Westminster Books has some good Christmas outreach resources discounted this week. They’ve also got a sale on resources related to James.

Thanks to Karen Wade Hayes and Lara d’Entremont for their reviews of Seasons of Sorrow. Thanks also to Christine Chappell who hosts IBCD’s Hope + Help podcast for inviting me to discuss the book.
Today’s Kindle deals include all 5 volumes of the excellent Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series and so many other solid titles.
Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021. Has Death Lost Its Sting?
This month’s cover story at CT was written by my friend Dr. Ewan Goligher and is well worth reading. He says that “the ability to have one’s life ended on short notice is an increasingly acceptable option for Canadian patients—with implications that will reverberate around the globe.” (Though the article is behind a paywall, you should be able to read it for free by registering for an account.)
Peace That Passes All Understanding
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to be prayerful rather than fretful. “That’s certainly easy enough: prayer + thankfulness = peace. Go through the steps, get to peace. Then why doesn’t the formula work? When I am anxious I pray, but my mind keeps drifting back to the anxious circumstance, and before I know it I am trying to solve the problem. After again confessing my distractibility, I get back to praying, only to have the cycle continue.”
Bella Paper Calendars and Stationery
316 Publishing’s beautiful Bella Paper line features the Legacy Standard Bible and includes 2023 calendars & planners, journals, and greeting cards. Through Sunday, save an extra 10% on the entire Bella Paper line with code CHALLIES. (Sponsored Link)
After the Burning
This is a strong piece of writing. “I walk in the hills every month or so to reflect and to pray. The fire wasn’t on the hill I usually walk with Jesus, but I was curious enough to go looking for it, slightly dreading what I might find.”
Is Narcissism the Problem Behind Pastors’ Moral Failures?
Daniel Doriani examines some of what Chuck DeGroat says about narcissism among pastors. “Has DeGroat found the culprit behind pastoral failures? Given that all men are flawed and sinful, it’s certainly true that the church attracts flawed leaders. But does the churchespecially attract the power-hungry and the narcissistic?”
Is the Gospel Glorious, or is the Gospel about the Glory of Christ? (Video)
I enjoy it when Bill Mounce lets us in on some Bible translation conundrums. “Sometimes translators have to make a decision; sometimes there is no ambiguous option. In 2 Cor 4:6, is the gospel glorious or is the gospel about the glory of Christ? It is one or the other, not both.”
Fall 2022 Eikon
CBMW has released a new issue of their journal Eikon in case you’re looking for some slightly academic reading. “Much of this issue is dedicated to reflection on the history, influence, and continued importance of the Nashville Statement.”
Flashback: When God Put Down a Deposit
Our salvation is proof that God is powerful, that he is effective, that he has a plan, that his plan is progressing, and that he will carry it all to completion.

Anger takes everything personally, as if everything is an intentional act to make your life miserable. —Ed Welch

It can be awkward to reach out to those who are deep in grief. It can be hard to know what to say and easy to believe that our words are more likely to offend than comfort, to make a situation worse rather than better. We sense that our words ought to be few, but also that the worst thing to say is nothing at all.

