Avery Evans
Wonderful admonition and encouragement from John Owen on Church Unity, Praying for Pastors & Fellow Believers, Holiness, and Church Discipline. Great read.
This book is packed with encouragement and insight at why and how our corporate worship can properly reflect what is commanded in scripture. Ligon Duncan does a great job at packing so so much in 88 pages. Highly recommend even for lay - people!
There's a lot of 5-star ideas in this book, but at some points I think the author goes a little too far. I love what he has to say in this book about the deviation that extremely organized, well-financed, rules-based, large institutions have made from Jesus' model of discipleship and multiplication. This is a huge lesson much of American Christianity could learn from, myself included. He advocates for and shows how historically the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone forth in a grassroots way: without funding, without formal education, without immense organization. A great reminder and calling. However, at points it seems he paints a picture that seems formulaic, downplays the benefits of seminary education, and implies that the gospel only goes forth in ‘movements'. I think
this book can leave behind the hard-working, faithful pastor of a congregation of 50 who never sees thousands come to Christ.
Despite the 3-star rating, I do think this is a beneficial book to read and would recommend it, whilst also reading with discernment and alongside Scripture.
Great exposition of spiritual gifts and their role in the church today. A convincing argument for nuanced cessationism. Definitely interested in reading an argument for the other side though; if anyone knows a good book arguing for continuationism, I'd love a recommendation!
Primarily scholarly and somewhat hard to get through, but the last chapter had some encouraging application.
A splendid read. Best summed up with this quote:
“The declared Word of God both creates the church and gathers the church. Therefore, church gatherings center themselves on that Word. The sermons do. The songs do. The prayers do. The relationships do. The Word, then, reverberates out the church doors as the church scatters, each man and woman equipped as an evangelist and discipler. That's been the story of this book.
God creates churches through His Word and Spirit; therefore, churches must center themselves upon God's Word.” (page 178)
Never have I read a book in which the characters feel so real. One of my favorite fiction books I've ever read (not that I've read a lot). There was lots in this book that I know went way over my head and I already want to read it again just to analyze more of the many themes and messages contained.
Helpful and concise book. For me this was a lot of basics and review of things I already know (being an Accounting Major), but I'd say for anyone who is not a Finance or Accounting person this book is a good intro into value investing and basic concepts of Accounting that affect that.
Stellar book on a seemingly ‘boring' but incredibly important topic: the community of the church.
An encouraging read on the life and ministry of George Whitefield. Volume 1 has covered up until the age of 26 and it has captivated me more than I expected. I assumed 1200 pages about one man would be dull, but having finished volume 1 I can say it is certainly not dull. Whitefield's life is an encouragement to read about and a challenge to pursue the glory of Christ as fervently as he did.
Dallimore does well to note faults of Whitefield and not paint him as some angelic saint. He was a sinner who did great things for the kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Dallimore is also careful to correct many slanderous and false accounts that have unfairly tainted the memory of Whitefield. The way in which Whitefield dealt with his disagreements with his once close friend John Wesley was particularly encouraging. His gracious writing and charity toward those he disagreed with over doctrine (particularly over Calvinism) is a challenge and example to all Christians.
And to finish, a few quotes from the book:
“Be humble, talk little, think and pray much.” (Whitefield's advice to a new believer)
“I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month than I could have ever acquired from all the writings of men”
“His stand against an unconverted ministry had its counterpart in his labours to strengthen the hands of every pastor who gave evidence of being regenerate. Among such men Whitefield was ever the Mr. Great Heart, encouraging the downcast, helping the poor and befriending the lonely, and, though he sometimes administered a well-deserved word of rebuke, his aim was to see every ministerial life consumed with a burning zeal for God.”
“To Whitefield the doctrines of grace were not separate tenets, to be accepted or rejected one by one, but a series of truths so joined together as to compose a great system of theology”
“We can preach the Gospel no further than we have experienced the power of it in our own hearts”
Now on to Volume 2!
Surprisingly good. One sentence summary: “The Bible lays out the wisdom we need to live faithfully and fruitfully before our Creator, but the internet is an epistemological and moral habitat that makes such wisdom seem like foolishness.” (James 156) Plenty of stellar sentences, ideas, and paragraphs in here.
Fascinating book. Some parts I loved, and some left me a bit confused. Which is probably inevitable in a book summarizing so much history that I was before unfamiliar with. Like many other reviewers have said, you go into this book thinking he's about to say “Things used to be better and now everyone is weird and secular and profit-hungry! Too bad!”, but, thankfully, what Andrew Wilson has written is far more true and far more hopeful than that.
Indeed our world is WEIRDER (the book's acronym) than it has been for most of history, but Wilson's conclusion reminds the Christian of our response:
“The doctrines, experiences, and practices that the church needs today are much the same as the ones she needed in the eighteenth century, and the tenth, and the second. We are responsible for obedience not outcomes, faithfulness not fruit; if we do not see the results we used to by praying, worshiping, reading Scripture, serving the poor, preaching the gospel, sharing the sacraments, and loving one another, we carry on those things regardless and walk by faith not by sight ... we wait, rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances, and resolving not to be anxious about tomorrow, for we have no idea what tomorrow will bring.”
Wow. This book hit. Seriously too good. Maybe a longer review to follow but for now... this is my favorite fiction book ... nothing comes close behind.
a wonderful account of the life of George Müller. extremely encouraging look into Müller's reliance upon God that challenges ones' own faith.
