Book Review: Biblical Beliefs: Doctrines Believers Should Know
by Barry Raper W. Jackson Watts currently serves as pastor of Grace Free Will Baptist Church, located outside of St. Louis, Missouri. He holds degrees from Welch College in Nashville, Tennessee, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Duke University. Bro. Watts’ exposure to theological training in the academy, coupled with his experience in a local church as a pastor, enable him to write Biblical Beliefs with both accuracy and...
Ministering Well in the Middle
by Frank Owens “Some pastors and preachers are lazy and no good. They do not pray; they do not read; they do not search the Scripture…This evil, shameful time is not the season for being lazy, for sleeping and snoring” [1]. Here Luther reminds us that ministry requires vigilance at every stage of ministry, especially in the middle and later years. When speaking of “the middle” I’m primarily referring to that age between 40-55, where...
Book Review: The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith
review by Carol Reid Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith (Pittsburgh, PA: Crown & Covenant Publications, 2012). 153 pages. The first indication was the waiting list at the public library for this book. When you are sixth in line to read it, that’s a good sign that the book is worth reading. Another good sign is that it was written by a...
Donald McGavran and the Church Growth Movement
by Matthew McAffee and Barry Raper One of the major developments in the church of the twentieth century has been the rise of the modern church growth movement. The key figure of this movement was Donald McGavran, considered by most authorities to be its founding father. The inception of this movement has been tied directly to McGavran’s seminal work, The Bridges of God (1955) [1]. This work arose out of his experiences on the mission...
Book Review: Shepherds After My Own Heart
by Craig Batts What does it mean to be a shepherd in the church? What does it involve? When we consider these questions, it rightfully leads to a discussion of leadership. Unfortunately, there often seems to be a flaw in the way we proceed from that point forward. There is a temptation to look to the corporate world or to socially-established practices in order to develop an understanding of what qualities leaders ought to possess....
Recent Comments