God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

Lon Allison's article "A GPS for Global Mission" from Lausanne World Pulse sums up well the current questions and issues relevant to the global changes underway in the church. At this stage, I think questions are more helpful than anything. Here are four that Dr. Allison raises,

1. Since the demographic shift to the Global South is at hand, how do Western mission agencies and churches respond?
2. Resources, both financial and human, have, in general, not shifted. When should they? More importantly, how should they?
3. How does the Church in the West welcome missionaries from the Global South and East to re-evangelize our continents?
4. What role is there for ongoing mission to the Global South and East from the West?

These ought to keep us thinking for quite some time. They will be key in the discussion that takes place at the 2010 Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa.

Please pray for John Piper who will be speaking at the event and for the Desiring God team who will be traveling there next year.

Missionary to India, William Carey, once exhorted a Baptist gathering in England by saying, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” I love that quote.

But we must heed the Bible’s warning through Simon the Magician: if we attempt great things so that others will see us as great, we are in grave spiritual peril.

After Stephen had been brutally stoned to death, intense persecution broke out against the Christians in Jerusalem. Many were driven off to the towns and villages of Judea and Samaria.

Philip, Stephen’s co-servant to the Hellenistic widows, landed in a Samaritan town and preached and performed signs and wonders there. Large numbers of Samaritans professed faith and were baptized. And Simon was one of them.

Simon was a local celebrity, a magician of sorts. He had mesmerized the locals with his arts. And they had given him the title The Great Power of God. And he loved it. He basked in his reputation and fed off the admiration and respect he received.

But when Philip arrived, the game changed. Simon watched with covetous awe as the real, great power of God flowed through Philip; a power that far out-classed him.  

Then Peter and John showed up from Jerusalem. And when they prayed, people were filled with the Holy Spirit. This drew even more crowds. Everyone was talking about them. Everyone was mesmerized by them (or so it seemed to Simon).

No one was mesmerized by Simon anymore. He was a diminishing star. And like many who have once experienced the euphoric drug of other people’s adoration, he wanted that rush again.

If he could somehow get this Jesus power, then once again he could be great. Once again people would hold him in awe. He was willing to pay a high price for that drug.

So at a discreet moment, he approached Peter and John with a proposition. If they would let him in on the secret they possessed, if they would share their power with him, a small fortune in silver would be theirs and no one would ever know.

In a split second Simon knew he had miscalculated. Peter’s eyes seemed to burn right into his heart. And then Peter’s words seemed to slice him open:

May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. (Acts 8:20-23)

Simon cringed and said meekly, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said will come upon me.”

Peter’s words to Simon might have sounded harsh. But they were full of mercy. The love of self-glory is an extremely dangerous cancer of the soul and is spiritually fatal if not addressed. This cancer requires a straightforward, serious diagnosis. Both Peter and John had benefited from the Great Physician’s graciously severe rebukes. Maybe Simon would repent and be delivered.

The Bible does not tell us if he did. Early church literature suggests that Simon later became a heretic, which, if true, means he tragically ignored Peter’s warning.

But God does not want us to ignore the warning. This account is in the Bible so that we will remember that God’s power is not a commodity to be traded. It’s not a means for us to pursue our own greatness or wealth.

We can all relate to Simon. We are all are tempted to pursue our own glory, even in the work of the kingdom. When we recognize that familiar craving we need to deal severely with it. We must confess it (often to others, not just God), repent, and resist. Because, if left alone, it can develop into a spiritual cancer that can blind us to real glory, and may ultimately kill us.

So, let us expect great things from God and attempt great things for God. But let us take Peter’s advice and do so “by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11).

Several of the speakers from our upcoming conference answer the question, "What can we gain from Calvin today?"

Mark Talbot

We can gain an awareness that the best theology comes from ministering to people.

Sam Storms

We can gain a deep appreciation for the Lord's Supper.

John Piper

We can gain an orientation on the majesty and holiness of God.

Doug Wilson

We can gain a rock solid, absolute confidence in the Bible.

Marvin Olasky

We can gain an understanding that it's important to write clearly without losing depth.

Theology

1. Heaven Misplaced: Christ’s Kingdom on Earth
2. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount
3. Jesus and the God of Israel
4. The Institutes of the Christian Religion
5. Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology
6. Introducing Theological Interpretation of Scripture
7. The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament
8. The Cross of Christ
9. Christ Is the Question
10. Signs of the Spirit: An Interpretation of Jonathan Edwards
11. Religious Affections
12. The Word Became Fresh
13. Christian Beliefs

Fiction

14. The Horse and His Boy
15. The Brothers K
16. Right Ho Jeeves
17. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
18. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
19. Don Quixote

Art

20. Reality Transformed: Film and Meaning and Technique
21. The Affections of the Heart in Art
22. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God

