…With… No, this is not the forum to unload your personal vendetta list… and, Yes, this means that you would be there as well!

Theologian may be too narrow, call it Christian leader… and, No, the Wife is not included!

The reason I have decided to ask this deep, theologically astute question this day, is encouraged by recent words from my nomination for the position!

Before I get to the nominee, some other individuals worth a notable mention are Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, and D. A. Carson. What this means is that these individuals have behooved me to linger and longer for the things of God, through their various ministries, via various media, as they have been the God-ordained means for Digging Down Deep-er, and such means that I have really dug their stuff!

However, the individual who seems to be best fitted for such an endeavor is John “Christian Hedonism” Piper… and if the @fakeJohnPiper could be incorporated as the alter-ego… I will show you what I mean…

This could make for some good times, had by all!  If you are perplexed by what I am referencing, Twitter him!

The motivation to produce the post at this time, relates to a recent announcement in which Piper has asked to be allowed to pull back from public ministry, and in his words…

I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit.

You can read the whole post… HERE!

For me, such a revelation surely underscores why he has been used as a vessel for delivering God’s grace!  Piper’s conviction and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, indicates an individual who is serious about being set apart from ignoble things, coupled with a working comprehension that what one does must come out of who one is, in Christ!  Surely such a decision should be a redemptive rebuke for all those who desire to minister in Christ’s name, and for His glory.

Maybe, just maybe, God has used him in such an abnormal manner because he is one who is abnormal about his relationship with His God, and because the outworking of this is coupled with an all-consuming passion, with anything that diminishes the intimacy and functional implementation of this day in and day out, must be the focus for a declaration of war!

If the truth be known, as many of us ask ourselves what would (Fill in your Name) do?, too few of us would be willing to make such a decision, with any number of rationalizations and justifications validating our walk, even with the limp and all!   Abnormal?  Indeed!

And Yes!  Just before this turns into a sentimentality feast, void of the truth in love, let us affirm that John Piper has feet on clay, which means he is prone (and we all say, Aye)!  However, also after reading his words and hearing him speak, it seems equally true to say that he has long endured times and seasons in the kiln, where the fire of God’s intensity has worked within to without his existence!

Therefore, in light of all this, the call to lift the man, and all the context of these circumstances in prayer, should be the outworking of our God-entranced reality, and to encourage this practice, Piper reminds us of all of the significance in prayer, which could even be filling more of the content of his practice in the coming months.

A prayerless Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he does not know Clark Kent is on board

While I have taken this post down the detour route, the main point of this post will now, very briefly, take the leading role!

The reason I would take Piper is that he would convince me that this Deserted Island adventure was just another opportunity in the Christian hedonism experiential playbook, bringing much joy and delight, and as such, it would be time to raise a God-glorifying par-tae!  Yes, one could very easily become concerned with the lack of food and survival, but not with a God-entranced view of all things. Okay, the last part may be taking it too far, but you get the point!

While this may perspective may be worth a watered-down, slightly unconvincing, chortle or two, there is a significant perspective that is being affirmed… and it is God’s!

Who would you take?… and why?

In conclusion and in light of context of the now returning detour, may the vision for life in the Son, burn even brighter into the heart and mind of John Piper in the coming months, with such a time being catalytic from the ground up, which in the fullness of time will produce, even more God-glorifying fruit, both personally, and in the outworking of where our God has called him.

For the Fame of His Name

Man of Spin