Folks -

I want to buy some books to read on my upcoming field exercise. I'm looking for 2 or 3 books that are important and have been published within the last 30 years. What should I read?

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Ben
Chaplain, US Army
Ft. Riley, KS
TE Ohio Valley Presbytery, PCA

Um, excuse me, sir... what kind of board do you think this is?

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Nathan Tyler
Reformed Baptist
University of Toronto (Student: Hons. B.A. in Philosophy)
Ontario, Canada

1689'er

http://nathantyler.wordpress.com

Hey Ben, I don't know if you are looking for works that have created theological or philosophical shockwaves so that you may interact and think critically about them, or if you are looking more for personal edification and challenge.

If the latter, I am currently reading through a little work by Carson entitled The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians that I have found very good. There is also that work on preaching from T. David Gordon, which I mentioned a few days back on a different thread, entitled Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messangers. Our preaching could always use more thought, and I have spoken with at least five brothers in the ministry who have been leveled by that little work.

Neither of those are expensive or terribly long, and you may even be able to fit them in along with your two or three larger works.

Sorry I have no suggestions on the larger, or more important works at the moment. Most of my recent reading has been in the paperbacks mentioned, or in going through Calvin's recently reprinted/retranslated sermons on Acts chapters 1-7, as well as Lloyd-Jones' evangelistic sermons, and his studies in the Sermon on the Mount. I've been developing my thoughts on preaching, if you were wondering

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Adam J. Myer
Slated for the Jan. 10th Chaplains Basic Officer Leadership Course
Estacada Christian Church
Sandy, Oregon

Soli Deo Gloria

Hi Ben:

That's a tough question. What areas do you think you may be not up to snuff on? Give us a few topics to make recommendations on.

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Michael Masztal
Ruling Elder, Chapel By The Sea, ARP
Melbourne Beach, FL

Hey, weren't those silly little "Ranger Digest" survival guides published by "Ranger Rick" put out within the last 30 years? I heard that those are pretty important

These may not be in the last 30yrs but the books I have appreciated the most so far are:

Death of Death in the Death of Christ(Owen), Mortification of Sin(Owen), An Introduction to Biblical Theology(Graeme Goldsworthy), Reason for God(Tim Keller), Holiness of God(R.C.Sproul)....can't remember the other books I read....Paul K. Jewett's book about baptism(forgot what it is called) only helped to procure my further assurance of Infant Baptism despite him trying to make the case for Credo Baptism.

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~ Charles Stephen Barribeau ~
Christ Presbyterian Church , OPC (They sing alot of Psalms!)
Original Westminster Standards (I need to study more...)
The Puritans were best! Also... I NEED TO READ MORE!!!
Philipians1:29(KJV) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Janesville, Wisconsin (In the fellowship of Bob Vigneault and Matt+Megan Meisberger)

I know, I know.... But folks on this board frequently make mention of good modern works.

-----Added 11/5/2009 at 08:58:33 EST-----

I realize I left it quite open-ended. That was intentional. I'm wanting people to give suggestions based upon either "hey, I read this and enjoyed it... perhaps you would as well" or "hey, I've read your posts and I really think you could grow in this area..."

-----Added 11/5/2009 at 08:59:30 EST-----

Actually, I appreciate the suggestions. Keep them coming!

-----Added 11/5/2009 at 09:01:09 EST-----

Thank you for the suggestions, brother. You're right... these are all great books (Reason for God, less so in my opinion...) but I've read them. I've spent a lot of time reading many of the major important works from older generations. This is why I want to read some of the good/important modern stuff.

I can't really think of anything modern that I would like to read unless it deals with FV/NPP or Apologetics(but I am sure you have already read on that). All I know is that if I had Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology and read them I would feel like a real man! .......Don't worry, I am not saying that one is only a man if he read Turretin, this is only something I demand of myself!

Also, have you read Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology? I have not read it, but my friend Quaid has and he found it VERY informative on everything from Logic to Lutheranism from the Reformed perspective.

I am sure you've probably read it, but Idols for Destruction by Herbert Schlossberg is really good.

