Archive for November 2011
Beautiful feet
Moving. Moving?
HT: Justin Taylor.
Towards publication . . .
Now that the cover competition is over (it’s likely to appear something like the picture yonder), it looks as if the text is close to being ready (one last review to do), and some more kind words in endorsement have arrived. This time, Paul Washer of HeartCry Missionary Society was kind enough to add his voice to those of John MacArthur and Conrad Mbewe. Paul said:
The Brokenhearted Evangelist will refresh, strengthen, and equip the most timid saint for the work of soul winning. Jeremy Walker’s consideration of evangelism from the perspective of Psalm 51 is like fresh water drawn from a new well. He does not merely exhort us to greater faithfulness in evangelism and then leave us bewildered and guilty. Instead, he takes us to the very fountain from which all true motivation and strength for evangelism springs forth – the gospel and its glorious impact upon our own lives.
I am very grateful to these men for taking the time to read the manuscript, and their readiness to endorse it. Hopefully one or two more worthy voices will be added to the chorus before publication.
Lecturing on Latimer
As I have mentioned before, I am due to be giving a lecture on Hugh Latimer: the preaching prelate for the Evangelical Library on Monday 28 November at 1pm. Why bother learning from Latimer? Because competent judges, like Bishop Ryle, speak in this way:
Few, probably have ever addressed an English congregation with more effect than he did. No doubt his sermons now extant would not suit modern taste. They contain many quaint, odd, and coarse things. They are very familiar, rambling, and discursive, and often full of gossiping stories. But, after all, we are poor judges in these days of what a sermon ought to be. A modern sermon is too often a dull, tame, pointless religious essay, full of measured, round sentences, Johnsonian English, bald platitudes, timid statements, and elaborately concocted milk and water. It is a leaden sword, without either point or edge: a heavy weapon, and little likely to do much execution. But if a combination of sound Gospel doctrine, plain Saxon language, boldness, liveliness, directness, and simplicity, can make a preacher, few, I suspect, have ever equalled old Latimer.
Five English Reformers (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1981), 106.
Philip E. Hughes speaks of him as a man
who was the most remarkable preacher of the day, and indeed one of the greatest preachers the Church universal has ever had.
Theology of the English Reformers (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), 127.
Sir Marcus Loane described him as
the recognised exponent of the moral teaching of the Reformation, and the practical character of his oratory was the surest means to arouse the conscience of his England . . . his was the voice of righteousness. . . . There was nothing crude or vulgar in his sermons; they were plain and opportune, shrewd and vigorous, with a touch of racy humour, and flair for homely illustration, and a magnificent verve, and a colloquial dash, that gave his words instant penetration.
Masters of the English Reformation (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2005), 147.
Persuaded? If so, join us on Monday. All are welcome.
Review: “Christ is All: The Piety of Horatius Bonar”
Christ is All: The Piety of Horatius Bonar
Ed. Michael A. G. Haykin and Darrin R. Brooker
Reformation Heritage Books, 2007, 226pp., paperback, $10 / £7.99
ISBN 978-1-60178-033-1
Following a fairly lengthy and enjoyably rich biographical introduction, the bulk of this book consists of sixty-five mainly very brief excerpts from the works of Horatius Bonar, concluding with some suggestions as to further, deeper reading. The selections are well chosen, being wide-ranging in their material, crisp and pithy in their substance, and effective in showcasing the breadth of Bonar’s thinking together with its central themes and constraining focus upon the Lord Christ. Fitting well with the series’ (Profiles in Reformed Spirituality) intent to expose the best and deepest spirituality of previous generations, this is a book to do the soul good, not least in introducing Bonar as a godly man and gifted writer of poetry and prose to today’s believers.
Review: “What is the Gospel?”
What is the Gospel?
