At a glance
- Age
- 80
- Born
- January 11, 1946
- From
- Chattanooga
- Nationality
- United States
Biography
Most people who encounter John Piper meet him first as a voice — a sermon clip, a line quoted from a book, a short piece posted at desiringgod.org, the site that carries his teaching output. Behind that material sits a long stretch of one job in one place: 33 years at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, where from 1980 to 2013 he held the title of pastor for preaching and vision.
He came to that pulpit from the classroom. Born in Chattanooga in January 1946, Piper spent six years teaching biblical studies at Bethel University, from 1974 to 1980, before the move into full-time pastoral work. His academic specialism is New Testament studies, and he writes and preaches as a Reformed Baptist — a theological position he holds openly rather than one readers have to infer.
Since retiring from the church, he has served as chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, also in Minneapolis. The pattern across his career is unusually consistent: teaching, preaching, and writing directed at the same body of texts, from the same city, over decades.
He came to that pulpit from the classroom. Born in Chattanooga in January 1946, Piper spent six years teaching biblical studies at Bethel University, from 1974 to 1980, before the move into full-time pastoral work. His academic specialism is New Testament studies, and he writes and preaches as a Reformed Baptist — a theological position he holds openly rather than one readers have to infer.
Since retiring from the church, he has served as chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, also in Minneapolis. The pattern across his career is unusually consistent: teaching, preaching, and writing directed at the same body of texts, from the same city, over decades.
