During the summer I’ll be posting micro interviews on Fridays (mostly). I’ve asked some of my friends in ministry–friends you probably already know–to answer questions about “bio, books, and such.” My hope is that you’ll enjoy getting a few more facts about these folks and getting a few good book recommendations.
Today’s interview is with Harry Reeder, Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church.
1. Where were you born? Charlotte N. C.
2. When did you become a Christian? Fall of 1969
3. Who is one well known pastor/author/leader who has shaped you as a Christian and teacher? I have to give you 3. Al Martin (early) R.C. Sproul (later) Dr. Henry Krabbendam (continuously)
4. Who is one lesser known pastor/friend/mentor who has shaped you? Sandy Willson, Jim Baird, Frank Barker
5. What’s one hymn you want sung at your funeral? For All the Saints; Ah, Holy Jesus; Jesus What a Friend for Sinners
6. What kind of nonfiction do you enjoy reading when you aren’t reading about theology, the Bible, or church history? Easy… Civil War History or Biographies
7. Other than Calvin’s Institutes, what systematic theology have you found most helpful? Hodge and Dabney
8. What are one or two of your favorite fiction authors or fiction books? I confess to not reading fiction other than Christian classics i.e. Fellowship of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Pilgrims Progress and The Screwtape Letters.
9. What is one of your favorite non-Christian biographies? R.E. Lee 4 vols. (Douglass Southhall Freeman), Stonewall (James Robertson) In the Hands of Providence the Life of Joshua Chamberlain (Alice Trulock), and Unshakeable Faith – The Lives of George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington (John Perry)
10. What is one of your favorite books on preaching? Preaching and Preachers (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
11. What is one of your favorite books on evangelism? Out of the Saltshaker (Rebecca Manly Pippert)
12. What is one of your favorite books on apologetics? The Defense of the Faith (Cornelius van Til)
13. What is one of your favorite books on prayer? Praying with Your Eyes Open (Richard Pratt)
14. What is one of your favorite books on marriage? How to Develop Deep Unity in your Marriage (Wayne Mack)… I believe it is now retitled
15. What is one of your favorite books on parenting? Reformation for the Family (Dennis Rainey) May have been retitled.
16. What music do you keep coming back to on your iPhone (or CD player, or tape deck, or gramophone)? Getty’s, Glad
17. Favorite food? Easy… Steak (medium) topped off with homemade Peach ice cream…
18. After the Bible, a hymnal, and a shipbuilding guide, what book would you want with you on a desert island? Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Bible or Calvin’s Institutes…
