I can’t offer two conferences for the price of one, but I can—in one post—discuss two conferences which, for all the similarities of their names, do have some important differences. For a start, they are on opposite sides of the Atlantic, so booking into the wrong one would be a significant logistical headache! I am quite sure, however, that many will cross the “pond” to attend one of what I am calling the “Together” conferences. In fact. they don’t happen at the same time, so it is very possible for you to attend BOTH if you want to, as at least one blogger I know is considering!

Both conferences have one important thing in common—they are filling up FAST and expect to be sell-outs, having to turn people away. Hotel rooms are disappearing even more rapidly for both events. Since I have now firmly booked my own place on the second one (sadly I can’t make the first), I feel safe to remind you, my readers, that it is time to MOVE QUICKLY!

TOGETHER FOR THE GOSPEL (T4G)
Tuesday April 15 – Thursday April 17, 2008
Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville, KY
BOOK HERE

TOGETHER ON A MISSION (TOAM)
Tuesday July 8 – Friday 11, 2008
Brighton Conference Centre, UK
BOOK HERE

In this, the final segment of my interview with Greg Haslam, Greg discusses being reformed and charismatic, Terry Virgo’s spiritual influence on the church in the UK, and the role of the organization Terry heads up, Newfrontiers.

If you missed any of the other four parts of this interview, you can read them here:

1. Greg Haslam on Filling Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Pulpit

2. Greg Haslam on Leaving Newfrontiers for Westminster Chapel
3. Greg Haslam on the Primacy of Preaching
4. Greg Haslam on Unity Versus Doctrinal Integrity

Adrian
You combine an interest in the charismatic and reformed doctrine. I know that many of my US readers still find that combination hard to comprehend. Do you find that people look at you strangely sometimes from both sides, or do you feel that, in the UK at least, the wider Church understands it nowadays?

Greg
I sense that this combination of “Word and Spirit” is no longer the issue it was for many. The heat and dust seems to have settled on the controversies of the 1960′s to 1990′s, and many have gone back to the Bible, seen good practice in many churches, and agreed, “You were right!” As I said previously, I am convinced many more will come to the same conclusion and we shall reach “unity in the faith” on this matter. People still look at me strangely, but probably for other reasons I need to do something about!

Adrian
It seems to me that Newfrontiers, and Terry Virgo in particular, seem to be a growing force in the UK church scene that seems to, in part, change the perception most people have of the charismatic. So, unlike in the US, if one says the word “charismatic,” people increasingly think of a Newfrontiers church they know. Do you think that is a valid perception?

Greg
Terry Virgo is one of the most important Christian leaders God has raised up in the last thirty years. No wonder amazing doors continue to open for him and his message to the Church! He is wise, humble, full of grace, and a man of astonishing faithfulness and vision. Significantly, he is an outstanding prophetic voice and a remarkable Bible teacher. He combines Word and Spirit in striking ways, teaching truth in depth and seeing miracles accompany it, and he has influenced thousands of people around the world to model the same authentic Christianity we read of in the book of Acts. We’re told by Christ to judge teachers “by their fruits” (Matthew 7). I’ve seen what Terry and his associates have built first-hand. I have been part of it. It is very impressive. It is not marked by the boasting, hype, self-serving, and exploitation that other leaders and movements have floundered on. When I say “Charismatic” he and his movement is what I most think of. It’s biblical and dynamic in equal measure. Why divorce what God always meant to be together?

Adrian
As someone with a slightly more detached status these days, how do you see Newfrontiers, or for that matter other similar groups developing in the future?

Greg
I see them interfacing, interlacing, and having an increasingly beneficial influence upon one another, thus fostering greater unity in the wider body of Christ. If that doesn’t happen, we might rightly ask, “What was that all about then?”

Adrian
One question no one seems to ask is what will Newfrontiers look like after Terry Virgo—not that he seems likely to go anywhere for some time to come! The Vineyard Movement seemed to struggle a little after the death of John Wimber. Do you think Newfrontiers will have a similar struggle in years to come?

