainable belief?” The Real Face
of Atheism is a revised edition of
Ravi’s first published book, A
Shattered Visage (1993). Ravi is a
popular evangelist and apologist for the
Christian faith, and a master
storyteller. This is evident in this
book, which also makes Ravi’s style
very readable. He is good at taking
difficult concepts and, without dumbing
them down, makes them simpler to
understand. This book is borderline
academic, but yet seems to me to be
written in a way that makes it easier to
grasp the logic of the Christian faith
and the illogic of the atheist’s belief
system. The text, because of the
numerous illustrations, stories, and
quotes, is enjoyable to read and takes
the edge off the difficult philosophical
concepts needed in the discussion on
God’s non-existence. This book is a
good first book for the Christian on the
subject and is great to give to
non-Christian friends, or someone who is
still questioning God’s existence.
There is plenty of “preachable points”
that can also enhance sermons and bible
studies in order to arm congregations
with reasonable answers to give when ask
about the hope within us.
God’s
Neighborhood: A Hopeful Journey
in Racial Reconciliation &
Community Renewal by
Scott Roley with James Isaac
Elliot, forward by Michael Card,
InterVarsity Press (June 2004)
$9.80 at e3:16.com Christian
Bookstore.
God’s
Neighborhood is chiefly a
journey. Scott Roley, once a
rising contemporary Christian
music artist and song writer,
reaches back to his childhood,
moves us through his growing up
years and on into his adult years,
asking us to join him on a life
journey, a spiritual journey.
He pauses along the way, asking
the questions, “What providence
placed me here? What does God
want me to learn?” Like he
asked while living in Washington
DC, “What providence placed
me in a neighborhood close
enough to Washington to view the
Capital dome? What should I be
learning, seeing, thinking?”
But, Roley doesn’t stop asking
the question in Washington DC—he
asks these questions at every
turn, every venture throughout
his life. Eventually, Christian
music ministry gave way to
a different kind of ministry.
Roley pens it best, “God’s
Neighborhood is about
understanding and participating
in Christian community. It
describes a response to the
biblical mandate of care for the
poor.” In reading God’s
Neighborhood, we are asked
to join the author as he leaves his life of privilege, then seeks church ministry, and eventually
moves into a disadvantaged
neighborhood. There, we learn
with him and his friends (among
whom is another famous Christian
artist, Michael Card) what
"loving your neighbor"
actually means.
What it means with feet and
hands, namely community
development and racial
reconciliation.
“We must look into the eyes of
poverty,” Roley exhorts, “and
examine the heart, soul, and
psyche of it. People aren’t
just in need of drug rehab, roof
over their heads or decent food
to eat. They also require the
dignity of true and relevant
education, affordable health
care, and living wage
opportunities.” And yes, this
from an Evangelical Christian.
Roley writes, “The journey of
our hearts into racial
reconciliation and community
renewal from Hard Bargain to
Mount Hope is a moment-to-moment
decision to place faith and
trust in Christ. It is why we
strive for the renewal of our
streets, rehabilitation for our
crumbling homes and lives, the
revival of real relationships
among the least and the lost,
and redemption for all through
our Savior Jesus.” Roley
invites us to share the same
journey, a journey that
exemplifies Christian hope in
caring for the disinherited and
renewing our communities, one
neighborhood at a time.
This book, although very easy to
read and fast paced, is
dangerous—a book, not for
Christians who are
faint-hearted, or comfortable in
their complacency.
Politicians
target the “middle-class” for
their votes. Businesses and
entrepreneurs see the
“middle-class” as a market
niche. The vase majority of
churches throughout the US seem
to appeal mainly to those in the
middle-class component of the
population. Some critics of
middle class Christians have
argued that they essentially
prefer the status quo (like
their unchurched and non-christian
neighbors) and do not have, as a
social group, the capacity to
make significant contributions,
and as a result, some could add
meaningful contributions to the
mission of the church. The
Good Life will move
middle-class Christian readers
beyond their attachment to the
market-share of business and
past their complicit
relationship to the consumerism
mentality within American
culture. David McCarthy seeks
to help the middle-class to be
more than a target of
market-economics and political
rhetoric. He applies biblical
principles to help those in this
particular class of people to
respond to Jesus’ mandate to
seek first the kingdom of God.
McCarthy argues that
middle-class Christians have a
misguided attachment to the
world. He maintains the
Christian life should require
less "stuff." This book
offers guidance to the
middle-class Christian community
whose relationships to people,
family, home, neighborhoods,
work, and even to the earth, are
determined more by the market
economy than by Christian
principles. As
American Christians it is
difficult to not be
caught up in American's cultural,
political, and economic
benefits. Harder still to
not be defined by them or to
seek meaning through them. The Good Life
will help the reader to live
beyond all this and discover
ways to "seek the Kingdom of
God." I recommend
that middle-class churches and
their leadership ought to
consider McCarthy's book as a
guide for mission development,
even a framework for a Sunday
morning sermon series.