A treasure trove of continuous exaltation of Christ. This short book by the great Puritan mind, John Owen, will prove soul-nourishing to every true believer. Prepare to be confronted with ... the Glory of Christ. Too often a topic sub-consciously labeled as ‘boring' and ‘basic'. We shall never move on from Christ's glory. Even upon our millionth day of worshipping him we won't have touched the surface of his ultimate glory.
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“Christ is a sanctuary, a sure refuge to all that put their trust in him. And what would a troubled man fleeing to a safe place be looking for? He would look for all his needs to be met, to be delivered from all his fears, to be protected from all dangers. Such is the Lord Christ to all sin-distressed souls” (p.47)
The topic of ‘multi-site, multi-service' vs ‘single-site' is one I have never even thought about. That being true, when I received this book as a part of the T4G Zero Dollar Books in the mail, it was one of the ones I was most intrigued to read first. I have grown up in faithful, Gospel-centered, multi-site church, and never thought about whether or not multiple campuses is healthy or unhealthy, biblical or unbiblical. Maybe this is why this book caught my attention.
In reading the arguments presented by Leeman, I found myself very convinced with what he had to say and what he presented from scripture. It does seem that not only is the single-site model a healthier church model, but more importantly it is what is described in scripture and the early church.
That being true, I still agree that a church can be both multi-site, and fully committed to the Gospel and to God's glory. This is my experience all my saved-life. The amount of faithful Christians I know and have grown up surrounded by are great. The pastors I have sat under the preaching of many, many Sundays are faithful to God and his Word. The multi-site church I have known is one that is profoundly faithful in its commitment to the Gospel and God's glory. However, I think this work by Leeman is one that is an edifying treatise written to both single-site and multi-site churches and paints a beautiful picture of what God's design for the local church is and what that can look in the future. As someone who feels on the ‘multi-site' side of the argument simply because that's where most of my saved-life has been spent, I did not feel attacked, but felt that Leeman laid out his arguments in an encouraging and edifying way. He does not cut off Gospel-centered multi-site churches, but calls them to a more biblical model. He also encourages ALL churches (single & multi-site) to be more catholic in their view of missions in their cities as they work with other local churches instead of competing for their own specific church growth.
Whether part of a single or multi-site church, I would highly recommend giving this a read. It has expanded my understanding of the local church for sure.
A great, high-level, personal finance 101. Lots of financial wisdom packed in a short and easy to read format.
The author doesn't appear to be a Christian, but some of the wisdom kept reminding me of Proverbs 28:20: “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Some quotes from the book that I highlighted:
“Doing well with money has a little to do with how smart you are and a lot to do with how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people.” page 7
“Do not aim to be coldly rational when making financial decisions. Aim to just be pretty reasonable. Reasonable is more realistic and you have a better chance of sticking with it for the long run, which is what matters most when managing money.” page 102
“Growth is driven by compounding, which always takes time. Destruction is driven by single points of failure, which can happen in seconds, and loss of confidence, which can happen in an instant. It's easier to create a narrative around pessimism because the story pieces tend to be fresher and more recent. Optimistic narratives require looking at a long stretch of history and developments, which people tend to forget and take more effort to piece together.” page 167
Tons of fun. I'd say I liked it even more the second time. Excited to continue the full series.
This was honestly better than I expected. This book got a lot of hype, and I was very critical of the only other book I've read by JMC due to some pretty significant differences between historic Christianity and JMC's theology, however I loved this book a ton. JMC seemed to put flesh on ideas that have been floating for a while in my head related to hustle, Sabbath, & materialism. A lot of what he discusses (such as silence & solitude) will be viewed my many modern Christians as new ideas, yet this couldn't be further from the truth. JMC retrieves many practices of the early church such as were practiced by monks under Saint Benedict's Rule for example and even the practices of Jesus himself.
Although I've given high praise for this book, I did find objection to the lack of encouragement to seek God's Word in silence & solitude. Silence and solitude is great, but a person who never reads God's word has nothing to dwell on! JMC seems to hint at ‘hearing from God' while practicing silence & solitude but ... we have already heard from Him in the Bible, God's very own word!
My minor second critique would simply be some of JMC's off-hand comments seemed unhelpful, distasteful, and rude. He even makes a jab at ‘conservative Christianity'. If he meant ‘Republican Christianity' then it's probably a jab well-deserved ... but did he mean ‘theological conservatism'? Is he siding with theological liberalism? Hopefully not. Comments such as this from time to time in the book threw me off and left a bad taste in the mouth.
Overall, this is a great book which I thoroughly enjoyed, but not an endorsement for every single sentence. As always read with an open mind ... but an open Bible as well! There are some great ideas in this book.
Chew the meat, spit out the bones.
Fascinating book and really enjoyed it. Almost never a lull due to the fact that 8 stories are packed into this 400+ page book. Also, great glimpse throughout U.S. history through these 8 instances of presidential succession. Definitely worth the time.
Even better than I had expected! Not a call for complete media elimination, but a call to take a critical look at what brings value and what distracts, between what is useful and what is manipulative. Digital Minimalism was well written and compelling. Newport uses many odd but fitting examples to get points across, from the Amish to Abraham Lincoln's solitude. Highly recommend this!