book review
How ironic is this?! It is in Ecclesiastes that we find the celebrated quotation – “of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body (Ecc 12.12).” And then it is yet another commentary on this very same 2500 year old Ecclesiastes which demonstrates the value of even more wearisome study…
READ MOREI’ve been getting acquainted with the seventh edition of this “definitive prayer guide to every nation” which is now available as a book and a DVD. What a labour of love this is. And what a contribution to the task of global mission. It should be hanging out in the living rooms, burdening the coffee…
READ MOREA Jenkins-Junkie, that is what I am… [NB – This one took a bit longer because I left my first copy (almost finished) in the seat pocket when disembarking on a plane in Singapore last year. UGH!?]The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South (Oxford University Press, 2006). This is a…
READ MOREThere is a lot to like about this new book from Chris Wright: The Mission of God’s People (Zondervan, 2010). The writing style and the format of the book makes it so accessible to home groups, for example. The ‘sermonic atmosphere’ hovering around the chapters is suggestive to preachers looking for ideas. It is the…
READ MOREThe Capetown Commitment is now available here. My initial impression is positive. I like the effort made to bring ‘unchanging gospel’ and ‘changing world’ together for this time in which we live. Neither text nor context seems compromised. The initial reading causes heart and mind to come alive to both word and world. I am…
READ MOREI’ve been spending some time reflecting on the similarities between the contemporary advertisement and the ancient parable as part of my DMin thesis. [Some reflections on the similarity of the political cartoon and the parable can be found here.] May I introduce you to one of my companions? It is Mario Pricken. While he has…
READ MOREI’ve been spending my early mornings in Bangalore reflecting on the similarities between the political cartoon and the parable (and have even produced 6000 words for my supervisor to show for it!) May I introduce you to two of my companions? 1. The first is Herbert Block – known simply as ‘Herblock’. Triple Pulitzer Prize…
READ MOREWhile in Vanuatu last week I read Miriam Adeney’s, Kingdom Without Borders: the untold story of global Christianity (IVP, 2009). If you love potted and inspiring stories, then this book is for you. [I can actually lose interest with stories and wander off as they are told – but not these ones!] If you want…
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I am a bit slow. The book was published fourteen years ago. I have heard so many people speak so enthusiastically about it. Finally, on a return trip to the UK (and with my first training visit to Cambodia with Langham Preaching later this month), I worked my way through Don Cormack’s Killing Fields, Living…
READ MORETwo biographies are on my mind and in my heart. I read the first one this past weekend. DA (Don) Carson’s story of his Dad, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson (Crossway, 2008). The simple story of an ordinary man. As I read, I was reminded again of how…
READ MOREAbout Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.