Michael HaykinReseñas

Good Overview of Baptist History

Very good overview of Baptist history. I learned a lot of new things from it. This is a good textbook for this subject.

This is a really good, comprehensive introduction to the life and theology of John Owen. I highly recommend it.

William Carey es conocido como el misionero pionero que llevó el evangelio al subcontinente indio. Lo que es menos conocido es lo mucho que se apoyó en sus amigos para sus éxitos misioneros, una verdad que puede servir como base para los esfuerzos de la iglesia hoy en día.

Haykin gives a broad description of the lives of eight women of the 16th-18th C. describing their impact on church history. Perhaps it's a function of the age they lived in, but the word "remarkable" used in a description of the book, seemed like a stretch. Lauding someone for having a good friendship doesn't equate to an impressive impact on the growth and flourishing of the church. I would have liked a deeper exploration of each woman's life.

Descrição
Quem eles eram e como moldaram a igreja.
No livro Redescobrindo os Pais da Igreja Michael Haykin oferece ao leitor uma introdução agradável do cristianismo nos seus primeiros séculos, através das histórias de vida dos pais da Igreja e de seus ensinos, como Inácio, Cipriano, Basílio de Cesaréia e Ambrósio, cujos legados representam um imenso valor para os cristãos hoje. Nesta obra, Haykin revela o posicionamento desses homens piedosos diante de questões importantes da teologia como o batismo, o martírio, a ceia do Senhor, a Trindade, a relação da igreja com o estado, entre outras.

Very interesting read about Carey's work in the subcontinent of India. This book educates well on the beginning of the mission work that came out of Great Britain in the time of the colonizing of many countries within the empire. You will learn of Carey's love for people and his tireless work on behalf of the spreading of the gospel. William Carey was a pioneer in the advent of what is now the mission work of many denominations world wide.

7/10

Although a volume in the 'Bitesize Biography' series, the book focuses more on Whitefield's beliefs and teaching (especially contra John Wesley) than it does on the events of his life. As an itinerant, open-air preacher throughout the American Colonies and England, Whitefield's life deserves a bit more detail for those who do not have the time (or the interest or the desire) to read Dallimore's definitive two-volume biography. (One would like to learn more about Whitefield's relationship with Benjamin Franklin, for example.) However, the chapters on Whitefield's views on the Gospel and the Christian life are interesting and valuable.

This is truly a delightful and very helpful book. I witnessed Dr. Haykin captivate the audience of the Calgary Reformed Conference in 2017 as he addressed the theme of the English Reformation through biographical sketches of a few significant figures. At this conference I purchased his book on the Early Church Fathers which adopts a similar methodology by introducing the reader to a handful of notable men from the early church period. Among them, he writes of Ignatius, Origen, Cyprian, Ambrose, Basil of Caesarea, and Patrick of Ireland. He also includes a chapter from The Letter to Diognetus. Dr. Haykin successfully clears away the mists of the Patristic period and assists the reader to obtain a clearer perspective on this mysterious chapter of Church history. I found it helpful and encouraging to learn how these men glorified the Lord as they contended for the truth and faced similar cultural challenges as the church in our day.

Recently there have been a number of attacks on Christian orthodoxy in which critics set their sights on the formative years of the church. This little book is a valuable help in answering these false charges, thereby cementing the believer's hope in historical certainty. For all of the benefits to be achieved through Rediscovering the Church Fathers, I believe that my casual acquaintance with Church History at the survey level helped me to glean the most from this book, having a better appreciation for the greater context in which these biographies take place. I recommend this little book to all who are curious about this fascinating and important period of Church history.

A very readable study of the historical context of our 1689 Confession of Faith. It includes short biographies of these three godly men whom God used mightily at this time. Highly recommend. Glenda

George Whitefield was a man of uncommon piety and holiness. He was used by God in a powerful way in the eighteenth century to bring about true revival in England and America. Dr. Haykin writes an engaging introduction to The Revived Puritan which focuses on Whitefield's walk with God and his deep experience of the new birth. The selections from Whitefield's letters which follow, many unpublished since the eighteenth century, provide a first-hand look at his spirituality and are a source of meditation, encouragement and challenge for those seeking revival and spiritual awakening in our day.

Many works on Baptist history are simply too large to be accessible or enjoyable to most readers. Anthony Chute, Nathan Finn, and Michael Haykin have accomplished a herculean task in their efforts on The Baptist Story: From English Sect to Global Movement in writing a concise and accessible work on Baptist history.

