If January is the month to set new goals and resolutions for the New Year, February is the month to desert resolutions, like the abandoned cars on D.C. side streets packed tightly under the snow tossed from city plows.
Pastor John Newton (1725–1807) was familiar with this challenge of attaining lofty goals, a topic he discussed in a letter written in February 1772 to one of his friends.
Newton writes, “The Lord has given his people a desire and will aiming at great things; without this they would be unworthy of the name of Christians.”
The desire to aspire is very important to the Christian life. We are to aim high in so many great things. Newton notes four of them:
1. We aim to pray regularly. What greater privilege to approach the throne of grace and to cast all our burdens upon the King of Kings?
2. We aim to read and study Scripture diligently. What is more desirable than much fine gold, sweeter than the dripping honeycomb, but God’s Word?
3. We aim to delight frequently in Christ and live in his debt. What greater aim to live daily with a grateful heart for the Savior’s work on the cross?
4. We aim to trust God in all circumstances, whether prosperity or adversity. What events in life are not directed by the infinite goodness and wisdom of God?
But …
… what often happens?
Newton writes:
1. In reality, prayer becomes a mere chore. Our lips move, but our hearts are far from God.
2. In reality, Scripture gets neglected. We give our time and attention to other books, and magazines look more appealing.
3. In reality, Christ gets ignored. In an average day we show more gratitude for the people in our life than the Savior who saved our life.
4. In reality, God's providence over life is forgotten. When life gets hard we are quick to “complain, murmur, and despond.”
Newton writes,
Alas! how vain is man in his best estate! how much weakness and inconsistency even in those whose hearts are right with the Lord!
Alas, we aim big—but we often miss big. We miss because we are weak sinners.
Divine Designs in the Missing
So is there anything to learn in the missing?
Again Newton writes:
By these experiences [the misses] the believer is weaned more from self, and taught more highly to prize and more absolutely to rely on him, who is appointed unto us of God, Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption.
The more vile we are in our own eyes, the more precious he will be to us; and a deep repeated sense of the evil of our hearts is necessary to preclude all boasting, and to make us willing to give the whole glory of our salvation where it is due.
We mean well and we aim high, but we are sinful, inconsistent creatures. Our aims often fail like a field goal kick that lands on the 5-yard-line. So often we miss low—very low.
The solution is not to aim lower. The proper response is to continue aiming high. Rejoice in the successes and the periods of consistency. And then redeem the misses; let them remind you of your weakness and of your need for Christ, “who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
By continuing to aim high,
- we honor God in our aims
- we learn firsthand of our feebleness, weakness, and inconsistencies
- we are weaned from self-sufficiency
- we long to see Jesus and to be freed from this body of sin
- and we learn to boast in Christ alone
When a kicker aims high but fails, he hangs his head.
When the Christian aims high but fails, he learns to properly boast.
Tony Reinke serves as the editorial and research assistant to C.J. Mahaney. Reading Newton’s Mail is a series of blog posts reflecting on various published letters written by John Newton (1725–1807), the onetime captain of a slave trading ship, a self-described apostate, blasphemer, and infidel, who was eventually converted by grace. Newton is most famous for authoring the hymn “Amazing Grace,” or maybe for helping William Wilberforce put an end to the African slave trade in Britain. Less legendarily, Newton faithfully pastored two churches for 43 years, a fruitful period of his life when a majority of his letters were written. Reading Newton’s Mail is published on Fridays here on the Cheap Seats blog.
Source letter: John Newton, Works of John Newton (London: 1820), 1:439–444; Letters of John Newton (Edinburgh; Banner of Truth: 1869/2007), 88–92.
Crossway recently released John Piper's new book, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. C.J. says this is his second favorite Piper book (second to When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy). In his endorsement C.J. writes,
"Do you ever wish you could feel more deeply about things you know are true? Has it been a while since you were moved to tears at the thought of Christ’s death for your sins? It’s not mysterious: those who feel deeply about the gospel are those who think deeply about the gospel. In these pages John Piper will convince you that thinking is the sturdy foundation for our easily misguided affections. If you want to feel profoundly, learn to think carefully. And start by reading this book!"
