UPDATE<\/span><\/strong> Yesterday I began speaking with John Piper about New Word Alive and why he comes to the UK<\/a>. In this segment, I began by putting before John the notion that he has an unusual degree of passion and anointing when preaching. I even quoted Lig Duncan, who said that he wondered if he had ever really preached after hearing Piper\u2019s talk at the first Together for the Gospel<\/em> conference<\/a>. I asked him whether he was conscious of this, and if he had any explanation for it.<\/p>\n Piper began his answer by honestly stating, \u201cI don\u2019t usually feel that way when I am done preaching.\u201d He spoke about how the sermons he is most unhappy with are sometimes the ones people feel most helped by. He spoke about the need for a \u201dself-forgetfulness in a full engagement with what is there in the text . . . and the reality of God in the text.\u201d<\/p>\n He did say that there are ways to cultivate this. \u201cIt is cultivating God-centeredness, prayer, a serious engagement with the Word, and asking certain kinds of God-centered, Christ-exalting questions. There\u2019s a focus and a preoccupation. And then my root Christian hedonism, my root philosophy\u2014whether you are satisfied in God really makes a difference about whether you can glorify God . . . If you are not passionate about God you won\u2019t glorify him as much. If you are more passionate about football than God, you will glorify football.\u201d<\/p>\n This whole segment is tantalizing, as is much of Piper\u2019s unusual ministry. It made me want to spend about three hours with Piper probing him further about all this. Sadly we did not have three hours, but we did have longer, and I continued my conversation in a video I will share tomorrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nThe written transcript of this segment of my interview with John Piper is now available. You can read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n