Book Reviews
Practicing Christian Doctrine: Book Review
Over the last several years, my studies and ministry have taken me through a fascinating exploration of the relationship between beliefs and practices. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered that evangelicals have not emphasized this subject as much as it probably deserves. Even in lamenting the unhealthy disconnect between thinking and living, it’s difficult to avoid the suspicion that part of the blame is due to the way that theology is written. That said, the publication of Beth Felker Jones’ Practicing Christian Doctrine (Baker Academic) is an...
read moreBook Recommendations (Autumn 2014)
The Helwys Society Forum (“HSF”) is pleased to share with its readers the Book Recommendations of its contributors. We believe strongly in the importance of reading for all people, but especially for those men and women who hold leadership roles in the local church. We hope to encourage our readers to engage with these texts and to provide resources for life and ministry. Each main HSF contributor (six in total) will share two books each quarter that they have found particularly helpful or meaningful over the previous three months. Each...
read moreBook Review: Essential Eschatology
Since Jesus ascended, eschatology (or the study of “last things”) has been a major topic of conversation. As Christians, we eagerly await and anticipate Jesus’ coming. We often wonder when that time will occur. Over the centuries since the ascension, many predictions and much controversy have ensued concerning when this will occur. Into this discussion steps John E. Phelan Jr. with his newest book Essential Eschatology (IVP Academic 2013). Phelan reminds us that eschatology plays a significant role in Christianity, and he points out that the...
read moreReCreatable: How God Heals the Brokenness of Life
by Nathan Trimble “Our lives may be utterly broken, but they are not irretrievably broken.”[1] This is the message of ReCreatable (Kregal, 2014) by author and pastor, Kevin Scott. Scott is an ordained pastor, who currently serves on the pastoral staff of Stephen Ministries in St. Louis. There he writes, leads project teams, and teaches at workshops and training courses. For six years, he has served as a bi-vocational pastor in Indiana. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree (Bible and Theology, Welch College), and an M.A. (Exegetical Theology,...
read moreBook Review: Resounding Truth
by M. Grady Calhoun Music is everywhere. It has infiltrated almost every culture, especially modern Western culture, from all sides. One scarcely enters a coffee shop, mall, airport, or arena where music isn’t belted from a sound system. Music is present to help manage our moods for whatever everyday task with which we find ourselves engaged. It so surrounds us that we often forget its presence. This may leave us wondering: “How is music shaping us? Does it possess intrinsic value? Do our Christian convictions effect how we approach music?”...
read moreRenewing the Evangelical Mission: Book Review
A recent Forum essay explored the theological contributions of David F. Wells, particularly those over the last 20 years. His work has been appreciated by so many that it wasn’t surprising when the Forum recently acquired a copy of Renewing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans, 2013), a volume dedicated to Wells. Edited by theologian Richard Lints, Renewing is a collection of essays based upon a symposium about a collaborative project that began in the early 1990s. This project included Mark Noll, Cornelius Plantinga, and David Wells, who were...
read moreThe Work of David F. Wells: An Appreciative Reflection
As people who talk a lot about God, it’s important that our words as Christians actually correspond to reality. While all of our language is analogical and therefore limited, it would be a fatal error to speak about God in ways that misrepresent His glorious character. Indeed, we should often ask, “What kind of vision of God am I projecting to the world when I speak about Him or act in His name?” One of the challenges with speaking of God faithfully is that our words are filtered through a set of cultural and social pre-understandings. There...
read moreReading the Christian Spiritual Classics: A Review
Goggin, Jamin and Kyle Strobel (eds.). Reading the Christian Spiritual Classics: A Guide for Evangelicals. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2013. 332 pp. (paperback). Have you ever tried to read a “Christian classic,” only to walk away confused? Perhaps your complaint was that the text was difficult to read and understand, or boring, or just plain weird. Or perhaps you understood it fine; you just couldn’t comprehend why it has received so much attention through the years. Sometimes we have difficulty with a Christian classic because we can’t...
read moreProblems of Christian Leadership: A Book Review
Several months ago I intended to write an essay on the challenges leaders face. Facing so many of my own, it only seemed appropriate! The main issue so preventing me was the difficult task of deciding which challenge to begin with. If all the Christian leaders reading this were to place their cards on the table, they’d likely name challenges that couldn’t be numbered on just one hand. God has a sense of humor, though. In perusing Intervarsity Press catalogs in recent months, I have been delighted to see them continuing to provide the...
read moreHoly War in the Bible: Book Review
by Seth Miller A new Bible student will surely be alarmed when they discover Scripture in which God commands the Israelites to “devote” enemy nations to “complete destruction.” “You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them,” states Deut. 7:2. New Christians can have great difficulty reconciling such passages with the meek and mild Jesus Who stated “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 7:12). In steps the New Atheists. Like a shark drawn to blood, they hone...
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