Excerpt
“We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry . . . The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake" (p. 1).
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About the Book
John Piper pleads with fellow pastors to abandon the secularization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry.
We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and the heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness, there is no professional panting after God.
Brothers, we are not professionals. We are outcasts. We are aliens and exiles in the world. Our citizenship is in Heaven, and we wait with eager expectation for the Lord (Phil. 3:20). You cannot professionalize the love for His appearing without killing it. And it is being killed. The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man. The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism.
Named among the “10 Best Books Every Preacher Should Read” in the January/February issue of Preaching Magazine.
First Edition 2002; Updated and Expanded Edition 2013
Broadman & Holman Publishers (Nashville, Tennessee)
Table of Contents
Preface to the New Edition*
1. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals
2. Brothers, God Loves His Glory
3. Brothers, God Is Love
4. Brothers, God Does Make Much of Us*
5. Brothers, Live and Preach Justification by Faith
6. Brothers, God Is the Gospel*
7. Brothers, Beware of the Debtor’s Ethic
8. Brothers, Tell Them Not to Serve God
9. Brothers, Consider Christian Hedonism
10. Brothers, Let Us Pray
11. Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes
12. Brothers, Fight for Your Life
13. Brothers, Be Bible-Oriented — Not Entertainment-Oriented — Preachers*
14. Brothers, Query the Text
15. Brothers, Bitzer Was a Banker
16. Brothers, Read Christian Biography
17. Brothers, Show Your People Why God Inspired Hard Texts
18. Brothers, Pursue the Tone of the Text*
19. Brothers, Save the Saints
20. Brothers, Feel the Truth of Hell
21. Brothers, Lead Them to Repentance through Their Pleasure
22. Brothers, Help Them Act the Miracle*
23. Brothers, Magnify the Meaning of Baptism
24. Brothers, Our Affliction Is for Their Comfort
25. Brothers, Let the River Run Deep
26. Brothers, Don’t Fight Flesh Tanks with Peashooter Regulations
27. Brothers, Bodily Training Is of Some Value*
28. Brothers, Don’t Confuse Uncertainty with Humility
29. Brothers, Tell Them Copper Will Do
30. Brothers, Help Your People Hold On and Minister in Calamity
31. Brothers, Give Them God’s Passion for Missions
32. Brothers, Sever the Root of Racism
33. Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn
34. Brothers, Focus on the Essence of Worship, Not the Form
35. Brothers, Love Your Wives
36. Brothers, Pray for the Seminaries
Translations
Indonesian
Publisher: Penerbit Pionir Jaya
ISBN: 978-979354-6
Portuguese
Publisher: Shedd Publicações
Purchase: Vida Nova
ISBN: 978-85-88315-93-8
Spanish
Publisher: Editorial Clie
Purchase: Amazon
ISBN: 978-84-8267-464-3
Related Resources
- Brothers – Feel, Think, Preach God (Part 1) (conference message)
- Brothers – Feel, Think, Preach God (Part 2) (conference message)
- Brothers – Feel, Think, Preach God (Part 3) (conference message)
- Still Not Professionals (eBook)
About John Piper
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of more than 50 books including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. John and his wife, Noël, have five children and twelve grandchildren.
Endorsements
“May the Holy Spirit use this book to help ignite the next generation with a passion to deny themselves and take up their crosses to serve Christ and his sheep from every tribe, tongue, and nation.”
—Burk Parsons, pastor, Saint Andrew’s Chapel, Lake Mary, Florida
“Piper has provided a generation of pastors with a clear and profound statement on our calling.”
—Matt Carter, pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, Texas
“I hope every pastor reads this book and listens to its sane, practical, biblical advice.”
—Kevin DeYoung, pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan
“It will challenge you. It will instruct you. And most of all, it will encourage you as you shepherd God’s flock which he has entrusted to your care.”
—Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“I am honored to be able to recommend this 2nd edition of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. I cannot commend it highly enough. Read it. Re-read it. And then teach it to others.”
—J.D. Greear, pastor, Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
