Bill Walsh is the Director of International Outreach at Desiring God.

(This post is reason #8 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Urban Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

Christian cultural expression should not focus solely on the beautiful, but should include the flawed.

In his book Art and the Bible, Francis Schaeffer writes,

The Christian worldview can be divided into what I call a major and a minor theme.

First, the minor theme is the abnormality of the revolting world…

Men who have revolted from God and not come back to Christ are eternally lost; they see their meaninglessness…

There is a defeated and sinful side to the Christian’s life. If we are at all honest, we must admit that in this life there is no such thing as totally victorious living.

The major theme…is the meaningfulness and purposefulness of life…

God is there, God exists. Therefore, all is not absurd.

Man is made in God’s image and so man has significance.

[This] rests on the existence of the infinite-personal God who exists and who has a character and who has created all things, especially man in his own image.

Man is fallen and flawed, but he is redeemable on the basis of Christ’s work. This is beautiful. This is optimism.

If our Christian art only emphasizes the major theme, then it is not fully Christian but simply romantic art.

On the other hand, it is possible for a Christian to so major on the minor theme, emphasizing the lostness of man and the abnormality of the universe, that he is equally unbiblical...

[F]or the Christian, the major theme is to be dominant. (56-58)

(Urban Slums of “Garbage City,” Cairo, Egypt)

Christians should avoid quickly judging cultural expression as sacred or secular, because God reveals himself in both, through his common grace.

John Calvin writes,

In reading profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us that the human mind, however fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from the Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we should avoid offering insults to Him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. In despising the gifts we insult the giver.

In their book Art and Soul, Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin write,

Dualism is a word that can be applied to any split-vision worldview. It separates God’s creation into distinct and opposing realms, one representing good, the other representing evil: holy versus profane, sacred versus secular, material versus spiritual....

[A] truly biblical worldview will not let us get away with such simplistic divides. The Bible frequently speaks in paradox, explaining truths not in terms of either/or by both/and: creation is both gloriously beautiful and tainted by sin; humanity is both made in God’s image and fallen; Jesus is both fully human and fully divine; Christians are both redeemed from the curse and still suffering its consequences.

The problem comes when the line is drawn compartmentally rather than spiritually, putting certain aspects of culture inside the Kingdom of God and others outside. Rather we need to understand that the battle lines between good and evil run across all aspects of culture and every facet of life. (67-68)

And in his article "Christianity and the Arts" (PDF) Jerram Barrs writes,

Repeatedly in the history of the Church, Christians have been tempted to devalue the richness of creation and therefore to devalue also the arts, as if it would be somehow more “spiritual” to live a life devoid of beauty, of good things, of music, of literature, of painting, of color, etc. It is as if bare simplicity, barrenness, and even ugliness were somehow considered to be more pleasing to God. Behind this idea is the conviction that it is only what is “spiritual” that matters, and that the physical, therefore, is only of secondary value at best. In this view, the arts are thought of as an optional, rather extravagant, and unnecessary extra in life. But this belief is nonsense, and is, according to Paul, a heresy of the most serious kind, for in the end it is a denial of the goodness of creation. (4)

(Greater and Lesser Light, Moonlit Capitol Dome, Madison, Wisconsin, USA)

(This post is reason #6 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Reflections in Sawbill, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Northern Minnesota, USA)

Culture that glorifies God is a foretaste of what we will experience in the new heavens and new earth.

Randy Alcorn writes in his book 50 Days of Heaven,

Art, music, literature, crafts, technology, clothing, jewelry, education, food preparation—all are part of society or culture, the creative accomplishments of God’s image-bearers. Human creations are an extension of God’s own creative works, because he created us to reflect him by being creators.

As humans, we glorify God by taking what he created from nothing and shaping it into things for our own good and for his glory. The entire universe—including angels and living creatures in Heaven—should look at our creative ingenuity, our artistic accomplishments, and see God in us, his image-bearers. If that’s true now, how much more will it be true when there’s nothing in us to dishonor him?

We should expect the social dynamics from Earth to carry over to the New Earth, except when they’re a product of our fallenness or when God reveals otherwise.

