With John Piper retiring as a pastor, it is a reminder that many of our Evangelical leaders of today are, to say it delicately, of such an age that transition is inevitable over the next few years. It is easy to forget that these leaders themselves built on a foundation laid by others who went before them. That knowledge, and our faith in the sovereignty of God should make us full of faith for the future.
One such great of the past is still very much with us, some 30 years after he himself retired! I found reading an interview with him over at Desiring God rather encouraging. I am grateful for the past and full of hope for the future:
Most notably, Culver is the author of the massive 1200-page theology published in 2005 by Christian Focus, Systematic Theology: Biblical & Historical, the book he moved to rural Minnesota to work on, and gave over a dozen years to writing.
Tony and I knew we were in for a treat, and Culver didn’t disappoint. It made for a seriously interesting lunch appointment and afternoon interview.
A Man from a Passing Era
Culver is one of the last men standing from an era of evangelicalism most Millennials can only read about. He was born 1916. He spent the bulk of his career teaching theology at Wheaton and Trinity and retired in 1975 — three years before D.A. Carson joined the Trinity faculty and five years before John Piper became pastor at Bethlehem Baptist.
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