Feast on a Good Book

How do you know whether a book is worth buying and reading? 

A recommendation by someone you trust sure does help.

Because it’s somewhat tucked away on my site, you may not be aware that I do a lot of book reviewing. Visit my RPM Ministries Book Review Site for links to over 350 reviews. 

To encourage you to visit often, in today’s post I point you to a number of sources for my book reviews, plus a sampling of some of my favorite reviews.

Book Review Sites Where I Post Reviews 

1. The Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Book Review Site

Along with a dozen other reviewers, I provide book reviews, author interviews, and book video trailers. Visit the BCC’s Book Review Site for reviews of books related to biblical counseling, pastoral ministry, marriage, parenting, and Christian living.

2. The Gospel Coalition Book Review Site 

I provide biblical counseling and pastoral ministry reviews for The Gospel Coalition’s Book Review site. You can read my TGC reviews here. 

3. The Discerning Reader Book Review Site 

I provide reviews of a wide array of books at the Discerning Reader site. You can read all of my DR reviews here. 

4. Amazon Reviews

I’ve reviewed over 350 books at Amazon.com. Read my Amazon reviews here. 

Sample Some of My Favorite Book Reviews at My RPM Ministries Book Review Site

For direct access to this sampling of some of my favorite reviews posted right here at RPM Ministries, click on the title to any of the books below.

The Biblical Counseling Movement by David Powlison. 

The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams by Heath Lambert. 

Counsel from the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick. 

Counsel One Another, Comfort Those Who Grieve, and Counsel Your Flock: The Paul Tautges Trilogy. 

CrossTalk by Mike Emlet. 

Faithful Feelings by Matthew Elliott. 

Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick. 

Glory Road by Anthony Carter. 

The Heart of Addiction by Mark Shaw. 

Helpful Truths in Past Places by Mark Deckard. 

A History of Pastoral Care in America by E. Brooks Holifield. 

If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn. 

The Mystery of the Holy Spirit by R. C. Sproul. 

Out of a Far Country by Christopher Yuan. 

Putting Your Past In Its Place by Steve Viars. 

Psychology in the Spirit by John Coe and Todd Hall, Review Part One, Review Part Two, and Review Part Three. 

The Radical Disciple by John Stott. 

Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande. 

Seeing With New Eyes by David Powlison. 

A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. 

When Life Is Hard by James MacDonald. 

Join the Conversation

Which of these books has most impacted you? Or, which of these books do you most what to read?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Tags: Biblical Counseling Coalition, Book Reviews, Books, Discerning Reader, Gospel Coalition

Note: My good friend, Steve Viars, Sr. Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN, leader of Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries, and President of NANC, graciously wrote the Foreword to God’s Healing for Life’s Losses. Steve knows about relating the riches of Gospel truth to the lives of hurting men and women.

Foreword

Can anyone avoid suffering? 

I have had the privilege of serving as a pastor of the same congregation for over twenty years. On the one hand God has graciously given numerous opportunities to share in the joys and blessings of my parishioners and friends. There have been many births, weddings, spiritual victories, and occasions for laughter and love. Countless days have been filled with far more sweetness than I would have ever imagined.

But the parallel truth is that I have seen first-hand how often men and women suffer. Job losses. Shocking diagnoses. Children gone astray. Abuse. And the caskets…oh too many caskets. I knew the Bible predicted this would occur, but it is different when it happens to members of your church family, your own family, your friends, and to you.

Of course, you know that as well. I have never met a person who has not suffered in some way. That explains why Jesus’ family is instructed to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Life this side of heaven is anything but trouble-free.

That is why I am so glad Dr. Bob Kellemen wrote God’s Healing for Life’s Losses. You cannot choose whether you will face suffering or not, but you can decide where you will turn for help. Here are three reasons why I heartily and joyfully encourage you to carefully read what Bob has written.