– C.J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries, Gaithersburg, Maryland
And here is a brief video introduction to Think from Dr. Piper:
Let me begin this post by asking you four direct questions about the condition of your soul right now:
- Do you sense that your affections for the Savior have diminished recently?
- Has your appetite for Scripture weakened?
- Does your soul seem dry?
- Does God seem distant from you?
If so, you are not alone. These struggles are common to even the most mature Christians—so common that Scripture anticipates them. But these are serious problems and must be addressed and not ignored. They don’t just go away over time.
So how should we respond?
Tucked away in the short (and often neglected) letter of Jude we find help and hope:
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20–21)
In these verses we find a command and three practical ways to obey the command.
The command
First, the command: "Keep yourselves in the love of God." This is our responsibility and it requires effort on our part. The good news is that Jude doesn’t leave us guessing. One commentator writes, “Jude did not leave his congregation in suspense about how to keep themselves in God’s love.”[1]
No, he does not leave us in suspense or wondering how to do this. In fact Jude wonderfully provides us with three means by which the reader can keep himself in the love of God.
1. Remind yourself of the gospel (“building yourselves up in your most holy faith”).
The “most holy faith” is the gospel. And the first way we keep ourselves in the love of God is to grow in our understanding of the gospel and to remind ourselves of the gospel each day. There is no more effective way to keep yourself in the love of God each day than to remind yourself of the gospel.
As you meditate upon the gospel, as you preach the gospel to yourself, as you receive the gospel into your soul afresh each day, your awareness of the love of God increases and your affection for the Savior grows.
So how much time do you devote each day to the strategic study, thinking, meditation, contemplation, reflection, and proclamation of the gospel to your own soul as a means of keeping yourself in the love of God?
Review the content of the gospel, rehearse the content of this “most holy faith,” and rejoice in the gospel each and every day. What a sweet assignment! And as we do this we are keeping ourselves in the love of God.
2. Pray in the Holy Spirit (“praying in the Holy Spirit”).
An awareness of God’s love cannot be sustained without prayer. Nor can a relationship with God be maintained or cultivated apart from prayer. So Jude commands us to pray. In dependence upon the Spirit, we pray to God the Father, through the Mediator he has provided in Jesus Christ.
We pray to God at the beginning of the day. We pray at structured times in our day. We pray spontaneously throughout the day. Prayer is not only a discipline it is a means of keeping ourselves in the love of God. This perspective will transform our perspective of prayer and our practice of prayer.
3. Await Christ’s return (“waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life”).
Waiting is not my preference. I don’t believe in lines! I try to avoid waiting in lines at the grocery store and I try to avoid traffic on the road. In fact I’d rather be moving in the wrong direction than stuck in traffic going in the right direction.
On the other hand, I don’t mind waiting 45 minutes for a table when I’m at a restaurant on a date with my wife. Why not? For the next 45 minutes I will look into the eyes of the woman I love with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. There’s a big difference between waiting in line at the grocery store and waiting 45 minutes to be seated when I’m at a restaurant with my wife.
As Christians we wait. But we await the mercy of our Savior that brings eternal life. Think about that! We do not wait for God’s judgment or condemnation. We do no wait for God’s wrath that our sins deserve! No, we are anticipating mercy. We anticipate mercy because Jesus Christ suffered as our substitute, receiving upon himself the wrath we deserve so that we receive mercy—mercy we don’t deserve. That is what we are waiting for.
As we anticipate the future our perspective of present circumstances will be transformed. It will keep us aware of God’s love. On the other hand, "Those who take their eyes off their future hope will find that their love for God is slowly evaporating.”[2]
So are you waiting with eager anticipation? How often do you think about Christ’s return (Titus 2:13)? How often do you think of the new heavens and the new earth (Revelation 21:1–4)? How often do you think of eternal life? And how often do you think about the mercy you will receive in light of the judgment that we so richly deserve?
This eternal perspective will keep us aware of God’s love.
Reminding, praying, waiting—this is how we remain aware of God’s love.
Kept
To be honest my grip upon God is sometimes weak. I don’t flawlessly keep myself in the love of God daily. I don’t. My love for Him fluctuates. But while my love for him is uncertain, His love for me is fixed. We keep ourselves in the love of God because God is keeping us in his grasp.
