June 12, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Interviews | Reading
Meet Pete Greasley.
My friend Pete is a jolly Englishman, an erstwhile rock musician, and a would-be sailor, who serves Sovereign Grace Ministries by traveling to Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia preaching the gospel and serving churches for the glory of God. And today you get to meet him.
Peter is based out of
Christchurch in Newport, Wales, where he has served as senior pastor for 14 years. He and his wife Jenny have been married for 26 years and have been blessed with three children.
So how does Peter order his devotional time? What does he do for fun? Why the distain for watching sports on television? Why does he collect old, broken watches? Let’s find out.
Pete, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I wake at different times, all dependent upon what time I get to bed! I’ve never required a lot of sleep; if I get to bed at midnight then I’m normally wide awake around 5:00 am. Sometimes I’ll get up right away, but if it’s been a late night, I’ll lie there for a little while so as not to disturb my long-suffering wife who needs more sleep than I!
My mornings have been going through a change recently. In the past, I was regularly spending around 30 to 40 minutes in my devotions and then spending much longer on emails before heading to the office. This wasn’t working; I was arriving at the office more aware of my workload than the Savior, so I determined to not switch on my computer for the first two hours after I woke (bit of an Edwards’ like ‘resolution’). This has proved fruitful for me. Rather than ‘getting through my devotions’ in order to ‘get on with business’, I have far longer to read, think, pray and ponder. The emails still get done; but they no longer take the priority of time. God has been kind to me in this.
My devotional reading consists of three things:
Reading scripture. I’ll just spend some time reading through a book. I try to alternate between Old and New Testaments.
Reading books that will help my soul. At present I’m reading
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross edited by Nancy Guthrie;
Whiter than Snow by Paul Tripp and re-reading
The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes;
The Great Exchange by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington.
I always spend time in the scripture from which I’m preaching the following Sunday. This helps me to meditate upon it and live in it prior to preparing the message or going to any commentaries, which I do on Friday and Saturday.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, (c) or for personal enjoyment?
Books for my soul are the ones mentioned above. Together with these I spend most time with my dear friend Mr. Spurgeon. How I love him!
I’ve four books on the go at the moment:
The Great Work of the Gospel by John Ensor;
The Future of Justification by John Piper;
Simple Church by Rainer and Geiger; and
Minority Report by Carl Trueman.
I like to read histories and biographies. I’m on volume 3 of Simon Shama’s
History of Britain;
The Calvinistic Methodist Fathers of Wales by John Morgan Jones and William Morgan (a gift from C.J.);
Somme Mud by E.P.F. Lynch on the experiences of an infantryman in WWI France; and
The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
No one book in particular, but I always have Mr. Spurgeon to hand. Why? Because his love for the Savior at the cross together with his passion for the lost keep me on track.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
Every now and then I will scan in a quote to my computer, but apart from scribbling all over my books, the truth is I’ve no decent system for reference and remembering. OK, I’m convicted…thanks for the question!
Join me next time for the second part of my interview with my friend, Pete Greasley.
Welcome back to my interview with author and speaker Randy Alcorn. You can read part one
here.
Randy, apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
I do re-read some books, though there aren’t many I read more than two or three times. I’ve read Tozer’s
The Knowledge of the Holy several times, as I have Lewis’s
Space Trilogy and
The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as
Mere Christianity and
The Screwtape Letters. Another favorite is Francis Schaeffer’s
He Is There and He Is Not Silent. I’ve also gone back to Piper’s
Desiring God and Bridges'
The Joy of Fearing God.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I underline copiously and scrawl in the margins. Sometimes I write notes in the front of the book, with page numbers. When doing research, I have a secretary who can read my hieroglyphic notations, type up my marginal notes, boldfacing, and yellow highlighting to distinguish from the text of the book I’ve underlined. Later in the research, I go through the file, copying and pasting possible citations, along with my notations. This becomes a very rough initial draft which I reorder as I go, cutting out the majority of both the citations and my notes. My original notes either disappear or get morphed, though sometimes they make their way as is into my final book. When I’m certain I want to quote from a source, I not only underline, but put an asterisk. To confirm bibliographic information later, I can search for the quote by key words.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture) who would it be and why?
I suppose Augustine or Calvin are obvious choices, but I would be more inclined toward Charles Spurgeon, giving honorable mention to John Newton. Some wouldn’t think of them as theologians per se, but their pastoral roles and life experiences brought a great deal to the table I would love to draw from.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
“It is impossible to make a balanced statement.”