Church small groups would
benefit from reading it
together.
The
Greater Good: How
Philanthropy Drives the American
Economy and Can Save Capitalism
by Claire Gaudiani, Times Books
(Sept 2003). $17.50 at
Amazon.com ($11.20 paperback).
“Most people
think that Americans are
generous because we are rich.
The truth is that we are
rich…because we are generous..."
So writes Claire Gaudiani.
Why should Christians read this
book? We don't want to
save "Capitalism," do we?
(Maybe we don't like to admit we
do. But we know we'd miss
it, if it was destroyed--now
that is a good subject for another
future
Habit of the Mind.)
Yes, Christians ought to find
time to read this wonderful book
on the history of American
Philanthropy and how it has, in
the past, played a vital role in
helping to maintain the
uniqueness of the American
experiment. More
importantly, Gaudiani explains
the perils of our current
"giving habits," the cultural
reasons for the trend, and
solutions to restore the spirit
of philanthropy. She
writes, "As more of us are
better able every year to
satisfy our wants and needs, we
are not sharing a larger
percentage of our income and
wealth. We are retaining
it in savings or spending it on
ourselves and our families.
Yet some segments of the
population...are experiencing
reductions in their well-being,
notably children."
Christians for the most part
should appreciate America's
history of philanthropy, for
much of it stems from either the
Judeo-Christian faith or simply
from a genuine Christian faith
that seeks to "give away what
God has given to make other
people's lives better."
The Christian should also find a
welcome friend in her words:
"Philanthropy has, in the past,
been quicker than government to
imagine, test, and implement
innovative methods for solving
social problems." Of all
people and social groups, the
Christian community should read
this book, if for anything to
learn to appreciate the history
of Philanthropy. Giving
and developing strategies for
philanthropic adventures are
more than altruism. After
reading Gaudiani's books, I find
that philanthropy of any kind
(American or Christian charity)
is the human experience where
self-interest and compassion are
not in conflict. It is in
the best interest of Americans
(dare I say Christians) to
ensure that everyone has access
to the American Dream--the dream
of upward mobility. In the
humble opinion of this reviewer,
more Christian communities and
churches should design their own
philanthropic adventures and
meet the social needs that are
knocking on their church doors.
See my
Margin
comment on this book...
God instructed
Jeremiah, "Seek the welfare of
the city where I have sent you
into exile, and pray to the Lord
on its behalf, for in its
welfare you will have welfare"
(29:7). Imagine creating
an approach to church life,
church growth, and evangelism
based on seeking the welfare of
the city--the city (or
neighborhood) that your church
represents? Imagine.
Eric O. Jacobsen in
Sidewalks in
the Kingdom gives us a blueprint
for considering the welfare of
the city. Jacobsen builds
a case for Christian communities
to take an interest in the urban
centers where many churches are
located. He points out
that we have been relying on the
false gods of individualism,
independence, and freedom,
worshipping at the feet of gods
that come in the name of
American values. Granted
not everyone lives in an large urban
setting--even Jacobsen writes on
urbanism as a pastor, not in NY
City or Detroit, but of the
First Presbyterian Church in
Missoula, Montana. Nonetheless,
Sidewalks
is worth the reading,
if only to help you
develop your own theology of the
city or town you live in or
near. Sidewalks shifts the
discussion from "how do we grow
our church?" to a more biblical
mandate, "are we looking out for
the welfare of the city?"
Mere
Discipleship:
Radical
Christianity in a Rebellious
World by Lee C. Camp,
Brazos Press (December 2003).
$10.49 at e3:16.com Christian
Bookstore.
Any good book
that forces us to think
about--rethink--the biblical
concept of discipleship should
be read. Mere
Discipleshipis such a book. Lee Camp has
produced a serious book on
Christian discipleship where his
major premise is that the modern
world, and in particular
American life, has subverted the
biblical concept of true
discipleship. Granted
Camp's perspective is hinged on
his own Anabaptist church
background, but his critique of
how we apply Christianity today
rings true--and at times,
terrifyingly
so. You're not going to
agree with everything Camp
presents. And at times he
seems to choose some parts of
Scripture over others (e.g., you
can tell he likes the revelation
of God in Christ as the
peacemaker, but not the wrathful
God of the OT that smote godless
armies through Israel; he is
partial to the passive Lamb of
God, but not the table
over-turning Jesus in the
temple). Nonetheless, Camp
is right--our church-life and
concept of discipleship is
tainted by our American-way of
life. He attempts to help
us decompartmentalize our faith,
especially at the levels where
our Christianity intersects with
our public life. Although
a bit on the intellectual side,
still I highly recommend working
through Camp's argument.
