Tim Ellsworth

Just wanted to pass along a few recommendations for books that I’ve read recently. The first is Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God.” Keller does an outstanding job of answering some of the most common objections people have to Christianity. My highlighter worked overtime on this book.

The second is “Instructing a Child’s Heart” by Tedd and Margy Tripp.  The book is a follow-up to the Tripps’ excellent “Shepherding a Child’s Heart.” With these two books, the Tripps have been an incredible blessing to Christian parents who take seriously their task to raise godly children.

And just for fun, I read Ben Mezrich’s “Bringing Down the House” — the story of the MIT blackjack team members who used their math skills to win millions in Vegas. Simply fascinating. I couldn’t put it down.

We now have a cover for my forthcoming book, “God in the Whirlwind: Stories of Grace from the Tornado at Union University.” The book goes to the printer this morning and we’re still on target for a June 1 publication date.

For the past month, I’ve been at work on a book entitled “God in the Whirlwind: Stories of Grace from the Tornado at Union University,” to be published by B&H Publishing Group.

The book, which will be available June 1, is a collection of stories about how God has acted providentially in the lives of students and others through the Feb. 5 tornado that hit Union University.

The project has been a consuming one for me, but I’ve been blessed to put into writing some incredible stories about God’s grace. I hope it will be a blessing to those who read it.

I’m almost finished with the book, and will be sending it to the publisher on Tuesday. I’ll post more updates as the publication date nears.

From Louis Berkhof (1873-1957), in “Foundations of Christian Education,” by Berkhof and Cornelius Van Til.

The Reformed Christian, who believes that the child is the image-bearer of God, naturally proceeds on the assumption that the most fundamental truth may not be ignored in any part of his education, and especially not in his school education. This fact may well be stressed in our day. In view of the fact that the influence of the Christian home is waning, and that the church can devote only a couple of hours a week to the religious training of its youth, the school is easily the most important educational agency of the present. Is it not the height of folly even from a purely educational point of view to let the most important agency in education ignore that which is most essential and most fundamental in the life of the child? And can Christian parents reasonably expect their children to be imbued with a spirit of true religion if they persist in sending them to a school where for twenty-four hours a week they are taught in a spirit that is fundamentally irreligious, if not positively anti-Christian? The answer can only be a decided negative. And experience will bear out the correctness of this answer. America is today reaping in its churches what it has sown in its schools. It has sown through the secularized schools, and it is reaping a purely naturalistic religion. (Emphasis in original)

Britney Spears’ mom Lynne has written a book on parenting to be published by Thomas Nelson. The book’s release will be delayed, however, after the news that her 16-year-old daughter Jamie-Lynn is pregnant.

Lynne Spears on parenting? Talk about a waste of ink and paper. What’s next? Paris Hilton on self-control? Bill Belichick on integrity? Charlie Weis on nutrition? Albert Mohler on baseball?

Maybe there’s still hope for my book on nuclear engineering. Time to give Thomas Nelson a call.

Hat tip: geno

If you’re looking for your big break in writing, maybe this craigslist ad is it.

But don’t pursue it if you’re not really interested, because the person who posted the ad wants cereus replies only.

Hat tip: geno

Good column by author Ridley Pearson, who recounts his childhood memories of his father reading to the family at the dinner table.

But it was the evening dining table reading that connected the family. Usually no more than a paragraph or two was read, sometimes a page or more. And it wasn’t intended as a jumping-off point of discussion (although it often had that effect); it was read because the subject matter was something my dad had been thinking about, or he’d stumbled onto a page that was just too good not to share.

That, I think, was the underlying message that I came away with: Reading is to be shared. Like a good meal. Reading is what connects the dots between the forty-somethings and the 6-year-olds. Reading is for everyone.

J. Mark Bertrand’s new book, “Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World,” published by Crossway, is now available. His purpose:

First, we need to recapture a more complex, more nuanced appreciation of what worldview really is. Without that, we can’t proceed. Second, we need to situate worldview in the larger context of a lived faith, finding out how all this intellectual labor should affect not only the way we think but also how we act. To do this will require a renewed focus on the biblical concept of wisdom, which is one of those things we tend to talk about rather than practice. Finally, this book will explore the organic connections between worldview and wisdom, and how they express themselves in witness.

Endorsed by Marvin Olasky, Leland Ryken, David S. Dockery and David Naugle, “Rethinking Worldview” is divided into three sections: worldview, wisdom and witness. I found the last section on “witness” — in which he addresses such topics as cultural engagement and apologetics — to be the best and most helpful of the three.

The book will not tell you what to think, nor will it teach you how to think. Instead, “My aim is to inspire reflection and action; so think of this book as a conversation, where you are free to elaborate and dissent,” Bertrand writes.

Visit Bertrand’s blog at Rethinking Worldview.

A Catholic school in Massachusetts has banned the Harry Potter book series from its library, after the pastor of the church that runs the school removed them, “declaring that the themes of witchcraft and sorcery were inappropriate for a Catholic school.”

I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, but I plan to do so. From what I’ve heard, I think I’ll probably enjoy them.

Tim Challies is having another book giveaway. First prize this time is 40 copies of “The Truth of the Cross,”  by R.C. Sproul and one copy of “Jesus the Evangelist” by Richard Phillips.

Jim Toms won first prize in the last contest that Challies did (through a link that I provided — I still think I should get some kind of commission), so let’s make it two in a row. Enter the drawing here.

Albert Mohler has posted some thoughts on the reading of books. Good stuff here.

How do you approach your reading? Do you have any kind of system or routine?

I probably need to be more systematic in my reading, because most of the time there’s no rhyme or reason to it. I typically read what I’m in the mood to read.

I just finished “While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within,” by Bruce Bawer. I highly recommend it, but it’ll scare the snot out of you. He shows how many European countries are so sold out to political correctness and so intimidated by Muslims that they’re allowing radical Muslims to take over their countries. It’s too bad Europe didn’t learn anything from World War II.

I’m getting ready to start Tony Dungy’s book and Steve Weaver’s new book on Hercules Collins.

Tim Challies is sponsoring a book giveaway contest. First prize is all six available volumes of the Reformed Expository Commentary series. Second prize is any three volumes from the series, and third prize is one volume from the series. Go and enter.

A new survey shows that one out of four adults didn’t read a single book last year.

From Honey for a Child’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt:

What do books bring a child? A recap is in order: a big world with all its possibilities — people to know and understand, places to imagine, eyes to see beyond the obvious, words to stretch the mind and heart, and a lasting stewardship of language used in the right way.

A new book about Hercules Collins — “Devoted to the Service of the Temple: Piety, Persecution, and Ministry in the Writings of Hercules Collins” — co-edited by Steve Weaver and Michael Haykin — is now available.

Here’s a brief description:

While largely forgotten in modern times, Hercules Collins (1646/7-1702) was highly influential among the late 17^th and early 18^th century Calvinistic Baptists of London. Through a biographical sketch and 35 sample selections collected from Collins’s writings, Michael A. G. Haykin and Steve Weaver introduce us to the vibrant spirituality of this colossal figure.

I don’t know much about Collins, but I do know about the book’s authors and am looking forward to finding out more about Collins. I’ve already ordered my copy of the book, and I hope you’ll do so as well. Buy it here.