A Purpose-Driven Piper

John Piper's announcement that he has invited Rick Warren to speak at his conference has generated a lot of discussion. I've been thinking through it since I heard about it (ironically, the day before April Fool's...so I was skeptical at first). I've considered writing my thoughts out--for I've had several people ask, "What do you think?"--but have hesitated for the following reasons:

Who cares what I think? (That's been my default answer when asked.) It's Desiring God's Conference, and I do not sit on their board, and they do not use me as an advisor. If we ever hold a conference at Grace I will then be able to choose the speakers along with the other elders. How I would feel about the people Piper invites should never cross Piper's mind.

Who knows why Piper invited him? Watching the comments from some blogs, there is a form of Fundamentalism (using the word to refer to actions more than doctrine) that I don't think Piper would mind distancing himself from. I believe Piper wants to resist a loveless orthodoxy that can be proclaimed by some. His teaching ministry has resisted it, but I also believe he wants to avoid being associated with it, if possible. One comment I read said something like, "Can we now as fundamentalists admit that Piper is not one of us?" Reading from other comments the man made, I thought, "Yeah, Piper may be ok with not being "one of you." Perhaps there is some strategy here not only to state what Piper supports, but also passively eliminate that which he does not.

Who knows what Piper will do? It appears from the schedule that Piper will still speak at this event, despite his break from public ministry. For this reason, it seems to me that final judgement is best reserved until after the conference. You never know what Piper may do. I was at a conference once where Piper publicly asked the music leader not to sing a song again due to erroneous thinking communicated in the bridge of the song. He pointed out the error, and was gracious to the leader, even suggesting maybe changing the words or eliminating the bridge, but even stated publicly that he hates the words. Another time, Piper was sharing the pulpit ministry at a conference with another nationally known speaker. The other speaker was setting the crowd up for his next session by saying some rather controversial things. He finished and sat down. There were a couple of songs in between and then Piper took the pulpit. Piper's first actions were to publicly point out the concern he had, stated the concern he had for where the speaker was headed and told him he'd be listening very closely. He did all of this in the pulpit with the other man (who's neck turned very red) sitting on the front row. I don't see John Piper shying away from pointing out error, even if he invited the speaker to his conference.

Yet, I have to admit, I am a little baffled by Piper's decision. However, until I write a full blog post (and am probably leaning toward I won't), this is the best article I have seen. The concluding paragraphs of the article state:

I am glad that through his conferences John Piper is not trying to build the young, restless, Reformed as much as he's seeking to just preach truth. That is a good and noble goal. It is a goal that allows him to look outside of a safe little group of approved speakers. At the same time, Rick Warren is way outside that group and for good reason. Warren's critics have not always been fair to him and yet neither have they been without justifiable and significant concerns. His ministry is in so many ways antithetical to Piper's. It surprises me and maybe disappoints me a little bit that he has been invited to share that platform.

At yet let's heed Piper's warning not to fall into an error of secondary separation. There is no need for us to separate from Piper over such a decision. We have plenty of latitude to disagree with him; let's do so with respect for him and for his long and faithful history of ministry to the church. The sky is not falling, the world will go on.

Seriously, you should read the whole article.

Also related, here's some video from Piper himself, regarding the issue:

Preaching [and living] Like This Is Dangerous

May God grant me the same commitments and convictions not just now, but 30 years from now!

Book Suggestion

I don't usually reference or suggest a book I haven't read myself. However, this one came across John Piper's twitter and looks like it could be quite helpful to many in our community and church:

Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic

Get a Bible with All the Words

Told you I was not alone...

Piper Bowling?

Just so you know the level of therapy I need, every time I see this picture:





I think the tiny "twitter picture" actually looks like this:

Repost: Please Pastor, Re-view This

If you are planning on preaching on money soon (and you know who you are), please watch this video by Matt Chandler (you can download the entire message at DesiringGod):

Swish

Right aim and right on target!

Am I to be a Pastor/Elder?

John Piper offers the following ways to know if you are being called during a recent "Ask Pastor John":

I feel called to be a pastor. What sorts of things should I be looking for to confirm this possible calling?

