{"id":2448,"date":"2006-11-04T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-04T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adrianwarnock.com\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/"},"modified":"2018-07-06T10:56:39","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T09:56:39","slug":"interview-al-mohler-part-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW – Al Mohler, Part Three"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a>\n


It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a link to his <\/strong><\/span>biography<\/span><\/a> for any who need to know more, as well as a link to my Together for the Gospel<\/em> Conference Round Up Post<\/a><\/u>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This interview is being serialised over several days. In the first<\/a> and second<\/a> parts of this interview, we explored the wide range of roles that Dr. Mohler performs \u2013 he is one busy person. So it may seem surprising that he became involved in yet another organization \u2013 Together for the Gospel<\/em>. So I decided to ask him about that.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a>Adrian<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

With all your busyness, somehow within it all you found time for this partnership called Together for the Gospel. Why?<\/em>\n

Dr. Mohler<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/span><\/div>\n

Well, Together for the Gospel<\/em> represents a centering in my life and ministry. At the most basic level, it is established in the friendship of four men who share so many common commitments and a common vision. The time spent with Lig, C. J., and Mark has been one of the best investments of my lifetime. I would wish for other Christians what I have found in these three friends\u2014a genuine friendship, accountability, fraternity, and fellowship that the world can neither sever nor understand. Out of this friendship of four has grown an extended network of friendships, for which we are all grateful. The focus of our greatest concern is the health of Christ\u2019s church in this generation. We are, as our name suggests, together for the cause of the Gospel.\n

Adrian<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
Can you tell me, in your own words, just a bit about how Together for the Gospel<\/em> first came about? What sparked it off?<\/p>\n

Dr. Mohler<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
The movement truly grew out of our friendship. The friendship came first, and as we grew together and invested untold hours and days in conversation, a clear sense of common concern and urgency emerged. I think I might have first suggested that we consider a conference, but it was Mark who ran with the idea and it was Mark, along with C. J. and his team, who really brought organizational shape to the conference. The conference, and the larger movement, grew out of our friendship and common concerns.<\/p>\n

Adrian<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
How did the four of you decide that you can work together with each other and not with other people? Was it just a natural development of friendship or were their conscious decisions made \u2013 perhaps connected with theological positions \u2013 that said I can unite with someone who believes this, but not that?<\/p>\n

Dr. Mohler<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/span><\/div>\n

As a matter of fact, all four of us do work with other people. I work with a myriad of constituencies, particularly with the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. Ligon is one of the senior denominational statesmen of his generation, having served as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in America. Mark is a dynamo for human relationships, as is C. J. Each of us works with persons who represent an expanding circle of influence. Nevertheless, the four of us chose to work together in this specific project because we detected in each other a set of concerns that were unique and represented a powerful opportunity for common impact.\n

Of course, the theological issues were always at the forefront. These issues were especially related to the integrity of the Gospel. Of necessity, we had to begin with the issues of biblical authority, inerrancy, and the proper bounds of interpretation. To this we would add our character, common to all four of us, as confessing evangelicals, bound to specific confessions of faith and to a confessional heritage. Everything else grows out of those commitments.<\/p>\n

Adrian<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
This notion we have spoken about of a core of an event or organization being birthed in the friendship of four very different guys intrigues many of us. Is this very different from other groups or organizations that you are involved with?<\/p>\n

Dr. Mohler<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
As a matter of fact, it is different than other organizations of my involvement. In the first place, most of the organizational relationships I know and fulfill are based in institutions or organizations that existed long before I was born. The seminary I lead was established in 1859. The Southern Baptist Convention was established in 1845. These are just indicative of the fact that, in the main, we walk into established institutions and programs. Like Israel, we drink from cisterns we did not dig and eat from vineyards we did not plant.<\/p>\n

The fact that Together for the Gospel<\/em> grew out of our friendship is very special to us, if not unique. I am sure that such partnerships were common in the time of the Reformation and at other turning points in church history.<\/p>\n

Continued in Part Four<\/span><\/a> . . .<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a link to his biography for any who need to know more, as well as a link to my Together for the Gospel Conference Round Up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[205],"tags":[529],"class_list":["post-2448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-albert-mohler","tag-church-history"],"yoast_head":"\nINTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"INTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-11-04T03:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-06T09:56:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/files\/2006\/11\/photo_bar2.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adrianwarnock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrian Warnock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/\",\"name\":\"INTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-11-04T03:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-06T09:56:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\"},\"description\":\"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"INTERVIEW – Al Mohler, Part Three\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"description\":\"Patheos Evangelical\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa\",\"name\":\"Adrian Warnock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrian Warnock\"},\"description\":\"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 What does Jesus\u2019 resurrection mean for you? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything https:\/\/mybook.to\/raisedwithchrist \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts https:\/\/mybook.to\/traitorwithin \u2192 \\u2028Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart https:\/\/mybook.to\/amazinggrace \u2192 \\u2028\\u2028How do you become a Christian? How can you know if you really are one? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus https:\/\/mybook.to\/hope-reborn These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"INTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three","description":"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"INTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three","og_description":"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/","og_site_name":"Adrian Warnock","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","article_published_time":"2006-11-04T03:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-06T09:56:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/files\/2006\/11\/photo_bar2.gif"}],"author":"Adrian Warnock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adrianwarnock","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrian Warnock","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/","name":"INTERVIEW - Al Mohler, Part Three","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-11-04T03:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-06T09:56:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa"},"description":"It is a real pleasure to welcome to my blog again today, Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler should need no introduction to most of my readers, but I include a","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2006\/11\/interview-al-mohler-part-three\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"INTERVIEW – Al Mohler, Part Three"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/","name":"Adrian Warnock","description":"Patheos Evangelical","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/4dc7481b9baa3553d9a7698715084eaa","name":"Adrian Warnock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e5ff2076e287d1578e3b13fc015d78be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrian Warnock"},"description":"The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Just not all at once. Healing takes time. Compassion and patience sustain us over a lifetime of change. These are the themes I explore in my books and in the articles I have written for Patheos since 2003. My writing draws on my scientific training as a doctor and psychiatrist, my work in the UK's National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry, alongside more than twenty-five years as a member of a growing church where I served on the leadership team offering pastoral care. My perspective has also been shaped by chronic illness since 2017, when I developed life-threatening pneumonia that caused lasting damage to my body, triggered several further conditions, and uncovered a diagnosis of blood cancer. This was successfully treated, although doctors expect it to return in the future. Out of these experiences I founded Blood Cancer Uncensored, an online patient-led support community. I am the author of the Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal series of books, which ask: \u2192 What does Jesus\u2019 resurrection mean for you? Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything https:\/\/mybook.to\/raisedwithchrist \u2192 Why is change so difficult? What causes the resistance? The Traitor Within: Understanding and Healing Our Deceitful Hearts https:\/\/mybook.to\/traitorwithin \u2192 \u2028Why is change so slow? How does grace lead us over a lifetime? Amazing Grace: How Faith Grows in the Human Heart https:\/\/mybook.to\/amazinggrace \u2192 \u2028\u2028How do you become a Christian? How can you know if you really are one? Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus https:\/\/mybook.to\/hope-reborn These books bring together medical, psychological, social, and faith-based insights, advocating for a biopsychosocial\u2013spiritual model of wellbeing. My qualifications and training reflect this integrated background: \u2192 British MB BS medical degree (equivalent to an MD in the USA) \u2192 Postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatry (MRCPsych) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (MFFM, DipPharmMed) \u2192 Theological training courses run by Newfrontiers","sameAs":["http:\/\/patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adrianwarnockpage\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/adrianwarnock"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/author\/awarnock\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}