You can spend all day qualifying what you’re saying and removing the punch from it. Jesus made many statements that have to be clarified by others (e.g. plucking out your eye and cutting off your hand, and hating your family). But it is a mistake to strip such statements of their power by immediately modifying them and saying what they don’t mean instead of what they do. I think we are free to make prophetic statements without always qualifying them.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I don’t preach regularly, but speak on various subjects and texts from time to time, often related to writing I’ve done or am doing. It’s been many years since I’ve read a book on preaching, but I remember appreciating Stott’s
Between Two Worlds. I love reading the sermons of Charles Spurgeon, though I wouldn’t recommend his preaching methodology. He was one of a kind.
Join me next time for the third part of my interview with Randy Alcorn.
May 29, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Reading
Meet Randy Alcorn.
Randy is the founder and director of
Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) and a prolific writer. Alcorn has authored a small library of over 30 titles, which include non-fiction books…
- Heaven
- Money, Possessions, and Eternity
- The Purity Principle
- The Grace and Truth Paradox
- The Treasure Principle
- Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments
…and a number of best-selling novels:
- Safely Home
- Deadline
- Dominion
- Deception
- The Ishbane Conspiracy
- Edge of Eternity
Randy lives in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife, Nanci. They have two married daughters and four grandsons.
But you may know all this already. So who is Randy Alcorn? What is he doing awake at 2:00 in the morning? And why does he want me to live a long and healthy life?
Let’s find out.
Randy, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
My wife, Nanci, likes to go to bed at 9:30. We read for forty minutes or so until she’s ready to sleep, then I get up to go study, research, and write. Since I rarely go to sleep before midnight, and often at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., my wake-up time varies day to day. Generally, I sleep between six and eight hours and usually don’t have morning appointments, to allow flexibility in my study. (On Wednesday mornings I meet with two of my pastors who are dear friends, and we open the Word together.)
My devotional approach is eclectic. Some years I go through the Bible in a reading program. Other times, as I’m doing right now, I simply open God’s Word to a portion of Scripture and meditate on it, asking God for guidance. I don’t mean that I stick my finger in the Bible and just read wherever it lands—although I have done that and it can be fun. My normal approach to Bible study is to pore over texts that relate to something on my mind and heart. Sometimes this has been prompted by my research on current book projects.
For instance, I just finished
If God is Good …, a book on the problem of evil and suffering. (I didn’t solve it, by the way, but what an enriching study of Scripture.)
At one point, every morning for two or three weeks, I re-read Romans 8. In the last two years I read nearly one hundred books on evil and suffering, and my mind keeps going back to portions of this chapter in Romans. Morning after morning, reading that chapter, I find new things. Now, if you had asked me a month ago whether I planned to study one chapter of Scripture for the next three or four weeks, I would have said no. But here it is: Romans 8. God has put it on me, and it’s so rich.
This morning, I went from Romans 8 to the book of Job. Sometimes my Bible study is systematic, other times I find myself going from place to place in my Logos Bible study software, wherever I sense the Spirit of God leading me. No matter what approach I take, Bible study is pure pleasure for me.
Every book I write involves much Scripture, except my novels, but even then I meditate on Scripture related to a theme in the novel (for instance, passages on persecution when writing
Safely Home, my novel set in China).
I believe that all study of Scripture should be devotional, so on some days I have the privilege of doing ten hours of mostly biblical and devotional study.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
Hard to break it down, but I just finished
The Ultimate Guide to Christian History, and am reading the following (I like to have a number of books in process and jump back into whichever draws me most):
John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken;
A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God—A Biography by James L. Snyder;
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (prepublished manuscript);
The Shorter Writings of J.I. Packer;
Nero Wolfe: Murder by the Book by Rex Stout; and Francine River’s novel
Redeeming Love, a retelling of Hosea and Gomer’s story set in the old west.
I am always pulling from my shelf something by C.S. Lewis. And I’m also enjoying reading the notes in my ESV Study Bible (many thanks to Wayne Grudem and Justin Taylor and all who labored to put it together).
Yes, the ESV Study Bible is a rich resource, Randy. I highly recommend it!
Join me next time as I resume my interview with my friend Randy Alcorn.
May 22, 2009 by C.J. Mahaney
Categories: Interviews | Reading
Meet Mike Pierson.
Mike, 44, is the senior pastor of
Providence Church in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Mike says he and his family “stumbled” into the church for the first time in 1997. A few years later Mike was sent from Providence Church to attend the Pastors College. After graduation in 2001, Mike returned to Providence Church and spent another year as an intern and became the senior pastor in 2002.