Greg Gilbert
Crossway, 2010, 128pp., casebound, $12.99 / £8.99
ISBN 978-1-4335-1500-2
The question of the title, for all its apparent simplicity, is by no means one that can be easily answered winsomely, directly, and clearly. That our author manages it so well here is a great credit to him. He does so by calling us back to the authority of the Bible and setting out some of the foundational realities of the human condition. Those established, he very warmly depicts Christ Jesus as the answer to man’s sin in accordance with God’s holiness, before driving home the urgent necessity of both faith and repentance in response to the gospel as the God-appointed route of entering the kingdom. Taking a little time to clear away well-meaning but flawed alternatives to Christ and him crucified, he concludes with some applications to various classes of reader. Intelligent without being highbrow, simple without being overly simplistic, and clear without being shallow, this is an excellent resource both for the people of God in knowing their Saviour and his salvation, and as a gift for those asking sincere and pointed questions about what this good news is, and what it means to be saved.
The altogether lovely one
Here is an excerpt from a sermon by William Cunningham concerning the surpassing excellence of the Lord Jesus, seeking to stir the hearts of his people – indeed, of all people – to faith and adoration:
Christ, however, has all the properties of the Godhead and as God, He has an undoubted right to the first place in our affections, while He is possessed of such glorious perfections and stands m such a relation to us, that supreme love to Him should be the natural and proper result of any view which we take of Him, and of any attempt which we make to realize Him. No man hath seen God at any time; but the only-begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, He hath revealed Him. And one purpose for which God sent His Son into the world was, that He might manifest Himself to us in such a way as might more than ever constrain us to love Him. The apostle tells us, 1 John iv.9: ‘In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him;’ and one use we ought to make of the information which we have received concerning Christ is, to constrain us to obey the first and great commandment. But in endeavouring to use the record God has given concerning His Son, for impressing the Divine character and perfections upon our minds, and shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, let us never forget that Christ is Himself God over all,—that He is Himself the object whom in the first great commandment we are required to love with all our hearts,—that He is possessed of all those perfections which render that commandment a reasonable one,—and that the giving Him all the honour and respect to which He is entitled, is guarded by an express reference to the day of judgment, and the decision there to be pronounced with respect to our eternal condition. Surely, then, though you have never seen Christ, yet when you know well and believe firmly that He has been from eternity, and is still, possessed of every perfection and excellence,—that He has always been, and still is, the author of every good and perfect gift,—surely you must be constrained to love Him, and to love Him far more than you have ever yet done. . . .
In short, the more carefully you examine the life of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, the more clearly will you see how all His thoughts, and words, and actions, were regulated by consummate wisdom,—by unspotted moral excellence,—by the most amiable and affectionate dispositions;—and when you thus, in realizing His character as exhibited in His life, contemplate Him as a pattern of all moral excellence,—as possessed of every quality fitted to command esteem and to call forth affection,—you will feel a holy exultation, that the same nature which you wear once appeared in such a form and aspect,—that One—who was a partaker of flesh and blood like yourselves—should have exhibited such a faultless pattern of everything that is excellent and beautiful;—and by all these views, and upon all these grounds, you will feel constrained to ‘love’ Him.
You know that Christ was God, possessed of all the perfections of Divinity;—and you know likewise that He was a most beautiful and perfect specimen of Humanity,—exhibiting His excellences amid perpetual and painful sufferings. You are to contemplate Him in these lights, that you may be constrained to love Him.
William Cunningham, Sermons, 162-164
Review: “Preaching in the Holy Spirit”
Preaching in the Holy Spirit
Albert N. Martin
Reformation Heritage Books, 2011, 67pp., paperback, $8 / £6.99
ISBN 978-1-60178-119-2
If you have heard Al Martin preach at least twice, then – even without knowing the author beforehand – you would be able to identify him after reading the first paragraph of this book, not to mention the rest of it. The material – the substance of two sermons to pastors – addresses the agency and operations of the Holy Spirit, his indispensable necessity, his specific manifestations, and the restrained or diminished measure of his operations, all focusing on the act of preaching. The author brings the fruit of his study, observations and experience to bear on this topic, giving the reader an appetite for the reality he sketches. It is stirring and necessary stuff, and a powerful corrective to dry, dull, predictable sermonising. Preachers should read this.
Made dangerous
Dr Charles Woodrow via Tim Challies:
We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the twentieth century does not reckon with. But we are “harmless,” and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are “sideliners” — coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!
