Theologian Jonathan Edwards looms large in church history and in the history of theology. Yet because his writings are often very difficult to read, they are inaccessible to many readers. Making Edwards’s theology and writings accessible to a broad audience was the burden behind a new series of books: The Essential Edwards Collection. The set contains short paperback volumes for a total of 760 pages. It was written and edited by Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney with an introduction by John Piper. The series includes five topical books:
C.J. endorsed The Essential Edwards Collection. Here’s what he wrote:
Books on the life and theology of Jonathan Edwards could fill a library. So where does an average reader (like me!) begin? Right here, with The Essential Edwards Collection. Strachan and Sweeney provide a doorway into the life and teaching of one of the church’s wisest theologians. But this book is more than history. The authors have included notes of personal application to help us apply the life and teaching of Edwards to our own lives. I’ve read no better introduction to Jonathan Edwards.
And here are four other noteworthy endorsements: D.A. Carson: “Everyone says Jonathan Edwards is important. Quite frankly, however, his writing style is pretty dense by contemporary standards, so few pastors and other Christian leaders have invested much time reading him. Edwards is one of the ‘greats’ of whom everyone has heard and whom relatively few have read. This new series tackles the problem. Here is the kernel of much of Edwards’s thought in eminently accessible form.” Mark Dever: “In The Essential Edwards Collection, Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney play the role of the good friend who pulls the book down off the shelf. With knowledge and excitement, they open the large and intimidating tomes, and point to some clear and searching section which illuminates God’s truth and searches our hearts. In this collection, Edwards is introduced to a new generation of readers. His concerns are made our concerns. This is a worthy effort and I pray that God will bless it.” Al Mohler: “Why hasn’t this been done before? The Essential Edwards Collection is now essential reading for the serious-minded Christian. Doug Sweeney and Owen Strachan have written five excellent and accessible introductions to America’s towering theological genius—Jonathan Edwards. They combine serious scholarship with the ability to make Edwards and his theology come alive for a new generation. The Essential Edwards Collection is a great achievement and a tremendous resource. I can’t think of a better way to gain a foundational knowledge of Edwards and his lasting significance.” Carl Trueman: “Jonathan Edwards is surely one of the most influential theologians of the eighteenth century, yet until now a representative sample of his work has required the reader either to wade through poorly printed double-column editions or to purchase incredibly expensive scholarly editions. Now at last we have a wide-ranging and representative sample of his work published in an attractive, accessible and, most important of all, readable form. The authors are to be commended for the work they have put into this set and I hope it will become an important feature of the library of many pastors and students of the Christian faith.”
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Book reviews
God's love | Parenting
Sermons
"I harbor a prejudice against all new editions [of books] and a preference for the originals, even though they wander about in sheepskins and goatskins," said Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon here shows a bias toward the old tomes. And he reveals just how prickly a preacher can be about his library.
You can learn a lot about a man by the books in his study (or by the ratio of books to the sports equipment he keeps in his office). Either way our friends at Together for the Gospel have been busy featuring videos filmed in the hallowed libraries of Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, C.J., John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul. Each of the six available videos can be viewed here, beginning with the most recent study video with R. C. Sproul, a video that has caused a bit of a stir and has led some to stop and give serious thought to the question: Is C.J. crazy? Hmm.
Come see for yourself at the Louisville Convention Center April 13–15 for the low, low price of [click here to find out]. Until we meet in Kentucky, you can meet the men, and their libraries, here:
R.C. Sproul - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Lig Duncan - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Al Mohler - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Mark Dever - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
John MacArthur - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
C. J. Mahaney - Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.
Preaching | Reading | T4G
T4G
Church planting
Interviews | Preaching | Time Management
Over the past couple of years I’ve done a series of interviews so that you can “meet” men like John Piper, Carl Trueman, Wayne Grudem, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, David Powlison, and Thabiti Anyabwile. These are men I deeply love and respect. We asked them a set of questions that resulted in some very insightful answers.
But I also like asking these questions of “ordinary” pastors, men less recognized who are laboring faithfully in their local churches. There is nothing ordinary about these men. I consider them extraordinary! I think their work serving the local church is the most important work being done today, work that is worthy of high esteem (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13). Today I want you to meet one extraordinary ordinary pastor: Phil Sasser. Phil serves as the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Apex, North Carolina. He has served at that church for 16 of his 29 years in ministry. Phil and his wife, Cassie, have been married for 40 years and have five children and 15 grandchildren. Meet Phil Sasser. Phil, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading? I have some insomnia, so wake up time can vary somewhat. Usually I get up between 6 AM – 7 AM. The first 45 minutes in my office is spent in reading, meditation, and prayer. The M’Cheyne Reading plan has served as a base for my daily Bible reading. This year, I am supplementing M’Cheyne by reading two pages from Herman Bavinck’s Our Reasonable Faith. I have a daily prayer agenda that varies with each day of the week. What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment? (a) Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards (this is about my fifth time reading through it) and The Work of Christ by G. C. Berkouwer. (b) Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D. A. Carson (c) Truman by David McCullough Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why? Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray is one. Murray’s treatment of the atonement is outstanding even though the book is relatively short. It is very rich in content and insight. Murray also covers doctrines such as our union with Christ, adoption, and glorification which sometimes are omitted from discussions on the atonement. When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future? By the grace of God I have a good memory. Or is it that I can’t remember what I’ve forgotten? But if it is a particularly good quote, I copy it and put it in my sermon files on the pertinent subject or text. If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why? John Calvin, because of both his depth and breadth of theological writing. There is a wonderful simplicity in his commentaries. He is writing to the ordinary pastors of his day, so he “cuts to the chase” quickly. Calvin’s commentaries have a focus on the gospel and the doctrines of grace. On the other hand, you can soar with Calvin in The Institutes. What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching? C.J.’s emphasis on the centrality of the gospel has obviously affected every aspect of my pastoral ministry. That is especially true of my preaching. I grew up, spiritually, in an atmosphere where the gospel was often marginalized or overshadowed by other, more secondary doctrines such as spiritual gifts, discipleship, eschatology, or ecclesiology. While these are important biblical themes, they must never supplant the gospel in focus or priority in preaching. We must never assume the gospel and, as C.J. has emphasized, there should be a sighting of the gospel (the cross & resurrection) in every sermon. This emphasis has done more, I think, to improve my preaching than any other counsel or criticism. To be continued tomorrow in part 2...