Greg
Possibly. Under God, Terry has been the “father” of the movement in every respect. I don’t know if an evident successor has emerged as yet. But Terry has never sought to hold things to himself. He has raised up like-minded leaders of stature. He has released them to “do their stuff” all over the world. He is not possessive. He believes in Church unity. He is a blessing to many outside Newfrontiers. Young leaders are emerging everywhere you look and church plants and adoptions increase by the week, with many Ephesians 4 ministries being released to serve them. I don’t see this movement collapsing should Terry retire or be taken home. He has built too well. Only demonic attack, heresy, or some kind of character failure on the part of his followers could jeopardize all he has built, but many safeguards are in place to help prevent this.

Adrian
What do you think the wider Church will look like thirty years from now? Will existing denominations and groups of churches be intact? Will there still be the same arguments that divide us now?

Greg
I am pretty sure that intellectual, religious, social, and political persecution is emerging in our nation right now and will increase in the future. Arrests, imprisonment, and even martyrdoms could occur. Some loose unaffiliated churches and failed denominations will likely go to the wall. As the darkness deepens, it means that there is every possibility the light will become brighter. Christians will find each other, and find Christ more powerful among them, and then will find the courage to do and say the right things in spite of the pressure to panic or compromise. We can, and shall, make great progress in the conversion of dangerous false religionists, and among many who will be disillusioned with the failure of governments and other faiths to “give the goods.” Evolutionism, secularism, atheism, and religious syncretism will all be exposed for their lies. Truth will prevail and error cannot hold out forever.

Adrian
Well, Greg, it has been a pleasure to have you here. But before you go, do you have anything else you would like to say to my readers?

Greg
“Be who you is, ‘cos if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t!”

Adrian
Thanks so much for joining us!

To find out more about Greg Haslam, visit Westminster Chapel’s website, or download mp3s of conference messages by Greg Haslam.

Today we continue with the fourth part of my interview with Greg Haslam, pastor of Westminster Chapel in London (pictured here with his wife, Ruth). The previous three parts of this interview included an introduction to Greg and his ministry, on leaving Newfrontiers for Westminster Chapel, and Haslam on the primacy of preaching.

Adrian
Yesterday we spoke of the remarkable advance for church unity that your preaching conference represented. Despite the unity displayed in your conference and book, there were surely doctrinal differences that divided your collection of speakers, and even more issues that separate the rest of the Church. You obviously decided that you could work with a wide range of people. How do you weigh different issues on which you disagree, and decide which differences are important enough that you would not want to share a platform with someone?

Greg
Having a big heart for the unity God is looking for helps greatly (see John 17 and Ephesians 4:1-16). I suppose that order distinctions are helpful here: first-order truths and second-order truths. We cannot compromise the former, and we can learn to live with the latter. The first category includes the reality of an infinite-personal God, the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the doctrines of salvation, atonement, regeneration, adoption, justification, sanctification, and glorification. The latter includes denominational differences, ecclesiology, styles of worship, church order, and eschatology. Meldenius’ advice is good: “In all things essential, unity. In all things non-essential, liberty. In all things, charity.”

Adrian
What issues are facing the Church today where you feel you have to say you cannot work closely with someone who thinks differently to you?

Greg
Some of the things that most concern me are the ever present realities and influence of liberal theology and the attractions of Roman Catholicism in its worst forms. Recent controversies over penal substitution and the atonement are due to a rehash of 19th century liberalism as if this battle had never been fought before. I can be cordial with such people and make bridges so that the Gospel can be heard, but I wouldn’t like to pretend or give the impression that our differences are minor, for they are not. I’m also alarmed by our frequent willingness to bed down with “the spirit of the age” and ignore the fact that this is the “Age of the Spirit.” We are never more relevant than when we obey the Holy Spirit’s leadings and declare the Bible in all of its raw power.

Adrian
How should the Christian approach people who take these views?

