The shopping at this year's Tulsa Workshop was better than the two previous years. The number of vendors and book bargains had greatly decreased in recent times. The books at most booths are overpriced and can be obtained much more cheaply over the internet. But this year the Dallas Christian Sound booth had books for half off or less. Here is what I bought:
The Smart Step Family by Ron Deal, a member of the Church of Christ who has become the Christian expert on step-parenting. While not part of a step-family myself, although I grew up in one, the large number of blended families makes this a must for my office bookshelf.
Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks by my friend Warren Baldwin is a relevant treatment of Proverbs which is approached topically. I started reading the first chapter and found that the words and sentences flow so well that this book is hard to put down. Very well written.
The Message of Joel, Micah, & Habakkuk by David Prior. This book sells for $18.00 on Amazon, but I got it for $2.50. You just can't have enough commentaries on the Minor Prophets.
He Loves Forever by Thomas Olbricht. An Old Testament theology written by a capable scholar on a popular level viewing God's love as the central theme of the Hebrew Scriptures.
I also spent time at the Nevada Publishing booth where I picked up three more books:
What Must the Church of Christ do to be Saved? by Leroy Garrett is another plea for Churches of Christ to abandon a sectarian spirit in favor of being the unity movement the Campbells and Stone intended. Easily readable.
Matthew 24: First Century Fulfillment or End Time Expectation? by Stanley Paher explains the Olivet Discourse as applying to the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. The writing was influenced by the late prophets scholar Homer Hailey, former instructor of Florida College where Paher was once a student.
A Call to Unity: A Critical Review of Patternism and the Command-Example-Inference-Silence Hermeneutic by Barry L. Perryman, PH.D. I cannot find any online links for purchasing this book, but it should be interesting.
Finally, I went to a booth with books for $5.00. Buy-one-get-one free. I cannot recall whose booth it was, but here is what I got:
English Spirituality: From 1700 to the Present Day by Gordon Mursell. The guy manning the booth "warned" me that this is a very academic book. I say, "Bring it on."
For my free book I got:
Serious Times by James Emery White. This includes biographical chapters on Wilberforce, Bonhoeffer, St. Patrick, St. Benedict, C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther. I first became impressed with White when I read Scot McKnight's posting of White's classic blog post, I am a Book Man. I can relate.
Pictured are a few of the books in my library.