God created his image-bearers to glorify him in creative accomplishments, and he’s pleased by them. God is pro-culture; he is the creative artist behind and over human culture.

Arthur Roberts writes,

The rise of human civilization hints at a coming splendor…How much more will civilization flourish when freed from the curse of sin! Already, we are probing galaxies. Already, we have catalogued the human genome. When the curse of sin is forever removed, surely human beings in Heaven will become active stewards in completing or extending the universe of things and ideas. The whole creation groans, awaiting human redemption. Civilization is not old; it has barely begun! (225-229)

(Young dancers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)

Cultural and artistic expressions are gifts from God which we should not neglect.

In his book Consider the Lilies: A Plea for Creational Theology, T. M. Moore writes,

Culture consists of the artifacts, institutions, and conventions by which people define, sustain, and enrich themselves. Culture includes the arts, law, languages, economies, philosophies of teaching and learning, family life, community traditions, and much more. All culture ultimately derives from the fact that people are created in the image of God and gifted by Him in many varied ways. After all, the psalmist tells us, God has given gifts of all kinds to all kinds of people, even those who are in rebellion against Him, with the idea that He might express Himself through those gifts, as they are brought to bear on the task of creating culture. (101)

(Herding goats, Sindh Province, Pakistan)

You might be aware that in the last few months, significant political changes have been occurring in Pakistan. My friend Joe and his wife just got settled there for long term work in one of its major cities. I asked him to briefly describe his perception of how these political changes are impacting the people and affecting the spread of the Gospel.

He writes,

On March 24 the National Assembly of Pakistan appointed a new prime minister to lead the nation alongside President Pervez Musharraf. The appointment of Makhdoon Yusuf Raza Gilani is considered by many to be a major step toward a more democratic and just government. Whether or not this hope will be fulfilled remains to be seen, but we are thankful to God for the relatively smooth transition of power that has taken place in recent weeks.

Though there is a renewed sense of stability in the higher echelons of government and mild optimism among some Pakistanis, life remains hard for the overwhelming majority of people in this nation. The high cost of food, the constant threat of sickness, and the lack of access to basic services will not disappear quickly. These problems are vast and even a well-performing government will have a difficult time addressing the numerous issues.

Sadly, Pakistanis have been waiting all their lives for better days. Many politicians, leaders, and generals have come in their 60-year history, promising to bring about greater peace, stability, and prosperity. In reality, the people of Pakistan have been left with mostly unfulfilled promises and plans.

On March 23, we celebrated the resurrection. The Apostle Peter writes that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about hope: “he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Hope is what more than 100 million Pakistanis are desperate for. Many in this nation have given up on things changing for the better and have turned to drugs, religion, or escape to the West. Some have once again decided to put hope in the government to make things right.

Let’s pray, as Paul instructed in 2nd Timothy, for those who are now in high positions of power in Pakistan. Let’s pray that through them God would be pleased to bring greater peace, stability, and prosperity to this nation that has been labeled “The World’s Most Dangerous Place.”

But more than that, let’s pray for the people of Pakistan, and let’s be ready to go and share with them the “living hope” of Jesus Christ. This is a hope that is certain, grounded in both his death and resurrection. And it is a hope that has the power to bring about true joy even in the midst of the most difficult and seemingly hopeless circumstances (1 Pet 1:6).

(This post is reason #4 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Textures in Tree Moss, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, USA)

All art has one source: God’s universe. We create nothing, but only imitate the creator.

