The Primacy of Teaching

The Sunday School Teacher 2 

One of the wonderful things about the the human race is its altruism, its built-in drive to do something to help somebody else. Even unsaved people have it. It manifests itself differently based on culture, aptitude, opportunity, health, and other factors. Sometimes, it produces volunteerism that is only marginally useful – for example, a chap who donates his time to help park cars at a local festival. But in other cases, it results in a monumental contribution – volunteer firefighters come to mind here. It is my considered belief perhaps the greatest example of this just might be Sunday School teachers. What could be more important?

          The primacy of teaching is rooted in biblical example and instruction. For the first, Jesus Himself immediately comes to mind. Early in Jesus' ministry, Nicodemus approached Him and, while seeking advice, expressed a clear understanding that Jesus was a teacher. Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. (John 3.2) Yes, Jesus taught the multitudes, but He also mentored individuals extensively. How else did He transform a ragtag group of twelve Jewish commoners into men who would turn the world upside down? (Acts 17.6) He taught in the synagogues and on the streets. He taught in personal conversation and private interactions. He taught in sermons and parables. He taught each time He answered a question. He taught with words and works. He was everlastingly at it, ceaselessly offering the most helpful instruction in the most helpful way.

          Not only was Jesus a teacher, but the second greatest figure in the New Testament, Paul, was also a teacher. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. (I Timothy 2.7) It comes through quite often in his writing. He layers arguments like bakers layer cake, one balanced precisely on the other, raising us to truly tremendous heights. Clear, convincing writing comes only from careful thinking, distilled most often through numerous teaching repetitions. Paul knew how to make an argument, how to move a man from obstacle to skeptical to convert. He reasoned the man from one thought to the next, connecting them like steps in a staircase. Paul was a master teacher.

          In addition to both of these, Moses, the greatest figure in the Old Testament, was a teacher. And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. (Exodus 24.12) His case is particularly interesting. He neither expected nor planned to be a teacher. He wanted to rule. It is quite obvious what he had prepared himself for and what he believed he was best suited to do. Yet along the way, by giving Moses the Law, God brought to him the responsibility and ministry of teaching. Whether you think you are suited to it or not, once you have custody of the Word of God, you have a responsibility to teach it to others.

          In point of fact, parents are a classic example of this very thing. When couples date, they rarely contemplate parenting at all, let alone factor in just how large a part of their life it will become. Yet to be a parent is, by definition, to be a teacher. Everything the child learns for the first few years of his life comes via his parents. Even when other teachers enter his life, his parents remain and will remain so for as long as they live. Even after his parents die, their teaching will continue to guide him, especially if they did it right.

          Parents teach their children how to talk, how to walk, and how to dress themselves. Parents teach their children letters and numbers. Parents teach their children manners and character. Parents teach their children how to care for themselves and how to befriend others. Parents teach their children about money and politics. Parents teach their children how to throw a baseball and catch a football. Parents teach their children consciously and unconsciously. Above all, parents are to teach their children the Word of God. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6.6-7)

          As if the family responsibilities were not enough, the other institution God started, the church, also places a priority on teaching. It is specifically included in the three New Testament lists of spiritual gifts. (Romans 12.6-7, I Corinthians 12.28, Ephesians 4.11) The implications of that clearly identify teaching as an absolute necessity, just as much in the church as in the home. In fact, teaching is included twice in the church’s mission statement: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matthew 28.19-20)

          There is not a single spiritual grace, doctrinal concept, or practical outworking of our faith that does not have to be taught. If we are instructed to do it we are instructed to teach someone else how to do it. Nor is anyone exempt from this. Naturally some will be better at it than others but if the Great Commission is for all Christians – and it is – then teaching is for all Christians.

          If God's people fail to understand this and apply it, Christianity will become extinct in one generation. Put another way round, the only reason we have Christianity in our generation is that every generation prior to ours, for the past two millennia, have lived up to their responsibility to teach their converts. Beloved, we dare not drop the ball in our generation or Christianity will die with us.