Researching and writing history can be a hazardous task. Any doubt about that is dispersed by a look at the life work of William Whitsitt which proved to be terminal to his role as president of SBTS. I say that because this book won’t please all Baptists. If you prefer Martyr’s Mirror to Foxe’s Book of Martyr’s you might find yourself frustrated at the title of this book alone, but you still will benefit from it.

The authors divide Baptist history into each section, with each contributor writing the section most suited to their strengths. Haykin writes section one covering the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries an area that he has written extensively on in the past. Chute covers the nineteenth century an area which he is well suited to cover given his previous works on Jesse Mercer which can be found here and here.

The authors in addressing Baptist history and the events that shaped it do seek to address it as a global movement. This is seen in more areas than merely addressing Baptist mission work. Careful attention is given to the work of Baptists in Ireland in Haykin’s section, the birth and growth of Baptist work on the Continent in Chute’s section, and more globally in Finn’s section.

As pastor I found this book greatly encouraging as a reminder that many of the issues we as Baptists face in our churches have been addressed successfully by past generations. Haykin’s section will remove any thought that the so-called worship wars are a new development. Chute’s work on Southern Baptists post-Civil War reminds the reader of the resiliency of the Baptist cause to adversity. We are reminded by Finn of the price Baptists continue to pay for obedience to Christ, such as missionaries Larry and Jean Elliott who laid down their lives for the cause of Christ in making His gospel known in Iraq.

Throughout the book the authors show Baptists at their best and worst. There is no attempt to revise history to make Baptists look any better or worse than they were and are. I know that this book will find its place on many syllabi, especially given the fact that each of the contributors teaches Baptist history, but I hope this book goes further and finds its way to the hands of many church members.

Baptists need to be reminded of who we are, where we come from, and what our commitments have been and still are and this book does a wonderful job of doing that.

Disclosure: I received this book free from B&H Academic for review purposes. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.

To the Ends of the Earth: Calvin’s Missional Vision and Legacy by Michael Haykin and C. Jeffrey Robinson has a personal feel for me. As someone who called, in some manner, to foreign missions while simultaneously being one whom embraces a “theology of sovereign grace, complete with its doctrines of predestination and election”, I have often been confronted by church members who cannot fathom how my life and my theology are to be reconciled. To many the doctrine of election and the activity of evangelism and missions are antithetical at best; hypocritical nonsense if bold enough to voice what is actually felt.

So I was excited to see this work available from Crossway. Now, even as much as I enjoy history and historical theology, I was not really concerned with John Calvin in and of himself. What I was interested in was seeing a good defense of the compatibility, really the necessary connection, of Calvin’s view of sovereign grace and the missional zeal with which he lived and taught. Gratefully, that is what I found. The aim of this work is “to lay to rest the charge that to be a Calvinist is to cease being missional. The leading subjects of this book are all Calvinists—and as shall be seen, all passionately missional.”

The charge consistently brought against those who embrace election, predestination, and the like is that Calvin’s theology necessarily impedes missions. Haykin and Robinson argue to the contrary.

Calvin’s theology was actually no impediment to his own missionary activities, but, rather, served as a catalyst for transforming Geneva into a hub of missionary activity where Reformed ministers were trained and sent out to proclaim the gospel throughout Europe and beyond, especially France and Brazil. Despite his reputation, Calvin was no stay-at-home theologian, and his theology was by no means a do-nothing worldview.

Haykin and Robinson spend some time showing why Calvin was interested in missions and then showing how this moved from the theoretical to the practical in France, under intense persecution, and in Brazil, albeit in a rather unsuccessful way. After looking at Puritan involvement in missions and Edwards’ “Humble Attempt” to unite the Christian world in missional prayer, the last chapter looks at the passion for missions of Samuel Pearce. You don’t know who he is?!? Neither did I, but this seems like one believer from history with whom we would all benefit becoming acquainted.

