Archive | May, 2011

“The Next Story” by T. Challies | Book Review & Giveaway

By on May 30, 2011 in Book Review, Giveaway, Technology

Tim Challies’ The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion has been extremely confrontational to my soul. If any of you know me well you know that I am a technology type of guy. I enjoy using my iPhone, MacBook Pro, Amazon Kindle, and a myriad of other devices to stay connected and informed. It is a rare occurrence when I am more than a few feet from any one of these technologies.

What I have learned from Tim is that I have a problem. I have a distraction problem and I have an idol problem. Tim addresses these topics and many more in this latest book. I think one would be hard pressed to find someone more capable to write such a book on technology and faith than Tim Challies. He is the author and owner of the popular Christian blog, challies.com, and is the author of a few other books as well. He frequently speaks at conferences on technology and faith, which makes him well suited to address this topic in a book. On top of these things he is also an elder at his church.

In The Next Story Tim does well to not only address how technology impacts our lives, but he does so through a Scriptural grid that intersects with theology. Each chapter is packed full of practical insight on how technology can serve us or how we can serve technology. One of the best aspects of how Tim has brought each chapter together is that he ends with a section on application and questions for reflection. These sections take the already practical insight that Tim has and helps you to process the thoughts personally.

One of thoughts that has stuck with me is when Tim was talking about how we have become a “skimming” society, always skimming material. He says;

If we grow so accustomed to skimming words, to passing quickly over texts, we will eventually impose this practice on the words of God. The danger today, in an era of skimming and fragmentation, is that we will fragment the Bible into small bits and have no time or ability to craft unity from the parts.

The church has been served well by this latest book from Tim Challies. I would recommend to anyone that uses technology in one form or another (read here, everyone) to get into this book. I think you will be surprised about how attached you are to digital media.

In conjunction with this review I am giving away a copy of this book. To enter fill out the form below. If you are reading this with an RSS reader you might need to click through to the page.

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.

Congratulations to Coach Pete Wehry for winning this great book!

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“Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?” by C. John Collins | Book Review

By on May 29, 2011 in Book Review

Collins, C. John. Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. Paperback, $15.99

This next fall I will be teaching a course on the Theology of Creation. One of the topics I expect to cover in this course is the discussion surrounding the historicity of Adam and Eve. Were Adam and Eve real people or were they some sort of fictional character? C. John Collins has a book hot off the presses through Crossway that discusses this specific issue.

As it turns out Collins does believe that Adam and Eve were real people. Furthermore, he demonstrates in his book how believing in a literal Adam and Eve has further implications for ones worldview, theology, and life. Through personal experiences you will see how this topic has been shaped in Collins’ mind through grieving, which is a powerful way he ends the book.

The author’s goal with this book is to look at why we should retain the traditional view of a literal Adam and Eve, in spite of the pressures academically to abandon it. He relies on good critical thinking and draws the readers attention to “abusus usum non tollit, ‘Abuse does not take away proper use.’” He does this in three different ways:

  1. He looks at the shape of the biblical story—from creation to fall to redemption and to consummation. He looks at the story of the Bible and sees if the worldview derived from The Story requires a historical Adam and Eve and a historical fall.
  2. He examines the primary biblical and second Temple Jewish texts that deal with the topic. He does this to see if they support the historical position.
  3. He then considers the biblical view of human uniqueness and dignity. He tries to relate this to the everyday moral and religious experience and sees how this as well lends evidence to a historical Adam and Eve.

It should be noted that Collins is not a straight literal guy with minimal room for figurative language in the early narratives. He states very early that he believes Moses is talking about actual events and actual people, using rhetorical and literary techniques to shape the readers’ attitudes toward those events (pg. 16-17). It is also clear that Collins is not a young earth creationist. On page 122 he talks about how Adam and Eve very well were not the first members of the homo species because the earliest homo species date back over two million years. This I disagree with.

Collin’s last paragraph of the main part of his book is a fitting wrap up to this topic,

There is indeed comfort in the Biblical story that has as real Adam and Eve at its front end: the comfort of finding assurance that we will indeed receive relief and healing and restoration and final bliss, when God has finally banished the intruder forever. This comfort helps us to live fully human lives, as God’s beloved people, even now.

The book was just released in the last couple of days and can be purchased directly through Amazon for about $10 (also available on Kindle).

FTC Rhetoric: I do not receive payment for my book reviews. I do sometimes receive free review and giveaway copies from authors, publishers, and publicists. My first responsibility is to my readers, therefore, I am committed to honest reviews.

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So you want to read more?

By on May 26, 2011 in Books

I am often asked how it is I am able to read as much as I do. Let’s set the record straight…I don’t read nearly what I ought to nor what I desire to. I think people use a broken syllogism. Greg has a lot of books. Greg likes to read. Greg reads a lot of books.

