Frank A. Brock, former President of Covenant College packs a ton of wisdom into this short book, available as of this moment for $5.20, 60% off. It echoes a lot of the themes I discussed in Thriving at College, but in a book suitable to parents walking their children through the college preparation and selection process.
Brock sets out to help parents “understand something of the educational landscape and see that there are many types of learning communities with differing philosophies of education, all of which have different outcomes.” He wants to help higher education customers be discerning, because “there’s a difference between getting a degree and getting a good education.”
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June 3, 2012 in
Culture, Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College |
They talk transition at Bethlehem, and church pastoral transition in general:
HT: Collin Hansen
May 29, 2012 in
Personal, Practical Ministry, Theology |
Justin Buzzard’s new book, Date Your Wife, is now available on Amazon, and will soon be shipping from WTS Books. The content is great. I post endorsements from Jim Daly (Focus on the Family), Paul David Tripp, and Mike Singletary (that’s right, former NFL star) below. But first, Pastor Buzzard was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:
1. Tell us why men will want to read your book, Date Your Wife.
Because Date Your Wife will change men and change their marriages for the better. Every man I know wants that. What this book asks of men is both easier and harder than what they’re probably expecting from a book about manhood and marriage.
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May 23, 2012 in
Culture, Personal, Practical Ministry |
This is a crazy great offer from one of the true geniuses of the publishing industry. I just purchased the book for less than $14 on Amazon
, and got a free copy of the e-book (in both PDF and Kindle format), the audio book, Hyatt’s two excellent, industry-standard books on how to write winning book proposals, AND access to video and audio lectures of Hyatt explaining concepts of how to build a platform. It’s a crazy good deal, but it only lasts until May 25th.
.
May 23, 2012 in
Culture, Personal |
In late March, John Piper and the elders of Bethlehem Baptist Church put forward the name of Jason Meyer as a candidate for Associate Pastor for Preaching and Vision and (in time) John Piper’s successor. Last night, the congregation voted 784-8 to affirm Meyer.
At some point in the future (possibly a year or two down the road), there will be a second congregational vote to establish Meyer as Pastor for Preaching and Vision, at which point John Piper would step down. More info in this Q&A by John Piper.
May 21, 2012 in
Personal, Practical Ministry |
A great open letter from Collin Hansen to next year’s crop of college students on the dangers of student loans. An excerpt:
I should warn you, however: Someone has to pay, and college isn’t getting any cheaper. Your parents have probably pointed this out a time or two. (Go easy on them. The recession took a big bite out of their retirement accounts, and a year or two of private college tuition and board probably costs about what they paid for the house you grew up in.) Friends, guidance counselors, and admissions officers can surely point you to the various payment options. If you’ve studied hard enough to make it into one of those $5-billion-dollar-endowment schools, you might qualify for the best aid of all: need-based grants. No matter where you attend, sign up for work-study and fit at least 10 hours into your schedule. (Hint: Find a job like mine working in a quiet section of the library where you can also study.) When you’ve exhausted every other method of paying for your education (including scholarships: you’d be surprised by how many of your peers never bother to even fill out the forms), then we can finally talk about the main reason I’m writing you today: student loans.
Read the whole thing. I’d also point out that some should explore others options–the world still needs good electricians, plumbers, and carpenters. In God’s eyes, there is no indignity in these trades. Lastly, preparation before college is often the best predictor of success.
May 12, 2012 in
Culture, Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College |
I’m very grateful to Tyndale House Publishers, for publishing Thriving at College (of course), but also for completing 50 years of publishing edifying Christian literature. I think of riveting fiction such as Son of Hamas, Randy Alcorn’s excellent books including Heaven and Money, Possessions and Eternity, or R.C. Sproul’s timeless classic The Holiness of God.
But here are some facts you may not know about Tyndale House Publishers:
1. Tyndale House gives 10% of pretax income to charitable work.
2. Tyndale House gives all its remaining profit after taxes and expenses to the Tyndale Foundation, which provides hundreds of grants to Kingdom work worldwide, primarily Bible translation in numerous languages, but so much more. This amounts to an average of 5 to 6 million dollars each year.
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May 6, 2012 in
Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College |
As a longtime observer of the political process, I was intrigued to see that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff was out of prison and had written an apparently “tell-all” book. I first heard him on 60 minutes talking about the “revolving door” – how easy it is for senior lobbyists to entice senators, congressmen, and their staff (particularly their chiefs of staff) with the prospect of a job in lobbying after they’re ready to move on. With this golden opportunity dangling before them, the powerful person on Capitol Hill was sure to do your bidding so long as they remained in power. (Lobbyists earn far more money than staffers, and the later control access to elected officials.)
In the 60 minutes segment, Abramoff sounded contrite. He now wanted to help reform the process, he said. Fight for term limits (“Washington is a dangerous place”), close the revolving door (make it illegal for public servants to later pursue K street employment), and make it illegal for lobbyists to give anything of value to power brokers (not even a glass of water, let alone campaign funds, or a lucrative job offer). All this made me want to read the book.
Continue Reading…
December 19, 2011 in
Culture, Personal |
For those of you who enjoy World magazine (as I have for years), and have kids in the teen years, you might want to know about Trak, a new monthly periodical from God’s World Publications specifically for teen readers. The first issue came out this past month, and I’ve been given permission to post it. Subsequent PDF versions will be available only to subscribers.
I am a regular contributor to Trak, and my article appears on page 17 (no, I did not come up with the nifty, creative, rhythmic title for the column). 
October 9, 2011 in
Personal, Practical Ministry, Thriving at College |
Picture us on a beach, fiddling (as it were) while America burns.
August 5, 2011 in
Personal |
Price will come to $9.00/copy (including shipping) if you order five copies. Please allow 7-10 days for delivery. 