Mike and his wife Carla have been married for nearly 23 years. They are blessed with five children. You may recall that I mentioned Mike in the introduction to our “Ordinary Pastors” blog post, which you can read
here.
Mike, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
Currently (and I say that because I’ve been known to change schedules frequently) I wake up around 6:30 and try to spend 45 minutes in morning devotions before work. My normal routine would involve some time of “Biblical Meditation” where I will read and meditate on fairly small portions of scripture. My goal is not quantity of reading in this setting but concentrating on soaking in the passage and allowing it to affect my soul and prayers. Right now I have been going slowly through the book of Acts specifically looking for and meditating on 3 things:
- The work of the Holy Spirit
- Gospel presentations / how salvation is talked about
- Miracles and healings
I’m usually reading though some book during my devotions too. I’m so aware that I need to understand and apply the gospel more and more to my life. Reading and re-reading small chunks of
The Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent helps me to apply the gospel to my own life daily and consistently. I love this book and highly recommend it.
As for praying, probably my most helpful, but sporadic, practice is to use biblical prayers (the Lord’s prayer, Paul’s prayers in Eph. 1 and 3, and Phil. 1, etc.) and praying those phrase by phrase. I attempt to let each word or phrase inform the content of prayers in my own words.
I also find it so helpful for my soul to worship at home too. I use CDs and I crank up the music because I can’t sing well and my only instrument is the drums.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, (c) or for personal enjoyment?
For my soul:
The Gospel Primer (Milton Vincent). What a book. Buy it, read it, read it again. Read it slowly. Keep reading it.
Spiritual Depression (D. Martin Lloyd-Jones).
Age of Opportunity (Paul Tripp). Is there a better book to help the heart of a father of teens? If so, I haven’t found it.
When Sinners Say ‘I Do’ (Dave Harvey). I’m especially enjoying the chapter on mercy in marriage.
For pastoral ministry:
The Christian Ministry (Charles Bridges). The chapter entitled “The Want of Faith” is being used by God to address unbelief and is having a transforming effect on my view of God.
Revival and Revivalism (Iain Murray). I just started reading this after subjective impressions that the Lord wanted our church to begin to pray for revival on a more consistent basis.
For personal enjoyment:
Not much. The last book I read in this category was
Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I wish I had a system, but I don’t. I do underline and write in margins so I can go back and find parts that were helpful. I always read with a pencil in hand.
Join me next time for part two of my interview with my friend, Mike Pierson.
Meet my fascinating friend Grady Van Wright.
In the early 1980s Grady served in the United States Marine Corps in the Surveillance Target Acquisitions Platoon (which is today simply referred to as the Scout/Sniper platoon). During this period Grady served as a part of a multinational peacekeeping force that was sent into Beirut, Lebanon, where—by God’s grace—he survived the infamous bombing of the Marine barracks in October 1983. Seven months after the bombing, while in Okinawa, Japan, Grady came to faith in Jesus Christ. And a little over a decade later he became a pastor.
Grady is now 46 years old and serves as the senior pastor of
Sovereign Grace Church in Houston, Texas. Grady has pastored for 14 years. He and his wife, Sonya, have been married for 19 years and have 6 children.
Grady, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I start the morning at about 6:00–6:30am. Sonya and I get the kids up before breakfast and we do our family devotion. We read the Bible together using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible program, which involves reading four chapters a day; two in the morning and two in the evening, from various books of the Bible. My family and I spend 30-40 minutes reading the morning passages together, worshiping, and praying. Later, after breakfast, I normally get to the local coffee shop for my personal devotional reading, which is presently on the topic of heaven. I find that this devotional helps me to navigate through the day with an eternal perspective and to cultivate a more heavenly mind.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
With regard to my soul currently I’m reading
Heaven: A World of Love by Jonathan Edwards, published by The Banner of Truth Trust as part of their Pocket Puritan series. Again this goes along with my present devotion to comprehend the joys of heaven. Also, I’m re-reading
The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson, published by Crossway Books.
For pastoral ministry,
The Christian Pastor’s Manual: A Selection of Tracts on the Duties, Difficulties, and Encouragements of the Christian Ministry compiled by John Brown in 1826, edited by Dr. Don Kistler, and published by Soli Deo Gloria. This book has proven to be an invaluable resource to explore multi-faceted duties of a shepherd. The lists of contributors include men like John Newton, Isaac Watts, Philip Doddridge, John Erskine, and others.
