It was the kindness of God that led me to stumble across this book in my first year of pastoral ministry. I remember vividly kneeling at my bedside in tears, feeling so rebuked and so encouraged at the same time. I loved this book then and, with several new chapters, I love it even more now. I hope every pastor reads this book and listens to its sane, practical, biblical advice. —Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan, and author of The Hole in Our Holiness John Piper makes me uncomfortable. And I thank God for that. He makes me uneasy with the worldliness that so easily creeps into my heart in my thinking about ministry. He highlights temptations to compromise—temptations that I know personally. He warns me of hidden traps. He urges me against allowing the calling of God to be domesticated by the outlook of this passing age or by my desire to be esteemed by it. But he also reminds me of issues where my people need to be challenged and encouraged. I read Brothers, We Are Not Professionals when it first came out a decade ago and have returned to portions of it repeatedly for examination, encouragement, and exhor- tation. I am delighted now to commend this new edition with addi- tional chapters addressing important topics. This book is ultimately not only convicting, but comforting, and not only exhortational, but devotional. This is a faithful prophet’s call to the sons of the prophets. May the Lord grant, by the power of His grace, that we would be able to join John is his prayer: “Thank You for protecting me for all these years from the deadening effects of professionalization.” —Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi Once again, Dr. Piper has provided a generation of pastors with a clear and profound statement on our calling, and his legacy of biblical faithfulness and commitment to God’s glory is felt in every chapter. —Matt Carter Pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church John Piper is a pastor to pastors. His love for them and his desire to see them faithfully fulfill their calling leaps from each chapter of this book. It will challenge you. It will instruct you. And most of all, it will encour- age you as you shepherd God’s flock that He has entrusted to your care. —Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary This book has been a staple for our pastors-in-training for many years—one of the few books I consider to be an absolute must read for those wanting to pursue God’s work in God’s way. God used the first edition of this book to profoundly shape my ministry philosophy, and I am honored to be able to recommend this second 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, lead pastor, the Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, author of Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary and Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved This is not a book for those who want a simple and easy life, it’s a book for servants whom God has raised up to get down on the ground and selflessly serve by leading God’s people, proclaiming God’s truth, and earnestly contending for the faith. May the Holy Spirit use this book to help ignite the next generation with a passion to deny them- selves and take up their crosses to serve Christ and his sheep from every tribe, tongue, and nation. —Burk Parsons, copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel, editor of Tabletalk magazine. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals UPDATED & EXPANDED Brothers, We Are Not Professionals A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry JOHN PIPER NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Copyright © 2013 by Desiring God Foundation All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America 978-1-4336-7882-0 Published by B&H Publishing Group Nashville, Tennessee Dewey Decimal Classification: 253 Subject Heading: CHURCH AND MINISTRY Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Others translations are indicated by acronym as follows: kjv, King James Version. nasb, the New American Standard Bible, © the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; used by permission. niv, New International Version, © copyright 1973, 1978, 1984. rsv, Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973. Quotations indicated jp are the author’s own transla- tions. Italics in biblical texts are added by the author for emphasis. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 • 17 16 15 14 13 Contents Preface to the New Edition ...........................ix 1. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals ......................1 2. Brothers, God Loves His Glory .........................5 3. Brothers, God Is Love. 10 4. Brothers, God Does Make Much of Us ..................16 5. Brothers, Live and Preach Justification by Faith ...........25 6. Brothers, God Is the Gospel ..........................40 7. Brothers, Beware of the Debtor’s Ethic ..................49 8. Brothers, Tell Them Not to Serve God ..................55 9. Brothers, Consider Christian Hedonism .................61 10. Brothers, Let Us Pray ...............................68 11. Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes ..................74 12. Brothers, Fight for Your Life ..........................79 13. Brothers, Be Bible-Oriented—Not Entertainment- Oriented—Preachers ................................85 14. Brothers, Query the Text .............................92 15. Brothers, Bitzer Was a Banker .........................98 16. Brothers, Read Christian Biography ...................106 17. Brothers, Show Your People Why God Inspired Hard Texts ......................................113 18. Brothers, Pursue the Tone of the Text ..................120 19. Brothers, Save the Saints ............................125 20. Brothers, Feel the Truth of Hell ......................132 21. Brothers, Lead Them to Repentance through Their Pleasure ....................................138 22. Brothers, Help Them Act the Miracle ..................144 23. Brothers, Magnify the Meaning of Baptism .............154 24. Brothers, Our Affliction Is for Their Comfort ...........163 25. Brothers, Let the River Run Deep .....................169 vii viii BROTHERS WE ARE Not PROFESSIONALS 26. Brothers, Don’t Fight Flesh Tanks with Peashooter Regulations ......................................174 27. Brothers, Bodily Training Is of Some Value .............182 28. Brothers, Don’t Confuse Uncertainty with Humility ......192 29. Brothers, Tell Them Copper Will Do ..................200 30. Brothers, Help Your People Hold On and Minister in Calamity ......................................206 31. Brothers, Give Them God’s Passion for Missions .........219 32. Brothers, Sever the Root of Racism ....................228 33. Brothers, Blow the Trumpet for the Unborn .............240 34. Brothers, Focus on the Essence of Worship, Not the Form ..256 35. Brothers, Love Your Wives ..........................270 36. Brothers, Pray for the Seminaries .....................283 Name Index ......................................291 Subject Index. 295 Scripture Index ...................................301 Preface to the New Edition Nothing has happened in the last ten years to make me think this book is less needed. In fact, instead of going away, the pressure to “professionalize” the pastorate has morphed and strengthened. Among younger pastors the talk is less about therapeutic and manage- rial professionalization and more about communication or contextual- ization. The language of “professionalization” is seldom used in these regards, but the quiet pressure felt by many pastors is: Be as good as the professional media folks, especially the cool anti-heroes and the most subtle comedians. This is not the overstated professionalism of the three-piece suit and the stuffy upper floors but the understated professionalism of torn blue jeans and the savvy inner ring. This professionalism is not learned in pursuing an MBA but in being in the know about the ever- changing entertainment and media world. This is the professionaliza- tion of ambience, and tone, and idiom, and timing, and banter. It is more intuitive and less taught. More style and less technique. More feel and less force. If this can be called professionalism, what does it have in common with the older version? Everything that matters. The way I tried to get at the problem in the first edition was to ask some questions. Let me expand that list. Only this time think old and new professionalism. Is there professional praying? Professional trusting in God’s promises? Professional weeping over souls? Professional musing on the depths of revelation? Professional rejoicing in the truth? Professional praising God’s name? Professional treasuring the riches of Christ? Professional walking by the Spirit? Professional exercise of spiritual gifts? Professional dealing with demons? Professional pleading with backsliders? Professional perseverance in a hard marriage? Professional ix x BROTHERS WE ARE Not PROFESSIONALS playing with children? Professional courage in the face of persecution? Professional patience with everyone? That’s for starters. These are not marginal activities in the pastoral life. They are central. They are the essence. Why do we choke on the word profes- sional in those connections? Because professionalization carries