C.J. Mahaney - He's Irritating and He's Not Humble

C.J. Mahaney is not humble. It must be true because one of his close friends, Mark Dever, said so. Strangely, he said so in his endorsement of one of C.J.'s books. Here is the complete text which I have taken from just inside the cover of Humility: "C.J. Mahaney is not a humble man. At least, that's what he'll tell you. And that's one reason he's so well qualified to write this book. I've read it. I've seen humility in his life - and in the lives of those he's taught. If you're fighting pride - like I am - you should read it, too. And if you're not fighting pride, you really need to read it!"

C.J. Mahaney not humble, but there is more! He is also irritating. Again, one of his good friends shares this secret, this time in Albert Mohler's foreword to the new book Living The Cross Centered Life. "I must also be honest with you. C.J. can be irritating at times. He tends to be very honest about sin and very clear about the fact that we can do nothing at all to deserve our salvation. This is a book that will humble the proud. Then again, that's the power of the cross..."

Now that two of three of the other members of the Together for the Gospel have zinged Mahaney, I'd suggest that it is Ligon Duncan's turn. I will wait patiently to see what he will share about his friend C.J. I great enjoy watching the interaction between this group of friends and am glad that they have allowed us a glimpse into their relationship through their new blog.

Comments (6)

1
Anonymous's picture

Lol

I bought the book used and the seller never sent it! I hope to read it soon.

And btw ... the bible also says "there is no God." Of course the larger context begins with ... the fool says in his heart...."

-mike

2
Anonymous's picture

I hadn't even put the two together! That's funny. Mahaney is (newly) one of my favorites as is Sovereign Grace Ministries as a whole. As a matter of fact I wrote them back today to tell them what a blessing they've been to me and to keep on keeping on with what they are doing. I'm also thankful for the "Together for the Gospel" Blog and, since it is so close, I look forward to attending the conference in April in Louisville, Kentucky. It would be great to see some of you there!

Mike

3
Anonymous's picture

I'm waiting along with you, Tim! That's too funny.

4
Anonymous's picture

I never thought I would hear a respected Reformed/Presby. pastor and author actually say:

"Finally, who do you like in the Super Bowl?. . . 'cause sometimes no. 3 has to kick it back out to no. 1 for the trey from a suburban zipcode."

And here is CJ's return volley, in response to "What books are you presently reading?" from Ligon Duncan:

Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit? Edited by Daniel Wallace and James Sawyer (When I first saw the title of this book I thought this might be a book about you guys but it’s not).

Zing.

5
Anonymous's picture

I have the enormous privilege of attending Covenant Life Church, where CJ served as Senior Pastor for many years, and I have been irritated--in a wonderful way--by his humility and/or lack thereof.

Here's what I've observed in watching CJ: in every conversation that he has with every person, he does his best to make sure the other person doesn't go away with too HIGH an opinion of CJ or too LOW an opinion of Jesus.

6
Anonymous's picture

I've just watched the Q&A session of the 2007 Ligonier National Conference where CJ was one of the keynote speakers. I thought CJ was "unusually hyper" for a big-name preacher, so excitable that he almost seemed "giddy" like a little boy in a great store - there was certainly a very rare child-like quality in him. Some might find it irritating, however, I thought it was rather refreshing as God calls all kinds of men to His Cross to spread the Gospel to all kinds of people all over the world. And... one thing I couldn't help but noticing , that was the "absence of ego" in CJ's presence. I'm sure he battles pride every living breathing moment just like the rest of us, but it was quite obvious the Lord has done a marvelous work in CJ's soul... And THAT was a rare beautiful sight to watch. Praise Jesus!