Both at the beginning of this short letter (v. 1) and near the end (v. 24), Jude reminds us that our safety is in the Father’s hold upon us and his preserving grace. As Puritan Richard Sibbes once wrote, “As we say of the mother and the child, both hold, but the safety of the child is at that the mother holds him.”
His grip never weakens.
When I neglect the means that He has given me to keep myself in the love of God, when my grip upon him weakens and my love fluctuates, His grip upon me does not weaken and never changes.
God promises to “keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (v. 24). This promise is an enormous assurance for our souls, and especially for those who feel as if their love for God has diminished. Receive this assurance provided from Jude: Our hearts may shift and change but God’s love for you is unchanging. May we keep ourselves aware of God’s unchanging love toward us in the gospel.
Conclusion
If we fail to attend to our hearts, if we fail to attend to our relationship with God, if we fail to obey this gracious command to “keep ourselves in the love of God,” the consequences upon our souls are inevitable. The consequences may not be immediately obvious, but a persisting pattern of neglect will become obvious in time.
So have your affections for the Savior diminished? If so, ask yourself these questions from Jude:
- Am I preaching the gospel to my own soul each day?
- Am I praying with any level of consistency?
- Am I eagerly awaiting Christ’s return and am I longing for heaven?
For more on this topic see C.J.'s recent sermon "Jude: A Call to Contend," at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN (Sept. 12, 2010).
Notes:
[1] Tom Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude (NAC), p. 474.
[2] Tom Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude (NAC), p. 484.
At the
NEXT conference in Baltimore this weekend, C.J. preached from Philippians 2:12-13. You can download the message—“Sanctification”—as an mp3
here.
During his message C.J. shared the following quote from John Murray, a fitting summary of the passage and the message:
God’s working in us is not suspended because we work,
nor our working suspended because God works.
Neither is the relation strictly one of co-operation
as if God did his part and we did ours
so that the conjunction or coordination of both
produced the required result.
God works in us and we also work.
But the relation is that
because God works
we work.
All working out of salvation on our part
is the effect of God’s working in us,
not the willing to the exclusion of the doing
and not the doing to the exclusion of the willing,
but both the willing and the doing....
The more persistently active we are in working,
the more persuaded we may be
that all the energizing grace and power is of God.
[source:
Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans, 1955), pp. 148-149. Line breaks added.]
‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions—for examination, for new beginnings, for fresh resolve, for (at least momentarily) facing things we’re dissatisfied with and want changed. Ah, that’s it, isn’t it? So much of what captures our culture’s collective imagination at the annual turning of the calendar is the hope of change. Few things animate our imaginations like the prospects of a better future.
There is surely a biblical warrant for such impulses. Following Christ involves a constant process of self examination, of “putting off the old self” and “putting on the new self.” And obedience to the imperatives of Scripture inherently involves a Spirit-born resolve. Much of Paul’s prayer life was apparently taken up with requests that God “fulfill every resolve for good” in the lives of those he served (2 Thessalonians 1:11).
As I reflected upon the new year and my own hopes for change, my annual exercise was interrupted by a stark reminder of the difference between myself and God: I change, but God does not. “All flesh is grass,” Isaiah proclaimed, barely sprouting up before it withers and dies, but “I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Regardless of my resolutions for the new year, it is only “the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but “the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8).
For a pastor all too aware of his own sin and deficiencies (though surely underestimating the extent of both), this news was beyond good—it was transforming, and it was bracing. I then emerged from my study and entered the classroom to teach homiletics to a group of future pastors; I did so with a treasured conviction newly strengthened.
Let me ask a question I asked those men concerning the preaching of God’s Word: “What do you believe about how God works in his church and in the world?” Not, mind you, “What do you believe about Scripture’s truthfulness, or sufficiency, or inerrancy…?”—all important attributes of Scripture which it certainly claims for itself. But one can produce orthodox formulations of all of these and still lack confidence in the power of God’s Word to convert hearts, to change lives, and to build the church.
So at the outset of this new year, here’s an invitation to pastors charged with preaching and teaching God’s Word. We may be in the process of evaluating our ministries, identifying areas that need change, seeking to learn and change and grow, and so we should. But let there be one area—one cluster of convictions—that does not change. Let’s not waver in our conviction that God brings about his sovereign purposes through his Word. As in creation and throughout salvation-history, so it is now in the church and in the world: God’s Word is uniquely his creating, preserving, governing, saving, and sanctifying instrument—as Calvin put it, it is his scepter by which he rules creation and his people.
