For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper

by Sam Storms (Editor), Justin Taylor (Editor), Tom Steller (Contributor)

John Piper has had a profound impact on countless men and women over his thirty years of pastoral ministry. From his online ministry with Desiring God to his preaching ministry at Bethlehem Baptist Church to his writing ministry in over thirty books, his faithful service has encouraged, challenged, and corrected many who are thirsty for God’s Word.

Piper’s influence does not stem from his own abilities and accomplishments, but finds its source in his consistent and humble leading of others to Scripture, where the breathtaking sovereignty and glory of God are displayed in all their wonder. We rejoice and are changed as we encounter glorious truths about God in Piper’s ministry.

It is in this spirit that friends and colleagues of Piper honor him by presenting essays covering topics central to his ministry: prayer, suffering, the sovereignty of God, justification, Jonathan Edwards, Christian hedonism, and more.

The editors, in a letter to Piper, write: “We believe that the apostle Paul has given us a strong and biblical precedent for what this book is designed to accomplish. He wrote to the Philippian church concerning Epaphroditus, having drawn attention to his tireless efforts for the sake of the gospel and the fact the ‘he nearly died for the work of Christ’ (Phil 2:30). ‘Honor such men’ (Phil 2:29), Paul instructed the church. Yes, it is possible to ‘honor’ men such as you without detracting from the centrality and supremacy of our Lord.”

Our hope and prayer is that the reader’s gaze is turned to the Lord in this tribute to a man who has labored so faithfully for the fame of God’s name.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, Faith, Biography, Leadership

516 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

(Some early works written as C. Samuel Storms)

Sam has spent 39 years in ministry as a pastor, professor and author. He was visiting Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College from 2000-2004, and is currently Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. He has authored 22 books and founded Enjoying God Ministries. He's a graduate of The University of Oklahoma (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M) and The University of Texas (Ph.D.). He and his wife Ann have been married for 40 years and are the parents of two grown daughters and have four grandchildren. On a more personal level, Sam loves baseball, books, movies, and anything to do with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Reviews

[Lauren Fee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all the essays in this book except for part 6 in which the essays were directed to pastors. I enjoyed some more than others which is par for the course when reading a compilation of essays, but most enjoyed how each of the essays re-visited the passion of John Piper and probably enjoyed the essays most which provided biographical sketches of John Piper's life and ministry.

[Andy Hendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the essays are better than others. The great thing about this book is for every positive thing written about John Piper, there are ten positives written about God and his glory!

[Simon Wartanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful collection of essays about a man which God has mightily used to awaken love and devotion to Himself and His glory. Dr. John Piper is known as a passionate preacher about the absolute sovereignty of God; about the glory, beauty and majesty of God; what he calls "Christian Hedonism"; missions and evangelism. His career has been marked as God-honoring and God-centered. In this book, various pastors and theologians, pay homage to him by writing on various topics, things which concern him, but also things which do not directly concern him but are helpful.

I especially enjoyed:
* Sam Storms' chapter on Christian Hedonism;
* Donald J. Westblade's chapter on the Sovereignty of God in Jonathan Edwards;
* G. K. Beale's excellent chapter on "The Role of Resurrection in the Already-and-Not-Yey Phases of Justification", it was really eye-opening;
* Thomas R. Schreiner's chapter on the glory of God in the Bible;
* Wayne Grudem's chapter on obedience and pleasing God.

This is book meant to honor the (continued) legacy of a man who loves his Lord and His people.

[Tim Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collage of articles about the influence and teachings of John Piper from about a decade ago. The focus is where it should be with this work on bringing glory to God, not on John himself. Some of the articles are better than others to be honest. A few of them were a little theologically dense and harder to read. One of the chapters that stuck out was Sam Storms looking at the idea of abortion in the preaching-teaching of John Piper. Powerful truths and grace throughout that chapter for sure!

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Got me a bit nostalgic for the years 2012-2014, in which I discovered, and really binged a bunch of John Piper's stuff. I'm super grateful for his resources.

This book had a good selection of essays. The picks of the bunch for me were Sinclair Ferguson on Christus Victor, D.A. Carson on the gospel, Bruce Ware on the relationship between prayer and exhaustive sovereignty, and G.K. Beale on justification. I found Mark R. Talbot's essay critiquing Piper's Christian Hedonism to be very well written, articulated with nuance, but ultimately unpersuasive.

[Graham Heslop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some superb contributions - notably Beale, Carson, Ortlund, and Schreiner - and for the most part the remainder are solid, if a little pedestrian.

[Ryan Micheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of essays by many a great mind in the modern church in celebration of John Piper's impact and influence.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many heavy-weights in this book, but very little of it had any knockout articles. A few packed a wallop though. Fair book for the price, but then you get what you pay for.