A New Contributor to TheoSource

TheoSource, as a project, has existed for almost eight years. As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, there were a number of men who had a profound influence on me as a student of the Bible. One of th0se men is Tim Ashcraft.

Tim and I have been friends for a number of years now. We first met at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Greenville, SC. He and his family had been members there for some time. I had recently graduated from college and had just gotten married. I can't remember when it was that we first met, but I remember knowing him casually until I learned of his knowledge of good books. As soon as I found this out, I wanted to learn from him.

He has taught at the church, but I didn't know him as a teacher, yet. What I admired (and still do) was his true, Berean passion for the Word of God and study. He is a layman who doesn't leave the Bible study to the ministers alone. He, himself, is a student of the Word. He is also a teacher, in the normal Sunday School rotation for the adult classes. He is also in charge of preparing the manuals for Mount Calvary's Man of the Word men's program.

For me, one of the highlights of our friendship was the day I ran into him at a local used bookstore; Booklovers in Greenville, SC. I had heard that the owner was preparing to close the store and move to Texas, so I took about $120 and went to the store hoping to purchase some good books. At that time, I was still unfamiliar with many of the great classics of theology, so I was just hoping for the best. To my surprise Tim was already there browsing the shelves. I was so relieved, not only to have run into a friend, but also to have found a great source of help in selecting books. I told him that I had some money to spend but that I needed some guidance. He gladly looked through the shelves with me and pointed out book after book that was worthy of purchase, telling me why they were useful and, sometimes, who had recommended them (be it Spurgeon, Barber, Custer, or our pastor, Dr. Mark Minnick). I walked out that day with a solid addition to my personal library. To this day, I am indebted to Tim's help on that day.

This encounter sparked an ongoing dialogue about good books. We would often meet each other before the services to share with each other the books we were reading. Tim is a good friend, a student of the Scriptures, and a lover of good books. I am honored that he is interested and willing to collaborate with me on this blog, discussing good books and sharing sound recommendations.

Here is an introductory note from Tim:

I wasn't much of a reader before I came to know the Lord. I read some, but not consistently; and then only what really interested me. When I got saved, I wanted to read the Bible and learn how to live the Christian life. I didn't know much about the Word of God, and I felt lost in it for a while. For example, I thought the four gospels gave a continuous account of our Lord's earthly life, each one picking up where the previous one left off. I could have used a good resource like Merrill Tenny's New Testament Survey.

But I didn't give up. I kept reading the Word and, eventually, things started coming together. Commentaries proved to be a help to me when I was asked to teach a class at my church. Some were more helpful than others, and I noticed that sometimes the commentators disagreed about the interpretation of certain passages. So I
learned the importance of consulting more than just one book or author. I also started noticing more difficult levels of commentaries and started trying to use them along with lexical helps for Greek and Hebrew. Frequently I discovered books by noticing them referenced in footnotes.

Church history and Christian biography soon became a passion for me. I was glad to know not only what people before me taught about Bible passages, but also how they lived their Christian lives. It was good to know that others had gone through situations that we have to deal with and to see how they dealt with them. It also made me realize that I'm not an island unto myself; I'm part of a divine conquest that Christ is working out through the centuries.

Some books I found to be not very helpful. Maybe they had only a temporary appeal or none at all. Trendy books promoting some current fad seem even more prevalent now than they were in the late seventies when I became a booklover. So for a while I bought and read mostly older books, but I've realized that God is still raising up people who are diligently seeking to know Him and are willing to write something substantial for His glory.

Please join me in welcoming Tim to the blog.

A New Contributor to TheoSource