Are you nosy enough to read someone’s mail? 

The newest book from Crossway and TGC is a re-release of D. A. Carson and John Woodbridge’s classic, Letters Along the Way: From a Senior Saint to a Junior Saint. The book is an intriguing batch of fictional letters from an older theologian to a junior believer. You can read them, because they’re also addressed to you.

When student Tim Journeyman first wrote to family friend Dr. Paul Woodson, he didn’t know it would start a fifteen-year mentorship that would shape his life and Christian faith. Within their candid letters are words of real-world wisdom that cover various aspects of Christian living.  

In the book’s new preface, Carson and Woodbridge list three reasons a contemporary reader may be interested in this book: 

First, it’s a story, “a spiritual ‘coming of age’ book chronicling a young Christian as he works through challenges of various kinds and grows to stable maturity, all under the tutelage of a wise mentor.” 

Second, it opens windows to the recent past. The events chronicled in the letters take place between 1978–92. “To today’s readers, who live in the age of Facebook, Instagram, Zoom conferencing, and Trump, it takes conscious effort to understand a world without any of them.” Because the book hails from a recent but different time, it helps us see how many of today’s challenges are perennial and guards us against repeating mistakes from the past.

Third, readers will be interested in the wide range of subjects the story explores, topics such as apologetics, science and faith, the inerrancy of the Bible, heart versus head faith, prayer, and the changing face of American evangelicalism. 

Our hope is that older pastors will find in this book a model for Christian mentorship, and that young Timothys will peer over Dr. Woodson’s shoulders, read his letters, and be strengthened in their faith.

Warmly yours in Christ Jesus,