Welcome back for part two of my interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem. Read part one here.
Dr. Grudem, if you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?
Probably John Calvin, because of his remarkable ability to understand each passage of Scripture in the light of the whole Bible and all of God’s purposes for history.
What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?
I think it would be my wife Margaret’s willingness to tell me what worked, what connected with the audience, or what was boring or unclear. She has done this for our entire marriage, and it continues to be helpful to me.
What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?
The main example was Harold John Ockenga’s preaching Sunday mornings and evenings at Park Street Church in Boston when I was an undergraduate at Harvard. It was just solid, faithful, expository preaching week after week, month after month. It was his example of preaching that God used to persuade me to go to seminary rather than heading toward law school.
What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?
I find the most helpful thing I do regarding use of time is to spend time in prayer each morning bringing my plans and my “to do” list before the Lord and seeking his direction.
As far as human advice and counsel, I have found the system described in Getting Things Done by David Allen to be very helpful—I am just now rereading that to try to get all of my “in box” items back under control again and listed in one place, and then processed. I should add that I find effective use of time to be a continual challenge and I keep making small modifications here and there.
I would also like to say this to you, C.J.: You probably remember that I have talked with you numerous times about how to decide on what things to schedule, how to set priorities, and other questions about wisdom in time management, and your suggestions have always been very helpful!
Several verses of Scripture also have influenced me in this regard. Paul said, “It is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy (or “faithful,” Greek pistos)” (1 Corinthians 4:2) and that has made me seek to be faithful to God in the way I use all of my time.
Join me tomorrow for the third part of my interview with Dr. Grudem.