Greg
In humility that we were once deceived about the truth ourselves, and charity that has a care and compassion for those who are presently misled. We needn’t be humble or apologetic about the truth itself, though, nor muted in voicing what we really think. It is nasty and negative polemics we should avoid. But we should be very clear about where we stand on controversial issues.

Adrian
Given the doctrinal disputes and the press coverage about shrinking church attendance, are you depressed about the future of the Church in the UK?

Greg
No, I am not depressed about the future of the Church anywhere. Christ wins! The Church will still be here when everything else has gone. The best days of Church history lie ahead of us. Worldwide revivals will sweep the continents. Many have already happened or begun. This is the “Age of the Spirit,” and “The Holy Spirit will never allow the blasphemy to be voiced against his name that he was unable to convert the world!” (C. H. Spurgeon). I am at heart a great optimist where the Gospel and the work of God is concerned. Setbacks are never permanent, only temporary. Britain is in a state of apostasy at this time, and culpable for her rejection of history, the Bible, and the honor of Christ, and for her contempt for Christ’s people. But this is no problem for God to remove and reverse. It’s what I’m praying, preaching, and working for. “Of the increase of Christ’s government and peace, there shall be no end” (Isaiah 9).

Adrian
I am glad to hear it! What are your hopes and dreams for the UK church in the next decade or so?

Greg
I long for several key things:

1. A recovery of the Gospel.

2. A renewed faith in the inspiration and authority of Scripture.
3. An increase in the honor of the Holy Spirit and his work to glorify Christ.
4. An increase in the number of healthy churches and church plants everywhere.
5. A respect and reception of Ephesians 4 ministries, increasing unity in the true Body of Christ.
6. Massive missional emphasis in the churches.
7. Genuine Holy Spirit reformation, renewal, restoration, and revival in the lives of the people of God . . . all fired by an “eschatology of victory,” not an “eschatology of escapology” which the Left Behind series of novels seems to have generated!

Continued in part five, “Greg Haslam on Being Reformed and Charismatic”

To find out more about Greg Haslam, visit Westminster Chapel’s website, or download mp3s of conference messages by Greg Haslam.

Today I continue with part three of my interview with Greg Haslam. In part one, Greg told us a little about himself, and in part two he discussed his relationship to Newfrontiers and his move to Westminster Chapel.

Adrian
If Westminster Chapel has stood for anything over the years it is surely the primacy of preaching. Can you tell us a bit more about your own view of preaching and its importance?

Greg
I’ve said it all in the collection of fifty-two addresses from our Preachers’ Conference, now published as Preach the Word! (Sovereign World 2006). Preaching is primary because, along with dependence on the work of the Holy Spirit, just about everything else that’s good in the Church and in individual lives flows from it. Done well, through accurate explanation and application of the Scriptures in Spirit-empowered preaching, God’s voice is heard, God’s people obey him, and incredible life in the Spirit is the certain result. We live at a time of increasing Biblical illiteracy among even lively evangelical Christians. Sick churches are all too numerous. Christians are ignorant of their faith and often too cowardly to defend and share it with others. Preaching goes a long way to remedy these things.

I believe we need to see restored to the Church every “flavor” of word-ministry listed in Ephesians 4:11ff—apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral, and didactic—so that our people are theologically well-informed, compassionate, skilled, missional, cutting edge, and truly well-grounded. When we pray for revival we are primarily praying for preachers and a new visitation of the Holy Spirit. Preaching should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed! It’s not “any old style of preaching” we need; it is the living voice of Christ speaking his “now word” to his Church. This is why the prophetic dimension to good preaching is essential, whether the preacher is an evangelist, a pastor, a teacher, an apostle, or a prophet, and I believe in the present-day ministry of all five (see my chapter “Ephesians 4 ministries and Church Unity” in Preach the Word!).

Adrian
What do you feel about the state of preaching in the Church as a whole today? Are you encouraged or discouraged?

