Tag: new book

J. Frank Norris on Loyalty & Pastoral Leadership

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Here is an excerpt from The Shooting Salvationist by David R. Stokes, a detailed account of J. Frank Norris’ murder trial. My review of the book is forthcoming. This excerpt reveals how the fundamentalist leader thought in terms of how to run his “business”, i.e. his church. How many fundamentalist pastors and leaders have followed his lead in this regard, I wonder? And all of them to the disregard of 1 Pet. 5:2-3. How sad.

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Norris fascinated students at Southwestern Baptist Seminary across town from his church. Though they were discouraged from associating with the preacher because of his antagonism toward the denomination, some found a way to see the controversial clergyman in action. And when one of them had the courage to try to visit Norris at his office, risking the wrath of seminary officials, J. Frank was gleefully accommodating.

Roy Kemp was one such gutsy guy. When he decided to pay a call on Norris, the ever-present secretary-gatekeeper, Miss Jane Hartwell, ushered him immediately into the preacher’s office on the second floor of the church’s Sunday school building.

“Roy, I take it you have come up to find out how I run my business,” Norris said, looking fiercely at Kemp.

“Yes, sir.”

The preacher then pointed to a portrait on his wall — one of a locomotive — and told his visitor that he was like that powerful lead car on a train forcing all in its way off the tracks. He pointed to another picture on another wall — Napoleon Bonaparte — and said:

Roy, do you know that man’s philosophy? One: he believed — and said so — that no man ever served another man except for personal gain. Two: Or, out of fear. He would never have a man around him for long who had his first allegiance to any other man or woman. Full and unconditional allegiance had to be to him and him personally. That’s the way I run my business!

“The Constantine Codex” by Paul L. Maier

~ Bob Hayton

Only if Indiana Jones were to discover a lost book of the Bible, battle his way past Islamic terrorists and later sneak into the inner recesses of the Vatican — only then, would an adventure story compare favorably with those envisioned by Dr. Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University. Dr. Maier is famous for his academic work which includes accessible editions of Eusebius and Josephus. His fiction works, however, have sold millions of copies, and with A Skeleton in God’s Closet, he virtually created a new genre of fiction: the archaeological/theological thriller.

The Constantine Codex, released by Tyndale House this May, is the third book in the “Skeleton” series. It continues the story of archaeologist and Christian scholar Jonathan Weber and his escapades. The tale begins with the discovery of a few leaves from the lost works on early church history written by Hegesippus, on whom Eusebius leaned in part for his monumental work on the early church. The contents of those leaves hint at a previously unknown book from the pen of Luke, the author of a Gospel (bearing his name), and the book of Acts — both of which are in the Christian New Testament. Fascinated by the implications, Jonathan Weber and his wife Shannon (who unearthed the missing leaves) plan to embark on a mission of discovery — searching for authentication of their discovery, and the cooperation of the librarians of many of the greatest treasures of ancient Biblical manuscripts. Before they can leave, a world-wide commotion erupts over the Arabic translation of Weber’s influential textbook on the New Testament, and Weber ends up on the receiving end of a fatwa (a death warrant given by a Muslim ayatollah). With the CIA fearing for their safety, the Webers push on and embark on their trip in pursuit of a lost chapter of church history. What they eventually find will change their lives, and the history of Christianity, forever.

This fast-paced tale takes the Webers from the Roman tomb of St. Paul, to a dark subterranean chamber reserved for manuscripts in disrepair, and leads to a world-class debate with a leading Muslim intellectual in no less a venue than the Hagia Sophia. And all of this pales in comparison to the incredible discovery of lost portions of the New Testament and the challenge this presents to Weber and his foundation of leading Christian scholars of multiple disciplines.

As Maier weaves this tale he includes equal potions of intrigue and suspense, with wonder and raw emotion. His technical discussion of the authentication of manuscript finds and ancient scribal practices is spot on, and his ability to describe and draw you into the scene is superb. Archaeology, theology, textual criticism, church history and intra-church politics — all of these disciplines and more are tapped as Maier expertly crafts this story. The result is a tale which is intellectually satisfying, experientially rich and a fantastic read to boot.

Maier is a master writer, and The Constantine Codex stands testimony to that. Having not read Maier before, I was pleased to find that this did not detract from following the storyline of this book at all. If you’re looking for a great adventure tale, and especially if you are fascinated by archaeology, theology or textual studies, you will want to read this book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

You can purchase a copy of this book from any of these fine retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon.com or direct from Tyndale.

