Christmas Evans

Christmas Evans – no ordinary preacher

Tim Shenton

Day One

£8, 154 pages

ISBN: 978-1846251306

 

One thing is certain, this book is a real conversation started. Whenever I left my copy on the coffee table, visitors would pick it up and ask in bemused tones “What sort of a name is Christmas Evans?”.

I knew a little about Christmas Evans before reading this book, but as I read I realised there’s far more to this one-eyed Welshman, dubbed ‘the John Bunyan of Wales’. I learnt of the far reaching effect of his ministry all over Wales and that we have Christmas Evans to thank for the Gospel witness in Anglesey today; it might be fairer to call him the ‘remarkable itinerant evangelist of Wales’.

This book is the story of how God can transform a poor, uneducated, illiterate man with a difficult childhood and a fiery temper into a faithful husband, caring minister and mighty man of God. It inspires and challenges. Even after God had reformed Christmas’ character, he faced many struggles during his life, both in his ministry and in his home life; by not glossing over these incidents, Tim Shenton allows the reader to see the real man. The way God remained faithful to Evans through adversity and doubt is something we can all relate to.

I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a fuller understanding of my Christian heritage and I was encouraged to read of the way the LORD worked in Wales during the time Christmas Evans was ministering His Word.

I don’t possess a particular interest in history, so this wouldn’t have been a natural choice for me. Though I enjoyed and benefited from reading it, this book would be of most interest to those who are keen Historians. Some knowledge of Welsh geography might also be useful, you may need to practice pronouncing your double l’s before reading it aloud!

Young, Restless, Reformed

Young, Restless, Reformed

 Colin Hanssen                   

Crossway

156 pages, £9.99

ISBN number  978-1-58134-940-5

 

Young, Restless, Reformed has just started making waves in the UK. I heard about it from a friend who had been told “You must read this book – it’s about you!”, and true enough it is about him, and many other twenty-somethings I know. In fact, as interviewees were introduced, I found myself wondering if some of my friends were leading double lives.

Colin Hanssen, a journalist for Christianity Today, set out to study what has been labelled as a “resurgence of Reformed Theology amongst the youth of America”. He spent two years visiting conferences and churches across America and interviewing the movers and shakers putting Calvinism back on the map.

I was intrigued by this book, and curious to see how the author would go about his research – would he remain impartial? Would he confine his interviews to big names only – Piper, Mahaney, Driscoll? Would it all descend into hero worship and Arminian-bashing?

All my questions were answered ‘No’.  Hanssen did interview some of the most influencial men in Young Evangelical circles, but those interviews were balances out by conversations with regular young people who attended the churches and conferences he visited, folk in their twenties who are passionate about reformed theology. The temptation to be dazzled by those big names is dispersed by Hanssen’s down to earth descriptions of John Piper’s home life or C.J. Mahaney’s in his youth. All of the well known men interviewed in this book testify to the influence of their own heroes – C.H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Martyn Lloyd Jones. And no-one lashes out at those who hold a different view point, although their views on Arminianism are clearly expressed. Hanssen even interviews a few men who are well known for their objection to the teachings on John Calvin and gives clear descriptions of the differences between the two doctrines. Having said that, Hanssen is certainly not impartial. It’s very clear that he stands firmly in the TULIP camp.

I found this book very stimulating – the title sums up the readership perfectly. The only real downside was that some of the references would be lost on a British audience, and a few of the chapters refer to ministries that are not well known in the UK like Campus Outreach or the PCA. This is after all a book about the youth of America, and won’t necessarily resonate with their British counterparts, but I do think that the stories in this book will ring true with many young Evangelicals in the UK, as we are already seeing a similar return to reformed theology and a hunger for Calvinistic teaching here.

If there’s more Piper than Pop music on your iPod, if you’d rather read a Puritan Paperback than a self-help guide, and if you loved the mix of reformed teaching and contemporary worship at New Word Alive – this book is for you.

Holding Hands Holding Hearts

Holding Hands Holding Hearts: Recovering a Biblical View of Christian Dating

Sharon & Richard Phillips

P&R Publishing

183 Pages

I picked up Holding Hands Holding Hearts with a slight sense of foreboding. I do not generally enjoy books on Relationships. I often find them either too sentimental or overly regimental. Even Christian books sometimes read like self-help guides or can give different views on dating depending which sex you belong to. But having been promised that Holding Hands Holding Hearts was worth a read, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I was not disappointed.

It’s often said that the Bible doesn’t have much to say about dating, but according to Sharon &Richard Phillips, authors of Holding Hands Holding Hearts, that’s not strictly true. Their answer to the question ‘What does the Bible has to say about dating?’ is “Nothing.  And Everything!”  This book is about exploring God’s design for our romantic relationships through the guidelines he sets out in his Word. 

The book is written in two parts – firstly (and crucially) looking at ‘A Biblical View of Dating and Relationships’ – bringing out specific lessons from Scripture on how men and women relate to each other , how God intended love to be, and the model of perfect love that we see in Christ Jesus.  Having looked at those things, the authors then go on to the more practical matter of ‘Biblical Wisdom for Dating and Relationships’. Questions about commitment, sex, marriage, the first date and singleness are dealt with sensitively and openly, with every answer backed up with Scripture.

I can gladly recommend this book, and have already done so to a number of friends, both male and female, who have also found it very helpful.  Richard & Sharon Phillips have used their many years of experience in ministering to Christian Singles and their own experience of marriage, as well as their knowledge of God’s Word, to produce a very accessible and valuable answer to one of life’s mysteries.