It courageously faces the hard questions. You are probably fed up with pat answers and pious platitudes. Plastic smiles do not work, not when you are suffering. Bob writes with the seasoned wisdom of a winsome counselor who has spent many hours compassionately listening to people whose hearts are breaking.

It skillfully takes you to God’s Word. Listening is wonderful and powerful, but it is seldom enough. Bob is a careful student of the Bible. He believes that the living God has direction and answers for every hurting person who will humbly come to Him (Matthew 11:29). I went to college and seminary with Bob—I know that he is a diligent and accomplished student and scholar. Yet this book does not read like a distant theological treatise. It is more like a wise conversation with a mature spiritual friend.

It passionately points you to the Savior. The Bible is less like an encyclopedia and more like a novel. Bob’s goal is not to give us a few verses that we simply memorize and recite when times get rough. He is inviting us to use suffering as an opportunity to grow more in love with the One who suffered supremely for us. That is why there is hope for life’s losses.

I look forward to the day this project goes from the manuscript I currently have in my hand to a book I can read and give to others. My church family needs it. My counselees need it. I need it. And, if you’re suffering a loss or helping someone who is grieving, then you need it.

One more thing. Bob and I grew up a few miles from one another in Gary, IN. I have known him since we were boys running around the neighborhood. I can say this without reservation—Bob is the real thing. He cares deeply about people who are suffering. That is one of his God-given passions. Let this book be a gift to you, from a dear and trusted friend.

Dr. Steve Viars, Sr. Pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Lafayette, Indiana

Tags: God's Healing for Life's Losses, NANC, Steve Viars, Suffering

Review of The Mystery of the Holy Spirit

Book Details

• Author: R. C. Sproul

• Publisher: Christian Focus (2009) (156 Pages)

• Category: Christian Life, Theology: Pneumatology/Holy Spirit

• ISBN: 978-1-84550-481-6

• Retail Price: $12.99

• Reviewed By: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., www.rpmministries.org

No Footprints in the Sand

To explain his title and purpose, author R. C. Sproul begins The Mystery of the Holy Spirit by quoting Abraham Kuyper. “The Holy Spirit leaves no footprints in the sand.” The Spirit is like the wind (John 3:8)—elusive and mysterious—but nonetheless real and marvelous. Because of the Spirit’s mystery, “we are vulnerable to superstition and distortions of His person and work” (p. 8). Sproul’s purpose, therefore, is to listen carefully to Scripture as it reveals the character of God the Holy Spirit.

Though known as a deep theologian, Sproul’s writings here and elsewhere seek to combine theological precision with personal application. Thus The Mystery of the Spirit seeks to avoid undue theological technicalities, while requiring deep thought leading to a deeper spiritual life.

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

Sproul’s first four chapters provide foundational biblical teaching on the Spirit—He is personal (chapter one); He is God (chapter two); He is a Member of the Trinity (chapters three and four). The first two chapters are somewhat brief and elementary—vital, but explained primarily for the lay person. The third and fourth chapters on the Trinity are deeper—sketching the historical controversies, philosophical reasonings, and biblical teachings regarding Trinitarian theology. This makes for some uneven reading (light/heavy, basic/deep). However, it would be difficult to do otherwise given the eternal mystery of the Trinity.

What Are the Works of the Holy Spirit?

Having provided the theological foundation of the Person of the Spirit, Sproul addresses the Spirit’s works, beginning at the beginning—creation. Here we find a classic example of Sproul’s ability to relate deep truth to daily Christian living. Speaking of the Spirit’s work of completing the empty and void earth, Sproul notes:

“Even in human relationships we have a nagging sense of the threat of emptiness, which we identify with poignant loneliness. The Holy Spirit fills what is empty. He conquers the void. When His work is finished, the once lonely universe is teeming with a plethora of flora and fauna. The barren wasteland becomes a pulsating arena of life. Here we need the Holy Spirit of God as the One who fills all things” (p. 72).