As fallen and frail as anyone else
Conrad Mbewe tells us the sad story of a pastor who fell into sin and – overwhelmed by shame – took his own life. He draws out a single, primary lesson:
I have only one appeal: Pray for your pastors. The devil is real and there is only one that is stronger than him—not your pastor but God. Satan knows that if he can strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. Hence, he targets pastors with his most potent missiles. Many Christians are oblivious to this fact. They tend to simply admire their pastors as if they were super humans. They project their childhood invincible comic heroes (Spider Man, Mr America, etc.) upon their pastors and simply watch them as they fight sin with heroic energy in the community and in the church. They forget that pastors are also fallen creatures.
I will be the first one to confess that there are times when my struggle with my own fallen nature is so vicious that I wish I were still a private unknown Christian plying out my trade as a mining engineer in the Zambian copper mines. I would be less overwhelmed by my failures and would not carry so many people down with me. So, I end this blog post with an impassioned plea that all those who know me (and especially the Christians in my own church) should pray for me to run my race well to the very end. As Paul pleaded with the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 5:25), I say, “Brethren, pray for us!”
Pastors are not super creatures but fallen creatures, not uber-Christians but frail and dependent saints. I heard of the story told by a man not given to fancy and exaggeration of how he knew of Satan-worshippers pleading with their dark lord for the downfall of pastors, to the destruction of their families and the devastation of their churches. It was for this reason that I wrote in A Portrait of Paul that if
you find faithful men full of the Spirit of Christ, diligent in the discharge of their stewardship from God, then esteem them, love them, help them, encourage them, be open to them, and never stop praying for them. There is a real sense in which the shepherds of Christ’s flock wear an insignia that marks them out as overseers. In the same way that snipers in combat identify officers by their badges and pick them off first to create disorder and confusion in the ranks, so Satan’s snipers will seek to pick off those who wear the insignia of the shepherd, knowing that it is still a functioning principle that if you can strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered. Bless God that the Great Shepherd is beyond their reach, but be warned that the undershepherds are exposed still and daily expose themselves by the very nature of the work that they do on the front lines in Christ’s great battle with sin in the flesh, in the world, and from the devil.
The devil passionately hates Christ’s pastors. If he can make them stumble, he knows that more often than not others will stumble with them. Your faithful pastors are marked men. For their sake and for Christ’s, daily stand in the gap for them; pray that their faith may not fail them.
Every tale told of a man, a brother in arms, fallen in this way, ought to bring to the hearts of God’s under-shepherds the cry, “Lord, keep me!” and an answering prayer in the hearts of all those who are led by those men.
Review: “Discovering Jesus: Why Four Gospels To Portray One Person?”
Discovering Jesus: Why Four Gospels To Portray One Person?
T. D. Alexander
Crossway / IVP, 2010, 144pp. / 160 pp., paperback, $12.99 / £8.99
ISBN 978-1-4335-2005-1 / 978-1844744978
Brief, clear and faithful, this slim volume provides an overview of all four Gospels, including chapters on their common themes and composition, as well as developing significant themes of each Gospel individually. Aware of critical approaches, and yet not a slave to them, this is a helpful introduction to the study of the Gospels. While not immediately devotional in its outlook, the author nevertheless provides us with information about the men who wrote of the Saviour, and the way in which they did so, in such a way as to illuminate helpfully the person and work of the Lord Christ. For those who need to grasp some of the technical and critical issues involved in the study of the Gospels without becoming bogged down by them, this would be a good volume to have.
Preach and pray
To preach the word, therefore, and not to follow it with constant and fervent prayer for its success, is to disbelieve its use, neglect its end, and to cast away the seed of the gospel at random.
John Owen, Works, 16:78
Pray, preach, pray, ad infinitum.
HT: 9Marks.
Elders and pastors
I appreciated this post from Conrad Mbewe in which he seeks to give a brief defence of the distinctive use of the terms “elder” and “pastor” within an eldership. He concludes,
. . . let me make it clear that my goal was not to convince anyone who already holds to the position that all elders are pastors and all pastors are elders, and that, therefore, the terms should be used interchangeably. Because that was not my aim, I have not answered the usual questions that arise from the position I hold on to. Rather, my purpose was to simply show that those of us who see things differently do have some biblical premise on which we do so. We are not simply upholding unbiblical practice and tradition.
