News & Notes

Just a note to say I've begun to update the Upcoming Releases page with notable forthcoming releases from Christian publishers. January is coming along, with Crossway Books, P&R Publishing, and Cruciform Press represented. My goal is to input the upcoming releases of three publishers per day, which should take me until the end of 2011.

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve!

"The Church"

No human being builds the church;
only Christ alone.
Anyone who wants to build the church
is already engaged in a work of destruction.
Such a person will build a temple for idols,
unintentionally and in ignorance.
We shall bear witness - he will build.
We shall preach - he will build.
We shall pray to him - he will build.
Christ gives his church
a great comfort:
You - confess, preach and bear witness about me.
I - will alone build it as it pleases me.

It's been far, far, far too long, but the Upcoming Releases section has been partially updated for June/July 2011. Thus far the publishers represented include Tyndale House, Cruciform Press, Crossway Books, Revell, Baker Books, Brazos Press, Bethany House, Baker Academic, Banner of Truth, Eerdmans, P&R, Chosen, and IVP UK.

Here are five memorable moments from my reading life.

1. During a short cottage vacation on Keats Island I began to read John Piper's Desiring God for the first time. My mistake was beginning it at bedtime. I was a bleary-eyed Christian hedonist by the next day.

Since this site was launched, thousands of visitors have clicked a link  intending to read our "review" of Joyce Meyers' 2006 book, Look Great, Feel Great: 12 Keys to Enjoying a Healthy Life Now. Up until now, they have been greeted with a disappointing blank white space.

I fell off the wagon - in more ways than one. Firstly, on doctor's orders I tapered off my medication to the second-lowest possible daily dosage. This is a good thing if it works. What wasn't so good was the withdrawal I began to experience, which was manageable, and the resurfacing of my underlying condition (Eosinophilic Pneumonia) evidenced by a continuous cough. Secondly, without the energy to keep up with this site, I fell off the blogging wagon.

...just because I write for Discerning Reader. And I do like books. Not any old book though.

When I did a stint as a Christmas rush clerk at Coles, the little brother of the Canadian Barnes & Noble equivalent, Chapters, I lost track of the amount of folks who assumed I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Not so much, and not only because I knew where to get the books I wanted at prices cheaper than Coles, even after my employee discount.

Yesterday my wife and I had the opportunity to dedicate our two youngest children to God, promising to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It was precious to officially welcome them into the assembled fellowship of God's people, who pledged to aid us in their spiritual nourishment and nurture.

Here is an adaptation of a portion of the Anglican liturgy that I asked our pastor to use in the dedication. Of course it doesn't say everything it could have, but it affected me deeply as I read it in light of my children.

As a relative novice to regular blogging, I spent a disproportionate amount of time and mental energy yesterday and today wondering if I had been too harsh in my most recent post, "You Are Not Methuselah." As Mike Bickle is quoted in Stephen Strang's Old Man, New Man (an otherwise unremarkable book that I wouldn't read twice nor would I recommend highly), "God enjoys the sincere believers

So, stunted-growth Christian, why are you living like you're going to live a thousand years? There is a time for children to push off the floor of the shallow end to begin treading water in progressively deeper water.