He continues this connection between creation and new creation, but even more pointedly in chapter six: The New Genesis: The Holy Spirit and Regeneration. While this chapter is helpful, there are some interpretations and applications that some might take issue with. For example, Sproul takes “flesh” to be “the sin nature, the entire fallen character of man” (p. 82). Many theologians and biblical counselors would take issue with this direct connection between “flesh” and “sin nature.”

Sproul’s focus in the rest of this chapter is on the order of salvation, which he takes as regeneration and then faith. This essential Reformed doctrine is handled succinctly. No problem there. However, one would have wished for more elaboration in this chapter on the actual change that takes place at regeneration. Sproul focuses more on a change of “leadership” (from Satan to the Spirit), which is accurate as far as it goes. But he does not address the specifics of the change of orientation—that we are truly new creations in Christ, our “old man” is crucified with Christ, and an entirely new disposition (affections, mindsets, will, etc.) is imparted (we are raised with Christ to newness of life in Christ).

Because Sproul does not address our new disposition, when he develops his thoughts on sanctification, the “new nature” is not highlighted. His theology is sound, but the application loses some power by the neglect of the new creation in Christ—who is to grow progressively more like Christ. Our battle is not that of an old nature and a new nature fighting a constant equal tug of war. Progressive sanctification is one new person with the regenerated capacities to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. It’s still a profound battle; it still recognizes that there is no glorification/perfection this side of heaven, but emphasizing the new orientation/new capacities of the new creation in Christ enlightens believers to the foundation for and the path to progressive sanctification.

Sproul’s final three chapters on the baptism of the Spirit (chapter 8), the fruit of the Spirit (chapter nine), and the Other Comforter (chapter ten) are not to be missed. Though very different in style (his discussion of the baptism of the Spirit is theologically deep while his explanation and application of the fruit of the Spirit is personally deep), these chapters address core questions asked by every believer.

His discussion of the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete—Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Encourager, Giver of consolation—has great application for biblical pastoral counseling. Are we “parakaletic counselors” who know how to bring the Spirit’s comfort, consolation, and counsel to hurting and suffering people? Like the Spirit, do we offer people both solace for their wounds and strength for the battle? Speaking of the Spirit, Sproul writes, “He is the most tender source of solace the wounded, the defeated, or the grief-stricken person can know” (p. 155). Do we offer people biblical encouragement—strength for the journey, as the Spirit does? “The promised Paraclete … will come to give us strength and assistance for the battle” (p. 155).

Well-Worth Reading

R. C. Sproul in The Mystery of the Spirit has honored the Spirit’s mystery while also respecting the Bible’s descriptions of Who the Spirit is and what ministries the Spirit performs. As an introduction to the topic that balances theology and life, The Mystery of the Spirit is well-worth reading.

Join the Conversation

What are the best books you’ve read on the Holy Spirit?

Tags: Book Review, Books, Holy Spirit, Mystery of the Holy Spirit, R. C. Sproul

Religion Press Release Highlights God’s Healing for Life’s Losses

New Book Promises Biblical Hope to the Hurting

God’s Healing for Life’s Losses, a new GriefShare book from BMH Books by counselor, author, and educator Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., LCPC, is now off the press and available for shipping.

Subtitled How to Find Hope When You’re Hurting, the book provides real, raw, honest and hopeful conversation about suffering, loss and grief from a Christian perspective.

The author is a seminary graduate as well as a trained counselor and educator, and the text of this small, gift-sized hardback reflects a solid underpinning of biblical truth and Trinitarian theology to its practical advice and keen insights.

The book is endorsed by GriefShare, an organization which conducts Christ-centered grief support groups in thousands of communities. More information about GriefShare is available at GriefShare.org or by calling 800-395-5755.

Dr. Ian Jones, professor of psychology and counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, “If you want a thoroughly biblical and intensely honest examination of suffering from someone who has walked the path from ‘hurt to hope in Christ,’ then ‘God’s Healing for Life’s Losses’ is just the book for you.”

