Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

John Piper’s “Desiring God”

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Mark Dever posed his eighth “T4Free question” on the T4G blog earlier this week, and I was surprised that my answer was selected. (Perhaps mine had the least misspelled words and the most Piper-like hyphenated ones! Regardless, I’m grateful for this happy providence and eager for edification along with about 5,000 other people at T4G in mid-April 2008.) Here’s Mark’s question followed by the 100-words-or-less answer I submitted:

Q: “What Christian book (other than the Bible) do you think has been read by the most people attending T4G 2008, and why?”

A: “John Piper’s Desiring God

“This richly theological and warmly devotional best-seller has been the means for sending countless Christians on a trajectory towards theology that is increasingly joyful, robust, God-centered, Christ-exalting, and gospel-treasuring.

“My testimony is not unusual. I read it as a freshman in college and again during my first year of seminary, and it had a revolutionary effect on my Christian life. It shaped my attitude towards Reformed soteriology and convinced me that God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”

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In addition to selling the print book for just $9.50, Desiring God Ministries offers the following free resources:

I thank God for John Piper. He is a gift to the church.

On a related note, D. A. Carson pays Piper no small compliment in the preface to Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by mentioning him parallel to three other giants of the faith:

“But my aim is much more modest: to convey enough of his [i.e., Tom Carson’s] ministry and his own thought that ordinary ministers are encouraged, not least by the thought that the God of Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Piper is no less the God of Tom Carson, and of you and me” (p. 11).

Childlike Faith About Heaven

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Last Thursday evening one of my wife‘s pre-K4 students was tragically killed. On Monday morning Jenni had to inform her students that their little friend would not be coming back to school. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt from a moving letter she sent to parents Monday afternoon.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on this morning and how gracious God was to us and to the children as we discussed KC’s loss.

[Read more…] about Childlike Faith About Heaven

Mark Driscoll and Mark Dever on Church Planting

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Mark Driscoll was on the TEDS campus on January 29-30 leading the 2008 Chicago Boot Camp for the Acts 29 network, and I attended and profited from the following (sometimes provocative!) sessions he led:

  1. Preaching the Mission: MP3 | Notes

  2. Gospel-Centered Families: This is particularly practical. It’s almost entirely Q & A geared for the wives of church planters.

Also available from the same conference is Mark Dever’s thoughtful session: Church Planting Evangelism.

C. J. and Carolyn Mahaney on Parenting

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This week my wife and I listened to a two-part interview that Grant Layman conducted with C. J. and Carolyn Mahaney and their daughters Nicole and Janelle in 2002 (at least that’s the copyright date). My wife had already listened to it and wanted me to hear it. What an edifying, humbling, enjoyable interview. Highly recommended!

  1. Part 1: “Grant Layman opens this message on parenting by inviting his audience into the Mahaney’s living room. This session of testimonies from C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney and two of their daughters offer insight into biblical parenting. Grant interviews the Mahaney family on topics including guarding family times together, training godly sons and daughters, faithful confrontation of sin, proper discipline, and building a collection of family memories.”

  2. Part 2: “Grant Layman continues an insightful and fun-filled interview with C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney. Daughters Nicole and Janelle share what each appreciated most about her upbringing and make a fascinating statement concerning what they wish their parents had done differently. Topics include the challenges faced by parents of teens, and insight on graciously dealing with those challenges according to Scripture. “

Mahaneys

Mark Dever on Church Membership

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Last month I noted that Mark Dever was scheduled to speak on campus at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, for the Scripture and Ministry Lecture sponsored by the Henry Center.

MDever

1. His lecture on church membership is now available (MP3 | video). Here’s a description:

  • “Re-ordering Friendship, Love, and Enmity: A Biblical Reflection on Church Membership.” Membership should reflect a living commitment to a local church in attendance, giving, prayer and service; otherwise it is meaningless, worthless, and even dangerous. What does the lack of church membership say to the rest of the world about the church? To be a member is knowingly to be traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home. Dr. Dever will explore church membership from a biblical and historical approach, touching on the most difficult issues, which keep many Americans from committing to church membership.

2. Also available as is a follow-up interview with Mark Dever on church discipline conducted by Steve Farish on January 31, 2008 (MP3 | video).

Carolyn Mahaney on Biblical Womanhood (by Jenni Naselli)

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Jenni

[This is a guest post by my wife, Jenni. She has benefited immensely from Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters on biblical womanhood, and at my request she graciously agreed to summarize her experience for the benefit of others. –ADN]

Last year a close friend began telling me about Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by Carolyn Mahaney (wife of C. J. Mahaney) and Nicole (Mahaney) Whitacre.

Girl Talk

My friend had recently given birth to her first child, a baby girl, and was thoroughly enjoying the book’s emphasis on teaching daughters about biblical womanhood. I soon began devouring it! Then I discovered the Girl Talk Blog, MP3’s by Carolyn Mahaney, and two other books written by Carolyn Mahaney:

Feminine Appeal Shopping for Time

I began spending hours each day listening to Carolyn on my MP3 player while working in the home. I even bought the three books above and gave them as Christmas presents to my Mom, sister, mother-in-law, and three sisters-in-law!

Mahaney girls

Throughout these past few months, Carolyn has mentored me in the disciplines of biblical womanhood.

  • Her Titus 2 series (free as MP3 downloads) has challenged me to think seriously about my role as a believing wife and mother.
  • Her emphasis on “discovering the idols of your heart” in your motivations has convicted me to examine my own life and discern what motivates my decisions.
  • Her practice of encouraging others for God’s grace at work in their lives has challenged me to be more intentional about edifying others this way.
  • Her seriousness about confessing and dealing with sin has sobered me to examine and deal with the sin in my own heart.
  • Her teaching on motherhood has meant the most to me since our own baby girl, Kara Marie, is on the way! May God give me the grace to be half as intentional in teaching baby Kara about the disciplines of biblical womanhood as Carolyn was with her daughters.

Mahaney girls2

I am so grateful for Carolyn’s mentoring over the last several months. I am thankful that rather than giving fluffy women’s talks, she applies the gospel to all of life—especially to our roles as wives and mothers for the glory of God.

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