For my personal enjoyment I’ve recently acquired the complete volumes of the old Time Life Series Books
The Old West. I find the personal stories of courage, fortitude, and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds fascinating, as well as the clear and not so clear delineation between the good guys and bad guys. My only disappointment with the series was that there was not a single volume dedicated to the church’s influence on the old west; such an account would have made for interesting reading indeed!
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
John Murray’s
Redemption Accomplished and Applied. The reason is that I am very aware of my sinful nature and its desire to reassert dominion over my heart. In failures and victories this little book has been a constant reminder to me that “the only righteousness conceivable that will meet the requirements of our situation as sinners and meet the requirements of full and irrevocable justification is the righteousness of Christ.”
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
Years ago a computer savvy member of the church developed, using Microsoft Access, a database to help me keep track electronically of quotes, references, etc. However, I understand that there are now programs that are specifically made for that purpose. I certainly plan to look into those.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
Since the question didn’t have a qualifier, like “if they would have you,” I would have to say Tertullian, the North African second-century theologian, whose most notable contribution was his excellent work on the doctrine of Trinity. A couple of reasons why I would choose to study underneath him would be one, his pursuit of sanctification in a Christian culture living in relative peace and normalcy is very compelling. Two, his solid intellectual prowess balanced by fervent emotion!
Join me next time for the second half of my interview with Grady Van Wright.
Welcome back to my interview with Mark Altrogge, senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church (Indiana, PA). Read part one of the interview
here.
Mark, what book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
(a) for my soul:
A few months ago, my friend
Bill Kittrell recommended I read
The Righteous Man’s Refuge, in the Works of John Flavel, and it was so encouraging I’ve continued to read other sections, currently
The Fountain of Life. I also recently enjoyed
A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent,
Spectacular Sins by John Piper, and
Husbands Love Your Wives by Larry McCall.
(b) for my pastoral ministry:
Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, by Graeme Goldsworthy, which is brilliant and makes my head hurt, since this Goldsworthy guy obviously had more theological training than a degree in painting. Recently read
Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, which contains helpful ideas for assessing our church’s process of making disciples.
(c) for my personal enjoyment:
Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath on how to make abstract ideas simple, concrete, and memorable.
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark, chock full of simple, stimulating ways to strengthen writing.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, a dark story about a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world (I don’t even know what that means). Read it both for enjoyment and to try to learn from McCarthy’s stark and poetic writing style.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
Favorite book I’ve read more than once:
The Mystery of Providence by my man John Flavel. God’s providence fills me with wonder and faith.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
Underlining. Occasionally I type quotations in a Google Notebook.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
I know he might not be the foremost theologian, but I wish I could have attended Charles Spurgeon’s lectures. I am moved by his passion for Jesus, the gospel, and people. And I love his sense of humor and his illustrations.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
When Kristi has said, “Well, it wasn’t one of your better messages.”
Or when fellow pastor Joe Ryer has said, “I think it would have been better if you hadn’t spent 40 minutes on your first point, then 5 minutes on points 2 through 10.”
These have been helpful.
Actually, I think one of the best pieces of counsel is, “What does this passage teach me about Christ?” I believe Jeff Purswell said it.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell. Everything in the message must drive toward application.
C.J., your humble example of revealing your own sins and struggles in messages is one of the most significant things I’ve learned about preaching.
This is meaningful encouragement my friend! Thank you.
Join me next time for part three of my interview with my friend Mark Altrogge.
Meet Bill Kittrell, 49.
Bill is the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church of Knoxville (TN), a church he planted 25 years ago. He and his wife, Cheri, have been married for 29 years and have four children and one granddaughter.
Bill earned a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Tennessee. Yep, forestry. No comment.
Bill, thanks for taking a moment to answer my questions! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
If I am sleeping well I usually wake up between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. I spend approx 2 hours in reading, prayer, etc. For my devotions I am currently reading the Gospel of Luke, the Psalms, and 2 Chronicles.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
For my soul:
The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel.
Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints by John Piper, Justin Taylor, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn, Helen Roseveare, and John MacArthur.
The Sermon on the Mount by Sinclair Ferguson.
Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge.
For pastoral ministry:
John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, & Doxology edited by Burk Parsons.
Lloyd-Jones: Messenger of Grace by Iain Murray.
The Cross and Christian Ministry by D.A. Cason.
Various commentaries on 1 Corinthians.
