13 replies to this topic

[jonathon]

When speaking to most people, it isn't advantageous to go into each division of each group.

Knowing at least the basics about each group, and how they differ from each other, helps one's credibility when evangelizing within those groups.

jonathon

[BH.]

I agree. However, if it comes from someone who was once in that religion, and he gives a historical account of what happened while he was involved, I believe it would be useful.
-Brad

Canright was a strong opponent of Adventists. There are publications that address the charges of Canright from an Adventist perspective. One such book is titled "IN DEFENSE OF THE FAITH, A REPLY TO CANRIGHT" by William H. Branson. If is available here: IN DEFENSE OF FAITH.

[StandingFirm]

Thanks BH. This will be very helpful in my study. Maybe Bradley could make an esword module of it to go along with the one he did.

[BH.]

A Barna Group Survey from May 30, 2005, looked that the most influential books and authors that influence pastors. The report starts out:

Books sales and book influence are two different factors. While bestseller lists identify the books that generate the greatest revenue, a new survey by The Barna Group, conducted among a nationwide, representative sample of Protestant pastors, shows that the most influential books often fail to reach the bestseller lists. That’s one of several key findings drawn from the list of books that pastors say have influenced them the most in the past three years. The survey also found that a relative handful of authors have the most consistent influence on pastors, and that a dozen or so books have had the most widespread impact during that time frame.

Church size and a pastor's age caused different choices in the type of books chosen.

The size of the congregation led by a pastor was related to the types of books mentioned. Pastors of small congregations not only read fewer books than did pastors of larger churches, but also had more restricted categorical tastes. Discipleship books were their clear favorite, listed by half of the small church pastors, but no other category of books was mentioned by even one out of every five of those leaders. Specific leadership books were identified as among the most helpful by four out of ten pastors of large churches and by three out of ten mid-sized church leaders, but by only one out of every eight pastors of small congregations. In fact, small-church pastors were only half as likely as those from large congregations to include The Purpose Driven Life among their influential books.

Pastors of mainline churches were more than twice as likely as their colleagues from non-mainline Protestant churches to cite specific theology books while being less than half as likely to list a volume related to evangelism or outreach. Mainline pastors were also less than half as likely to mention any books regarding leadership thinking or practices.

Pastors who lead charismatic or Pentecostal congregations were by far the least likely to include books on theology among their chosen titles: only 2% did so.
The age of the pastor had a clear impact on the books they regarded most highly. Pastors in their mid-fifties or older were only one-third as likely as their younger colleagues to mention any leadership books. The oldest pastors also showed a preference for authors from their own generation, including men such as Dallas Willard, Charles Stanley and Warren Wiersbe among their favorites, although those writers did not make the national list.

Pastors under the age of 40, meanwhile, were more than twice as likely to mention books on prayer; only half as likely to include The Purpose Driven Life; and just one-sixth as likely to place The Purpose Driven Church in their top-ranked volumes. In fact, while one-third of all pastors over 40 mentioned at least one book by Rick Warren, just 14% of those under 40 did so.

The under-40 pastors championed several authors who were not ranked highly by older church leaders. Those authors included business consultant James Collins, seminary professor Thom Rainer, nineteenth century Seventh-Day Adventist icon Ellen White, and pastor John Ortberg.

Just FYI.