Let’s not waver in our conviction that the preached Word is living and active. It’s not merely information to interest the mind or spiritual principles to apply to life: God’s Word personally addresses us, illuminating eyes and eliciting faith and transforming hearts, affections, and perspectives.
Let’s not waver in our conviction that the pastor’s peculiar call is to bring God’s Word to bear upon his people. Amidst all the responsibilities and duties that clamor for the pastor’s attention, none transcends the call to teach God’s Word. If you are a pastor, your governing priority, whatever your specific responsibilities are, is an unflagging, ever-strengthening, ever-growing devotion to the teaching of God’s Word, be it in the pulpit, the Bible class, the training seminar, or the counseling room.
There’s much I’d love to see change in my life this year. However, my primary resolve at the outset of 2010 is to bind myself to the unchanging—to the immutable purposes of our God whose has pledged his power to his unfailing Word.
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Jeff Purswell serves as the Dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD.
Welcome to the second part of my interview with biblical counselor and author Dr. David Powlison (part one here).
David, apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
Two books are nearly as marked up as my Bible: Valley of Vision and Luther’s Prayers. I don’t read them straight through, but I frequently return to them, dipping in here and there, returning to favorite places. Why? They freshly express how faith lives, thinks, feels, talks. They struggle, they delight, they need God, they see God.
I extensively annotate, add, reword, update, personalize VoV prayers to make them my own. For example, simply turning “thee/thou” into “You” makes a prayer sing more pointedly and personally. I find that I often add two strands to VoV prayers:
[1] a brighter note of joy, gratitude and meditation on the mercies of Christ (so the prayers don’t turn introspective regarding a sense of sinfulness);
[2] a more candid awareness of and expression of our experience of sufferings (so the prayers don’t turn stoic, as if spirituality rises “above” our life situation). To my ears, the Puritans can have a slight drift towards sin-centricity and stoicism, somewhat slipping from the grace-centricity and humanity of Scripture. But that said, these prayers are a gold mine of living wisdom.
Luther’s way of engaging God and Scripture has deeply shaped me. He takes Scripture (and the Creeds) and puts it to work in a “four-stranded wreath”:
[1] as a textbook, revealing God and His will, wisdom and work;
[2] as a hymnbook, giving reasons that call forth gratitude and joy;
[3] as a book of confession, teaching me where to repent, where I need forgiveness, mercy, and awakening;
[4] as a prayerbook, guiding intercession into rich paths, rather than the “list” mentality that can make prayer so dull and man-centered.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
For many years I used the EndNote bibliography program to track what I read. I’d make summaries, take notes, and write out key quotations. I’ve not been as diligent with it in recent years, as I’ve tended to re-read choice books more often than read new books. I mark up books extensively with highlighting and marginal notes, and I write notes in the front pages that direct me to the page numbers of significant quotes and discussions.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
I can’t decide on only one! But I can settle on two: Augustine and Calvin. These men lived, breathed, prayed, thought, felt, and communicated so very well all that they understood of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Both men were mastered by the Psalms, and so their humanity and their ministries flourished in the ways of God.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
Live your message for a day, a week, a month, a lifetime. Then aim low, and you’re sure to hit something.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I don’t preach very often, but THE influence has been the model of how Scripture brings truth to bear. The Lord and His prophets and apostles always speak TO human beings and what they were facing, and they always speak personally, rather than speaking ABOUT topics and speaking impersonally. Jay Adams calls such I-you directness and relevance in communicating God’s truth “the preacher’s stance.” The Bible is not just “normative” truth about God, but enters into the “situational” realities and “existential” choices of the people to whom God speaks. (That way of putting it comes from John Frame.) Ministry must do the same, afresh, entering people’s experience of troubles (external) and struggles (internal).
Please join me next time for part three of my interview with David.
Meet David Powlison.
Dr. Powlison is a graduate of Harvard (A.B.), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.).
Dr. Powlison is the author of two excellent books:
- Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture
- Speaking Truth in Love
Since 1977 Powlison has served as a counselor and teacher at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF). Since 1992, he has been the editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He also is an adjunct lecturer at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
But you probably know all this already.
