Editorial: Moe Bergeron

Desiring God recently made known the list of speakers that will be addressing this year's Desiring God National Conference (October 1-3). Since then a controversy has erupted regarding the choice of Rick Warren. The recent choice of Doug Wilson was also met with disappointment as was the past choice of C.J. Mahaney and a few others. Why? Because these men do not fit the mold cast by a small minority of voices. One vocal minority is from within the Reformed Baptist Sabbatarian camp. It is rather ironic. These same folks have cast out their non-Sabbatarian brethren yet they will fellowship in comfort with various flavors of Paedo-Baptists including Calvinistic Anglicans and Congregationalists who in the not too distant past persecuted our Baptist fathers and their children and many others. Their hypocrisy is noted by many. I’ve grown tired of their constant whining about matters to which they have contributed absolutely nothing. Thankfully many of our brethren of the Paedo-Baptist persuasion have learned to love and serve those brethren with whom they differ. I might also add that there are others who, for one reason or another, do not agree with Piper’s choice of Warren yet they still hold Piper in the highest regard. Tim Challies serves as such a fine example.

This controversy reminded of me of the days when I was publishing John Piper's sermons on the Sound of Grace domain at soundofgrace.com/piper.htm. One year in particular, after Piper addressed a Founder's Conference, there was a cry from some within the same crowd when they discovered Piper's sermons sitting on the same server as Reisinger's Sound of Grace. People were emailing me (I was the webmaster) wondering out loud what Piper had in common with John G. Reisinger. It was if John G. Reisinger was an unclean leper. My reply was simple and to the point. They were both Baptists who held to the Doctrines of Grace, both loved Jesus and his people, so what more could we ask? Well to some people that wasn't enough. You see, after that Founder's Conference some of those folks thought John Piper was one of them on all counts including their rigid affection for the 1689 Confession. They assumed he played in the same sand box that they did. They do not understand that Piper does not play in just any sandbox. He's like Abraham, who looked up to the stars and then looked down at the sands beneath his feet and could see only God's sandbox. If that sandbox was good enough for Abraham it surely is good enough for John Piper.

I believe there was a time when the Reformed Baptist movement was about to break forth into a period of God given revival, but when they split ranks over the Sabbath a fair number of the Sabbatarians drew a line in the sand and refused to fellowship with the non-Sabbatarians.  Tragically, in the years since, many of those same Sabbatarians have taken on a fortress mentality that has served to lessen their influence within the larger Christian community.  I have no doubt that one day in the future there will be an unbiased Christian historian who will look into the history of the Reformed Baptists of the recent decades and will weep when he sees the opportunities that were lost.

Alongside of the decline of the Sabbatarian Calvinistic Baptist movement we have seen the growing influence of a new breed of Calvinist. I am convinced that the growing influence of what is understood as New Calvinism has come about because God has blessed the ministry of John Piper and other big hearted brethren. They are servants who are not afraid to reach out to brothers and sisters in Christ who live beyond the pages of our dearly held Confessions. What one of us who has been around since 1970 would have imagined Calvinistic brethren such as Tim Keller, Don Carson, Doug Moo, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, C.J. Mahaney, Mark Dever, Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, and so many other big hearted Calvinistic brethren getting together to share Christ in public forums? Thank God for TGC and the other forums that serve the cause of the Cross!

I personally believe the foundation stones of this larger movement can be traced back to the period between 1988 to 2001 and more specifically to 1996. From 1992 to November 1995 Piper’s sermons were to be found on outlets such as Delphi and AOL. Those were the early years of dial-up Bulletin Boards and the Internet. In December of 1995 Piper’s sermon library went Internet on mdc.net/~ic2  followed by John G. Reisinger’s soundofgrace.com domain in 1995. If I really knew what I was doing I would have gone about it a little different. In the beginning John G. Reisinger’s content drew attention to John Piper who was not as widely known but shortly thereafter the situation reversed. Reisinger’s Sound of Grace was published 10 times a year while Piper’s sermons were published weekly.

That God has chosen to use the voice of John Piper to communicate His Good News to millions upon millions across our globe and not a leader of the Reformed Baptist Sabbatarian movement is not surprising. Visit their forums and read their opinions of Non-Sabbatarian Baptist brethren. I may not agree with all of Piper’s choices for conference speakers but I believe God has given me enough discernment to know when to pray more and complain less about my brothers and sisters in Christ. When I look back over the years I sometimes smile because I personally know how God has mightily used the likes of the non-Sabbatarian John G. Reisinger to help facilitate the world wide influence of John Piper. Reisinger has told me more than once that John Piper is his favorite preacher. Good choice JGR! I will be forever indebted to the influence of both of these Christ exalting, God loving men in my life and ministry. I am not alone.

In conclusion I would encourage those who are troubled by Desiring God’s choice of speakers to get over it.  When our Lord puts a ministry of the magnitude of Desiring God and John Piper on your shoulders you will be thankful for brothers and sisters who loved you enough to lift your name before the throne of grace and sought God’s blessing upon the labor He has assigned you.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:3-18)

We love you John Piper. We love your zeal for the things of God’s kingdom. We love your heart. Be encouraged! Preach and live Christ among us. Enjoy your time off!