For personal enjoyment:
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham.
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006–2008 by Bob Woodward.
Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President by Brian Lamb and Susan Swain.
Mountain Men and Fur Traders of the Far West: Eighteen Biographical Sketches by LeRoy R. Hafen and Harvey L. Carter.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
I would re-read these about the same amount:
Living the Cross Centered Life; Humility; Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J.
The Pleasures of God; Desiring God; Future Grace by John Piper.
Disciplines of Grace by Jerry Bridges.
Works of John Flavel.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
In books that I do write in, I dog-ear the page and write a topic on the top of the page. My assistant copies the page and files it under that topic.
In books that I don’t write in, I dog-ear pages and my assistant copies the page and puts it in a notebook.
Join me next time for part two of my interview with my friend Wild Bill.
Welcome back to our interview with Carlos Contreras (Juárez, Mexico). Read part one of the interview here.
Carlos, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
I usually wake up at around 6:15 a.m. but since I am not a morning person I usually exercise or shower first while listening to a great sermon on one of the podcasts I am subscribed to. Then I spend between 30 to 45 minutes reading my Bible and praying. Every morning I read a Psalm to start my devotions and pray through it. Then I read a section of Scripture which currently would be in the gospels. I finish with a time of intercession.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
For my soul I have greatly enjoyed Because He Loves Me by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick (I believe next to your book and Jerry Bridges’ The Gospel for Real Life it’s one of the best resources on living the gospel centered life).
For pastoral ministry I am currently reading The Reason for God by Tim Keller (an excellent help in understanding what people may be thinking as we attempt to reach them) and Jesus Ascended by Gerrit Scott Dawson (I was very interested in some of his thoughts by a couple of quotes that Elyse includes in her book).
I have enjoyed for years reading good contemporary Latin American literature (it also helps me to preserve my Spanish since most of my reading is in English) and I also enjoy classical Russian literature.
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
Here are my all-time favorites:
Knowing God by J.I. Packer, because it pointed me to the majesty of God by a man who knows God.
The Cross of Christ by Stott, because it first introduced me to the meaning of the cross. This book changed my life; it helped me understand the gospel.
The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal, because it helped stir true passion and desire for God.
Sin and Temptation by John Owen. Amazingly this was one of the most liberating books I have ever read. It truly is an indispensable tool in dealing with sin.
Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell. This book helped me a great deal to understand growing in holiness without falling into legalism.
Lost in the Middle by Paul Tripp. I believe this has been the best book I have read on grace and biblical counseling, maybe because I read it when I was in my forties and was facing some significant regrets.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
I always use a yellow highlighter and because of that have been able to remember pretty closely the location of a particular quote.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
I love to imagine I could be admitted to the T4G Seminary and study under the men that have influenced my life the most: Mahaney, Dever, Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, Mohler and Duncan and hope they could have as guest teachers Packer, Stott, Grudem, Carson, Bridges, Bullmore, and Purswell. What more could I ask?
Join us next time for the third and final part of the interview with Carlos.
Welcome to the second part of my interview with biblical counselor and author Dr. David Powlison (part one here).
David, apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
Two books are nearly as marked up as my Bible: Valley of Vision and Luther’s Prayers. I don’t read them straight through, but I frequently return to them, dipping in here and there, returning to favorite places. Why? They freshly express how faith lives, thinks, feels, talks. They struggle, they delight, they need God, they see God.
I extensively annotate, add, reword, update, personalize VoV prayers to make them my own. For example, simply turning “thee/thou” into “You” makes a prayer sing more pointedly and personally. I find that I often add two strands to VoV prayers:
[1] a brighter note of joy, gratitude and meditation on the mercies of Christ (so the prayers don’t turn introspective regarding a sense of sinfulness);
[2] a more candid awareness of and expression of our experience of sufferings (so the prayers don’t turn stoic, as if spirituality rises “above” our life situation). To my ears, the Puritans can have a slight drift towards sin-centricity and stoicism, somewhat slipping from the grace-centricity and humanity of Scripture. But that said, these prayers are a gold mine of living wisdom.
