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Phillipsburg, NJ—P&R Publishing is pleased to announce that Ron Gleason, author of the recently released Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman and Theologian, has been selected as one of three finalists for the 2011 John Pollock Award for Christian Biography.
The John Pollock Award for Christian Biography is presented each year by Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, and carries a cash prize of $5,000 to the author. The winner will be announced in Spring and an award presentation will be scheduled for sometime in the Fall. Typically, the presentation includes a public lecture by the selected author at the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama.
Herman Bavinck, published December 2010, chronicles the rich family heritage and life ministry of Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), noted as one of Christianity’s greatest thinkers. Bavinck expert Ron Gleason follows with careful historical detail the story of Bavinck’s rise to such influence—from his education at Leiden University to his pastoral ministries in the Friesian village of Franeker, to his teaching at Kampen Theological Seminary and Free University. Bavinck’s voice resounds still through his writing, which has generated significant new interest recently. His defining work, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek (Reformed Dogmatics)—four volumes totaling more than 3,000 pages—was translated into English and published by Baker Academic in 2008.
Michael Horton, Modern Reformation, says of Gleason’s Herman Bavinck, “this biography fills a gaping hole. . . .it was well worth the wait!” Derek Thomas, Reformed Theological Seminary, says “Gleason’s contribution in these pages is nothing short of astounding.”
The Pollock Award is named for the British author of more than 30 books on religion, the majority of them being biographies of Christian leaders. Beeson Divinity School established the award in 2001. Recent recipients include John Wigger (2010) for American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists (Oxford), Barry Hankins (2009) for Francis Schaeffer and the Shaping of Evangelical America (Eerdmans) and Jonathan Aitken (2008) for John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace (Crossway).
Other finalists for the 2011 award are: David Edwin Harrell for Pat Robertson: A Life and Legacy (William B. Eerdmans), Eric Metaxas for Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: a Righteous Gentile Vs. the Third Reich (Thomas Nelson).
Ron Gleason, PhD, is the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, CA. He holds degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary, Theological Seminary of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and The Citadel.
Review copies of Herman Bavinck are available by request.
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Herman Bavinck · ISBN 978-1-59638-080-6 · $29.99 · softcover, 512 pages