Two Johns: ministry and life

THE BALANCED PASTOR
By John Benton
Grace Publications. 107 pages. £11.00
ISBN 978 1 912 154 777
CRAZY WORLD
By John Benton
Grace Publications. 128 pages. £12.00
ISBN 978 1 912 154 784
GOSPEL MINISTRY
By John Owen
Banner of Truth. 189 pages. £6.25
ISBN 978 1 800 403 291
GOSPEL LIFE
By John Owen
Banner of Truth. 237 pages. £6.50
ISBN 978 1 800 403 260

Sometimes books come along that might not provide the definitive word on a topic but do furnish the reader with a helpful first word.

These two books by John Benton fall into the latter category. John is a great summariser and simplifier. In Crazy World he compresses a huge amount of information about gender and sexual politics into digestible chunks, including a layman’s guide to Carl Truman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. In The Balanced Pastor Benton tackles three issues: calling out abusive church leaders; giving advice on how to handle difficult people; and developing a healthy church life that fosters gospel freedom rather than cult-like bondage.