          Clarence Benson, in his 1940s-era book on Sunday School, summed it up this way: "Christ Himself was a great teacher. Sixty out of the ninety times He was addressed He was called 'Teacher.' In the 'Great Commission,' His last charge to the disciples, our Lord twice commands them to teach. In laying down the qualifications for the pastor, Paul stipulates that he should be 'apt to teach' (I Tim. 3:2). The apostles went everywhere teaching and preaching, and preaching and teaching. The early church was a teaching church."

          Teaching is not the only good thing we are called to do, but we are most certainly called to do it. Failure here will lead to failure everywhere in a matter of years. In a non-doctrinal context, it is a fundamental of the family and of the faith both.

          It is a wondrously good thing you do, Teacher. It is a marvelously wise thing to seek to grow in your ability to teach. May God long bless you in the doing of it.

The Sunday School Teacher: Introduction

 Note: The past two books I have published began as blog series and later were edited/expanded and published as books. In the case of this series, I am planning to do so upfront. In other words, what you will read on my blog over the balance of the next year is a serialized book. As I complete sections, I will post them on this blog. Eventually, it will be published as a book. 

The Sunday School Teacher 1, Introduction

I must confess something right here at the outset. I was tempted to title this book "Making Sunday School Great Again." I have not, primarily because this is not a book about organizing, promoting, or building a great Sunday School. I do not know how to write that book, and others in previous generations have already written it better than I could. Yet, in a sense, I am still tempted by that title, for in helping you to become a better teacher, the result will absolutely be a great Sunday School. Class. As Lee Roberson said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Your Sunday School class will rise or fall on you.

          …which is why you picked up this book, is it not? Perhaps I should say why this book was handed to you. Perhaps you have a desire to become a better Sunday School teacher, or perhaps someone else has that desire for you. I am grateful either way. God is honored when we seek to improve our usefulness for Him. While nothing will increase your ability to teach like actively teaching, it is also true that your teaching skills can be sharpened by studying a book like this. Like your students, you will encounter information you had not previously known, take ownership of that information, and then change your life. In the process, you may well help the lost to be saved and the saved to be edified. And if that happens, I am amply repaid for my labors.

          Having established that my desire is to perfect you for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4.12) and that your desire is to be perfected, let us turn now to how this book intends to do that.

On these pages, you will find three sections. First, there is the spiritual aspect of teaching Sunday School. While some teaching disciplines cross schools, teaching the Bible to people is definitively a spiritual process. In this section, we will examine the history and necessity of Sunday School, the primacy of teaching, the superiority of the traditional Sunday School over the trend of small groups, seek to answer whether you have the gift of teaching, expound on the qualifications necessary to teach, emphasize the spiritual purposes of Sunday School, explain how to be a spiritually powerful teacher, look at Christ as our example in teaching, and close with a discussion of the Sunday School teacher’s best aide, the Holy Spirit.

Second, we will examine the philosophy behind teaching as a craft. Drawing primarily from other men's work here, I will seek to show you how the teacher, the learner, the language, the lesson, the teaching process, the learning process, and the review all intersect to produce excellent teaching. We will close this section with a discussion of the proper mental approach a teacher needs, how to become a long-term teacher, the appropriate approach for an assistant teacher, whether team teaching is valid, and the benefits that fill a Sunday School teacher’s life.

Third, we will turn to the practical. How do you choose what to teach? How do you write a lesson plan? How do you emphasize specific applications? How do you build a relationship with your students? How do you create a class spirit? How do you get your students involved? How do you grow your class? How do you maintain control? How can you successfully tailor your teaching to little children, young children, older children, young teenagers, older teenagers, single adults, young married couples, mature Christians, a men's class, a women's class, etc.? How do you get the students to study at home during the week? How do you build a culture of Bible memorization? How should illustrations be used in your teaching? What about record keeping? Prayerfully, you will find help to deal with subjects such as these and more.

My overall intent is to keep each chapter or section of a chapter relatively short. I want you to be able to read this in quick snatches of time here and there throughout the week. I want it to provoke thought, yes, but more so to move you to action. I want you to consciously try something new each week or month over the next year. I want you to grow as you internalize what you read and gradually begin to put it into practice. I want your capacity and ability as a teacher to expand. I want you to be more useful to the Lord and more edifying to your students.