We believe that a healthy eldership in an already established church ought to comprise those who claim to have the call of God upon their lives to the preaching ministry and those who simply express willingness and a desire to serve as overseers. Whereas the Bible uses the terms “overseer” and “elder” interchangeably, it seems to leave the term “pastor” to those with a very distinct call to the preaching ministry—like apostle, prophet, and evangelist. I hope I have also shown that to argue that the Bible uses titles merely on the basis of what people do in a general way in the church would render other titles meaningless. And finally, please remember that the issue of titles is not a hill that I am willing to die on.
Personally, I imagine that – while I would hold that elders/pastors/overseers are the one office, with the names employed substantially interchangeably – in practice the distinction that I would make in terms of gift and function within the pastorate/eldership would put me substantially in the same place as my brother. Frankly, as long as the distinction does not lead to a downgrade in the responsibility and authority of those deemed “elders” as opposed to “pastors” I should hope that little if anything would be lost. However, I also recognise that the lack of a distincton can lead to a downgrade in responding to and embracing a definite and defining call from the Lord, endorsed by the church, to preach the word as a matter of vocation, and that would be tragic.
To be honest, this is kinda helpful
David Murray, drawing on Jerry Weissman, tells us that
every filler word or phrase devalues the family jewels, the nouns and verbs that represent the products, services, and actions of the business (or sermon). So delete them from your sermon and your speech.
So, you know, just, like, get rid of them or something. Learn more.
Methuselah and divine patience
. . . next time someone asks you, What’s the name of the oldest man in the Bible? Don’t just answer “Methuselah” as if his age were merely some trivial factoid. Instead, consider the fact that 969 years is a really long time—not just for any one man to live, but for a holy God to be patient with a rebellious planet.
Nathan Busenitz provides a delighful answer to the question, “Why did Methuselah live the longest?“
Hearing the voice of God
While confessing that I cannot reconcile all the tensions nor follow all the nuances of John Piper’s “continuationism,” I did appreciate this stirring post on hearing the voice of God.
The right instrument
“But,” says someone, “there are certain districts where you cannot do any good if you try to preach the gospel. You must fiddle to the people, and drum to them; and then you must have amusements and entertainments for them, you must have penny readings and concerts.” Very well, convert sinners that way if you can, dear friends; I do not object to any method that results in the winning of souls. Stand on your head if that will save the people; but still, it seems to me that if God’s Word is like a fire, there is nothing like it for burning its way; and if God’s Word is like a hammer, there can be nothing like that Word for hammering down everything that stands in the way of Jesus Christ. Why, then, should we not continually try the gospel, and nothing but the gospel?
From a sermon by C. H. Spurgeon, “God’s Fire and Hammer,” on Jeremiah 23.29
Latimer on preaching
I am working towards completing a lecture on Hugh Latimer: the preaching prelate for the Evangelical Library on Monday 28 November at 1pm (all welcome). I may try and get the long version up on the blog at some point (the long version being about three times as long as the version I need to deliver at the Library). One of my problems is that Latimer provides either a gorgeous little nugget of truth in a few words, or sets off on a sweeping – but unavoidably lengthy – harangue (in the more limited and less pejorative sense of something characterized by strong feeling and vigorous expression) addressing his topic.
In this regard, may I recommend what is probably the best known of Latimer’s sermons, as representative of his concerns and convictions as anything we have of his, the “Sermon of the Plough” (see here for the full version). It is a magnificent treatment of the work of the ministry, delivered in typically robust style. Herewith a few longer excerpts.
