Introduction Expositions of Christ’s atoning work tend to emphasize the crucifixion and resurrection, and rightly so. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are of paramount importance in what Jesus accomplished, as the Nicene Creed puts it, “for us and for our salvation.” And yet there is more to the atonement than the cross and the empty…
The Second Letter to the Corinthians. By Mark A. Seifrid. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 569 pp., $50.00 hardback. Mark Seifrid is Mildred and Ernest Hogan Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Justification by Faith: The Origin and Development of a Central Pauline Theme and Christ,…
In my first year as a student at Southern Seminary, I took 48 credit hours in nine months: six classes in the fall semester, one class over J-term, six more classes in the spring semester, and three more in the month of June. (I would have taken even more if I could have, but that…
He doesn’t remember carrying the pizza into the emergency room. It was a miracle he was even walking. But Boyce College student Josh Lewis doesn’t desire his newfound celebrity because he delivered a pizza after he was stabbed. He wants the world to know he is not ashamed of the gospel and that he forgives…
Have you heard the story of Jericho Joe? Joseph N. Williamson, a graphic artist and M.Div. student at the time, created a weekly comic strip for The Towers that ran from 1979 – 1981. Williamson hailed from Macon, Georgia, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia a year before…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below, John M. Klaassen, associate professor of global studies at Boyce College, discusses his new book, Engaging with Muslims, with Towers editor S. Craig Sanders. CS: You spent time on the mission field in North Africa with Muslims. Describe your experience with Muslims and what you learned in your time there. JK: We…
Engaging With Muslims (The Good Book Company 2015, $11.99), John Klaassen Review by S. Craig Sanders Now more than ever, understanding the basic beliefs of Islam is imperative for advancing the gospel around the world. But it is also essential if Christians are to engage Muslims living in the United States. In his new book, Engaging…
What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, Matt Perman Review by Andrew J.W. Smith How many times have you heard this cliché, or some variation: “Nobody on their deathbed will wish to have spent more time at the office”? Often intended to discourage “workaholic” attitudes, the implicit lesson is that…
Andrew Fuller was an indefatigable and fearless Baptist theologian and minister, an outstanding figure with qualities that make him one of the most attractive figures in Baptist history. Michael A.G. Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality and director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary, provides a summary of…
Andrew Fuller found himself at the forefront of an evangelical missionary awakening in the latter two decades of the 18th century. Following a generation marked by doctrinal declension, including the popularity of a spiritually stifling hyper-Calvinism, a growing number of English Particular Baptists were becoming convinced that the Bible calls every generation of believers to…
Among the colleagues and contemporaries of Andrew Fuller, Baptists can find much to admire in the ministry of John Fawcett. From a young age, Fawcett had a love for Scripture, but he became particularly enamored with George Whitefield when the great evangelist passed through Bradford in 1755 and spoke from John 3:14. Fawcett later recalled, “As long…
From his childhood player piano to the pulpit, Robert Vogel has loved preaching for over 60 years. He cannot remember a time when he did not know that God had called him into ministry. “As a first grader, I can remember coming home from church and I would go in my bedroom and I would…
EDITOR’S NOTE: In what follows, Jeremy Pierre, dean of students and associate professor of biblical counseling, discusses his new book, The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need, with Towers writer RuthAnne Irvin. RAI: Why is a book like The Pastor and Counseling needed in churches today? Why is it important? JP: We wrote this book for…
The Pastor and Counseling: The Basics of Shepherding Members in Need, Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju Review by RuthAnne Irvin The church often struggles to encourage, comfort, and counsel those hurting in the pews each Sunday. When pastors do not know how to help, counseling is more of a half-hearted attempt to fix someone’s problems instead of…
Baptists and War: Essays on Baptist and Military Conflict, 1640s-1990s, Gordon L. Heath and Michael A.G. Haykin Review by S. Craig Sanders “War is hell.” While Baptists have traditionally agreed with this statement, a new collection of essays examines the history of Baptists and military conflict with views ranging from pacifism to participation. Baptists and War,…
Led along the edge of a Libyan beach by Islamic State militants, 21 Egyptian Christians wearing the orange jumpsuits of prisoners received the white robes of martyrs. A gruesome video released in mid-February depicted their captors forcing the men to the ground and beheading them with swift, simultaneous strokes of the blade. The mass execution…
