Always looking for good podcasts. The new podcast 5 Minutes in Church History from Stephen Nichols has my attention two episodes in. From the website,
Dr. Nichols is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pa., where he has taught since 1997. He is also a visiting professor at Reformation Bible College and a lecturer in church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
[...]
As Ligonier Ministries’ newest teaching fellow, Dr. Nichols brings his expertise to our new podcast, 5 Minutes in Church History.
Dr. Nichols has also authored many books including For Us And For Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church and The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallot Changed the World.
As the title of the podcast makes clear, these are short history bursts, very much lessons from church history and not merely "here's 5 minutes of historical facts." I dig that. And I think my readers will too. Check out and subscribe to 5 Minutes in Church History.
The Gospel Coalition has a new podcast, "Going Deeper with TGC." Collin Hansen writes...
The Gospel Coalition's new podcast, "Going Deeper with TGC," has two goals:
- We want to follow up on the most widely read, controversial, helpful, insightful resources produced by our council members, writers, editors, and bloggers.
- We want to serve you by using a different medium, audio, to provide the same quality of gospel-centered content we publish in blogs, essays, and reviews.
We've assembled an experienced team to produce this podcast, which we aim to record at least every two weeks. I'm joined each time by my co-host, Mark Mellinger, the gifted news anchor of WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
An excellent idea for a podcast, and I'm thankful for this new resource. I've subscribed. In this inaugural podcast there are discussions with Thabiti Anyabwile on same-sex marriage & the Puritans, among other things. We also hear from Jared Wilson & Trevin Wax on The Gospel Project. Listen here.
It might be the best song I've heard this year: "Precious Puritans" by Propaganda. Joe Thorn has done a great service through his two posts on the song, the history behind it, and how Propaganda brought it all together to make a very important point
Post 1: Interview with historian (and my friend) Richard Bailey on the content "Precious Puritans," especially on the Puritans and slavery that is at the heart of the song.
Post 2: Play the song, read the lyrics, read thoughts from Propaganda.
You should buy this album or grab it free. The whole album is, well, Excellent. And don't miss the music and sounds of "Precious Puritans." The classical cello sounds, slave ships and ocean sounds, amazing.
I have been asked by a friend about my favorite books on church history, so I thought I would throw it out for everyone. Try to limit to the most expansive books on church history, at least for your first few. If you want to add a couple of faves from certain time periods (reformation, early church, baptist, puritan, etc), feel free to do that as well. But make sure they are books about the history of that time, not books from that time. And do your best to stay to 5.
So, what are your big 5 books on church history?
I really enjoyed Total Church from Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. It's biblical, theological, and practical. That was when Tim Chester really jumped on my radar and I became interested to read more from him.
I'm reviewing two books by Chester from TheGoodBook.com.
Coming soon: From Creation to New Creation: Making Sense of the Whole Bible Story.
Today: Delighting in the Trinity: Why Father, Son and Spirit Are Good News.
GREAT DEAL: For the next 7 days you can buy both titles for $15 total, or separately for $8.44 each. Just add both to cart and it shows up as $15. I really hope you take advantage of this. Both books are very good.
Now, to a brief review...
----------
I'm always eager to find good books in the hands of my church and to recommend them to others. Much is written on theological issues to advance the conversation between scholars and pastors. I love those books and they are important. We also need good books for those who are growing in their faith or joining the conversation on issues they need to learn, who are not always fluent in the lingo. I believe Delighting in the Trinity (DITT) will bring "delight" to all camps.
DITT comes in three parts: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Practical Implications -- with 3-4 chapters in each. I'm not going trace the majority of Chester's argument because he isn't making any new ones. That's a good thing. Chester isn't offering a reworked doctrine of the Trinity to his personal liking. He's offers the adventure of delighting in God who wants us to know Him.
I have always found the doctrine of the Trinity exciting. Thinking it through takes us deeper into the triune God who is the foundation of all reality. This is the God who made us to know Him, and who gives meaning and joy to our lives. To explore Him is a wonderful adventure. To delight in Him is our chief end. (p 8)
I found Chester's writing to be fresh and pastoral. He isn't merely rehashing old arguments, though he does that well. He brings clarity and simplicity to what could be something cumbersome. And he quotes generously without burying the Scriptures, and from more than just basic theological stream. You'll get stuff from Owen, Calvin, Luther, N.T. Wright, T.F. Torrence, and more. In the Historical Developments section you'll hear from all sorts as the doctrine of the Trinity is considered throughout church history from heroes to heretics, from the early church fathers to contemporary theologians. But Chester doesn't end there. He says there's a continuing need to reform our theology...
