Proclaimer Blog
EMA Books (4)
For the next few days, we want to replay the EMA stage recommendations in terms of books, particularly for those who were not able to make it. These are not all the books our BookPanel liked – that would be too long a list – but instead those we wanted to particularly identify as being worthy of some reading time. In each case, there is a very brief review, but the main purpose of the posts is to highlight the titles.
All of us, I expect, sometimes (often?) struggle with application. With our long standing focused on exegesis, this remains one of the weak points of our preaching. I’m pretty sure about that. So, a book which challenges us and helps us in equal measure is to be welcome, and that’s what Chris Green’s Cutting to the heart does. Be warned, this isn’t a simple “do this, do that” volume. I guess many of us would like that. But actually application, as Chris shows, is a more complex and nuanced business than that, and so this is a primarily a book about principles rather than presenting, say, a seven step approach. In other words, it rewards some careful reading. I think this is what we need: a thoughtful and deep book about application, primarily because our congregations will soon see through superficial application. This, then, is a book to read relatively slowly and carefully. In fact, I think (having read it once) I would now like to read it again in a group with some other preachers. Any takers?