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Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation. The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here. Book Reviews We are all familiar with stories about how modern youth – children of preachers, deacons and Sunday school teachers – are leaving the churches of their childhood in droves. This book, subtitled “reclaiming a generation of dropouts,” looks at the problem and the title was inspired by the explanation of a dropout as to why he quit attending, “I did not see church as essential to my life.” That is evidently the feeling over two-thirds of our youth between the ages of 18 and 22 who drop out of church. The author’s research shows 30% stay in church and 70% drop out. The book is divided into two major parts: why people leave the nonessential church (five chapters), and how essential churches close the back door (five chapters). The second section is obviously the main, important one. While the dropout list offers ten main reasons, all boil down to this: churchgoing students drop out of the church because it is not essential to their lives. Obviously, any Christian leader with one brain cell to rub against another would like to know how to stop the bleeding. The authors of this book recommend focusing on four critical areas, abbreviated as simplify – get the structure right; deepen – get the content right; expect – get the attitude right; and, multiply – get the action right. Those keys are developed in part two. The authors offer “seven sins” of a dying church and the first one listed is “doctrine dilution” (you know, trying not to offend anyone) followed closely by “loss of evangelistic passion.” When the ‘go’ goes out of the ‘gospel,’ your church is headed toward extinctville. The last of these seven deadly sins is ‘biblical illiteracy,’ which is really back to number one. Study this comment: “God has converted our children, but we have failed to disciple them.” In fact, “a number of the dechurched admitted that they were biblically ignorant.” The Rainers ‘debunk’ a number of false ideas about why kids quit; the one that surprised me was “young church dropouts leave the fellowship because of their desire for personal freedom. The truth is the opposite.” And because most do not leave their faith – only their church – it stands to reason they could be won back if someone went after them. Another surprise was that only about 10% leave their church because of “the worship style”; we would have thought that a major problem, but students “don’t drop out of church because an organ toots instead of a guitar screeching.” The book also features a number of very timely “essentially this” boxes scattered throughout the volume. Essential teaches some truths without intending to. For example, Ginger dropped out at age 20 and returned at age 24. She is now married to a man that has absolutely no interest in church and she must attend alone. Sins have consequences. Does this book have all the answers? Probably not! Will it help any church leader who reads it, studies it, and applies it in his ministry? Absolutely! And we think any pastor will find the $20 price tag on this book worth every penny. It probably all boils down to whether or not you are willing to pay the price. Victory in any area has never come easy. As my friend, the late Dr. Bill Rice used to say, “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.” * * * * * This is a release through the LifeWay Research arm of the publisher and is subtitled, Guidance for the Movement’s Next Generation. The back cover explains, “No, the multi-site church movement isn’t about great real estate but rather being wherever the Great Commission of Jesus Christ is best fulfilled in the community by your congregation. For some churches – for a variety of reasons – that means adding one or more new meeting places. Others may think becoming a multi-site church is the right move when in fact it is not.” This volume is based on research of 40 congregations where it has proved profitable. It looks at both blessings and mistakes. It includes contributions from experts (meaning they have succeeded in this type ministry), listed alphabetically: Warren Bird, Scott Chapman, Jimmie Davidson, Dave and Jon Ferguson, James MacDonald, Dino Rizzo, Rick Rusaw and Geoff Surratt. All are strangers to us. Of the 40 churches interviewed, only five are Baptist (at least in the sense of having Baptist in their name). Of the web sites listed, five are Baptist, three are Presbyterian, three are Bible churches, three are Christian, one is Lutheran – the rest do not hint as to denomination (although some, admittedly, like Mosiac and Oasis are hard to identify). It is only fair for the reviewer to say up front that this is not his cup of tea. We think that instead of multi-sites with ‘campus pastors,’ if the sites are that far away from the mama church, the task should be one of church planting. If you are into this, however, we think you will find some good ideas here. * * * * * iDENTITY by Eric Geiger; Broadman & Holman Publishing Group, Nashville, TN; 9 Chapters, 196 Pages; $16.99 The subtitle describes it better: who you are