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soli Deo gloria!
~Nicholas~ Ordained Pastor
Member, Fulton PCA; GPTS Student
Christians are like snow covered dung; it is the purity of the covering which the Father sees. -Luther-
There is nothing more ugly than a Christian orthodoxy without understanding or without compassion.
-Francis Schaeffer-

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Casey, Chicagoland, OPC

The Mission of God by Christopher H. Wright, absolutely phenomenal work.

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Joel S.
Village Seven Presbyterian Church (CO Springs)
MAR Student, Reformed Theological Seminary
Bible/English Teacher, Evangelical Christian Academy

Closing of the American Mind by Bloom.

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Benjamin P. Glaser, M. Div, Licentiate, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
Member Fairmount ARP Church
Pittsburgh, PA

Deo Vindice

Hello,
Joel Beeke writes really good works on puritans that are concise but rich.
"Christ in a Postmodern World" by David Wells is a good one on current culture.
Lately I have been downloading older works like John Flavel from www.archive.org.
Now I have more books than time.

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Kentaro,
Wylie, Texas

I've heard that book mentioned recently, but I can't place where...
What is it about?

-----Added 11/6/2009 at 08:40:03 EST-----

Just two days ago I finished his "Courage to be Protestant." I've now read his entire "series." I wholeheartedly agree that Wells' work is helpful.

Van Til's Apologetic by Bahnsen

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Nathan Riese
Under Care, PCA
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Aledo, Illinois
Current student at MBBC
Future student of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
www.gpts.edu

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Michael P Doyle
Waukesha WI
Member of http://www.cornerstone-pca.com/
Attending http://www.lampseminary.org/

Brother Ben,

Since I understand that much of what you do is counseling, consider these if you haven't already read them:
1) The Peacemaker by Ken Sande
2) How People Change by Paul Tripp
You won't agree with everything, but, for practical "down in the trenches with people" theology, I have found these books helpful.

May the Lord bless your field exercise and keep you safe,
Chris.

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~Pastor Chris Powell~
Covenant Baptist Church, Toronto
Church Website: www.covenantbaptistchurch.com
Team Blog:www.ardentcries.com

Is this the one that was just recently released?

-----Added 11/6/2009 at 09:03:30 EST-----

I've read the former, but not the latter. I have read a few Tripp works, and they're usually pretty good. Thanks for the suggestion!

No that is the 800-page one he is recommending.

"Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss, PhD. has been formative in my development as a human.

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Andrew DeShazo
Husband of Kathryn
Father of Phillip-Giles B. DeShazo
Deacon
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"From out of the depth of unbroken Infinfity arose the Question, "Who am I?" And to that Question there is the answer, "I am God!" -Meher Baba, died 1969.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Christ, died 33 AD, ressurected three days later.

Ahh.... After a quick search, I realize that the book I was thinking of is the newly released Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended by Bahnsen. Has anyone here read it? Is it any good?

One that really struck me was David E. Wells' No Place For Truth. His writing style is easy to read and rather interactive. You'll burn through it in days.

Published in 1993. You'll see what things were like then, and now.

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Ewen
1689 LBCF
Assemblies of God Bible College
Singapore

Ben, the "How People Change" book is essentially Powlison's Dynamics of Biblical Change course in short form. It's an easy read, but, if you're not able to take CCEF courses and learn directly, I have found that it is a shortcut that gives you the "heart" (unintentional pun) of their teaching. However, there's also a sense in which if you've read one CCEF book you've read them all.

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Bert Mulder
Elder of the First Protestant Reformed Church of Edmonton
Edmonton Alberta Canada

OK. In that case, I recommend Greg Koukl's "Tactics". It s a new book on dealing with unbelievers and their flawed worldviews with good techniques that anyone can use.

I'm using it with my 11th and 12th grade students in my Apologetics class and seeing some positive impact in their willingness to talk with unbelievers.

