I made it a goal to read 1 book every 2 weeks in 2021. I made a list of the books I wanted to read. I chose half of the books to help me with theology and ministry and the other half to do with my family and fatherhood. That would have given me 26 books for the year. It was quite an impressive list.
While I did read more books in 2021 than I did the year before, I do not think I read a single book on the list I made.
HOWEVER I did read some other books that were helpful to me. Here are three that helped me to think through some issues that I had been thinking about this past year in 2021.
- The Path to Being a Pastor: A Guide for the Aspiring by Bobby Jamieson.
This book was maybe the most memorable book I read this year. I read through it with a friend from work who is figuring out his “calling” to the pastorate. As this book will argue, the language of “calling” may not be helpful or even biblically accurate when considering the path to being a pastor. He uses the word “aspiring” which is closer to what the Bible uses when talking about the qualifications for eldership in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. He lays out practical considerations that a man might think about when taking steps towards the pastorate such as whether or not seminary is necessary, the burden a pastorate might put on his family, and the qualifications listed out in 1 Timothy and in Titus.
It is short (less than 200 pages) and concise and I think it might be the most helpful book on this topic. It’s not a scholarly or theological deep-dive on each Greek word used in the passages talking about pastoral qualification. It felt more like talking to a friend who already has gone through and experienced the ups and downs of pursuing the pastorate and he is just passing on his insight and wisdom on it. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone considering becoming a pastor. - Men and Women in the Church by Kevin Deyoung.
This was one of the last books I read in 2021. I was attempting to find something readable for the members of my church to explain and lay a foundation for holding a complementarian theology. The subtitle to this book is ‘A short, biblical, practical introduction’. I believe that to be an apt description. It is a 176 page book that gives biblical arguments for complementarian theology. It is practical in the sense that he does speak to how it affects the church and the home.
I appreciate his awareness of the controversial nature of the topic, especially in today’s #MeToo and #ChurchToo cancel culture. He still stands his ground because he does stake his claim in the Bible which is the ultimate source of authority.
In spite of that, I still felt a little cringe-y reading some parts of the book. For example, he brought up an argument that an old theologian used about the reason why wives are typically in the home while husbands go out to work as the breadwinner is because Eve was created inside the garden (her home) while Adam was created outside of the garden and placed into it. They were both created in their areas of major influence that they have a special relationship with. I felt like this was a stretch but apparently, it’s something that complementarians argue and it led me to think more on the topic.
Overall, I am not sure yet if I would want to use this as an introduction to complementarian theology for my church members. I want to be confident that I can argue, in good conscience, the same things that the book argues before I let it be the book that forms our theology on the roles of men and women in the church and at home. It will require further study on my part and a searching of my heart to see whether the Bible is forming me in this aspect of the Christian life or if the culture is. It was a thought-provoking book to say the least. - The Compelling Community: Where God’s Power Makes a Church by Mark Dever & Jamie Dunlop
I read this book alongside some men I am discipling to grow as leaders in my church. It was a helpful and practical book in building a gospel-centered culture. The main argument of the book is that a church should have at its center the gospel as her main ‘attraction’. Many modern churches today have so many different ministries for so many different things. A lot of ministries are split up into demographics or common life experiences. The concern the book has with that philosophy of ministry is that it puts the focus or ‘attraction’ of the church as the carefully catered nature of the community itself as opposed to the power that created the community. When a church has a diverse community that crosses racial lines, socio-economic, age, and life stage, doing ministry together all at once, it more fully demonstrates the unifying power of the gospel. When each demographic is split up with it’s own pastor or minister, it may demonstrate that you need some sort of common ground or experience in order to truly be a part of the family of God. While common ground and experiences are convenient, it doesn’t take any gospel power to bring people with common ground and experiences together. The world can accomplish that. What makes (or what should make) the community of the church so compelling is the power of the gospel to bring people who may never interact otherwise together with the sole purpose of bringing glory and honor to their Creator.
In reading it, I discovered that this is exactly what I would love my church to embrace as a culture. I had a recent conversation with my friends about this because I was going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to have a ‘married couples small group’ at our church. They said that this ‘compelling community’ was worth dying on a hill for. In the end, I decided that as long as the trajectory is towards discipling one another and future married couples, I think it fits within the vision of the book. It is not an easy hill to climb but I hope to plant a flag at the top and this book helps me to do that.
I hope that these books will be as helpful and thought-provoking as they were to me. I hope to read many more books in the year of 2022 that will help build both my family and my church.
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