Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Summer is Over - What I Actually Read

The calendar may say that it is still summer, but school starts here tomorrow. So, in reality, summer is over. The kids are not the only ones going back to school. I will be joining them. Only this time, I will be a teacher. Because I had nothing else to do, I volunteered to teach the Senior Bible class at our school, Evangelical Christian Academy. I will teach them hermeneutics, beginning with the Redemptive Historical Approach to Scripture. I also will cover some of my other favorite themes like sanctification, biblical world and life view, and presuppositional apologetics. Should be fun (at least for me).

At the beginning of the summer, I posted what I intended to read during the summer. However, I must confess that I got a bit derailed in my reading. Here is what I actually read:
  • The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross: Insights from an Arab Christian by Nabeel Jabbour (NavPress). Very informative and helpful. I have had the added blessing of meeting with Nabeel regularly to discuss this book. I knew very little about Islam when I started, but feel much better equipped to discuss my faith with a Muslim now.
  • A Quest for More by Paul Tripp. Here is a sample quote: "I may be grateful for the gospel, but what really excites me is the hope that my relationship with God will give me what I really want.." Ouch!
  • The Ascent of a Leader, by Thrall, McNicol, and McElrath. Good, not great, but good.
  • Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll. The main reason I read this was because I have heard a lot about the author but never read him or listened to his sermons. Very orthodox and very relevant.
  • Communion with the Triune God by John Owen. However, I must confess that I did skip some parts and I need to go back and reread this one. Like a lot of John Owen, great stuff to say, but not the easiest reading for me.
  • I also listened to a few MP3 lectures on my IPod (I love my IPod), including: David Calhoun of Covenant Theological Seminary on the Early Church Fathers, several lectures by Mark Dalbey on worship, D. A. Carson's 3-part series on the New Perspective on Paul, D. A. Carson's series on the Emergent Church and postmodernism, Marc Driscoll on Creation, and, of course, a few sermons by Tim Keller. BTW, you can download lectures for free from Covenant. Also, through ITunes, you can get a number of free lectures from Reformed Theological Seminary. Great resources.

Besides the above, I did a little reading on Ecclesiastes and Genesis for my upcoming sermon series. I hope to post a little study guide for each of these books on the Village Seven website fairly soon. I also rewrote my Leadership Training (Officer Training) course.

I had planned to read Going Public with Your Faith by Peel and Larrimore and The Insiders by Petersen and Shamy. However, once I decided to teach at ECA, my reading fell by the wayside.

What's next on my reading list? Well, I still want to get to the two books above. However, a few books have moved ahead of them, including:

  • Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin. Word on the street is that this is a good book for men serious about growth.
  • Minority Report by Carl Trueman. I have a lot about Dr. Trueman and his teaching at Westminster, but have never read him. Looking forward to it.
  • In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson. I alway enjoy Ferguson. His clarity reminds me of Packer.
  • Who Stole My Church? by Gordon McDonald
  • Reason for God and The Prodigal God by Tim Keller.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay Mark. Keller can move ahead, but you better get Going Public with Your Faith back on the list or you'll go straight to hell. Seriously, I'm glad Going Public made your reading list and I hope makes it to the top of your pile again soon. I believe our country is going to face the perfect storm financially, and we need to have prepared workplace followers of Christ for the spiritual influence they can have during that time.
Oh, and I was kidding about the straight to hell thing. :-)

Anonymous said...

Just finished a book on your list,"Reason For God", a very good apologetics work from someone who obviously has a good handle on the modern, urban, pagan mind. Read it courtesy of V7's gift to my daughter on her graduation.

Being up front, someone's always got something for you to read or listen to, but my favorite read in years and timely for your preaching is Wilson's "Joy At The End Of The Tether: The Inscuritable Wisdom of Ecclesiates". I've not read a better "How To" book on life.