John Piper
John Stephen Piper (born January 11, 1946, Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a theologian, pastor, and author. He is currently the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, a Reformed Baptist Church located in Minneapolis, MN. Piper, holding to what is known as "historic premillennialism" (otherwise known as post-tribulationalism), is also a traditional 5 points of Calvinist, holding, additionally, to the "Calvinistic" ideas of double-predestination (the flip-side of unconditional election, also known as unconditional reprobation) and the best-of-all-possible-worlds (the belief that, in the longrun, God's glory will be more fully displayed and His people more fully satisfied than would be the case in any other scenario for the world.)
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Biographical sketch[]
John Stephen Piper was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on January 11, 1946. When John and his older sister were still small the Pipers moved to Greenville, South Carolina where John spent the rest of his growing-up years.
At Wheaton College (1964-68), John majored in Literature and minored in Philosophy. Studying Romantic Literature with Clyde Kilby stimulated the poetic side of his nature and today he regularly writes poems to celebrate special family occasions as well as composing story-poems (based on the life of a Biblical character) for his congregation during the four weeks of Advent each year. At Wheaton John also met Noel Henry whom he married in 1968.
Following college he completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (1968-71). While at Fuller, John took as many courses as he could from Dr. Daniel Fuller, the most influential "living" teacher in his life. Through Dr. Fuller he discovered the writings of Jonathan Edwards, his most influential "dead" teacher.
John did his doctoral work in New Testament Studies at the University of Munich, Munich, West Germany (1971-74). His dissertation, Love Your Enemies, was published by Cambridge University Press and Baker Book House. Upon completion of his doctorate he went on to teach Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota for six years (1974-80).
In 1980, sensing an irresistible call of the Lord to preach, John became the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he has been ministering ever since.
- Biographical info from Desiring God Ministries.
His philosophy is characterized by the statement "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him" [1] and he calls it "Christian Hedonism" - an intentionally provocative phrase that emphasizes that we all pursue our happiness, and it finds its ultimate fulfillment in God himself.
Selected publications[]
- Love Your Enemies: Jesus' Love Command in the Synoptic Gospels and the Early Christian Paraenesis (Cambridge University Press, 1980; Baker, 1991).
- The Justification of God: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23 (Baker, 1983; 2nd edition 1993).
- Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah, 1986; 2nd edition, 1996, 3rd edition, 2003).
- The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker, 1990, 2nd edition, 2003).
- The Pleasures of God (Multnomah, 1991; Expanded edition, 2000).
- Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Co-editor) (Crossway, 1991).
- Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Baker, 1993, 2nd Edition 2003).
- The Purifying Power of Living By Faith In Future Grace (Multnomah, 1995).
- A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer (Crossway, 1997).
- A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah, 1997).
- God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (Crossway, 1998).
- The Innkeeper (Crossway, 1998).
- A Godward Life, Book Two: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (Multnomah, 1999).
- The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (Crossway, 2000).
- The Hidden Smile of God (Crossway, 2001).
- Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (Crossway, 2001, 2nd edition, 2004).
- The Dangerous Duty of Delight (Multnomah, 2001).
- The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God (Crossway, 2002).
- Brothers, We Are not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry (Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002).
- The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce (Crossway, 2002).
- Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness? (Crossway, 2002).
- Beyond the Bounds (Co-editor) (Crossway, 2003).
- Don’t Waste Your Life (Crossway, 2003).
- Pierced By the Word (Multnomah, 2003).
- The Prodigal's Sister (Crossway, 2003).
- The Passion of Jesus Christ (Crossway, 2004).
- When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy (Crossway, 2004).
- Life As a Vapor (Multnomah, 2004).
- A God Entranced Vision of All Things (Crossway, 2004).
- Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (Crossway, 2005).
- Taste and See (Multnomah, 2005).
- God is the Gospel (Crossway, 2005).
- Contending for Our All (Crossway, 2006).
- The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright (Crossway, 2007) Online book (PDF)
- Finally Alive (Christian Focus, 2009).
List taken from Piper's Curriculum Vitae.
External links[]
- Desiring God ministries
- Piper's Notes
- John Piper: God's Glory His Passion, by Tim Ellsworth (Southern Seminary Magazine)
- John Piper at World Magazine
- Book Review: God is the Gospel by Michael Spencer
- Jesus, Islam, Pharisees, and the New Perspective on Paul, by John Piper