Steve Grissom, founder of GriefShare, says, “It’s a treasure, filled with stunning and comforting words about God’s perspective on grief.”

The author, Robert Kellemen, served more than a dozen years as Chair of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling and Discipleship department at Capital Bible Seminary, where he is now professor-at-large. In his three pastoral ministries, Kellemen has ministered to hundreds of grieving parishioners. He is also founder and CEO of RPM Ministries.

God’s Healing for Life’s Losses is available wherever Christian books are sold in stores, online, or through BMH Books at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756. The book’s ISBN number is 978-0-88469-270-6 and it retails for $14.99.

The author, Robert Kellemen, is available for interviews, personal appearances, speaking engagements, or book signings, and may be contacted by e-mail at bob.kellemen@gmail.com or through his website www.rpmministries.org or by phone at 219-662-8138. Media requests for review copies should be e-mailed to tdwhite@bmhbooks.com.

Tags: Bob Kellemen, Books, God's Healing for Life's Losses

How to Write Fair and Balanced, Helpful and Engaging Book Reviews

I’ve been reviewing books for over a decade now. In addition to published reviews in journals and magazines, I review online for the Gospel Coalition Reviews, Discerning Reader, RPM Ministries, Everyday Christian, Amazon, CBD, Lunch, and a few more I’ve likely forgotten.

Here are a few quick thoughts on writing fair and balanced, helpful and engaging book reviews.

1. If you totally hate it, don’t review it.

I know that’s not everyone’s policy, but it is mine. You know what your Mom told you, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all…” If I think a book is all bad, I’m not going to write a review. I just don’t have the stomach to be that critical.

2. Think of the author—she or he is a person, too.

As someone who has authored five books, I know what it feels like to “birth” a book. It is one’s creation. So, when you do point out weaknesses, do so graciously, fairly. Quote the author in context. Don’t question the author’s motives (who made book reviewers God?).

3. Contact the author before and after the review.

I’ve started doing this, especially for major reviews (in terms of the significance of the book, the length of the review, where it will be posted, etc.). When I first start reading and reviewing a book, I’ll send my thoughts, impressions, and questions to the author. I’ll ask if I’m “getting it right,” and if they have any response or clarification. After the review is published, I’ll send it to the author and encourage them to engage in an ongoing conversation about the book.

4. Follow the SSWE principle.

I’ve created something of a standard book review format: SSWE. By the way, this doesn’t mean you use this like a straight-jacket. And it doesn’t mean you have these “four sections” of your review. Rather, weave these following four aspects into every review in a conversational style.

S: Summarize the Book:

Help the reader know what in the world the book is about. If the book is in a “technical” field, translate the jargon to the everyday language of the common person.

S: Strengths of the Book:

Every book (I review) has some strengths. Give snippet illustrations of those strengths and highlight how they relate to life and ministry.

W: Weaknesses of the Book:

No book is perfect. But again, when sharing weaknesses, do so fairly, graciously, kindly, and gently.

E: Engage the Book:

This is perhaps the missing ingredient in many/most book reviews. Everyone does summaries, strengths, and weaknesses. But this is not a book report for your middle school teacher. This is a book review for real people who want to know if the book is worth reading. Interact with the book. Write as if you are having a conversation with the author—stretch the author, probe, ponder. Ask questions. Wonder out loud.

Join the Conversation

What do you think makes for an excellent book review?

Tags: Bob Kellemen, Book Reviews, Books, How To, Kellemen

Review of Psychology in the Spirit

Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part review of John Coe and Todd Hall’s Psychology in the Spirit. It was originally posted at the Gospel Coalition Review site.

Book Details

• Authors: John Coe and Todd Hall

• Publisher: IVP Academic (2010) (450 Pages)

• Category: Spiritual Formation, Christian Psychology

• ISBN: 978-0-8308-2813-5

• Retail Price: $29.99

Finding Truth for Life

Where do we find truth for life? What do we view as our authoritative, sufficient, profound, and relevant source for Gospel-centered living? Psychology in the Spirit by John Coe and Todd Hall seeks to address these vital questions.