Business

23. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
24. How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In
25. Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits
26. In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies

Prayer and Devotional Life

27. The Life of God in the Soul of Man
28. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
29. The Secret Key to Heaven: The Vital Importance of Private Prayer
30. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
31. Valley of Vision
32. The Divine Conspiracy

Reading

33. Breakthrough Rapid Reading
34. How To Read A Book

Sociology

35. Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate the Middle East and Transform the World
36. The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith
37. China Road

Missions and Evangelism

38. Jesus the Evangelist
39. The Changing Face of World Missions

Poetry

40. George Herbert: The Complete English Works

Philosophy

41. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics

Science

42. Particle or Wave: The Evolution of the Concept of Matter in Modern Physics

Biography

43. The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Counseling

44. Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands
45. When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man

This week's message: "Not in This or That Mount But in Spirit and Truth"

When things get uncomfortable, we love changing the subject. But as the Samaritan woman in John 4:20-26 finds out, a shift in the conversation doesn't distract Jesus from pursuing a new God-worshiper.

In their brief exchange, Jesus roots worship in a person—God the Father—not a place—some Middle Eastern mountain.

As the Son of God, Jesus offers himself as the difference between true religion and false religions.

Jesus tells her and us that only those who trust him as Savior and Messiah have the Spirit (John 3:6) and know the truth that makes true worship possible (John 4:23-24).

After Jesus had fed both the 5,000 and the 4,000 with only a few loaves and fish, the disciples got in a boat without enough bread for themselves.

When they began to discuss their plight, Jesus said, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand?” (Mark 8:17). What didn’t they understand?

They did not understand the meaning of the leftovers, namely, that Jesus will take care of them when they take care of others. Jesus said:

“When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Understand what? The leftovers.

The leftovers were for the servers. In fact the first time there were twelve servers and twelve basketfuls left over (Mark 6:43). The second time there seven basketfuls left over—the number of abundant completeness.

What didn’t they understand? That Jesus would take care of them. You can’t outgive Jesus. When you spend your life for others, your needs will be met.

The last national conference speaker to introduce is Julius Kim. John Piper talks about why he invited him:

Learn more about DG's conference, "With Calvin in the Theater of God":

• John Piper's invitation
• Speaker information
• Dates and schedule
• Registration

Tope Koleoso writes about why he shouts when he preaches. Here's an excerpt.

This means that during the sermon, any one of the mentioned emotions, (Anger, Joy or Love), spill out without warning or apology...

Therefore, I shout, I laugh, I cry, and I dance. Therefore, I use my voice, my hands, my legs and my eyes. Therefore, I will do it with utter conviction and passion for if I will not do it from the heart, I will not do it at all...

(via Adrian Warnock)

John Piper talks about inviting Marvin Olasky to our national conference:

You can also watch Olasky's testimony:

Learn more about DG's conference, "With Calvin in the Theater of God":

• John Piper's invitation
• Speaker information
• Dates and schedule
• Registration

In March, 2008, Graeme Goldsworthy delivered a lecture at Southern Baptist Theological seminary titled “Biblical Theology and its Pastoral Application.”

In it he gave one of the clearest statements of why the Reformation was needed and what the problem was in the way the Roman Catholic church had conceived of the gospel.

Both Catholicism and allegorical interpretation of Scripture involved the dehistoricizing of the Gospel. The Reformation rehistoricized both the Gospel and the Old Testament.

The prime focus recovered in the Reformation was the justification of the sinner on the basis of the objective, historic work of Christ for us.

Catholicism had reversed the vision so that the prime focus was on the work of Christ or his Spirit within us.

This meant the reversal of the relationship of sanctification to justification. Infused grace, beginning with baptismal regeneration, internalized the Gospel and made sanctification the basis of justification. This is an upside down Gospel.

I would add that this “upside down” gospel has not gone away—neither from Catholicism nor from Protestants who equate our faithfulness (sanctification) with faith (understood as a receiving of Christ’s faithfulness as the sole ground of God being 100% for us).

When the ground of justification moves from Christ outside of us to the work of Christ inside of us, the gospel (and the human soul) is imperiled. It is an upside down gospel.

Now that the video of the Q&A at Advance 09 is available, I can look at it and feel bad all over again. Here’s what I regret, indeed what I have apologized for to the person who asked the question.

The first question to me and Mark Driscoll was, “Piper says get rid of my TV, and Driscoll says buy extra DVRs. How do you reconcile this difference?”

I responded, “Get your sources right. . . . I never said that in my life.”

Almost as soon as it was out of my mouth, I felt: “What a jerk, Piper!”...

Read the rest of the article.

Tony Kummer is giving away an "ABC's of God," Sunday school curriculum for 1st - 3rd graders from Children Desiring God.

This is about a $215 value and all you have to do to enter is comment.

Update: Sorry I was unclear. Please comment at his site to enter.