In his essay "Christianity and Literature," C. S. Lewis writes,

[An] author should never conceive of himself as bringing into existence beauty or wisdom that did not exist before, but simply and solely as trying to embody in terms of his own art some reflection of eternal Beauty and Wisdom. (Genesis: Journal of the Society of Christians in the Arts, Inc. 1, no. 2 (1975): 22)

And Jerram Barrs writes in his article, "Christianity and the Arts" (PDF):

Our work in any field of the arts will be imitative. We will be thinking God’s thoughts after Him—painting with His colors; speaking with His gift of language; exploring and expressing His sounds and harmonies; working with His creation in all its glory, diversity, and in-built inventiveness. In addition, we will find ourselves longing to make known the beauty of life as it once was in Paradise, the tragedy of its present marring, and the hope of our final redemption. All great art will contain this element of being an echo of Eden: Eden in its original glory, Eden that is lost to us, and Eden restored. (pg 7)

(Near Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, USA)

(This post is reason #3 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Olympic National Park, Washington, USA)

In order to glimpse the glory of God where he hides himself in creation, we actually have to engage with creation.

Edwards describes one of his experiences communing with God in nature:

As I was walking there, and looking up on the sky and clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express....

The appearance of everything was altered; there seemed to be, as it were, a sweet calm cast, or appearance of divine glory, in almost everything. God's excellency, his wisdom, his purity and love, seemed to appear in everything; in the sun, moon and stars; in the cloud, and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water and all nature.

And Clyde Kilby recommends that we consider nature simply because it is. That is, simply because God has made it:

I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.

(Female Impala, Mabalingwe Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa)

(This post is reason #2 in the series, “9 Reasons I’m a Photographer.”)

(Glen Canyon, Arizona)

God hides himself in creation. Unbelievers seldom see him in it, but believers are given eyes to see, so they can glorify God through it.

Martin Luther writes,

[The spiritual man] alone can distinguish the position from the Word, the divine mask from God Himself and the work of God. Until now we have dealt only with the veiled God, for in this life we cannot deal with God face to face. Now the whole creation is a face or mask of God. But here we need the wisdom that distinguishes God from His mask. The world does not have this wisdom. There it cannot distinguish God from His mask. When a greedy man, who worships his belly, hears that "man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4), he eats the bread but fails to see God in the bread; for he sees, admires, and adores only the mask. He does the same with gold and with other creatures. He puts his trust in them as long as he has them; but when they forsake him, he despairs. (Commentary on Galatians, 95-96)

And from John Piper:

God means for us to be stunned and awed by his work of creation. But not for its own sake. He means for us always to look at his creation and say: If the work of his hands is so full of wisdom and power and grandeur and majesty and beauty, what must this God be like in himself!

These are but the backside of his glory seen through a glass darkly. What will it be to see the Creator himself! Not his works! Not even a billion galaxies will satisfy the human soul. God and God alone is the soul's end.

(Ngombe Compound, Lusaka, Zambia)

Creation is a gift from God (and by creation, I mean all that God has made, not just mountains, birds, and trees). It is meant to display and communicate his glory.

Spurgeon writes,

The Great Master Author has sent forth several volumes; among the rest is one called the "Book of Revelation," and another styled the "Volume of Creation." We have been reading the Word-volume and expounding it for years, we are now perusing the Work-volume, and are engrossed in some of its most glowing pages. Our love for the sacred book of letters and words has not diminished but increased our admiration for the hieroglyphics of the flood and field. That man perversely mistakes folly for wisdom who persists in undervaluing one glorious poem by a famous author, in order to show his zeal for a second epic from the same fertile pen. It is the mark of a feeble mind to despise the wonders of nature because we prize the treasures of salvation. He who built the lofty skies is as much our Father as he who hath spoken to us by his own Son, and we should reverently adore HIM who in creation decketh himself with majesty and excellency, even as in revelation HE arrayeth himself in glory and beauty.

Modern fanatics who profess to be so absorbed in heavenly things that they are blind to the most marvelous of Jehovah's handiwork, should go to school, with David as the schoolmaster, and learn to "consider the heavens," and should sit with Job upon the dunghill of their pride, while the Lord rehearses the thundering stanzas of creation's greatness, until they cry with the patriarch, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." For our part, we feel that what was worth the Lord's making, richly deserves the attention of the most cultivated and purified intellect; and we think it blasphemy against God himself to speak slightingly of his universe, as if, forsooth, we poor puny mortals were too spiritual to be interested in that matchless architecture which made the morning stars sing together and caused the sons of God to shout for joy.

