I received two books in the mail yesterday and have spent some time with each of them, not enough to give a detailed review, but enough to give some insight. The first and the one I’m most excited about is the brand new volume on Galatians and Ephesians from the Reformation Commentary on Scripture. This is a new series from IVP and it promises to be a great addition to any pastor’s Library. The crux of the project is bringing the scriptural insights of the reformers into one consolidated collection for the benefit of pastors and theologians alike.
This series is edited by Timothy George. The work is very approachable and in many ways devotional, but I anticipate it to have great value in sermon preparation. This particular volume is broken down verse by verse with bold print subject headings introducing each contribution by a reformer. IVP has this to says that it’s goal is “to make resources of the past available for the renewal of the church in the present and the future.”
This book is set to release on October 9th and Amazon has it on sale pre-release for $31.50. If you are planning a series on Galatians or Ephesians soon or if you are a lover of the reformation, this would be a valuable investment for your library. I’d easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars, but keep in mind, this is not your typical commentary. Very beneficial, but different.
The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry
I must admit, the cover art was an immediate turn off for me. I’m not sure how a book titled, The Theological Turn in Youth Mini
stry, is done any justice by a cover with what appear to be angry teenagers. Nevertheless, it’s not all bad. This is a book on practical theology. While I applaud the authors’ intent to emphasize the role of theology in student ministry, I am very concerned with the way that they get there. In the introduction, one of the authors, Kendra Creasy Dean, writes this:
Instinctively we know that ministry precedes theology, that (as Andy points out in chapter two) the God we meet in the pages of Scripture is not a theologian, but a minister. Everything we know about who God is and what God does emerges from God’s extravagant, reckless love for and ministrations to humanity.
Though that may be the instinct of Ms. Dean, I’m pretty sure her instincts are incorrect. The way that we perceive of and know God influences everything we do, especially the way that we minister to others. That being said, I believe this book gets off on the wrong foot, and this foundation that drives much of the book certainly creates some cracks in its superstructure.
Nevertheless, it is not all bad. I look back on my days of student ministry and a degree in Christian Education that gave significant influence to student ministry and realize that a book like this would have been a welcomed changed to much of what I found that was rooted in practice and not theology. I question some of the conclusions and foundations of this book, but I applaud the fact that theology is getting a renewed emphasis in ministry to students and believe that this would serve as a great text book for those entering student ministry or who are simply trying to better understand how to minister to those between childhood and adulthood.
I suppose if I were giving it a star rating, this one would be about 2.5 out of 5.