Nope, it doesn’t work like that! However, I do ok getting through books each year but I desire to get through more. Today John Starke over at The Gospel Coalition has a great article targeted to slow readers (which he counts himself as one of). It has some great points on how to get a little more mileage out of reading. In summary fashion he says that in order to get through more books you should:

  1. Read in 15 minute segments
  2. Get up 40 minutes earlier every day
  3. Use the odd times to read
  4. Read widely and more than one book at a time
  5. Work hard to finish a book

The piece of advice from this list that I have taken to recently is reading in the odd times. I try to workout on the elliptical 3 to 4 times a week. Instead of listening to music I take that time to read on my Kindle. I am currently reading Paul Miller’s book, Love Walked Among Us , which is a great book about learning to love like Jesus loved. I am able to get through 40-50 pages in about 30 minutes..even while bobbing up and down!

Next piece of advice I’m taking is reading in 15 minute sections. Be sure to get the whole article over at TGC blog.

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Book Giveaway: Thessalonian Epistles Commentary

By on May 20, 2011 in Giveaway

Well I think it is time for another book giveaway! I love being able to serve the body of Christ like this and as long as I have an abundance of duplicates I will continue to give them away!

This time around is the NICNT commentary by Leon Morris, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. This is another out of print work that has been replaced in the set. So here is your chance at brand new commentary that will be increasingly hard to find.

So there is the deal:

  1. One entry for simply filling out the form
  2. One entry for posting a link to this page on Facebook
  3. One entry for posting a link to Twitter
  4. Two entries for posting something about this on your blog

Contest is open to only residents of the United States (I don’t want to get crushed for shipping and duty to some foreign land). Contest ends at midnight on Sunday May 22. Winner will be announced on the blog on Monday.

The contest is now closed…congratulations to Dan Beltechi for being drawn as the winner!

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Books – Digital vs. Paper?

By on May 20, 2011 in Books, Technology

It is no secret that I love books. Books bring us knowledge that we once did not have and there is a certain amount of power in that. For me, books are the tools I need to perform my job and my ministry. Just like a mechanic needs certain wrenches and power tools, the theologian and teacher needs good books. It is with this mindset that I have grown my library to around 2800 volumes. Many of my books are digital and are contained in Logos Bible Software, others are on my Kindle, and then there are still others that live on shelves in my office. If you were to break my library down it would probably be around 2200 digital volumes and 600 print volumes (624 to be exact at time of writing).

There is a growing trend in publishing where more digital copies are now being purchased than print copies. The Amazon Kindle has been the primary factor in this. As of this last April Amazon has said they are selling more digital books than they are print books. There are still many out there, many people I know, who simply refuse to go the route of digital…and I get that. People love the feel of a book in their hands and the fragrance of the paper under their noses—I am no different. There are many pros and cons lists that people have created to look at this subject. Before I share with you my pros and cons of digital books let me share with you my rationale of how I choose to buy a book in print or digital.

I like having most of my reference works in Logos so they are fully searchable. These works include commentaries, systematic theologies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and larger sets that might take up a lot of shelf space. Aside from these types of books I also have thousands of journal articles in Logos that are fully searchable. Then if non-reference type books I am looking to buy are available in Logos or on the Kindle I’ll get them digitally, but if they are not I will get the print version. I won’t typically wait for a Kindle version or Logos version to arrive if a print version is already out. There is just no saying how long the wait could be. So what about those pros and cons of digital material?

Pros

1. Searchability

2. With the Kindle I can have hundreds of books with me at all times and in total it weighs less than a pound!

3. With Logos the power to preform complex searches is a snap

4. Kindle books tend to cost less than print books

5. Saves some series shelf space and the cost of bookshelves

6. If you move frequently (I’ve moved 15 or more times in the last 15 years) books become arduous to move with you

7. Environmentally friendly in that digital books can save tons of paper

Cons

1. Page recognition. One of the tools some people use to remember what they read is to recall where the material is on the printed page. This is not possible with digital books.

2. You have to have some sort of hardware to read a book with

3. Difficult to share a digital book, however, some books on the Kindle can be shared temporarily with friends, but this function is left up to the publisher if they are willing to allow it.

4. Many times digital books are not available when the print book comes out, this is especially true of books on Logos.

5. Studies have shown that people tend to read slower with digital books (this is not true for me, I actually can read faster on my Kindle)

6. You have battery life to worry about, whether that is on a Kindle or on a comptuer

There are a myriad of factors not even listed or discussed here. Even though the list for the cons appears longer, I am still a strong supporter of the digital book movement. An article I read years ago that has been helpful can be found here.

