The Siberian Grinder

We will look at Paul’s books. We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them.

Even an apostle must read. Some of our very ultra-Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot and talks any quantity of nonsense is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men’s brains – oh, that is the preacher!

How rebuked they are by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching for at least thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet wants books!

He had been caught up into the Third Heaven and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy, and so he says to every preacher, “Give attendance to reading” (1 Tim. 4:13).

The man who never reads will never be read. He who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves that he has no brains of his own.

Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers and expositions of the Bible.

I am so encouraged with the ministry of David Platt. He has challenged and encouraged me since I began to pay attention to his preaching and teaching. He is bold, unpretentious and deadly serious about the glory of God among the nations.

That is why this book did not shock me. It challenged me, but I knew where he was going with it from the first few pages. Nevertheless, it was an extremely profitable book for me at this stage in my life. Often it is necessary to examine our lives and root out our subtle idols; and then to question whether or not our priorities are in line with God’s. Since God’s ambition is his glory among the nations, we ought to be about that task with all of our beings. This book will challenge you to do just that.

Read this book today.

Bob Childress was a rough mountaineer from the Blue Ridge Mountains who turned from a life of revelry, bootlegging and violence when he met Jesus.  Through the discipleship of a Presbyterian minister, Bob gave up drinking and sought hard (and fought hard) to become a minister himself. Against everyone’s expectations, he completed seminary and was ordained to the ministry in his early 30′s, with a wife and several children in tow.

Childress became a sought-after preacher. Several big-city churches offered him their prestigious pulpits, but Bob felt the call of the Blue Ridge. For decades he labored, starting churches and schools, and preaching the gospel. He tried to steer the mountains from their backward ways. Scorned and often in danger, Childress never gave up. In the end, he moved the mountain.

The Man Who Moved a Mountain, by Richard C. Davids is an inspiring story of faith and faithfulness. I was challenged by Bob’s stubbornness; his willingness to trust God and walk into danger with a warm smile and a genuine love.

It is a great book and I highly recommend it. Order it here from Amazon.com.

When I finally finish my academic career, I plan to read and review books in this place. But for now, with no time for that sort of thing, I will only mention two excellent books that I’ve read lately and that I highly recommend.

1. The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. This is an excellent book about how we should think about church and ministry.
2. What Is the Gospel by Greg Gilbert. What is the Gospel is a refreshingly biblical look at the greatest news in all of life.

Someone asked me how to go about reading John Piper. I gave it some thought and decided on a four-month scheme that would get one into most of Piper’s “major thought” works, along with several of his “just plain encouraging” books. Here is the plan I suggested:

First Month
- Desiring God
- Don’t Waste Your Life
- The Hidden Smile of God (part of his series, The Swans Are Not Silent. They are short biographies and I have found them encouraging).

Second Month
- When I Don’t Desire God
- Future Grace
- Let the Nations Be Glad
- Contenting for Our All

Third Month
- The Pleasures of God
- God is the Gospel
- The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

Fourth Month
- What Jesus Demands of the World
- Finally Alive
- The Roots of Endurance

After four months, I would take a break from Piper and read someone else, preferably one of the old greats like Jonathan Edwards or John Owen. But to keep things fresh, I would also probably start reading through Piper’s devotionals. His devotionals are: Pierced by the Word, Life as a Vapor and Taste and See. When I got back more seriously to Piper, I would start reading his more technical works (e.g., The Justification of God,) and some of the books that he has written to dispute modern errors (e.g.,  Counted Righteous in Christ, The Future of Justification, etc.) and the books written by his opponents (e.g., N.T. Wright, Justification).

That the average library of the Christian layman and of the minister of the Gospel is poor beyond words, is a lamentable fact. Many of the books are of such inferior authorship as to unfit them for even storage in any home of people either intelligent or hoping to be intelligent. Such books have drifted in because they are radiant with glaring and realistic pictures, or are bound in captivating sheep or calf, or are presented by well meaning friends, or have been bought in lots at auction under the hallucination of cheapness, or because of some other apology for the existence of the trash. If two thirds of the shelves of the typical domestic library were emptied of their burden, and choice books put in their stead, there would be reformation in intelligence and throughout the civilized world. A poor book is dear, and a good one cheap, at any cost. One’s best book is that which treats best the subject on which one most needs light, and which one can get only by planning, by seeking, and often by sacrificing.
… It is a friend for all seasons, and remains true to the eighties, and beyond, if they come. Better one shelf of such treasures than a shipload of literary driftings from the dead pyramids of publishers who sell slowly and of authors who fail quickly
John MacArthur, Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Dallas: Word Pub., 1997), 179–180.

All this time off ought to be put to good use. I do not plan to visit the office from Thursday to Sunday, and after I preach on the Lord’s Day I plan to rest for the rest of that day too. I have a hiatus from coursework too – so I am totally free. Hmm, I think I’ll read:

1. A light biography of Martin Luther by Martin Marty.

2. Preaching and Preachers by Martin-Lloyd Jones.

And listen to:

1. Thank God for Famous Faith, by John Piper.

2. Thank God for the Mercies of God, by John Piper.

3. Apostasy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church?, by R.C. Sproul.

4. Clarifying the Gospel, by Beau Hughes.

Every month until December, Logos is giving away a dozen or so premium-bound Bibles, and I am hoping to win one, and this is my entry.

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

I just read T.D. Gordon’s short book, Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. Gordon boldly and accurately characterizes the problem in many American pulpits today.  Due to cultural changes in the last 60+ years, would-be ministers are less prepared in skill-areas vital to preaching, such as the ability to closely read texts or skillfully write. A culture that was previously dominated by language is now dominated by image, and this has weakened the intellectual fabric of ministry candidates arriving at seminary.

Gordon goes on to expose common alternatives to solid preaching prevalent in churches today, such as moralism or moral scolding; preaching be good and don’t be bad instead of preaching Christ and him crucified.

All is not lost, though. Johnny can learn to preach, but he needs to wake up. And to that end T.D. Gordon has written and excellent and relevant little book, bound to bring conviction and introspection. I read and enjoyed it in just a few hours and highly recommend it to anyone sensing the call to pulpit ministry. Order it here, from Amazon.com.

Logos is offering the book, Money Matters: Answers to Your Financial Questions free of charge. Just click here and then add the book to your cart. While checking out, put “BIBLESTUDYMAGAZINE” in as a coupon code.

If you are looking for ideas, you might enjoy this list of what the DG staff are reading.