Updated October 25, 2002 (first published October 22, 2002) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –

The following warning was sent to us by Pastor Bobby Mitchell of Brunswick, Maine <vze3c448@verizon.net>:

“Piper’s works are becoming increasingly popular among Baptists. Recently I manned a booth at Bowdoin College here in Brunswick. My purpose was to give out gospel materials and let students know about our church. Every evangelical Christian student that I spoke to informed me that they are Calvinists and that they have been greatly influenced by John Piper. You can visit his website at http://www.desiringgod.org. I would suggest that you click on the ‘online library’ link at the top of the page. There you can find a multitude of his writings. So far I have found that he is a very good writer, his style is appealing, and much of what he writes is spiritually beneficial. I’ve also found that he is a staunch five-point Calvinist and defender of that system, promotes Augustine and C.S. Lewis, uses modern perversions of the Bible, and is post-trib in his eschatology. I think the man and his ministry is dangerous to Independent Baptists. Much like Max Lucado he would not be invited to speak in our colleges and churches, but his writings seem to be making serious inroads and he is reaching the folks in our pews.”

CONCLUDING NOTE FROM BRO. CLOUD:

We would add that Piper is a New Evangelical compromiser who refuses to practice biblical separation. He is a senior writer for the New Evangelical World magazine. He pastors a church that is affiliated with the Baptist General Conference, which in turn is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and the apostate Baptist World Alliance. Piper attended Wheaton College and has a degree from Fuller Seminary. He speaks at ecumenical forums such as Billy Graham’s “The Cove” in North Carolina.