Though scarcely known today, Samuel Pearce was in his own day well known for the anointing that attended his preaching and for the depth of his spirituality. It was said of him that “his ardour . . . gave him a kind of ubiquity; as a man and a preacher, he was known, he was felt everywhere.” William Jay (1769–1853), who exercised an influential ministry in Bath for the first half of the nineteenth century, said of his contemporary’s preaching, “When I have endeavoured to form an image of our Lord as a preacher, Pearce has oftener presented himself to my mind than any other I have been acquainted with.” He had, Jay went on, a “mildness and tenderness” in his style of preaching, and a “peculiar unction.” Jay wrote these words many years after Pearce’s death, but still, he said, he could picture Pearce in his mind’s eye and feel the impression that he made upon his hearers as he preached. Ever one to appreciate the importance of having spiritual individuals as one’s friends, Jay made this comment about the last time that he saw Pearce alive: “What a savour does communion with such a man leave upon the spirit.”

The recounting of an episode where,“(n)ot afraid to appear as one lacking in homiletical skill, especially in the eyes of his fellow pastors, Pearce in his zeal for the spiritual health of all his hearers had sought to minister as best he could to this “poor man” who had arrived late,” quite nearly brought me to tears. That page alone is worth the money and time you will invest in this work.

A “central aim” of To the Ends of the Earth is “to demonstrate that there is a Calvinistic tradition of missionary passion that goes back from pioneers of the modern missionary movement, like Carey and Pearce, through the Puritans to the Reformed fountainhead in the writings and labors of John Calvin and, as such, puts to rest the myth that one cannot be both Calvinistic and missional.”

But, the authors are not content to prove that there is a historical basis for missions in a Reformed mindset, but that this work is also a “call to those who rejoice in their Calvinism to be sure that they are equally passionate about missions and evangelism.” Right doctrine leads to right living. And living a life focused on glorifying God to the ends of the earth is, most definitely, right living.

I received a copy of this book from Crossway for review purposes.

simple overview of Mt. Pleasant Road Baptist Church's 90 years from 1923-2013

This is my Discerning Reader review: http://discerningreader.com/book-reviews/the-god-who-draws-near

The word “spirituality” may be the buzzword of the day. It is a term that is applied to a wide array of beliefs, be they of eastern origin such as Buddhism, Taoism, yoga or the like, or western such as the mysticism of medieval Roman Catholic spirituality or that of Ignatius of Loyola. There is a renaissance of sorts when it comes to spirituality and in our relativist culture, the greater the blend the healthier the “inner balance.” Our world is also shaped by pragmatism believing that whatever works is permissible. If emptying your mind with legs crossed in a room full of candles chanting “ohm” works for you then have more of it! As Christians are we to venture outside of the biblical pale to find our spiritual centre? Michael Haykin, in his recent book The God Who Draws Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality, says no. For him, the spiritual riches of the bible prove to be the only resource for true spirituality.

In the following, The God Who Draws Near will be reviewed and commended. In so doing, certain personal reflections by the reviewer on the life of Michael Haykin will be offered. Having spent the last five or so years as a friend, co-worker and student of the author, I have read this book with fondness seeing in it not only the work of a scholar, but also of one who lived the words that he penned. As every Christian this side of the parousia is not perfect, Michael Haykin is engaged in the life-long battle with sin. It is the fruits of this battle that are put to page, and I can personally testify that by grace, the author is a living example of one who practices what he preaches. He has had a profound impact on my own spirituality and it is my hope that this book will be just as great a help to others.

Michael A. G. Haykin was, at the time of writing, the principal of The Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College in Toronto, Ontario, as well as professor of Church History and Reformed Spirituality. He has since resigned as principal and will be assuming a full-time teaching position at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Haykin has written or edited numerous books including Jonathan Edwards: The Holy Spirit in Revival (Evangelical Press); Kiffen, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering Our English Baptist Heritage (Carey) and A Consuming Fire: The Piety of Alexander Whyte (Reformation Heritage). He is a frequent conference speaker and has filled many pulpits on Sundays, as well as having taught in numerous institutions throughout North America and Britain.

One of Dr. Haykin’s gifts is his ability to make the complexities of the Christian past easily understood by the layperson in the pew. He has a great pastoral concern to see Christians grow in their understanding of the Bible and church history. This book is a prime example of this desire. It is not a technical book and is relatively easy to read; yet it is deep and spiritually challenging. Haykin’s main focus is the biblical understanding of spirituality; therefore the biblical text is the bedrock of his writing. To illustrate the biblical principles, Dr. Haykin’s wealth of historical knowledge is drawn upon to help readers with application. For this reviewer it was a delightful surprise to find examples from Canadian church history. Many are unaware of the church tradition in Canada and it is a service to Canadian Christians that this book has a number of stories from their homeland. It is curious, however, that almost all of the historical examples are drawn from the time of the Reformation and after. There is hardly any mention of patristic or medieval spirituality. The reason for this may be that Dr. Haykin is seeking to show that there can be a distinctly Protestant spirituality. Yet in our day, when evangelicals are so ignorant of these earlier times of the church, it might have been nice to see the spirituality of those church fathers or medieval thinkers who were just as faithful to the Bible as were the Protestants during and after the Reformation. Be that as it may, this omission does not detract from his work. One other minor criticism to be made is the typographical error on page 64, where the word “ask” should be “asked.”

