From Some Dead Guys
J.C. Ryle on pastoring. The reason we don’t have more writings by J.C. Ryle is that most of his library was burned down about fifty years after his death. But the little I have read of his pastoring style, he was worthy of emulation. This man wrote tracts (or pamphlets) for each member of his church and hand-delivered them monthly to personally encourage and instruct his congregants. That is a man who loved his sheep!
John Wesley and George Whitefield co-authoring a book on the atonement. These men – one a Calvinist (Whitefield) and the other an Arminian (Wesley) are such godly men who loved the Lord and His Word. How about reading a back-and-forth where these men critique each other’s view on the nature on the atonement? I bet we would witness a sharing of the truth in love but also discover incredibly intriguing biblical banter on a very controversial subject. By the way, these men had profound respect for each other and I am confident this would come out in a book such as this.
John Calvin’s commentary on Revelation. I would read this for two reasons: (1) he never wrote a commentary on this N.T. book and (2) he is one the most brilliant commentators in church history.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on his assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. If you know Bonhoeffer, you know that he was once a pacifist and defended that from Scripture. Due to the genocides taking place in WWII and his own understanding of the abuses of slavery, Bonhoeffer rejected his pacifism and sought to kill Hitler. I would love to read a book detailing the process by which Bonhoeffer went through that led him to change his mind on violence. What passages meant the most and why? Were the men encouraging or discouraging his pacifistic views? What were they saying? Did he regret taking that stand against Hitler in light of Romans 13?
From Modern Men
J.I. Packer on the trinity. Since I love this man’s book Knowing God and his writing style is so accessible to the layperson, why not a book on each member of the trinity, covering attributes, nature, and ministry?
Wayne Grudem on teaching. Other than R.C. Sproul, I can’t think of anyone alive today who is better at taking big truths and communicating them in simplistic ways. I would love to read Grudem on how he teaches. What is his philosophy of teaching? What fundamentals and concepts does he follow? What advice would he give men and women in formal teaching ministry? How does he encourage men and women to grow in their teaching?
If any of these books exist, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! They will go straight to the top of my “Must Read List.”
Worldly Saints 