I recently consulted with a few other parents who have experienced the loss of a child and want to offer a few things you can say to grieving parents that may prove an encouragement to them—a flicker of light in their time of deep darkness. These phrases may be helpful to people experiencing other forms of grief, but I offer them particularly for those grieving the loss of a child.
“I am praying for you.” This is the one thing every person can do and the one thing that is simplest to say. When a family has experienced a deep loss, you can intercede for them and then, as a means of encouragement, simply let them know that you have been doing so. You may even tell them how you have been praying for them—perhaps what Scriptures you have been praying on their behalf. One word from the Word is worth a thousand from anywhere else.
“I will never grow tired of your grief.” A deep loss is very nearly all-consuming. For weeks and even months it can completely dominate a life. The one who is experiencing the grief may soon begin to fear becoming an annoyance to others—to fear they will wonder why he or she isn’t yet over it. It is a tremendous blessing, then, to have one or two trusted friends offer this assurance: “I will never grow tired of your grief.” This makes those friends a safe harbor for expressing sorrow, whether weeks, months, or even years later. It blesses the sufferer to know they will always have someone who will listen patiently as they pour out their broken hearts.
“I’ll stick with you all the way.” Many well-wishers will express condolences in the early days, but few will continue to be present and available weeks, months, or years later. This is completely understandable, of course. Yet there is a place for a small number of close friends to say, “I’ll stick with you all the way.” This is an agreement that they will continue to be available and continue to initiate good conversations in the latter days as much as the early days. These people may want to schedule regular meetings and check-ins—perhaps breakfast or coffee every couple of weeks at first, then with the gap widening as time passes. These people will want to ensure they live up to their word and truly do stick with their friends all the way.
“Text me any time and say only, ‘I’m having a bad day.’” On days of deep grief, it can be difficult for a grieving parent to reach out for help because it would be too overwhelming to have to offer explanations and answer questions. There is freedom in being able to text someone to say only “I’m having a bad day” with no further explanation and no follow-up interrogation. This is an invitation not to have the other person call and counsel, but simply to stop and pray. That person can be a tremendous encouragement by replying with nothing more than this: “I’ll pray for you right now.”
“Dinner is on me.” When people are deep in grief, little things can become big things. Mourners carry a heavy burden of spiritual and emotional trauma that makes even tasks as simple as preparing meals onerous or very nearly impossible. One of the most helpful things you can do is provide food—whether dropping off a meal (preferably hot and ready-to-eat at dinner time), ordering one through UberEats or SkiptheDishes, or sending along gift cards. This fulfills one of those essential tasks and takes it out of the hands of the one experiencing such difficulty. (Alternatively or additionally, if you are at the grocery store, text and ask, “I’m at the store, is there anything I can pick up for you?”)
“One of my favorite memories is…” A fear of all parents who have lost a child is that their child will be forgotten (which would, in turn, make them feel like their child’s life didn’t matter). For this reason, sharing favorite memories is often a means of encouragement. Most parents long to know those stories and to laugh and cry as they hear them.
“I am thinking of you today.” After the initial days, weeks, and months following a loss, grief tends to reassert itself on occasions and anniversaries. It can be an expression of love and care to get in touch with the family on the birthday of the child who died as well as on the anniversary of his death. If relevant, it may also be a blessing to be in touch on the day he would have been married or would have graduated, and so on. This is perhaps especially important in the first year—the year of so many firsts.
“What can I do for your kids?” The death of a child impacts the entire family, including older and younger siblings. It may be extremely helpful for friends to step in to babysit younger children and to spend time with or even informally counsel older children. Little gifts or tokens of love for the kids may prove a blessing.
“May I pay my respects?” For many families, it is a sign of love and respect for friends to visit the grave of their loved one. Some may prefer to be there when their friends visit and others will be encouraged simply to know that their friends took the time. But, either way, the family may be blessed to know you have visited the grave and paid your respects.
(A word about cemetery etiquette: You can simply stand quietly at a graveside to remember the deceased or to pray and thank God for the person’s life and ask him to bless the grieving family. Though it is not at all necessary, it may be meaningful to take flowers and simply lay them at the grave. Some cemeteries have strict regulations about what can be brought and left, others have no regulations at all. If you visit on your own, the family may be encouraged to know you visited, so consider telling them.)

In the past few weeks I have seen a fair bit of discussion about book endorsements—about those little blurbs you so often find inside the first few pages or on the back cover of a newly-published book. There seems to be some consensus that the entire endorsement system is faulty, but little consensus about what to do about it. I thought I’d give a behind-the-scenes glance at the system based on my understanding and my experience and then offer a few of my own thoughts about what, if anything, should be fixed.