John Piper talks about why he invited Mark Talbot to speak at our upcoming conference on Calvin :

For more from Mark Talbot, check out the message he gave at our 2005 conference, "Seeing God's Gracious Hand in the Hurt Others Do Us."

You can also watch his testimony:

Learn more about DG's conference, "With Calvin in the Theater of God":

• John Piper's invitation
• Speaker information
• Dates and schedule
• Registration

David fell in 2 Samuel 11. He saw that Bathsheba was “very beautiful,” and he followed his lusts down the slope to adultery—and then even to having her husband killed.

But by 1 Kings 1, David is able to be attended to by Abishag the Shunammite, who the text also says was “very beautiful,” and yet “the king knew her not” (verse 4).

Maybe aging was a factor, but my guess is that there’s much more going on here than merely getting old. Such a change sure seems like God’s purifying hand in some regard—if not mostly. It’s a real-life example of victory.

There’s no need to be captive for the rest of your life, if God would so move. Be hopeful and lean on him for help.

Twenty years ago, Bethlehem Baptist Church sent out a missionary family with Arab World Ministries. The relationship with AWM continued when in 2003 John Piper spoke at the AWM conference and highlighted the joy of serving God in missions.

For the past few years, Desiring God has been collaborating on a project to translate Piper sermons into Arabic for free online access. Now the sermon series Desiring God, preached back in the early 80’s is available both here at DG and through AWM’s Arabic-language outreach websites.

AWM began 128 years ago in Algeria and today has ministry teams throughout the Arab world. They employ two strategies: church planting through evangelism and discipleship, and mass media outreach through literature, radio, TV, and the Internet.

The interactive, relational media of their web ministry engages, evangelizes, and disciples young adults. These online ministries include mentoring, blogs, chat rooms, podcasts, television series, and an online magazine.

Desiring God and Arab World Ministries are dreaming about additional translation projects. This region of the world remains one of the least reached. Please pray for more ministry outreach among the Arab peoples.

John Piper on why he invited Sam Storms to our national conference:

For more about Sam Storms, visit Enjoying God Ministries and watch his testimony:

Learn more about DG's conference, "With Calvin in the Theater of God":

• John Piper's invitation
• Speaker information
• Dates and schedule
• Registration

Visit the photoblog of Bill Walsh, our Director of International Outreach, to see some great shots from the DG team's trip to China.

John Piper talks about why he invited Doug Wilson to speak at our national conference this September:

For more about Doug Wilson, you can check out his blog and watch his testimony:

Learn more about DG's conference, "With Calvin in the Theater of God":

• John Piper's invitation
• Speaker information
• Dates and schedule
• Registration

While Ryan and his family prepared for long-term missions, he graciously gave his time as a volunteer for DG International Outreach. He brought tremendous skill and integrity to his work which bore wonderful fruit including this helpful post.

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As our family prepares to move overseas, we sometimes encounter this question in one form or another: 

Is the Western missionary model still legitimate?” 

The question stems from a variety of concerns and perspectives, but our basic answer must be “yes.”  Even with the high cost of sending and recent shifts in the global Church, it is still strategic and fitting for Western missionaries to cross geographical and linguistic boundaries in the pursuit of new worshipers of Jesus. 

Here is why I think so:

1. God wants his name to be great in every place as well as among every people. 

Though missiologists in the past couple of decades have rightly emphasized the importance of unreached people groups ("nations") as the focus of the Great Commission, there are a number of texts which seem to require a geographic and not exclusively an ethnic focus (e.g. Malachi 1:11). 

The Great Commission cannot be fulfilled by only reaching the unreached who migrate to America, or Christ doesn’t receive the glory he deserves.

2.  There are still hundreds of remote peoples who haven’t heard the gospel.

Many Unreached peoples are unrepresented in reached cities. In these cases, someone is going to have to cross cultural and geographic boundaries to deliver the message in the flesh.

3. Too little money is given to missions, not too much. 

God has blessed this nation with an abundance of resources, yet a staggeringly low percentage of Christian spending is channeled toward missions, especially missions to the unreached. 

When God’s people here in America are biblically calibrated, there are plenty of resources both to continue sending workers from the West, and to support indigenous pastors and church planters.

4. In many cases, the Church in the West has something to offer. 

With a long history of Christian thought, abundant resources, and relative lack of persecution, the Western Church can often make a contribution in places where the Church is younger and less grounded. 

Just as it would be arrogant to think that we know it all and have no need of the global Church, it would be arrogant to sit on our wealth of resources, history, and doctrinal development rather than make it accessible to the world.

5. Crossing cultures is a fitting means for the message. 

When Christians from more privileged and dominant-language cultures (such as America), set aside their comforts, rights, and security in order to identify with and minister to people of lesser-privileged cultures and more obscure languages, something powerful and gospel-adorning is communicated. 

