Steve Runge: the σαντα clause is a myth

I'm not embarrassed that I got this joke, and I'm not even embarrassed that I found it funny!

Learning Vocabulary

Alan Knox has a helpful post here.

Leading with a Limp

Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness by Dan B. Allender


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Most of what I got from this book was gleaned from the title; leading with weakness is a powerful concept, and a biblical one too. I was challenged by the notion that as a leader I should embrace my weaknesses, for they are my strengths.

Beyond this, I didn’t get a lot. Allender does not speak my language. And that’s not necessarily his bad. As a limping leader I must confess: I didn’t read every page in the book.

View all my reviews >>

The World Wars

The World Wars: An Introduction to the First & Second World Wars by Paul Dowswell


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Good illustrated primer on both world wars. Pitched for younger readers, but also good for parents who lack basic familiarity with the 20th century’s total wars. The book features lots of pictures and maps, and it progresses in two-page units, making it the perfect book to set down on your coffee table—-and pick up again.

View all my reviews >>

Just Do Something

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will or How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Impressions, Open Doors, Random ... Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. by Kevin DeYoung


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The alternate title says it all: "How to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc".

This book is a needed corrective on a much-discussed subject. Many emerging (as in coming-of-age) adults, DeYoung says, are tinkering, and the author intends to get them off their butts. As leverage, he distinguishes between God’s will of decree and his will of desire, exposes the false ways we go about discovering God’s will (including Gideon’s fleece), and extends the biblical way: the way of wisdom.

Just Do Something includes a zappy foreword written by Josh Harris.

View all my reviews >>

Tactics

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great book for helping Christians discuss their faith with others. Acknowledging that such discussions have often led to heated exchanges, Koukl advocates engagements that “look more like diplomacy than D-Day” and “an approach that trades more on friendly curiosity…than on confrontation” (19-20). But this doesn’t mean that he’s big on love and soft on reason. The author upholds the importance of logic, reason, and apologetics against those who frown on their use.

At the heart of Koukl’s method is the colorful Columbo tactic, which “is to go on the offensive in an inoffensive way by using carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation” (47). Much of the book is an unpacking of this principle as the reader learns what questions to ask.

This book is not unlike Randy Newman’s Questioning Evangelism. I would heartily recommend both of these books.

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Robert C. Chapman

Robert C. Chapman: 70 Years of Serving the Lord by Frank Holmes


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I would be willing to read pretty much any book about R. C. Chapman. Holmes is a devoted biographer of Chapman, and his admiration of this great man is not lost on the reader. One can tell that the author is not interested merely in preserving historical knowledge about some man of God; he wants his readers to live like him.

Note: I do prefer Peterson's biography.

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Sultana

Sultana: Surviving the Civil War, Prison, and the Worst Maritime Disaster in American History by Alan Huffman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A remarkable mesh of stories of survival. Traces the hardships of several men through the Civil War, culminating in the disastrous sinking of the Sultana steam boat. Huffman introduced me to the horror of 19th century war, prison camps, and post-war life, including the trip home…

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The Prodigal God

The Prodigal God: Christianity Redefined Through the Parable of the Prodigal Sons by Timothy Keller


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A great introduction to Jesus and Christianity for moderns and postmoderns. Keller takes us deep into the heart of one of finest stories ever told by Jesus. The self-righteous will squirm as Keller points out that there are two prodigals, not one, in the story. But both kinds of people—religious and rebels—will feel the attractive pull of Christ when they discover what kind of elder brother He is.

Following Clowney, Keller has seen deeply into this parable. His skill and scope in applying its truth to modern people is breathtaking. His ability to relate Christ to so many things people today care about makes this book the best candidate to give to searching friends.

View all my reviews >>

Breaking Pornography Addiction

David Powlison is always helpful, even when he writes on pornography. Here's his article in two
parts.

Note: He also has a booklet for those who have suffered from child abuse.

HT: Justin Taylor

How to read a book

How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book promotes reading as an active art. Its goal ought to be more than increased knowledge; rather, it strives for increased understanding. Thus the authors can talk about reading as a form of research, elevating the task of reading far above its stereotype of passivity.



The authors describe four ascending levels of reading: (1) Elementary; (2) Inspectional; (3) Analytical; and (4) Syntopical. The levels are cumulative in the sense that, if you are to read at say level 3, you will have to be simultaneously engaged at levels 1 and 2. The analytical level receives the most attention by far, elementary the least (for those wanting help increasing reading speeds, look elsewhere).



One of the signs of good thinking is careful distinctions. This book introduced me to helpful distinctions between knowledge and understanding, aided and un-aided research, terms and words, practical and theoretical books, good and great books, and many more.



For years I have attempted to read book somewhat “analytically”, but often grew frustrated at the difficulty in outlining certain books. So I cheered when the authors suggested that sometimes that’s because the book isn’t worth reading at any level, never mind analytically.



This quote from p.166 gives the flavor of the book well: “A person who has read widely but not well deserves to be pitied rather than praised. As Thomas Hobbes said, ‘If I read as many books as most men do, I would be as dull-witted as they are.’”




View all my reviews.

