Another month has come and gone. For readers, that means that publishers have released another batch of books. I am in the happy position of receiving most of them, so sorted through the various stacks to arrive at this list of new and notables. In each case, I’ve included the editorial description so you can get a sense of what the book is all about. While June is not the month that sees the most new releases, I still hope there’s something here that interests you.

Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life by Mark Vroegop. “Throughout our lives, we experience countless periods of waiting. Some moments are mere nuisances—others are daunting seasons filled with intense worry and doubt. We grow impatient by immovable traffic or crave an impending answer to a medical condition. Whatever our current circumstances, our innate response is to take action rather than stay still. In Waiting Isn’t a Waste, author Mark Vroegop calls believers to resist the human urge for control and lean on Christ for comfort while we wait for the uncertainties of life to unfold. Vroegop explores what it means to wait on God through 6 important characteristics—waiting is hard, common, biblical, slow, commanded, and relational. This book not only teaches readers how to wait on God but inspires them to embrace waiting—for it prompts wisdom from God and brings invaluable peace to the present.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

The Life of Peter: Molded in the Master’s Hands by Derek Thomas. “It isn’t hard for Christians to identify with the Apostle Peter. As he sought to follow after Jesus, his life was punctuated by bold moments and momentous blunders alike. Yet in spite of Peter’s sins, he was the Apostle who confessed the Christ, to which Jesus replied, “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:16, 18). The Lord would use this vessel of clay to bring the hope of the gospel to the world. In this book, Dr. Derek Thomas offers an encouraging portrait of Peter from the Gospels and the book of Acts, with insights from Peter’s own writings later in life. At every stroke, our eyes are drawn beyond the disciple to his gracious Master, who fashions stumbling believers into stalwarts of faith.” (Buy it at Amazon)

Made in Our Image: God, Artificial Intelligence, and You by Stephen Driscoll. “Artificial intelligence is coming. No life will be left untouched. What does Christianity have to say about this brave new world? What will living for Jesus look like in a world where humans, made in God’s image, coexist with intelligent machines made in our image? Author, pastor and self-confessed ‘tech realist’ Stephen Driscoll answers these questions with a deep dive into the intersection of faith and technology. Avoiding the extremes of both the tech worshippers and the ‘doomers’, Driscoll offers accessible and illuminating insights into the nature of AI, along with practical tips on how Christians might use this technology for good. Most of all, he shows how the deepest structures of biblical thought will equip Christians to live with AI.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Neighborhoods Reimagined: How the Beatitudes Inspire our Call to be Good Neighbors by Chris & Elizabeth McKinney. “Somewhere along the way we drifted apart from our next-door neighbors, and now we’re not sure we can get back together again. We lack a clear vision for showing and sharing Jesus’ love with them and how his countercultural values might transform our neighborhoods, including us. But just imagine. Imagine a neighborhood where people are connected rather than isolated, where wrongs are righted, where mercy brings fences down, and where we become agents in seeing God’s kingdom come. Believing the beatitudes are Jesus’ invitation into neighborhood flourishing, Neighborhoods Reimagined envisions how these upside-down values can turn our corners right-side-up.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

What Is Covenant Theology?: Tracing God’s Promises through the Son, the Seed, and the Sacraments by Ryan M. McGraw. “From animal sacrifice in the Old Testament to baptism and Communion in the New Testament, the Bible can seem like it contains vastly different instructions for how God’s people are to worship him through visible means. But Scripture is a complete story of redemption, one that is breathtaking in its unity. By observing how all biblical events connect through God’s covenants with his people, believers can better grasp the beauty of the triune God and the breathtaking unity of Scripture, knowing the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. In this practical introduction, professor Ryan McGraw gives readers a framework for understanding the structure of the Bible. Explaining the blessing of covenant theology, he reveals how the sacraments illustrate God’s relationship with his people throughout the ages and help unify all parts of Scripture, from God’s promises in Genesis to their fulfillment in Revelation. Exploring the covenants of redemption, works, and grace, this book will give readers clarity about the gospel, and teach them how to live in fellowship with the triune God and others.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Elder-Led Church: How an Eldership Team Shepherds a Healthy Flock by Murray Capill. “Church leadership is a shared responsibility, not a solo venture. This book equips pastors and elders to lead the church together as a team, focusing not so much on what they are to be but on what they as a body are to do. Written by a former pastor, now a seminary lecturer and longtime volunteer elder, this book is a groundbreaking resource for local churches of all shapes and sizes.” Iain Duguid says of it, “Capill’s book on eldership is clear, biblical, practical, and engaging. I encourage elders to read it for themselves and pastors to purchase it for all their elders. And if your church doesn’t have elders, this book makes a compelling case for why it should.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Loneliness: Don’t Hate It or Waste It. Redeem It. by Steve DeWitt. “For years, Steve DeWitt was the only never married megachurch pastor in the United States. This put him in proximity to thousands of people, yet he lived his daily life alone. Over some 8,000 days as an adult single, and now eleven years of marriage, Pastor Steve has a unique perspective on solitude and aloneness. Loneliness addresses this pervasive ache from his personal experience and pastoral viewpoint. In a time when loneliness is at an all-time high, this book–rich with biblical truth and practical help–speaks to all hearts. DeWitt explores the invitation of Jesus when our hearts feel alone and isolated. Writing on topics that affect us and the ones we love–such as loneliness and the gospel, loneliness and singleness, loneliness and marriage, and loneliness and leadership–he shows us the way out of our pain and into relational flourishing with God and others.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

