Book Review: A Qualified Man by Jacob Tanner

There was an old commercial on TV years ago when I man came upon someone who was injured. The gentleman asked everyone to stand back as he attended to the injured. A woman asked him, if he was a doctor. The man, comically, answered, "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." 

In today's culture, many think they are experts because they meet certain qualifications. Doctors have medical school, lawyers have law school, and mechanics have some form of training. In the church, we have seminary which has been debated if that applies today because of the debt they might accumulate. While seminary training may not appear in the Bible, there are qualifications for a man, yes, I said man, to be an elder/pastor in the church. 

In his latest book, A Qualified Man: Cultivating the Quality of a Godly Leader, Jacob Tanner looks what Titus 1:5-9 says about the Biblical qualifications for church leadership. The passage reads as follows from the English Standard Version (ESV), which is what Tanner used in the book:

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. 

Based on this passage, Tanner addresses the purpose of elders along with they must be men who love their wives and children. Based on the ESV translation of Titus 1:6, Tanner believes that an elder must have children who are believers, which I will address later on. 

Elders must be men who are above reproach, not perfect men, but men who are known to be holy. Elders must be men who are trusted with the Word of God and must be able to teach others as well as able to defend the Bible. 

Going back to Titus 1:6 about children being believers, this is where I have a big issue. I think the translation and interpretation of that passage is misleading. The Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) has Titus 1:6 saying that an elder's children must have "faithful children, who are not accused of dissipation, or rebellious." To have faithful children does not imply that they are believers, but an elder's children are respectful and obedient to him in his house. To imply that an elder must have children who believe means that when a child is born in his home, he or she is not a believer right away and therefore the man cannot be an elder. Not all children come to faith at a young. Some come to faith as a teenager or even a young adult. This implies when a new child is born, the elder must step down so he can convert his child. The same with adopting a child who may not be a believer. 

This is a book much needed today in the church. The body of Christ needs to be reminded what God's Word says about the qualifications of elders. Despite my disagreement with the interpretation of Titus 1:6, I recommend this book for all leaders and future leaders. 

I received this book from G3 Press in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: One: Twenty-Five Selected Sermons on Unity

Over the years, there have been many sermons from Charles Spurgeon that been printed in books for all in the church to read. There are also podcasts that read Spurgeon's sermons as well. Recently, the G3 Conference took place on the subject of unity, which is the topic of these collections of sermons from Spurgeon printed by G3 Press, titled, One: Twenty-Five Selected Sermons on Unity.

Each sermon in the book contains Biblical teaching on what unity should be in the church. This also contains how and what Christians should do to maintain that unity. There are also sermons to serve as warning to what can disrupt the unity of the church. As an added bonus, there is a written exposition from Spurgeon on Psalm 133 which says:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

It is like the good oil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Aaron’s beard,

Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon

Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For there, Yahweh commanded the blessing—life forever (Psalm 133:1-3, LSB).

This is another excellent collection of sermons from the Prince of Preachers for any Pastor and/or theologian to add to his library especially on the much-needed subject of unity,

I received this book from G3 Press in exchange for an honest review.

Costi Hinn on the Difference Between Biblical and Worldy Counseling

Gabriel Hughes on UFO Disclosures

AI and Systematic Theology

The following is from the article: AI is Coming for Your Systematic Theology by Tim Challies:

A recent article at The American Scholar asks Who Is Blake Whiting? Whiting appears to be the most prolific scholar of our age, sometimes publishing up to 13 books a week “on a host of complex archaeological and historical subjects, ranging from the collapse of Near Eastern civilizations in 1177 BCE to the recent discovery of a huge Silk Road–era city in Central Asia.” He must be quite the individual!

But as you no doubt guessed, he is not an individual at all. Rather, Blake Whiting is fabricated, and the books under his name have been generated using AI. Andrew Lawler, who wrote the article for The American Scholar, warns that, “His fake persona is harbinger of an alarming trend threatening disaster to academics and journalists alike.” And theologians, I would add, as well as those who read books by them. 

When I read Lawler’s article, I was already working on one of my own that addresses the same phenomenon, but from the perspective of a Christian reader. If you were to visit Amazon today and search for “systematic theology,” it would not take you long to find a host of similar works. Many of them have scads of enthusiastic reviews and feature realistic-sounding author bios that say things like, he “is a Christian author and teacher of systematic theology with a passion for making biblical doctrine clear, accessible, and meaningful for today’s readers.” Yet in reality, he does not exist at all, and the books under his name have been generated through nothing more than clever prompting of a Large Language Model.

I want you to know about these books because I want you to be aware that this is happening. I want you to know it’s happening because it’s likely that things will get far worse before they get any better. I’ll first introduce you to this slop theology, then discuss the threat these books represent, and then tell you how you can identify them.

Read the entire post here.

Jeffrey Johnson: The Cause and Cure of Divisions in the Church

David de Bruyn: Christian Fellowship: The Tribal and the True

Pastoral Conversations on Spiritual Warfare

This is a 2-part discussion between the pastors of Kerrville Bible Church on the subject of spiritual warfare.

Joel Beeke: “Follow Christ in This Prayer” (John 17): Anthony Burgess on the Unity of the Church

Jonny Ardavanis: Does the Bible Permit a Woman to Preach?

Jon Benzinger: Addressing The Local Church

Jesse Randolph Addresses the Most Misquoted Verse in the Bible

Ethan Jago on the Impact of Church Hurt

Let’s talk about church hurt—not the light kind you can brush off with Church folks be church-folkin’—but the kind that hits your chest, makes you question God, and has you halfway out the door every Sunday, at least on the inside. Church hurt is pain that happens in the context of spiritual community, through pastors, leaders, members, systems, or even theology used and applied the wrong way. It hits differently because you didn’t just trust these people with your time; you trusted them with your soul. You tied their words and actions to God’s name, so when they failed you, it felt like God had failed you, too. If nobody else gets why you still wrestle with it, I do.