So who is David Powlison? What does he read for fun? What role do his friends play in his life and ministry? And how can he possibly think that “wasting” time actually makes him more productive? Let’s find out.
Thanks for your time, David! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
For the past several years I’ve been sleeping well, after many years of an erratic and disabling sleep pattern. It is a great joy to awaken feeling refreshed at 6:30 or 7:00, after so many years of exhaustion. On a typical day I spend about an hour reading Scripture, meditating, praying, singing – 1/3 to 2/3 of the time on my own, 1/3 to 2/3 of the time with Nan, depending.
I am currently reading through Scripture looking for and highlighting every expression of faith, every faithful response to God. (The last time through I was noticing everything about God Himself – His names, actions, attributes….).
Depending on the day’s responsibilities, I may spend more time, even much more time, in study, meditation, reflection, prayer. I like reading entire chunks of Scripture. This past week I’ve spent 4-5 “extra” hours working through, pondering, visiting and revisiting Psalm 63 and 1 John. This morning I read and highlighted Colossians, making it both my meditation and prayer.
On good, lively days, meditation and prayer consistently arise at key junctures, at points of need, at moments of transition. These living moments, when Scripture “reappears” in the flow of my day, when I am consciously aware of both God and current need, are the proof of living faith, when I am awake to God and to His immediate call.
I don’t only meditate on Scripture, but also on my life and the circle of relationships and responsibilities. Where am I anxious? Irritated? Pressured? Called to love? Thankful? Tempted? Suffering? Where do I need God’s immediate mercies and help? Where are family and friends struggling, and in need of mercies and help? I think about the joys and blessings; about the burdens, troubles, and struggles; about the responsibilities of the day.
This dual meditation brings prayer to life, brings real need to real God, gives shape to the day, and forms the attitudes I bring into the day.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
[a] Devotions and Prayers of John Calvin (Charles Edwards, compiler, Baker Books, 1960); Calvin on Scripture and Divine Sovereignty (John Murray, Baker Books, 1960); “The Great Thanksgiving,” the Lord’s Supper service in the Book of Common Prayer pages 333-340; J.I. Packer’s Knowing God; Patrick’s ancient hymn “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity.” These awaken, ground, and instruct faith.
[b] Life Together (Dietrich Bonhoeffer); Marilynne Robinson’s novels Gilead and Home; Some Principles of Moral Theology and Their Application (Kenneth Kirk, 1920). In very different ways, these bring to life the realities of hands-on pastoral care.
[c] Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels. For many years these books have been comfortable friends, and sheer pleasure. They are full of keen perception, wit, lyricism, studies of human nature, adventure, beauty, bringing fresh perspective to current human affairs through immersing in the lives of people far away in time, space, and culture.
Please join me next week for part two of my interview with David.
Meet Jerry Bridges.
Jerry Bridges is 79 years old and has served faithfully on staff at The Navigators for over 50 years. And he continues to serve there within the Collegiate Mission where he is involved primarily in staff development, and speaks at various student events. Mr. Bridges also teaches on the gospel around the country.
Mr. Bridges is the author of numerous excellent cross-centered books like:
- The Discipline of Grace
- The Gospel for Real Life
- The Pursuit of Holiness
- Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate
- The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness
- The Bookends of the Christian Life (March 2009)
But you probably know all this already.
So who is Jerry Bridges? What is he presently reading? How does he structure his devotional time? What is his favorite book on the gospel? Let’s find out.
Thanks for your time, Mr. Bridges! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
On a normal day, I get up at 5:00 a.m.
I spend from 5:30 – 7:00 a.m. reading and meditating on Scripture and spending time in prayer. I begin with what I have tried to teach others to do, which is to preach the Gospel to myself. My usual practice is to read through the Bible simply starting with Genesis and going through Revelation.
I am currently in the book of Numbers. For my prayer time, I start with thanksgiving and move to petition. I always start with the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name.” Over a six-day period (Monday-Saturday), I pray for the progress of the Gospel around the world. I pray for my family, my organization and their leaders, and my own personal growth. I have about eight ongoing special prayer requests for friends who have acute needs.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
(a) The Existence and Attributes of God by the Puritan, Stephen Charnock. I’m actually not reading the entire two-volume set but am focusing on two chapters, “The Holiness of God” and “The Goodness of God.”
