Eight books for 2008

2008 was an excellent year for books. I read in Reading, i read in Lacey Green, i read on the beach and in the air. I've already written about some of the books that i'm excited about reading next year, but here, in no particular order, are my top eight for 2008:

You Can Change: Tim Chester

This is simply excellent. Everything you could want from a book on discipleship. Grace saturated and big God filled, i loved reading this book. I loved doing this book, which probably speaks volumes more.

Death By Love: Mark Driscoll

A Pastor's heart bleeds deeply from every page of this book. Driscoll as usual pulls no punches, but there's no room for his usual humour in this book. His best yet, dripping in cross saturated wisdom. Lovely artwork too.

Communion with the Triune God: John Owen

It takes something to write difficult books that people are still reading four hundred years later. I've never read another book that talks about how to individually commune with each member of the Godhead. I'm not sure books like that are written anymore. Which is a great shame. Go and get it!

Memoirs Of An Ordinary Pastor: Don Carson

I reviewed it here. This might be the most important book Carson has ever written. It tells the story of his father, a Pastor in french Canada, who laboured all his life with little visible fruit. It's inspiring, i cried when i got to the end.

Francis Shaeffer, An authentic life: Colin Duriez

I read 'The God Who Is There' on my Relay year, and during this year read Shaeffer's books on Genesis and Joshua, but to read a biography was illuminating and inspiring. Fascinating how a hardline Presbyterian became the man of L'Abri. I loved this book.

The Reason for God: Tim Keller

Will 2008 be remembered as the year of Tim Keller? Maybe in my head. This is a book that anyone can read, which is of course it's great strength, but not at the cost of being too simplistic. It might be the most important book of 2008.

Why We're Not Emergent (by two guys who probably should be): Kluck and DeYoung

I reviewed it here. This is simply an excellent introduction to the beliefs and problems of the Emergent Church, for people (like me) who'll probably never read Carson's book on it. It's funny, engaging, so well designed. Probably the only book i've bought from an actual 'Christian' 'Bookshop' all year. Well worth it too. 

Through The gates Of Splendour: Elisabeth Elliot

The story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCulley and Pete Fleming, who were speared to death trying to reach the Auca Indians with the Gospel. if you don't know this story you really, really, really should, and this will be an excellent introduction to it. If you do know this story, you'll probably have already read this, and might get a bit emotional just reading their names.

In the biography category it's probably also worth mentioning Aitken's book on John Newton. Rachel and I both thought he could have done with a more severe editor, but it's a great story of an important, slightly forgotten man in Evangelicalism. I'm also about halfway though the latest NSBT 'Father, Son and Spirit' : The Trinity in John's Gospel. This is just brilliant, and would have made the list had i already finished it. 

Eight Albums for 2008

I probably bought less music in 2008 than i have done since 2002. To quote Erasmus 'when i get a little money i buy books, any left over goes on food and clothes'. 2008 was also the year that i started to enjoy southern Gospel and marching band music (yeh...marching band music!) All in their contexts anyway. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here's my favourite LPs of 2008.

Ghosts: Laura Marling

It's so lovely and English. Any record that ends with birds singing gets my vote. Melancholic brilliance from Eversley's finest.

Best Track: Ghosts

Narrow Stairs: Death Cab For Cutie

I love Death Cab in a very low key way. I couldn't listen to them every day, but when i'm in the mood they blow me away. Again melancholic, again low fi, again brilliant.

Best Track: I will possess your heart

Cotton Teeth: The Snake, The Cross, The Crown

This is...country style rock? Can i make up genres? Well i just did! The record of the first six months. I thought with a name like 'the snake the cross the crown' these guys would almost definitely be Christians, but apparently it's a reference to the Alfa Romeo badge rather than John 3.

Best Track: The Great American Smokeout

Viva la Vida/Death and all his Friends: Coldplay

I'd never bought, much less liked, a Coldplay record before, but this is excellent. Random, but excellent.

Best Track: Viva la Vida

Day & Age: The Killers

Me and Rachel bought this for my mum, and then listened to it. A lot. 'they don't shrink wrap them in America, isn't that weird?'