This week's sermon: "The Father Is Seeking True Worship—Now"

Title changed to: "The Tragic Cost of Her Cavernous Thirst"

Her inner life was too painful and too dirty, so the woman at the well kept her heart locked and couldn't recognize her thirst for living water, even with the answer for her thirst standing right there in front of her.

So Jesus, ever loving and ever wise, reached for the nerve. "Go, call your husband." And he wasn't fooled by her use of truth to distort the truth. "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband."

From this encounter at Jacob's well, we learn not just about the woman, but about ourselves. We learn how we desperately move from one substitute to the next to try to satisfy our cavernous thirst for real water. But we also learn about Jesus—that he is hot on the trail of sinners, ready to savingly expose the ugliness of their sin, and willing to die to save them.

John Piper talks about why our national conference this year is on John Calvin:

More about this conference

• Read John Piper's invitation.
• See the other speakers.
• Register before June is over and get the early-bird rate.

My father was the happiest man I have ever known. Not that he never grumbled (he was a golfer who lost a lot of balls). But he was rooted so firmly in the glory of God’s grace that nothing could keep him down for long.

He loved the promises of God. I just heard him say yesterday on an old recording, quoting William Carey, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”

He really believed Romans 8:28. He prayed it and sang it and preached and lived in the joy of it.

And he led people to Christ in droves. Under God’s promises, he would have said this was the key to his joy. I asked him one time: What’s the key to joy. He answered without hesitation: Soul winning.

This is no mystery. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Freely you received. Freely give.

He and mother would sing in the front seat of the car while driving long distances with my sister and me in the back. “Isn’t He wonderful.” “Down at the Cross.” “Heavenly Sunshine.” “When We All Get to Heaven.” “Love Lifted Me.”

They were not performing. They were exulting.

I am still catching up.

What a legacy of Christ-exalting joy!

Thank you, Father, for my father.

To wrap up our posts from China, we’ve asked our friend and guide during this trip to describe the activities of our day and point you to a valuable online source of information on China.

*               *               *

As a friend of DG, and someone who has lived and worked in this great land for 20+ years, I have had the privilege of playing host to the team this week. I absolutely love showing people around and helping them to get a glimpse of what God is doing here.

We spent a good part of the day in tourist mode—shopping, eating great food, and visiting the Temple of Heaven. This is where the emperors of old, who were regarded as Heaven’s representative on earth, came once a year to make sacrifices and offer prayers on behalf of the people. 

We also visited with a friend of mine who runs a tea house and heard amazing stories of how God is using her and her tea house as a launching pad for spreading the Good News.

As the DG team's time in Beijing is winding down, our thoughts are now turning toward ways in which they can stay informed about the Chinese Church and dig deeper into the challenges and opportunities she faces. 

My main recommendation is a quarterly called the ChinaSource Journal. ChinaSource is a California-based think-tank dedicated to providing balanced perspectives and analysis on the Chinese Church. 

It's a subscription publication, but they have graciously made a special offer for DG readers. For the next two weeks, you may download the current issue for free. The theme of this issue is leadership development, and it looks at new patterns and trends in the development of Chinese church leaders. 

To quote the editor of the journal:  “Chinese church leaders are changing their strategies. Is the global church ready?” 

We began the third day of our China vision trip by viewing some of the historical and cultural sites of this amazing nation. It has been a joy to learn about this great land, its history, and its people.

We started off at Tiananmen Square (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace), the symbolic center of the nation. We then journeyed north to the massive gate-laden compound called the Forbidden City, which served as the home of China’s emperors from the 1400’s to the 1920’s. (The last emperor of China abdicated in 1912, but was allowed to live there until 1924.)  

In the evening, we continued our crash course on the current state of Christianity in China, fellowshipping and learning from some dear brothers about the victories and challenges stemming from the unprecedented growth of the Chinese church.

We have learned many things this week, yet in many ways are more confused. In preparation for this trip we read the book “China Road,” by Rob Gifford and one of his quotes has been rung true:  “If you’re not confused you’re not paying attention.” My respect and appreciation for the leaders who maneuver these complex situations and relationships grows day by day.

Another highlight yesterday was learning about a company called Baojiayin, a book distribution center delivering legally published books all over China. As we walked into their distribution center we saw stacks and stacks of newly published books like Mere Christianity, Theology of the Reformers, and Through the Gates of Splendor. It was great to meet the staff and hear their vision of helping Chinese believers access encouraging Christian literature. 

If you have friends in China please direct them to Baojiayin to see what books are available. Books can be ordered and delivered anywhere in the country for less than $1.

One of the books they sell is a recently-published bilingual version of The Big Picture Story Bible. That such a book has been approved for publication and distribution in China is truly amazing.  If you would like to help get copies of these books into the hands of Chinese orphans, please contact them.