Year 5

Richard Baxter’s *The Reformed Pastor* is a book the young pastor should read to know what is in store for him in the future. It is a book the old pastor should read to remind himself that he is a pastor, not a preacher, not an author, not an activist or even a leader of men. He is a pastor, and by God’s grace, he will be a good one.

We all want our church to grow. Some say that the best way to grow the church is to make the church attractive to seekers. Have sermons that gives answers to their problems, create a powerful worship experience, and do everything you can to pull people in. Then someone comes along and asks the question, “What if we got it all wrong? What if the key to growing the church is the Gospel? What does that mean?”

Dale Ralph Davis is a magician. By that I mean reading his books is a magical experience. He surprises, he delights, he makes the familiar Bible stories extraordinarily special. Anyone can be a stage magician, you just need hard work and a magician willing to share the secret to the tricks. And in today’s book, that is what Davis did for biblical interpretation.

This diary of Pastor Case Parker is a work of fiction. Thank goodness for that, because if this diary revealed the thoughts of an actual pastor, it would be a disaster for the church, a disaster that the church might never recover from, or would it? Would it be such a bad thing?

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is one character who is a selfish, conniving liar, but we still cheer for him. His name is Loki. In the Bible, we also have a selfish, conniving, liar whom we also cheer for. His name is Jacob.

It’s not that I forgot my anniversary, it’s that I didn’t want to appear empty handed. And that is why I waited until I published a book review episode before I record this annual anniversary episode. But I couldn’t remember which year it was. Fourth year or fifth year? I had to look it up.

“Is Francis Schaeffer a rationalist?” is a question that should only interest people who already know him. But, even though I don’t really know the man or his work, I found a defence of his apologetics helpful in thinking more precisely and more lovingly. If only all of us were as passionate for God, for people and for the truth.

Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends edited by Kevin Vanhoozer, Charles Anderson and Michael Sleasman. Book Review.Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth by Austin M. Freeman. Book Review.Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Book Review.Silence by Shusaku Endo. Book Review.Silence and Beauty by Makoto Fujimura. Book Review.

After many long years, I finally ticked one book off my great books list. Instead of reading excerpts and quotes and never being sure whether they were taken out of context or not, I have read for myself John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.

In a list of books to read before I die, Augustine’s The City of God would rank high on that list. I tried reading it 20 years ago, but I didn’t manage to get very far. Over the years, I considered taking it up again, but... 1,000 pages! I needed a big reason to start this big book. And this year, I found that reason.