The book can be divided into two parts. The first, chapters one to five, sets forth the biblical and theological principles that uphold Christian spirituality. It is to be centred upon the trinity, on a proper understanding of God and ourselves, on Christ and his cross-work and on the bible. The second section, chapters six to nine, explains the practical application of spirituality in the Christian life. These chapters are dedicated to prayer, meditation, friendship and mission.

A number of years ago Dr. Haykin spoke at the New England Reformed Fellowship’s annual conference in Connecticut. After the conference, he was invited to preach in the Congregationalist Church in Miller’s Falls, Massachusetts. His text was the Great Commission taking the trinity as his topic. It was a very affective sermon that encouraged the congregation to become more trinitarian in their thinking and worship. A sad observation made by Haykin was that there are not enough sermons on the trinity in evangelical churches. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the opening chapter of The God Who Draws Near is dedicated to “a trinitarian spirituality” and takes Matthew 28:19-20 as its starting place. The trinity is important if “Christian spirituality is to remain balanced in the way we think about God” (7). Evangelicals tend to focus on one member of the Godhead to the exclusion of the others. Haykin instead argues, “we are to treasure each of the divine persons and their work in our lives” (7). For spirituality to be distinctly Christian it is to be trinitarian, anything less is sub-biblical.

Chapters two and three then work out the trinitarian foundations of devotion. In chapter two we learn that we are to know both God and ourselves. We are to recognize the holiness of God, the one who is all-powerful, sovereign and just. In light of God’s holy character we are to understand ourselves as sinners in need of redemption. Secular books on spirituality are markedly different in this regard. Human nature is not regarded as sinful; in fact, people like Shirley MacLaine would go so far as to say that humans are god. Nothing could be farther from the biblical understanding of human depravity. Even as redeemed Christians we struggle with sin. We are not perfect and have to fight sin all day and every day. As a resource, Haykin recommends the work of the great Puritan John Owen to help readers both understand and kill sin.

Following on this understanding of the human condition, chapter three points us to Christ, the great saviour from sin. True spirituality must be Christ-centred. Evidence of this can be seen in the Spirit’s work in our lives, for he is the one who directs us to Christ. This is also evinced in the New Testament, which Haykin calls a “Christ-centred book” (23). Even the Old Testament, Christ is focused upon, as in the life of Moses, whom Hebrews 11:26 said reproached the riches of Egypt for the sake of Christ.

Related to the theme of Christ, chapter four focuses specifically on his cross-work. Although Christ’s death is an example of patient suffering, to believe that this is the only reason for his crucifixion is to err greatly. Christ’s death is not merely a “heroic death” but it was a substitutionary atonement made on behalf of the people of God. Christ, the sinless saviour, made himself sin so that we might be declared just in the sight of God.

To know anything of trinitarian spirituality, Christians are to open their bibles, as Haykin admonishes in the fifth chapter. As the inerrant Word of God, Scriptures provide Christians with a “sure guide” for doctrine and life (41). The bible is wholly sufficient because it is breathed by God himself (theopneustos). Haykin takes the life and labours of William Tyndale as an example of love for the bible. Tyndale translated it into English because, unlike the medieval church of his day, he saw that piety was to be Word focused. “Knowledge of the Scriptures, and that in the vernacular…was therefore essential in Tyndale’s mind to Christian spirituality and any growth in Christian maturity” (47). As inheritors of Protestant spirituality, Christians today should read the bible regularly and should seek to sit under its preaching. This is the sure way to spiritual growth.

Michael Haykin’s life shows the value of Word centredness. A number of years ago a friend and I traveled with Dr. Haykin to England, Scotland and Ireland. Of the many memories that I hold dear from that trip, one that stands out is spending time in a hotel room with him reading scripture. In all things, whether waking or sleeping, the Bible should be close at hand to fill our thoughts with Christ.

