A Mentor - John Piper

I heard Leith Anderson speak several years ago and make the case that there can be individuals in our lives that we could consider our mentors even if we had never had coffee with them, or spent a significant amount of time face-to-face with them.

John Piper is one of those men in my life. Each week I download his sermon and listen to it at some point during the 168 hours God gives me that week - 2005 Sermons. His website is great too - Desiring God.

I listen to him because he deposits passion into my soul. Specifically, he deposits a passion for the Word, prayer and people into my soul. And I can't think of three better things to have deposited into me!

One of my favorite messages is one he gave to a group of youthworkers. It is simply the best message I have ever heard as it relates to youth ministry and equipping youth pastors to teach the Word of God. Some of his thoughts: As youth leaders, we must lead in such a way that our students want to burn for Christ after they hear our teaching. And the only way our students can burn is if IT is burning in us. Is the Bible burning in us before we teach? Are we burning in prayer over the Word and our students before we teach? The main battle for youth ministry isn't in the students it's in me.

Imparting a Passion: A Challenge to Youth Workers. If you are a teacher of the Word, then you must click on the link and I promise it will be worth way more that the $5 you will pay. There is no question that this message will impart a passion and challenge your methods of preparation.

Finally, I found this site which is a great overview of John Piper on Monergism with his bio and a ton of his stuff for free. I took the picture of him off the Monergism site.

Piper on Monergism

I know I will never be as prolific a writer or a thinker as John Piper, but I sure hope people can say of me in fifty years that Dan deposited a passion for the Word, prayer and people into their souls!

Investing in the Word, prayer and people are three things that we invest in here that will be with us for eternity! Sounds like a great portfolio for a legacy worth leaving!