William Nelson (2018), The Church in Antioch, DayOne, 144 pages

It is obvious from reading the Book of Acts that the church in Antioch played a prominent role in the spread of the Christian faith in its early days. Antioch was where believers were first given the name ‘Christians’ and it was there that the believers began to bring the gospel to Gentiles. The church also had a competent leadership, among whom were Barnabas and Paul. It was from this church that the so-called missionary journeys of Paul commenced and he returned to it whenever each journey was over.

Rather surprisingly, given its prominence, there are not many books based on the life of this church, although one can read about what took place there in commentaries on Acts. So this book by William Nelson, which explores the features of this church mentioned by Luke and considers how they can be applied in church life today, is useful. 

It is not difficult for contemporary churches to work out whether their structures and methods are as flexible and useful as those once found in Antioch. Of course, the ones mentioned about Antioch are the biblical standard and we judge our churches by what they did. They are not mentioned just to be admired, however, but also to be imitated.

What features were found in this church? In twelve chapters, the author points out that it was a well-led church, a well-fed church, a worshipping church, a praying church, an evangelistic church, a Holy Spirit-based church, a united church, a giving church, a hospitable church, a maturing church and an encouraging church. One need only look at the adjectives in the list to see why the church prospered.

Questions arise today about the quality of leadership, the depth and relevance of teaching, the nature of worship, the decline in attendances, the effectiveness of prayer meetings, the failure to make much penetration in urban situations with the gospel, and the reality of the presence of the Spirit in our gatherings. This book may not ask all the questions and does not provide all the answers. Yet it gives an opportunity to reflect on church life and assess where we are in comparison to a New Testament church that clearly displayed the features of a gospel church.

It would be useful for leaders and others to meet together and discuss the aspects of church life mentioned in each chapter. The chapters are followed by some questions and others could easily be added to them as far as local situations are concerned. After all, one thing seems true and that is churches like the one in Antioch will know divine blessing.

William Nelson (2018), The Church in Antioch, DayOne, 144 pages

Paul Mallard, Invest Your Disappointments

Paul Mallard has known personal disappointments as well as problems in the pastorates he has had. So his book, which was published in 2018 by IVP, comes out of deep personal experience as well as observations of the lives of others, whether in biographies or through contact. The book has three sections. 

Section 1 is called Preparing for the Journey of Life. We face this journey because as sinners we are living outside the garden of Eden. In the journey we will be disappointed. ‘Disappointment is the sadness experienced when people or circumstances do not fulfill our expectations.’ Disappointment is not limited to humans, but God the Father and Jesus experience it as well to some extent.

Section 2 examines several features of the Land of Disappointment through which we travel. Work can bring disappointments but we can respond with contentment and faithful service. Relationships bring disappointment, whether in marriage or in what one’s family does. The church, particularly its leadership, can bring disappointment because of bad examples or bad decisions. We are also disappointed by what we find within ourselves, although confession of our sins should be our response. Even God can seem to disappoint us when providence seems to be against us. So there is a range of disappointing situations that can come our way, sometimes in isolation or sometimes together. Yet they can all be opportunities for spiritual growth.

Section 3 considers helps to spiritual growth during such times. We must remind ourselves that God has a plan, that Jesus is sufficient, that we have plenty to be grateful for, and that our faith is being tested as we run the Christian race. These are the certainties that keep us going as we travel through the Land of Disappointment.

This very helpful book deals with a common experience of Christians. Disappointment marks our steps and often finds new areas in which it can unleash its strength. It is a spiritual barrier that we have to overcome often while the cause of the disappointment is present and shows no sign of going away. It is a book for all Christians because we have all been there, and it can help us interact with others who are experiencing it, including Christians and others we speak to all the time.

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Known and Felt by Stuart Olyott (Evangelical Press, 2014)

Earlier this week, I read a short book

(150 pages) which deals with a crucial aspect of Christian living, but an aspect that one does not hear much about today. It is the author's conviction that the gospel and its benefits affect our feelings as much as they do our understanding and our behaviour.

The book contains seven chapters, preceded by a short autobiographical introduction in which the author recounts personal experiences with God, including individual and church occasions when the Lord made his presence known. Reading this account took me back to times when this was regarded as normal Christianity.

The first chapter focuses on what the Bible says about emotions in the Christian life. Olyott points out the obvious, which is that repeatedly the Bible depicts believers as having powerful emotional experiences, whether it is awareness of sin in their hearts or the joy of forgiveness by God or in answered prayer. The psalms, for example, are full of such cases.

In the second chapter, Olyott explains the role of the Holy Spirit in giving life to those who are spiritually dead. The Spirit comes alongside the Word of God and brings sinners into a relationship with Jesus. Thereafter, the Spirit will work in us.

The topic of chapter three is assurance. Some believers don't have it. This can be because of wrong teachings about assurance, it can be because of sinful attitudes and practices, and it can be because of a stereotyped view of conversion that imagines each one is the same. The author then describes how one can get true assurance. It is given to those who have faith in Jesus, who are troubled by their inward sins, who persist in loving their fellow Christians, and who experience the strengthening activity of the Holy Spirit as he keeps those three outlooks alive in their hearts.

Olyott makes the valid point that such assurance is needed by Christians who suffer for the faith (apparently, a believer is martyred every eleven minutes today, which means a couple have been killed since you started reading this review). He also points out that assurance is needed by the Christian teenager who is derided in school for her faith, by the Christian soldier facing problems in the barracks, and by the Christian wife living with an unconverted husband who attempts to cool her love for the Lord. The truth is, we all need assurance.