Finally, a brief word about sources. A number of good books are available that touch on different aspects of Sunday School, including teaching. I gathered several of them. As I read, I culled them for helpful ideas and applications, many of which have found their way into this work. I will list them for you below. In bold are the ones I found more helpful than not. 

 

-Spiritual Power in Your Teaching, Roy B. Zuck, Moody Press, 1963, 188 pages

-The Seven Laws of Teaching, John Milton Gregory, Baker Books, 2003, 128 pages

-The Sunday School In Action, Clarence H. Benson, The Bible Institute Colportage Association, 1941, 327 pages

-The Successful Sunday School and Teachers Guidebook, Elmer Towns, Creation House, 1980, 400 pages

-What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know, Elmer L. Towns, Gospel Light, 2001, 180 pages

-Youth and the Church, Roy G. Irving and Roy B. Zuck, Moody Press, 1972, 442 pages

-Mentoring and Modeling, Dr. John Goetsch and Dr. Mark Rasmussen, Striving Together Publications, 2002, 199 pages

-101 Tips For Teaching, Mark Rasmussen, Striving Together Publications, 2007, 205 pages

-Building A Standard Sunday School, Arthur Flake, The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1934, 171 pages

-World's Largest Junior Church, Dr. Jim Vineyard, self-published, 1981, 133 pages

-Teachers That Teach, Amos R. Wells, The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1924, 138 pages

-Biblical Youth Work, Jim Krohn, self-published, 2005, 355 pages

-May I Suggest; For Parents and Leaders of Teens, Thomas J. Vogel, Bird Publishing Company, 2000, 224 pages

-Teaching Sunday School Teachers to Teach, Dr. Jeff Owens, Owens Publications, 2012, 223 pages             

 

You can be an outstanding Sunday School teacher. Together, let us turn the page and learn how.       

Introducing The Christ Conference

      For several years now, I have had a growing burden to develop a preaching conference with a singular focus on Jesus. We have conferences uncounted in the independent Baptist orbit, and I am not against them. Conferences on prayer, on church growth, on missions, on separation, on preaching, on leadership, on addictions ministries, on bus ministries, on marriage, et al. We have conferences for pastors, for teenagers, for single adults, for ladies, for men, for missionaries, and for colleges. I repeat, I am not against them. I have been to more of them than I can count and I have always found a blessing. I am not saying our conference will be somehow better or superior to any of those. But as I grow older I find an ever-increasing burden to center the emphasis of whatever ministry I have around Jesus Christ. So as spring turns to summer here along the banks of the Mississippi River, the Bible Baptist Church of Dubuque, Iowa, plans to try to do exactly that.

     When is it? The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of Memorial Day week, May 27, 28, and 29. We will run two preachers each morning and two more each evening, twelve sermons in total. The only instruction each preacher has been given is to bring us a message about Jesus. Who is preaching? Nobody well known, really, but we are good with that. Joel Bible. Chris Birkholz. Tom Brennan. Paul Crow. Donald Link. Cole Mahle. Ed Mast. A. J. Potter. Ben Sinclair. Keeton Wainscott. How much does it cost? Nothing. We're working at providing accommodations. At the least, we should be able to point you in the direction of a discounted rate at a decent hotel. We'll tell you as soon as we can. As a church, we are new at this so be patient with us. We plan to provide lunch each day of the conference since good fellowship is an essential part of the edification of such things. 

     The Christ Conference. Ten men. Twelve sermons. Every message about Jesus.

     We invite you to join us.   

They ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Acts 5:42

My 2025 Travel Schedule

      My primary ministry responsibility is the pastorate of Bible Baptist Church in Dubuque, Iowa. For years, I resisted almost all invitations to speak elsewhere. But a couple of years ago, the Lord led me to change my mind about that for a variety of reasons. I now open up a limited number of slots each year to teach and preach other places. All my available slots for 2025 are filled. I am sharing that schedule with you because meeting my readers is one of my chief joys when I travel. If I am in your area, and you are able to attend a service where I speak, I would be delighted if you would come up afterward and introduce yourself. 

