It’s impossible to read every book, let alone review each one. But in addition to our steady line of reviews, we want to highlight other books that have recently released.
Jason Helopoulos, The New Pastor’s Handbook: Help and Encouragement for the First Years of Ministry (Baker).
Most seminary graduates will begin their ministries with plenty of important head knowledge to share—but with a deficit of some of the most practical aspects of doing ministry, such as (1) which ministry role most suits them, (2) how to start out strong at a new church, (3) persevering during difficult seasons of ministry, (4) leading meetings and delegating tasks, (5) safeguarding their family, (6) fighting discouragement, (7) pastor envy, (8) and a lack of contentment, (9) navigating special ministry needs, such as hospitals, weddings, and funerals. Through his hard-won wisdom, Jason Helopoulos comes alongside new pastors as a trusted friend and mentor, ready to guide them through their first years of ministry with intelligence and compassion.
Aaron Menikoff, Politics and Piety: Baptist Social Reform in America, 1770–1860 (Wipf and Stock).
Historians have painted a picture of nineteenth-century Baptists huddled in clapboard meetinghouses preaching sermons and singing hymns, seemingly unaware of the wider world. According to this view, Baptists were “so heavenly-minded, they were of no earthly good.” Overlooked are the illustrative stories of Baptists fighting poverty, promoting abolition, petitioning Congress, and debating tax policy. Politics and Piety is a careful look at antebellum Baptist life. It is seen in figures such as John Broadus, whose first sermon promoted temperance, David Barrow, who formed an anti-slavery association in Kentucky, and in a Savannah church that started a ministry to the homeless. Not only did Baptists promote piety for the good of their churches, but they did so for the betterment of society at large. Though they aimed to change America one soul at a time, that is only part of the story. They also engaged the political arena, forcefully and directly. Simply put, Baptists were social reformers.
Mark Jones, Knowing Christ (Banner of Truth).
The Puritans loved the Bible, and dug into it in depth. Also, they loved the Lord Jesus, who is of course the Bible’s focal figure; they circled round him, centred on him, studied minutely all that Scripture had to say about him, and constantly, conscientiously, exalted him in their preaching, praises, and prayers. Mark Jones, an established expert on many aspects of Puritan thought, also loves the Bible and its Christ, and the Puritans as expositors of both; and out of this triune love he has written a memorable unpacking of the truth about the Saviour according to the classic Reformed tradition, and the Puritans supremely. Knowing Christ is a book calculated to enrich our twenty-first-century souls, and one that it is an honour to introduce. (from J. I. Packer’s Foreword)
Robert Plummer and Matthew Haste, Held in Honor: Wisdom for Your Marriage from Voices of the Past (Christian Focus).
Are you ever disappointed in your spouse? Do you fight? Do you disagree about money, sex, or in-laws? What if the very struggles you are facing were addressed by thoughtful Christians hundreds of years ago?In Held in Honor, you will find 50 devotional reflections on marriage carefully selected from 2,000 years of church history. Alongside each inspiring historical quote is a brief introduction to the person quoted and an accompanying biblical reflection.You are not alone in your marriage. The Lord has provided encouragement, correction, and hope in his Word. Held in Honor aims to strengthen you by pointing you to the promises of God’s Word and by showing you how past generations have applied this life-giving message to their own marriages.
Eric Mason, Unleashed: Being Conformed to the Image of Christ (B&H).
You’re a Christian, now what? God not only saved you from something, but for something. Pastor Eric Mason is passionate about helping Christians unleash the transformative power of God in their lives as they learn to be faithful disciples of Jesus. Being conformed to the image of Christ is a lifelong journey for every Christian. Mason understands that spiritual transformation doesn’t occur overnight. Unleashed outlines the process of spiritual growth from the first moments of faith to the last. Readers discover their potential in Christ in an age that is so often marked by suffering, grief, and defeat. Join countless others who are learning what it means to unleash God’s power in their lives.
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans).
What Murray did, and what I had never really seen before, was demonstrate how my salvation connected to the work of God in both eternity, as he planned salvation, and time, as he executed it in the person and work of his Son and applied it to individuals through the work of his Holy Spirit. Thus, Murray’s little book did three things of major importance: it showed how eternity and time relate to each other in salvation, how that salvation is a Trinitarian matter, rooted in the very identity of God as Trinity, and how this makes sense of the whole Bible. . . . The book you have in your hand is a miniature masterpiece of theology, dealing reverently on every page with matters of great theological significance. Whether you end the book by agreeing or disagreeing with its author, you will have found your own thinking on these issues sharpened and clarified. (From Carl Trueman’s Foreword)
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Crawford Loritts, Unshaken: Real Faith in Our Faithful God (Crossway).
In the Bible, faith is essential to salvation, and no less essential to our lifelong pilgrimage. Here, Crawford Loritts does not so much define faith as provide sketches of the way biblical faith operates. In highly practical terms, he describes how faith engenders obedience, endurance, and an ability to live in the light of the new heaven and the new earth. Faith fires mission; it develops trust and courage. And all such faith is grounded in confidence in what God has already done in Christ Jesus. If faith is for you ephemeral and practically useless, you need this book. (D. A. Carson)
Mark Meynell, What Makes Us Human? (Good Book Co.).
What exactly are we? The modern world has many answers to that question, each of which has consequences for the choices we make about our own life and the lives of others. In this short, simple book, Mark Meynell wants to help confused Christians understand what God has said about these questions in the scriptures, and offers a positive and liberating way forward as we discover what true humanity really is.
Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (Penguin).
We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. Preeminent author and researcher Sherry Turkle has been studying digital culture for over thirty years. Long an enthusiast for its possibilities, here she investigates a troubling consequence: at work, at home, in politics, and in love, we find ways around conversation, tempted by the possibilities of a text or an email in which we don’t have to look, listen, or reveal ourselves. . . . Based on five years of research and interviews in homes, schools, and the workplace, Turkle argues that we have come to a better understanding of where our technology can and cannot take us and that the time is right to reclaim conversation. The most human—and humanizing—thing that we do. The virtues of person-to-person conversation are timeless, and our most basic technology, talk, responds to our modern challenges. We have everything we need to start, we have each other. (For those interested, make sure to read Turkle’s NYTimes Op-Ed, “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.”)
Walter Wangerin, Jr. Everlasting Is the Past (Rabbit Room Press).
In this new memoir, National Book Award-winner Walter Wangerin, Jr., takes readers on a journey into the past to experience his loss of faith as a young seminarian, his struggle to find a place for his chosen vocation amid a storm of doubts, and his eventual renewal in the arms of an inner-city church called Grace. With his inimitable style and keen eye for detail, Wangerin remembers his own story and gives it to us as an everlasting testament to the faithfulness of God.
