THINKING. LOVING. DOING.
Glorify God with heart and mind
Contributors include Rick Warren, Francis Chan & John Piper. IVP. 165 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 844 745 548
This book writes up talks given by five speakers at the Desiring God 2010 National Conference.
David Mathis introduces it as a call to a full-orbed Christian existence in which we think, love and do to the glory of God, as the title Thinking. Loving. Doing. would lead you to expect. The chapters supposedly follow this framework with three on thinking, two on doing, and one on loving. As it turns out, they don’t fit neatly into this grid (especially those on ‘doing’), and the book is actually mainly about thinking. A more accurate description is given by Piper in the conclusion, that we would embrace thinking as a way of loving God and people. This is precisely what Piper himself had addressed, and arguably better, in his book Think: the life of the mind and the love of God.
That said, there was much I found helpful. If you can cope with Rick Warren’s conversational, sound-bite style, his call to guard, strengthen and renew our minds is a needed one. Mohler’s chapter on Romans 1 helped me appreciate quite how much sin has affected the fallen mind. Sproul shows how biblical revelation gives us the answers to the questions philosophers have wrestled with for centuries, though with a lot more on philosophy than on Acts 17! Anyabwile, as a convert from Islam, is well placed to address the topic of Islam and the feeling of fear which can prevent clear thinking. Chan is anecdotal, but challenging, nevertheless, in his call to use knowledge in the service of loving others. The different voices and styles give variety, but can also make it feel rather bitty. If you were to buy just one book on the subject, the rigour and coherence of Piper’s own book might make it a better buy. Food for thought!
Marcus Nodder,
senior pastor, St. Peter’s Barge, London’s Floating Church (http://www.stpetersbarge.org)