Best Track: Human

Only By the Night: Kings of Leon

I never used to get on with the Kings of Leon, because of their southern mangling of the English language, the very reason that i now like them. Some excellent songs here, which make up for the ones that sound like The Calling

Best Track: Sex on Fire or Notion

Coco: Colbie Caillet

It was probably released in 2007, and she's really nothing like 'the female Jack Johnson' but it's fun 'going to the beach with Rachel' music. So it's in!

Best Track: Bubbly

Soundtrack: Juno

Isn't Juno a great film? Yes it is. I've never really been into film soundtracks before, but this is class. Sweet, silly, immature and clever. It's perfect.

Best Track: Anyone else but you: The Moldy Peaches

Memoirs Of An Ordinary Pastor

I guess there are a few generally observed rules when it comes to writing a biography. The subject has to be better known that the author, or at least, well known at large. The subject is normally someone who's achieved something that the world recognises. A politician, solider, actor or footballer for example. Rarely do we see a biography about someone who was hardly heard of outside his own locale. I guess another rule of book writing is that Ed will never read a book in two sittings.



Don Carson has broken, nay smashed, all these rules with this biography of his father. I think John Piper sums it up perfectly when he says 'how can the application of a Bible saturated mind (Dons), to a Bible saturated life (Toms) produce an even more helpful story to encourage pastors? Let the mind be carried on a river of love because the life is his Father's. Then add a kind of narrative creativity. That's how'. And he's spot on. Don's love for his father is evident throughout this book, his respect for his ministry and his gratitude for his life are what knit this book together.

So who was Tom Carson? As the book tells us, an 'ordinary pastor' who spent his life working and ministering in churches often smaller than 100 in Quebec. On of the many things i never knew that this book told me was how difficult a place Quebec is, and has remained for the last fifty tears. In the forties, when Tom started Quebec was dominated by Catholicism, in the early nineties when Tom died Quebec had become one of the most secular places in Canada. A swift, polarising change that never really leveled out into large scale church attendance. Both reasons keeping people away from Tom's faithful Reformed church. Even the reason that most people have heard of Tom Carson barely made waves outside his own region in his own time. Have you ever heard of T.T Shields? Or recount the story behind the foundation of Central Baptist Seminary? Exactly!

So why should you read this book? Why did i love this book. Firstly, but not most importantly, the mixture of journals and narrative make a very interesting read and show what made Tom Carson. His humility. His poverty of spirit runs through the book like water. And it's humbling. But why else? Because there are no ordinary pastors. Tom Carson was faithful until his dying day. Faithful as a husband, father, preacher, councillor and example. Faithful to His Lord and Savior until his last breath. No one's ever heard of him outside his immediate sphere of influence, and apart from this book, it's doubtful that they ever would have done. But what a crown, what a welcome awaited him after his death.

When i finished the final chapter i closed the book, and, with tears in my eyes (i don't think it's possible to read the closing paragraphs without tears in your eyes) pleaded, begged with God that i might have a life, a ministry, a heart like Tom Carson.

And thats why you should read this book.

The Reason for God

Its not often you feel like you know a book before you read it, but given the amount of writing this book had inspired i came to it feeling that way, and full of hope for it's content. I'd never read a Tim Keller book before (obviously, since this is his first one!) and so starting a journey with a new author was also pretty exciting.

So does this book live up to its expectation? Yes! it was the cover that first grabbed me, especially the black detail on the inside and the black and silver letters on the front. Understated sophistication. Then, the fact that the book was split up into two halves with an intermission half way though like an old tape album pleased me very much as well. I was already friends with this book before we started!



No one who listened to Dr Keller at the 2006 DG Conference could doubt whether he knew his patch. Planting a faithful, expositional church in the heart of New York City can't be an easy thing to do but he has shown that through knowing your people and trusting the Word, the Lord can do mighty work though you. Keller demonstrates his knowledge of the New York, and wider, scene in the introduction where he sets the scene of both his church, and how this book was born. I don't often bother with introductions, but i'm glad i did with this one.

