Book Review (July) : John Macarthur Handbook of Effective Biblical Leadership

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Book Review (July) : John Macarthur Handbook of Effective Biblical Leadership

August 6, 2021

2 Timothy 4:13 : "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments."

When Paul is requesting what Timothy do when he comes back to him from his journey, he requests books and parchments. Who knows exactly what Paul was reading outside of the scriptures, but we do know that he valued books greatly. Gods word is given to us in books and books have been a conduit for information all throughout human history. This book review, I was only able to read one book this month. It was a good one though, tune in because you may want to read it!

Pick up the book here -> https://www.amazon.com/MacArthur-Handbook-Effective-Leadership-Shepherds/dp/0736976302/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=John+macarthur+handbook&qid=1628289080&sr=8-2

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Transcript

(music) 2 Timothy 4, verse 13. Paul's talking about what he would like the messenger to bring back with him. When you come bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books.

So we see Paul here, obviously in love with books and he had things that he was reading. And I've been doing, this is going to be the second installment of the little book reviews series I want to do once a month of books I read each month. And just a quick word about them and why the book that I'm reading might be useful for you as well, just to give you guys some extra stuff and it's just kind of free content because I'm reading this.

So I had a few books I was reading this month. I didn't get through all of it like I would have liked. There was three I wanted to have done by the end of this month but I just got one done and I'll probably have a lot more next month since I'm almost done with some of those other ones.

I actually just finished one up a few days ago but I'm now well into August so filming this a little bit later. But the book I read this past month for July is the John MacArthur Handbook of Effective Biblical Leadership by John MacArthur. My pastor actually gave this to me.

He wanted me to read this and he wrote something on the inside which is really nice and a really good letter to me. And basically the book reason, the reason it was written is to equip and basically teach young men that are wanting to go into the ministry what that basically entails and what you're called to. So John MacArthur and I think Grace Community Church out there in California and I don't know who else actually does this but there's this conference for pastors called the Shepherds Conference and I think it happens every year and John MacArthur and a few other guys put it on.

And this book is actually manuscripts of those sermons that are preached and I think they probably picked some of the good ones that were really helpful to the audience and things that were received really well and they take that manuscript and write it down and they've compiled it into a book. So let's see there are around 30, I think there's 35 sermons here from a bunch of different authors John MacArthur, Mark Dever, Stephen Lawson, R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler, Tom Pennington, Rick Holland, Alex Montoya. So yeah some John Piper's got a few in here.

There was Paul Wasser's got one which is great. So yeah I mean I thought the book was great. The speakers, the different writers all are unique in their own way, very smart men that are good at teaching.

So reading obviously is going to be just as good. You know you obviously don't get the inflections in their voice and their personality proclaiming the sermon but reading it is was honestly still really helpful. So I guess the book definitely would recommend it overall and the big takeaways I would say you know the book was broken into three parts.

Part one being the shepherd as the preacher, the shepherd as the leader, and then part three the shepherd as the theologian for his flock. And what was really helpful to me was the first part just talking about just how vital it is that the man of God, the elder, the shepherd, the pastor, that they would come with God's word, that you would preach God's word in the Spirit's power and the full counsel of God being what you do as a preacher. And I thought that was really helpful.

Chapter five starting in page 69 about the preaching and the sovereignty of God by R.C. Sproul. That one was really good just talking about you need to be teaching your flock and equipping your flock to understand the sovereignty of God which does entail Calvinistic soterology. Stephen Lawson bring the book.

Chapter four that was really good. It's basically just a whole exposition of why it's important and why the Bible attests that it's important to bring the book to bring God's word. So that was good.

There was Albert Mohr had one about Apollos chapter 11. You don't hear much about Apollos but there's very specific things that he taught the word well and he's a man to be modeled. John MacArthur has the tale of two preachers.

That was a good one. Chapter 12 that one stuck out to the shepherd as leader. That one was good.

I didn't get as much out of that section but basically the importance of leading your church obviously and I think the best one was chapter 11 in that part starting on page 313 what is missing from your church service. He basically just goes through how important it is for a church to regularly read the word of God aloud to the audience and praying out loud as the pastor. The pastor should lead well in verbally reading the scriptures to the audience and not just for the text you're going over for that day but reading something like I call it worship where you read the text out loud to your congregation and lead them in how to read the Bible.

So I thought that one was really good. You know what's missing from your church service. Usually a lot of church services are missing just really powerful proclamation of God's word just reading it out loud.