Of the many practices that come to mind when one thinks of spirituality, prayer is possibly the first. Because we are finite, we are wholly dependent upon our infinite creator. Therefore the need for prayer is great. Yet so often it is one of the hardest facets of the Christian life. It was a great encouragement to read that I am not the only one who struggles with prayer. Haykin brings our attention to the words of John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, where we read that his flesh could sometimes be loathe to go to prayer and loathe to stay in prayer, and that it is only by the grace of God that we can have communion with him. The cure for such fleshly feeling is prayer! Pray to God that he would make it our great delight to pray. Struggle will always accompany prayer, a fact that the apostle Paul makes clear in Romans 15:30-32, the text that Dr. Haykin uses as the basis of this chapter.

For one whole day per semester Toronto Baptist Seminary ceases its classes and both students and faculty gather together for a “Day of Prayer.” This was instituted by Dr. Haykin when be became principal, using the Puritans as a model, because he wanted to be sure that the blessings of God would be upon all of our scholastic endeavours. In autumn the school celebrates and gives thanks to God for his work among us. In spring our prayers are often accompanied with fasting as we go before the Lord in supplication on behalf of the school. Such is the importance, in the mind of Dr. Haykin, of the practice of prayer.

If prayer is the first thing to come to mind when thinking of spirituality, perhaps meditation is a close second. Yet for many Christians, meditation is left relatively unpracticed, often thought of as pagan. What is not realized is that meditation is characteristic of Protestant spirituality, as seen in the life of the Puritans and their followers. Meditation should take place after the study of the Word; it is the “chewing over” of the biblical text, making thoughtful application to the soul. It is not the emptying of the mind, an eastern conception, but it is the filling of the mind with the bible (64). Haykin offers a list of things from the bible to meditate on, such as God’s character, law and works. He also provides an historical example in the life of Jonathan Edwards, a “model of meditation” (68).

An area that may not be thought of regarding spirituality is that of friendship. Chapter eight deals with this topic, advocating that Christians seek out and cultivate the “development of deep, long-lasting, satisfying friendships” (71). In the bible, friendship is literally “the knitting of souls together” (Deuteronomy 13:6). There are many examples, from David and Jonathan to Paul and Timothy, not forgetting that Moses spoke as a friend to God. Church history as well is filled with examples of biblical friendship. John Calvin had William Farel and Pierre Viret, and in the Baptist tradition a prime example is the group of friends who sent William Carey to India. True friendship is to be sacrificial and should take the good with the bad (81). Friends are not carbon copies of one another and difficulties are sure to arise, but true friendship will face such trials together and will come out the other end stronger because of the bond that unites. Of course the greatest friendship that a Christian can have is that with the triune God (83). This is a very thoughtful and excellent chapter, one well worth pondering and applying.

The final chapter, the ninth, has to do with the “inevitable” – Christian mission. This is, as Haykin says, the “fruit of true spirituality” (86). If we are to be spiritual, we are to seek to see others share in our spirituality. This can only be done if one repents and trusts in Christ. Therefore, we are to go out and share our spirituality with others by presenting to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was the life and burden of the apostle Paul, to bring the gospel to the gentiles in the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. Paul’s mission was led by God, and took unexpected turns, yet it was a ministry that bore great spiritual fruit. If our hearts are filled with Christ, our spirituality will become contagious and spread through mission.

Michael Haykin has done a great service in writing this, what should become a classic of Christian spirituality. The God Who Draws Near should be read and implemented by all Christians. Make this a gift and give it to as many people in your church as possible.

Awesome! I highly recommend reading it with your spouse.

Devoted to the Service of the Temple: Piety, Persecution, and Ministry in the Writings of Hercules Collins is a collection of the writings of seventeenth-century Particular Baptist pastor Hercules Collins edited by Dr. Michael Haykin and Pastor Steve Weaver. At 139 pages, including a bibliography, it is a short, easy read, but one that is packed full of rich pastoral theology. [full review at http://thirstytheologian.com/2007/08/15/book_review_devoted_to_the_ser.php]

This is a good introduction to both the fathers of the early church and the importance of apologetics, even in the earliest days of church history.

An important work profiling the earliest of our Baptist ancestors. A wealth of information about English Baptists in the 1600s.

This is a valuable book for anyone studying Christian spirituality. Fuller's letters portray a very introspective man, as concerned for his own spiritual condition as for that of others (and Fuller was certainly concerned for others.)

From Daniel Christensen