Dear PiperTalkers,

As I have mentioned in a previous post to the list new people continue to
sign up to join our group. As of the morning of October 5th we have 297+
members. That's a great number of individuals for any discussion list and I
do not know of a list owner or moderator who wouldn't be pleased with 297+
subscribers. You have signed up from all over this world. Over the years
I've seen subscriber email addresses from just about every continent and the
island nations from all over God's creation. You represent the Body of
Christ in a most spectacular way. We are His called out people and because
the Holy Spirit of God by His interiorized presence has provided us with a
self-awareness as community we share much in common such as our common
desire to learn and know more of Jesus Christ. We all sit and eat at the
same Lord's Table.

One of the reasons we are here is because we share an appreciation for the
ministry of pastor John Piper. I would assume we would all agree God the
Holy Spirit has gifted him with the ability to put Jesus Christ clearly on
display with God's Word before our mind's eye. As those who feed on Christ
we love it! Through the years we have seen and continue to see a humble man
who burns with a God given zeal to present to God's saints the best of God
according to the written Word. John Piper is not on a pedestal. He is not
perfect. Like you and me he needs the Savior. What I have always admired
about him as a preacher of the Gospel is how he is determined to keep his
fingerprints off of the Christ we love. I have had the honour of following
Piper's ministry for a long time now and I have yet to detect his
fingerprints blurring God's picture of His Son. When I do I will be the
first to let him know. Pray that God keep John Piper humble and 100%
dependent upon His grace.

Now to the business at hand. As I said we have a growing list that presently
numbers -297+ email addresses from just about everywhere. Though the numbers
continue to grow the silence is troubling. You signed up to either
communicate with other subscribers or at the very least to learn from
others. To facilitate good fellowship we old timers would often interject
thoughts and questions to encourage your sharing with one another. God
blessed us with seasons of learning. At times this list was jumping up and
down with activity. I can remember seasons on this list when as a moderator
I was found myself hoping the emails would slow down so I could get some
rest. You see we moderators have the task of reading all of the posts sent
to the list. It's our job to keep an eye out for both the troublemakers and
for those crying for help. Often we have served as peacekeepers. We need to
have a good nose to know Gospel truth from lies. Over the years we've heard
them all. The good, the bad and the ugly. I've always loved the unexpected
blessing.

With the hope of seeing better and more blessed days ahead for our list I
have invited a long time subscriber and friend Paul Miller to have a free
hand to stir things up to get things moving again. He's accepted and is
eager to serve you so I have put the chief moderator hat on his head and
given him my blessings. At the present time the following brothers serve as
moderators.

Paul Miller #1 chief moderator
Daniel Beck #2 moderator
Joe Moore #2 moderator
Moe Bergeron #2 moderator and list owner

For the Glory of God!
Moe Bergeron


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]