Schaeffer on the Christian Life (2013) - William Edgar

Schaeffer on the Christian Life (2013) - William Edgar

Crossway, trade paperback, 206 pages

ISBN 9781433531392

$17.99 retail

I firmly believe that the best way to learn about Francis Schaeffer, one of Christianity’s most important figures of the 20th century, is to read his work. For the uninitiated, that can be a daunting task. Although most of his books are fairly short, Schaeffer packs a tremendous amount of material into them: examinations of the world that are biblical, philosophical, artistic, cultural.... The list goes on.

Writing about the man and his work is also no simple task, yet William Edgar does a remarkable job in many areas. The opening section of the book, however, “A Man and His Times,” begins on shaky ground. Edgar, a professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary, takes us on a brief journey through Schaeffer’s life that is both scattershot in its approach and frustrating in its familiarity. To Edgar’s credit, a workable biography of Francis Schaeffer in 20 pages is an impossibility. (Edgar also gives a personal introduction that’s nearly 20 pages long.) Yet this first section is filled with too many personal reflections that interrupt the flow of the narrative.

Edgar does get things on track throughout the rest of the book, addressing some of Schaeffer’s main themes: the fundamentals of Christianity, freedom in the Christian life, prayer and guidance, affliction, life in the church, and engaging the world. These chapters get to the heart of what made Schaeffer tick and, like all good biographies, makes you want to read more of the man’s work. Edgar is much more comfortable here, explaining the nuts and bolts of Schaeffer’s work and worldview, both in his writing and his work with his wife Edith at L’Abri. 

In fact, one of the book’s most pleasant surprises is how much space and attention Edgar gives to Edith Schaeffer, showing how she, in her own writing, often focused in detail on aspects of the Christian life that her husband sometimes barely touched upon. If you pick up Schaeffer on the Christian Life wanting to know more about Francis, by the time you finish it, you’ll probably want to know more about Edith as well. 

*Schaeffer on the Christian Life is part of the Theologians on the Christian Life series, which includes:

Warfield on the Christian Life - Fred G. Zaspel (available now)

Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life - Stephen J. Nichols (available June 2013)

Wesley on the Christian Life - Fred Sanders (available August 2013)

4/5

Reverberation (2012) - Jonathan Leeman

Reverberation: How God’s Word Brings Light, Freedom, and Action to His People (2012) Jonathan Leeman

9Marks, Moody Publishers

Trade paperback, 197 pages

ISBN 9780802422996

Retail price $12.99

Churches and church leadership can come up with all sorts of way to promote church growth: attractive programs, contemporary worship bands, people-oriented ministries, etc. All of these things are fine, but without the church’s main driving force, the Word of God proclaimed, all of these other considerations are secondary. 

To use Leeman’s terminology, the Word of God should reverberate in and through our lives, both individually and as a body of believers in local churches. In the book’s second chapter, Leeman states that the Word acts in five ways:

• God’s Word is an extension of God

• God acts through His Word

• God acts through His Word by His Spirit

• God’s Word and Spirit act together efficaciously 

• God speaks through human preachers and human words

Leeman (who clearly has a high view of Scripture) explains how the Word invites and divides, acts, frees, and gathers. Through sermons, the Word exposes our sin, “announces what God has done, and confronts its hearers with this news and its implications (p. 124).”

So that’s how God’s Word acts. But how does it reverberate? What does this look like?

The reverberation becomes noticeable in how Christians sing, pray, and disciple. It’s unmistakable, says Leeman. You know it when you see it. Such reverberations themselves can lead to the Word exposing, announcing, and confronting. It scatters, reverberating in the hearing of others, starting the process all over again. 

I initially feared Reverberation would be a very simplistic volume, but I was wrong. While the book is a fairly read, Leeman explores the topic with depth, making us rethink how our churches operate, how we think of the Word of God, and how it reverberates (or doesn’t) in our own lives. I’m not sure I agree 100% with all of Leeman’s thoughts on expositional vs. topical sermons, but his dedication to biblical teaching is evident. 

Kevin DeYoung’s quote does a good job of summing up Reverberation:

“The secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.”