It is a significant book released at a significant time when a new generation of Christian psychologists and biblical counselors are thinking deeply about what makes counseling truly Christian and biblical. The co-authors seek to position their model of “transformational psychology” as a new approach that offers the best of biblical counseling’s commitment to a scriptural approach to people, problems, and solutions, and the best of Christian psychology’s commitment to psychological study grounded in a thoroughly Christian world-view (without what they perceive as the weaknesses of each).

The Transformational Psychology Model: The Spirit, the Scriptures, and the Sage

Coe and Hall encapsulate their model as a combination of the Spirit, the Scriptures, and sage observation/reflection. “With God in heart and Scripture in hand, the sage or spiritual psychologist enters into the created world of things, particularly humanity, to understand the thing itself, especially as it relates to the human good and growth” (p. 135).

“God in heart” emphasizes their focus on the character of the counselor/psychologist—being Spirit-filled and Spirit-dependent through personal soul work and the practice of the spiritual disciplines. “We are interested in seeing how a focus on the character and life of the psychologist has implications for a whole model of relating psychology and Christianity” (p. 70).

“Scripture in hand” summarizes their stress upon the priority of a biblical theology of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. “We think this transformational psychology will encompass many of the central theses and insights of the Biblical Counseling model, particularly its emphasis on redemption, the Fall, sin and sanctification by the Spirit in understanding the human condition” (p. 92).

They present the idea of sage observations by the Spirit-dependent person as their centrally unique contribution to the current discussion. In the most important chapter of the book—chapter seven—they use the book of Proverbs to develop the foundational thesis “…that there is a biblical model for gaining wisdom from observing and reflecting upon creation, particularly the human person and situation…” (p. 93).

For the authors, Proverbs illustrates what the Christian psychologist should be and do. The Spirit-filled sage takes God’s scriptural truth about humanity as the bedrock foundation and then in the fear of Yahweh humbly and carefully observes and reflects on life (the human person and situation) to glean wisdom for life. They have thus redefined psychology as the science of scriptural interpretation/application plus first-hand sage observation/reflection on creation (humanity) designed to discover prescriptive insight for living.

Among various passages from Proverbs, they highlight Proverbs 24:30-34. The sage passes by the sluggard, beholds his situation, and concludes, “When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and I received instruction.” The sage then uses this “descriptive data of life” to draw prescriptive wisdom principles for living. “A little sleep a little slumber…then your poverty will come as a robber…” The co-authors draw the conclusion that, “Our Old Testament Wisdom model informed us that the budding psychologist studies God’s revelation in the Bible as well as that in natural law in creation, in order to understand and discern with the Spirit the path toward self-understanding, growth and assisting others in this” (p. 201).

It is here that their model impinges upon the oft-debated issue of the “integration” or “non-integration” of theology and psychology. In the past, this issue has been framed as whether or not one should blend or merge the findings of psychology—in particular secular theory of people, problems, and solutions, and their prescriptive models of cure and care—with the teachings of Scripture about life, spiritual growth, and progressive sanctification. Traditionally, many “biblical counselors” have valued the role of “scientific research” and “descriptive data” while rejecting the prescriptions for living and psychological theories developed from secular sources.

In theory, Coe and Hall are suggesting something different. Rather than “integrating” secular findings with biblical principles, they believe God calls the believing sage/scientist/psychologist to a “single, though complex, act of doing a science or psychology of values” (p. 155). They believe that we find truth for life both in the Scriptures (which are foundational and have priority because of their inerrant, inspired, propositional nature) and in “science”—defined as commonsense reflection and observation on the human condition (pp. 154-157).

Join the Conversation

What are your thoughts on Coe/Hall’s view that we can discover wisdom for living from sage observations about life?

Tags: Book Review, Christian Psychology, John Coe, Psychology in the Spirit, Todd Hall