Greg
Mostly discouraged. Sermons seem to represent some form or expression of “Christianity Lite.” They are short, trendy, adrift from the serious handling of Scripture, apologetic, flirting with post-modernism, fearful of any note of authority, caught up with the “spirit of the age,” often “politically correct,” and mostly ineffective. We tend to sound like the “Court prophets” of Israel in the pay of the king, rather than those who have “been in the counsel of the Most High” and then dare to speak what we have seen and heard! Preaching should convey a sense of awe and fear in the presence of a transcendent God — not just God all-matey but God Almighty!

It was due to my growing perception of the perilous state of preaching in the UK that I gathered nineteen of the best preachers this country has to offer in order to speak at the eight-month conference Preach the Word! in 2003-2004. The result more than met my expectations, and the 650 delegates who enthusiastically attended seemed to share my opinion!

I took less than an hour to plan the contents. I wrote over fifty themes we should address and then picked about twenty top guys to address them. All but two accepted, and what a brilliant job they did! We had outstanding pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers, and apostles. I basically urged them not to go to their graves along with all of their best secrets! They came up with the goods and shared brilliantly their best insights into preaching and how to do it well. The speakers included many personal heroes like John Stott, Terry Virgo, David Pawson, and Jeff Lucas. In fact, most of them are my much admired friends. I receive testimonies regularly, from home and overseas, as to just how effective this material has proved to be. The event was a true Word and Spirit gathering, and all of our lives were changed by it.

Adrian
How did you manage to bring together such a wide variety of preachers for this conference and book? Did you find that you all agreed about preaching, or did you have a wide range of differing perspectives to discuss?

Greg
They were nearly all extremely enthusiastic and willing to do this. They ranged from fairly conservative evangelicals, through radical charismatics. There were Anglicans, Free Churches, Charismatics, and Restorationists. Some were Arminian, others Calvinistic in theology, and all points in-between. Between them all, there was an accumulation of hundreds of years of experience in leading and preaching ministry (perhaps thousands of years!). They all got on well together, and the atmosphere of each day was terrific. They had differing emphases, but all honored God and the Bible, and all were convinced about the importance and centrality of preaching. The wide range of perspectives present was what made this conference somewhat unique and so invaluable. It fostered the kind of unity I believe in. And some people changed their prejudices, and their minds, on some controversial issues as a result.

Adrian
Can you tell us a bit more about the main message of your book and why my readers should go out and buy it?

Greg
The main message is this: “We need better preaching, biblical preaching, Holy Spirit anointed preaching, effective preaching, with signs following. And here are some big clues as to how this can happen.” What more could you ask?

Continued in part four, “Greg Haslam On Unity Versus Doctrinal Integrity.”

To find out more about Greg Haslam, visit Westminster Chapel’s website, or download mp3s of conference messages by Greg Haslam.

Today I continue the interview with Greg Haslam which began yesterday in a post entitled “Greg Haslam on Filling Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ Pulpit.”

Adrian
Yesterday you mentioned your previous church, which is a part of Newfrontiers. You still speak at Newfrontiers conferences, but your current church isn’t listed as a member. What exactly is your relationship with Newfrontiers, both personally and as a church?

Greg
Westminster Chapel has been a fairly unique and decidedly independent kind of place, with a significant influence on the wider church, primarily through the preaching and books of its ministers. It’s probably time that this independence became inter-dependence on other streams and ministries. This is on my heart to achieve in the years ahead. These connections are likely to be varied since I’ve always been keen on unity in the church, and want to live out that conviction. This will mean friendships with all kinds of leaders and people, and openness to receive a wide diversity of ministry from outside as God leads.

Newfrontiers was always primarily about relationships rather than “names on a list” or being part of an organization. My relationships continue whenever time and opportunity permit. I value my dear friends in Newfrontiers, and still attend their Theology Forum, teach some of their leadership training courses, take part in the Brighton Leaders Conference, and preach at Newfrontiers churches whenever I can. The warmth of old friends is always incredible whenever I meet them!

