I first met Kevin DeYoung in the pages of his book
Why We’re Not Emergent (Moody, 2008). Somewhere around page 50 I became his fan. Since that time I’ve also had the privilege and joy of becoming his friend.
Kevin is the senior pastor of
University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, and the author of four books (more on his books in a forthcoming blog post). I asked him 14 questions on topics like books, devotions, preaching, and sports, which he was happy to answer.
Meet my friend Kevin DeYoung.
Kevin, thank you for your time! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?
We have four small children so my sleep pattern is somewhat dependent on how (if!) they all slept. But usually I wake up between 6:30-6:45, a little later if it is my day off (Monday), or if I had a late meeting the night before. On average I spend about an hour in morning devotions. I start by reading 5-10 pages of some classic Christian book (
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment at present). Then I sing a Psalm. Then I read 3-4 chapters from the Bible. I’ve used lots of different reading plans. Right now I’m using a plan that gets me through the whole Bible once a year and Psalms/Proverbs twice. I am in the minor prophets right now. After reading, I work on some Scripture memory, the second half of Romans 12 at the moment. Finally I spend about 25 minutes in prayer, often on a walk if it is not too cold outside. None of these segments take too terribly long, so I’m usually done in an hour or a little more.
What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?
For my soul:
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs;
Forerunner of the Great Awakening: Sermons by Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen edited by Joel Beeke;
Letters of John Newton
For pastoral ministry:
Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth by Alistair McGrath;
Mortal Follies: Episcopalians and the Crisis of Mainline Christianity by William Murchison;
The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson; commentaries on Mark
For personal enjoyment:
Macbeth;
The Predictioneer’s Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita;
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design by Stephen C. Meyer
Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?
I’ve read Calvin’s
Institutes several times. I try to go back to it every few years. The theology is rich, passionate, biblical, and ministers to my soul. I see new things every time I read the
Institutes. Plus, Calvin, especially in the
Battles translation, is easier to read than Jonathan Edwards and many of the Puritans.
When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?
Sadly, I have no system in place. I’ve tried a few different times to implement something, but I didn’t stick with it. If I see an article in a magazine or journal that I like I’ll make a copy and put it in my files (arranged by topics). But for books I just underline, write in the margins and hope I remember where things are later.
If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
That’s a hard one. I could learn a lot from so many—Augustine, Calvin, Edwards. But I would pick John Newton. He was not the most prolific theologian, but I figure I can always read Luther or Owen today, but I can’t get the man John Newton. He seems so wise, balanced, and godly. He would make a great mentor, especially for a pastor. A close second would be Irenaeus or one of the other Church Fathers, just because they were not far removed from the Apostles.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
If people walk away from your sermons and think you are really smart, you probably have preached a bad sermon. At first I thought it was good if people were impressed by my learning, but now I see that wowing people with my studies is exactly the wrong thing to do. Along these lines, I’ve heard Earl Palmer say that he aims at the high school junior or senior in his sermon. This makes sense to me. A high school senior is used to thinking (we hope) and can handle new ideas and concepts (we hope), but we should not assume he has a deep background in the Bible and theology. That’s a good target audience.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
The best book on preaching is
Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. John Stott’s
Between Two Worlds is a close second. Spurgeon’s
Lectures to My Students is also one of my favorites.
I have benefited from listening to many preachers, including: John Piper, Alistair Begg, Tim Keller, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney. I don’t think most sermons read very well in print, but Martyn Lloyd-Jones and J.C. Ryle are notable exceptions.
We will pick up here in part two of my interview with my friend Kevin DeYoung.