Tips on choosing a good Christian book

Tips on choosing a good Christian book
By GOH MUI PONG

DO YOU sometimes walk into a bookstore feeling overwhelmed by the range of books available? Or do you just walk into a bookstore, knowing exactly what you want and walk out after purchasing the book?

If you belong to either category, this article is written for you! If you feel overwhelmed by books, you might not go to a bookstore altogether.

On the other hand, if one does not really spend time browsing in the local shop or online (especially www.christianbook.com or the various major publishers' website where they list their books), it can be difficult to try to engage with other Christians or to even expand on one's personal library of authors.

This article provides five simple (hopefully not simplistic) rules to choosing a book in a bookstore.

Before going to the bookstore,
1) Find out what your friends are reading:
· Although this is not always helpful because there is generally a tendency to read only particular authors.
· For instance, in England, generally students only read a narrow selection of authors e.g. John Stott, J. I. Packer, C. S. Lewis, Don Carson and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.
· In Singapore, Josh McDowell would be the household name when people want to find out about answers to difficult questions.
· In the United States, authors like John Piper, Warren Wiersbe (especially his "Be" series, which is actually a series of Bible commentaries) would be reasonably familiar.

The table below shows a generalised comparison of the authors people will look for when they are looking for various topics.

Of course, there are many others who are not listed above e.g. Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life), Bruce Wilkinson (The Prayer of Jabez), John MacArthur, Bruce and Stan (with their 101 series), John Eldredge. (Remember, this is only a brief guide, not an exhaustive one).

2) Bibliography
· Many of the more serious books tend to have bibliographies or citations of where they get their information from. If you have read a good book or found a good argument, take the trouble to look where it is from.
If you have not done the first two steps before going to the bookstore, do not panic. Follow through:

3) Look at the author
· Does the author's name sound a bell?
· What other books written by him/her have you read? Authors generally tend not to change very much in their styles (and sometimes content!).
· Where is the author from and what is his background?
This needs some intelligent browsing. For instance, the titles of the books written by the author would be an approximate indication of what kind of issues the author generally deals with.

4) Look at the title and summary of the books
· Most books have a summary of what they are about at the back of the book or on the book jacket (if they are hardcovers or "cloth" as they are technically called). They are extremely helpful.
· Furthermore, look at the content page and see what kind of material is covered and how the author argues his/ her case.
· Lastly, dip into the book -- skim through one or two pages of the introduction and conclusion and see if you can have a sense of the style of the authors.

5) Endorsements
· Who are the people who have endorsed this book? Sometimes, the author might be new and hence you will have to look at the people who endorsed the book. Do you recognise the people who have endorsed the book?

6) Publisher
· If all of the above fails, the final step is to look at the publisher.

I have compiled a list of main Christian publishers on the next page. It is important to note that the same book might be published by different publishers or even as different titles in different countries. This is due to the complicated distribution rights.
It is also important to note that generally in Britain, the range of titles even under the various publishers tends to be narrower than in the United States. One generally encounters IVP, Zondervan, Paternoster, Christian Focus and Banner of Truth in a British bookstore.

Goh Mui Pong, a member of Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church, is pursuing his PhD in Politics at the University of Cambridge.

The list below is arranged alphabetically.

Publisher Remarks

Abingdon A Methodist press, they specialise in books for general Chrsitian readers and Methodists in particular. They publish many books on Methodism.

- Baker
- Chosen
- Revell
- Baker Academic They have a range of different smaller, specialised imprints. Quite a wide range of books. They are unfortunately not well represented in European bookstores. In the United States, they do an excellent job of printing complete works of various Christians e.g. Spurgeon's sermons, Wesleys' works (look up Christianbook.com regularly for these offers). In Singapore, Bethesda has an excellent collection of Baker books.

Banner of Truth Generally republishes Puritan books. In recent years, they have expanded their range of Reformed authors. Unfortunately they tended to be ignored because of the old language and not so attractive covers.

Barbour They specialise in bargain Christian books and have an excellent series on biographies which are very readable and targeted at the young Christian readers (i.e those in the early teens).

Christian Focus Generally very reliable though they tend to be quite expensive in Asia.

Crossway Publisher of the Good News Bible. The ministry is very much inspired by the ministry of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. They have a strong and wide range of books. You are likely to see authors like Francis and Edith Schaeffer, Nancy Pearcey, John Piper, Frank E. Peretti and R. C. Sproul under them.

Eerdmans An independent Christian publishing house. The books tend to be more academic and scholarly.

Hendrickson You probably will not see many of their titles particularly in Britain as they are mainly focused in the US. They tend to be more scholarly as well.

Harvest House They have a new series -- Christianity 101 (by Bickel & Stan) where the various themes are introduced e.g. Creation and Evolution 101, Knowing the Bible 101. Harvest House has many of Kay Arthur's writings (her inductive bible study guides are particularly helpful).

Hoddder and Stoughton I have seen this almost exclusively only in Britain. As with other publishing houses, they often publish other publishers' titles foially in Asia and the United States. IVP US has an excellent website which shows the reviews, endorsements as well as the content pages. r the European market. They have a good range of writers e.g. Michael Green, Lloyd Jones and Nicky Cruz.

Intervarsity Press Publishing arm of IVCF (everywhere) or UCCF (in Britain). Generally very reliable press with an excellent range espec

Moody Press They do not generally have a strong presence in Britain unlike in the US and Singapore. Authors you might encounter under Moody will be Tony Evans, Ervin Lutzer and John MacArthur.