I can’t tell you how much I miss Newfrontiers! I relish any contact I have with Terry Virgo and other apostolic and prophetic guys. The Chapel hosts a monthly Newfrontiers London pastors’ gathering, which I attend whenever I can. The Chapel views Newfrontiers very positively indeed now, and we’ve had many of their leaders preach here. Yet I remain officially outside of that movement, in line with all God told me to do five years ago. This has led to many new and wonderful friendships with top leaders and great movements around the country, as well as opportunities to serve the wider body through church visits and ministry of the Word at major denominational and church-stream conferences. I am convinced that the wider body of Christ, including many evangelicals who ignored or allowed previous moves of the Holy Spirit to bypass them from the 1960′s onwards, are going to be caught up in a new visitation of God—soon! I speak to this matter whenever I can, and I have just written two new books to help foster new openness to God in whatever way I can, and to help leaders to make sense of what God is going to do—A Radical Encounter with God (New Wine Press, October 2007) and Moving in the Prophetic (Monarch Publications, April 2008).

Continued in part three, “Greg Haslam On The Primacy of Preaching.”

To find out more about Greg Haslam, visit Westminster Chapel’s website, or download mp3s of conference messages by Greg Haslam.

It is a pleasure to welcome to my blog, Greg Haslam, who is the current successor to Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel in London.

Adrian
To begin with Greg, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Greg
I am a ‘scouser,’ born in Liverpool in 1953, who lived in a rough area of the city called Bootle (where the kids played ‘tic’ with hatchets). I came from a broken home, with much sadness due to my parents’ marital breakdown and eventual divorce when we children were still very young. It was persistent school friends who later told me fully about Christ. I attended a Billy Graham big-screen Gospel crusade relay to Liverpool on June 30, 1967, and after a big emotional struggle with doubt and many fears that Christ would not have me (the scars of rejection were still there from the break-up of my parents’ marriage and the lack of a father’s love), I came to faith in Christ that night. That was 40 years ago! My whole world and life-direction dramatically changed, and interest in theology was stirred soon after with input from my new Baptist church radical youth leaders. Two years later, at the Keswick Convention, listening to a fairly young John Stott on II Timothy (four hours of amazing teaching), I felt the call to become a preacher. This started, remarkably, within twelve months of that Keswick convention in that I was invited to preach at an independent Methodist church and became a regular on their circuit as a ‘the boy preacher’ on a Honda 50!

Not long after, I met and married my wife, Ruth, and we now have three amazing adult sons who are all serving Christ. The eldest two, James and Andrew, are marred (a doctor and a pastor) and the third, Joshua, is studying Philosophy at UCL. We have one gorgeous granddaughter from James and Emily. Andrew has just started work at the Chapel leading our 18’s to 30′s ministry.

I studied Theology and History at Durham and the London Theological Seminary (Dr. Lloyd-Jones’ new venture in ministerial training), and I became pastor of Winchester Family Church (later to be part of Newfrontiers) at age 27. I stayed there for twenty-one years until my move to Westminster Chapel in 2002. My interests include all kinds of books (of course!), movies (especially gritty westerns, war movies, and thrillers), good food, good music, philosophy and culture, apologetics, writing, speaking, and motorcycling.

Adrian
How did you come to be preaching in one of the world’s most famous pulpits? What was the journey like? What is it like to be the successor to men like Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones and Dr. R. T. Kendall?

Greg
My journey as a pastor in Winchester (1980—2002) was a hard learning curve which included making the transition from hard-line Reformed theology that either ignored the Holy Spirit to a criminal degree or resisted him; through my own experience of baptism in the Spirit, desperation for change in the church I pastored, a fresh vision of what church can and ought to be; to the embrace of a full-blown Word and Spirit theology and ecclesiology, along with an optimistic post-millennial eschatology and a restorationist/revivalist view of the Gospel of God’s kingdom with its total world and life view.

