Charles

While intending to mention this volume before, I only recently picked it up from the stack of books to review and began to read different passages. Richard Pratt is a familiar name to us, being a teaching elder in the PCA. This is only one volume in the commentary series, some being more helpful than others, and it is worth knowing about and having available for preachers and teachers. While not being a distinctive exegetical commentary format, these commentaries are easy to follow, even without knowledge of the original languages.

I mention 1 and 2 Corinthians by Pratt here because Corinthians are important books for Christians to study today. The setting in which they were written has so many similarities to ours today. The issues that the apostle Paul addresses, the challenges he faces, including accusations and very relevant moral issues, make both 1 and 2 Corinthians a must for preaching and teaching today in making kingdom disciples.

While we are featuring the theme of the church in this year’s Equip to Disciple magazine, Corinthians speaks to so many issues. For example, Pratt begins with a quote from John Murray, former professor of theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. “The church of the apostolic days embraced all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues. There is no evidence in the New Testament for the diversification of distinct denominations, and anything tending to such diversification was condemned. The emphasis falls upon the oneness of the faith and the oneness of the fellowship of the saints.”

In the introduction, which sets the stage for what follows, Pratt writes, “Today the church has many problems. Some of them are small, and we can afford to take them in stride as we focus on other things. But the church also has some large problems which it needs to address directly and immediately. One of these is disunity.” He goes on to say, “In individual churches, we see strife over building programs and mission statements. People divide over minor theological issues, and even over personal incompatibility. Sometimes church politics cause factions within our ranks.” Pratt then says, “Paul opened his letter to the Corinthians by declaring, ‘Hello, we’ve got a big problem.'”

This is an important book. I begin by saying without any equivocation that it should be read by pastors, church leaders, and students. The chapters represent lectures given by six men, all well known pastor-theologians, at a 2006 conference sponsored by Desiring God. To quote one of the editors, Justin Taylor, “The speakers at that conference – and now the contributors to this volume – were David Wells, Voddie Baucham Jr., John Piper, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, and Mark Driscoll. Whether addressing culture, truth, joy, love, the gospel, or the church, each seeks to sharpen our thinking and motivate our ministry by considering how each of these intersects with the truth of Christ in our contemporary world.”

While each chapter is power packed, thought provoking, insightful, and challenging, I will select only three of the six to mention but not at the expense of demeaning the other three. Space is the factor. Read it all!

David Wells writes the first chapter. He is no stranger to us as the author of many books, with Above all Earthly Powr’s: Christ in a Postmodern World as his latest. His emphasis reminds the reader that our theology must be missional because it must communicate with truth to the culture in which we find ourselves. Each of the writers is clear on the challenge we face to contextualize our theology, as well as the constant reminder that to be contextual one must have a strong grasp of biblical theology and a knowledge of the audience we intend to reach.

Wells focuses on two major themes that are definitely impacting our culture. The first theme is what he calls “the emergence of the postmodern ethos” and the second is the total diversity of western culture. How those two things express themselves fall out along the following lines: the emphasis is on spirituality, and that is used antithetically to religion. Growing out of that emphasis is what he suggests is the collapse of reality into “self.” His conclusion is that the way to respond to those two trends is to focus on the supremacy of Christ and biblical reality. Wells does not pull any punches. For example he says, “Evangelicalism,now much absorbed by the arts and tricks of marketing, is simply not very serious anymore.” Growing out of that light approach to truth and reality, “therapeutic spiritualities that are non-religious begin to look quite like an evangelical spirituality that is therapeutic and non-doctrinal.”

Wells reminds us that we are not the first audience to face these kinds of challenges; however, he makes it clear that we do not face them by caving in to them. Yes, learn what we can from them but do not fall into their postmodern traps lest we be tempted to pursue spirituality or religion or truth or reality within ourselves instead of the Sovereign Lord. This is evidence by the 56% of Americans who claim to look within themselves rather than to God when crisis arises. What we end up with, says Wells, can best be described as a pagan approach to spirituality. Paganism, Gnosticism, and anti-religious attitudes can only be addressed with the truth of the Gospel.

Keller focuses his lecture on how to get the gospel across in a postmodern world, which means we must be willing to rethink how we do ministry in a time of significant culture change. As he presents his six ways in which he thinks the church has to change, he asks,”if we might be insulting God with our small ambitions and low expectations for evangelism today.”

