Plea to pastors for radical ministry
By John Piper
Mentor. 286 pages
ISBN 1 85792 893 8
Oh, yes, we've met them, we see it happening! Church leaders who are well ahead of the pack in spin-doctoring, leading from the front by bossiness, or from the back by wangling; and theological colleges giving sad dominance to things that are little more than tutorials in how to operate the system.
John Piper has them well in his sights. There is a sweet, refreshing - and seriously effective and practical - guilelessness in his conviction that the biblical way is the practical way, biblical truth the only worthwhile truth in ministry, and biblical dominance the proper intent of the Church. Guilelessness is not naivety. All this issues in an exhilarating course of pastoral theology: preach the glory of God, and his love, justification by faith, the snares of giving 'service' an improper emphasis, the pastor's danger of losing the best in the demands of the good, giving attention to reading, the sin of neglecting the biblical language - and so much more: handling life's troubles, treating baptism seriously, the pastor's marriage, and the church's worship. In one sense, this is too easy a book to read, for one is carried forward by the huge tide of Piper's knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.
