Dr. John Piper - "Some Sweet Blessings of Masculine Christianity"

I had lunch with Dr. John Piper today. He sat next to me and we discussed how meal groups operate at CrossRoads Church. He was a gracious listener and briefly shared his passion for how small groups are great tools for connecting people in Christian community.

Following lunch, Dr. Piper gave a message to 45 of us titled "Some Sweet Blessings of Masculine Christianity". The session was recorded, and will be available on Desiring God's web site soon. I'll link to it when it become available. Below are my notes from this message. There was a period of follow up questions that were very insightful. The very last question of the day (if it was recorded) was by me asking Dr. Piper to share his thought on how there has been some progress made in churches across the country in regards to complimentarian issues via groups like Bethlehem Baptist, Desiring God Ministries, Sovereign Grace Ministries, and the Acts 29 Network, but that there has been little progress made in academic circles. Dr. Piper specifically lamented how this has played out at Bethel Seminary. A very interesting and passionate response.

In one of the more humorous moments of the afternoon, Dr. Piper tried to avoid saying he doesn't like girly-men leading worship songs, to then only say it anyhow. It was rather funny!

My note are pretty good, though in spots Dr. Piper was too interesting and engaging for me to remember to write things down, or he spoke too quickly for me to keep up. Hopefully when I listen to it again I'll catch everything I missed writing down. This is a message I really think Mark Driscoll would have enjoyed hearing.

"Some Sweet Blessings of Masculine Christianity"

Foundations: Genesis 1 & 2, Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 2:12, Luke 6:13
-The foundations are all some key verses in understanding Dr. Piper's views on Complementarity.
-Being clear on manhood and womanhood gives clarity on homosexual issues
-The role and influence that TV and movies play in our culture is significant because a person could not find a biblical world view from them. They are also not governed by a biblical world view.
-Fatherlessnss is a tragic destroyer of men and women
-Without a father, navigating the role of manhood is nearly impossible for young men.
-Page 9 paragraph 2 from "50 Crucial Questions" was read to us by Dr. Piper
-Dr. Piper gave a lengthy definition of Masculine Christianity that I was unable to fully catch. It was something about how the theology and the church and the mission are marked by an overarching manhood that is found in scripture

Dr. Piper then gave 11 Sweet Blessings from Masculine Christianity.
He started each point with "In this ethos...
1)...men are finally freed to have feminine traits without fear (and women are freed to have masculine traits as well).
2)...men are more properly attracted to the Christian life when they don't have to be effeminate.
3)...womn are more properly drawn to the Christian life (because they feel it is a safe environment for them to be who God created her to be, and that they will be encouraged to live out who they were created to be).
-Dr. Piper noted that carnal men and women don't like God's order here.
4)...freed to celebrate strong and courageous women of God who love the biblical call of complementarity
5)...men are awakened to their responsibilities at home - to provide, protect and to lead their household
6)...youth leaders and parents will be able to answer what it means to grow up as a man and not as a woman, and as a woman and not as a man.
7)...the meaning of masculinity and femininity will be clearer in singleness and a life lived out in celibacy, making celibacy more livable in our sexually skewed world.
8)...the corporate worship teas are not dominated by women, the songs chosen are strong and not effeminate.
9)...the god of the Bible will be more fully known - as a God who is powerful and violent in many of His dealings (see the OT or the book of Revelations!)
10)...preaching is more readily prized
-expository exultation
-fear of strong preaching is part of the effeminization of the church
11)...a war time mindset and lifestyle will feel more natural
-we need to be warriors for Christ charging the gates of Hell. We must fight a strong enemy with strength.

This was followed by the Q&A session. A fantastic afternoon, and hopefully audio will have turned out well so that everyone else can listen to this message. Fidelis Foundation was a great host for this, and I appreciate Bethlehem Baptist Church for opening their doors to allow this to happen.

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