Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, and the Example of John Piper

I think it is wonderful how John Piper has been giving young pastors the pulpit at Desiring God conferences. John has now invited Mark Driscoll to two conferences, and I have no doubt that he has received a lot of criticism for that among some of his good friends and the wider evangelical community. It is intriguing too to think that not only does John invite Driscoll, but that he has Mark speaking on the biblical use of "harsh language" at DG's latest conference, a topic of which Mark has received the most criticism for in his ministry.

Now John is inviting another gifted young pastor--Matt Chandler. Matt, a pastor of the Village Church in Texas, will be speaking at the forthcoming Bethlehem Conference for Pastors in '09 on the theme of evangelism. John has given him the task of "help[ing] us think about...saving those who think they are saved." After listening to Matt regularly I am convinced that topic is perfect for him and that he will serve the pastors well. Matt has been known to take the Bible to the backside of Bible-belt Christianity that, at times, resembles something more akin to unbelieving Pharasaism. More importantly Matt is thoroughly Gospel-centered. He consistently draws people back to the Gospel in his sermons and is a great example of saturating every sermon with Jesus.

I am thankful for older godly men like Pastor Piper who is willing to give young pastors this opportunity.

May God raise up more older pastors in local churches who are willing to cultivate the gifts of young men and be mentors of them in their community. The pattern that Paul lays out in modeling his life in relationship with Timothy is one that all pastors should be following. I do not think this is only a pastoral responsibility, but that many older Christian men in general should take upon themselves the responsiblity of training young men not necessarily to be pastors but to be godly men.

Thank you Pastor John for being an example of this to wider evangelical world.

Good Words, Bad Words, and Big Words

I mentioned several posts ago a Desiring God conference that is coming up...here are two wonderful words of wisdom, some of which may surprise you, from Paul Tripp and Sinclair Ferguson.

Paul Tripp describes the heart behind "bad" words and "good" ones (offensive language follows):



Sinclair Ferguson describes how a big term like "imputation" defines the Gospel and calls one to live according to the Gospel:

The Power of Words and the Wonder of God

Desiring God has put together another wing-dinger of a conference. This one on a matter so very practical: words. The words we speak that give either life or death. Kudos to DG for the solid video as well. Maybe someday I'll get to go to Minneapolis for one of these...

Text-Context: Jim Gilmore - Ways to Study the World/Culture

I appreciated Jim Gilmore's talks at this conference. Jim is an insightful forward-thinking businessman and has a deep care for the church of Jesus Christ. He is the co-author of The Experience Economy which worldwide has hundreds of thousands in print and recently co-wrote Authenticity: What Consumer's Really Want. Jim was deeply thankful to be apart of the conference even though he wasn't sure he belonged at a pastor's conference. All in all, I think he served pastor's well. In his second lecture he discussed 10 points on ways to study the world and culture around us, here are the 10:

1. Study the Past. In doing so it will make you clearer about the past, the present and the future.
2. Think laterally. What is this? Well, Wikipedia puts it this way in contrast with critical thinking:

"Lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. A person would use lateral thinking when they want to move from one known idea to creating new ideas. It can also be put as, critical thinking is like a post-mortem while lateral thinking is like diagnosis."

3. Observe behavior. Both your own and others. Truly looking, seeing is a skill
4. Wield a thesaurus. Know the dominant words in culture and seek out other words. Be a word-smith.
5. Channel surf. Don't just watch one show, intentionally surf through channels to take in all that is happening on TV.
6. Walk the mall. This in my view is the least enjoyable of the 10.
7. Frequent magazine racks.
8. Watch for the new "ing". "Ing" is an experiencing word. Notice all the "ing" words in culture and advertisements.
9. Talk to your children. Why do they like what they like on the internet, TV, the mall, the toys, whatever it might be?
10. Track the hype. Don't just buy into the hype but do track it. See what the media says is hot and think through why it is.

Readers, do you have any others?

I encourage you to take a look at Mr. Gilmore's ideas further at Strategic Horizons his and co-author Joe Pine's organization. They may not endorse it, but here is a summary of the experience economy from Wikipedia.

Text-Context: Matt Chandler - Where's the Angst?

I have listened to a decent amount of preaching in my life, but rarely am truly moved. This does not necessarily mean that all the preaching I've heard is bad preaching, for I am a bad guy and often hard-hearted. This also is due to the fact that when you grow up in church all your life you get preached at plenty.

However, I must say that rarely, at least with the above qualifications in mind, do I hear men plead for the hearts to be radically devoted to Jesus and to long for the Savior like Matt Chandler does. His call for men to have intense angst and radical pursuit of the living God blesses my soul. No, this does not mean that I have it, it means so desperately that I need it.

To groan for God. To long to be close to Him. To love Jesus. To truly be dependent on the Holy Spirit not in word and clever prayers but in the desire, the heart's cry inside.

I've only listened briefly to Matt's call to church planters to long for Jesus, but I know that this call is rare and this call is deeply prophetic in the profoundest sense. Not that what Matt is saying is new, but that what Matt is saying is old and very needed in the hearts and souls of the men and women of our generation.

Where's the longing for God in our generation? This call is to you, which means most profoundly that it is to me.

"As the deer pants for the flowing streams,
So pants my soul for you O God." Ps. 42:1

Text-Context: Mark Driscoll's Tearful Introduction of John Piper

One thing I was struck by at the Text/Context conference was Mark Driscoll's tearful introduction of John Piper. (No, I'm not there I'm viewing the live feed.) I have listened to Pastor Driscoll preach from Mars Hill and various conferences around the globe and never heard him or seen him begin to cry. Now this may seem like a weird thing to blog about or even mention, but I found it very moving, in fact I felt much the same way. Mark recovered well, something I would not have been able to do if I was given the same task.

I can't imagine introducing Pastor Piper, as there are few who have influenced me more in my life. I think, Mark felt the same way. He was overwhelmed with joy and with thankfulness to God for Pastor John and he become visibly overcome with emotion. It seemed that Mark was particularly effected by how God has used Piper to shape his own life and how Piper has shaped many around him and was quickened to call other men to learn from Piper.

Why blog this? Well, because I think we as younger men whether pastors or just Christians need to show honor to older men who have been faithful men. We need to honor our fathers who have gone before us, be they earthly fathers, spiritual fathers, or both. May this characterize the young pastors of today to show honor, respect, and thankfulness to those who have taught and lived faithfully and pointed to Jesus in word and deed.

A Call to Courage

If you are a man, you need to listen to this.

The Pastor as Father and Son

Another Desiring God conference began yesterday, which means new audio of DA Carson, John Piper and others are up. DG is lightning fast at getting audio of there conferences out, and it is a great benefit to all those who cannot attend. This year's subject is the Pastor as Father and Son, and I believe it will be memorable as DA Carson recently wrote a book on his late dad and John Piper is doing his annual biography on his father who recently died. Abraham Piper is blogging and actively updating as summaries, audio, video and interviews come up.

Check it out yo!