in Christ. Aside from introductory and closing chapters, the chapters explain you are His child, the priest, the bride, His servant, God’s friend, an alien, and His ambassador. Intended as a text for group study, there are six or seven group discussion questions at the end of each regular chapter. This work is very well written, very readable. And the author has something to say (if you can get both oft these in the same book, you usually have a winner). Those he quotes range all the way from John MacArthur to Richard Niebuhr. In my judgment, the poorest chapter in the book was the one, “You are an Ambassador.” While Geiger said many good things, I felt he unfairly put down personal evangelism. * * * * * HOPE AMIDST RUIN: A Literary and Theological Analysis of Ezra, by A. Philip Brown II; Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC; 8 Chapters, 273 Pages; $22.95 The author, who is an associate professor at God’s Bible School & College in Cincinnati (OH), earned his PhD at Since the author has his own explanation of this book we will simply use it: “Chapters One and Two deal with macroscopic structuring in Ezra: genre and temporal ordering. Chapter Three analyzes plot composition and dialogue. Chapter Four examines Ezra’s use of point of view and characterization. Chapters Five through Seven delineate the themes Ezra develops regarding Yahweh’s character, the importance of holiness, the Returnees’ continuity with preexilic If you are looking for a verse-by-verse commentary of Ezra you will not find it here. Seeking to make his work scholarly, Brown quotes a wide assortment of new evangelicals and liberals (with the usual disclaimer “The fact that the materials produced by other publishers may be referred to in this volume does not constitute an endorsement of the content or theological position of materials produced by such publishers”). That he has read widely and studied astutely is beyond question, as is verified by his lengthy Bibliography. Nonetheless, this is a good study on Ezra and we are glad to recommend it. He holds a high view of Scripture and that is to be commended. Laymen, however, may find it a little above them. In fact, ministers without a working knowledge of Hebrew will be equally handicapped. Notes are where they should be: on the bottom of the page where referenced, not hidden in the back of the book – which is fortunate in this work because text and notes are tied very closely. The volume also has three figures and eight tables. The basic translation used is the author’s own, but he also quotes the ASV, ESV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NJB, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, and RSV. * * * * * THE SHAPE OF FAITH TO COME by Brad J. Waggoner; B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN; 11 Chapters, 315 Pages; $, Paper Subtitled, Spiritual Formation and the Future of Discipleship, the author develops his theme under seven ‘domains’: the learning quotient, the obedience quotient, the service quotient, the evangelism quotient, the faith quotient, the worship quotient, and the relational quotient. It is based on a “gap analysis” of 2,500 Protestant churchgoers over the course of a year and their demonstrated growth during that time. In short, it sought to measure church success not by budget, attendance, staff size, buildings, or programs, but by the spiritual growth of the members. That is unique, isn’t it? Obviously, however, a church that is not producing is not succeeding! Participants were defined by denominational affiliation and belief systems. Those identified as born-again Christians were those holding to the inerrancy of God’s Word, the reality of Satan, a personal responsibility to witness to the lost, the importance of Christianity in their lives, the sinlessness of Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry, God as omniscient and omnipotent, and salvation by grace alone. The author says he is neither Chicken Little (the sky is falling) or Pollyanna (blindly optimistic), but that his work could be titled, “The Shape of Faith in the Past, Today, and Tomorrow,” but he certainly is not trying to predict what the newest ministerial fads are going to be. He sums his position up in Paul’s declaration, “I’m sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6, HCSB, his basic text). Fundamentalists come off looking like losers herein (unfairly, in my judgment), but we have long been ‘fair game’ for Southern Baptists – but, alas, the feelings have too often been mutual. (Strangely, one of the author’s three pastorates was at One of the reviewer’s favorite chapters was – surprise, surprise – the evangelism quotient. The book abounds with good ideas, suggestions and biblical information. We are glad to recommend it. Alas, the ‘go hunt’ for notes is at the end of each chapter, not on the page where referenced. [Warning to readers: if you meet the author during football season and the Nebraska Cornhuskers aren’t doing so hot, don’t bring up the subject!] * * * * * Should everyone be a mentor? In one sense, yes! Fathers should mentor sons. Mothers should mentor daughters. Grandparents should mentor grandchildren. And