Reading List

We recommend the following to provoke your thinking about missions, the church, Scripture, Christian living, linguistics and Bible translation.

 
 

Biographies & History

Missionary history and biographies, especially related to Bible translators and those involved in the triad of BT disciplines, are an incredible way to grow in the Christian faith while simultaneously learning missiology, theology, and benefitting from God’s work in history. Here are some we have benefited from:

  • William Carey, S. Pearce Carey

  • William Tyndale, David Daniell

  • To the Golden Shore, Courtney Anderson

  • John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides, John G. Paton, ed. by James Paton

  • Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Roland Bainton

  • Brand Luther: How an Unheralded Monk Turned His Small Town into a Center of Publishing, Made Himself the Most Famous Man in Europe—and Started the Protestant Reformation, Andrew Pettegree

  • 21 Servants of Sovereign Joy, John Piper

  • Life and Letters of Henry Martyn, John Sargent

  • Her-Story: 366 Devotions from 21 Centuries of the Christian Church, Diana Lynn Severance

  • The Saint Andrews Seven, Stuart Piggin and John Foxborogh

  • Swift and Beautiful: The Amazing Stories of Faithful Missionaries, David Calhoun

  • A History of Bible Translation, ed. Philip A. Noss

  • A Restless Search: A History of Persian Translations of the Bible, Kenneth J. Thomas

  • The Korean Pentecost and the Sufferings Which Followed, William Blair and Bruce Hunt

  • A Supreme Desire to Please Him: The Spirituality of Adoniram Judson, E. D. Burns

 

Language & Bible Translation

Works on the history, philosophy, and theology of language and Bible translation:

  • In the Beginning was the Word: Language – A God-Centered Approach, Vern Poythress. Brings together Dr. Poythress’ expertise in the full triad of Bible translation disciplines and presents a biblically robust, trinitarian theology of language. The appendices interact with various theories, approaches, and philosophies of linguistics.

  • Understanding Bible Translation, by BTF Advisory Board member William Barrick

  • Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed, D. A. Carson. After laying an exegetical and theological foundation for understanding the phrase “son of God” throughout Scripture, Carson ends the work by tackling the issue of Divine Familial Terminology that has impacted Bible translations for Muslims (i.e. so-called “Muslim Idiom Translations,” which are also related to the “Insider Movement” in missions).

  • A Guide to Bible Translation, eds. Philip A. Noss and Charles S. Houser

  • The Bible in Translation, Bruce Metzger

  • A Theology of Bible Translation (forthcoming), K.F.R. Davis

 

Scripture

Works on Scripture, Canon, and Textual Criticism:

  • An Introduction to the Greek New Testament Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge, Dirk Jongkind

  • Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origin and Authority of the New Testament Books, Michael Kruger

  • The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate, Michael Kruger

  • New Testament Textual Criticism, David Alan Black

  • Old Testament Textual Criticism, Ellis Brotzman

  • Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church, Michael Kruger

  • The Early Text of the New Testament, eds. Michael Kruger and Charles Hill

  • Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me, Kevin DeYoung

  • A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness, John Piper

  • Can We Trust the Gospels?, Peter Williams

  • Inerrancy and Worldview, Vern Poythress

  • Inerrancy and the Gospels, Vern Poythress

  • Reading the Word of God in the Presence of God: A Handbook for Biblical Interpretation, Vern Poythress

  • The Structure of Biblical Authority, Meredith Kline

  • The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters, Gregory Lanier and William Ross

 

Missions

These books cover not only missiology (i.e. biblical teaching on missions) but ecclesiology (i.e. the doctrine of the church), soteriology (i.e. the doctrine of salvation), and other doctrines that missionaries (and their senders!) do well to study:

  • “Affirmations and Denials Concerning World Mission,” The Southgate Fellowship

  • What is the Mission of the Church?, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert

  • Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper

  • A Vision for Missions, Tom Wells

  • Paradigms in Conflict: 15 Key Questions in Christian Missions Today, David Hesselgrave

  • An Introduction to the Science of Missions, J.H. Bavinck

  • Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods, Eckhard Schnabel

  • Senders: How Your Church Can Identify, Train, and Deploy Missionaries, Paul Seger

  • Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global, Andy Johnson

  • What is the Gospel?, Greg Gilbert

  • Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever

  • Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, Jonathan Leeman

  • Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus, Jonathan Leeman

  • The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund

  • Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus, Mack Stiles

  • Conversion: How God Creates a People, Michael Lawrence

  • Discipling: How to Help Others Follow Jesus, Mark Dever

  • Sound Doctrine: How a Church Grows in the Love and Holiness of God, Bobby Jamieson

  • Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God’s People, Matt Merker

  • Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer

  • The Missionary Theologian, E.D. Burns

  • “The Problem with ‘Incarnational Ministry,’” J. Todd Billings

  • “A Call for Theological Triage and Christian Maturity,” Albert Mohler

  • God’s Design for the Church, by BTF Advisory Board Member Conrad Mbewe

  • Biblical Theology: How the Church Faithfully Teaches the Gospel, Nick Roark and Robert Cline

  • God Dwells Among Us: Expanding Eden to the Ends of the Earth, G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim

  • Disability in Mission: The Church’s Hidden Treasure, David Deuel and Nathan John (eds.)

 

Christian Living

  • The Lordship of Christ, Vern Poythress

  • Guidance and the Voice of God, Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne

  • Discovering God’s Will, Sinclair Ferguson

  • Prayer and the Voice of God, Philip Jensen and Tony Payne

  • Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ, Andrew David Naselli and J.D. Crowley

  • Money Counts: How to Handle Money In Your Heart and With Your Hands, Graham Beynon

  • A Praying Life, Paul Miller

  • Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles, David Powlison

  • What Are Spiritual Gifts?, Vern Poythress

  • Praying with Paul, D.A. Carson

  • Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, Timothy Keller

  • Do You Feel Called By God?: Rethinking the Call to Ministry, Michael Bennett

  • What About Evil?: A Defense of God’s Sovereign Glory, Scott Christensen

  • Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College, Michael Kruger

 

Linguistics

This short reading list represents a non-formalist approach to linguistics, listed in the order of recommended reading. This list was provided by Christo H. J. van der Merwe, professor of Hebrew at Stellenbosch University, and represents a clear commitment to Cognitive Linguistics. Christo’s longer list covers General Linguistics, Grammar and Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Relevance Theory, Information Structure, Cognitive Linguistics, Linguistic Typology and Language Change, Discourse Analysis (also called “Textlinguistics”) and Discourse Particles, various Reference Works, as well as a list of works aimed at applying Cognitive Linguistics to the Biblical Languages.