Westminster Chapel’s fame worldwide is deservedly based upon its ministers’ loyalty to Scripture and faithful declaration of it, an influence that has spanned the world throughout the 20th century. My predecessor, Dr. R. T. Kendall, wrote to me in late 2000. He was looking for a successor who was ‘a preacher, Reformed, open to the Spirit, and pastoral in heart’ (PROP for short!). He was convinced I was the man. I was very happy where I was in Winchester, but I dared not ignore the ‘call’ that was coming to me to consider a move. I instantly felt that God’s hand was upon this. Unfortunately, key figures in the Chapel were not all convinced! There was resistance to having a Newfrontiers man there. The exploration process took a whole year. That year, God gave me over fifty personal prophecies that made it clear I would be going there, mostly from men who knew nothing about what was afoot. I also experienced some very special days ‘preaching with a view’ at the Chapel. I guessed God knew that I would need this level of divine affirmation! I was eventually called. This meant that with great sadness for both myself and my wife, we had to leave Newfrontiers to do this as the Lord had told me that this was ‘For the sake of my wider kingdom purposes in London and beyond.’ It’s been an amazing five or so years since!

I’ve always worked hard, but this job has taken over my life! I preach more than ever, write, travel significantly, and have faced the challenge of trying to build a New Testament style church in what has historically been known as a ‘preaching center’. Building a true Gospel-centered community of Word and Spirit authenticity has never been easy in commuter-congregation, metropolitan churches, but the task is God’s will for this church. We have seen many new people join us and great changes in the feel, direction, joy, and sense of Holy Spirit-filled community among us. People have been saved and lives transformed. Many young people have joined us, bringing the average down by perhaps 25-30 years less.

Adrian
Most people still associate the pulpit of your church with men like R. T. Kendall and Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who preceded you. What does it feel like to try and fill their shoes?

Greg
I’ve never tried! I believe they wore different sized shoes to me! My shoes are the only ones I’m called to wear. I have to avoid imitation and be true to the man God made me to be. The advice of a black preacher to trainee preachers comes to mind: “Be who you is, ‘cos if you ain’t who you is, then you is who you ain’t!” I abhor artificial imitation of others in their style and content. God doesn’t clone preachers, and each of us is a unique creation with a unique voice. So I try to remain secure in the style and approach I take. I am second to none in my love for and admiration of my predecessors, and I am discovering just how great Dr. George Campbell-Morgan was, too! I have read nearly all of Lloyd-Jones and Kendall’s books and owe them a huge debt, but I know they would be the first to advise me to ‘Just be yourself!’—and that’s what I intend to be. I am presently hearing much from God about his vision for the Chapel’s future. I think both the Doctor and RT would be very pleased, because I’m convinced that something like it is what they both wanted, but never saw.

Continued in part two, “Greg Haslam On Leaving Newfrontiers for Westminster Chapel.”

To find out more about Greg Haslam, visit Westminster Chapel’s website, or download mp3s of conference messages by Greg Haslam.

UPDATE
In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 16th all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 17th most-read post was my interview with Dr. Sam Storms.

In this post I simply asked my readers to identify their favorite preachers, and listed my own as well. I saved all of the comments that were made to this post at that time and have now placed them at the end of this post. If you are interested in letting us know who your favorite preachers are, please e-mail your choices to adrian.warnock@gmail.com with BLOG PREACHERS SURVEY in the subject line and we will add them to the comments that have already been recorded below.

***************

I would like to ask my readers to identify their favorite well-known living preachers. I have deliberately said “well-known” because otherwise right at the top of my list would have been my own pastor, Tope Koleoso, and I suspect for many of my readers their own pastor would top their list also. I am sure that many would not have heard of the preachers who would be listed as a result.

My proposal is that people link to this post and share on their blogs up to five preachers (in no order of priority) who are well known to many, and who have blessed them and why.

My own favorite well-known preachers are, not listed in any particular order:

• Terry Virgo who is the leader of Newfrontiers. Every time he preachers his godly character makes almost as much impact on me as the words he says. His inspirational preaching has shaped an entire family of churches of which I am delighted to be a part.

