Welcome back to the second part of my interview with Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III (read part one here).

Ligon, apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

I do not think that I can answer the question, which book I most frequently re-read, since there are a number of them that I have re-read over the years. Some examples of these books would be:

• Calvin’s Institutes
• Packer’s A Quest for Godliness
• David Wells’ No Place for Truth
• Thomas Brooks’ Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices
  

I re-read these books because they are particularly edifying, convicting, timely and instructive.

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

I have no system. I’m not a fast reader, but I can usually remember what I read and where I read. So, I largely rely upon my memory, but this does result in some rummaging around to find things from time to time. Of course, if I’m researching something for publication, I keep notes, by author, title, and subject.

If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture) who would it be and why?

Calvin or Irenaeus.

I would choose Calvin because he is, in my opinion, the best exegete and possibly the greatest systematic theologian in the history of Christianity. He is certainly one of the five greatest theologians in the history of the Church.

I would choose Irenaeus because he played such a crucial role in the shaping of orthodoxy and because of his close proximity to the apostles. I would love to pepper him with questions about all of that for about two years, eight hours a day, five days a week.

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

Well, I’m not sure I can claim that it has improved my preaching, but at least Mark Dever’s counsel has been helpful and instructive to me: “if your wife wakes you up at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning to ask you what your sermon is about, and you cannot tell her in one crisp sentence, then that sermon is not ready to preach.” Basically, we must be really clear on what the main thrust, thesis, argument, point, and main application of our sermon is.

What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

I have benefited from Lloyd-Jones’ book Preaching and Preachers, the volume edited by Sam Logan called The Preacher and Preaching, and Broadus, On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons. But I have gained the most from listening to great preaching. Growing up under the faithful and powerful expository ministries of Gordon Reed and Paul Settle, and listening to Mark Dever, John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Derek Thomas, Sinclair Ferguson, Eric Alexander, and others, have been most influential on my preaching.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?

I do not use my time effectively, but the best advice that I have been given is, “Learn to say, ‘No.’” Unfortunately, I have not taken this advice yet, but am trying.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?

“I have not come to be served, but to serve.” And “if you want to be a servant, you have to be prepared to be treated like one.” (Glen Knecht)

That is humbling counsel. Thank you, Dr. Duncan.

Please join me next time for the third and final part of my interview with Dr. Duncan.