Recommended Books (Winter 2017)
The New Year is always full of reading possibilities. If you’re like us, reading time comes at a premium and can’t be wasted on poor selections. Below are some of our favorite titles from the past quarter that we think were worth the time. Hopefully you’ll find some of your old favorites here and some new titles for consideration. Be sure to let us know what you’ve been reading in the comments section. ____________________ Christopher...
How Broad the Umbrella? Christian Education in the Thought of Robert E. Picirilli
Bible-believing Christians faced many challenges during the twentieth century, including education. Once they realized that the vast majority of higher-education institutions had rejected the Christian worldview, conservatives had to “rake from the ashes what scorched fragments of civilization” were left.[1] Part of this process required determining what precisely constituted “Christian” education and separated it from secular...
The Family Life of the Christian Leader: A Book Review
Part of the task of the pastor is not only to mine out unfamiliar truths for his people, which is indispensable (Mt. 28:18-19; 2 Tim. 2:15, 3:16; Heb. 4:12), but also to call them to remember truths that they already knew to be true. Part of the human condition is that we suffer from a certain “spiritual amnesia,” forgetting the vital truths of God in our lives and regressing into the nature of our old self. Therefore, the pastor,...
Longing for Auld Lang Syne: America’s Cultural Nostalgia
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9, ESV). American pop culture is certainly proving the preacher of Ecclesiastes right, though I realize it may be a bit of a stretch to apply the verse in this way. It seems that we can go nowhere without seeing advertisements for another reboot, remake, or reunion of beloved shows and movies. Whether through...
Top Books of 2016
Preparing to enter into the new year includes taking stock of the preceding months—what went well, what did not. The same goes for our reading selections. When we looked back over the previous year’s publications, we found a few that were especially good and wanted to pass them along to you. A couple of our recommendations actually came out during the latter half of 2015, but we thought they were worthy of mentioning here. In...
The Pastor as a Developer of Leaders
by Aaron Pierce There is no shortage of material on how to be successful in the ministry and as a pastor. The modern church seems preoccupied with celebrity pastors and the next big breakthrough in how to be a relevant pastor. However, pastoral ministry is difficult and it’s certainly not made easier by the constant pressure and changing ideas as to what being successful in ministry looks like. In all the confusion and dialogue about...
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