“What have you been reading lately, pastor?” That’s a question that’s sometimes asked of me. Why would anyone bother to care what I’ve been reading? Sometimes people are just curious. Other times people want a book to read and hope I’ll give them a recommendation. Still other times, people want to know what I’ve been thinking or caring about. What I’m reading often says what is important to me.
Here’s a book log of reading I’ve done over the last couple of months:
Ian H. Murray. Heroes. I read this in preparation for my trip to Turkey where I preached on the heroes of faith from Hebrews 11. This book gives condensed and focused biographies of greats from the past such as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, John Newton, and Charles Spurgeon.
R. Albert Mohler, Jr. He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World. Our pastoral staff read this together. It’s good reminder of the importance of preaching.
Elisabeth Elliot. The Mark of a Man. In an age where there is so much gender confusion this book provides a clear and compelling argument for what it means to be a man. The book is grounded in Scripture and emphasizes a man’s role to lead, serve, and love.
Kevin De Young. Freedom and Boundaries: A Pastoral Primer on the Role of Women in the Church. A readable and convincing argument from the Bible on why men are called to the offices of pastor and elder. De Young lays out the biblical evidence and effectively answers the major questions and objections to why men are called to lead in the church.
Kevin De Young. Just Do Something: This book gets a recommendation not only from me but from some of the young adults in our church. This book deals with the issue of discovering God’s will and challenges us to take the mystery out of it and to act based on what God has revealed to us in his Word.
W. Robert Godfrey. John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor. A very readable biography of Calvin’s life with particular emphases on Calvin’s personal walk with God and his role as pastor and church leader.
David Powlison. Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare. Powlison tries to find a balance in this book between taking spiritual warfare seriously and avoiding excesses in it. He particularly challenges the Ekballistic mode of ministry (ie. casting out of demons) as being the typical way to deal with spiritual warfare and promotes as biblical a more classic model of spiritual warfare (ie. evangelism, discipleship, prayer, and personal growth).
Timothy Keller. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. Keller retells the story of the familiar parable of The Prodigal Son, but with a twist. Keller points out that the older son was just as lost as the younger son. It’s a challenging thought for church-going, elder-brother types.
These books will be on display in the church library’s “Pastor’s Corner”. Take a look and enjoy reading.
Pastor Tom