February 7-9, Marriage Matters, Hunt Valley Baptist Church, Cockeysville, Maryland

February 14, Valentine's Banquet, Gospel Light Baptist Church, Marion, Iowa

March 3, Super Conference, Northside Baptist Church, Davenport, Iowa
March 24-28, Ambassador Baptist College, Bible Conference, Lattimore, North Carolina

April 15-16, Baptist College of Ministry, Menomenee Falls, Wisconsin
June 30-July 4, Commonground Baptist Camp, Butler, Pennsylvania

November 2, Calvary Baptist Church, Beaufort, South Carolina

From My Mailbag...

      From time to time, I receive questions of one sort or another. They work their way to the bottom of my to do list. In fact, today's question has been sitting in my inbox for nine months. As you can see, I'm trying to discourage you from sending me questions. <grin> At any rate, in between blog series I like to answer one or two, especially if I think they might benefit a wider audience. 

    Here is today's question: "Could you please send me maybe 4-5 tips you have for organizing your time and ideas with writing and reading when you have a moment? I’d really value your input. A while ago you challenged me to write (maybe you do with everyone I don’t know??) but I’ve taken it to heart."

    I do plead guilty to being a writing evangelist. If you have ever spent time around me, and expressed above average intelligence, I have probably urged you to write. Of course, that is relatively easy for me to do. I don't have your schedule, priorities, commitments, or challenges. Then again, you don't have mine either. So what I have learned in relation to writing and ideas and schedule that might be helpful here?

    First, I have found it helpful to commit to blogging regularly. Weekly, in my case. My first year writing I blogged daily. That was a mistake. <grin> But a worse mistake is to tell yourself you will write when you have time, or to sit down when you feel the urge. Like with the question that produced this blog, such an attitude will drive writing to the bottom of your to do list. I know men who are at least as good of a writer as I am, if not better, who blog a half dozen times a year about some random thing or other that strikes their fancy. Not only will they never develop momentum in a readership, they will not develop any momentum in writing either. Like soul winning or prayer or a date with your wife, if you put it on your schedule and you are a person of character it will get done. So commit to writing something at least weekly.

    Second, I have found it helpful to write in a series. A book is a series, at least the kind I write. I also blog in series. 

    This has several advantages. You can explore a subject in depth, and I think there is staying power in that kind of study and teaching and writing. Then, too, it protects you from over-reacting to the current zeitgeist, the news of the day, and writing throw away pieces that have little use in months or years to come. It will also help you gather a readership. People who like the subject you are discussing will bring in other people who like it, and your readership will grow. Most of all, though, this allows you to plan ahead what you are going to write. Which is my next point, actually.

    Third, I have found it helpful to plan ahead of time what I am going to write for the next year or so. This developed first in my preaching, and I found it to be so beneficial I brought it to my writing as well. This allows you to research/study/outline something well ahead of actually writing it. Why does that matter? Because you will write better what you have thought about longer. Additionally, if you are in the ministry there are some seasons of your calendar that are busier than others. In the slower ones, you can do your immediate writing for that week, and some prep for future weeks. In the busier ones, since your prep is already done, you can limit yourself to just the writing. And everything I am saying here applies to book writing as well. 

    Fourth, I have found it helpful to take one particular time each year to do nothing but plan ahead, to put everything else on pause while you meditate and pray on the directions the Lord would have you go as you seek to edify His people. What does He want you to emphasize next? What do the people you influence need most in the near term future? How does this fit into your responsibility to preach/teach/write the whole counsel of God? When your life draws to its close, what will you wish you had used your influence to accomplish? Answer those questions, and the questions that spring from them, formulate your plan, work your plan, and don't get sidetracked. 

    For me, I have found my prayer retreat to be a good week to accomplish this each year. In case you needed another reason to go on a prayer retreat. <grin> 

    Lastly, I have found it helpful to repackage things I have previously studied and taught. I may take something I taught in Sunday School ten years ago, deepen it and widen it, and turn it into a Bible Institute class. Perhaps a series I did on Wednesday nights some years ago could be repurposed/retailored for a Sunday School class or a blog series. Etc. If your audience in this particular venue has little to no realistic chance of having heard that from you before, and it would benefit them, give it to them. A well produces good water for many years to all who draw from it. You dug a good well back yonder; it is ok to draw from it again. 