(Zion National Park, Utah)

Here are the truths I am pursuing a deeper understanding of in order to establish a firm foundation for why and how I engage in the art of photography for the glory of God. I think they can also serve as a defense for any Christian’s artistic endeavors.

1. Creation is a gift from God (and by creation, I mean all that God has made, not just mountains, birds, and trees). It is meant to display and communicate his glory.
2. God hides himself in creation. Unbelievers seldom see him in it, but believers are given eyes to see, so they can glorify God through it.
3. In order to glimpse of the glory of God in creation, we actually have to engage with it.
4. All art has one source: God’s universe. We create nothing, but only imitate the creator.
5. Cultural and artistic expressions are gifts from God which we should not neglect.
6. Culture that glorifies God is a foretaste of what we will experience in the new heavens and new earth.
7. Christians should avoid quickly judging cultural expression as sacred or secular. God also reveals himself through his common grace.
8. Christian cultural expression should not solely focus on the beautiful and the romantic, but should include the flawed.
9. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of fusing heaven and earth, and serves as the ultimate source of inspiration for those engaged in artistic pursuits.

Over the past few years, I’ve been collecting from authors and preachers quotes that support these principles. In subsequent posts, I will follow up with these one point at a time.

(Caring for orphans in Mpumalanga, South Africa)

Today in Johannesburg, South Africa, I had lunch with Pastor Tim Cantrell of Honeyridge Baptist Church. Tim and his wife Michelle are from California and have taken up residence here, committing themselves to the ministry of this church. Yesterday an associate here in the region gave me a copy of a short article that Michelle wrote last year. I was touched by the description of their calling to minister in this country.

I could faithfully serve Christ and the gospel in another country. But I wouldn’t expect to reap the same amount of fruit as in a desperate place like Africa: “God chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him.” (James 2:5). People here see their need for the Great Physician. People are suffering. We have the cure that they are asking for. The gospel (a biblical worldview) is the ultimate cure for AIDS and poverty and crime. In more western countries, people are deceptively self-sufficient and hardened to the gospel. Why not stay where the harvest is ripe and the workers are few?

Read the full article (PDF).

During the last few days, I've been visiting with several Zambians who pastor churches in the urban ‘compounds’ of Lusaka. These pastors face many challenges in leading their congregations including poverty, strong cultural traditions, AIDS and other diseases.

I am staying with a mission team that is working to provide theological training for these men. In this particular case, we stopped in to see their small library where they try to have books available for pastors to use for Biblical training and study. In browsing the shelves I came upon a title you might recognize:

Recently I was challenged by this quote from the Lausanne Willowbank Report: Consultation on Gospel and Culture:

We believe that the principal key to persuasive Christian communication is to be found in the communicators themselves and what kind of people they are. It should go without saying that they need to be people of Christian faith, love, and holiness. That is, they must have a personal and growing experience of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, so that the image of Jesus Christ is ever more clearly seen in their character and attitudes.

Above all else we desire to see in them, and especially in ourselves, "the meekness and gentleness of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:1), in other words, the humble sensitivity of Christ's love….

First, there is the humility to acknowledge the problem which culture presents, and not to avoid or over-simplify it. As we have seen, different cultures have strongly influenced the biblical revelation, ourselves, and the people to whom we go. As a result, we have several personal limitations in communicating the gospel. For we are prisoners (consciously or unconsciously) of our own culture, and our grasp of the cultures both of the Bible and of the country in which we serve is very imperfect. It is the interaction between all these cultures which constitutes the problem of communication; it humbles all who wrestle with it.

Secondly, there is the humility to take the trouble to understand and appreciate the culture of those to whom we go. It is this desire which leads naturally into that true dialogue "whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand." We repent of the ignorance which assumes that we have all the answers and that our only role is to teach. We have very much to learn. We repent also of judgmental attitudes. We know we should never condemn or despise another culture, but rather respect it. We advocate neither the arrogance which imposes our culture on others, nor the syncretism which mixes the gospel with cultural elements incompatible with it, but rather a humble sharing of the good news—made possible by the mutual respect of a genuine friendship.