Hunting Eichmann

Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World'sMost Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An intense tale of the quest to bring Adolf Eichmann, the operational manager of the Final Solution, to justice.



Made me think of what a great thing it is that Christ will bring the world to justice. All oppressors will be justly dealt with; all innocent suffers will be vindicated.



Contains a powerful quote from Robert Jackson, the lead American prosecutor at the Nuremberg trial. In his opening statement he said:



The privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world imposes a grave responsibility. The wrongs, which we seek to condemn and punish, have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated. That four great nations, flushed with victory and stung with injury, stay the hand of vengeance and voluntarily submit their captive enemies to the judgment of the law is one of the most significant tributes that power has ever paid to reason.




View all my reviews.

Links for your listening pleasure

Here are some links to sermons and lectures that I've been listening through recently (and not so recently). I promised to send these to some friends, and this seems to be a handy way to do it.

Tim Keller

Keller and Ed Clowney teamed up to deliver a 35-session class on preaching Christ in a postmodern world. I can't recommend these lectures too much. They have vastly shaped my views on

• exegesis (you haven't properly exegeted a passage--even an OT one--until you see it in its redemptive-historical context, i.e., in relation to Christ)
• illustration (the power of metaphor)
• application (needs to be grace based)
• various passages in the Bible (they preach "mini" sermons throughout the series to illustrate concepts)

All in all, they advocate preaching Christ in every sermon, and they show you how to do so legitimately.

Also, Keller preaches through his excellent book, The Reason For God. Check out other sermons of his for free here.


Don Carson

Mars Hill church sponsored A Day With Dr. Don. The second session, on Revelation 12, made more sense of Revelation than anything else I've heard.

Here are two excellent messages on How to Wait for Jesus.

Carson on complementarianism.

For more, you can head over to the page they've set up for him at the Gospel Coalition.


Sinclair Ferguson and Alistair Begg

Some good old fashioned, Christ-exalting Scottish exposition (Sinclair Ferguson and Alistair Begg).

How to vastly improve your internet reading experience

Head over and try out Readability. It's wonderful. For any online article, news story, blog post, etc, it can

• Remove annoying clutter (ads and such)
  
• Increase font size the way you want it
  
• Change the text to your preferred font
  
• Adjust the margins to give you a comfortable column width
  

And best of all, it takes about 3 seconds to get going with it. All you have to do is go to the website, choose 3 settings, and then drag the bookmarklet. For all subsequent online reading simply click on the link on your toolbar and happy reading!

HT Alan Jacobs

More Nate Wilson wholesomeness

As I've mentioned before, I really like N.D. Wilson. He brings out the kid in me. Anyways, things get humorous when this skilful storyteller tells his kids bedtime stories. And in this Q&A he recounts a funny family story involving a baby, a mummy, and "a very cavalier mouse".

HT Doug Wilson

On this inconsistency, we need to be “called out”

I've noticed two ways in which we use the word "church" (Greek, ekklesia) differently from New Testament usage.

• "They're doing some renovations at the Baptist church."
  
• "He (an older Christian who has passed away) loved the assembly."
  

There's nothing wrong with using the word "church" or "assembly", but in both cases the speaker is (usually) using the word to refer to something other than people.

At any rate, to be consistent, those who criticise speakers prone to the first usage should also criticize the second.

Encouragement for the sporadic blogger (like me)

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10.20).

Perhaps I am one of the most prudent bloggers around!

Impoverish your audience: don’t read this

Con Cambell has an excellent blog series going on preaching evangelistic sermons. It's been helping me.

His last post really needs to be heard. Which is a shame, because evangelists shoudn't need to hear it. His advice? Exegete the text!

Often we have the mindset of, "Oh, I already know what John 3.16 is all about." Don't be so sure. Here's Cambell's list of things the preacher could discover about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee (Luke 18.9-14) through exegesis, but probably won't without it:

1. The setting is likely one of the two daily atonement services at the temple.

2. The Pharisee does not ask God for anything, but his prayer is really a declaration.

3. Because the setting is likely an atonement service, there are other people present, which means that the Pharisee's prayer publicly denounces the tax collector (v.11).

4. Because the setting is public, the tax collector's standing far off emphasizes his shame (v.13).

5. It was extremely rare for men to beat their chest in public, and they would only do so in an instance of overwhelming grief (v.13).

6. The tax collector asks God TO BE PROPITIOUS toward him (ἱλάσθητί μοι, v.13).

7. And thus, the tax collector is justified in direct connection to propitiation at an atonement service (v.14).

His conclusion:

I think that those things—which can only be understood through really working on the text in its historical and literary context—bring the passage to bear in a way that few evangelistic preachers would allow.

Trip to Ukraine

Our good friend Malcolm is back in Ukraine. Helen and I (and Aimee—in two-week-old fetus form!) went with Malcolm a year and a half ago. It was about this time two years ago that we were excitedly experiencing God opening doors for us to go. Hope He's got a big one for Malcolm to go through.

The greatest people are crazy about others

I used to think that when people remembered my name it meant I was really special. Now I realize I'm only special if I'm remembering someone else's.