    I am not sure about everything, but I am sure about two things. I do not have all the answers. It is right to ask questions designed to pull wisdom out of people. So good on you for asking, just don't think my answers are the only good ones. 

    I hope something here may provoke a thought that might help you. And keep writing. Well, if you are of above average intelligence that is. <grin> 

A Free Class Offered

      Each year, I offer at least one free class via Zoom. This year, it is a class on fundamentalism. "Fundamental" is the middle initial in IFB, independent fundamental Baptist. Yet at this point in our history it is the least understood, in my view. And it matters. Some essential questions this class is designed to ask and answer:

- What is fundamentalism? When did it start? Why did it begin? How did it develop?

- What is the doctrinal foundation of fundamentalism?

- What is the historical development of fundamentalism?

- What are the historical and modern objections to fundamentalism? What is our response to those objections?

- How does misunderstanding or misapplying this in our day happen? When it happens, what is the result? 

- concepts we will discuss include ecclesiastical separation, apostasy, holiness, and ecclesiology

- historical figues and movements we will trace include Donatism, Augustine, the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation, the Anabaptists, the Puritans, the Downgrade Controversy, modernism, New Evangelicalism, Billy Graham, and the Emerging Church 

     There is no charge for the course. A 71 page syllabus will be provided. The cost is underwritten by my Patreon subscribers. We will meet each Tuesday night for two hours beginning February 4. This is one of my shorter classes so I expect to be done in about five weeks. If you have questions or would like to register, simply respond via email. Cut off date for registration is Monday, February 3.  

My Top Ten Books of 2024

     I archive my books on Goodreads. I also review each book I read. In 2024, I read 50 books totaling 20,571 pages, an average of 430 pages per book. The shortest book I read at 92 pages was C. I. Scofield's book on the Holy Spirit. The longest book I read at 1500 pages was the John R. Rice Reference Bible. Today's post contains my top ten books for the year. For those who are interested, I also maintain a recommended reading list here; it contains hundreds of recommendations spread across a couple of dozen categories.

     Enjoy.

The Treasurey of David, Volume 1, Parts One and Two, C. H. Spurgeon - As a long-time pastor, I have often sampled from these volumes in preparation for one sermon or another. But in preparing to teach an extended series from the psalms (one Sunday School lesson on each psalm) I decided to read them in their entirety, beginning to end. I have found them as rich in reality as they are in reputation. The staggering amount of content, good content, is matched only by Spurgeon's peerless ability as a wordsmith. It isn't often that I read a book/commentary on the Bible and think to myself, "Well, there isn't anything else left to say." This is one of those rare cases where I feel that way.

In the edition I have the print is tiny and the pages thin. It makes for laborious reading yet I have found myself more than amply repaid. I am quite sure that to whatever extent you read them - sampled here and there or read as I am doing straight through - you will come to the same conclusion I have.

Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson - Isaacson has done it again. He has shown us a man, and in showing us the man has shown how/why that man has changed society, and why it matters that he has changed society. Well written, as always. Mostly kept himself out of it, except for the occasional left-leaning criticism. Strikes me as fair i.e. even-handed. He praises Musk in some places; in others, he takes him to task, not personally, but historically, so to speak. The only fault I can really find in this as biography is that it was written too soon. The tale of Musk's life is not yet told. Mid-life biographies are always sketchy things.

Isaacson does an outstanding job tracing the arc of Musk's life from gritty South Africa in a broken family to Canadian immigrant to dot com millionaire to risk taking space pioneer. It is a marvelous tale, and an insightful one. You come away with a sense that you understand what makes Musk tick. It contextualizes the Musk you see in interviews and on Twitter. I know I'll never look at the guy the same again.

