Brothers, We Are Not Professionals // Book Review

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Book Review by Ben Wright

John Piper’s Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, does a fantastic job of outlining how the ministry should be pursued by having authentic joy and faith in wanting to glorify God in all that we do.  Piper writes this book on such a personal level that allows the reader to believe he is speaking directly to the reader.  He is not afraid to say something that might offend somebody that is involved in pastoral ministry, but he does it in such a loving way that allows us to see his care for the position.  The title says it all about the pastorate–there is nothing we can do outside of God’s grace through the cross that will allow us to impact and transform the lives of others.  This is not a typical book.  There are about thirty-six chapters in this book and none of them are longer than ten pages.  I feel like everything that could be covered was covered in this book.   He discusses justification by faith alone, how God’s glory is of utmost importance, God’s love, how God wants to make much of us, a proper understanding of the gospel and how to preach every message according to the gospel, abortion, baptism, racism, finances, diet, exercising, rest, and suffering just to name a few.

Piper writes with so much passion and love for God and for the position of the pastorate.  One complaint that could be made by the outside world is just how biblically sound this book is.  Piper is very conservative in his beliefs and believes in the authority of God’s word and that Jesus is ultimately the one that will transform lives through the gospel.  Liberal Christianity could have a problem with it not having enough of a social gospel impact and focusing too much on faith and grace.  He would rather have the world fed the gospel than see them fall into the over consumption culture that we live in now.  John Piper is also a Calvinist, but he speaks about uniting the church over the secondary issues rather than dividing them.  Piper’s statements come at a time when some could view the ministry of many churches as being “professional.”  Many churches today can be seen as an event that relies on man’s power to bring people in rather than the Spirit’s power to draw them to Jesus.

Burk Parsons does a great job of commenting on Piper’s book by stating, “May the Holy Spirit use this book to help ignite the next generation with a passion to deny themselves and take up their crosses to serve Christ and his sheep from every tribe, tongue, and nation.”  The main thesis from this book can be summed up in one phrase by John Piper; “God’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy His glory forever” (5).  Piper wants the reader to understand that the purpose of what every Christian does is ultimately for God and His glory.  However, Piper also lets us know that when we center our lives around God’s glory, we will start to feel the fullest of joy that Christ wants us to experience in him.  Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, covers many issues that should concern each pastor and reconsider how they view these issues.  Piper starts off the book by talking about God’s glory and our joy found in His glory but then moves on to the central beliefs of Christianity.

This book was an excellent read but also extremely challenging at the same time.  Piper is not going to allow dead religion to infiltrate any area that he has to work in.  He wants us to be Christian hedonist and continually work towards our joy in Christ.  In doing this, he understands that we will face persecution and suffering, the important part is how we respond to these trials.  We must be saturated in prayer and God’s word if we our going to find joy while we endure the tough times and allow the Spirit to empower and work through us.

Piper gives the reader very practical advice that allows each person to grow and work towards the kingdom of God.  We are not just worshipers when we go to church on Sundays, but every single day of our lives.  To name a few, we worship God through our finances, relationships, exercising, diet, sleep, and education.  I had never thought of how important these things were when worshiping and glorifying God in all that we do.  For example, Piper laid out practical advice for how to grow the mind to love Christ even more.  He put an emphasis on reading Christian biographies and cutting twenty minute blocks out of each day to read parts of books:  “Biographies have served as much as any other human force in my life to resist the inertia of mediocrity.  Without them I tend to forget what joy there is in relentless God-besotted labor and aspiration” (106).  He also stated the importance of getting alone time with God and having a special time of prayer each day.  Our culture so desperately needs to slow down and give time for God through prayer.  I myself fall into the trap of getting too busy and not pursuing God and His promises.

All of Piper’s advice is not about making our lives easier or more comfortable on this earth.  Instead, it is almost counter to all of that.  Piper understands that we will face trial and persecution as followers for Christ.  He is trying to prepare us by enacting some biblical principles that might help us find joy during this suffering and persevere for the advancement of the Kingdom.  He does a great job of always referencing everything back to Scripture.  He builds each of his arguments off the foundation of God’s Word.  Another thing that he lays out in this book is his struggles with each of these issues and how he has had to improve on them by the power of the Spirit.  This allows the reader to see what traps we are not to fall into and be as wise as we can when we present material to our congregation.

There are so many topics that Piper covers in this book, ranging from justification by faith alone to racism and abortion.  Our life as a Christian is not a call to complacency and comfort, but Piper wants us to have a wartime mentality as we go about each day. This was eye opening to me.  I don’t wake up every single day thinking I am a soldier in a war, but in a sense I am.  I am involved in the spiritual war that is taking place and need to learn how to have a wartime mentality.  Piper writes, “If you want to be a conduit for God’s grace, you don’t have to be lined with gold.  Copper will do.  We will never persuade our people that the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21) applies to them unless we apply it to ourselves” (200).  Oh, how true all of this is.  If we are ever going to help our congregation grow in their love for Christ by doing the hard things that a Christ follower requires, we must do it first.  Understanding how the god of comfort has infiltrated our lives here in America is very important.  We must not allow ourselves to turn to the many idols that want to occupy our attention and passions each and every day.  This ranges from food, electronics, social media, family, sports, and many more hobbies.  However, the most addicting can be wealth.  The pursuit of wealth can be a dark and scary road.  Piper warns us that Jesus says we cannot worship both God and money.  We must learn how to worship with our wealth, not worship our wealth, for he notes, “God is not glorified when we keep for ourselves (no matter how thankfully) what we ought to be using to alleviate the misery of unevangelized and uneducated and unhoused and unfed millions” (169).

In conclusion, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, is a book that every Christian should read, especially those involved in pastoral ministry.  It provides us with a rich look of God’s glory and character and some of the most practical ways to bring glory to Him.  Piper lets us know that our entire life should be devoted to God.  This can even be through what we eat and how much rest we get.  It all plays a part.  It is definitely a book of wisdom that points everything back to God’s grace and love shown to us through Jesus Christ on the cross.  In every chapter, Piper always points every issue back to Jesus and how we either reacted to the situation or would have reacted to the situation based off of Scripture.  Brothers, this book is a call to having more joy and love in our relationship with Christ.  In doing this, we will be able to glorify Him all the more.