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Theology for real life

Theology, worship, and rabbit trails

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Sunrise

Not too long ago, I started working my way through John Frame’s Systematic Theology with a group of folks from my church. And by not too long ago, I mean about a week ago. This book is an absolute beast, and not just because you can use as a home security system. It’s a big book, a meaty book. I’m only about 100 pages in and there isn’t a single page where I haven’t underlined, marked, or commented on at least one entire paragraph.

(Seriously, outside of my Bible, this stands to be one of the most marked-up books I own.)

Part of this is because I love how Frame takes readers through his thought process. One paragraph, commenting on Isaiah 25 and angels and demons in the context of the universal covenant1 vs the Edenic covenant, was fascinating to me, particularly because of where he ended. After working through a couple of options, he comes to a fairly simple conclusion: it doesn’t really matter anyway because all the covenants are applications of the universal. (Actually, you probably have to read it to get why I enjoyed this.)

Rabbit trails aside, I think the thing I most appreciate in this giant book so far is the sense of worship that comes through on every page. This isn’t a dry read—it is devotional. Frame is in awe of his Lord and Savior as he explores the incredible truths of God. And that’s what good theology should inspire. Theology should always lead to worship, both in the one writing and in the one reading.

C.S. Lewis understood this well. In God in the Dock, Lewis shared that he often found doctrinal books more helpful than devotional books for this very reason. There was something about sitting down with a book of this nature, “working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hands” would make the heart sing.2

That’s what I love about good, biblically faithful doctrine. Exploring it leads you down some interesting rabbit trails, without question. It makes you wrestle with hard questions. It forces you to confront your own “smallness” in light of God’s “bigness”. It always brings you to the place God intended—to your knees in praise to him.

  1. In a nutshell, God’s lordship over all creation and the covenant between the persons of the Trinity to save sinners. ↵
  2. Thanks to my friend David for bringing up this quote in the discussion group he’s leading through Frame’s Systematic Theology. ↵

Five (more) classic books we should read

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books

Last week, I indulged myself a little and started thinking about old books I love to read. Specifically, a few classic books that were particularly helpful for me as I’ve grown in my faith. But these aren’t the only sorts of classics any of us should read. There are more—a lot more, in fact. Whether for pleasure, knowledge, or spiritual or personal enrichment, we should always be looking for opportunities to expose ourselves to great works of the past. In light of this, I want to share a few more recommendations of various sorts and kinds for your consideration.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Of all the Lewis books I’ve read so far, this one is probably my favorite. Some have criticized it for being overly clever, but that’s what makes it work. You need a special sort of cleverness to pull off what Lewis did in this book, both negatively communicating truth while exposing falsehood. It’s brilliant stuff.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. There isn’t really anything I don’t love about this book. The characters are rich. The plot is compelling. The writing itself makes my heart happy. Read it, then read more Dickens. (A Tale of Two Cities is stunning, as well.)

The Iliad and The Odyssey. Telling the tales of the Trojan War, and the journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he journeyed home following the fall of Troy, these epic poems are some of the finest works of ancient Greek literature still in existence.1

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Of all the books on this list, this is probably the most difficult to read in the sense that it requires much of you. The book is filled with philosophical discussions of the deepest sort, explored through a tale of patricide in a Russia rapidly moving into the industrial era.

Again, as with my previous recommendations, there are so many others that could be added to the list: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, A Wrinkle in Time, and too many others to mention. The point here is not to be exhaustive, but to give a starting point.

  1. Fun fact: though it’s believed these were produced originally around the 8th century BC, the earliest extant copies we have today are from the 10th century AD. ↵

Three classic books every Christian should read

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I love old books. They allow me to engage with the wisdom of generations past. To see how authors and thinkers from centuries past answered many of the same questions we ask today. But I’ll be honest, it’s easy to get caught up reading too many new books. Not that new books are bad, of course. But we do ourselves a disservice when we neglect the old. This, I believe, is the heart behind C.S. Lewis’ famous rule:

“It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between,” he wrote. “If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.”1

I don’t follow this rule slavishly, of course. But I do read old books, and I try to encourage others to read old books, too. Here are three I have found especially beneficial from a Christian perspective:

All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon. Honestly, I could choose most any Spurgeon book for this list, but I have a special fondness for this one. I first read it in 2009 while sitting in a hospital while doctors worked on keeping Emily alive. While this book is a fairly simple presentation of justification through grace alone, it is one of the most hopeful books I’ve ever read, bringing me near to tears at least once with every chapter.

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton didn’t make anything simple for his readers. I suspect he respected his readers too much to write down to them. What I believe he did best, along with expecting his readers to use their minds, was play with words. His writing is fun to read, full of wit and whimsy. Do I agree with everything he wrote? Of course not. But I love his writing. It makes you want to come back for more (and you really do need to).