Interviews | Pastoral ministry | Reading
Here’s an interesting thought experiment: how would one of our theological forebears—a sixteenth-century Reformer, say, or an eighteenth-century evangelist in the Great Awakening—assess modern evangelicalism? Let’s remove the inevitable confusion that sheer historical distance would create; how would we fare theologically? pastorally? Although it’s impossible to know which facet of the contemporary church would look strangest to our hypothetical historical observer, let me nominate one for consideration: the modern paradigm of “pastor as leader.” Tracing its exact roots is difficult, but we can generally surmise that modern business theory, mediated through the church growth movement, is the source of this paradigm—a paradigm that would be unintelligible to our time-travelling friend. It’s true, of course, that in a very real sense a pastor (along with his fellow elders) is the leader of his congregation. Scripture envisions elders who “rule well” (1 Timothy 5:17) and calls them to “exercise oversight” (1 Peter 5:2) and to employ diligently the gift of leadership (Romans 12:8). And so pastoral ministry inherently involves certain leadership functions: inspiring the church with a biblical vision, administrating the work of the church, training leaders who can help lead the work, creating structures that capture and embody the application of the truth that is taught from the pulpit. Pastors not only teach the truth, but also come alongside their flock to help people apply truth to their lives. We deviate from Scriptural precept and historical example, however, when a pastor’s role as “leader” displaces his primary role as a teacher—a shepherd who feeds God’s people with the truth of his Word. The relentless call to pastors in the New Testament is to the ministry of the Word, from the apostles’ retirement from mercy ministry (Acts 6:1–4) to Paul’s dying words to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:2).
I doubt anyone reading this would reject the content of the previous paragraph. My concern is rather with a false dichotomy that I fear is all too common: a dichotomy in the pastor’s mind between “teaching” and “leadership.” In the pulpit or behind the podium, we’re “teaching;” anywhere else, we’re “leading.” My modest goal in this post is to destroy this dichotomy. There is no more powerful or fundamental expression of a pastor’s leadership than the preaching of the Word. At its core, that’s what biblical leadership is: setting forth for our people a biblical vision of God and his purposes, and then calling them to give their lives to it and live in light of it (and outside the pulpit, modeling for them what it looks like). Every time we preach, we’re making room for God to lead his people, allowing his Word to set direction, to impart encouragement, to provide comfort, and to instill faith. Much more is happening on a Sunday morning than the mere transfer of information. This is our key leadership moment. When we think about “leading” our churches, we can spend hours with our teams strategizing and brainstorming initiatives and structures, identifying emphases, and planning special meetings—all important functions. But we can spend hours doing all this and leave the Sunday preaching diet entirely out of the equation—when it should be central to whatever direction you’re providing the church in a particular season. No form of leadership a pastor provides is more decisive than his proclamation of Scripture. Preaching both defines the priorities for your church and fuels the implementation of those priorities in the church. We must never sever the connection in our minds between leadership—providing direction for the church—and your preaching plan. It’s that preaching plan, and its execution, that provide the most powerful and biblically rooted leadership. And I’m not just speaking about the “leadership opportunity” on any given Sunday. The preaching diet over a period of time will be the most formative, shaping influence on a church. If all this is true, what then? If you’re a senior pastor, then nothing you do this week is more important than, nor should it supplant, your prayerful preparation for the preaching of God’s Word. If you serve on a pastoral team with a specialized sphere of ministry, you should be thinking about how the Sunday preaching can be applied in the life of the church in your sphere. If you’re a member of a church, there is no more important moment for you than when you sit under the teaching of God’s Word, hearing his voice, and receiving direction for your life as a part of your church. I believe that if we were to more consistently think and respond in such ways, we’d look a lot more familiar to any surprise visitor from the pages of church history.
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Jeff Purswell serves as the Dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD.
Leadership | Preaching
The topic of sleep is rarely far from the newsstands. Studies link sleep to everything from academic scores to obesity. A new line of sleep drinks features a shot of melatonin to help you fall asleep (think anti-energy drink). And of course the news is filled with reports of a major pop musician’s sleep problems and of his doctor, who is accused of inducing permanent and irreversible slumber. Sleep is rarely far from conversation. Probably because sleep is never far removed from our lives. Roughly speaking, most of us spend about 1/3 of our lives asleep (whereas mothers of small children spend about 1/8 of their lives asleep). The Bible says quite a bit on this topic, probably because sleep is both a good teacher and a revealer of the heart. The Bible says:
Sermons | Sleep