Likening preaching to ploughing, with a rugged declaration of pastoral labour:
For preaching of the gospel is one of God’s plough-works, and the preacher is one of God’s ploughmen. Ye may not be offended with my similitude, in that I compare preaching to the labour and work of ploughing, and the preacher to a ploughman: ye may not be offended with this my similitude; for I have been slandered of some persons for such things. It hath been said of me, “Oh, Latimer! nay, as for him, I will never believe him while I live, nor never trust him; for he likened our blessed lady to a saffron-bag:” where indeed I never used that similitude. . . . But in case I had used this similitude, it had not been to be reproved, but might have been without reproach. For I might have said thus: as the saffron-bag that hath been full of saffron, or hath had saffron in it, doth ever after savour and smell of the sweet saffron that it contained; so our blessed lady, which conceived and bare Christ in her womb, did ever after resemble the manners and virtues of that precious babe that she bare. . . . Ye may not then, I say, be offended with my similitude, for because I liken preaching to a ploughman’s labour, and a prelate to a ploughman. But now you will ask me, whom I call a prelate? A prelate is that man, whatsoever he be, that hath a flock to be taught of him; whosoever hath any spiritual charge in the faithful congregation, and whosoever he be that hath cure of souls. And well may the preacher and the ploughman be likened together: first, for their labour of all seasons of the year; for there is no time of the year in which the ploughman hath not some special work to do as in my country in Leicestershire, the ploughman hath a time to set forth, and to assay his plough, and other times for other necessary works to be done. And then they also may be likened together for the diversity of works and variety of offices that they have to do. For as the ploughman first setteth forth his plough, and then tilleth his land, and breaketh it in furrows, and sometime ridgeth it up again; and at another time harroweth it and clotteth it, and sometime dungeth it and hedgeth it, diggeth it and weedeth it, purgeth and maketh it clean: so the prelate, the preacher, hath many diverse offices to do. He hath first a busy work to bring his parishioners to a right faith, as Paul calleth it, and not a swerving faith; but to a faith that embraceth Christ, and trusteth to his merits; a lively faith, a justifying faith; a faith that maketh a man righteous, without respect of works: as ye have it very well declared and set forth in the Homily. He hath then a busy work, I say, to bring his flock to a right faith, and then to confirm them in the same faith: now casting them down with the law, and with threatenings of God for sin; now ridging them up again with the gospel, and with the promises of God’s favour: now weeding them, by telling them their faults, and making them forsake sin; now clotting them, by breaking their stony hearts, and by making them supplehearted, and making them to have hearts of flesh; that is, soft hearts, and apt for doctrine to enter in: now teaching to know God rightly, and to know their duty to God and their neighbours: now exhorting them, when they know their duty, that they do it, and be diligent in it; so that they have a continual work to do. Great is their business, and therefore great should be their hire. They have great labours, and therefore they ought to have good livings, that they may commodiously feed their flock; for the preaching of the word of God unto the people is called meat: scripture calleth it meat; not strawberries, that come but once a year, and tarry not long, but are soon gone: but it is meat, it is no dainties. The people must have meat that must be familiar and continual, and daily given unto them to feed upon. Many make a strawberry of it, ministering it but once a year; but such do not the office of good prelates. (Latimer, Sermons & Remains [Cambridge: CUP, 1844], 1:60-62)
When pastors forget their calling:
For ever since the prelates were made lords and nobles, the plough standeth; there is no work done, the people starve. They hawk, they hunt, they card, they dice; they pastime in their prelacies with gallant gentlemen, with their dancing minions, and with their fresh companions, so that ploughing is set aside: and by their lording and loitering, preaching and ploughing is clean gone. And thus if the ploughmen of the country were as negligent in their office as prelates be, we should not long live, for lack of sustenance. (1:66)
When preachers take their ease:
But now for the fault of unpreaching prelates, methink I could guess what might be said for excusing of them. They are so troubled with lordly living, they be so placed in palaces, couched in courts, ruffling in their rents, dancing in their dominions, burdened with ambassages, pampering of their paunches, like a monk that maketh his jubilee; munching in their mangers, and moiling in their gay manors and mansions, and so troubled with loitering in their lordships, that they cannot attend it. (1:67)
Who is the most diligent “prelate and preacher”?