mature Christians should mentor novice Christians. Not everything we agree with. For example, he interprets John 2:4 about Jesus as, “He wasn’t sure it was time to start his ministry.” Jesus was never unsure about anything. Nor do we like all his role models (Gordon MacDonald is one; his marital infidelities forever disqualify him as an example). Probably this comes under personal preference, but we don’t like calling God the Father “his Dad” and the Virgin Mary “his mom” when speaking of Jesus. Chancy is one of the mentorees, by the way, and speaks for all in his group. * * * * * ENEMIES AMONG US by Bob Hamer; Fidelis Books, an arm of B & H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN; 55 Chapters, 330 Pages; $14.99, Paper Matt Hogan is an ex-Marine and undercover agent for the FBI. The book opens with him completing a heroin bust on an Arab drug runner, but soon switches to his main assignment for his next undercover assignment: infiltrating a nonprofit charity group called World Angel Clinic, supposedly dedicated to helping It is an exciting novel, no doubt partly due to the flavor of authenticity it carries. Hamer is also an ex-Marine and an ex-FBI undercover agent. Those who think fiction must carry a load of kissum will be disappointed. Our hero here is married to Caitlin and totally devoted and completely true to her. The author expertly weaves into the tale authenticities of terrorist activities and how they operate. It is a good read. You will enjoy it if you are into fiction. This is B&H’s second novel released under the Fidelis label, headed by Oliver North. * * * * * IS YESHUA THE PROPHESIED MESSIAH OF THE HEBREW BIBLE? by Dan Kane; Wine Press Publishing, The author is a converted Roman Catholic (now an independent Baptist) and earlier this year we reviewed his For Our Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Friends, which we recommended. We have a few more problems with this one. For one thing, we were bothered by the author’s style. Because the Hebrews were afraid to spell Jehovah and tried to do so in abbreviated form, leaving out the vowels, Kane does the same in this work, giving God as G-d and Lord as L-rd, even when quoting Scripture. He also gives Jesus as Yeshua and Messiah as Mashiach We found it very disconcerting while reading the book; perhaps others will not. But our main objection, right at the start of the book (p.2) is his description of the Trinity as, “Christians believe that one G-d manifests Himself in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and his explanation of it, “A man, while being only one man with a single nature, manifests himself as husband, father, and employee. This same one expresses his singularity in three different manifestations.” That is the heresy of Sabellianism. It is not that God manifests Himself in three distinct persons; He is three distinct persons. The highly respected theologian Henry Clarence Thiessen (we consider his Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology the very best in our library, the very best out there in fact) said of Kane’s illustration of man as husband, father, and employee (although he spoke of Lyman Abbott’s man as artist, teacher and friend): “… this is in reality a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity, for these are not three distinctions in the essence, but three qualities in one and the same person.” The same is true with Kane’s husband/father/employee. He is still only one person while God is three distinct persons. This error is probably due to Kane’s degrees in science and engineering rather than theology. Kane also thinks the “water” refers to repentance. We hold that it refers to the water of the Word of God. As for the crucifixion, he teaches a Thursday death day, instead of the usual Friday or the popular Wednesday (to get in a full three days and three nights). He correctly calls Luke a Jew (many think he was a Gentile, but Romans 3:1-2 credits the Jew with “unto them were committed the oracles of God”). He also errs in thinking the Hebrew word for virgin in Isaiah He has one Appendix, “Non-Christian Doctrines Taught by So-Called Christian Churches.” He denies there original sin, but accepts man’s inheriting a sin nature from Adam. One item of interest related to his quote from the commander of the For the most part, this is a fine book. Just keep in mind the problems we have noted. * * * * * RUBY’S SLIPPERS by Leanna Ellis; B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN; 26 Chapters, 312 Pages; $14.99, Paper This novel is a spin off of the Wizard of Oz, complete with a woman named Dottie and her dog Otto. Like Oz, the story starts in The plot revolves around red slippers allegedly worn by Judy Garland in the film which, if proven true, would be worth a fortune. Involved is a missing father and the usual romantic plots. This one multiplies the latter. In spite of the way the author twists and turns the plot, she manages to tie all the ends together at the finish. We like to read fiction on flights because they don’t involve much thinking or note making. This one we read on a flight to * * * * * |
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