Bitterness // Church Turf Wars // God's Goal in Your Suffering

Nancy Guthrie has an excellent article on bitterness in an old Tabletalk magazine.


Pursuing greater influence among leadership in the church isn't necessarily a bad thing.  Doing it by way of gossip and flattery among elders definitely is.  Check out St. Anne's Pub for some edifying conversation on this topic.  The interviews are especially good, and the "Elder Gossip" track at the end.


A video from Paul Tripp about his recent suffering, and what God was doing in it.  It's a little overly dramatic cinematography, perhaps, but what he is saying is so good.  "If this is what it takes for God to produce that in me [really relying on His grace], then this has been worth it."  I'd also commend Calvin's Institutes, book 3, chapter 8, "Bearing the Cross," on this topic.

Seminary // Preaching // Counseling

Crossway has a great article up about seminary: what it is designed for, and what it isn't meant to achieve.


Paul Tripp writes for preachers to pursue excellence out of an awe of God.  This can easily apply to any vocation.


Ed Welch offers up 5 short myths that Christians and pastors should stop believing about counseling.

Classical Me, Classical Thee

Classical Me, Classical Thee: Squander Not Thine Education by Rebekah Merkle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A quick 100 pages written to classical school students to point out the benefits of such an education, and to call for appreciating and not squandering such a gift.

Merkle does a decent job speaking to a high school audience, with little gimmicks or patronizing, making the case for logic, rhetoric, Latin and more. I’m not sure 6-7 chapters were needed each on a different topic, but the basic point was a good one: you’ve been given a gift. Don’t squander it like the man given 1 talent who buried it in the ground.



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Augustine on church music; Tripp on midlife

Quotes from my reading:

"Midlife is a war between our dreams and reality, and too often, people, families, and churches are its casualties."
Lost in the Middle, Paul Tripp, pg 140.


About "ceremonies which are found different in different countires... we should not only refrain from finding fault with them, but even recommend them by our approval and imitation, unless restrained by fear of doing greater harm than good by this course....  as in the singing of hymns and psalms...  so useful for inducing a devotional frame of mind and inflaming the strength of love to God, there is diversity of usage."
Letters of Augustine, letter 55, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 314.

Orthdoxy

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A grand apologetic work in which Chesterton shows the madness of modern atheist thought, displays the wonder of the mundane world, and glories in the ancient novelty of orthodoxy.

Ancient novelty, you say? This is my own phrase for Chesterton’s self-described journey to faith. He came to orthodox Christianity thinking it was a brand new thing, only to discover it had been there all along. Like sailing the ocean, coming to land and thinking it’s a new discovery, only to find out you’ve hit Long Island.

Chesterton calls for a loyalty to the world as God made it. We need to reject the pessimistic hatred of life and suicide toward which modernity inevitably drags us. Do we critique things and people because we love them or because we love hurting them from a resentment inside?

Part of that loyalty is maintaining a wonder at it all. It isn’t some law of necessity that turns eggs into chickens – it is magical. God calls to the sun every morning: “Do it again!” We get tired of this because we are old and stale, while God remains full of vitality. This wonder leads us to respect creational boundaries God built in to it.

Chesterton’s literary knowledge and references are vast, and I hardly get half of them. His writing style is quite meandering and indirect. It isn’t for everyone, but his ideas are an essential and hearty tonic for the orthodox, and an effective antidote against the atheistic and materialistic thought that continues to prevail today.



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Reset

Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David P. Murray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An immensely helpful book specifically for burned out, middle-aged pastors, but kept general enough to be useful to anyone stressed out. There is a companion book for women, called Refresh.

Don’t be fooled by the gimmicky-appearing alliteration on the surface (10 chapters starting with “re”) – there is a great deal of wisdom here. The simple structure and shorter chapters is an essential format for the burned out, so there’s a method to Murray’s marketeering.

The foundation of grace at the beginning is key, and distinguishes this book from others addressing the same topic. The keynote is that grace provides space to slow down, take stock, and make wiser decisions about your priorities, health, time, etc.

And there are lots of zingers throughout:

“What I do instead of sleep shines a spotlight on my idols” (pg. 55).

[Muting phone notifications] “produces a totally different mindset and mind depth than the one that’s sub-consciously waiting for the next beep or ding” (93).

“It’s not ‘Rest when you have nothing to do,’ but ‘Rest because we will never be done.’” (101).

Murray tackles root issues, like letting your work or past failures be your identity, instead of Christ and His grace. And he does so in very practical ways, touching you where you live your life.

Highly recommended.



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The Doctrine of the Covenant

The Main Points of the Doctrine of the Covenant by Klaas Schilder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A speech by Klaas Schilder, 1944.
This was my first foray into Dutch theologian Klaas Schilder’s writings, and it will not be the last.

The author’s name has come up in recent theological controversies, and now I know why. Schilder emphasized the outward or objective covenant, which is formally marked by baptism. And his accent is on God speaking His promises and commands to everyone in that covenant, not just the elect whom we cannot know with certainty.

The setting is quite polemical. Schilder is obviously arguing against another side in a debate. The other side is saying that if we talk about conditions in the covenant of grace, we make it a legalistic, works-based thing, which Paul was talking about and rejecting in Galatians. Schilder rejects this:

“If it is true that we are letting the covenant become a preaching of laws or a theory of morals, then [their] allegation is entirely just. Both groups are hollowing out the covenant: those who preach the promise and shove the demand into the background, and those who because of the demand neglect the sweet music of the promise; both have slipped away from the covenant” (pg 10).

We must “let God speak in a conditional manner” (12).

Schilder asserts at the same time, the confessional doctrines of grace and election. “Any good that comes from me is God’s gift and is from Him alone! Yet we must speak of conditions: I will not receive it if I do not comply with the demand – faith is the first demand” (13).

This was only a short speech. I plan to tackle Christ and Culture next.

The only publishing information in the hard copy is as follows:
Printed in Canada.
Translated by T. vanLaar, 1992



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Thinking through Anxiety

Thinking Through Anxiety: A Brief Christian Look by J. Ryan Davidson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this short booklet, the author gives a solidly Biblical look at a neglected issue.
Davidson considers how the Gospel, the ordinary means of grace, Sabbath, and our thinking patterns affect our worries. I especially appreciated the "back-burner" idea, of how to handle unhelpful thoughts that will not go away.


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