Much not many

Bonhoeffer's Life Together is a timeless classic, yet it has special significance during periods in which Christian fellowship is hindered. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this book while running an underground seminary in Nazi-controlled Germany in the late 1930s, before his imprisonment at the Flossenbürg concentration camp and his eventual execution. In his book, he urges us to remember that Christian fellowship is "a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us" and that "the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed." Bonhoeffer provides a deeply insightful, yet extremely practical, examination of how to live and worship together as Christians. This book is worthy of careful study, especially as one considers how to structure corporate worship, how to lead family worship, how to manage personal devotions, how to think about unity and division within the body of Christ, how to serve others, and how to confess our sins to one another.

T. David Gordon's Why Johnny Can't Preach provides a compelling diagnosis, and outlines specific treatment options, for one of the truly great plagues that is ravaging modern America. The unassailable premise behind this book is the assertion that most modern ministers are not competent in the work of preaching. "In my opinion," writes Gordon, "less than 30 percent of those who are ordained to the Christian ministry can preach an even mediocre sermon." 

This issue has metastasized dramatically in the past 100 years in large part due to changes in media culture. Humans in general have allowed their communication muscles to atrophy as their reliance on carefully composed writing has waned. Sadly, Johnny can no longer preach because Johnny can no longer read or write or distinguish that which is significant from that which is insignificant.

One would think that congregations would vote with their feet and leave churches with incompetent preachers. This is, however, very rarely the case. Many Christians, as Gordon notes, remain in churches with poor preachers simply because that particular church is their local church and Christians understand that they have a duty to attend corporate worship on Sunday. Others remain in these churches because "they are satisfied with what they hear because they have nothing better with which to compare it." That is, many individuals within the church are as just as ill attuned to this pandemic as their ministers are.

Why Johnny Can't Preach ought to be required reading for everyone who either serves or aspires to serve on a pastoral team. Those who are serving on pastoral search committees or who teach in Sunday Schools or small groups will also find this book immensely helpful. 

Related Audio or Video Recordings:

• "Why Johnny Can't Preach -- II Timothy 2:15" by T. David Gordon

• Fundamentals of Expository Preaching Lecture Series by TMS faculty

Related Reading:

• Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns by T. David Gordon

• The Juvenilization of American Christianity by Thomas Bergler

The Abolition of Man, which C. S. Lewis regarded as his favorite among his various books, is a powerful polemic against moral relativism, a sobering critique of modern methods of education, and a compelling defense of natural law and objective value. This book is essential reading for all who would seek to understand, and to war against, the abandonment of absolute truth and the accompanying destruction of humanity.

This small book contains three powerful and portentous lectures that Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones delivered at a meeting of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) in 1971. The Doctor (as Lloyd-Jones was known throughout his life) was concerned about the growing drift among protestant evangelicals away from biblical convictions. In response to this erosion, he sought to define and outline the essential elements of "evangelical" Christianity. Anyone who is interested in a crisper understanding sound doctrine and belief should absorb these lectures.

For a fantastic critical review of What is an Evangelical?, see the following series of TCG articles by Kevin DeYoung:

• What is an Evangelical? (1)

• What is an Evangelical? (2)

• What is an Evangelical? (3)

• What is an Evangelical? (4)

John MacArthur's Strange Fire is a biblical defense of true worship, a careful exposition of the work and Person of the Holy Spirit, and a powerful critique of the false teachings of the inane charismatic movement. This book is a must-read for those who are seeking to buttress an understanding of sound doctrine and for those who are looking to minister to friends who are caught in charismatic or continuationist teaching. 

Related Audio or Video Recordings:

• Grace to You’s 2013 Truth Matters: "Strange Fire" conference

Related Reading (from Dr. Nathan Busenitz):

• Why I'm not a charismatic / continuationist

• An overview of cessationism

• Are there apostles today?

• What was the real gift of tongues?

• The charismatic distortion of gifts

• A critical examination of the doctrine of being "slain in the spirit"

• The danger of believing in fallible prophecy

• Are there examples of fallible prophesy in the bible?

Related Reading (other):

• Strange Fire (article by R.C. Sproul)