That's a good question.

1) Be looking for a strong and continually recurring desire.

In other words, this is not a flash in the pan desire after some inspiring speech that somebody gave. This keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back—a desire that you cannot shake. It's right to aspire to the eldership, according to 1 Timothy.

2) Be looking for some gifts that are needed in pastoral ministry.

Gifts of teaching are required, for example. And a certain kind of wisdom with people. So look for those gifts. Cultivate those gifts. Do what you can to exercise those gifts.

3) Look for confirmation in other people.

When a man puts himself upon a church where a church is not delivering messages of confirmation, he is probably out of touch. He may not be. There are a few exceptions where a prophetic voice rises up and is hardly recognized by anybody in the church as a prophetic voice. But by and large the church confirms the gifts given to the elders and the pastors.

So what that means is that you're leading a small group, you're trying to share the word to encourage people, and people are getting help, and they're telling you so ("That was encouraging!"), and they're coming back. They want to get more. They find your presence to be life-giving rather than life-taking.

When people start to drift away from you rather than being drawn to you to hear or to talk or converse, then that might mean you should think, "Hmm. How can I minister to a congregation if they're not getting help by me?" So the third thing is confirmation.

4) Then I would look for circumstances to confirm that sense of calling as well, opportunities that emerge.

Soak your life in prayer, immerse yourself in the word, and stir. And the aroma that comes out of the pot will blow in a direction and you follow it.

Worth the Viewing...

I don't know a ton about Matt Chandler, but from what I have seen, his perspective is quite refreshing and admirable. These videos are worth the watch:

Part 1 (13:23 min)
Part 2 (11:48 min)
Part 3 (15:07 min)
Part 4 (10:02 min)

It's 50:20 minutes that will edify you more than anything your television will provide.


(HT: JT)

Don't Waste Your Pulpit

Opening line: The best way to waste your pulpit is to preach your own thoughts instead of preaching God's thoughts.




Closing line: I think the reason pastors don't do that [speak the Word of Christ] is because they themselves do not live off of the Bible day by day.



HT:JT

Why Expositional Exaltation Is Particularly Glorifying to God

From John Piper's Message at "Together for the Gospel 06"

Which, by the way, is why so many people say so many minimizing and foolish things about preaching...They have never heard it. They don't know what it is. They have not basis for judgement as they belittle it and call for alternatives that are more effective.

Oh that God would raise up in this room, and across this country and the world, young preachers who would leave their hearers with a spiritual sense of shock at the sense of God. Some sense of the infinite weight of the glory of God. That's my longing, that's my prayer, for this conference and for you. That God would raise up thousands of broken-hearted, Bible-saturated preachers who are dominated by a sense of the greatness, and the majesty and the holiness of God as He has been decisively revealed in Jesus Christ through the gospel of Christ crucified, risen and reigning today over all nations, all armies, all cancer cells, and all politics and all churches and all false religions. That there would be a gripping of pastors today of the amazing weight of the absolute claims of the Lordship of Christ over the nations...and over everybody in your city. They will bow or they will burn. There is no doubt about it, Jesus Christ lays absolute claim on planet earth. Everybody in your city must bow their knee. That must grip pastors.

God did not ordain the cross of Christ, or create the Lake of Fire in order to communicate the insignificance of belittling His glory. The death of the Son of God, and the damnation of unrepentant human beings are the loudest shouts conceivable under heaven that God is infinitely holy, that sin is infinitely offensive, that wrath is infinitely just, and that grace is infinitely precious. And that the brief little life that you and I live, and that everybody in our churches live, is going to issue very quickly, either in everlasting joy or everlasting pain.

What gives preaching its seriousness is that the mantle of preaching is soaked in the blood of Jesus and singed in the fire of hell.

[Video of quote available here.]T4G06 was the greatest conference I've ever been to for equipping and encouraging a pastor to preach faithfully, and I'm sure this year will as well. I encourage you to sign up while registration is still available, or ask [suggest strongly to] your pastor if he is going.