As for Musk. Wow. I've read biographies of all of the robber barons of the 19th century, trains, oil, banking, etc. I've read biographies of the movers and shakers of the internet era, Brin, Zuckerburg, Bezos, Thiele, etc. Musk is more impressive than any of them save Rockefeller. And he matters more than Rockefeller. I told my wife, "If Musk lived 2000 years ago, he would be on the back of an elephant leading an army conquering Rome." He risks everything. Constantly. It has produced big wins and big losses both, but more of the former b/c it is generally intelligent risk.

Musk the person/man is much less impressive. Foul mouthed. Serial adultery/practical polygamy. As horrible to work for or more than Steve Jobs. OTOH, I can't see him falling into a second juvenile childhood like Bezos is doing. He will press hard to the end, I think.

Back to the book... I think we need to read books like this b/c we need to understand the forces shaping our society. You must understand that to know where we are going next. With Musk, I feel terrified encouragement. What he has done for the cause of free speech alone is enormously important in the medium term. Much less so, with electric cars. Much more so, with space. And who knows what he will do next?

My compliments to Isaacson. He has done society a great favor to peel the mask back and show us the man.

When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vincent Lombardi, David Maraniss - This is my first Maraniss book, and my first bio of Lombardi. Together, they became an interesting discovery. Maraniss writes clearly here, following a mostly chronological order, but resisting the impulse to turn this into a dissection of football/football games. It isn't. Oh, he discusses both and in some detail, but this is absolutely a biography rather than a sporting history.

As a biography then this work stands or falls. And stand it does. Maraniss shows us Lombardi's neighborhood/family milieu, his education, and the influence of his church. He spends substantial time on his college career at Fordham, weaves in his marriage, and then relays his early struggles to find his footing. Then we see his coaching career, high school, West Point assistant, NFL assistant, the legendary years in Green Bay, and finally the sudden sunset in DC. Throughout, Lombardi's family plays an integral role in the book as it would have in his life.

Good biographies are measured on two things, in my mind. First, do they hold my interest? Second, do they give me a flavor of the age and a sense that I really know the man? Maraniss does both well here.

Sports biographies are not my usual forte. Glad I stepped out of my comfort zone for this one.

The Frontiersman, Allan Eckart - What a delightful discovery this book was. I've read thousands of history books. Eckert wrote history in such a way that it seems a series of connected short stories ala Louis L'Amour. And he did a staggeringly good job of it. This particular work traces the settlement of Kentucky and Ohio, and the Indian wars in which they were birthed. Eckert does this via a focus on two individuals primarily, Simon Kenton on the American side, and Tecumsah on the Indian side. In the process we see religion, warfare, technology, torture, economics, geo-politics, geography, massacre, and nature. Most of all, we see the human interest side of it all. What a generation that was, a generation of struggle and loss and triumph.

I finished it this morning. As I sit here, the superlatives that come to mind are many. I will resist the urge to spill them across the page. I read fifty books, give or take, in a typical year. Suffice it to say, it is the best book I have read so far this year. Simply superb.

Nuclear War: A Scenario, Annie Jacobsen - As an author, Annie Jacobsen was a delightful surprise. As a book, Nuclear War: A Scenario was terrifying. I've read more books than I can count, and while I have read sadder books and deeper books and more important books, I have never read a book that scared me more than this one. In my life.

Jacobsen, who has clearly done her homework, writes a bit like the early Tom Clancy back when he was good. There are lots of acronyms, albeit explained. There is tension, then mesmerizing tension, then horrifying tension, then terror, and each of these are carefully attached to what comes before. Intellectual honesty compels me to mention that she stretches her scenario nearly to the breaking point in order in order to write it. The Soviets are really going to launch all out war even though they know the Americans know it was North Korea that struck them? Really? China is just going to throw in at the last minute because several hundred thousand of her people died on the border? Neither of those are believable to me. But all else was eminently believable, and I do not doubt her analysis of the results at all. Additionally, I think this is precisely the type of profound thought exercise national leaders should engage in, and I dearly hope they will read this book.

It is a good thing I am a Christian. That grounds me and contextualizes such fears with the sovereignty of God and the great arc of redemption in Christ. But if it were not for that, this book would give me an untreatable ulcer for the rest of my life.