How Endorsements Work
After an author completes a manuscript, and after an initial round or two of editing, the publisher begins to seek endorsements. Most often it is the responsibility of the author to request and provide these, though occasionally the publisher will make the request—especially with better-known authors. The publisher usually provides a PDF of the manuscript in near-final condition with the option to instead receive it printed on plain printer paper (since at this stage it has not yet been printed as a bound book). It almost always comes with a warning that the contents may still change a little bit as editing continues. They typically come with a deadline of 4 to 6 weeks. The person who has been asked to write the blurb then writes it out and sends it through to the author or publisher along with their preferred attribution (e.g. —Tim Challies, blogger and author).
Publishers will usually want to have at least 5 or 6 solid endorsements for a book. Endorsers are most often chosen for their connection to the topic of the book or for their name recognition. Of course to get 5 or 6 you may need to request 10 or 15, and this is one reason books occasionally end up with several pages of endorsements. Authors will usually request them from friends and acquaintances and perhaps also make a few long-shot requests from people they admire but don’t know.
I can only speak personally here, but I have never been offered money or any other perk in exchange for an endorsement. Neither have I ever had any “tit-for-tat” pressure applied as if I owe it to someone since they once did something nice for me—though it’s possible I have applied this pressure to myself at times.
I haven’t ever counted, but I probably receive 30 or 40 endorsement requests per year and suspect there are other people who receive far more. Some are from people I know, some are from people I haven’t met but look up to, some are from people I have never heard of before.
If someone provides an endorsement, they basically do so as an act of kindness, as there is little to gain, especially when measured against the time it takes to read a book and write a blurb. And you may need to trust me when I say they are surprisingly difficult to write.
Why Publishers Want Endorsements
Endorsements are considered a necessary part of publishing a book for a number of reasons, most of which are quite obvious. Here are some of them.
Most obviously, they work. It’s easy for readers to blame the industry, but I think it would be just as easy for the industry to blame the readers. As readers, we want to be able to assess books quickly and without rigorous analysis. Endorsements offer us the shortcut we want.
Then, readers cannot be familiar with every author, so endorsements help make relational connections. “I don’t know this author, but if that person I do know appreciates her, she must be okay.” In this way they are a free and effective marketing tactic.
Also, many publishers publish such a wide variety of authors that their brand does not offer any clues as to whether a book will be very good or very bad or somewhere between. No matter what comes from Banner of Truth you know it will be good and trustworthy because they are so judicious with what they produce. But then the publisher who publishes John MacArthur also publishes Sarah Young, so its own brand doesn’t count for nearly as much. Endorsers can provide credibility that publishers do not.
Then there’s this: endorsements are good for search engines, whether that is a global one like Google or a specific one like Amazon. Forewords, which are essentially long-form endorsements, are even more effective in this way. Sometimes the main purpose in an endorsement or foreword is to associate a book with a name that is more recognized that the author’s.
Finally, there are so many books being published, and often on the same subject, that endorsements can separate them from one another. What makes a reader choose one marriage book over another when both may be perfectly good? It could be the names recommending it on the back cover.
And I am sure there are many more reasons besides.
What Endorsements Mean
It would be a mistake to assume that every endorsement means that the person has thoroughly or completely read that book. We could debate whether it should mean this, but as it stands it does not. It could mean that the person has read it all or it could mean he has skimmed it. It could even mean he hasn’t read as much as a single word. Sometimes a clue will be in the endorsement (e.g. “I love this author and make sure to recommend all of his books”) and sometimes you will only be able to guess.
I expect that every endorser sets out to read every word of every book, but sooner or later is challenged in their conviction. And, to be fair, the ethics of endorsements are not always completely straightforward.
What about a condensed version of an existing work that I endorsed in the past? Can my endorsement roll over from the longer work to the shorter version of it? I was recently asked this very question.
I was recently asked to write a blurb for a book that is on a non-controversial topic I know well, by an author I know well, and even edited by an editor I know well. I have read probably 20 books on the subject, including every one the author cites. Should I read thoroughly or will a relatively quick skim suffice?
What about a reference work? I was asked to write endorsements for very large systematic theologies by both John MacArthur and Wayne Grudem—the first edition of MacArthur’s Biblical Doctrine and the second edition of Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Each would take weeks to read carefully from cover-to-cover. I am quite familiar with both authors and what they believe. Should I have read every word?
Or what about when a publisher asks for endorsements for the collected works of a historic author? I was asked to write a blurb for a three-volume set by an author who lived and died more than a century ago. I have read some, but not all of what those volumes contain. Should I read all 2,500 pages before writing the endorsement?
All of this to say, endorsements are perhaps a little more complicated than we might think. I believe most authors and publishers do their best to treat them seriously and ethically, even if also imperfectly.
Do Endorsements Need to Be Fixed?
Does the endorsement system need to be fixed? I don’t really think it does. It may not be ideal, but not much in this world really is. I am convinced that it works well enough and I am not convinced we have a viable alternative. So maybe let me offer a few suggestions for both readers and authors.
Readers:

Don’t make too much of endorsements. Don’t take them as meaning more than they do. Read them to ensure you know what the endorser is really saying. And understand that what an endorsement really communicates is “I trust this person enough to extend a bit of my reputation and credibility toward him.”
Develop your own list of trusted endorsers—people who you have come to regard as reliable in their recommendations.
Go a little deeper in evaluating the merits of a book than simply reading the blurbs on the back cover.
Don’t assume that the endorsing system is corrupt or driven by anything more (or less) than friendships and goodwill. There may be some exceptions, but I think they are few and rare.

Authors & Endorsers:

Take endorsements seriously. Do you remember how honored you were the first time you got asked to write one? Try to maintain that sense of privilege rather than regarding them as just another chore.
Write honest endorsements that avoid hyperbole. And it’s probably better to read manuscripts more thoroughly and write fewer endorsements than to endorse far more based on quick skims.
Understand and accept the risk you take when penning an endorsement. It is no small thing to put your name on another person’s work, because if the book ends up being controversial and gaining criticism, you may catch some of the flack. If you are going to read books in a cursory way, understand that your risk is even greater.
Don’t request more endorsements than you really need. No book benefits from having three or four pages of them. And no one wants the endorsement they took the time to write to be one of 30. So don’t waste people’s precious time and don’t feed your ego by pursuing quantity.