Book Reviews

PrintSubversive Sabbath won Christianity Today’s 2019 Book of the Year award in the spiritual formation category, and thus represents well spirituality as understood by mainstream evangelicalism today. Written by a pastor and seminary professor, the book’s strength lies in its reminder of the believer’s need for rest as grounded in the Sabbath principle and modeled by the Lord Himself in the creation account. If the Lord rested after His work of creation, the author insists, so should we (pp. 5, 7, 15).  Taking Sabbath rest seriously will result in better health, more productivity and freedom from a messiah complex in which many Christians seem to believe they are essential to the continuation of the universe (pp. 46, 58).  God has embedded Sabbath rest into the rhythm of life so that we recognize only the Lord is necessary and therefore we can learn to trust in Him, rather than ourselves (pp.…(Read More)

PrintCalled to Be Saints seeks answers to three substantive questions: What is the beginning of the Christian life? What is the character of Christian maturity? What is the approach and means of formation so that we may grow up in our salvation (p. 9)? In response to the first question, …(Read More)

PrintBill Rudd recently retired after serving as a pastor in four conservative churches over a period of 50 some years.  He has also been an adjunct professor in two seminaries.  Toward the end of his pastoral ministry Rudd shifted from the complementarian to the egalitarian position on the role of …(Read More)

PrintBruce Baker is a pastor, theologian, author and a personal friend of mine.  In August of 2017 he was told he has ALS and only a short time to live.  So far he has lived longer than expected and continues to minister as he can.  For Thou Art With Me …(Read More)

PrintNicholas Carr has written a fascinating book on the effect of the internet on lives and, in particular, our way of thinking.  The author’s thesis is that modern technology, especially the internet, is rerouting our brains (p. 77), changing the way we think (p. 18) and the way we read …(Read More)

PrintWritten in 1947 by new-evangelism’s most influential theologian, The Uneasy Conscience was a watershed book pushing evangelicals toward social engagement.  Henry believed that Fundamentalists (used interchangeably with evangelicals at the time) had withdrawn from challenging and leading culture. Fundamentalists were concerned, he complained, almost exclusively with individual sins, not social …(Read More)

PrintThis is only the second biography ever written about the wife of the famed 19th century preacher. Those familiar with Charles Spurgeon are aware that his wife was a semi-invalid, seldom leaving the house for 23 years (1868-1891).  Fewer are aware that prior to her illness she was an energetic, …(Read More)

PrintDavid VanDrunen contributes this excellent volume to “The 5 Solas Series,” edited by Matthew Barrett and written in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  VanDrunen is clear that the Reformers did not actually adopt the five solas as their official mottos, but they perfectly summarize the essence of …(Read More)

PrintJohn MacArthur sees the imminent need for the church to reform.  A new reformation, as he understands it, would require a return to the five solas of the sixteenth century Reformation.  Short of such an appreciation and adherence to the solas (pp. 177-194) any attempt for church revival will be …(Read More)

PrintStephen Wellum contributes Christ Alone to The 5 Solas Series, edited by Matthew Barrett and published by Zondervan.  Each volume handles one of the foundational Solas of the Reformation, showing why each is important and detailing the theology behind it.  Christ Alone does not disappoint in its mission.  Wellum, who …(Read More)

PrintJim Berg, Dean of Students at Bob Jones University, has written a solid book concerning Christian life and virtues based on the text from 2 Peter 1:5-7.  As the Foreword indicates: “This book focuses on Peter’s call to cultivate essential Christian virtues (2 Peter 1)…What Peter urges upon us in …(Read More)