Many people are familiar with the public persona of Herman Hoeksema. As one of the leading theologians of the twentieth century, a seminary professor, the pastor of a large congregation and a prolific writer, he was well-known in ecclesiastical circles, as well as in the world in general. But to his family he was “just Dad.” This anecdotal biography written by his youngest child records many stories about him, some perhaps familiar but others never before told.
Included in the book are numerous pictures of Hoeksema and his family, as well as an appendix with several personal letters of Hoeksema written to his children when he took a trip to Europe in 1929. These will show you a side of Hoeksema not found elsewhere.
Review by Charles Terpstra
Other biographies have been written on Hoeksema (e.g., Gertrude Hoeksema, Therefore Have I Spoken and Patrick Baskwell,Herman Hoeksema: A Theological Biography) but this one is unique–it is penned by his youngest daughter, Lois Kregel, and is a personal, anecdotal history of the man and his family from the “inside.”
This Reformed Free Publishing Association (RFPA) title is affectionately called Just Dad: Stories of Herman Hoeksema. The book covers Hoeksema’s life from his earliest days in the Netherlands and includes much of the history of his ministerial career as well as the controversies through which he lived and which served to define his labors and theology. But the book also covers the personal and family side of Hoeksema, taking us inside his home and showing him as husband and father, and that’s what makes it unique and special.
Adding to the value and interest of the book are the numerous pictures of Hoeksema and his family, as well as an appendix with several personal letters of Hoeksema written to his children when he took a trip to Europe in 1929. These will show you a side of Hoeksema not found elsewhere.
I am thankful that Mrs. Kregel could tell her story of her father, “just dad.” It is a story worth sharing. And I commend the RFPA for publishing this attractive little “gem” for the benefit of the PRC and the outside world.
“I am halfway through [Just Dad] and enjoying it so.” – New Jersey, USA
“I particularly enjoyed Just Dad received last Saturday, which I read that day, apart from the letters (pages 114-143) but read those on Sunday evening after returning from church. It is written in a lively and lovely way so I felt as though I knew everyone which of course I don’t! So congratulations to Lois in revealing the other side of Herman Hoeksema!” – Cambridgeshire, England
“It is good for us to see that [Hoeksema] was a husband and father—a normal and fallible man, doing the work of the Lord placed before him.”
“Delightful! Thank you, Mrs. Kregel.” – Wisconsin, USA
