Posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 11:11 am
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This week I am working on getting a book read that I am reviewing for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. The work, called Fabricating Jesus, deals with many of the attacks of modern scholarship on the historical Jesus. It is a fairly technical book, and unless you are really into the historical Jesus movement and the modern work that has been done, it would likely not be a great read for you. On the other hand if you want to know about The Gospel of Peter, The Gospel of Mary, or the Secret Gospel of Mark, this is the book to get. It is well written by a scholar who understands the material and explains it clearly.
The second book I am reading this week is about preaching. I try to read at least four books on preaching every year, just to keep up with the current ideas, and to try to get a little better at what I do. This work has to do with the move from outline preaching to inductive preaching. The move has been pioneered by such people as Calvin Miller and Fred Craddock who argue that the sermon should move in a story like fashion rather than a lecture like fashion. I am an outline kind of person, but I try to make at least some of my work inductive and to use as much creativity as I can. While you may not be a preacher, you might be interested to read some works on preaching to help you make better presentations, lessons, lectures, etc. The book is called The Shape of Preaching, and it has been out only a few months.
I, of course, always have a few books that I am reading just for fun. This weekend I read the fourth and final book in the series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it. 
Tolle Lege,
DrSamLam
Posted on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
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Two more of my favorite books, both great, so you can’t go wrong. Take your pick.
On the favorites has to be two books that I have been in love with since I was a child. There is a sense in which these are the great American Novels from which all other American novels come. One is a wonderful epic that teaches the value of every human being. You all should read it at least once. You may have it around the house. Just be prepared for the use of the “N” word in one of the most significant and important political statements about racism.
This other book is also about racism, but from a different standpoint. This is as great a novel, in my view, as Huck Finn. I enjoy it again and again each time I read it. Again you may have it around the house, but if you don’t you should.
Take a chance on one of these books this week and let me know what you think.
Read on . . .
DSL
Posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 at 9:18 am
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A newsletter that I subscribe to (Church Leader’s Intelligence Report) recently had this statistic in its column: 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
I find that very hard to believe. First, I cannot believe that it is possible to get through life without reading a book; secondly I cannot imagine the incredible blessings that anyone who does not read regularly is missing. This led me to another question, if I were forced to name my five favorite books of all time what would they be? We will leave the Bible out, believing that it is beyond compare. Now you have some time to think, what would be your favorite five books? I will give you one today and perhaps one each day or so as we go along.
REGULAR BOOKS
I think that I should divide the books into categories (best fiction, best theology, etc.) but that would allow me more than five so I will stick with only the five books that I would like to study again and again. I will however add another part to the list, the five favorite “strange books” that I have loved. I’ll give you one of each today.
A book that helped me greatly in my thinking about the aims of Jesus, the background of the NT and understanding the Gospels will be one of my five favorites. It is that rarest of theological books that is both wonderfully informative and a great read. I should warn you that there are some significant points at which I disagree with the author, but this is a great book.
STRANGE BOOKS
This is a book that has really touched me in a particular way. It is the story of a writer who is called upon to cover the murder trial of a snake-handling preacher near Birmingham, Alabama. As he does background work on the story he becomes involved in the church and ends up taking up serpents himself. A strange book but wonderful in many ways.
There you have a couple of books that have challenged me and my thinking, now let me hear from you. What are those books you would want to take with you if you were stranded on an island (besides a book on shipbuilding of course)?
Read On, its summertime! 58% indeed . . .
Posted on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
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I thought that I would start a new sort of blog and try to write one each Monday. I will try to let you know what I am reading or plan to read this week. I will give you a chance to click on the book and get it from Amazon should you so choose, or maybe just ask a question or two about the books themselves.
On Sunday I finished a book on writing and delivering one’s own stories for sermons, classes or talks. It was a quick read and a helpful one as well.
