Helpful Resources in 2016

                My favorite read of 2016 was “The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist” by Larry Alex Taunton. It is not an urban legend death bed conversion story but a well written examination of the very real spiritual struggle within the heart of a self-professed non-spiritual man, written with reservation by a believer in Christ who got to know him towards the end of his life. The reservations felt by Larry are real- not wanting to write something that Christopher can’t refute (since he has passed on), struggling with the temptation to speculate on Hitch’s relationship with God at the end, and ultimately with saying too much, both for incredulous fans of Hitch and optimistic (and opportunistic) political Christians. It is raw, honest, and engrossing. Highly recommended reading for everyone.

                An excellent resource was released in October of last year: “The Pastor’s Book”, by R. Kent Hughes. I got a copy for myself and all my elders for Christmas 2015 and it has been an excellent go to guide for the many practical realities of pastoral minister. If you are a pastor, or know one, get him this book.

                My commentary of the year was “Joshua: No Falling Words”. The latest edition is from 2012, so not a new book, but in my sermon series through Joshua this small but mighty commentary by Dale Ralph Davis was indispensable. His humor, practicality, commitment to the text, and readability make anything he writes worth buying and using.

                “A Theology for Biblical Counselling” by Heath Lambert was a new release this year and filled a need in the sometimes muddy waters of counselling in the church context. Pastoral counselling continues to grow as a part of the pastor’s role in today’s churches, but until recently little serious attention was given to that reality. Much fine work has been done since and whole ministries have risen to support the local church in counselling well from Scripture. Lambert’s contribution is to highlight the connection between theology and counselling, and his thorough treatment of that is excellent. The first chapter alone is worth the cost of the book.

                Finally, in the realm of church health and growth, three books have been incredibly helpful. “The Compelling Community” by Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop was released in April of 2015, but as I’m just digging into it now it has helped shape a lot of my thinking with regards to small group ministry, integration of different linguistic groups in my ministry sphere, and truly modeling the gospel in my Christianity saturated culture. “Church in Hard Places” by Mez McConnell and Mike McKinley has reaffirmed a great deal of my understanding of the primacy of the gospel and the church and has reinvigorated my commitment to both. It has also fanned the flames of a passion for church planting, something I hope to see become a reality in 5 years out of my current ministry. Lastly, “The Vine Project”, sequel to “The Trellis and the Vine”, came out and I am looking forward with great anticipation to diving into this book and mining its practical advice for working out the concepts previously written about.

                Happy reading in 2017 and beyond!