Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Pastor John Piper on Leave from Ministry


Pastor John Piper, my favourite theologian and pastor is going on leave of absence for eight months. So what is the big deal? Well, it is because of his noble intention to re-assess his soul, his relationship with his family, his pride and his idolatry level . Yes, recently in our Life Group (LG) we were studying the subject of humility and his action helped me to relate what he is doing and how we also can be humble. As you know many well know evangelists have fallen out of grace because of pride and indulging in worldly luxuries. In the word of one of Piper’s staffer, this is to prevent “prideful sipping from the poisonous cup of international fame and notoriety'" Many people have applauded Piper for his honesty and pre-emptive disconnection from ministry rather than punitive disconnection that we have seen among celebrity pastors. He humbles himself by withdrawing from public lime light and to ensure he is not making an “idol” out of his ministry.

We ordinary people are no different, amongst our own we can be prideful. We have to ensure and be wary not to allow our “fame” to get into our head.

Pastor Francis Chan of Corner Stone Community Church, Simi Valley, California is also much aware of the pitfalls of becoming too popular. Watch a video below. For more information about Pastor Chan, log on to Wikipedia or search Christianitytoday.com

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