I also hope to finish this week one of the most important books written in the area of Gospel studies in the last few years. It argues very carefully that the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses, or that eyewitnesses stood behind the writers (e.g., Peter’s experiences stand behind the Gospel of Mark). This is not only an important work but a really well written and fascinating one.
I will do my best to put up a couple of books each week that are making an impact on me as I prepare for next semester, preach through Matthew at Coral Ridge, and generally just read for pleasure. If you are reading anything great, let me know. You might also want to check out Christianity Today’s Books of the Year at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/june/8.36.html where there are some great treasures waiting to be read.
Tolle Lege
Posted on Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
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Dan Kimbal in his book They Like Jesus But Not the Church, posits the six most common perceptions of the Church among post-Christian 20- and 30-somethings. These are:
1) The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda.
2) The Church is judgmental and negative.
3) The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
4) The Church is homophobic.
5) The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.
6) The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.
While your first reaction may be one of defensiveness, it is important that church leaders think about these ideas and learn to cultivate friendships outside of the circle of our church. If we are to be like Jesus, whom these people think very fondly of, then we must learn to go among those that are not like us and teach them who Jesus really was. For more thoughts by Kimball see http://www.sermoncentral.com/article.asp?article=a-Dan_Kimball_03_05_07
Posted on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
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Bibliography for New Testament Introduction and Theology
NT Commentaries: The student should note that the inclusion of a particular commentary on this list does not imply that the work is evangelical. It only means that this is the best work available. When given the choice between and evangelical commentary and a non-evangelical one, the evangelical commentary was selected. For a more complete analysis the student should consult D.A. Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey Sixth Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker 2006).
Matthew Davies and Allison, 3 Vols. (ICC); Hagner 2 Vols. (Word)
Mark Lane (NICNT); France (TNTC); Edwards (Pillar)
Luke Marshall (NIGTC); Bock (ECNT); Fitzmeyer (ABC)
John Carson (Pillar); Brown (ABC)
Acts Bruce (NICNT)
Romans Moo (NICNT)
1 Cor. Fee (NICNT); Martin (WBC); Barrett
2 Cor. Harris (EBC); Thrall (ICC), 2 vols. (ICC); Harris (NIGTC)
Galatians McKnight (NIV Application); Longecker (WBC)
Ephesians Lincoln (WBC); O=Brien (NIGTC)
Phil O=Brien (NIGTC);
Col/Phil O=Brien (WBC); Harris (EGGNT); Wright (Tyndale); Dunn (NIGNT)
1+2 Thess. Wanamaker (NIGNT); Bruce (WBC)
Pastorals Knight (NIGTC); Mounce, W. (WBC)
Hebrews Lane, 2 Vols. (WBC); Ellingworth (NIGTC)
James Davids (NIGTC); Moo (Pillar)
1 Pet. Davids (NICNT)
2 Pet. Bauckham (WBC); Wait for Hafemann (NIGTC)
1-3 John Smalley (WBC); Wait for Carson (NIGTC)
Revelation Mounce, R. (NICNT); Osborne (ECNT) Beale (NIGTC)
ICC= International Critical Commentary, T&T Clark; NICNT= New International Commentary on the New Testament, Eerdmans; WBC= Word Biblical Commentary, Word; NIGNT= New International Greek Testament Commentary, Eerdmans; ABC= Anchor Bible Commentary, Doubleday; TNTC= Tyndale New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans; EGGNT= Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Eerdmans; ECNT= Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker.
Commentary Sets: There are a variety of sets available today, but the wise student will spend his or her money on the best commentary on each NT book, rather than buy one set which may be uneven in quality.
Other Texts:
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993. (I believe a new edition is out now)
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible ed. by Freedman
McKnight, Scot. Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988.
Osborne, G. 3 Crucial Questions About the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.
________. The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. 1st ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1991.
In addition all of the dictionaries offered by IVP (e.g., of Jesus and the Gospels; of Paul and his Letters, etc.) are very worth getting.
For best prices check (in addition to Amazon) CBD or dovebook.com
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