Michigan—The Andrews University Press announced the release of In Granite or Ingrained? What the Old and New Covenants Reveal about the Gospel, the Law, and the Sabbath by Skip MacCarty, long-time associate pastor for evangelism at Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University. The book was unveiled at the annual winter worker’s meeting of Michigan Conference pastors held at Camp Au Sable in Grayling, Mich., on January 21.

“We deliberately chose to launch the book at a pastors’ meeting because Dr. MacCarty is first and foremost a pastor,” explained Ronald Knott, Andrews University Press director. “He has written this book with a pastor’s heart. He’s seen people leave the Adventist Church over confusion about the covenants. So even though his book is a serious, in-depth work of careful scholarship and is published by an academic press, its bottom-line value to the church will be found in how practicing pastors and informed lay people use it to advance a complete gospel message, particularly in reference to the Sabbath truth.”

MacCarty’s work addresses the basic issue of the covenants as the foundation for a proper understanding of the relationship of the gospel and the Sabbath. And on this understanding of the unity of the two covenants, he has received strong support from other evangelical quarters.

“Skip MacCarty has caught the spirit and the intent of the covenants and their relationship as well as anyone I know,” writes Daniel I. Block in a back-cover recommendation. Block, a well-known evangelical scholar, is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College in Ill., and previously held the same position at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

“MacCarty offers a brilliant defense of the fundamental unity of the Scriptures,” Block continues. “After helpfully distinguishing between the historical and experiential old and new covenants, he invites his readers to celebrate with him the glorious fact that in the old covenant, as much as in the new covenant, God offers a ‘grace-based, gospel-bearing, and mission-directed’ covenantal relationship with Himself. Until Christians grasp this message, the Old Testament will remain a dead book to the church.”

“In Granite or Ingrained? is just the kind of book Andrews University Press is well-positioned to publish,” said Knott. “The Press is the only established academic publishing house serving the entire world church. MacCarty’s book is a landmark because it is the first serious, book-length work dealing substantively with Sabbath issues that the Adventist Church has published in more than 20 years. Our church’s historic emphasis on higher education means we have an educated membership who appreciates serious books—books that mine scripture and at the same time have powerful practical application for advancing the remnant message. That’s just what MacCarty’s new book does, and we’re proud to be the publisher.”

The 344-page book makes its case in twelve chapters, sequentially addressing such topics as: the core truths of the covenants, how God defined the new covenant, the new covenant DNA in the old covenant, history and experience in the two covenants, understanding difficult texts, and a chapter on the practical, spiritual ramifications of living the covenants. In addition, the book includes several appendices containing practical tables and charts that allow for an easy grasp of key concepts. The Press anticipates releasing a companion study guide for individuals and small groups later in the spring.

MacCarty has been a pastor for 38 years, serving in Utah and Michigan. For more than 20 years, he has pastored at Pioneer Memorial Church (PMC) on the Andrews campus, working closely with Dwight K. Nelson, senior pastor, to organize PMC’s major public and media-based evangelistic initiatives. He holds a doctor of ministry degree from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. He is also a recognized authority and seminar presenter on the relationship between stress and spiritual life.

In Granite or Ingrained? is available through Adventist Book Centers or on-line at www.universitypress.andrews.edu.

Andrews University Press