I have enormous respect and affection for John Piper, not just because of his preaching, speaking, and writing abilities, but because of his tenacious pursuit of personal godliness. May God greatly bless his soul and that of his family as he takes an extended leave from May 1 through December 31. Today, he posted this letter of explanation. What makes this leave different is that Pastor John will step back from almost all his speaking engagements and from book writing:
In this leave, I intend to let go of all of it. No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports. No papers. And no speaking engagements. There is one stateside exception—the weekend devoted to the Desiring God National Conference combined with the inaugural convocation of Bethlehem College and Seminary in October. Noël thought I should keep three international commitments. Our reasoning is that if she could go along, and if we plan it right, these could be very special times of refreshment together.
Read the whole thing. And consider adding him to the list of those for whom you regularly pray.