• C. J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace and is a communicator par excellence. No one who has heard him preach on the book of Job, on the atonement, or on people God killed could ever forget the impact of his preaching. Reformed in theology, but charismatic in practice, C. J. and Terry’s friendship and differing styles of preaching are an example to us all.
• Greg Haslam currently fills the pulpit previously occupied by R. T. Kendell, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Dr. Campbell Morgan. I know of no one better qualified to do so. He is a walking quote, and no one I have ever listened to can craft an English phrase as he does. He is a clear prophetic trumpet in the crowded marketplace that is today’s church.
• Wayne Grudem is better known for his books, but his preached message on the role of women was possibly the most outstanding message I have ever heard. He took one of the most controversial issues facing the Church today and left every hearer in a place of awe-inspired worship for the God who himself expresses order and humility. He is a gift to the global Church.
• John Piper is the pastor-theologian of his generation. He publishes prolifically in both book and online form. He is the only one of my preaching heroes who makes all of his sermons available as both mp3s and outlines every week. I wish that all these men and other great preachers would do the same.

COMMENTS

The following comments were salvaged prior to comments being disabled on this blog:

BENJAMIN
Great picks, Adrian! I’m probably a bit more boring than you, though, so here’s my list:

1. Mark Dever (Actually, this is my favorite preacher, PERIOD!)
2. Ligon Duncan (despite the silly paedobaptist thing)
3. John MacArthur
4. Al Mohler
5. C. J. Mahaney

Actually, though, I haven’t heard YOU speak yet, so maybe I shouldn’t speak too soon. I should also note that I LOVE Fred Zaspel’s sermons, but I’ve never actually heard him speak . . . I just read a lot of transcripts.

GLENNSP

1. Terry Virgo
2. C. J. Mahaney
3. Wayne Grudem
4. John Piper
5. Greg Haslam

Have you been reading my mind again, Adrian?

BRENT
Thanks for the question; good thought provoker. In no particular order and incomplete:

1. Alex Montoya
2. Mark Dever
3. John Piper
4. Alistair Begg

JAMES DEVENISH
Great post, Adrian! My favorite preachers living . . .

1. C. J. Mahaney
2. Michael Ramsden
3. Steve Brady
4. Wayne Grudem
5. John Piper
6. Ian Stackhouse
7. Terry Virgo
8. PJ Smyth

Loads deserve mention, though, like:

1. Sinclair Ferguson
2. Dave Devenish (had to say that!)
3. J. John
4. Alistair Begg

LITTLE MO
Okay, just to bring a name from a slightly different circle—Vaughan Roberts. No one has had more influence on me than Vaughan in implanting the view in my life that God actually does speak in a life-changing way as we study his Word. I remember those university days when I would wake up on Sundays, so excited about going to church!

PRESSING ON
Hi Adrian! I’m new to your blog, but thought I’d put in my two cents! Some of my favorites are:

1. John Piper
2. John MacArthur
3. Alistair Begg
4. Zac Poonen—from India

Thanks for sharing yours! I’ll check them out on the Web.

DEBBIE WIMMERS
My favorites are:

1. John Piper
2. Mac Brunson (FBC Jacksonville—previously FBC Dallas)
3. Jack Graham
4. Chuck Swindoll
5. David Jeremiah
6. John MacArthur
7. William Anderson (interim at FBC Dalls, previously FBC Euless, Texas and Calvary in Clearwater, Florida)

GORDON CHENG
Check the Sydney Anglicans’ website for mp3 files. There are many exceptional preachers here, but if I had to recommend three (and I haven’t heard everyone on this list), I would say Phillip and Peter Jensen and John Chapman. Have a listen to Simon Manchester and John Woodhouse, too.

The following comments have been added to this post as of January 2008:

JOSHUA DOVE

1. Steven Lawson (free audio at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church of Mobile, Alabama. He also does conferences with Sproul and MacArthur frequently, the audio of the latest of which is also online under The Expositors’ Conference at the address given.
2. John Piper
3. John MacArthur

Your blog is a pleasure. Thanks!

I had a a great day today, which was worthwhile even if to just be reminded of some great quotes, like “‘To me, the work of preaching is the highest and most glorious calling to which anyone can be called.’ Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones”

AND preaching is ‘Logic on Fire’ (Again from The Doctor)

One of my great priviledges in life was to know a man called Henry Tyler who was one of the founding fathers of the newfrontiers group of churches of which I am a part. He would have been delighted by today.

Years ago he stated to me when he was dying that Greg Haslam stood out in his preaching ability beyond anyone else in our family of churches. Martin Lloyd-Jones being a hero of Henry’s he would have been delighted to see Greg Haslam take up the Westminster chapel pulpit kept warm for him so ably by R T Kendall.

Anyway, todays preach the word event at Westminster Chapel was envigorating and inspiring.

Being a man of limited faith in the current state of the British church I excepted only a handful of attendees at a saturday conference on preaching. As it turned out 600 attended. There is hope for the church in the UK!

Greg so eloquently stressed the importance of preaching- ‘God only had one son and he made him a preacher!’

My own preaching style is perhaps vindicated by this description Greg quoted of Finney- ‘When he opened his mouth it was like aiming a gun, when he began to speak the bombardment began!’

John Stott who believe it or not I had never heard in the flesh until today, spoke on ‘The paradoxes of preaching’ having made the point that it was paradoxical that a preacher should preach to preachers about preaching! I especially loved his point that preaching is about building a bridge between the bible and its culture and our own. That is kind of why I blog.

He also quoted Chad Walsh who tells us to ‘Disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed’

Mark Stibbes diffined the annointing as being when its easy (quoting R.T.Kendall) . Liam Goligher brought up the rear and they all stressed that the old denominational labels mean almost nothing today.

It was a great conference, if you can get to London next month and are a preacher come, if you can’t for goodness sake get the tapes- contact the chapel direct.

For many of us work seems like a curse and is something that we endure in order to earn money so we can do other things. I am not convinced that should be the case. Can we all get a job we love? I’m not sure but if we are realistic maybe we can get close to being in a job we love. Certainly I am hoping that my own change of direction- starting tomorrow- will prove more ‘me’ than some of the things I have done up until now. I listened to a tape by Greg Haslam (recorded on 14/4/02) recently where he argued that we all have a ‘calling’ a thing we are meant to do. He suggested that in trying to discover what we are meand to do we should ask the following questions

What do you see you have been packaged to do? This sense of being designed for something will tend to include what we want to do (funny that- our desires are often indicitave!)

What do you know you have been prepared to do? Our lives thus far have not been accidents and may be directing us in a way we might not have considered!

What do you feel prompted to do? What is it that we tend to think of when we are meant to be thinking of something else? What rings your bell? What do you think somebody ought to be doing?

What do you feel a passion in doing? Don’t tell your boss but just maybe you are fortunate enough to have a job you would do if no-one paid you for it!

What do you experience power in doing? There are some tasks we seem to be able to just keep doing without getting weary- we have all met waitresses and others that seem to be able to just keep going and look as happy as anything. OF course we will still get tired but we aren’t tired of doing the job.

What do you receive praise in doing? Do people tell you that you’re really good at a certain skill?

Greg quoted somebody else as saying our ‘calling’ is Where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger meet Do you believe that there really is a hole that only you can fill. To know that there is something that needs doing and that you can do really well should be a truly satisfying experience. It is that satisfaction (as well as the financial benefits!) that work should really be about.

Sadly these days, too many people strive for promotion beyond this point until they get to the place of their inadequacy. How many good deputy managers are now poor managers? How many good managers are now bad members of the board? I guess its partly a quality of meekness that we are willing to be where we are best suited to be rather than desperate to advance ourselves at the expense of others who may be better at the job than we are!