Book excerpt: 'Given the relationship between Paul and the Thessalonian Christians, it should not surprise us that his letters to them throb with tenderness and care...here, as perhaps nowhere else in his letters, we see how the apostle loved his converts and laboured to lead them on in the faith. This should make every serious Christian, and especially every responsible Chrisitan leader, turn with eagerness to the text of the letters that await us.' From the Introduction by Andrew Young.