After 24 years in pastoral ministry I’ve realized there are some constant issues with God’s people: I’m going to have a certain percentage of people who seem to struggle with the assurance of salvation over and over again (I’ve seen some people agonize for decades). I’ve recognized that a (growing) number of marriages are chronically... Continue Reading

Stewart chides major personalities of the current Calvinist upsurge for thinking as though it “appeared Melchizedek-like, ‘without genealogy.’?” He names two heroes of the mostly 20-something crowd of new Calvinists, John Piper and Mark Driscoll, as culprits of this de-historicized vision of contemporary Calvinism. Type “Calvinism” into any web browser and you’re likely to find... Continue Reading

The Thesis: According to Messiah College professor, Jenell Williams Paris, “Heterosexuality…is an abomination” (43). This statement is doubtless meant for maximum effect, since the Bible declares male on male sex as “an abomination” (Lev 20:13). One is led to ask how an evangelical Christian scholar, published by a Christian publishing house (IVP) justifies such a... Continue Reading

Review of SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, by Douglas Estes, Zondervan, 2009, 256 pages (paperback), $16.99 In his book SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, Douglas Estes gets defensive about an accusation that no one seems to be leveling. I, for one, was only peripherally aware of the “virtual world”... Continue Reading

Jane Love, buyer of books in the religion category for Barnes & Noble, calls the mega best seller a “crossover,” meaning the book isn’t being bought by just evangelical Christians. Colton Burpo is having a late lunch at a T.G.I. Friday‘s in Manhattan. He orders a Mountain Dew, then shares some baby back ribs with... Continue Reading

Book Review: Vampire Defanged, The: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero, Susannah Clements, April 1, 2011, Brazos Press Clements’ analysis requires an active reader who doesn’t mind thinking. This comes out further in that her conclusions are inevitably controversial….But for active, curious readers, Clements may be the most lucid, readable critic to... Continue Reading

Radical by David Platt is one of the books that has been enjoying lots of word of mouth among American Calvinists since its release. When I had the opportunity to get a review copy, I took it. I wanted to read it to see what the buzz was about, and the topic interests me. “I... Continue Reading

I confess I read this book because of all the hoopla on the internet. John Piper hates it, Mark Driscoll wants to say how much he hates it but is tired of launching his enemies onto the New York Times bestsellers list so he talks about it without talking about it. People everywhere are talking... Continue Reading

If it’s true that a book takes on a life of its own, then each has a life story waiting to be told. So let the telling begin–starting with books that have sought the divine and rocked history, one soul at a time. That’s the ambitious idea behind the new Lives of Great Religious Books... Continue Reading

If you are looking for something new and trendy, this book isn’t it. Evangelism is as serious as the Gospel and as practical as a conversation. Dr. J.D. Payne is the Associate Professor of Church Planting and Evangelism and Director of the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting at SBTS. He was brand... Continue Reading