Gilead By Marilynne Robinson

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Jacob
Sovereign Grace Ministries
Covenant Fellowship Church
WTS M.A.R. in Theology student
West Chester, PA

"Grace renews nature; glory perfects grace." ~ John Owen
"Grace tried is better than grace, and more than grace. It is glory in its infancy." ~ John Flavel
Blog - The Strasbourg Inn

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

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Jon Peters
Member, Reformation Fellowship (OPC) (Roseville, CA)
Folsom, CA

Ben,

A few quick ones:

• On Being Presbyterian by Sean Lucas ( a good, lay oriented study, useful for using with others)
• Doug Kelly's Systematic (deals with modern theological issues as well older ones)
• Ralph Davies' commentaries. Excellent devotional, as well as expositional material

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Fred Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

It is not exactly new, but it is very good and most have not read it. It is not expressly theological, but in reality it is:

The Tempting of America by Robert Bork

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We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Lawrence Underwood, Jr.
Pastor - Providence Family Fellowship / Mobile, Alabama
1644/46 LBC
My Blog - Imprimis

Some good missionary autos/bios:

Peace Child and Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson

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Ian Kemmerer
Trinity Bible Fellowship, Blandon, PA
Fleetwood, PA

"Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears, Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay From His own fullness all He takes away."

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."

For a good historical work that has some bearing on our current conflicts, I would recommend God's War: A New History of the Crusades, written by Christopher Tyerman. I have not finished it (it's over 1000pp in length), but it is a really good read.

He does not heap disdain upon church and crusader, as did Runciman (and most of the West today), but explains the valid religious and societal reasons for which the Crusades were engaged. It can be slow at times, explaining various papal bulls and such, but it's really a great piece of scholarship that I look forward to finishing as time allows.

Btw, scratch my above suggestion of Gordon's work. I just finished it today, and apart from the introduction and first chapter, where he lays out his initial observations of the problem, and in which he includes a summary of Dabney's "essential sermon elements", the rest is just a rant.

It could have been good, but it degenerated into the tiresome refrain of why Gordon's education, insights into Shakespearean sonnets, reading list (regular name dropping), and knowledge of Greek are so superior to yours - you sorry pastors who grew up playing video games, watching movies, not appreciating the sublimity of obscure authors, and failing to realize that one must read a minimum of 3-5 large works on any one subject just to get a general introduction.

His complaints were quite unhelpful, and reflected the concerns of an academic more than they did the apostolic as a whole. He did include some decent material toward the end regarding Christocentricity and such in the sermon, but knowing that there have been a steady production of more substantial homiletical works covering those issues made it look as if the book really should not have been written.

Thanks for that. I was considering getting it, but with only a few exceptions, the last several books I've read have been (in my estimation) rants about what is wrong... While I enjoy reading a good rant when I agree with the author, I am nonetheless looking forward to a break.

I agree with you, Ben. Sometimes books such as these can be a good wake up, so maybe my review may be based more on my weariness with reading too many of them, but it is good to read works that lay out the positive, the edifying, and the constructive after indulging in rant reading. I'm glad that little review was genuinely helpful in your decision making, and not just me expressing my dissatisfaction.

On the other hand, although I am still reading through Carson's The Cross and Christian Ministry I would give it a good recommendation. One of the things I appreciate about Carson's books is that even if he has a gripe about something, he always brings the discussion back to the exegesis of Scripture. Note that the subtitle reads Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians. The chapters cover the relationship of the cross to preaching, the Holy Spirit, factionalism, Christian leadership, and world Christianity, but they are all discussions based upon an examination of chapters 1-4 and chapter 9 of that epistle. You might find that to be just what you are looking for on the pastoral level.

The idols that culture build up...such as time, history, religion, and Scripture's answer to them.

Haven't got to this one yet, but anything by Bahnsen is always worth the time.

http://www.cmfnow.com/presupposition...glbahnsen.aspx

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Michael Tremmel
attending Christ Reformed Baptist Church
Hales Corners, WI.

Isaiah 46:5-11

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Ps.16:8 ESV

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Cor.15:10a ESV

Praecepta docent, exempla movent (precepts teach, but examples move)