(b) For my ministry (not pastoral but The Navigators) I have just finished reading Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck because I need to keep up with all the “bad stuff” that students are apt to read.
(c) For personal enjoyment, I have been reading John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology. I have to confess when I’m really mentally tired I read a murder mystery by Agatha Christie.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
The Apostles’ Doctrine of the Atonement by George Smeaton because it is the best book on the Gospel that I have ever read.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I don’t have a very good system but I note page numbers on the inside cover of the book with the key thought I want to go back to.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
John Calvin, hands down, because he not only was a brilliant theologian but had a heart of devotion for God.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
Years ago I took the Dale Carnegie public speaking course. In it I learned three things that I try to practice: 1) Know your subject thoroughly. 2) Be convinced your audience needs to hear your message. 3) Have a strong passion to deliver the message. Though these principles were applied in the context of secular speeches, I found them very helpful for my message preparation and delivery.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell, particularly chapters 10 and 11, and John Stott’s Between Two Worlds.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?
Arrange your “do list” in order of priority and work progressively through, starting with number one. You can’t get them all done but this way you get the most important things done. I have modified this advice by realizing that the morning hours from breakfast to noon are my most effective, creative hours, and as much as possible I dedicate those hours to study, writing and message preparation.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?
This question is not applicable to me since I have not been leading or managing anyone for about 15 years.
Where in ministry are you most regularly tempted to discouragement?
Too often, after preaching a message, I feel like I have not done a good job.
Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not?
My main exercise is walking either outdoors or on the treadmill. I had a practice of minor weight lifting (no more than 25 lbs) but that practice got dropped in the busyness of life and I am trying to re-start it.
Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?
I don’t play any sport at my age and seldom watch any on television. However, my main sport of interest is football and my favorite teams in order are: University of Oklahoma (I’m an alumnus), the Air Force Academy and the Denver Broncos.
What do you do for leisure?
Read something that is outside of my ministry. I like history, biographies and older (19th or early 20th century) novels.
If you were not in ministry, what occupational path would you have chosen?
Teaching.
Thank you, Mr. Bridges, for taking the time to answer my questions!
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Related: Last November, C.J. interviewed Mr. Bridges in the Sovereign Grace recording studio on the topic of cross-centered living (with some sports talk at the end). The interview can be found here.
Meet J. Ligon Duncan III.
You guessed it, Dr. Duncan is also scary smart—a graduate of Furman University, Covenant Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.).
Since 1996 Ligon has served as the Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi. He is also a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS-Jackson). Dr. Duncan is a one-man seminary, having taught courses on patristics, systematic theology, ethics, apologetics, history of philosophy and Christian thought, covenant theology, evangelism, and the theology of the Westminster Standards.
Dr. Duncan is the President and Chairman of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the Chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, has previously served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCA, serves on the council of the Gospel Coalition, and is one of four friends who host Together for the Gospel.
But you probably know all this already.
So who is Ligon Duncan? During his ministry, what advice has informed his leadership? Which contemporary preachers does he learn from? What discourages him? How much weight is he trying to lose? If he were to lose the weight, what kind of mad hoops skilz would he display?
These and many other things we will discover in my three-part interview with my good friend J. Ligon Duncan number 3.
Ligon, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I usually wake up between 5-6:15 a.m., depending on the day. I typically do my devotions at the church, since I spend almost my entire time at home in the mornings helping to get the kids ready for and to school. I do have a home office (in addition to my study at the church) and I often do devotional reading there in the mornings (but not for very long) and more often in the evenings.
At present I am reading through 1 Chronicles, both the text and the notes, in the ESV Study Bible. I was going to do one of the ESV read through the Bible in a year plans, but the Chronicles readings at the first of the year captivated me, and I wanted an excuse to read through all the ESV Study Bible notes on that book, and I was enjoying Chronicles so much and desired to know it better that I decided to luxuriate in it.