How does a group of Westerners develop curriculum relevant to non-Western cultures? A few of us on the International Outreach team have been grappling with this question. We’ve started to plan and dream about writing non-formal curriculum for training indigenous church leaders, based on Piper sermon manuscripts.

Part of our education has been to read Teaching Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Learning and Teaching, by Judith and Sherwood Lingenfelter. In this short and practical book, the authors present principles and field experiences useful to anyone doing international missions work. I highly recommend it.

Here are several cross-cultural teaching methods the book describes:

Observation and Imitation
Learners watch a skill in practice for an extended period before attempting it. Usually they don’t ask questions but simply watch. Teachers rehearse the steps over and over for the learners.

Experiential Learning
Learners engage in cycles of experiencing, reflecting, abstracting, and experimenting. They participate in “doing,” which involves trial and error. The power of experiential learning lies in its unpredictability, its simulation of experiences people are likely to encounter, and the creation of a controlled context for action, reflection, and learning.

Rote Learning
This learning style is typically used for learning proverbs, songs, and stories that come from a concrete body of knowledge. Many learners believe that oral stories are more accurate than written ones because they are repeated by a number of trustworthy sources rather than written down by only one. Teachers often discourage questions.

Incarnational Teaching
Good teaching in a traditional culture necessarily involves becoming a Christ-like servant who invests time in cultivating relationships with students.

Group Learning
Many traditional cultures accomplish tasks through the efforts of the whole family and the whole community. Traditional learners often prefer group learning because it tends to provide ‘cover’ for those who don’t know the answers, while Western learners are often more individualistic.

Context
Many traditional learners learn by observing and practicing a specific skill in a specific context. They may have difficulty applying these skills to a different situation.

Mentoring
In many traditional cultures, the most effective learning situation occurs when a skilled “master” works personally with an individual learner. This person connotes superiority and authority in the context of a caring, reciprocal personal relationship. The master must have a highly respected level of personal character.

Questions
Western learners are accustomed to working toward abstract questions. Traditional learners think more concretely and desire to find the “right” answer. Children in traditional cultures are often taught not to question older people in authority.

Story-telling
Using narratives is one of the most effective ways of reaching traditional learners.

Open Source Mission, a new web-based translation effort, has become a wonderful partner for DG International Outreach during the past year.

One of our top objectives is to grow the number of Piper sermons available in as many languages as possible and post them online for free access. Andre Yee, the founder of OSM, has a great vision to engage in a massive translation effort incorporating the writings of a number of authors. International Outreach and OSM will be sharing our translated resources for the purpose of global spreading of God-centered content.

If you are engaged in a non-English field of ministry, hopefully over time you will begin to see more translations that you may be able to use. Or you can actually help us create resources by getting involved in the translation.

Here’s a brief summary from Andre of what OSM is working to accomplish:

Open Source Mission is a ministry focused on making gospel-centric, biblically sound materials accessible to as many languages as possible through developing a network of volunteer translators throughout the world. Together with partners like Sovereign Grace Ministries, Desiring God, and 9Marks, OSM has launched the Gospel Translations Project, an initiative translate and publish biblically sound materials on a wikipedia type website called gospeltranslations.org.

Since officially launching in September, OSM has gathered a database of over 100 translators, nearly 50 of whom are actively at work translating books and articles into several different languages, including Indonesian, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Korean and Russian.

If you’re a bilingual Christian, please consider lending your language skills as a translator or reviewer. Contact Andrew at Open Source Mission to find out how to get started.

I want to draw your attention to some Portuguese resources we added to our site. Thanks to our great friends at FIEL in Brazil, we’ve posted a series of messages that John Piper did in Brazil back in the early 90’s. It includes video of live translation as well as some interesting hairstyles. :)

Here’s a note from my friend Rick Denham at FIEL:

In October of 1994 we had the joy of hosting John Piper at the FIEL ( Faithful) Conference for Training Pastors in Brazil. Its exciting to see how the seeds sown at this event have grown to impact all of the Portuguese-speaking world. We at FIEL publications and conferences are excited about what our brothers at Desiring God, International Outreach are doing to make the Gospel accessible via the Internet.... We hope that, whether you find yourself in Portugal, Africa, or Brazil, the Lord will use these messages to both challenge and equip you as you seek to spread a passion for His glory to all peoples!

