Coming Soon to the Resource Center

Well, I didn't exactly plan for this to be Paul David Tripp Week here at Looking Outside the Doors, but I guess it just happened that way.... :) 

Anyway, here are a few books to look for next time you're in the Resource Center: 

Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry - Paul David Tripp

After traveling the globe and speaking to thousands of churches worldwide, Paul David Tripp has discovered a serious problem within pastoral culture. He is not only concerned about the spiritual life of the pastor, but also with the very community of people that trains him, calls him, relates to him, and restores him if necessary.   

Dangerous Calling reveals the truth that the culture surrounding our pastors is spiritually unhealthy - an environment that actively undermines the well-being and efficacy of our church leaders and thus the entire church body. 

Here is a book that both diagnoses and offers cures for issues that impact every member and church leader, and gives solid strategies for fighting the all-important war that rages in our churches today.

The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness - Kevin De Young

The hole in our holiness is that we don’t seem to care much about holiness. Or, at the very least, we don’t understand it.... This is a book for those of us who are ready to take holiness seriously, ready to be more like Jesus, ready to live in light of the grace that produces godliness. This is a book about God’s power to help us grow in personal holiness and to enjoy the process of transformation.

The Explicit Gospel - Matt Chandler 

Even if you go to church, it doesn’t mean that you are being exposed (or exposing others) to the gospel explicitly. Sure, most people talk about Jesus, and about being good and avoiding bad, but the gospel message simply isn’t there - at least not in its specificity and its fullness.

Inspired by the needs of both the over-churched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, popular pastor Matt Chandler writes this punchy treatise to remind us what is of first and utmost importance - the gospel.

What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage - Paul David Tripp

Everyone’s marriage morphs into something they didn’t intend it to be. At some point you need something sturdier than romance. You need something deeper than shared interests and mutual attraction. You need changed expectations, you need radical commitments, and, most importantly, you need grace. 

Sexual Sanity for Men (2012) - David White

Sexual Sanity for Men: Re-Creating Your Mind in a Crazy Culture (2012) - David White

New Growth Press, 248 pages

Trade paperback, ISBN 9781936768998

Most books that deal with the topic of sexual sin in the lives of men seek to do so in practical ways, often giving tips on how to avoid temptation, what to do when you find yourself tempted, etc. Well-intentioned as they are, the problem with such books is that they’re ultimately works-based. “Here are some steps you can take, here’s what you can do.” Some of the advice from such books may be valid and even somewhat helpful, but in many cases, the authors and publishers ignore the root problem. 

White shows the reader that the real key to sexual sanity is not in following a process or working through a list of steps, but rather in clinging to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ’s power is the only way true sexual sanity - or really any victory over any sin - can be achieved. Make no mistake, this is a spiritual battle that affects all men (me included).  

The book is divided into four sections totaling 14 chapters or, as White recommends, 14 weeks of daily readings. The daily readings are only a few pages long with three or four questions for reflection each day. Some readers will want to follow White’s reading schedule. At the risk of becoming somewhat overwhelmed, others may want to read the book in larger chunks. 

Each reading is filled with Scripture, which is absolutely necessary, as White constantly reinforces the relationship of redemptive history to men’s struggles with sexual sin. Several reviewers have complained that the book doesn’t offer enough practical advice, not enough “dos and don’ts.” Yet White states over and over, 

“Genuine obedience only flows when we know that Jesus is the only one worth living for. We obey with joyful abandon only when our greatest joy and pleasure is satisfying him.” 

And we need constant reminders that nothing compares to a redemptive relationship with Christ:

“Think about it: Any object of your lust only mirrors in ridiculously puny ways the glory of our Creator. We lust because we catch a glimpse of God’s beauty in his creation, and then settle for worshipping that dim reflection instead of the real thing.” 

Is there anything negative to say about the book? Well, the cover is pretty hideous... But you’ll want to focus on what’s on the inside of the book. And speaking of the book, you might have a difficult time finding it. Right now, Amazon is offering only the eBook. You can find the book here at the Westminster Bookstore and (very soon) at the church Resource Center. 

Highest recommendation.