New Books

I have added four new books to my personal library. Two of the four are Christian books and I am very excited about both.

The first book I have actually read parts of already, it is John MacArthur's "Charismatic Chaos". Though the book was published in 1992, it is still very important for Christians today. I would argue that the charismatic movement is more popular today then it was in 1992. I would also argue that the movement has had, and continues to have, a very dangerous impact upon the evangelical church. How many otherwise orthodox pastors are reading and quoting Joyce Myers, how many good pastors have appeared on TBN, how many good pastors have gotten side tracked with the health and wealth gospel? The damage done by this movement is vast.

The second book is MacArthur's "Ashamed of The Gospel". Why I have not read this book yet, I don't know. I have known about it, at one point I came close to purchasing it, but I have never bought it. However today I did. Better yet, it is the expanded edition which has an appendix on the Down-Grade Controversy and an appendix on Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ETC).

I went into the store looking for the updated "Gospel According To Jesus". They did not have that so, since I was already in book buying mood, I could not stop myself from buying two books. Thats ok though, together they cost around twenty dollars. I think that was a good deal.

Currently I am reading Macel Falwell's "Jerry Falwell: His Life and Legacy". It is a wonderful book. However it has a cut and paste feel to it. Sort of like she had a bunch of stories about her life with Jerry Falwell that she cut and , with some help, pasted into book form. However it is still a great book that gives us a glimpse into the daily life of the Falwell family. I think it is good because it refutes the rumors about Fallwell that are so widespread. Falwell was a great man of God, I had my differences with him but those differences never blinded me to the vision this man had. The Church lost a true spiritual warrior on May 15, 2007. However, like with so many others, the Lord saw fit to call him home. I really like one of the last paragraphs in the book (yes I cheated and before I read the first word in the book skipped to the end and read the last few pages).

It reads:

"Yes, Jerry, because of the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary, because of the empty tomb and the precious promises of God's Word, and because of your faithfulness to preach the Gospel around the world, you will greet a multitude of us one day. We will indeed...see you later" -pg248

See you later was his last words to Macel (his wife). Touching ending, at least I think so.

I'm sitting down to read my books on preaching. particularly looking forward to The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper...

Although I've been told by many a good preacher that the first thing they had to do to become a good preacher was forget all they were taught in seminary...
tho sometimes I definitely wonder if by "good preacher" they mean "popular speaker." but we'll see.

i think the two SHOULD go hand in hand. i just think becoming the latter is often at the expense of the former.

Martin, "Not Ashamed of the Gospel" should be read by every gospel preacher. I really think this is one of Dr. MacArthur's better books.

It was such a good read for me.

tc wrote:

Martin, "Not Ashamed of the Gospel" should be read by every gospel preacher. I really think this is one of Dr. MacArthur's better books.

It was such a good read for me.

That is very true. I know several preachers who really need to read it. I have found that it is way too easy for pastors to get into the church growth mode when the pressure is on. I know a man who pastors a church that built a new building a few years ago. Things really did not go as well as they had hoped growth wise. So questions started being asked, the pressure was applied, and next thing you know they are doing all sorts of church growth activities. Which, as you probably know, never involves sound doctrine and Biblical preaching. It is very sad, but I can see why it happens.