I probably read fifteen minutes or so. Prayer time is distributed throughout the day, and I haven’t tried to quantify it, so I really don’t know. I carry a prayer list in my Bible and on MS Outlook on my Blackberry and iPhone. I also set aside a special prayer time, early on every Lord’s Day morning, to pray for the ministry of a handful of other pastors.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
I am not this well-organized! I don’t have my reading apportioned in three such good categories (but I’m not at all surprised that C.J. Mahaney thinks in these terms!). My categories are less sophisticated: what I have to read and what I want to read. Now, of course, I love to read what I have to read (most of the time), but I don’t always have to read what I want to read, so maybe these categories make sense.
Under the have to read category, (1) I am reading 15-20 commentaries at any given time, depending on what book of the Bible I am preaching through. So, currently I am reading through Luke commentaries (including Phil Ryken’s unpublished manuscript, Wilcock, Hendriksen, Geldenhuys, Ryle, Bock, Calvin, Marshall, Morris, etc). (2) Another major area under the have to read category is related to whatever courses I am teaching at that time. Right now, I am teaching covenant theology at RTS Jackson, and teaching a survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith, so I’m spending some time reading things related to covenant theology and reading commentaries on the Confession too (e.g. Hodge, Shaw, Ward, Warfield, etc). (3) The third area under the have to read category is manuscripts that I am to endorse or review (e.g., I’ve recently read Cornelis Venema’s critique of paedocommunion “Children at the Lord’s Table?” and Todd Rester’s translation of William Ames “Sketch of the Christian’s Catechism”). Or secondary literature related to writing and research projects (e.g., recently did a literature survey of every book and article written on covenant theology since 1985).
Under the want to read category, which sort of corresponds to your “personal enjoyment” category, I am an avid reader of book catalogs and a fervent frequenter of bookstores. So I’m on the hunt for new stuff all the time. I also am usually pulling recommendations from people like Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Derek Thomas, Russell Moore et al. I especially love history and great literature. At present I am reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
Join us next time for the second part of my interview with Dr. Duncan.
Meet John Piper.
Dr. Piper is a graduate of Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.).
Dr. Piper is the Pastor for Preaching & Vision at
Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, the founder of
Desiring God, and the author of more than 30 books including:
But you probably know all this already.
So who is John Piper? What does he read for fun? What discourages him? How does he structure his devotional time? What correction from others has most benefited him? What career path would he have chosen if not ministry?
Thanks for your time, John! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I get up two mornings at 5:15, four mornings at 6:15 and one morning at 6:00.
I set aside one hour for prayer and Bible reading using the
Discipleship Journal read through the Bible reading plan. That puts me now (February 2009) in Exodus, Psalms, Matthew, and Acts. On the five free days when there are no assignments I focus on memorization.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
I am reading
Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln,
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson,
Pilgrim’s Progress,
Culture Making by Andy Crouch, and
Reformed Is Not Enough by Doug Wilson.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
I don’t re-read books, except to read them to my family (like
Pilgrim’s Progress).
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I index books as I read them, by writing short notes in the front of the book with page numbers beside them. In a good book there may be over a hundred such notes.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
Jonathan Edwards because he saw the grandeur of God and experienced a great awakening and ran a happy family.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
Don’t preach in a way that a Muslim would approve. Preach a divine crucified Christ.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
Spurgeon,
Lectures to My Students; Lloyd-Jones,
Preaching and Preachers; John Stott,
Between Two Worlds; Graeme Goldsworthy,
Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?
A great tree will fall with many small chops. Pray for daily grace to keep chopping.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?
Lead by helping people see the same truth in the Bible you do so that commonly perceived truth is the fabric that binds together. When truth is not the bond, power moves are inevitable.
Where in ministry are you most regularly tempted to discouragement?
My own recurrent sins are the most discouraging thing in ministry. Next are the sins and sorrows of my family.
Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not? (Please be specific.)
I run on the treadmill 30 minutes Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning followed by a set of back lifts with a Swiss ball, stomach crunches with the ball, and pushups on the floor. I almost always walk to church instead of driving, 600 paces from door to door.
Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?
I enjoy watching gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and football, in that order. If my back weren’t so stiff I would love to play racquetball. When our staff goes away we play volleyball and floor hockey.
What do you do for leisure?
Fill out forms from fellow pastors. Play scrabble with Noël. Read.
If you were not in ministry, what occupational path would you have chosen?
Teaching literature. Or, if my hands stopped shaking, medicine.