Deserted Island Top 5: Sean Lucas

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols (SN): Today, I have the good pleasure of sending one of my very good friends to our deserted island. We have with us Dr. Sean Michael Lucas, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, Miss., and associate professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is also author of many books. I have known Sean for three decades; he is a good friend and I am happy to send him off to an island. So Dr. Lucas, welcome.

Dr. Sean Michael Lucas (SL): Thanks for having me.

SN: Now, this is an interesting island. It's a rather theologically engaged island. We have on here already the works of Augustine, of Calvin, of Luther and of Edwards. And thanks to Carl Trueman, we are now stocked with a complete set of the works of Derek Thomas. So on top of those books, what would be your top five choices?

SL: Well, my first book wouldn't even be a theological book. It would actually be Wendell Berry's novel Jayber Crow, which as you well know, tells the story of Jayber Crow, who is the town barber for Port William. Through that novel you not only get introduced to the entire Port William membership, but you also gain a lot of insight into the nature of loving one's enemies, into the nature of the relationship between the sacred and the secular. Berry explores a number of theological themes, wittingly or unwittingly, that make it a particularly powerful novel.

SN: This is the great Kentucky poet, essayist, novelist, and farmer Wendell Berry. I knew he would be on the list somewhere, and there he is. What's No. 2?

SL: Well, Nos. 2 and 3 go together because they both deal with J. Gresham Machen, who's one of my top figures in church history. One is by Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, which is the classic evaluation of liberalism, but also, as D.G. Hart rightly points out, it's also a wonderful primer in doctrine. And so it's one of those books that I try to make sure that seminarians read before they leave seminary. The other book that goes with it is Hart's biography, Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Modern Protestantism. When I first read this book in 1993, I thought it was the perfect academic book. And it was also just a powerful—and many times moving—portrayal of a person wrestling with faith, wrestling with history, and coming out on the other side in order to defend biblical Christianity.

SN: Machen is an admirable figure from church history. We should read his life—read his book. Great choices. We're up to No. 4.

SL: Well, No. 4 is another novel. And this is a bad confession, and I'm sure Carl will track me down. But I'm a Janeite, so Pride and Prejudice would be my fourth choice. Part of the reason why that is such a wonderful novel (I read it probably every other year), is that you not only have a wonderful description of manners in pre-Victorian England, but there's a number of themes of class and society, and there's just some great lines and some great characters, so that's always been a favorite.

And then the last book is a book that I read every year and its William Still's The Work of the Pastor. And particularly as I'm back in congregational ministry—have been for the last six years at First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg—I find that that book not only reminds me "to keep the main thing the main thing" when it comes to pastoral ministry—the ministry of the Word and prayer—but it's also wonderfully encouraging because Still reminds us that the gospel does its work.

SN: It's great. Well, I hope you enjoy your books, enjoy your time on the deserted island. And thanks for being with us.