Keller uses Mark 9 as his point of departure. The disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demons, and Jesus responded that they could be driven out only by prayer. “Ordinary methods did not work for ‘this kind.'” Like the other contributors, Keller challenges the church to realize that we are now on a mission field which requires us to be willing to do ministry differently. He lays out what he believes the church must do to accomplish its missions. For example, “Evangelism in a postmodern context must be much more thorough, progressive, and process-oriented.”

Using Jonah as an example, Keller says, “His people are neither to withdraw from [pagan culture] nor assimilate to it. They are to remain distinct but engaged.”

You will appreciate each chapter in special ways. I appreciated the chapter by Mark Driscoll, whose life and ministry has reflected an interesting journey from beginning with the emerging philosophy to a strong biblical message today. However, one of my favorite parts of the book was the interview with the authors and John Taylor. As one statement relates to Mark Driscoll, David Wells said, “Actually it was funny, as I was listening to Mark, because he sounded so far out, so testing the boundaries, pushing the envelope. Now when I say those very same things, I sound staid and tame. It’s not right-I want to be hip, man!” In reference to how our world has changed and what we must do, Wells said, “…where people in the pews understand less and less or bring less and less of a Christian worldview with them-it becomes more and more imperative for preachers to make sure that the truth they are preaching intersects with what is going on inside people’s minds.”

In that same question and answer, Keller pointed out in response to several questions that the emerging church represents a kind of post-conservatism, which is moving away from evangelical orthodoxy and has much in common with post-liberals. He says clearly that “the Emergent church is moving away from orthodoxy.”

Need more be said to convince you of the importance of this book and your reading and studying it? It deals with issues that are challenging biblical reality; issues that are characteristic of the postmodern paradigm the emerging church movement has seemingly embraced at the expense of biblical foundations and authority.

This book was written by David S. Dockery, a minister, theologian, and educator. He is the president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. We have mentioned a number of books Dockery either wrote, edited, or coauthored; books such as Foundations for Biblical Interpretation, The Challenge of Postmodernism, and Christian Scripture: An Evangelical Perspective.

I previously mentioned something of the content of Renewing Minds: Serving Church and Society Through Higher Education. Below are comments others have made regarding this book that underscore its importance at this time.

“This is in every way a landmark book.” J.I. Packer

“David Dockery is a rare combination of serious scholar, experienced academic leader, and Christian intellectual. This is an important and timely book that will challenge Christians to recover an authentically Christian vision of education, intellect, and learning.” Al Mohler

“The extensive bibliography on integrating faith and scholarship is itself worth the price of the book.” Cary Zylstra

“There’s no greater need for the church than to equip the coming generation of Christians to engage the postmodern culture… Dockery’s new book challenges the academy to make biblical worldview the foundation for not only renewing minds but also developing character.” Charles Colson

The book is solidly biblical and theologically challenging. Its primary thrust is to challenge, equip, and prepare this generation not to isolate itself from the “secular” postmodern world; not to assimilate those teachings into the Christian agenda, but to engage this world with a distinctively Christian worldview. Religion is not a peripheral matter. It is at the heart not only of spirituality but of the university as well.

Dockery contends, contrary to much thinking, religion has a major role to perform in the area of learning. We who are Reformed Calvinistic Christians understand that because man is a religious being, each bearing God’s image and likeness, religion describes who we are.

The title of the book aptly describes its content because it focuses on “the distinctive role of Christian higher education, both in the kingdom of God and in the world of the academy.” Not only will you be challenged, inspired, and blessed by reading Dockery’s thoughts on this topic, you will have a great bibliography at your finger tips on the related topics. Each chapter is rich with resources for further study.

I particularly appreciated Dockery’s world and lifeview. The thought reflected throughout the book sounds quite familiar to one who focuses on the kingdom of God in a Kuyperian way. He says, “There is no sphere of humanity to which Jesus Christ is irrelevant; and certainly that includes the academic world.” Another thing that I appreciate from this fellow kingdom disciple is that he understands the dangers of dualism, which dichotomizes everything under the sun and thus fails to see the unity of truth in all of life. He also understands that learning to think Christianly impacts every area of life, including the way we learn and teach.

Dockery demonstrates his understanding of philosophy, theology, and culture in general. He says, “higher education in America has shifted from a foundational advantage point, where the knowledge of God provides the context for all forms of human knowledge, to one that is hostile to Christianity.” Dockery makes it clear in good biblical fashion that the Christian mind always seeks to apply its know ledge and learning to doing what God commands and calls us to do.

Space does not permit explanation, but the chapter “Establishing a Grace-Filled Academic Community” is important reading. It will challenge you and bless you as well. And, is he ever right when he says, “Christians are often too focused on the wrong intramural squabbles to have any impact in the society or culture in which we live.” This is followed up by, “It seems to me that the ultimate danger to the Christian message for the time in which we live lies not in the nuances of our differences but in the rising tides of liberalism, paganism, secularism, and postmodernism that threaten to swamp the Christian message in cultural accommodation.”

