Barrett’s Book Notes: Worldview, Pastoral Burnout, Final Days of Jesus, and God’s Holy-Love
James N. Anderson. What’s Your Worldview? An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions. Wheaton: Crossway, 2014.
Right now I teach a class called Foundations of Christian Thought where the Christian worldview plays a significant role. So this little book by Anderson, associate professor of theology and philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte), caught my attention right away. Having read through many of the chapters, this book seems like an ideal guide for a beginning student in need of being introduced to the different non-Christian worldviews he or she will encounter. D. A. Carson writes of the book,
“I can think of readers to whom I would not give this book: they like their reading material to be straightforward exposition. The notion of an interactive book, where readers are forced to choose distinguishable paths and interact with discrete lines of thought, finding their own worldviews challenged—well, that does not sound very relaxing, and it may be a bit intimidating. But James Anderson has written something that is as creative as it is unusual: he has written a book in clear prose and at a popular level that nevertheless challenges readers to think, and especially to identify and evaluate their own worldviews. If the style is akin to ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books, the content is at least as entertaining and far more important.”
Albert N. Martin. You Lift Me Up: Overcoming Ministry Challenges. Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2013.
Are you a pastor? If so, you may want to get a copy of this book. Martin’s book is filled with one “Beware…” after another, guarding the pastor from many potential pitfalls. In short, Martin gives many warnings against those things that will lead to either backsliding or burnout. Here is the contents:
- What is Ministerial Backsliding and Burnout?
- Beware of Distactions from Devotion
- Beware of Neglecting Generic Christian Duties
- Beware of Trading Off a Good Conscience
- Beware of Losing Your Own Nurture by Isolation from the Congregation
- Beware of Priorities Shaped by Others’ Perceived Needs
- Beware of Studies Confined to Sermon Preparation
- Beware of Hiding Your Real Humanity
- Beware of Ministry with Neglect of Your Physical Body
- Beware of Ministry with Neglect to Your Physical Body, Continued
- Five Closing Counsels to Remember
Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor, with Alexander Stewart. The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014.
What a helpful book this is, walking us through the final week of the ministry of Christ as he prepared to undergo the cross and rise again. With Easter just around the corner, take some time to read through this book by Köstenberger, Taylor, and Stewart. Also, be sure to check out Tom Schreiner’s review here. Schreiner writes:
One of the main advantages of Köstenberger and Taylor’s book is its brevity. Here is a resource that pastors and teachers will be able to read in advance of teaching, for the commentary is concise and accessible. I especially found helpful the numerous tables that illustrated events or other truths. Sometimes busy pastors and teachers don’t have the time to plunge into technical details about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and yet they need to be informed by responsible scholarship about what occurred. This book serves that need.
David F. Wells. God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World. Wheatin, IL: Crossway, 2014.
David Wells is one of those theologians of our own day who needs to be listened to. The more I read him the more I think he speaks beyond his time, addressing issues that we will be left to solve even when Wells is no longer with us. Wells has put his finger on the two attributes of God that are at the center of the gospel: the holiness and love of God. Shallow evangelicalism needs to pay heed to Wells’ warnings and recover the holy-love of God when it comes to how it understands the cross, sanctification, and worship. Sinclair Ferguson writes of the book:
“In his No Place for Truth and its companion volumes Professor David Wells blew a chilling, chaff-separating wind through contemporary Western Christianity. While he may have sounded like a latter-day Jeremiah, all along his vision was in fact Isaiah-like in its grandeur. Now, in God in the Whirlwind, this is made wonderfully, and at times thrillingly, clear. Here Dr. Wells is again the splendid biblical theologian he has long since proved himself to be—whose work is driven by devotion to the God who is Holy-love, and whose Luther-like desire to ‘Let God be God’ is clear on every page. Drink safely, deeply, and be satisfied.”
Also, here is a video interview Justin Taylor did with Wells recently:
Matthew Barrett (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at California Baptist University, as well as the founder and executive editor of Credo Magazine. He is the author and editor of several books, including Salvation by Grace: The Case for Effectual Calling and Regeneration. You can read about Barrett’s other publications at matthewmbarrett.com.
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