Culture
Religious Liberty and Ethics
By M. Dever, R. D. Moore | 08.28.2013Mark Dever and Russell Moore discuss Moore’s new role, rap, relevance, and why “it’s even worse than it appears, but it’s alright.”
Book Review: The Great Evangelical Recession, by John Dickerson
Review by Matt McCullough | 9Marks Journal: Is Scripture Enough? | 06.24.2013I found Dickerson’s information convincing overall: evangelical ministries are losing money, people, and the favor of the American public.
Taking Aim at Everyone
By C. Trueman, M. Dever | 03.07.2013Mark Dever asks Carl Trueman about holocaust denial, secularization, “no creed but the Bible,” and everything else under the sun in this far-ranging conversation.
The Math Doesn’t Work: Why the Future of Church Planting is Bi-Vocational
9Marks | 9Marks Journal: Lay Elders: A User’s Guide—Part 2 | 01.03.2013Countless church plants fail for lack of funds. So instead of throwing a Hail Mary, why not explore a new model instead?
Book Review: Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, by Ross Douthat
Review by Matt McCullough | 9Marks Journal: Lay Elders: A User's Guide - Part 1 | 11.13.2012This book is a call for a renewed, robust, public confidence in the power of Christian orthodoxy. All faithful pastors should resonate with this plea.
Facing Up to Sex Trafficking
By Justin Holcomb | 9Marks Journal: Mercy Ministry in the Church | 06.27.2012Should Christians pass off victims of sexual trafficking to non-Christian counselors? Send them to someone else’s church? What? What should pastors know about this world and what can they do?
Book Review: Turning to God, by David Wells
Review by Shane Walker | 9Marks Journal: Wanted: Apostolic Pastors | 05.08.2012In this book, David Wells skillfully delineates the Bible’s teaching on conversion and teaches us how to connect the gospel to the basic mindsets of our day
Book Review: Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by David Jones and Russell Woodbridge
Review by Trevin Wax | 9Marks Journal: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School | 12.29.2011Pastors will want to have not merely one copy of this on their bookshelf, but multiple copies to hand out to church members.
Book Review: Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church, by Soong-Chan Rah
Review by Geoff Chang | 9Marks Journal: The Pastor and his Staff, Part 1 | 06.28.2011This book can be a helpful tool for pastors as they seek to understand the cultural makeup of their churches. But ultimately, its usefulness is limited by how little it focuses on Christ.
Dear Staff, Sincerely, the Senior Pastor
By Jeramie Rinne | 9Marks Journal: The Pastor and his Staff, Part 1 | 06.28.2011The last thing any senior pastor needs is an associate playing Absalom at the gate with disgruntled members.
Book Review: The Next Christians, by Gabe Lyons
Review by Owen Strachan | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Holding the Body Together | 04.28.2011As we’ll see, there is room for agreement and disagreement in the answers Lyons provides to these questions.
The Two Kingdoms and the Natural Law with David VanDrunen
By D. VanDrunen, M. Dever | 04.04.2011Mark Dever asks David VanDrunen for a tutorial on the complex but important topic of a church's role in political society.
Book Review: The God Who Is There, by D. A. Carson
Review by Nicholas G. Piotrowski | 9Marks Journal: Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes? | 03.01.2011This is biblical theology that “understand[s] the life of the Church as well as the way life in the postmodern world works.” It joins only a few like it.
Book Review: Almost Christian, by Kenda Dean
Review by Matt McCullough | 9Marks Journal: Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes? | 02.18.2011This book is worth your time as a penetrating indictment of quasi-Christianity and a source of some helpful advice about how to fight back.
Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom, by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Review by Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Church and Parachurch: Friends or Foes? | 02.02.2011I celebrate the willingness to throw anything overboard that gets in the way of reaching others with the gospel, but I fear some of what’s getting tossed is actually precious cargo.