You know ancient Jews they always did that. They would read you know Jesus I forget where in the gospel somewhere he read he stands up and reads a scroll from Isaiah about him. He said you have this scripture has been fulfilled today in your hearing and then Jesus sits down and it's a normal thing to get up and read a scroll like that for the ancient Jews and obviously that's still something we should be doing because God's word is it never changes and never fails it's infallible and it never passes away.

You know flowers will pass away but the word of God endures forever. So that one was good and then also John MacArthur the chapter 12 of that section page 329 fostering fellowship and he basically just walks through exactly that topic and that way that was really helpful too. So that was good but this last section part three of the shepherdess the elosion was awesome as well.

This one was really helpful. The two about Adam where art thou rediscovering the historical Adam and the pages of scripture that was chapter three of the third section of the book. That one was super good.

It's just so important to be taking the Bible literally as it is and not making everything especially the basic teachings that God is creator. You know if Adam goes then a lot of other things are going to go and Adam being the head and the representative of humanity as the very first man. There's you know theories around where people say you know there was a whole race of humans before Adam and Eve came along.

You know if Adam isn't the first human he doesn't represent us and that does damage to a lot of other texts in the Bible that talk about how you know through Adam and Romans when Paul's talking about how we inherited sin you know through Adam death came to all men but through one man the one man's obedience life came to all men. So it's important that Adam remains a real person and not just some allegorical interpretation. The fourth chapter why every self-respecting Calvinist must be a six-day creationist.

That that was really good again back to Genesis why you need to be taking that literally. Chapter five of your faith of our fathers do we have the same gospel as the early church wow that was really good. He yeah he walks through the creeds he walks through the the patriarchs and obviously Jesus and the apostles but yeah he walks through like the early church and all that and yes you know we do have the same gospel we have the same teaching.

R.C. Sproul chapter six mastering the doctrine of justification that was so good and he the way he teaches justification is he walks through the Catholics teaching on justification because it's literally like the opposite of what Christians actually believe about how one is justified before God. So he just walks through the Reformation he walks through how Catholics would interpret the Bible and how you're justified before God and then by you know proving the antithesis of justification then he goes to present his thesis on what justification is based on the scriptures and that's just it was really well done. That was probably I learned a lot about the Catholic Church from there that I had not known and I think that was well worth it.

You know one thing I didn't know about the Catholic Church that still happens is that the Pope every 50 years I forget what the events called but he can still provide indulgences. You come before the Pope every 50 years and you can get your sins basically absolved if the Pope allows it basically. The extent of the atonement chapter seven was really good that's on page 427 he just walks through you know limited atonement and how there's a sense in which there's a common grace given to all mankind that the gospel is on the earth that there's that kind of light the rain God sends the rain on the just and the unjust and we can't just say that the atonement is limited in the sense that you know the people who are chosen God's sheep are the ones that will be finally atoned for but there isn't there is an element in which the good news that the gospel does come to the whole world and is offered to the whole world and that kind of thing so that was really good.

A biblical case for elder rule was chapter eight that was amazing just how church polity should work as a theologian how should you order the church so you know a plurality of elders is definitely what I think Alexander Strach's book a case for biblical eldership that's a really good book you guys should get that and read through that but yeah I think a plurality of elders is the way to go. Paul Washer's chapter nine the great commission as a theological endeavor that was again great the main point there is when when we go out and teach people to obey Christ and baptize them in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit that that is a theological endeavor and if men and women are going out that don't know the scriptures that don't really know who Christ is and they go out to try to disciple people you know they don't need your feelings they don't need your feelings your great feelings of love for Christ they need to know who Christ is they need the word proclaimed to them. Chapter 10 why every self-respecting Calvinist must be a pre-millennialist obviously I am a post-millennialist so I disagreed with that chapter but it was still good and worth reading and then heaven on earth the last the last chapter exploring the glories of the eternal state basically the point of that what is awaiting us in heaven of the eternal life in Christ that's not some weird spiritual experience whether it's not grounded in reality we will have new bodies there will be a new earth all things will be made new there will be no disease and sickness and will be worshiping God forever so basically he just walks through the hope in that so that's this book is it's about 500 pages long and it's done by harvest house publishers and it's John MacArthur's handbook of effective biblical leadership highly recommend that if you're considering maybe being a pastor or a preacher one day and considering what goes into that it will definitely give you an idea of what you're going to be called to and how a lot of these things play out and how to do that job well so thanks for listening guys hope that was helpful hearing about that book and hearing the books that I read I hope that you know you guys find something to read because of that okay now to the king of the ages immortal invisible the only god beyond her and glory forever and ever amen thanks for listening to the 14 podcast guys for king for king Jesus