Your commitment to discipleship
will be enhanced and bettered as
a result.
Preaching
Christ from the Old Testament: A
Contemporary Hermeneutical
Method
by
Sidney Greidanus, Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co.; (July
1999). $16.80 at
e3:16.com Christian
Bookstore.
Ok not so
fresh, but this book makes it on
the first ever Words'nTone
Review list because the contents
fits so well within the purpose
and aim of this website.
Greidanus is already known for
his other works on preaching
from ancient texts. Here
in
Preaching Christ from the Old
Testament, Greidanus
wants to safeguard the modern
preacher from reading Jesus
Christ back into the OT, and
seeks to assist the preacher to
develop better skills--models,
hermeneutics--to utilize the OT
to preach the redemptive
historical meaning of the text.
I believe the shallowness and
impotent preaching that pounds
the pulpit in most Americanized
churches stems from the poor
hermeneutical and exegetical
skills of most preachers.
Reading a book like
Preaching
Christ from the OT
will give the modern preacher a
better framework to think about,
in this case, OT texts and how
they should and could be
preached. Most how to
preaching books concentrate on
style or application--that is so
utilitarian and practical
American ingenuity.
Greidanus brings us back to
where the power of preaching
comes from--the text of
Scripture and how we handle it.
Recapture the Wonder, by Ravi Zacharias, Integrity
Publishers; (August 2003).
$13.99 at
e3:16.com Christian Bookstore.
Ravi Zacharias at his best! I have been listening to and reading
Ravi's messages for close to
three decades.
Recapture
the Wonder is a culmination of
Zacharias' central themes, his heart,
and the thrust of his life-long ministry
of preaching.
This book will edify the
believer and point the
unbeliever toward God.
Moving the reader back into the
marvel of God is an demanding
task. Usually Ravi is
hard-hitting on a philosophical
and intellectual level--similar
to his preaching style. Here,
however, in
Recapture the Wonder
he presents his life's work in a
readable, straight forward
fashion making the material more
accessible to the general
Christian reader and their
non-Christian friends.
This book offers guidance back
into the ultimate resource to
meet the human need--to worship
God and enjoy Him forever.
Preaching
and Teaching from the Old Testament
by Walter C., Jr. Kaiser, Baker Book
House (April 2003)
The Rise of
Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards,
Whitefield, and the Wesleys
(History of Evangelicalism, 1) by Mark
A. Noll, Intervarsity Press (April 2004)
The Legacy of
Jonathan Edwards: American Religion and
the Evangelical Tradition
by Sean Michael Reformed Bible
Conference / Lucas (Editor), Baker Book
House (June 2003)
Is
Your Church Ready?: Motivating Leaders
to Live an Apologetic Life
by Ravi K. Zacharias
(Editor), Norman L. Geisler (Editor),
Zondervan (August 2003)
Endings: Invitations to Discipleship
by Morna D. Hooker, Hendrickson
Publishers (September 2003)
Words'nTone will be glad to post your book
reviews as well. Reviews must be short and
to the point, well-written, and supportive of
the book. No negative reviews posted here
on this page. If you have a longer critical
review of a book, and it is well-written, W'nT
will consider posting it in
Habits of the Mind.
Words'nTone will also consider posting (read
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to submit your personal review (read ad), no
more than 250 words, well-written to Words'nTone.
The ad will appear for a month and the book will
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chip@wordsntone.com.
“Piously, or
politically, we cripple ourselves
with the need to bring about God’s
righteousness on earth, failing to
hear what Jesus so vividly declares:
that we need not shoulder that
burden because the goal itself does
not need to be accomplished. The
goal is a fact, God’s fact, the fact
of grace and promise. No gap
divides what God says from what God
does; and the stories of the coming
kingdom do not offer dreams and
possibilities of what the Lord might
or could do, but speak indicatively,
and in the present tense of what is
happening, and of what the future is
becoming. The kingdom need not—and
cannot not—be worked for; it may
only be accepted and awaited. On
the other hand this waiting for
God’s indicatives cannot be
dispassionate or passive…the gospel
enslaves us again with its
imperatives, demanding everything of
us by way of repentance and
discipleship” ~ Alan Lewis,
Between Cross and Resurrection: The
Theology of Holy Saturday
“There is no shred of
evidence in Paul’s letters to
suggest that he judged the churches
by the measure of their success in
rapid numerical growth…this is
nowhere appears as either an anxiety
or an enthusiasm about the numerical
growth of the church” ~L. Newbigin,
The Open
Secret: An Introduction to the
Theology of Mission