To Walk and to Please God: A Theology of 1 and 2 Thessalonians by Andrew S. Malone. “Like Paul’s other early churches, Thessalonica experienced great societal pressure to conform to the surrounding culture. But amid persecution, the Thessalonians remained faithful to their call to holiness as they patiently awaited Jesus’s return. These epistles provide a positive and practical example of what Christians should believe and how they should behave today. In this volume of the New Testament Theology series, author Andrew Malone explores 1 and 2 Thessalonians to highlight the life cycle of Christian discipleship–turning away from idols, trusting in the gospel message, having hope that the Lord will return, and continually pleasing the one true God until that return. Through clear and engaging theological examinations, Malone expounds on predominant themes–enhancing gospel reputation, persistence in the face of opposition, Christian life within an unbelieving society, and more–explaining how they are relevant for the church today.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Preaching: A Sermon Collection by Charles Spurgeon (Introduction by Jason K. Allen). “What set Charles Haddon Spurgeon apart more than any of his other accomplishments was his ability behind the pulpit. Crowds gathered weekly, with visitors coming from around the world to hear the Holy Spirit pour out through his sermons. No matter the topic, modern readers would be wise to see what Spurgeon had to say. In this volume Jason K. Allen has compiled some of Spurgeon’s most poignant sermons on the topic of preaching; and who better than the ‘Prince of Preachers’ to speak to teachers today about the ins and outs of preaching the Word of God.” (Buy it at Amazon)

Subjects and Citizens: The Politics of the Gospel by Michael P. Jensen. “Michael writes to help Christian rediscover ‘a truly Christ-centred vision for human politics’. The heart of that vision is based around a careful study of Romans 12-15, calling Christians to be who they are as the church: ‘subjects of the Lord Jesus and citizens of the kingdom of heaven’. The aim is that this perspective will help Christians to navigate the alienation and anxiety that dominate contemporary debates, providing a fresh way to think about contemporary politics. Michael distinguishes ‘Politics 1.0’, the politics of this world (where temporary, earthly kingdoms exist within the present age), from ‘Politics 2.0’, ‘where Jesus Christ reigns in the Kingdom of God’ (which exists here and now within the church, but will continue into the world to come when Christ returns). The book argues that ‘Politics 1.0’ has its place, but also its limitations.” (Buy it at Amazon)

Grace From Heaven: Prayers of the Reformation by Robert Elmer (editor). “The Reformation was an extraordinary time of profound spiritual fervor. Grace from Heaven collects prayers from influential Protestant voices of the Reformation that express deep longings, theological richness, and a burning desire for God’s grace. The prayers are arranged by topic and time—from praise to petition, morning to evening—so that your prayer life can be interwoven with the rich tapestry of prayers of faithful Christians from the past. By praying along with Martin Luther, John Calvin, Marguerite de Navarre, William Tyndale, and many others, we join the chorus of Reformation believers in prayer and contemplation.” (Buy it at Amazon)

The Giver of Life: The Biblical Doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Salvation by J.V. Fesko. “God’s Spirit unites believers to Christ, conforms them to his image, and equips them for witness and ministry. In The Giver of Life, J. V. Fesko reflects on the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the application of Christ’s work for the salvation of sinners. Through a combination of biblical, historical, and theological study, Fesko illuminates the blessing of God’s presence with his people. Written from a confessionally Reformed perspective in dialogue with the great creeds of the church, The Giver of Life provides a thorough and trustworthy guide to the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation.” (Buy it at Amazon)

Grace and peace to you today.

We are wrapping up the month with a few new Kindle deals.
(Yesterday on the blog: Not a Lack of Food, But a Lack of Hunger)
When the Mob Shows Up the Monday After Roe
Michael Lawrence: “About 7 p.m. on Monday, three days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, between 75 and 100 people assembled at a park near the church I pastor in Portland, Oregon. In broad daylight, they marched to our office building two blocks away.”
God loves to surprise his children
I like this one. “Any parent will tell you, there is something fantastic about surprising your kids. Whether it is birthdays and Christmas, holidays or just a random treat, surprising your kids is wonderful. There is a rich seam of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram content centred on this very thing. Parents love surprising their children. God is no different.”
Life Is Precious
“Are children a limit on personal autonomy? Yes. There’s no getting around it. They take resources. They need help, care, support, food, time, energy, and the list goes on and on. They need everything supplied to them for a long time. And is there a better way to use autonomy than this?”
Dear Anxious Heart, I Want You To Know…
Amber has some encouraging words for those who struggle with anxiety.
I Despise My Sufferings. And I’m So Thankful For Them.
This is a strange paradox, but a familiar one.
60 Questions for Pro-Choice Christians
“I have 60 questions for any Christian who identifies as pro-choice. These are not meant to be dismissive, snarky, or rhetorical. They are much more helpful than calling an entire segment of people ‘bigots’ or ‘baby murderers.’”
Flashback: A Soul Physician
We are all responsible before God to be involved, to observe carefully, to diagnose accurately, and to treat patiently. Are you caring for the souls of others?