The tricky thing about church hurt is that it doesn’t stay at the old church; if you aren’t careful, it packs its bags and moves with you to the new one. You walk through new doors with walls, not just wisdom. You find yourself scanning everything: How do they handle money? Who really has the power here? What do they believe about leaders, about women, about accountability? When people are kind, you become skeptical, wondering what they really want. Wisdom is a gift, but living in suspicion all the time is exhausting. Scripture says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov 4:23). Guarding your heart is not the same as locking it behind concrete and barbed wire so no one ever gets close again.

Without even meaning to, you start to isolate yourself while calling it “being cautious.” You come late and leave early. You avoid small groups and serving because those spaces require vulnerability. You keep the conversation on the surface: work is fine, God is good, life is okay. On the outside, you say, “I’m just observing,” but on the inside, what you really mean is, “If I don’t attach, you can’t abandon me.” The enemy loves that, because isolation makes your unchallenged thoughts sound more and more like the truth. God designed you for connection, not constant self-protection, which is why the Bible encourages believers not to give up meeting together, but to encourage one another (Heb 10:25). Community isn’t just a church program; it’s part of your spiritual survival.

Read the entire post here.

Robert Godfrey on the Necessity of the Reformation

The church is always in need of reform. Even in the New Testament, we see Jesus rebuking Peter, and we see Paul correcting the Corinthians. Since Christians are always sinners, the church will always need reform. The question for us, however, is when does the need become an absolute necessity?

The great Reformers of the sixteenth century concluded that reform was urgent and necessary in their day. In pursuing reform for the church, they rejected two extremes. On the one hand, they rejected those who insisted that the church was essentially sound and needed no fundamental changes. On the other hand, they rejected those who believed that they could create a perfect church in every detail. The church needed fundamental reform, but it would also always need to be reforming itself. The Reformers reached these conclusions from their study of the Bible.

In 1543, the Reformer of Strasbourg, Martin Bucer, asked John Calvin to write a defense of the Reformation for presentation to Emperor Charles V at the imperial diet set to meet at Speyer in 1544. Bucer knew that the Roman Catholic emperor was surrounded by counselors who were maligning reform efforts in the church, and he believed that Calvin was the most capable minister to defend the Protestant cause.

Calvin rose to the challenge and wrote one of his best works, “The Necessity of Reforming the Church.” This substantial treatise did not convince the emperor, but it has come to be regarded by many as the best presentation of the Reformed cause ever written.

Calvin begins by observing that everyone agreed that the church had “diseases both numerous and grievous.” Calvin argues that matters were so serious that Christians could not abide a “longer delay” for reform or wait for “slow remedies.” He rejects the contention that the Reformers were guilty of “rash and impious innovation.” Rather, he insists that “God raised up Luther and others” to preserve “the truth of our religion.” Calvin saw that the foundations of Christianity were threatened and that only biblical truth would renew the church.

Read the entire post here.

A Discussion on If Wokeness is Dead in the Church

God's Desires for Men and Women in the Church Assembly

This sermon is from Chris McKnight at Kerrville Bible Church in Kerrville, TX

Christ is Still Building His Church

Over last few years, we have seen many influential Christian leaders passing away. While they are in heaven with God and worshipping Him with all the saints who have gone before us, many have wondered about what is going on and how this will affect the church.

The simplest of all answers is that Christ is still building His church.

The church continued after the Apostles. The church continued after the Early Church Fathers. The church continued after Luther and Calvin. The church will keep on until the Lord returns.  

We do not need another Voddie Baucham, John MacArthur, R.C, Sproul or Jerry Bridges. We need Biblically qualified men to stand in the church. We still need pastors not afraid to preach the whole council of God. We need ordinary people serving their churches who we may never know about.

The church will lose influential leaders again and again. It does not mean that God is done with the church. It means the church will continue. The gospel is still to be proclaimed. Missionaries need to go out. Local congregations need to focus on where they live and how to be serve them. 

Christ is still building his church. 

Book Review: The Word of God and the Fellowship of His Saints by Isaac D Worley

Ever planned a worship service for Sunday morning? It is not as easy as it looks and can be time consuming. Pastors and worship leaders come together to plan services weeks and even months in advance as the people of God come together for corporate worship. 

There are a few helpful tools our there for church leaders, but for the purpose of this review, I am happy to recommend The Word of God and the Fellowship of His Saints: A Reference Tool for Selecting Calls to Worship, Calls to Confession, Assurances of Pardon, and Benedictions for Corporate Worship by Isaac D. Worley as a very helpful resource to assist church leaders in planning their worship service. Worley is a pastor, so he knows a thing or two when it comes to planning a service. 

He shows what verses are good with calls to worship, calls to confession, benedictions, etc. He gives a brief introduction in each section followed by scripture reference that are printed in the book using the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB). Granted what Worley is showing is what can be used mostly for liturgical worship rather than a contemporary service although I think a church that does contemporary worship can benefit from this book in planning their worship service. 

For those wondering about what songs would be appropriate to use with each passage in the service, Worley gives some suggestions in Appendix 3 of the book. He gathers the songs from the Psalms and Hymns to the Living God which is published by G3 Press who also published this book, which makes these two resources a perfect contribution in assisting church leaders in planning a worship service. 

I received this book from G3 Press in exchange for an honest review. 

Ryan Rippee - A Royal Priestly Bride

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA:

Manny Pereira: The Splendor of the Bride

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA: