what should this development make the rest of us think about?

it helps remind us of the Protestant Principle and how it applies to ourselves AND our heroes.

Nothing "relative" should be absolutized, and I can't see anything more contingent than the wisdom of humans, especially those who make their living by talking.

Who is John Piper anyway?

Is this blog post going to lead to a bunch of more critical and slanderous comments about John Piper? Probably. However, he is our brother in Christ and needs a break. Some of you may or may not be Calvinists or Baptists. So what. He is your brother in Christ. He needs a break. I am glad for his decision to restore his soul and marriage.

Good for him. I don't blame him for his "level of idolatry" but the mindless sycophants who hang on his every word.

I admire him for taking this step voluntarily. It also makes me think of all the pastors (often including myself) who think they can't ever step away, or non-ministry workers who just don't have the luxury of being able to step away from work for 8 months. It's kind of a catch 22. Should a pastor need 8 months to straighten his life out when the same would be impractical for most anyone else?

@Matt

great point.
People have warned that I'm too pushy about my vacation times and study time allotments, but it's been critical for my health and family.

I remember a pastor telling me that AFTER 10 years the congregation voted to give him vacation time. (That's a problem in itself.)

He didn't take it until 2 years later.

It wasn't a shock to me that shortly after our conversation he resigned because he was so burned out.

You may think: My, a leave of absence is a pretty drastic step in the war against pride and idolatry.

No, I actually think that this is the most sane approach one can take. Only we who comment on the war and never step foot onto the battle field think it too drastic.

To mention Piper and McLaren in the same breath is pathetic. One ha sbeen beseeching the Body of Christ to Behold the Lamb...Mclaren's enumerated falsehoods, and desire to re-invent the wheel, demonstrates he liek Doug Pagitt and other Emergents, have no business in pulpit/preaching ministry. Hopefully, the break will cause Piper to be renewed, and whatever stumbling blocks he has in his life can be addressed. Maybe in this process he will be change his mind about the invitation he exteneded to Rick Warren and remove Warren from the speakers at Desiring God's Conference this year.

@ Matt

It must be remembered that John Piper is at "retirement age" anyway. No, most of us couldn't get 8 months off...but he is at the age many people retire altogether.

"...the precious garden of my home needs tending."

I hope this is not a symptom of an onset of a spiritual "second childhood," that is, delighting in new pleasures - like "milk" and "family" - in a childlike fashion.

The impact of Jesus "meaty" words on his concept of family ranges from "esoteric" to "shocking."

"'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' Pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'" Matthew 12:48-50

"From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." Luke 12:52-53

Of course, we know full well that Jesus only wanted to emphasize that our Christian mission transcends even our family.

Also, I hope John Piper's case is not a microcosm of a symptom of today's Christian church's retarded spiritual life growth - from Adolescence stage(Identity Confusion) to Young Adulthood stage(Isolation).

In somber moments like this, Oswald Chambers' words are comforting:

"When God gets us alone through suffering, heartbreak, temptation, disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted desires, a broken friendship, or a new friendship - when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are totally speechless, unable to ask even one question, then He begins to teach us."

What kind of message does this send to laity about their ability to live out a Christ-like life? Who in the real world gets eight months to sort out their issues?

We need more modeling of the changes that one needs to make to be faithful and holy while working a full-time job, caring for your marriage and family, mowing the grass and cleaning the gutters and all of the other pressures of life. Take your proper vacation time. Plan and keep a monthly 2-3 day spiritual retreat. Get some counseling. Make the necessary changes but don't withdraw into a mode of life that 99% of us do not have available. Piper is communicating that "average" Christians (including high stress, high visibility occupations) can't live this Christian life. Pastors (of which I was one once: new calling, not burnout) need to model realistic solutions and patterns.

@Bob,

I think its important to remember that most local pastors (maybe not the megachurch/famous pastors), don't have a vocation like 99% of us "average" christians. Most local pastors are "on call" 24x7, work long hours for low pay/benefits, and deal mostly with problems, disasters, defeats, and bad situations of other people via counseling, visits, etc And sometimes they also hold down a "regular" job at the same time to overcome the low pay/benefits, and all the crud that that deals with. To top it off, this all takes away from their own families.

When it comes to time off and stuff like that, when I hear about local pastors doing that, I say more power to them. These famous, rich megachurch guys, maybe not. But for local, small church pastors, if they want to take 8 months off after decades of service, I say lets hold a party when they go, and when they come back.

Whenever someone tells me they don't believe in the depravity of mankind I simply tell them to go to the comments section of any blog or newspaper and start reading. My point is made easily.

Must be nice to question the spiritual lives of men who lead churches and ministries impacting many with the Gospel. Everytime I have encountered Dr. Piper he has always been graceful, humble, and earnest in his manner and ability to connect with people.

I am thankful fr Dr. Piper and his continued ministry. You don't like that he is taking 8 months, fine. Go join his church and lodge your protest, go be part of his ministry and gain credibility, go and start your own Kingdom growing ministry...don't just sit behind a computer monitor and question someone's ministry ethic.

Dr. Piper is human, he has failings, he is not infallible and, imho, he represents a truly honest paradigm in taking some time to assess his ministry from top to bottom. How much better would all of our ministries be if we did this. I am thankful for his Gospel minded ministry.

You are the Church!
R.A.

Well certainly - John's church leaders have as much responsibility in this matter as their pastor does. And (speaking with some 34 yrs of ministry, by God's grace) in this day and age, taking a break can be a healthy thing .. but 8 months? When people are a unemployed, losing houses? Most churches cutting budgets, staff? Yes, we need time to examine ourselves .. but we also have a responsibility to be like others that the bible admonishes, 'you dont work, you dont eat.' John's malady is not life threatening. And as one of those 'average' pastors, it pains me to say this as I say to myself .. 'physician, heal thyself' with God's help. Ohhhh, there goes the phone, and I have a carpet to replace ...

Does anyone commenting here know Dr. Piper? Anybody understand the strain and pressures of ministry that he personally has been under? Anyone carry a similar load when it comes to international ministry? Why is it then that we think we can judge a brother's walk from a distance? It's like saying Donovan McNabb is a terrible QB...he's a heck of a lot better than most, but even though we can't possibly know what it means to play at a level he does, we feel we have the right to take pot shots at him. What is it in us that feels the need to do that, and better yet feels like we have the right to do it? Dr. Piper is not our servant...he's God's...and His church has their own structure of leadership, who I trust are capable of spiritually discerning the needs of their pastor. Praise God for an example of someone humble enough to know when he needs to step away and bold enough to ask for it. We need to pray that more of our communities of faith would be supportive enough to allow a pastor or elder or minister to step away for a season to be refreshed. I imagine that it will be good for the church, for Dr. Piper's soul, for his marriage, and therefore for the glory of God. Sounds like a winning situation to me.

I would love to leave a comment like the many worth ones above, but I am busy removing a plank from my eye!!!!

May God Bless him richly as he makes this step of obedience.

1) @sheerahkahn : To put Piper and McClaren in the same category shows that you have some serious discernment issues, friend. You don't have to agree w Piper on everything, but understand that his ministry of 30 years has been dedicated to the preaching of the Word as the highest authority of God on earth, and to preaching THE Gospel as central in all things...that's the Gospel that says we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

May God bless all the pastors, in big or small churches, who preach the above.

Also, a hearty amen to @Jonathan Ferrier and @Markus. I appreciate your wise words, brothers. This prideful sinner (me) needs to be reminded that God is sovereign and humbles those he loves. Jesus is Lord. He will preserve and sanctify his Church, no matter how long a pastor's leave of absence is.

@RS, re: your quote of "you don't work, you don't eat." For the record, Piper asked not to be paid during his sabbatical. His elders refused his request.

On a larger issue, some have questioned the length of the sabbatical. So, if 8 months seems too long, then how long SHOULD his sabbatical last? And who gets to decide? Someone mentioned taking proper vacation time--well, how much is proper? In my denomination, as a pastor with ten years of service, I am entitled to four weeks of vacation a year. But many of my church members only get two weeks. So, should I limit myself to two weeks because not everyone gets four weeks like myself? And just because not everyone can get an 8-month sabbatical, does that mean the few who CAN shouldn't have the right to? Perhaps it is my own pride and envy that makes me think, "If I can't get an 8-month sabbatical, then Piper shouldn't either!"

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we need to be VERY wary of judging Piper. The reality is that all of us are different, and God meets us wherever we are at. God can and does work with those who do not have the luxury to escape for 8 months. But God can also provide that luxury for some. Piper's announcement provides an excellent case study in which we can discuss larger issues such as burn-out, pride, spiritual formation, etc. But I don't believe it would be wise to judge the specifics of his sabbatical, ESPECIALLY if we neither know him personally or are members of his church.

Being a pastor's son I can attest to the significant need for a pastor to take time off. My Dad's church has averaged around 110-150 for the past 15 years (he's ministered there 15 years). He has never had a vacation last over a week, and typically takes one vacation a year. He is on call 24/7 and, as always, the majority of urgent calls are received at the most inconvenient times. I remember many occasions where he would be up for over 24 hrs. because he was at the hospital with someone who was passing away, and then had to work the entire next day. In addition, we never purchased our own cars (they were given to us) because finances were so tight. I never heard my parents mumble or complain about the quiet 'suffering' they endured, but from a first-hand outsiders perspective I can see the many ways in which the ministry took a toll on them physically, emotionally, and spiritually (and still does). I have no doubt that much of this is structurally similar to Piper's life and ministry.

John Piper has written 25+ books, the worst of them being, in all likely-hood, more Christ-exalting, and more effective for the spread of the gospel then the best essays (or book(s)... if any) that everyone on this thread has written (myself most especially). The same most likely holds true for his speeches and sermons.

Regarding time-off, it should be noted that to question the judgement of an obvious servant of Christ is always a delicate matter; but to do so when you have seen, by their fruit, that they stand miles closer to The Cross then yourself, is an even delicate matter still.

Wisdom would have us look in the mirror of scripture and check our own hearts.

What Dr Piper is doing also serves a lesson. We must not forget the humility it takes to willingly and openly confess as he did. This makes me thank God for such a servant and moves me to pray for him, his family and his ministry.