I want to add my enthusiasm for Matt’s article “Make It Free” from the perspective of our International Outreach initiative. We received a wonderful response to this post from Joey ministering in Asia, who says it better than I can and with real-life field experience, so I’ll simply quote some of his correspondence.

Thank you so much to DG for keeping your content Christ-centered and freely available to all...

A website with free content has a far greater reach across the globe. As a servant of the Lord in Asia, the two characteristics of DG's content I mentioned are the main reasons I continually come back to the site and distribute mp3 audio to those whom God has called me to serve.

If the supremacy of Christ is to be declared through internet content and spread across the globe, then I agree that such resources should be as restriction-free as possible.

Yes, the language barrier is one consideration. Would a person in Asia download an English sermon? But any international traveler can tell you that English is used in more places than we North Americans realize.

While it's a consideration, language is not as big of an obstacle as we would think. Audio players can slow down the mp3 to make them easier to follow. Sermon transcripts are wonderful for those whose listening isn't as good as their reading comprehension.

If nothing else, it serves those of us English-speaking expatriate servants of the Lord in ways for which I can't even begin to express thanks to DG.

At the 2007 National Conference, Desiring God International Outreach will be hosting a breakout session on Sunday morning, September 30th. Anyone with an interest in international missions is invited to attend. The meeting will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 A.M. in room 200 D&E. It will feature Rick Denham, managing board member of FIEL Publications, based in Sao Jose des Campos, Brazil. FIEL is a publishing ministry dedicated to training and equipping Christian leaders from Portuguese-speaking nations in the Reformed tradition through literature and conferences.

Rick will be speaking on the amazing ways that God uses our existing relationships and networks for his Kingdom-spreading purposes. Many often feel as though their every-day lives lack opportunities for meaningful ministry impact. He will share principles and stories that will encourage us to be watching for ways that God brings about fruitfulness through our acquaintances, our neighbors and friends, our church, and our business contacts. All for the sake of the Gospel.

For seventeen years Rick served as an entrepreneurial consultant, merchandising and developing products for many clients throughout the world in the Christian music industry. At the height of his professional career, the Lord called him back to Brazil, where he lives with his wife Kimberlie, son James, and daughter Lilah.

Desiring God International Outreach will also give a short presentation describing how those who are passionate about missions can assist in globally spreading God-centered resources to those in need.

We are very excited to announce that the book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ is now available free online in Russian.

One of our continuing goals in International Outreach is to foster the translation of Piper books, particularly into those languages that are most widespread. Through the efforts of wonderful partners like Jake in Ukraine, this continues to happen in a big way. Currently we are aware of over 130 translations of Piper books.

Be sure to regularly check our IO web page to learn about new books and sermons being completed. We are adding new resources all the time. One project to watch for in the future is the completion of the entire Romans sermons series in Spanish.

…prosperity-tinged Pentecostalism is growing faster not just than other strands of Christianity, but than all religious groups, including Islam. Of Africa's 890 million people, 147 million are now "renewalists" (a term that includes both Pentecostals and charismatics), according to a 2006 Pew Forum on Religion and Public life study. They make up more than a fourth of Nigeria's population, more than a third of South Africa's, and a whopping 56 percent of Kenya's.

We recently added a new section to our website dedicated to International Outreach (IO).

On it you will find

• The IO vision which describes our approach to spreading DG resources around the world.
• “Ideas for Action” that might inspire you to find creative ways you can be involved.
• Many translated resources, including online sermons and articles, as well as book translations you can purchase.
• Links to resources on missions.
• IO blog entries to keep you up to date and share testimonies with you.

Also, If you are involved in ministry outside the U.S., we would love it if you'd tell us if Desiring God has been helpful in your endeavors.

