Gospel Prism

If you don’t know already, Desiring God has a new website with all of John Piper’s sermons now on audio for free! Even better, they actually have his sermons on video so you can watch him preach. So in honor of their new website, here are 10 reasons why I admire John Piper and his ministry (DGM - Desiring God Ministry) more than any other pastor, ministry, or missionary out there:

1. He is the real deal

He really is who he appears to be. In person, he is serious and unassuming. Publicly, he is the same.

2. He is NOT in love with money and its power

Since DGM began, they have always had a policy that has stated that people can “pay what they can afford” for their resources. I am sure earlier on, this was tough on them financially, since they were a fledgling mom-and-pop ministry. But it was his conviction to do so, and because of it, not only have they benefited countless of souls who could not afford certain things, but they have gained the respect of the church. Also, I am sure the Lord is well-pleased with his servant.

Also, all of his sermons, while copyrighted, are free for distribution and reprint. I don’t know of any other major pastor or ministry that does this.

Now they have released all of JP’s audio sermons on line for free, what I am sure was a big money maker for them. JP’s desire is to bless the church and cause it to live for God’s glory. This is a HUGE indicator of that heart. So many ministries only think about the bottom line when operating. JP and DGM think about God and His provisions alone. And so DGM’s idea of a Philippian Fellowship, of gathering spiritual venture capitalists is a radical departure from the money-making mechanisms of ministry.

3. He preaches unabashedly about the God and the Gospel.

He goes to different places and gives the same message regardless of the audience. Sure he might do some contextualization, but his desire to honor God first keeps him focused.

4. He is a firm believer in expository preaching.

The Word is His guidebook and he lives and preaches as if they are words for his life. He does not skip the “difficult texts,� but expounds on them because be believes God sovereignly speak to God’s people.

5. He is God’s child first and not a Calvinist.

I think it is far too easy to fall into categorizing people. If you really cull through Piper’s works, you’ll find that though he holds to much of what Calvin taught, like Whitefield, Piper believes that it is Scripture that leads him to his theology, not John Calvin.

6. He is one of the very few in Evangelicalism that presents the power of God-honoring and God-savoring theology and the push that that theology gives towards world evangelization.

There are very few out there who teach missions in the way JP does. So much of current missiology deals with strategy, contextualization, models and structures, that sometimes it seems as though missiology is more about strategy than it is about God. On the flip side, far too many who have right doctrine, do not give the compulsion to be deeply concerned for the poor, the oppressed, and the unreached. JP is one of the few who keeps this tension where it should be and allows it to drive his passion for missions (see his book Let the Nations Be Glad).

7. He lives out racial reconciliation and teaches it as well.

JP and his wife Noel adopted an African-American baby AFTER having raised 4 boys. This was no mere symbolic act as I have personally witnessed their love for Talitha. They love her as much as they love their sons. This was a desire to show that the awe-inspiring power of God was more than something that should be talked about. They took action to say that God transcends our ethnic biases, and that is the unifying work of Christ through the Spirit. And from his pulpit, he continues to draw in African-Americans and Latinos and Asians to a deep love for the doctrines of grace.

8. He allows us to see that the writers of the past are very relevant to us today.

His love for Jonathan Edwards and now the many Puritans and missionaries of the past that he has drawn from and illustrated to the church, has fueled a new love for men like John Owen and Augustine and Luther and William Carey and Hudson Taylor and of course Jonathan Edwards. Christianity Today’s latest article is proof of such things.

9. His passion for preaching helps the church to see that preaching the Word in itself, empowered by the Spirit, gives glory to God.

Pastors who are influenced by Piper now know that preaching cannot be simply left to words merely spoken and sermons scurrilously planned. God is glorified by the pastor and his passion to deliver His Word each Sunday. God is dishonored by the pastor’s failure to keep this in his heart and mind. JP exemplifies what he preaches.

10. He has, more than any other person in our generation, helped the church to live for God’s glory and apart from our sinful self-centeredness.

What breaks the throes of consumerism and self-indulgence is to be self-indulged by living for God’s glory. “When God is glorified we are most satisfied in him,� as JP puts it. And this has been a refreshing joy to all of us who are tired of living solely for my glory and feeling quite dissatisfied.

Thank you Dr. John Piper for DGM and your passion for God’s glory and your desire to see the church have its utmost joy. Your work and vision will be received by the Lord one day with a “well done, good and faithful servant.â€? For another account on how JP has made a difference on someone else’s life, you can read Billy Park’s blog.