And now I would ask a strange question: who is the most diligentest bishop and prelate in all England, that passeth all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know him who it is; I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passeth all the other, and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will ye know who it is? I will tell you: it is the devil. He is the most diligent preacher of all other; he is never out of his diocess; he is never from his cure; ye shall never find him unoccupied; he is ever in his parish; he keepeth residence at all times; ye shall never find him out of the way, call for him when you will he is ever at home; the diligentest preacher in all the realm; he is ever at his plough: no lording nor loitering can hinder him; he is ever applying his business, ye shall never find him idle, I warrant you. And his office is to hinder religion, to maintain superstition, to set up idolatry, to teach all kind of popery. He is ready as he can be wished for to set forth his plough; to devise as many ways as can be to deface and obscure God’s glory. Where the devil is resident, and hath his plough going, there away with books, and up with candles; away with bibles, and up with beads; away with the light of the gospel, and up with the light of candles, yea, at noon-days. Where the devil is resident, that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry; tensing, painting of images, candles, palms, ashes, holy water, and new service of men’s inventing; as though man could invent a better way to honour God with than God himself hath appointed. Down with Christ’s cross, up with purgatory pickpurse, up with him, the popish purgatory, I mean. Away with clothing the naked, the poor and impotent; up with decking of images, and gay garnishing of stocks and stones: up with man’s traditions and his laws, down with God’s traditions and his most holy word. Down with the old honour due to God, and up with the new god’s honour. Let all things be done in Latin: there must be nothing but Latin, not so much as Memento, homo, quod cinis es, et in cinerem reverteris: “Remember, man, that thou art ashes, and into ashes thou shalt return:” which be the words that the minister speaketh unto the ignorant people, when he giveth them ashes upon Ash-Wednesday; but it must be spoken in Latin: God’s word may in no wise be translated into English.
Oh that our prelates would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow cockle and darnel! (1:70-71)
Latimer’s ringing plea is as needful now as it ever was. May God grant us such preachers and pastors again.
Of popularity and power
Jerry Wragg addresses and exposes some of the reasoning used to self-justify certain popular ministries:
As with other seasons of church history when preaching was slowly stripped of its precision, clarity, and doctrinal depth, many contemporary congregations have slowly been robbed of the same. The problem is: they don’t know it. The erosion has been too subtle. The banks of the river have been slowly compromised at the foundation while happy campers frolic at the raging water’s edge. And it’s only a matter of time before the soil gives way. People today gladly sit through sermons that, were it not for some reference to a passage or verse, are little more than motivational speeches drawn primarily from life-experience and a mix of truth and earthly opinions. If ever confronted about their lack of doctrinal or theological depth, teachers consistently ballyhoo their swelling numbers as ministry collateral. With confidence, they deduce that behind large numbers is a uniquely gifted, one-of-a-kind expositor “bringing it like no other.” I’m concerned that in many cases, neither the preacher’s gifting, nor his expositional skills, nor the congregation’s love of definitive truth has anything to do with the hype. It’s often the result of the dumbed-down leading the equally dumbed-down with no one truly being “constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6).
Read it all, and wince.
UPDATE: Part two, focusing on preaching, is here.
Westminster Conference ahoy!
A reminder that the Westminster Conference is now only a month away, taking place this year on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th December at the new venue of the Salvation Army’s Regent Hall on Oxford Street. The brochure (see picture link or here) can be downloaded, filled in and sent off to the Secretary (no online booking at present, I am afraid). This year’s papers are as follows, God willing:
- Christian liberty and the Westminster Assembly (Robert Letham). The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) contains a ground-breaking declaration of Christian liberty. What forces thrust this to the forefront of its agenda? On what basis did the Assembly set it? How did it work out in practice? How does it relate to the gospel? Robert Letham’s address will seek answers to these questions, as well as considering what lessons can be learned for our own day.
- The Covenanting experience (Knox Hyndman). Within a few years of taking the throne Charles II began subjecting the Scots to a twenty eight year period of persecution and terror. During this period it has been estimated that the authorities “killed, impoverished or banished” over eighteen thousand people. However, the response to this cruelty was not uniform and this address will consider the different reactions in the church and the subsequent effect on its life and witness.
- Obadiah Holmes: pioneer of religious freedom (Stephen Rees). Obadiah Holmes left Lancashire in 1638, crossing the Atlantic in search of purity of worship and clear gospel preaching. In New England he found saving faith but also came to Baptist convictions and found himself at odds with church leaders and magistrates alike. He discovered that there were limits to the religious liberty permitted by the Puritan establishment. Holmes’ stand for freedom of conscience had greater consequences than anyone could have predicted.
