John Piper on Returning to Doctrinally Focused Local Church Planting

This quote comes from his 2002 book "Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness?" Here (pg. 33-34) he considers the centrality of doctrine in local church planting in contrast with the contemporary marketing schemes of many plants. He sets the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ as the doctrinal cornerstone of fervently biblical church planting -

"If I want to see churches planted out from our church and others, why invest so much time and energy in defending and explaining the historic Protestant vision of justification as the imputation of Christ's righteousness? I have answered this already but will say again, I think we have enough churches being planted by means of music, drama, creative scheduling, sprightly narrative, and marketing savvy. And there are too few that are God-centered, truth-treasuring, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, cross-focused, Spirit-dependent, prayer-soaked, soul-winning, justice-pursuing congregations with a wartime mindset ready to lay down their lives for the salvation of the nations and the neighborhoods. There is a blood-earnest joy that sustains a church like this, and it comes only by embracing Christ-crucified as our righteousness."

11 Lectures From John Piper on TULIP

It is a thing noted that reformed theology is experiencing a revival within evangelical Christianity. It is not my aim here to fan the flame, but only to give food for thought. My hope is that these lectures (provided by biblicaltraining.org) will prove edifying to you just as they have been for me. Lastly, I would challenge you to set aside re-runs of Seinfeld, prop open your Bible, and listen to these lectures, praying that God will build up your biblical foundations with the doctrines of grace, or at least, that you will be opened up to them. I particularly like the 5th lecture (4b) where he attends to the difficult texts like 2 Peter 2:1, etc. You will find them amidst other Piper lectures on pastoral theology - these are under the title: T.U.L.I.P. To listen to them, go here - in the grace of God.

What is Piper-ism?

When I use the term "Piperism" I am not referring to his doctrine necessarily, which is of academic Calvinism, a self-asserted "7-pointer". I am not making reference to his Puritan-like exposition of Scripture. Though I am a great admirer of his academia, his exposition, and his careful, thought-provoking, insightful and passionate pleas in the area of religious journalism, I am not referring to these things specifically, though these in one sense are both the likely source and overflow of this main personality trait, which God has been gracious and pleased to make use of in my life and many others, namely, passion.

When I use the term "Piperism" I am referring to his God besotted passion that seems to fragrance every word that he utters, every letter than he writes. When he preaches, whether one has heard him live or through an ipod, his passion for God oozes out and gets all over you in such a way that you are transformed by it, and desire to have what God has done and given to him in such abundance. And at times, the cry of my soul is to be able to handle God's Word in any degree like he does, with freshness, with emboldening and empowering precision, but more than all, a genuine passion for Christ that comes from the overflow of personal Bible study and comes out to the people in such a way that the great chasm that so often exists between the pulpit and the pew is smashed into pieces bringing the people face to face with their God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Piper calls it "expository exultation". This is a good definition of preaching!

But what separates John Piper characteristically from others? Why has he been so foundational in the lives of so many other pastors, teachers, etc.? What about him serves reformationally and revivalistically in the lives of a younger generation of seminarians and pastors? Of course, I would, first, give glory to God, for Piper is what he is by the grace of God, and even his great labors are found in that gracious Almighty. And as Calvin states, it is a gracious thing that God would call His works in us "your (our) good works" (Matt. 5:16). But Mark Dever hits the mark when he declares Piper's distinguishing characteristics and labors in this way, "Theological precision meeting up with spiritual, life-consuming passion. A profound hope imparting a serious joy leading to satisfying sacrifice" (blog.9marks.org; Where'd all these Calvinists come from?).

For me, though I have never met the man, and heard him live just once, I would argue that what separates him from many great men is that he really believes God, he really believes the Gospel, and he seems to eat, drink, sleep, and breathe Christ and Him crucified. And I know, and he knows, that there is not a day that goes by that he doesn't need to cling to Christ for righteousness in a severely practical way, but he seems to do this more often than not, more often than most. And this is what I desire, to know God, to love God, to walk with God, to enjoy God like this man does; in a word or two, to have an authentic, God-besotted, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent passion for the glory and honor and praise of God in Christ.

Piper's passion grounded in Christ oozing out to the Church and to the world is what both the Church and the world need most in this age of spiritual apathy, and shadow-figured Christians who have no real root or fruit, nor do they treasure God in and through Jesus Christ. So, I adhere to Piperism in this sense of it, in the conscious pursuit of a "God-entranced vision of all things", and a Bible wrought passion for Christ communicated unto the world for His name's sake. This is the great need of the Church today! This is my great need today! To take all things and convert them into a God-centered perspective, a God-centered life. Let us praise God for such men, and plead with Him for more of them - diligent disciples, earnest with the Word, imploding and exhaling the great worth of our great God in our great Lord Jesus Christ. May God have mercy upon us, and grant us a like passion that consumes us by and for His glory.