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Bunyan’s classic allegory of the Christian life is beautiful to read. He is one of the first Christian authors who helped me see how important “story” is to communicating our faith, and gave a powerful reminder that easy and following Jesus rarely go together. Although the book isn’t perfect (what book is?), it is one that strengthens me each time I read it.

There are other books I can and would encourage reading: Augustine’s Confessions, Müller’s Answers to Prayer, and Ryle’s Holiness, among them. But these are ones I would always suggest trying first.

  1. God in the Dock, 200. ↵

My travel reading for June

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The one thing I underestimated about my job is how much traveling I do. I’m not complaining about this, mind you. It’s just taking some getting used to. June takes me to Phoenix and Kansas City for conferences, with a fair bit of time on planes for each trip.1

You know what that means: reading time! Of course, having time to read doesn’t mean I can stuff all the books into my bags. Realistically, I’ll have room for two or three on each trip, depending on size. But for the most part, it’s going to be digital.

So what will I be reading on my trips? Glad you asked! Here are six books I plan on reading during my time away:

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Why? Because I’ve never read it. That’s entirely the reason.

Hacking Growth: How Today’s Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown. This is one my boss encouraged me to read, which means I’m going to be reading it. The premise is pretty interesting, as it purports to be an “accessible and practical toolkit that teams and companies in all industries can use to increase their customer base and market share, this book walks readers through the process of creating and executing their own custom-made growth hacking strategy.”

Wingfeather Tales by Andrew Peterson. This is a book of tales set in the world of the Wingfeather Saga, which I adored, and includes stories by N.D. Wilson, A.S. Peterson, Jennifer Trafton, and more.

The Story of the Word: Meditations on the Narrative of Scripture by Trevor Laurence. I met Trevor back in March in North Carolina, and he was kind enough to give me a copy of his book. I’m looking forward to sitting down and giving it the attention it deserves.

God and the Transgender Debate by Andrew Walker. Andrew is exactly the right guy to write this book. Why? Because he’s compassionate, clear, and considerate in how he approaches tough topics from a biblical perspective. That said, I’m pegging this one as the most controversial book of the year, y’all.

The Flash, Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice by Joshua Williamson. I’ve never been a big “Flash” fan, but DC’s Rebirth initiative has made me a lot more open to giving titles I historically haven’t read a shot. So far, I’ve not been disappointed. Hopefully that holds true with this one.

  1. As well as free time in my hotel room when I’m not catching up on my regular work and communicating with my family ↵

What makes a book worth re-reading?

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You were probably expecting an episode of Reading Writers today. (And if not, you really should consider subscribing!)  But I’m skipping today because I need a bit more time with the content. So instead, I’m going to answer an important question: what makes a book worth re-reading?

In my house, we have very different reading styles. Emily rarely reads a book more than once. Abigail cycles through some books (particularly graphic novels) multiple times a week. Me… I have a few that I come back to repeatedly, but not a ton. So what makes a book worth re-reading? Here’s what I look for:

The quality of the writing. Some books beg to be re-read because the writing itself grabs you. Word choices, phrasing, rhythm… All of this is part of what makes reading enjoyable. This is what I love about Charles Dickens and Nick Hornby, among others.

Storytelling. Regardless of genre, books worth re-reading tell great stories. This is necessary with fiction, obviously, but it’s no less true of the best books exploring marketing techniques and scientific research. Chip and Dan Heath’s books are terrific examples of this (which is also a concept they advocate to marketers); Jared Wilson’s books are also great for this reason.

It relates to real life. Sometimes you read a book once to explore concepts. Then something happens to move those concepts from theory to practice. This happened to me when I was compelled to read books on suffering in 2008. Then in 2009, I found out why when we lost a baby. But there are some I’ve read multiple times because I’m prone to forget the good and helpful things I’ve learned in them. (Donald Whitney’s Praying the Bible is a great example of this one.)

Are the criteria totally subjective? Yep. Do they all need to be found in the same books? At least two of the three do, in my opinion, yes. Well written works that tell great stories make me want to come back again and again. Well written works that relate to my life draw me back in as well.

Coming soon: a new book on prayer

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I knew it was going to be bad, but I didn’t know how bad.

Before moving to Nashville, I had a 15-minute commute… on foot. My drive was five minutes when traffic was bad. I didn’t know how bad things could really be until it took me two hours to drive 20 miles.

But during that time, I began to realize that, in placing me in the gridlock of Nashville Interstate traffic, the Lord was giving me an opportunity to draw nearer to him. And so, I began to use that time to pray. For my fellow commuters. For myself. And for the witness of the church.

Now, I’ve collected those prayers into a new book, Praying the I-65: Everyday Prayers for the Commuter Life.

In this book, you’ll find 30 readings for your commute, including:

  • Of “maniacs” and “idiots”—a plea for justice;
  • Of bran muffins and really strong coffee—a prayer of lament; and
  • Of pulling the Jesus fish off your bumper—a prayer of repentance.

Praying the I-65: Everyday Prayers for the Commuter Life is coming soon. Look for it wherever books are sold.

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