Chapter four deals with the matter of the felt presence of Jesus. It does not mean that a person has a vision of Jesus or sees an unusual phenomenon such as a bright light (or similar). Instead it is grasping with delight who Jesus is, and appreciating what he has done and is doing for his people, which is a reminder that the Spirit works through our minds into our emotions. The person who experiences this thinks very little of himself and thinks very highly of Jesus. Like the two on the way to Emmaus, whose hearts burned within them after Jesus explained biblical passages about himself to them, believers find their hearts moved.

Guidance is the theme of the fifth chapter. The Bible says some things are right and others are wrong. Even on things that the Bible does not mention specifically, it provides principles as to whether or not a Christian should do them. The main area in which Christians have difficulty is in discovering their vocation. According to the author, the way to obtain guidance is by engaging in prayer according to the Bible, aware that God will be gracious to us and has given us many promises to use. In providing guidance, the Lord may bring Bible verses to mind, interject new thoughts, create inward compulsions, bring about providential interventions and use unexpected ways - he may also use a combination of them.

The next chapter is about having confidence that our prayers have been answered by God. His comments are based on John's statement that if we pray according to God's will we will have the assurance that we have been heard, even if the answer is not experienced for a while. The author argues that a kind of supernatural conviction is given by God that such prayers will be answered. He gives examples from his own life and from Christian biography about this aspect of Christian experience. Of course, he is aware that some may confuse a passing impression with a Spirit-given persuasion, and advises that when we think we have such assurance we should keep quiet about it and just wait for the answer(s). The basic point to note is that such awareness is given only to those who spend time in communion with God.

The final chapter is concerned with waiting about God. Our age is marked by two wrong outlooks - immediacy and activity, both of which are not helpful for waiting upon God. Many blessings come to those who wait upon God, and the author suggests that they can be gathered together under the thought of 'quietness of soul'. Waiting on God requires time in which we speak to him about all our concerns and usually it ends with an awareness of his peace. The consequences of this experience enables them to live differently. They enjoy God's company whether they are alone or with others, and they love to pray.

The author writes in a straightforward manner and explains his ideas in understandable English. It would not take long to read this book - a few hours would be sufficient, and the effects could be life-changing.

Why should we read this book? Maybe our emotions are not what they should be. Perhaps we want to participate in the next Lord Supper with strong love for Jesus and his people in our hearts. Or maybe we sense that we have left our first love. Is our prayer life patchy, even non-existent? How many answers to prayer are we expecting?

Reading the book in itself will not provide warmth for our affections, but it does show us how to get them. And for that, we thank the author, and may he and us know increasingly what he describes.

The Suburbs of Heaven, The Diary of Murdoch Campbell

The Suburbs of Heaven (2014), The Diary of Murdoch Campbell, edited by David Campbell, Covenanters Press, 160pp

Reviewed in the April 2015 issue of The Record of the Free Church of Scotland

A long time ago, when I was a new Christian, I was aware of the name of Rev. Murdoch Campbell, and that for two reasons. First, his several books, although written by a Free Church minister, had managed to get over the very high walls erected by the denomination in which I spent my childhood and youth and were read eagerly by its people. Second, after Campbell retired, he lived near an elder of the congregation in which I was converted, and he could not make any sense of Campbell’s mysticism. Later I realised that the first denomination shared Campbell’s Highland and Celtic spirituality, whereas the elder in the second denomination did not. I suspect that the same two reactions will re-appear with regard to this book.

Some will read the extracts from the diary with a sense of spiritual nostalgia and appreciate what they say because they describe circumstances that are gone and spiritual experiences that no longer seem to exist, even in the Scottish Highlands. Others will read about some of the experiences and wonder what is the connection between mysticism and Christian encounters with the unseen world – especially when the person describing his experiences was known for having a close walk with God – and how they enable a sinner to live with God on his journey together through this world. His unusual awareness of God speaking to him in dreams and of his awareness of praying while asleep will raise the eyebrows of some. Of course, when they do, they should recall that Andrew Bonar, himself not a Highlander, once found himself trying to form new Greek words in his sleep in order to express the love of Christ.

The extracts reveal a man honest with himself, yet willing to mention and sometimes detail his experiences for the benefit of others, including the prominent in the land, as Campbell did when writing to encourage Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Many times in the diary he records how Bible verses came to him with such power that he was aware they were conveying special, indeed specific, instructions and comforts from God. Moreover, his confidence regarding the post-millennial view of the future, and the spiritual comfort he received through thinking about it, may surprise those who regard it as an unsound interpretation.

Some of his details refer to his efforts in the pulpit such as him having mental freedom in preaching whilst his heart remained unmoved, and what added to the problem was that his listeners on that occasion seemed unmoved as well. He comments about times when prayer was hard and other times when he found it a pleasant experience. There are references to spiritual conflicts within and the power of the adversary. Occasionally he details meetings with kindred spirits who shared his awareness of God’s presence. Now and again he gives his assessment of a book he has been reading.

The diary refers to his family and to his friends, mainly fellow ministers and elders. There are notes of gladness when he records having met or heard of individuals blessed through his ministry. Statements of concern about the direction in which the national Church was travelling seem prophetic when looked at from our standpoint.

All this and more is found in this diary and yet it is not a large volume. Yet it has much to say about how we can interact with God in and through his Word. So I would recommend it to all, but especially to those who are finding their spiritual journey dull and flat. For the clear effect of reading this volume is that it describes one who walked with God, but does it in such a way that his readers can think, ‘So can I.’