Brothers, We Are Not Professionals (Pt2) By John Piper

"The goal of spiritual leadership is to muster people to join God in living for God’s glory."

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"Good deeds do not pay back grace; they borrow more grace."

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"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit—which is the only kind that matters—knows neither God nor himself."

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"The essence of the Christian ministry is that its success is not within our reach."

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"How do we serve so that God is glorified? We serve by the strength He supplies."

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"The difference between Uncle Sam and Jesus Christ is that Uncle Sam won’t enlist you in his service unless you are healthy and Jesus won’t enlist you unless you are sick."

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"The great threat to our prayer and our meditation on the Word of God is good ministry activity."

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"Our suffering is not in vain; God never wastes the gift of pain. (Philippians 1:29)"

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"God will gladly receive anything from us that shows our dependence and His all-sufficiency."

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"A pastor who does not know the rhythm of desperation and deliverance must have his sights only on what man can achieve."

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"God does all His gracious work in such a way “that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:29), which means He usually does it in answer to prayer."

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"God is the only sure and stable thing in the universe."

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"For in your working, God is working."

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"There is an infinite difference between the pastor whose heart is set on being a professional and the pastor whose heart is set on being the aroma of Christ, the fragrance of death to some and eternal life to others (2 Corinthians 2:15–16)."

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"If you want to be a conduit for God’s grace, you don’t have to be lined with gold. Copper will do."

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"God is not looking for people to work for Him but people who let Him work mightily in and through them."

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All quotes were from John Piper in his book: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. You can purchase his book here.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals (pt1) by John Piper

"Spiritual leadership is knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to get them there by God’s means in reliance on God’s power."

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"Professionalism is not supernatural. The heart of ministry is."

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"The highest, best, and final good in the good news is God Himself."

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"Why Christians do what they do is just as important as what they do. Bad motives ruin good acts."

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"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

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"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit knows neither God nor himself."

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"Faith unites us to Christ."

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"The great pressure on us today is to be productive managers. But the need of the church is for prayerful, spiritual poets."

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"For your own soul and for the life of your church, fight for time to feed your soul with rich reading."

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"Loving our wives is essential for our ministry. It is ministry."

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"A cry for help form the heart of a childlike pastor is a sweet praise in the ears of God."

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"Let us not merely criticize or commend the seminaries. Rather, let us pray for them."

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"The aims of our ministry are eternal and spiritual."

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"All pastoral afflictions are graciously designed to make us rely on God and not ourselves."

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"Brothers, we are leaders, and the burden of change lies most heavily on us. The place to start is our own lives."

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"God loves us infinitely."

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All quotes were from John Piper in his book: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. You can purchase his book here.