Okay I am over half-way through the book. It started a little rough for me, given the fact that I am not covenantal though some of my favorite teachers are, including Ken Jones. I want to tell you that Mr. Carter’s chapters on preaching and worship are worth the price of the book alone. I am going to give a few quotes. Please pick this work up. There are things that I will disagree with but I will leave that for the final review which is to happen this weekend. God willing! Also please check out the Council of Reforming Churches also. You can get information on the authors of this book and other Reformed and Biblically Sound African American Pastors and the work they are doing to spread the Supremacy of Christ to the entire world.
“Christians in too many of our churches today are far more interested in being served rather than serving. When they go to church, they are more interested in what they get than what they give. They are more concerned with being entertained than being edified. Subsequently, the sad state of affairs is that more often than not entertainment has replaced worship. yet we need to under that worship is not entertainment” (Carter pg. 83)
“Thus when we come to church, we want what we so readily receive all week long–fast-paced, up-to-the-minute, quality, graphic entertainment. Unfortunately, too many places on Sunday morning are eager (emphasis mine) to give people what they want in an effort to reach them, or more accurately, to woo them in to membership” (Carter pg 86)
On preaching he says:
“Biblical, experiential preaching begins with a commitment to the Bible as the Word of God. The preacher who would have any long term creditability will be the preacher who consistently demonstrates that the Bible is the source of divine revelation and information. It is the place where he derives his authority and the place where his authority is checked” (Carter page 65)
On preaching the 5 Solas he says this of preaching Grace (which gave me goose bumps)
“We belittle grace and deny our people the best when we offer them financial security, self-esteem, positive-thinking, and even family values instead of the all-satisfying grace of God. Money will not satisfy when the doctors want to pull the plug on the life-support systems. People need Grace. Positive thinking will not satisfy when a child drops out of school and joins a cult. People need Grace. Family values won’t satisfy when she files for divorce papers because she wants no part of the faith. People need Grace”. (Carter pg. 75)
This is just a teaser. The book is jam packed with this type of Christ exalting information. The book is written by some pretty heavy reformed guys so some of the stuff you may not agree with, but the quotes above over populates the pages. I will provide a review by the weekend.