If there is no joy and freedom, it is not a church: it is simply a crowd of melancholy people basking in a religious neurosis. If there is no celebration, there is no real worship. —Steve Brown

There is much that is expected of pastors and church leaders, much for which they have often been inadequately prepared. At various points most will find themselves having to respond to situations that involve domestic abuse. This could be a woman coming to them and pleading for protection from her husband, it could be an allegation coming from a third party who observed something alarming, it could be an abuser confessing sin and seeking reconciliation. Few people know how to respond well, respond confidently, respond helpfully.

It is for exactly this reason that Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson have written When Home Hurts: A Guide for Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church. “[We] wrote this book to help you be the kind of church leader, church member, friend, parent, sibling, or neighbor who responds wisely. We want the Church to be a new normal for those grown accustomed to abuse—a home that doesn’t hurt those inside, but instead welcomes them into the tender care of the Lord.” The book is, then, a guide for church leaders (or others) who wish to help people who are suffering under domestic abuse.
When Home Hurts is divided into three parts. In the first part, the authors explain how to understand abuse and do this by explaining the reader’s role as an agent of God’s love. Love, they say, “is the reverse of abuse because it builds others up at cost to self, rather than builds self up at cost to others. But love is not an equal opposite—it’s far more powerful because, unlike abuse, love is sourced from the eternal depths of God’s heart. You are an agent of a love much bigger than you.” They then explain the dynamics of domestic abuse and offer important considerations about terminology: “Terms like abuse, abuser, victim, and survivor each have a variety of meanings in domestic abuse literature. These terms can be helpful, but only as circumstantial identifiers, not core identities. Helpful uses of these terms are simply circumstantial descriptions of a person in relation to the abuse that occurred. Unhelpful uses are identifiers that define a person entirely by their relation to the abuse that occurred.” They describe abuse in this way: “Abuse occurs as a person in a position of greater influence uses his personal capacities to diminish the personal capacities of those under his influence in order to control them.” They then offer a framework to discern those abusive dynamics in real-world situations.
In the second part of the book they provide guidance on responding after an initial disclosure of domestic abuse. Over three chapters they tell how to care for the victim, how to confront the abuser, and how to consider the inevitable collateral damage. “To put it simply, we first care for the victim(s) and do all that we can to ensure their safety. Only after the victim’s safety is assured, and with her advice and consent, do we begin working with the person who is acting abusively. Only after those two tasks are well underway can we consider the possibility of a third. If the victim is safe and willing, is healing from the trauma of the abuse, and the abuser is no longer exhibiting abusive patterns and is responding well to ongoing accountability, then efforts at reviving or reconciling the marriage will be much more successful. You must neither get this triage out of order nor fast-track it.”
In the third and final part, the authors turn from the initial response to long-term care. They want their readers to help the person who has suffered domestic abuse to advance from being a victim to being an overcomer and to help the person who has committed domestic abuse to advance from being an abuser to being a servant. They want church leaders to lead their congregation in such a way that it responds with wisdom and compassion, that it offers true and substantial hope, help, and healing.y
A series of appendices offer counsel on a number of further issues such as false allegations; separation, divorce, and remarriage; finding trauma counselors; taking advantage of national and state domestic violence resources; and those occasions when more typical roles are reversed so that a husband finds himself a victim of his wife’s abuse.
When Home Hurts is exactly the book I had hoped it would be when I picked it up. It is a book that will do what it promises—help well-meaning but inadequately-trained Christians to respond well to very difficult situations. It will give them confidence that they can be truly helpful in truly crucial times. I suggest reading it through once outside of a given situation, then keeping it on-hand to serve its purpose at those times when you are called upon to walk alongside a victim.
“We want you to be sure that God will be with you as you enter into this situation,” say the authors. “We know it’s not easy being a pastor, church leader, family member, or friend facing such a difficult situation. But rest assured, the Lord desires that we respond wisely, and He will supply the wisdom to do so. In fact, you get the privilege of displaying the heart of God— kind, stable, self-giving—to people who’ve had the opposite displayed to them. You get to be an agent of God’s love for someone who may have forgotten what real love is—and what it looks like in the family of God.” It’s for these very reasons that I give this book my highest recommendation.

Buy from Amazon