Glory Road: Thabiti Anyabwile

Thabiti Anyabwile is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. He is also blogger at Pure Church, where he goes by the name Fellow Elder. These are his answers:

1. What was the first book you read that introduced you to Reformed Theology? Knowing God, J.I. Packer and Great Doctrines of the Bible, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

2. List the five most influential books in your Reformed Theological journey.
Knowing God, J.I. Packer; Great Doctrines of the Bible, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones; Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther; What Is Reformed Theology (previously Grace Unknown), R.C. Sproul; Chosen But Free, Norman Geisler (I read as a defense of the non-Reformed view. Its weaknesses pushed me more conclusively to a Reformed understanding)

3. List three preachers and/or teachers who were most influential in you journey.
R.C. Sproul
John MacArthur
Mark Dever

4. If you could give one book to someone interested in Reformed theology, what book would you give? What is Reformed Theology, R.C. Sproul

5. What doctrine would you say distinguishes Reformed theology?
The centrality of the doctrine of God sets Reformed theology apart from other perspectives. It’s not that the glory, sovereignty and centrality of God are somehow unique ideas to Reformed theology, for other systems would in their own ways acknowledge these issues. And it’s not as though Reformed theology has found an inventive niche here that makes this a marketing advantage. Rather, God is central in the entire body of Scripture and Reformed theology most accurately perceives that truth and puts God at the center of its theological outlook.