The first half of the book is entitled 'The Leap of Doubt' and deals with the seven most popular objections the people have to Biblical faith. There were two things that i really enjoyed about this part of the book. Firstly that Keller writes with such and knowledge and love for those who are asking these questions. This is no dry academic apologetic study...this is a pastors heart on pages. The second was how differently to me Keller answers some of the questions that he raises. Straight from chapter one 'there can't be one true religion' he concludes, having deconstructed the major anti exclusive arguments by appealing to all the good done in the name of Christ by Christians, rather than further philosophising about the uniqueness of Christ. This approach really challenged me,

The second part, 'The Reasons for Faith' then deals with explanations of key areas of Biblical faith, such as 'The problem of Sin', The Clues for God' and 'The (true) story of the cross'. I think it's here that Keller really demonstrates his gift as an author, theologian and apologist. I don't know how anyone can write chapters so drenched in Edwards and Lewis and yet make them so popular level, so readable at the same time! 'hats off tim!' My heart was warmed by every chapter, especially fourteen 'the dance of God'. Brilliant.

This book is written for 'skeptics and those that love them'. Well i love them, now i'm going to pass this one with prayers and much confidence. I can not say enough positive things about this book. You really should but it.

Now!

2007 in review

This is my 185th post of 2007. Not as many as i probably would have liked at the start of the year, but still not a bad effort. It's been a good year, an interestin year, a hard year, and a year where i feel like i've grown a great deal in the Lord, and (much less importantly) enjoyed blogging very much. Here are som highlights:

January
The first month of the year was dominated by two things: Relay 2 and a brief overview of Operation Auca (1,2,3,4), something that stirs me greatly whenever i think about it. Relay 2 was exellent, probably my favourite Relay Conference, although it's hard to have a favourite because they're all so different.

February
I blogged more this month than any other (26 times) which is pretty good going given that Surrey Mission week was going on at the time. I think this month i started trying to blog every day, which lasted for about a week. I might try and get back to that soon though. Highlights included reading Ecclesiastes and watching little miss sunshine for the first time, feeling foolish, and discovering Richard Sibbes (thanks Bish!)

March
March followed February as is it's wont, and i travelled eastwards to Cantabury to help out with the mission week at UKC. It was pretty much the warmest mission i'd ever done, flyering in t-shirts and stopping to eat ice cream really doesn't seem right! I read some Proverbs and heard Matt Benton

April
April means one thing...Word Alive, and this time Word Alive meant one thing that would define the blogosphere for months to come. others have called it the 'atonement wars' so i'll steal boldly from them. This years word alive was a joy to be at as a relay, and as someone who loves sound doctrine. It was a priveldge to be involved with UCCF when something as momentous as this took place. I thought about the personal saving neccesity of propitiation and reflected upon division and marching bands.

May
In May my 365 came to end. it was a good year. Thought and wrote about the Holy Spirit. Sitting in Bish's front room listening to Carolina reading hers about and then reading mine out is a memory that will last with me a long time. If you're graduating this summer you need a really really good reason not to do Relay. I made my coffee and Bible blog debut delighting in the atonement and read about Calvin.

June
I always knew writing about Nooma would be provocative, but i never thought it would become my most commented on post. I remember trying to close down discussion and then leaving it when it got to 20, and then being amazed when a checked a few months later to see there were 31 comments on there, ranging from the supportive to the frankly bonkers. I stand by every word i said... the time in between has only shored up my convictions about the suicidal danger of the emergent movement. In other news, it was Relay 3, which was lovely and our last team days where we learnt about prayer.

July
July was a slow one. I went to Malta with my family, wrote about statements of faith, then went to Together on a Mission and Bulgaria...and that was about it! Oh hang on, and i met Rachel, which was very good!

August
I recovered from being in Bulgaria, and as a result, sadly not much happened here. And i mean sadly because blogging helps me think, and i needed to think a lot then... I wondered why we do mission and misunderstood Judges. And i moved back to Reading.

September
Another slow month as i started work and talked on Skype leaving me little time for meaningful blogging. Again, a pity. I went to TFA which was great, and spoke on Psalm 16 in church.

October
Reformation day, being delighted that i could own and read the Bible in a language i could understand. I still view the Reformation as hugely important and significant which i guess puts me in the minority. England failed at sport, but it was ok. To be fair, it's hard to view the rugby world cup as a failure anyway. I thought about white men and sunday school.

November
Another lean month. Although in my defence i was in North Carolina for the middle part of it. What a great place that is, i'm back there two weeks today. Anyway... I preached on John and Colossians, thought about manners and my iPod.

December
As the year ended i thought about sin and Obadiah and Mark Driscoll joined Facebook.

So that was 2007. I'm off to Cornwall for new years tomorrow so thats probably that until next week. Happy new year...