Multnomah They have a good range of small booklets, and are generally reliable.

Navpress They generally specialise in Bible studies and books on spiritual disciplines. Look out for their new series called "Spiritual Formation" edited by Dallas Willard. J. P. Moreland's "Love Your God with All Your Mind" is part of that series. Authors you might have come across: Jerry Bridges, Donald Whitney

Paternoster Generally a reliable and trusted press with wide range but often quite expensive, particularly in Asia. Has a good range of books.

Thomas Nelson
- Word Ravi Zacharias, Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, John MacArthur have all published under Thomas Nelson/ Word. Their books tend to be more on Christian Living.

Tyndale Publisher of the New Living Translation. They have been associated largely associated with the "Left Behind Series". They have several titles by Josh McDowell as other authors e.g. Elisabeth Elliot and R. C. Sproul.

Zondervan Although they have been bought over by HarperCollins, they have maintained a strong and generally reliable range of Christian books. One of the largest publishers (if not the largest) of Christian books.

Publisher	Remarks
Abingdon	A Methodist press, they specialise in books for general Chrsitian readers and Methodists in particular. They publish many books on Methodism.
- Baker - Chosen - Revell - Baker Academic	They have a range of different smaller, specialised imprints. Quite a wide range of books. They are unfortunately not well represented in European bookstores. In the United States, they do an excellent job of printing complete works of various Christians e.g. Spurgeon's sermons, Wesleys' works (look up Christianbook.com regularly for these offers). In Singapore, Bethesda has an excellent collection of Baker books.
Banner of Truth	Generally republishes Puritan books. In recent years, they have expanded their range of Reformed authors. Unfortunately they tended to be ignored because of the old language and not so attractive covers.
Barbour	They specialise in bargain Christian books and have an excellent series on biographies which are very readable and targeted at the young Christian readers (i.e those in the early teens).
Christian Focus	Generally very reliable though they tend to be quite expensive in Asia.
Crossway	Publisher of the Good News Bible. The ministry is very much inspired by the ministry of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. They have a strong and wide range of books. You are likely to see authors like Francis and Edith Schaeffer, Nancy Pearcey, John Piper, Frank E. Peretti and R. C. Sproul under them.
Eerdmans	An independent Christian publishing house. The books tend to be more academic and scholarly.
Hendrickson	You probably will not see many of their titles particularly in Britain as they are mainly focused in the US. They tend to be more scholarly as well.
Harvest House	They have a new series -- Christianity 101 (by Bickel & Stan) where the various themes are introduced e.g. Creation and Evolution 101, Knowing the Bible 101. Harvest House has many of Kay Arthur's writings (her inductive bible study guides are particularly helpful).
Hoddder and Stoughton	I have seen this almost exclusively only in Britain. As with other publishing houses, they often publish other publishers' titles foially in Asia and the United States. IVP US has an excellent website which shows the reviews, endorsements as well as the content pages. r the European market. They have a good range of writers e.g. Michael Green, Lloyd Jones and Nicky Cruz.
Intervarsity Press	Publishing arm of IVCF (everywhere) or UCCF (in Britain). Generally very reliable press with an excellent range espec
Moody Press	They do not generally have a strong presence in Britain unlike in the US and Singapore. Authors you might encounter under Moody will be Tony Evans, Ervin Lutzer and John MacArthur.
Multnomah	They have a good range of small booklets, and are generally reliable.
Navpress	They generally specialise in Bible studies and books on spiritual disciplines. Look out for their new series called "Spiritual Formation" edited by Dallas Willard. J. P. Moreland's "Love Your God with All Your Mind" is part of that series. Authors you might have come across: Jerry Bridges, Donald Whitney
Paternoster	Generally a reliable and trusted press with wide range but often quite expensive, particularly in Asia. Has a good range of books.
Thomas Nelson - Word	Ravi Zacharias, Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, John MacArthur have all published under Thomas Nelson/ Word. Their books tend to be more on Christian Living.
Tyndale	Publisher of the New Living Translation. They have been associated largely associated with the "Left Behind Series". They have several titles by Josh McDowell as other authors e.g. Elisabeth Elliot and R. C. Sproul.
Zondervan	Although they have been bought over by HarperCollins, they have maintained a strong and generally reliable range of Christian books. One of the largest publishers (if not the largest) of Christian books.

In Britain, there are other major (and generally evangelical) publishers as well e.g. Evangelical Press, Monarch and Lion (their Lion Handbooks series are particularly noteworthy). However, they are not often available outside Europe or they have a smaller range of titles. There are other houses e.g. Victor Chariot (which publishes Warren Wiersbe's BE Series) and Kregel. However, the publishing houses above are the main ones.

Another thing to bear in mind is that many books published in the US would take a while before they arrive in Britain and vice versa. Amazon (both in Britain and the US) can sometimes help to overcome this.

In Asia, there is generally not so much the problem of this as SKS, Bethesda and Life bookstores tend to get books from both the US and Europe. Furthermore, the Christian ministries e.g. Navigators and Fellowship of Evangelical Students, do stock a small collection of books as well.

FOR FURTHER READING

Adler, Mortimer & Charles Van Doren. 1972. How to Read a Book. Touchstone.
This is absolutely the classic. For many years, it has been and probably still is the required text for many of the liberal arts colleges in the US. If you have not read any of his writings, start now!
McKenna, David. 2001. How to read a Christian Book. Baker
Although I have only skimmed the book, it does provide some helpful tips on reading Christian books. It also provides a Christian reading plan. However, I personally think that Adler is still the better choice to read on this.

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