Finally the chapter ” Developing a Theology for Christian Higher Education ” is a must read by those in the church and kingdom. This of course requires as one has said, faithfulness to Scripture and an understanding of the unfaithfulness of the Christian community to Scripture. We need to live in the world with a lifestyle that glorifies God, says Dockery.

Need more be said about this book?

What an appropriate title for a book dealing with the life of the late Francis Schaeffer. One of the things that has always impressed me about this man of God was the manner in which he embraced, understood, and communicated the Christian faith. He modeled something that most of us have to struggle to emulate – speaking, preaching, and teaching the truth in love. Bryan Follis does an excellent job of casting Schaeffer in this light.

As I read this book, I thought of the way Schaeffer has impacted my life. I recalled our brief conversations, remembered his role in the life and formation of the Presbyterian Church in America, and thought of his later influencing his own denomination, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, to join the PCA in order to set forth the truth before the watching world more effectively.

Unequivocally, this book is a must read for every pastor, student, and church leader. It can also appeal to the person in the pew as well.

In this multifaceted 200 page book, Follis does a magnificent job of capturing Francis Schaeffer. While it focuses on the apologetics of Schaeffer, it is also a biography. Obviously, because it is about Schaeffer and his apologetics, it is also about his biblically Reformed theology and how he applied it to one of the most unique ministries of the twentieth century.

In reading this book, I further remembered how Schaeffer impacted my life in a significant way as I have focused on presenting God’s truth in a culturally relevant and sensitive manner. In so many ways, he knew how to follow the example of the apostle Paul in being all things to all men for the sake of winning some to Christ, without compromising the message in the process. He knew how to converse with a rationalist, and he knew how to deal with skeptics. He knew how to care for those in the throes of struggling with truth or attempting to deny the existence of absolute truth.

I have stated many times prior to reading this book that Schaeffer demonstrated not only a love for God and His truth but also the ability to communicate that truth in a culturally time sensitive manner. Follis says in response to statements such as “apologetics has no meaningful role in today’s world,” that our quick response is “yes, it does.” If you study Schaeffer’s ministry and methodology in context, you will realize that though we have moved to a postmodern world and Schaeffer conversed with those steeped in the Enlightenment rationalistic model, the manner in which he did so effectively formed a bridge for us in the postmodern era where logic and the rational are not part of that paradigm. With Follis I say yes, Schaeffer’s apologetic methods still have much relevance today. Among Schaeffer’s many gifts was the ability to help someone think through the implications of their beliefs or disbeliefs.

Schaeffer was unapologetically committed to the inerrancy of Scripture and to the existence of truth, but not truth in some postmodern pluralistic form. He was famous for talking about “true truth” in reference to propositional biblical truth. Follis also points out that Schaeffer was focusing more on dealing with existentialism than postmodernism. However, he was a bridge person whose method of ministry can be of great value to those who are ministering today to postmoderns and who are carefully listening and responding in a timely manner to their concerns without embracing “the emerging church” paradigm.

In describing Schaeffer’s apologetic method of setting forth the truth in love and taking a strong blend of rational and relational emphasis, Follis clearly shows how Schaeffer’s example of building relationships and listening carefully to his audience in order to channel into their lives the truth of the Gospel will continue to serve us well in ministry today. As he dealt with unchurched, disillusioned young people and those seeking answers, he was willing to listen but was always looking for an appropriate moment to demonstrate the truth of the Gospel in a way the listener could understand. In that connection, one characteristic of Schaeffer’s ministry is the reminder that we must present the truth clearly, in an understandable manner but with the awareness that it could be extremely painful for a person who is being challenged and called to faith and repentance. That’s where the truth in love comes to the surface. As Follis stated, “His kind of love and compassion spoke volumes to people.”

On several occasions, I have used with seminary students Schaeffer’s life and ministry as a model for us to consider for ourselves because it was so similar to the apostle Paul’s approach in places like Athens in Acts 17.

I am indebted to Bryan Follis for this clear, challenging, and honest approach to Francis Schaeffer and trust you will be as well. I am so glad God allowed him to be a part of the Presbyterian Church in America, even as he served the universal church in marvelous ways. In reading Truth with Love, I hope you will be encouraged to read and reread Schaeffer’s writings. They are rich, thought provoking, and valuable in helping us to become more able to give a reason for our hope in Christ.