{"id":1078,"date":"2010-04-07T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2010-04-07T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/a-christian-leader-opens-his-heart-and-sets-an-example-for-us.html"},"modified":"2010-04-07T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2010-04-07T00:00:01","slug":"a-christian-leader-opens-his-heart-and-sets-an-example-for-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/04\/a-christian-leader-opens-his-heart-and-sets-an-example-for-us.html","title":{"rendered":"A Christian Leader Opens His Heart and Sets an Example for Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

I learned today that John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church<\/a>,
\nprolific author, and one of our nation’s most influential Christian
\nleaders, is taking an eight-month leave from his work as a pastor,
\nwriter, and speaker.<\/p>\n

\"piper-john-4.jpg\"<\/span><\/p>\n

This, in and of itself, is a bit surprising, given Piper’s usual
\nvolume of productivity, which is vast. But even more surprising is his
\nexplanation for this leave. Though he keeps private that which ought to
\nbe private, Piper opens his heart and life in a way that few people do,
\nespecially highly-regarded Christian leaders.<\/p>\n

Here are some excerpts from the letter Piper posted on the church website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a
\ngrowing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my
\nministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

I see several species of pride in my soul that, while they may not
\nrise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have
\ntaken a toll on my relationship with No\u00ebl and others who are dear to
\nme. How do I apologize to you, not for a specific deed, but for ongoing
\ncharacter flaws, and their effects on everybody?<\/p>\n

No\u00ebl and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there
\nis no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the
\nelders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor,
\nespecially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender
\ncompanion. In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending.<\/p>\n

The other way that our marriage is not an island is that its
\nstrengths and defects have consequences for others. No one in the orbit
\nof our family and friends remains unaffected by our flaws. My prayer is
\nthat this leave will prove to be healing from the inside of my soul,
\nthrough No\u00ebl’s heart, and out to our children and their families, and
\nbeyond to anyone who may have been hurt by my failures.<\/p>\n

In 30 years, I have never let go of the passion for public
\nproductivity. In this leave, I intend to let go of all of it. No
\nbook-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No
\nTwitter. No articles. No reports. No papers. And no speaking
\nengagements.<\/p>\n

Personally, I view these months as a kind of relaunch of what I hope
\nwill be the most humble, happy, fruitful five years of our 35 years at
\nBethlehem and 46 years of marriage. Would you pray with me to that end?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I have no need to “read between the lines” and figure out what was
\n“really going on.” I trust John Piper to be honest and believe that he
\nhas been extraordinarily open here about his own shortcomings. Thus, I
\ndon’t believe there’s any hidden story to be found here.<\/p>\n

But I do believe there are some valuable lessons to be learned, for
\nall of us, but especially for those of us who are Christian leaders
\n(pastors, elders, etc.). Here are some of those lessons:<\/p>\n

Don’t we all need times when we step back and get a “reality check”
\nfrom the Holy Spirit? I know I do. Yet it’s easy not to step back and
\nlisten to the Lord.<\/p>\n

Yes, being “rock solid” in one’s marriage is essential, but not
\nenough. Piper speaks the truth when he says that “‘rock solid’ is not
\nalways an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A
\nrock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion. In other
\nwords, the precious garden of my home needs tending.”  As one who tends
\ntoward the rocky side of things, this is a powerful and pointed word
\nfor me. I think many, many pastors, in particular, should reflect upon
\nwhat Piper is saying here about the quality of relationship in a
\nmarriage. (Thank you, John, for your openness about this!)<\/p>\n

I admire Piper’s gutsy choice to step back from his work – indeed,
\nhis godly work – in order to focus on his marriage and his soul. This
\nexample both challenges and encourages me. Even if I’m not in a
\nposition to take (or to need) an eight-month sabbatical, I can
\ncertainly make choices to prioritize my relationships with my wife and
\nchildren.<\/p>\n

Actually, I’m going to make one of those choices now, and stop
\nwriting so that I can walk the dog with my wife. I will be praying for
\nJohn and No\u00ebl Piper, and for so many others of us who wrestle with
\nchallenges similar to theirs. May God give us the grace to be honest
\nwith our Lord, with ourselves, and with our Christian community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I learned today that John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church, prolific author, and one of our nation’s most influential Christian leaders, is taking an eight-month leave from his work as a pastor, writer, and speaker. This, in and of itself, is a bit surprising, given Piper’s usual volume of productivity,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-life"],"yoast_head":"\nA Christian Leader Opens His Heart and Sets an Example for Us - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1078\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}