- The broad road from orthodoxy to heresy (Robert Strivens). Anti-trinitarian views gained considerable ground in Old Dissent during the first half of the 18th century. By the second half of that century significant numbers of congregations had lapsed into heresy. Why did this happen? What attempts were made to turn back the tide and why were they largely unsuccessful? What lessons are there for us in this story, faced as we are today with increasingly strong attacks on central evangelical doctrines?
- Puritanism: where did it all go wrong? (Lewis Allen). Why, after they had made such strides in the churches and in national life, was there such a disintegration of Puritan principles? And what accounts for the doctrinal descent into Unitarianism in the first quarter of the 17th Century? This paper will give an overview of the period after 1662, considering the ‘downgrade’ of Puritan ideals during this time and giving salutary lessons for our day.
- John Eliot: “Apostle to the Indians” (Hugh Collier). This remarkable man was one of the first to take the gospel to the Indians of North America. He learned their Algonquian language, and, as it had no written text, devised one. He then translated the whole bible into their tongue. He preached to them, cared for them and was loved by them. This was all on top of a 58 year pastorate! There is much for us to learn from this servant of God.
It would only be fair to point out that the penultimate paper does not lay the blame for the demise of Puritanism at the door of Lewis Allen. The rather unfortunate phrasing simply identifies Lewis as the man addressing the question.
Wrapping up pastoral theology
Well, here we are.
This is the last batch for the present of the alphabetical run-through of some pastoral theology volumes. It is by no means intended to be exhaustive. Indeed, since I began there are already another two or three volumes in my hands which need to be added (I hope to do so shortly), and countless others that might be considered.
The full list to date continues to be available here or from the sidebar under “Pastoral theology.” Comments and further recommendations are appreciated , and if you could put them on the full page, I will be able to keep track of them more readily.
A couple of things to watch out for: I am still planning a competition associated with the list, but need to get a couple of things in place first. Also, conscious of how much else is out there of enduring value in terms of pastoral theology but not formally found under that heading (perhaps hidden away in other collections or under cover of a different theme), I hope to begin a list of ‘pastoralia’ that may be helpful to gospel ministers in understanding their calling and developing their craft.
However, for the time being, I trust that these are useful and that the brief overviews might provide pastors and students for the ministry with some hints and helps toward a filling out and filling up of their work.
Thomas, Geoffrey. Preaching: The Man, the Message, the Method. Geoff can be utterly scintillating, and his credibility as a man who has laboured in one place for over fifty years gives him a solid platform for what he has to say. Sweeping, properly assertive, and full of insights, this again is one of those foundational treatments that it is good to revisit from time to time to recalibrate our efforts and expectations in our work. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Taylor, William M. and Plumer, William S. The Ministry of the Word & Hints and Helps in Pastoral Theology. I bundle these together because my edition is two-books-in-one. I really appreciate Taylor. His primary concern is preaching (although there is some good material on private pastoral ministry), and with a robust style he deals with his topic in a way that utterly exposes carelessness and lukewarmness. Taylor abounds with solid Scriptural sense and a bracing tone presses his advice deep into the soul. Plumer is another favourite, though his style is very different. He has a slightly broader scope than Taylor, taking up a variety of more circumstantial topics (such as religious excitements, revivals, visiting the sick, whether to become a foreign missionary, and so on) and is pithier, covering his ground more quickly. In typical style, he also provides a chapter of sayings for ministers, showing some of the gleanings of his own studies. Apart, these would be formidable; together, we are in the presence of Boanerges! (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk (Taylor/Plumer) / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Tyng, Stephen H. The Christian Pastor: The Office and Duty of the Gospel Minister. A very devotional little treatment, breathing a heavenly atmosphere and explicitly taken up with the preacher as a gospel minister. Much to say about the Christlike character of the man of God, and the Christlike way in which he goes about his duty, all borne of long pastoral experience and plainly the product of careful, prayerful consideration. One of those volumes that will do as much if not more to engage the heart for the work as it does to instruct the mind in it. Such always do my soul good, even if I am told little new. