I am putting the finishing touches on an article on Baptism and Communion for the inaugural issue of Theology for Ministry a new journal published by Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. I am encouraged by the goal of the editors which is provide a venue for discussion of shaping our ministries theologically rather than keeping theology …
Luther, The Leader, Virgil Robinson (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1963; A. B. Publishing, Inc., 1997), pb., 96 pp. This is more of a straight forward re-telling of the Luther story than the Louise Vernon reviewed previously. My boys missed the use of a fictional young boy for the telling of the story, but this …
Here is another poem. This one by John Donne is a powerful description of our need of a powerful gospel, one where a Sovereign God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, i.e. change our hearts. Donne uses strong imagery to make his point. John Donne’s Holy Sonnets #14 Batter my heart, three-personed …
I have been waiting (impatiently!) to write something from my reading of On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature , by C. S. Lewis. I recommend this book strongly to people in all sorts of arenas of life. For parents who want to read well to their children and want to choose books well, this …
Jim Hamilton, at For His Renown, has a great post on questions for a prospective pastor. He frames the discussion by suggesting that the greatest danger facing the church today may come from well meaning pastors who have failed to think clearly and deeply enough about the gospel and thus unwittingly lead the church in …
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Over the last few years I have given some attention to William Cowper and his poetry. I eventually tracked down a fairly inexpensive 19th century copy of his complete poems. I have enjoyed various parts in various ways, but had not worked my way through his long poem, The Task. However, guided by another I …
Continue reading ‘William Cowper on pretentious, primping preachers’ »
At my church we are going through Ken Sande’s The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict this summer, watching the DVD’s together while some of us also have the book. We are not doing this because there is conflict in the church. Indeed, just the opposite. We typically do some special study on …
Thunderstorm in Church , Louise A. Vernon (Herald Press, 1974, 2002), pb., 132 pp. Here is another biography from Mrs. Vernon. As in the others the story is told from the viewpoint of a child near the key person. This time the child is Luther’s oldest son Hans. The reader learns of Luther’s life as …
When writing the post on Pastors as Protectors, I felt sure Luther has spoken to the issue and just this evening I came across this quote: “A preacher must be a fighter and a shepherd. He must have teeth in his mouth. Teaching is a very difficult art. Paul contends (2 Tim 4:2; Titus 1:9), …
Continue reading ‘Luther on a Pastor’s Love for His People’ »
The Man Who Laid the Egg. Louise A. Vernon (Herald Press, 1977), pb. 118 pp. We are currently in a series of Vernon biographies as you can see. In the basics this one delivers as the others. The reader (and listeners!) is introduced to some of the basics in the life and work of Erasmus. …