John Stephen Piper (born January 11, 1946) is an American
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
scholar,
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
theologian, pastor, and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
.
Piper taught
biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
at
Bethel University for six years (1974–1980), before serving as pastor for preaching and vision of
Bethlehem Baptist Church (
Converge
Converge may refer to:
* Converge (band), American hardcore punk band
* Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body
* Limit (mathematics)
* Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines
*CONVERGE CFD s ...
) in Minneapolis for 33 years (1980–2013).
Piper is the founder and senior teacher of desiringGod.org, named for his book ''Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist'' (1986), and has written a number of award-winning books, including
ECPA Christian Book Award
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...
winners ''Spectacular Sins'', ''What Jesus Demands from the World'', ''Pierced by the Word'', and ''God's Passion for His Glory'', as well as bestsellers ''Don't Waste Your Life'' and ''The Passion of Jesus Christ''.
Biography
Piper was born on January 11, 1946, in
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
, to Bill and Ruth Piper. His father was a traveling
evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
for over 60 years. Before Piper was one year old, his family moved to
Greenville,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
, where he spent the remainder of his youth, graduating from
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people:
People
* Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman
*Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812
* ...
High School in 1964.
According to Piper, he had a religious conversion at his mother's knee while on a family vacation in Florida when he was six years old. Piper has remarked that the fact he was converted at the age of six "blows him away", not because he remembers the event, but due to his belief in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
's telling of the hopeless condition of all humans who have not been converted.
Piper married Noël Henry in December 1968, and together they had four sons, a daughter, and twelve grandchildren. He attended
Wheaton College between 1964 and 1968, majoring in literature and minoring in philosophy.Studying
romantic literature with
Clyde Kilby led him to take particular interest in poetry, Piper has published several books of poetry, and continues to pursue, with his poetry, the deeper reality of personal, theological and social reality. He has explained in both prose and poetry why he writes.
C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
has remained a profound influence in Piper's life, in large measure, he says, because of the "combination of rational precision with language, and profound poetic perception of reality."
In the fall of 1966, Piper caught
mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...
, and during this infection, he listened to the Pastor
Harold John Ockenga
Harold John Ockenga (June 6, 1905 – February 8, 1985) was a leading figure of mid-20th-century American Evangelicalism, part of the reform movement known as "Neo-Evangelicalism". A Congregational minister, Ockenga served for many years as ...
on WETN, his college's radio station. Piper dated his call to the ministry of God’s word to that experience, stating, “I can remember listening there on my bed to his messages on the radio and feeling inside my heart simply explode with longing to be able to handle the word of God the way he was handling it in the pulpit at Edman Chapel. Before those three weeks were over, I had resolved to drop organic chemistry… That was, I believe, my call to the ministry of the word.”
But the most formative season theologically was yet to come: three years under the tutelage of
Daniel Payton Fuller, at
Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature.
Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...
in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
, from 1968 to 1971. Fuller’s influence on Piper was, he admits with thankfulness, enormous. Three things that would mark Piper’s life-work are traceable to that influence: assiduous attention to exegetical detail in Bible study (indeed in all reading), a central conviction of the all-embracing sovereignty of God, and what Piper came to call Christian Hedonism.
Piper received his
Doctor of Theology degree in New Testament studies at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
, Germany (1971–1974) under Leonhard Goppelt. His dissertation, ''Love Your Enemies'', was published by
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
and
Baker Book House
Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...
. Upon completion of his doctorate, Piper taught biblical studies at
Bethel University in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...
, for six years between 1974 and 1980.
Piper's mother died on December 16, 1974 in a bus wreck in Israel. Following this incident in 1990, a tribute to her was included in Piper's booklet ''
What's the Difference?''.
Ministry
![2202020FLC VCFJP-7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/2202020FLC_VCFJP-7.jpg)
In 1980, Piper became pastor of
Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he ministered until March 31, 2013 as pastor for preaching and vision. Piper became involved in evangelical Christianity following the publication of his book ''Desiring God: Meditations of a
Christian Hedonist'' in 1986, and has continued to publish dozens of books further articulating his theological perspective. In 1994, Piper founded Desiring God Ministries, with the aim of "spread
nga passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ". Desiring God Ministries offers all of Piper's sermons and articles from the past three decades—and most of his books—online at no cost.
Piper took an eight month leave of absence from his ministry from May 1, 2010, to January 9, 2011.
He announced in June 2011 that he would soon step down from his role of pastor. A candidate to succeed him was announced in March 2012,
and on May 20, 2012, Jason Meyer was voted in (784 yes to 8 no) to be the next pastor for preaching & vision, replacing Piper.
On March 31, 2013 (Easter Sunday), Piper preached his final sermon as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist
and announced in an open letter to the congregation that he and his family would be moving to Tennessee for at least a year, in order for the church's new leadership to develop a strategic vision for the church without distractions. He still attends the church and is designated pastor emeritus
with no official role in the church leadership.
Recognition
In 2010, a ''
Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
'' was published in his honor, entitled ''For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper'', including contributions from
Don Carson
Donald Arthur Carson (born December 21, 1946) is an evangelical biblical scholar. He is a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and president and co-founder of the Gospel Coalition. He has written ...
,
Sinclair Ferguson
Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson (born 21 February 1948) is a Scottish theologian known in Reformed Christian circles for his teaching, writing, and editorial work. He has been Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Sem ...
,
G. K. Beale,
Thomas R. Schreiner
Thomas R. Schreiner (born April 24, 1954) is an American Reformed New Testament scholar. He is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously taught at Bethel U ...
,
Wayne Grudem
Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''.
Life
Grudem was bo ...
,
Al Mohler,
C. J. Mahaney,
Mark Dever
Mark E. Dever (born August 28, 1960) is a theologian and the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and the president of 9Marks (formerly known as the Center for Church Reform), a Christian ministry he co-founded " ...
,
John MacArthur, and
Bill Mounce.
In 2018, he was named one of the ''12 Most Effective Preachers in English'' by
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
.
Personal life
He married Noël Henry in 1968 and had five children, including an adopted daughter.
[Trillia Newbell]
John Piper retreats to Knoxville for a year of writing and reflection, and shares his thoughts on fa
knoxnews.com, USA, June 15, 2013 His son
Abraham Piper has publicly criticized evangelical Christianity.
On January 11, 2006, Piper announced that he had been diagnosed with
prostate cancer. According to a letter sent to his church, he and his doctors believed that the cancer was fully treatable. Piper responded to his diagnosis with the following:
Piper underwent successful surgery on February 14, 2006.
Books
External links
*
John Piper Biographical Sketch on Monergism.com
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piper, John Stephen
1946 births
20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
American Calvinist and Reformed Christians
American Calvinist and Reformed ministers
American Calvinist and Reformed theologians
American Christian clergy
American evangelicals
American sermon writers
Baptist ministers from the United States
American Baptist theologians
Baptist writers
Bible commentators
Baptists from Tennessee
Bethel University (Minnesota) faculty
Fuller Theological Seminary alumni
Living people
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
People from Chattanooga, Tennessee
Supersessionism
Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni
Writers from Greenville, South Carolina