Theology is a continuing project. We need to re-articulate the gospel afresh to our culture. At the same time we need to examine the influence of our culture on our thinking. The development of the doctrine of the Trinity illustrates how a slightly divergent view can turn out to be a wrong turning that will eventually lead us away from the biblical gospel. A shift of emphasis in one generation can become a dangerous heresy in the next generation. So theology is a serious task for all Christians. (p 117)
I maybe most appreciate how the book includes illustrations/diagrams and bullet points. The illustrations are both helpful and careful. Chester makes sure to explain are not complete or definitive explanations. The diagrams for historical thinkers I found very helpful to understand the differences. And the bullet points are helpful as we learn and should be helpful when we reference the book later to refresh.
I particularly like the way Chester deals with the Trinity and the Cross. This is a Gospel-centered book on the Trinity.
God is known only through revelation, but this revelation is hidden so that it shatters human pretensions. God is revealed in what is contrary. The wisdom of God is hidden in the folly of the cross. The glory of God is hidden in the shame of the cross. He power of God is hidden in the weakness of the cross. So if we want to discover the true character of God, we must look to the cross. And the God revealed in the cross is trinitarian. He is both single and plural; one united being and three distinct persons. (p 64)
Further...
We cannot understand the cross without the plurality of God. The cross shows us that there are distinctions within God. God can be forsaken by God. But neither can we understand the cross without the unity of God. If God is not one, then the cross becomes a cruel and vindictive act with an angry Father punishing an unwilling Son or a loving Son placating an unwilling Father. Only if God is one can the cross be for us reconciliation and inclusion within the divine community. (p 78)
Part 3 of the book, Practical Implications, is where it all comes together with the world around us. There is stuff on other religions, on individualism and pluralism and how this doctrine corrects cultural issue, and much more. There are pastoral considerations throughout, as well.
My only real critique is that I really wish Delighting in the Trinity had a Scripture index and a subject index. Some may complain they would like a fuller treatment, but that's not Chester's purpose. There are other great books for that. This is highly accessible for your church members, and that's firmly where it belongs.
So I highly recommend Delighting in the Trinity as a resource for your church members. It may be of particular help to Bible study teachers and/or small group leaders. And let me add that one group I hope will pick up Delighting in the Trinity: pastors. I'm always surprised to hear pastors & preachers who don't grasp the Trinity, who speak incorrectly as to who does what and when and how. Or who just default at the generic when the Bible gives us the specifics. Let's sharpen our understanding of our Triune God as we preach His Word! This is a helpful refresher, or something to give you more solid footing on this beautiful doctrine.
Go buy Delighting in the Trinity. Buy From Creation to New Creation at the same time and get both for just $15 total. You won't regret it. And check out the growing number of theologically solid resources from TheGoodBook.com.
Tim Keller posted "Revival: Ways and Means" today at Redeemer City to City. He said, "I think we can carefully talk about some factors that, when present, often become associated with revival by God's blessing." Here are his 5 ways and means...
Read the entire post, "Revival: Ways and Means", for more. Also check out his previous post, "Revival (Even) on Broadway." Great stuff! It's cool when someone who has been such a blessing to me is writing on the same topic God has been stirring up in me.
PLANT! Conference is looking pretty awesome. Love stuff like this, where like-minded guys from various backgrounds and networks come together. Here's some info. It's not expensive. You should go.
PLANT! | March 24-26, 2011
Location | Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA
Cost | $99 bucks
Who Should Go | Church planters, pastors, pastors who desire to see their church plant churches, members of churches who desire to be a part of planting a church some day
Why Go To PLANT! | Sovereign Grace is gathering church planting thinkers and doers from different denominations and church planting movements for three days of teaching and dialogue about planting and building churches on the gospel.
Learn from a group of men from Acts 29, Sovereign Grace, the PCA, and 9 Marks who have planted, replanted and are in the midst of leading planting movements. Men like Darrin Patrick and Daniel Montgomery from Acts 29, Mark Dever and Mike McKinley from 9 Marks and the SBC, Tim Witmer from the PCA, CJ Mahaney, Dave Harvey, Pete Greasley, Craig Cabaniss from Sovereign Grace Ministries.
Get more info & register at PLANT! Conference website. Connect on Facebook.