New Reviews for "Attributes of God" and "Minister of Mercy"

For some time now, we have carried The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink and Minister of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon by Alexander Strauch, but only recently were we able to write our own reviews for these books. The reviews are now posted on our product pages for these books, but you can also read them here:

The Attributes of God, by A. W. Pink

There is no better way to describe the aim, method, and theme of this book, and how to read it, than to quote the second paragraph of Pink’s own preface:

"The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this book an effort has been made to set forth some of the principal perfections of the Divine character. If the reader is to truly profit from the perusal of the pages that follow, he needs to definitely and earnestly beseech God to bless them to him, to apply His Truth to the conscience and heart, so that his life will be transformed thereby."

On the one hand, this book should certainly be considered an introduction to the attributes of God; Pink could have gone into more detail and argument on numerous points. That said, treatments like Pink’s are necessary for those who are just beginning the study of God’s attributes, and so this is one of the book’s strengths. Another strength is its emphases on the greatness of God and the necessity of teaching all of God’s perfections—emphases still very fitting for the modern church. But the chief strength of this book is its highly devotional, applicational, and hortatory purpose; the reader worships God and is transformed and encouraged while reading. This book is rightly a “new classic” in Christian literature.

Minister of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon, by Alexander Strauch

No one denies that the church office of deacon is biblical, but most churches do not practice biblical deaconship. Yes, many have deacons, but are these deacons servants to the church as the New Testament dictates? Do they stay within the bounds of the authority given to them in Scripture? Many churches in the United States have deacons who operate like elders or like a board room in a corporation, neither of which is biblical. Alexander Strauch, in this book, takes the reader through the biblical passages which talk about deacons and their qualifications (Acts 6; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8-15).

Strauch lays the foundation for the responsibilities of deacons and overseers (the latter are also called elders and pastors). He argues that God has given the deacon much more significance in the church than that of a glorified janitor to clean the building. One reason we have deacons is to allow the elders to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6). He explains how the two offices in the church are meant to complement one another. Strauch goes on to tell how the original Greek word for deacon is “servant,” and thus deacons are to be servants in the church. As the title indicates, they are to be ministers of mercy: they are charged with the physical cares of the church underneath the authority of the elders. Strauch then shows that the deacons’ qualifications are important because of the kinds of tasks charged to them.

This book would be a great asset for a church’s pastors and deacons to go through together. A study like this could transform a church by freeing up their elders to focus on prayer and the ministry of the word while causing deacons to see how they can benefit the church more. Too often there is a lack of communication or wrong ideas when it comes to these positions. Again, it would be very profitable for any elder or deacon to study through this book.