God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

In this week’s article for Bethlehem Baptist, Pastor Kenny Stokes introduces Thabiti Anyabwile who is coming to preach, God willing, on Racial Harmony Weekend, January 16-18.

Here’s an excerpt from Kenny’s article (with 3 Thabiti book recommendations).

Born in Lexington, North Carolina, he presently is Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

If you do not know who Thabiti Anyabwile is, you can get a feel for him from his books:

In this portrait of three pastors, The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors, “Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) reminds pastors that eternity must shape our ministry. Daniel A. Payne (1811-1893) stresses the importance of character and preparation to faithful shepherding. And Francis J. Grimké (1850-1937) provides a vision for engaging the world with the gospel.”

Written with a longing for a widespread revival of biblical truth and spiritual power in our day, The Decline of African American Theology develops and documents the theological highs and lows of the Black church in American church history.

What Is a Healthy Church Member? unpacks a 10-point description of a healthy member. He says a healthy church member is an expositional listener, a biblical theologian, one who is gospel-saturated and genuinely converted, a biblical evangelist, a committed member who is devoted to others, one who seeks church discipline when needed, is a growing disciple, humble follower of church leaders, and a prayer warrior....

May God grant us grace that our love for others might increasingly overcome the ethnic and cultural walls that sinfully hinder love in and outside the church. That is to say, may God grant us grace to be most remarkable in our love, rooted in the love of Christ that “all people” might know that we are disciples of Jesus because we have love for one another.