The Contenders

Last week I attended the Shepherds’ Conference at Grace Community Church. Year after year the bookstore draws a lot of attention. As part of today’s recap of Shepherds’ Conference 2018 I’d like to share the books I received (or bought) from Shepherds’ that I’ll be reading and why I’ll be reading them.

Abner Chou’s, “The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers: Learning to Interpret Scripture from the Prophets and Apostles.” Personally, I love the topic of hermeneutics. While talking theology is great, I believe the main reason why people have differing theology is due to differences on the hermeneutical level. The implications of a topic like this are important for what happens in a pastor’s study and therefore his pulpit ministry (namely, biblical theology). Therefore, this book can help edify and strengthen my responsibility to the church to faithfully teach the entire counsel of God’s Word.

James E. Dolezal’s, “All that is in God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Theism.” This book was part of the free giveaway that every attendee received. Even if this book did not come free, I was planning on purchasing this book because of the recent debate surrounding divine simplicity. It’s been discussed all over the blog world (The Cripplegate, Kevin DeYoung at TGC, Fred Sanders, Keith A. Mathison). Therefore, I want to read this book to help me understand the debate and because it is theologically interesting to me.

Jim Newheiser’s, “Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage: Critical Questions and Answers.” This book is important because of the world we live in and the practical implications it carries for everyday ministers. Honestly, I have always assumed that divorce is permissible because of the exception clauses in Matthew 19 and 1 Corinthians 7. Still, a few conversations with other pastors have led me to consider the position of no divorce and no remarriage. I’m hoping this book will help me better understand this immensely serious issue. I hope this book makes me a better pastor to my local church.

Richard P. Belcher’s, “Ecclesiastes. I thought I’d pick up another commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes as I continue to preach through the book. I already have a fairly healthy amount (Longman, Seow, Fox, Barrick, Bartholomew), but this expositional commentary would be helpful.