So what do you think…tell me your thoughts about the ebook revolution and how it is or is not changing your life.

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Does This Video Characterize Your Small Group?

By on May 13, 2011 in Ecclesiology, Video

Funny yes…reality in many churches? Sadly, yes.

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How Might You Serve Your Wife Better?

By on May 9, 2011 in Family

Today is my anniversary…2 whole years under my belt! I love my wife deeply and appreciate her so much. She truly is God’s completer for me.

This morning while going through my usual routine I came across a blog post that was posted earlier today. The guy asked his wife “What is something practical I can do to make you feel loved and appreciated by me?” Wow! Apparently I don’t have it all figured out after two years! He talks about her answer to this question in his post, I would encourage you to read the whole thing.

Let me give you the lesson to learn without giving you the entire story. Again, you would do well to read the entire article.

The lesson to learn, gentlemen, is to make sure we are not making efforts to love our wives and in the process doing something else to make them feel unappreciated.  It would be similar to taking our wives on a date and picking a fight with her.  Or bringing her flowers and making an ugly comment about where she chose to place them in the house.

This is a picture from a recent trip back to MI. I am a blessed man!

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On the Horizon | A Personal Post

By on May 6, 2011 in Education

I wanted to take a post to sort of fill out what I’m focusing on these days. I want to communicate these things because I think it will give a little reflection to why the blog might be a little more quiet in the coming weeks…but perhaps not.

I am set in full tilt mode right now chasing after the work on my next doctoral class, Models of Sanctification. I am looking forward to this class for a few reasons: 1) My friend Andy Naselli is teaching half of the course and he is an expert in this area; 2) Bruce Ware is teaching the other half of the course and he is a world renowned theologian and scholar, and 3) Sanctification is something that we are all trying to grow in, so we ought to be doing it correctly—this class will help me with that.

So for now I am plowing through some reading so that I can have it done by time the class starts on June 6. On the docket is:

  • Christian Spirituality: Fives Views on Sanctification edited by Donald Alexander
  • An Anthology of Christian Mysticism by Harvey Egan
  • Five Views on Sanctification edited by Stanley Gundry
  • Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle by J.I. Packer
  • The Saving Life of Christ by W. Ian Thomas
  • Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (Chapters I-X, XX)

There will be plenty of other reading and research happening as well as I work towards the final paper of the class as well. So…since I’ll be doing all of this reading the blog might be a little quieter—maybe not though, because I just might find time to share what I am learning. Pray for me.

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Reflections on Education and the Church | Part 3

By on May 5, 2011 in Education

This will be the last post in this short series. Perhaps I’ll continue to process through more information on the topic, but as I have thought through this final post it is going to take some time to continue to work through these thoughts.

If you haven’t seen the first and second part before this post, be sure you read those first. Part 1 | Part 2

In essence, for me, what it all boils down to is churches taking the responsibility to equip their people for ministry. They should be working to engage a core group for potential leadership and in this group be working to discern giftedness and call to ministry. Some churches do well with this, but most churches not so much. Perhaps I can summarize the rest of what I am thinking by giving you an example from my experiences.

When I was in Philadelphia at Grace Bible Church, the elders thought it appropriate to create a group where they could evaluate gifting and confirm calling to ministry—whether that be elder, church planter, deacon, etc. We met under the name of “TableTalk,” fashioned after Martin Luther’s TableTalk sessions. We would meet about once a month at a friends coffee shop to study, learn, pray, recognize the grace of God in one another’s lives, and to hold each other accountable. Each month there would be some sort of assignment that we would work on and then the following month we would come back and talk about it. Everything was working good in concept, except the group sort of turned into just another men’s group that got too big and was unproductive (at least for the purposes set out originally). The elders of Grace have now reorganized under the banner of “Catalyst.” Since I have moved and left the church I am not 100% of what they are doing, however, I am sure they are working to discern gifting and calling, their original intent.

I feel that my church might be headed into a similar scenario. Men’s groups are good, but they can get big and fail to serve the purpose in which it was originally created. The church needs to get creative in identifying gifted and called people to be elders, deacons, church planters, and missionaries. If the church is leaving it up to the colleges and seminaries I fear that the church is failing because so many men in the church are gifted but will never go to Bible college or seminary.

At this point I wish I had more answers. I am continually engaged in conversations on this topic and if you have thoughts on this please let me know. The more we pool together ideas and thoughts the better chance we have in putting education in the church.

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The Lord’s Supper, How Often?

By on May 4, 2011 in Ecclesiology

My friend Jim Hamilton posted an article yesterday that discusses the frequency of the Lord’s Supper in the church. It is a good read and can be found by clicking here.

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