To engender a community of faith and loving service
for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel to all peoples.
(Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 10:3-6; Prov. 11:30)
Recommended Books
In addition to a steady diet of Scripture reading we would like to recommend the following books for your Spiritual growth and encouragement:
- Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper (you can purchase Piper's works at Desiring God Ministries)
- Desiring God by John Piper
Discipleship:
- Don Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and Spiritual Disciplines for the Church.
These two books address fundamental spiritual disciplines in the context of the life of the individual believer as well as in the overall life of the local church. These books are vital to aid the new believer to begin to grow towards spiritual maturity.
Classics:
- John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress.
A classic of Christian fiction, this work was written in the 17th century while the author was in jail for preaching without a license from the English Crown. This work takes the reader on the journey of salvation from the first convictions of sin to the final destination of paradise, with all the trials and victories, setbacks and recoveries that mark the believer's life. It is still available in its original form or in modern English versions.
- Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections.
The first "psychology of religion," this book was written by the greatest mind of the Colonial Period of American history. In this work the author explores the various emotions and responses to the gospel that a person might have, examining them in light of Scripture to aid the reader in determining whether he/she has had a genuine, saving encounter with Christ or just a spurious religious experience.
- Jonathan Edwards, Narrative of Surprising Conversions.
In this small book the author defends the legitimacy of the religious conversions of the First Great Awakening that occurred under his ministry in Connecticut.
- Saint Augustine, Confessions.
No list of classics of Christian literature would be complete without this seminal work from the great bishop of North Africa, Augustine of Hippo. In this book, written in the late 4th or early 5th century, Augustine details his own unworthiness for salvation as he confesses his sinfulness and acknowledges the freeness of God's grace. It is written in the form of a prayer to God and preserves for us a model of careful self-examination.
Introductions to Theology:
- John Dagg, A Manual of Theology and A Manual of Church Order.
These works were written by one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Convention. They are sometimes published as separate volumes and sometimes in a singe volume binding. For the layman who is looking for a good introduction to the Baptist understanding of Christian doctrine and church order, these are excellent reads. Dagg was a pastor, first and foremost. He wrote for the average person and his works are very readable. They have the further advantage of not involving the beginner in some of the more esoteric contemporary debates in theology.
- James M. Boice, Foundations of the Christian Religion.
This book was originally published as four paperback volumes. It is written with the college student in mind. The chapters are short and very readable. In a world of tough, dry tomes of theology this one is like a tender, juicy steak. Written by one of the greatest minds of the Presbyterian Church in America of the 20th century, this book addresses key issues that faced evangelicals in the 1960s and 70s.
- Millard Erickson, Introduction to Christian Doctrine, 2nd edition.
This book is a very readable introduction to Christian thought written by one of the foremost Baptist and evangelical leaders of our time. It is based on Erickson's much larger work that was designed for seminary students, and each chapter contains study questions and summaries that are very useful for reflection and review.
- Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.
This is a work for the serious student who wants to master theology. It is a large volume, well written and readable. It is used by evangelical seminaries and divinity schools throughout the nation. For those who want to go deep in the study of theology, this is a good place to begin that journey.
- John M. Frame. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God and The Doctrine of God.
These two volumes are part of an ongoing larger set in which the author explores key doctrines first from the perspective of their place in the biblical canon before moving on to consider their role in systematic theology. This is a very fruitful venture into a new paradigm for doing theology, and the advanced reader will find these books very useful and insightful.
Introductions to Biblical Studies:
- Eric Mitchell and Archie England, Old Testament Survey, 2nd edition.
This volume is set to be released in August of 2007. Hopefully it will fill the need for a solid, readable OT introduction that is both thorough and concise.
- Paul House, Old Testament Survey.
A concise introduction to the Old Testament, this book is excellent for the beginner student who wishes to get a handle on life and customs of the OT period and be able to set OT passages in their historical contexts.
- D. A. Carson and Douglas Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament.
This is perhaps the best NT introduction on the market today. It deals in a readable manner with the current debates in NT scholarship from an evangelical perspective and includes a very useful chapter on the formation of the NT canon. Each book of the NT is surveyed and interpretive issues are addressed.
- Duane Garrett. Rethinking Genesis.
Building on the work of a new generation of scholarship, Garrett has produced an excellent rebuttal to the 19th century position that the Pentateuch was a scrap work collection of Israelite religious sources pieced together during and after the Babylonian Exile. For the student who is interested in current debate about the origins and meaning of the book of Genesis this is an excellent and readable book.
- Robert Stein. Playing by the Rules.
This book is a very readable treatment of the issues surrounding biblical interpretation written by one of the greatest NT scholars of our time. Stein performs a great service to students of the Bible by showing them how to find the author's intended meaning in the text and then how to draw appropriate applications from the text. Stein has taken E. D. Hirsch's principles set forth in Validity in Interpretation, applied them to biblical studies and made them understandable and accessible to the average person.
- F. F. Bruce. The Hard Sayings of Jesus.
Bruce was one of the great NT writers from England during the 20th century, and this book takes on the hard sayings of Jesus, those sayings that leave us more than just a little uncomfortable, and sets them in their context and explores their meaning and relevance to life in the modern world without spiritualizing them.
Baptist Life and Thought:
- William L. Lumpkin. Baptist Confessions of Faith.
This is an essential collection of Anabaptist and Baptist doctrinal statements from the16th century to mid 20th century. It is indispensable for the person who seeks to under Baptist life and thought in its historical development.
- Thomas J. Nettles and L Russ Bush. Baptists and the Bible, revised and expanded.
For the person who wants to understand the relationship between Baptists and their Bible from a historical perspective, Nettles and Bush have provided a detailed analysis that examines early Baptists and their commitment to the inspiration and inerrancy of the biblical text as well as later departures from that position and how it influenced the call for a conservative resurgence in the SBC.
- Jerry Sutton, The Baptist Reformation.
This work chronicles the resurgence of conservative theology in the SBC that began in 1979. The author shows that the struggle was not primarily over power and control of a powerful denomination but at heart was about theology and the understanding of Baptist identity.
- Timothy George and David S. Dockery, ed. Theologians of the Baptist Tradition.
This book, edited by Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School and David Dockery of Union University, explores the lives and thoughts of key shapers of Baptist thought from the early 17th century down to the close of the 20th century. It is an excellent study of the lives and influence of people who helped shape Baptist life today.
- R. Stanton Norman. More than Just a Name: Preserving our Baptist Identity and The Baptist Way: Distinctives of a Baptist Church.
These two books belong together because the second really is a continuation of the first. The first is Norman's doctoral dissertation and is an excellent and very readable treatment of the two competing views of Baptist identity that exists within the SBC today. One view he calls the "Reformation" view because it seeks to root Baptist identity in the NT idea of the gathered church. The other view he calls the "Enlightenment" view because it seeks to root Baptist identity in a view of religious volunteerism grounded in Enlightenment philosophy. He discusses and debates the two views before concluding as to which view is truer to Baptist history and has the greater chance of prevailing. The second book builds on the first and explores key issues of Baptist church life (ecclesiology) from the "Reformation" view point. That Norman uses the term "Reformation" should not be taken by the reader to mean he favors a Calvinistic view. He uses the term generically to refer to the Reformation period's move back to the Bible and away from scholastic theology.