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Ventura, Rob and Walker, Jeremy. A Portrait of Paul. This book attempts to provide a portrait of the apostle as pastor and preacher grounded in his dealings with the Colossian church. It considers some of the elements of the apostle’s character and endeavours in a way intended to help the pastor-preacher, those who hear him and are served by him, and those seeking a faithful undershepherd for their souls. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Wells, John D. The Pastor in the Sick Room: Ministering the Gospel to Those on the Brink of Eternity. Really a plea not to neglect those on the borders of the world to come from a sense of despair at their prospects, together with a desire to ensure that flawed sentiments and feeble convictions do not breed false expectations and hopes in the minister or those to whom he ministers. In our society, death is sometimes considered a little further off, or held at arm’s length, but this is full of useful counsel for the moments when it presses near. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
White, James R. Pulpit Crimes: The Criminal Handling of God’s Word. White’s blending of quite highbrow or technical language with more earthy or popular phrases can take getting used to (e.g. a chapter on “Felonious Eisegesis” followed by one called “Cross Dressing,” a sort of cross-dressing in itself!). In a bracing style that can sometimes feel a little aggressive and self-confident, White comes close at times to absolutism and oversimplification, but it is the fruit of his deeply-held convictions and concerns. He has a righteously high view of the pulpit and of preaching, and begins by establishing these Scripturally. Then he brings his charges against modern mishandlers of the Word, considering each one in turn. I appreciate many of his concerns, and hope that he will be well heeded. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Witmer, Timothy Z. The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church. This is, of necessity, substantially an inward-looking book, concerned most directly with the care of the flock of God. It is a bold call for bold shepherding of a close, personal and specific nature, with much good counsel as to how to accomplish the task, and as such is warmly commended. The principles that our author sets out are clearly and Biblically delineated, but the assumed standards (the present norm) and the designated targets (the shepherd’s aims) in their outworking reveal the tragically, cripplingly low level of churchmanship that is practiced in the West today (this is not an inherent criticism of the author; I do not know his own practice). Some of his systems and recommendations can appear a little mechanical. The problem is undeniable, the principles are excellent, but the practice could do with a course of steroids. (Westminster / Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Monergism)
Minister and mentor
Pastors, we all want to be faithful in the ministry God has given us in the local church. Our great legacy might be seen in the young men we train up and send out. Let’s do the hard work of preparing good, Christ-centered sermons. Let’s do the hard work of biblical counseling. Let’s do the hard work of casting vision, planning, and starting new ministries.
Let us also invest in the young men who will plant new churches, revitalize dead or dying ones, or pastor existing churches and faithfully preach the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for many years after we’re dead and gone.
As one who has benefited and continues to benefit from the counsel and care of older, wiser, more experienced pastors, I appreciated Chris Bass’s call to make mentoring future leaders a priority.
The call of the mild
Kevin DeYoung does some straight talking to men (and women), dealing specifically with the issue of singleness and marriage, in an age when men need to learn to be men:
Men, you don’t have to be rich and you don’t have to climb corporate ladders. You don’t have to fix cars and grow a beard. But it’s time to take a little initiative–in the church, with your career, and with women. Stop circling around and start going somewhere. It’s probably a good idea to be more like your grandpa and less like Captain Jack Sparrow. Even less like Peter Pan. Show some godly ambition. Take some risks. Stop looking for play dates and–unless God is calling you to greater service through singleness–start looking for a wife.
Self-destructive myths
David Murray offers an insight from a different discipline into four destructive myths that cripple many pastors:
Myth #1: Multitasking is critical in a world of infinite demand.
Myth #2: A little bit of anxiety helps us perform better.
Myth #3: Creativity is genetically inherited, and it’s impossible to teach.
Myth #4: The best way to get more work done is to work longer hours.
Read them and – come on, brain! – learn them.
Covering your bases
As regular readers might know, there is another book forthcoming, called The Brokenhearted Evangelist. Reformation Heritage Books, in a fit of generosity, have given YOU, the people, an opportunity to contribute to this landmark event in the history of publishing by voting on cover designs. You can head over to their Facebook page to vote on your favourite of three covers, with a chance to win a free copy of the book.
If the voting starts to turn against me, I shall post a further plea asking you to avoid the cover I like least!