Luther’s way of engaging God and Scripture has deeply shaped me. He takes Scripture (and the Creeds) and puts it to work in a “four-stranded wreath”:
[1] as a textbook, revealing God and His will, wisdom and work;
[2] as a hymnbook, giving reasons that call forth gratitude and joy;
[3] as a book of confession, teaching me where to repent, where I need forgiveness, mercy, and awakening;
[4] as a prayerbook, guiding intercession into rich paths, rather than the “list” mentality that can make prayer so dull and man-centered.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
For many years I used the EndNote bibliography program to track what I read. I’d make summaries, take notes, and write out key quotations. I’ve not been as diligent with it in recent years, as I’ve tended to re-read choice books more often than read new books. I mark up books extensively with highlighting and marginal notes, and I write notes in the front pages that direct me to the page numbers of significant quotes and discussions.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
I can’t decide on only one! But I can settle on two: Augustine and Calvin. These men lived, breathed, prayed, thought, felt, and communicated so very well all that they understood of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Both men were mastered by the Psalms, and so their humanity and their ministries flourished in the ways of God.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
Live your message for a day, a week, a month, a lifetime. Then aim low, and you’re sure to hit something.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I don’t preach very often, but THE influence has been the model of how Scripture brings truth to bear. The Lord and His prophets and apostles always speak TO human beings and what they were facing, and they always speak personally, rather than speaking ABOUT topics and speaking impersonally. Jay Adams calls such I-you directness and relevance in communicating God’s truth “the preacher’s stance.” The Bible is not just “normative” truth about God, but enters into the “situational” realities and “existential” choices of the people to whom God speaks. (That way of putting it comes from John Frame.) Ministry must do the same, afresh, entering people’s experience of troubles (external) and struggles (internal).
Please join me next time for part three of my interview with David.
Meet David Powlison.
Dr. Powlison is a graduate of Harvard (A.B.), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.).
Dr. Powlison is the author of two excellent books:
- Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture
- Speaking Truth in Love
Since 1977 Powlison has served as a counselor and teacher at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF). Since 1992, he has been the editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He also is an adjunct lecturer at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
But you probably know all this already.
So who is David Powlison? What does he read for fun? What role do his friends play in his life and ministry? And how can he possibly think that “wasting” time actually makes him more productive? Let’s find out.
Thanks for your time, David! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
For the past several years I’ve been sleeping well, after many years of an erratic and disabling sleep pattern. It is a great joy to awaken feeling refreshed at 6:30 or 7:00, after so many years of exhaustion. On a typical day I spend about an hour reading Scripture, meditating, praying, singing – 1/3 to 2/3 of the time on my own, 1/3 to 2/3 of the time with Nan, depending.
I am currently reading through Scripture looking for and highlighting every expression of faith, every faithful response to God. (The last time through I was noticing everything about God Himself – His names, actions, attributes….).
Depending on the day’s responsibilities, I may spend more time, even much more time, in study, meditation, reflection, prayer. I like reading entire chunks of Scripture. This past week I’ve spent 4-5 “extra” hours working through, pondering, visiting and revisiting Psalm 63 and 1 John. This morning I read and highlighted Colossians, making it both my meditation and prayer.
On good, lively days, meditation and prayer consistently arise at key junctures, at points of need, at moments of transition. These living moments, when Scripture “reappears” in the flow of my day, when I am consciously aware of both God and current need, are the proof of living faith, when I am awake to God and to His immediate call.
I don’t only meditate on Scripture, but also on my life and the circle of relationships and responsibilities. Where am I anxious? Irritated? Pressured? Called to love? Thankful? Tempted? Suffering? Where do I need God’s immediate mercies and help? Where are family and friends struggling, and in need of mercies and help? I think about the joys and blessings; about the burdens, troubles, and struggles; about the responsibilities of the day.
This dual meditation brings prayer to life, brings real need to real God, gives shape to the day, and forms the attitudes I bring into the day.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
[a] Devotions and Prayers of John Calvin (Charles Edwards, compiler, Baker Books, 1960); Calvin on Scripture and Divine Sovereignty (John Murray, Baker Books, 1960); “The Great Thanksgiving,” the Lord’s Supper service in the Book of Common Prayer pages 333-340; J.I. Packer’s Knowing God; Patrick’s ancient hymn “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity.” These awaken, ground, and instruct faith.
[b] Life Together (Dietrich Bonhoeffer); Marilynne Robinson’s novels Gilead and Home; Some Principles of Moral Theology and Their Application (Kenneth Kirk, 1920). In very different ways, these bring to life the realities of hands-on pastoral care.
[c] Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels. For many years these books have been comfortable friends, and sheer pleasure. They are full of keen perception, wit, lyricism, studies of human nature, adventure, beauty, bringing fresh perspective to current human affairs through immersing in the lives of people far away in time, space, and culture.
Please join me next week for part two of my interview with David.