E. Y. Mullins towers over the Baptist landscape of the twentieth century. He uniquely represents the effort of Baptists (and Southern Baptists in particular) to come to terms with the challenges of the modern age. His mediating theological method and moderating mode of denominational leadership leaves him difficult to define in precise terms. Thus, the arguments about E. Y. Mullins — and his central affirmation of “soul competency” — are certain to continue far into the future.

This past Sunday marked the 45th anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill, the man widely regarded as the greatest leader of the twentieth century. Churchill’s life was large in every way. Born in the splendor of Blenheim Palace on November 30, 1874, Churchill’s life would span the most decisive years of the transition into the modern world. Though faced with great adversity — and driven by a titanic self-confidence — he would emerge as the man who saved England from collapse in its darkest hour.

Gordon S. Wood is one of the most influential historians writing in the field of American history today. His reputation will only be enhanced with the publication of Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815,  the newest volume in “The Oxford History of the United States.” Wood has written a massive work of over 750 pages, tracing the life of the early Republic and the transformation of America in what amounts to its national adolescence. “By 1815 Americans had experienced a transformation in the way they related to one another and in the way they perceived themselves and the world around them,” Wood observes.

Just before Christmas I took delivery of a new Nook, the dedicated e-reader recently released by Barnes & Noble. Just having a Nook was something of a sensation, since the device had been so popular on pre-order that many orders still remain unfilled. Is the Nook an admirable e-reader? You bet. A Kindle-killer? Not yet, anyway.

Books are a major part of my daily life. As I write this, I am surrounded by many thousands of books, each with its own feel, appearance, and meaning. Many of these books have played crucial roles in my thinking and understanding. Even as Christianity requires a certain level of literacy for its transmission and understanding, the book (whether scroll or codex) is rightly cherished by Christ’s people.

Communication is one of the central tasks of leadership. No one seemed to know this like Ronald Reagan. Much like Winston Churchill, President Reagan understood the power of words and the opportunity of a great speech.

To be human, it seems, is to be fascinated with crime. This simple fact explains why so much of our popular entertainment is driven by narratives and plots dealing with crime, crimefighters, criminals, and the police. News about crime and criminals often takes the top position in the newspaper and leads the nightly news.

The theme of fathers and sons is one of the constants of literature, both ancient and modern. From Ivan Turgenev to Chuck Palahniuk, modern literature seems particularly obsessed with fathers and their sons — and sons without fathers.

I appreciate the fact that many people have found my 2009 Summer Reading List to be helpful.  The list is just a start, of course, and it was intended from the beginning to be helpful also for Father’s Day.  Thus, it is long in history and military history — which is no coincidence given my own enjoyment of these reading fields. There will be more to come this summer.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was, by any fair measure, one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century.  His ministry at Westminster Chapel in London ranks among the most influential in Christian history.  “The Doctor,” as he was known, was a master expositor and a most effective communicator.  He was also firmly grounded in historic Christian orthodoxy, with a clear commitment to Reformation doctrine and a deep concern for the vitality and integrity of evangelical Christianity.

John Cheever never gained the recognition he so desperately craved, even though he won many awards, including the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  Born in 1912, Cheever got himself thrown out of prep school and soon set his sights on being a writer.  His life had many twists and turns, but he eventually achieved literary success, preceding John Updike as the chronicler of American suburban life.  Though a novelist, Cheever was best known to most Americans as a writer of short stories (a fact that caused him some embarrassment).

One cannot understand the theology of the Reformers without first understanding the theology of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century.  Similarly, an understanding of contemporary Catholicism is necessary for any comprehensive understanding of evangelical identity.  While Catholic identity is a contested issue among Roman Catholic theologians and historians (as is true also within evangelicalism), the issues and controversies of modern Catholicism are extremely instructive.