It was about six years ago that I was first introduced to the ministry of John Piper and Desiring God. I can remember the car ride and the conversation where it happened. And oddly enough, it was a conversation about the sovereignty of God in salvation. Through the simple question of a South Carolina redneck, I was challenged and didn’t have an answer. His invitation to read this book called “Desiring God” was an invitation that would have consequences that neither he nor I would have ever imagined.

I was converted at the age of 20 by a simple question. I was awakened to a God I never knew existed at the age of 26 by a simple invitation.

And as I sit here in Minneapolis at the age of 32, life looks much different now than it did six years ago. I was a father then and by God’s grace I’m still a father now. I was a husband then, and by God’s sweet provision I’m still a husband now. I was a Christian then, and by God’s grace I’m still and will continue to be a child of God.

But something drastic has changed. The catalyst for that, primarily, has been the Lord Jesus Christ through the preaching of John Piper. God is much bigger to me than He was six years ago. God is more sweet to me than He was six years ago. God is more faithful to me than He was six years ago.

But there is also another side. God’s wrath is more terrible to me than it was six years ago. His judgment more terrifying to me than it was six years ago. His justice more frightening to me than it was six years ago.

And as I sit in the frigid cold of Minnesota four weeks from my first official sermon at Eternity, I am more convicted than ever that I have not walked with, reckoned with, called upon, trusted in, loved enough, meditated upon, stood in awe of, bowed before, pleaded with, sang the praises of or communed in the presence of this God enough that I will plead with men to flee to.

Planting a church has been an exhilarating experience. The variety of the days, the daunting nature of the challenge, the excitement of the new gathering of a people devoted to God. All those things are awesome. But planting a church is also a dangerous experience. Negotiating leases, working on financing, purchasing sound equipment, decided colors of carpets and walls, working through policies and procedures…all of those things are worthy endeavors and will help in the provision of a welcoming environment for those that we will invite.

But those things can rob you of the vision and the passionate zeal that is placed in your heart by a right apprehension of the Gospel. “Doing Church” can rob you and distract you from the God who sent his Son to die for the church.

Hearing John Piper preach is good for my soul. Hearing him preach on George Whitfield was necessary for my soul. Jesus is the hero. Jesus is the center. Courageous proclamation of the Gospel is what the church must rest on and be sustained with. Calling men to repent of their sin and letting them know of the terrible consequences that await them if they don’t is a serious endeavor. Holding out a Jesus who is Priest, Prophet, and King is a noble task and must not be taken flippantly.

May God grant me the grace in the pulpit to never point men to trust in themselves or in me. But rather to hold out the doctrines and truths of who Jesus is that call us to look upon Him and to see Him and Him alone as our righteousness and our life. If I preach for one week or 30 years, may I never stand in the pulpit and be a “velvet mouthed preacher” as Whitfield said that simply holds out flattering words and empty platitudes about the condition of men’s soul. May I never be scared of the opinion of others. May I never play for an audience of many. May I with boldness know that Jesus is my refuge. Jesus is my rock. Jesus is my fortress. Jesus is my redeemer. Jesus is my justifier. Jesus is my sanctifier. Jesus is my protector. May I proclaim the realities of the supernatural in a way that lets men know they ARE real and they ARE true and the WILL NOT escape them.

May God always be big at Eternity and may men and women always be small. May we hold sweetly to the Gospel. And may we never make men feel comfortable on the road to terrifying consequences of unbelief, namely hell.

I needed to have my soul stirred. I need it every day. And I thankful for the preaching of John Piper and the grace of God through Him for accomplishing that very thing in me.