From one of my favorite dead mentors:

People don’t earn God’s approval or receive life and salvation because of anything they’ve done. Rather, the only reason they receive life and salvation is because of God’s kindness through Christ. There is no other way.

Many Christians are tired of hearing this teaching over and over. They think that they learned it all long ago. However, they barely understand how important it really is. If it continues to be taught as truth, the Christian church will remain united and pure – free from decay. This truth alone makes and sustains Christianity. You might hear an immature Christian brag about how well he knows that we receive God’s approval through God’s kindness and not because of anything we do to earn it. But if he goes on to say that this is easy to put into practice, then have no doubt he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he probably never will. We can never learn this truth completely or brag that we understand it fully. Learning this truth is an art. We will always remain students of it, and it will always be our teacher.

The people who truly understand that they receive God’s approval by faith and put this into practice don’t brag that they have fully mastered it. Rather, they think of it as a pleasant taste or aroma that they are always pursuing. These people are astonished that they can’t comprehend it as fully as they would like. They hunger and thirst for it. They yearn for it more and more. They never get tired of hearing about this truth.

-Martin Luther, Quoted in Faith Alone, James C. Galvin

We received this encouraging note from a couple that serves as missionary doctors in Africa:

Spiritually we have noticed that there is a lot of nominal Christianity here, a lot of poor/shallow teaching and syncretism. We are attempting to teach people the word of God as absolute truth. We frequently listen to sermons from this website, and have been able to pass these on to others who are grappling with certain questions or in need of encouragement.

Also, at the pastors conference this past February, a fellow named Jesse spoke to us about his interest in giving Piper's books to 15-20 needy village pastors, who have had no formal training, in a particular region of Mexico. His goal was to find an affordable way to obtain a set of 4 or 5 key Piper books, available in Spanish, to personally give to these brothers on one of his mission trips. His purpose is "to encourage them and to provide them with doctrinally sound Christian materials." We were happy to be able to help Jesse accomplish this.

He writes, "Thank you so much for helping to provide materials for Mexican pastors. We took 20 sets of five Piper books to village pastors within a 100 mile radius.... These dear pastors, who labor for the Gospel day in and day out without any human thanks or encouragement, were overwhelmingly grateful for the visit and the materials."

We thank God for spreaders like Jesse and the missionary doctors in Africa who are part of a global grass-roots effort to equip others to be happy in God.

Christians across the Philippines are regularly hearing John Piper sermons broadcast by DYVS Bacolod City.

DYVS takes advantage of free downloads of sermon audio files from DG's website. DG only recently discovered this outreach ministry as a result of numerous emails sent our way by DYVS listeners wanting to testify to the impact of these sermons on their lives.

We contacted station manager Ralph Belzunce to joyfully share the encouraging feedback. He gave us a much bigger picture than we'd expected concerning the extent to which these sermons are being spread.

The Lord is using this outreach "particularly in this region with a potential of 10 million listeners, reaching different islands such as Panay, Negros, Cebu, Palawan, Romblon, Masbate, Samar, Leyte, and Bohol."

Beyond this, through shortwave broadcasts, they have listeners in Finland, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand.

The broadcast sermons of John Piper "for over a year now, have been touching the lives of our listeners."

God has long been using DYVS in their "one desire of proclaiming the Gospel through radio programs." They've been on the air for 32 years and have recently received encouragement from the results of a survey by the Radio Research Council of the Philippines which places DYVS in the number 1 position.

We hope that reading this report may, with God's leading, encourage other spreaders to consider the possibility of using this approach or some aspect of it in their outreach.

I serve with a missions agency and have made many trips to the Philippines. David, an autistic 18 year old who lives in central Luzon with his parents and attends a Christian school, has won numerous awards for his preaching.  His inspiration?  Listening to John Piper sermons that his father downloads free of charge.  Whenever we go to visit David, we are sure to bring all the latest Piper books for him to read! During the most recent visit, we left an iPod for the family, fully loaded with thousands of Piper sermons! Thanks, DG for providing the means to spread a passion of the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples (even autistic Filipinos) through Jesus Christ. David is an enthusiastic spreader!