Books are to the preacher what tools are to the mechanic, or at least they should be. It is unfortunate that many preachers nowadays are not readers, don’t put much time and money into their libraries, and spend more time on the golf course than in Bible study. The first thing I want to do when I am visiting a preacher is to look at his library and talk books.
The Preacher’s Library is the place for musings by Laurence M. Vance on all things books. Its purpose is to be a help to preachers who don’t have the time, the money, or the inclination to keep up with the world of books. There are some things that this site is not. It is not a Bible study blog. It is not an annotated recommended reading list. It is not a book review site (although it contains links to book reviews). It is not a personal blog to comment on current issues and events (Laurence M. Vance blogs at LewRockwell.com). It is not a social media site (Laurence M. Vance is not on social media).
In short, The Preacher’s Library contains nothing that is not about books.
Focus
The Preacher’s Library is not just for preachers, but also for scholars, teachers, and interested laymen. The focus of The Preacher’s Library is on new and recent books, but older books and deceased authors will sometimes be discussed as well. Works of fiction will never be mentioned. Note also that The Preacher’s Library is not limited to just books that should be in a preacher’s or a church’s library.
Scope
The scope of The Preacher’s Library is all manner of books. The emphasis is primarily, but not exclusively, on religious books from religious publishers. However, because some secular publishers occasionally publish religious books, and because some secular books are important, these will be considered as well. The emphasis is also primarily, but not exclusively, on good books. But because much of what is published today, even by Christian publishers, is absolute garbage, warnings about bad or useless books will be provided alongside of information about good books.
Perspective
The perspective of The Preacher’s Library can be summarized as follows:
- Independent Baptist
- King James Bible
- Dispensational
- Premillennial
- Neither Calvinist nor Arminian
- Theologically conservative
- Politically libertarian
If this is not quite your perspective, or not your perspective at all, then you can relax. Even a moderate evangelical will still profit from The Preacher’s Library.