Andy Naselli

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A Resource for Mentoring Seminary Students: Advice from Don Carson and John Woodbridge

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Update in April 2022: Crossway released a second edition of this book:

Carson, D. A., and John D. Woodbridge. Letters Along the Way: From a Senior Saint to a Junior Saint. 2nd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.

* * * * * * *

Tomorrow begins what I hope will be many meetings with my four new seminary mentees. They are each in year three of our four-year MDiv-program at Bethlehem College & Seminary. Among other things we’re planning to work through many of the letters in this book:

Letters

D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Letters Along the Way: A Novel of the Christian Life. Wheaton: Crossway, 1993.  

I briefly reviewed this book in 2006 after Jenni and I read it together, and I reread it earlier this month. It’s packed with wisdom. So edifying.

The entire book is available for free as a PDF. My friend Matthew Hoskinson created a topical index for the book, and I recently tweaked his summaries as I read through the book again. I’ve listed them below by briefly summarizing the content of each of the book’s 49 letters.

These 49 letters are all worth discussing with seminarians, but I don’t think my mentees and I will have time to discuss all of them. So I’ve marked some of letters with one or two asterisks:

* = letters I think are most strategic to discuss with seminarians

** = letters I think are also strategic to discuss with seminarians, but I’d prioritize the letters I’ve marked with only one asterisk

  1. Introductory matters (11–14 = 4 pp.)
  2. *Assurance of salvation: objective basis (15–20 = 6 pp.)
  3. *Assurance of salvation: subjective means (21–25 = 5 pp.)
  4. *”Carnal” Christians and 1 Corinthians 3 (26–31 = 6 pp.)
  5. *Christ’s Lordship, repentance, and American evangelicalism (32–41 = 10 pp.)
  6. Scientific materialism (42–45 = 4 pp.)
  7. *Christian cooperation in contemporary evangelicalism (46–50 = 5 pp.)
  8. *British vs. American evangelicalism re the academy and lifestyle choices (51–59 = 9 pp.)
  9. Christianity in France (60–63 = 4 pp.)
  10. Huguenots (64–68 = 5 pp.)
  11. *Sexual sin (69–74 = 6 pp.)
  12. Communism (75–78 = 4 pp.)
  13. **Universalism and agnosticism (79–84 = 6 pp.)
  14. **Evangelism (85–88 = 4 pp.)
  15. *Christian liberty (89–95 = 7 pp.)
  16. *Doctrinal dryness and its remedies; philosophy of preaching (96–101 = 6 pp.)
  17. **The nature of temptation; spiritual coldness (102–6 = 5 pp.)
  18. **Psychology and Christian counseling (107–13 = 7 pp.)
  19. Economics in the context of left vs. right politics, especially the Moral Majority (114–21 = 8 pp.)
  20. Worldliness (122–25 = 4 pp.)
  21. *Qualifications for and the work of pastoral ministry (126–31 = 6 pp.)
  22. *Call to vocational pastoral ministry; knowing God’s will (132–36 = 5 pp.)
  23. *Attending an evangelical vs. a non-evangelical seminary (137–41 = 5 pp.)
  24. *Marriage (142–46 = 5 pp.)
  25. **Views on apologetics (147–57 = 11 pp.)
  26. Inerrancy (158–66 = 9 pp.)
  27. *Loving God with your mind; spiritual challenges in seminary (167–72 = 6 pp.)
  28. *Academic respectability vs. academic responsibility (173–78 = 6 pp.)
  29. *Religious pluralism (179–82 = 4 pp.)
  30. *Building a library (183–88 = 6 pp.)
  31. *Pastoral training (189–93 = 5 pp.)
  32. The new hermeneutic; liberation theology; revolutions and Romans 13 (194–99 = 6 pp.)
  33. *Presuppositions of contemporary academia (200–207 = 8 pp.)
  34. Secular and Christian humanism (208–13 = 6 pp.)
  35. **Hermeneutics and the role of culture (214–21 = 8 pp.)
  36. **Dealing with aberrant theology; over- and under-realized eschatology (222–27 = 6 pp.)
  37. *The relationship between a pastor and his congregation (228–34 = 7 pp.)
  38. *Time management for pastors (235–39 = 5 pp.)
  39. *Church discipline (240–45 = 6 pp.)
  40. *Distractions threatening love for God (246–49 = 4 pp.)
  41. *Corporate worship (250–53 = 4 pp.)
  42. *Homosexuality and AIDS (254–57 = 4 pp.)
  43. *Prayer (258–59 = 2 pp.)
  44. *Evangelical unity; spiritual pride (260–64 = 5 pp.)
  45. Fall of communism (265–67 = 3 pp.)
  46. Christian responses to shifting ideologies (268–70 = 3 pp.)
  47. Evolution (271–73 = 3 pp.)
  48. Justification and the new perspective on Paul (274–78 = 5 pp.)
  49. Death (279–83 = 5 pp.)

Related:

  1. John Frame’s Advice: 30 Suggestions for Theological Students and Young Theologians
  2. Warfield the Affectionate Theologian
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  1. I really think this is a valuable book – – and so very readable. The sort of reading that busy students can fit into the cracks in their schedules.