The Complete Person by Dr. Thomas Gulbronson

There have been a number of men who have an influence on my life and my walk with the Lord. I'm sure there will be a number more in the coming years. Each one of them holds a special place in my heart, a place honor and love for someone who was willing to pour themselves into me, teaching me, holding me accountable before the Lord and showing me how a godly man walks the walk.

The very first of those men was the author of this book, Dr. Thomas Gulbronson (right with his wife Bunny).

Tom was the Pastor of the Alexandria Assembly of God when Kelly and I attended there in the early 80's. I was a new believer and he was the Pastor of a large and exciting church. Tom was the one who got me started on reading the Bible and studying it for myself rather than relying on some other person's idea of what it said. He gave me my first concordance and my first commentary. Instead of answering my many questions, he showed me how to find the answers for myself. The impact of those simple lessons has rippled through my life and now through the life of our church as well.

I just finished reading Tom's book, "The Complete Person". It's a well laid out and accessible guidebook that details "...from a Biblical point of view, the believer's quest for spiritual maturity." The book is based on the premise that a person cannot be complete without Jesus Christ and all a full and deep relationship with Him entails. It is solid Scripturally and doctrinally sound, pointing out areas of possible disagreement and making the case for his position on those areas by excellent exegesis of Biblical texts. Dr. Gulbronson exhibits grace where it is appropriate, such as when he presents his perspective on synergistic salvation as opposed to monergistic salvation. He digs his heels in when it is appropriate as well such as when he insists that the Scriptures have to be the objective measure of all teaching.

The strong point of the book is that Tom lays it out in an easy to understand manner. His anecdotes are excellent at clarifying his points and his explanations of sometimes complex theological themes make them easy to digest. This makes for a great and useful book for the new believer but packs enough meat to be a challenge for mature believers as well.

We'll be stocking Tom's book in our bookstore. It can be a great tool for helping friends and family members along in their walk (and maybe each of us as well).

Thanks for continuing to be a teacher, Tom.