Book Release: “The Shooting Salvationist” by David R. Stokes

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Today, is the official launch of an exciting new book about Pastor J. Frank Norris of Fort Worth, Texas. David R. Stokes, columnist and a pastor himself, gives us The Shooting Salvationist: J. Frank Norris and the Murder Trial that Captivated America.

I just recently finished reading a pre-release copy of this book, and was captivated by the intricacies of this story. Norris is perhaps the most infamous fundamentalist leader of all, and as the book details, was the focus of perhaps the murder trial of the decade in the 1920s. The entire nation was riveted for months as front-page news detailed the story of a Texas pastor shooting an unarmed man in his office.

The book traces Norris’ career as well as the history of Fort Worth and Texas as a whole in the 1920s. It was the age of newspapers on every corner — and Norris had his own paper with a nation-wide circulation — was just giving way to the radio — and Norris was a radio pioneer too, with an audience reputed to be in the millions. The 1920s saw the Ku Klux Klan as still a powerful force in politics and city life, and Norris was more closely connected with the KKK and its mission than one would guess.

The book is written well, and the story of the trial reads like a novel. The picture painted of J. Frank Norris seems even-handed and true to life, and the author stops short of judging him. It’s a fascinating look into the mind of the legend that J. Frank Norris became.

I don’t want to launch into my full review quite yet. For now, I want to encourage you to check out the book, and consider purchasing a copy today to help it rise in the rankings and become an Amazon bestseller. It’s published by Steer Forth Press and distributed by Random House. I’d encourage you to purchase a copy from Amazon, but you can buy it direct through Random House or Steer Forth Press.

Learn more about the book at TheShootingSalvationist.com or the book’s Facebook page. And enjoy the 8 minute video clip below of author David Stokes discussing his vision for the book.


A Conversation with David R. Stokes from David Stokes on Vimeo.

Book Excerpt — Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything by Adrian Warnock

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments


For Resurrection Sunday, I wanted to share an excerpt from Adrian Warnock’s book Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything, published by Crossway. I hope to review this book in the near future, but this excerpt captures some of the beauty of it. Very few books are written which revel in the resurrection. This book is full of such reveling.

Some may wonder why the resurrection is so important, since Jesus uttered “It is Finished” on the cross, and there atoned for the sins of the world. This excerpt from pages 124 to 126 explains how vastly significant the resurrection is. The words below will be another reason to wonder and worship Jesus Christ our living Savior this Easter morning.

The credit of Jesus’ righteousness is much larger than the debt of our sin. His account had more positive approval than the negative disapproval that was due to all of us. The debt was paid, and as a result, as a righteous man and the beloved Son of God, the Father was entirely just to raise him. Jesus had turned away God’s wrath, he had destroyed our sin, our guilt could now be taken away, and we could be counted righteous. If the cross was Jesus’ payment for our sins, then the resurrection marked God’s acceptance of that payment.

Jesus is declared to still be righteous by his resurrection, just as he was declared to have become sin by his death. God’s wrath has been satisfied….

Unless Jesus himself had been justified, it is impossible to see how we could have been. If he could not even save himself, how could he save others? The resurrection shows the positive delight of God in his Son, which is now shared by us. Many people think of salvation as the removal of our sin and its punishment. If Jesus had only wiped the slate clean, forgiven our wrongdoing, and taken the wrath God had for us, we would be left in a neutral position. We would no longer be under God’s displeasure, but he would not be pleased with us either. Many Christians, even if they do not articulate their theology like that, certainly live as though it was true. Many live as though they must still work to please God.

The resurrection was necessary to allow the credit of Jesus’ righteousness to be shared with us, for it demonstrated that the credit was greater than the debt. Jesus’ favor still remained when sin was destroyed. God’s hatred for sin was not greater than his love for his Son. Righteousness remained available to credit to our account.

Jesus was so full of merit that not only did he have enough righteousness to cancel out our sin and enough that he deserved to be raised from the dead, but he still had abundantly more credit remaining in his account. As a result, our justification consists not just of a canceling of our debt, but also of an imputing to us of the righteousness of Christ. It is not only “just as if I’d never sinned,” but also “just as if I’d already completed a perfect life.” Jesus doesn’t merely give us a clean slate and then sit back and watch whether we will mess it up again.