John Piper announced toward the end of March that he would be taking a leave of absence from his church and all public communication (with the exception of the Desiring God Conference) from May 1 through the end of the year. This is an excerpt from his open letter to his congregation at Bethlehem Church:
"I see several species of pride in my soul that, while they may not rise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have taken a toll on my relationship with Noël and others who are dear to me. How do I apologize to you, not for a specific deed, but for ongoing character flaws, and their effects on everybody? I’ll say it now, and no doubt will say it again, I’m sorry. Since I don’t have just one deed to point to, I simply ask for a spirit of forgiveness; and I give you as much assurance as I can that I am not making peace, but war, with my own sins."
There is a tremendous amount of humility here, as well as wisdom, in order to tackle these "flaws" head on before they become something that not only takes a toll on his personal relationships but his overall ministry. Granted, I have not closely followed many pastors in my life, but I don't remember ever hearing another who took an intentional leave to war against his sins. Speaking of which, what I like most, is Piper is walking the walk that he preaches. Case in point...
Even within this type of presentation, it is not difficult to see how pride could become an issue. Piper has written dozens of books, he is wanted for numerous speaking engagements here and abroad, the Desiring God website puts forth all of his resources and videos, he is the main sermon-giving pastor at a large church, and the list goes on. If that were me, I know that the battle against pride would be a daily one. When Piper joined Twitter he expressed an initial concern about the temptation of seeing how many followers he would have. I now see more clearly from where his concern came. I heard him introduced at another church recently where he was a guest speaker. The introduction was probably 1 1/2 minutes with all but the last 15 seconds extolling the wonderful Dr. John Piper and how blessed they all were that he was there. The last 15 seconds were about what God would have to say THROUGH John Piper. I can imagine the internal struggle John was feeling as he listened to that. There is a reason why God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh. Pride. My grace is sufficient for you Paul. You are totally reliant on me. Not on yourself. I will make sure you never forget that.
Mark Driscoll and his wife posted a good response to this. It's worth a read:
http://theresurgence.com/8-godly-precedents-piper-sabbatical
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
He is Alive!!!
I am watching one of the 6 Easter services today from Mars Hill Church in Seattle. It is being streamed live online. Awesome. For my money, God doesn't present the Gospel any more passionately or convincingly than He does through Mark Driscoll. He recently visited the Holy Land and came back with some really amazing video, including of Golgotha, which is very rare as sight lines are obstructed making good picture/video almost impossible. But they were able to get permission from a Muslim owner of a bank (which no one else has been able to get) to get up on the roof and shoot video. So humbling to gaze upon the ground where the cross of Christ rested.
Right now, at the end of the service, baptisms are being conducted. In all my years in church, I don't know that I have ever witnessed someone giving their life to Jesus in the service itself. It may have happened without me being aware. I don't remember any services where the pastor gave an altar call at the end. Promise Keepers, yes. Billy Graham specials...yes. My Sunday morning church experiences...no. That is a shame.
I am watching one adult baptism after another and it is the most glorious thing. Hundreds were baptized today at Mars Hill. The crowd cheers after every one. I have read multiple times about people being on a conveyor belt to hell. Now I get to see a conveyor belt to heaven. It brings tears to my eyes.
Some very good teaching from Mark today. A couple points that really stood out. We substituted ourselves for God in the Garden and He substituted Himself for us on the cross. Never heard it put that way before but it is very compelling. Also, the pain and torment of the cross is so intense that a word was created specifically to capture it. That is where the word excruciating comes from. I looked it up. It's true. I never knew. But that will become part of my Gospel presentation.
Father, complete the good work you have started in these men and women. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it in some small way.
Right now, at the end of the service, baptisms are being conducted. In all my years in church, I don't know that I have ever witnessed someone giving their life to Jesus in the service itself. It may have happened without me being aware. I don't remember any services where the pastor gave an altar call at the end. Promise Keepers, yes. Billy Graham specials...yes. My Sunday morning church experiences...no. That is a shame.
I am watching one adult baptism after another and it is the most glorious thing. Hundreds were baptized today at Mars Hill. The crowd cheers after every one. I have read multiple times about people being on a conveyor belt to hell. Now I get to see a conveyor belt to heaven. It brings tears to my eyes.
Some very good teaching from Mark today. A couple points that really stood out. We substituted ourselves for God in the Garden and He substituted Himself for us on the cross. Never heard it put that way before but it is very compelling. Also, the pain and torment of the cross is so intense that a word was created specifically to capture it. That is where the word excruciating comes from. I looked it up. It's true. I never knew. But that will become part of my Gospel presentation.
Father, complete the good work you have started in these men and women. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it in some small way.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Food for Thought
I am a US citizen and have legal permanent residence in Italy. I came here after retiring from my US job in 2003. I will tell you just a few of my experiences. My mother-in-law was booted out of the hospital to die at age 84. We hired a nurse and got various medical devices and cared for her for another 2 years at home. If she had been alone, she would have been effectively killed by the state run hospital system. Italians will not let their loved ones stay in a hospital alone, period.
My sister in law flew from Naples to Milan for cancer surgery 3 years ago because the wait at the state hospital was at least 6 months. She got treated in 3 days. Good news is that there are private hospitals in Italy if you can afford to pay. This long wait is routine for many procedures at state hospitals. CAT scans are running 3-4 months out. The “free” keeps getting less so as well. Since I have been here, the fees for everything (called a ticket) keep going up each year.
I should point out that hospital administrators are politically appointed, as are department heads. Thus, the political elite and their cronies do not get the same treatment as the rest of citizens. this is probably one point that the social justice fans in Amerika have not yet considered. Stupid laws do not change human nature.
When I first went inside a locale state hospital I thought I was going back in time 50 years and had gone to some 3rd world undeveloped country. Try these two descriptors: dirty and run down.
Many of the state paid doctors have their own practice in the evenings where you can get things done quicker , if you have the money. You will get discounts for cash as the 60% tax rate encourages both the doctor and patient to cut out the government for mutual benefit.
I visit a cousin in Scotland to play golf about once or twice a year. Per his accounts, the UK system is in a similar sorry state. My God, what have ignorant voters supported in the USA?!
Ciao from Naples, Italy
My sister in law flew from Naples to Milan for cancer surgery 3 years ago because the wait at the state hospital was at least 6 months. She got treated in 3 days. Good news is that there are private hospitals in Italy if you can afford to pay. This long wait is routine for many procedures at state hospitals. CAT scans are running 3-4 months out. The “free” keeps getting less so as well. Since I have been here, the fees for everything (called a ticket) keep going up each year.
I should point out that hospital administrators are politically appointed, as are department heads. Thus, the political elite and their cronies do not get the same treatment as the rest of citizens. this is probably one point that the social justice fans in Amerika have not yet considered. Stupid laws do not change human nature.
When I first went inside a locale state hospital I thought I was going back in time 50 years and had gone to some 3rd world undeveloped country. Try these two descriptors: dirty and run down.
Many of the state paid doctors have their own practice in the evenings where you can get things done quicker , if you have the money. You will get discounts for cash as the 60% tax rate encourages both the doctor and patient to cut out the government for mutual benefit.
I visit a cousin in Scotland to play golf about once or twice a year. Per his accounts, the UK system is in a similar sorry state. My God, what have ignorant voters supported in the USA?!
Ciao from Naples, Italy
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