What a book. Wow.

The Other Side of Calvinism, Laurence Vance - I came to this work at the tail end of a several year personal study of Calvinism. In the course of that, I read works both pro/con for intellectual integrity's sake, though I freely confess I am certainly not a Calvinist. I saved it for last because, frankly, it is massive. Took me most of a year to plow through. I'm glad I did.

Vance opens the work with an almost 200 page history of the primary players (Augustine, Calvin, Armenius) and the arc of the development of Calvinism as a doctrine. The next 400 pages are spent on a deconstruction of Calvinistic doctrine. The final 200 pages are appendices, bibliographies, footnotes, and indexes. And may I say in relation to this latter section, I don't think I have ever read a more scrupulously detailed and cited doctrinal work in my life. There are thousands of footnotes. It is one of the clear strengths of the work.

I have given it here a five star rating. The writing itself does not deserve that. Vance repeats himself in places, and in others allows his personal animosity/snark too much reign. He also functions as if more arguments for his position are better even if they aren't better. Though grammatically correct, the book could have used a strong editor. Having said that, the work still deserves a five star rating for several reasons. First, the sheer volume of work that went into it. Second, his approach includes hundreds of quotations from respected Calvinist writers to establish the truth of his claims regarding their positions. This helped me immensely, being largely ignorant of those writings for the most part. Third, he fearlessly tackles both the large and small, the forest and the trees. He discusses the overarching failures of the structure, and the apologies offered for it, but he also delves into the individual passages and words in great detail.

I have no doubt that Calvinists have a negative view of the work. That does not concern me. What does concern me, what drove me in fact, was my search to find a detailed, heavily cited defense of an anti-Calvinist position. Well, I can stop looking and so can you. This is definitely it.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, Adam Higginbotham - Adam has done it again. This is as good as his book on Chernobyl, at least. Though the scope is smaller (a tragedy vs a civilization threatening event) the approach is similar. He traces the biography of the individuals involved, how the technologies evolved, and how the culture of political and performance pressure produced man-made errors. His blow-by-blow narration of the event itself kept me on the edge of my seat even though I already knew the result. Finally, he discusses the follow-up investigations, and how the truth came to light. 

For me, this book has moved Adam up into the rarified air of the must read historian. Writing an outstanding book once is remarkable. Doing it again is awesome. My compliments, Mr. Higginbotham.

The Wide, Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact, and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, Hampton Sides - Hampton Sides has done it again, a balanced historical account written in an absolutely compelling fashion. If Sides is not on your must-read list as a modern historian I don't know who is. 

In this work, we find the dramatic account of the last voyage and death of the great British seaman and explorer, James Cook. Sides gives us some context, but largely confines the story to exactly that. We see the ships, the men, the officers, the food, the medical issues, the map issues, all of it. We travel with Cook into the Pacific, partake of the baleful delights of Tahiti, bump into the Hawaiian islands, and taste the useless Arctic quest for the Northwest Passage. Finally, we are back to Hawaii for the gripping account of Cook's reception as a god and murder thirty days later. Lessons abound, in morals and economics and religion and leadership and hubris. 

If you haven't read Sides, start. Anywhere, but this work is as good any. And keep reading. He makes history come alive. 

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus, Charles Mann - I picked up this book with some trepidation. I do not have much use for revisionist history, especially of the left-leaning woke variety. And much of what gets written about this era of American history recently is precisely that. To my surprise and gratification, this wasn't. Rather, it was a thought-provoking and absolutely balanced view of a wide variety of aspects of this era of history. 

Mann does a staggeringly good job of bringing up the original historical take, tracing that historical take along its development, and then applying modern information to that take. It isn't revisionist near as much as it is corrective - of left-leaning revisionism. Whether the discussion is disease or archaeology or economics or politics or weapons or transportation or communication or ethnology or demographics, Mann does an excellent job of showing us the Americas prior to Columbus. The picture that emerges is much more complex than our childhood textbooks showed us, and yet humble at the same time. 

Good book, and earned a rare five stars from me.