No, he’s not back yet. But 30 years ago TODAY, Dr. John Piper of Bethel College officially became Pastor John of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Oh how I praise God for that day!
Hopefully you’ve become aware of my affections for Pastor John through this blog. I cannot overstate how God has used him in my life to help me see more of God. I pray for many more years of his God-centered, Bible-saturated influence on my life.
For those of us dealing with disability, Pastor John may have uttered the single most powerful statement on disability ever preached just this past January:
So my aim in this message is modest and, I think, explosive, if the church really took hold of it and lived it. The message is that God knits all the children together in their mothers’ wombs, and they are all—all of them of every degree of ability—conceived for the purpose of displaying the glory of God. (From Born Blind for the Glory of God, January 24, 2010)
Please, Lord, let the whole world see how true that statement is!
There will be a posting on the Desiring God blog from Jon Bloom sometime today on this happy anniversary. I have not seen it, but given the care Jon Bloom writes everything, I know it will be worth reading.
In the meantime, please join me in thanking God and praying for John and Noel Piper as we celebrate God’s goodness to us over these three decades of their service to us!
The Works of God 
Yes! I concur I have never attended Bethlehem but have been an happy recipient of Pastor John’s Spirit filled, Christ focused, God glorifying ministry for many years. I can remember especially one time when I was a student at Columbia International University in the early 90’s (Then Columbia Bible College). He spoke during our spiritual life conference. I have to say I remember that conference more than any other. It was so radical and God focused (with the idea of Christian Hedonism) it really transformed my thinking and loving of our great God. I then attended One Day (in Memphis) with some of my students (I am a Yotuh Pastor), and He preached on Galatians 6:14 probably the most powerful sermon I have ever heard. It was for sure the most incredible sermon on Boasting ONLY in the Cross. I was floored. He has also given me the courage to give more and more of my life over to the Lord allowing me to serve Him fully. I am also very thankful for His true and honest stands on justice issues (i.e. Abortion, and race relations). He has also given me great passion and courage to see the Great Comission fulfilled in the earth and in my own personal life and to that end we are now working. Thank you pastor. God bless you in your sabbatical, and God bless you as you continue to serve Him!