It was a week or two ago that I came across a band called The Gray Havens. I listened to a few clips and decided to pre-order their first album, an EP that releases today. It turns out that they are readers of this site. I thought it would be fun to do an interview and they thought it would be fun to give you a copy of their album. So here goes!

Why don’t you start by telling me a little bit about yourself. Who are you, where are you from—you know, all of those details!

I am twenty four years old. I am recently married to my beautiful wife, Licia, who is a part of The Gray Havens as well. We live in Crystal Lake, IL, a Northwest Suburb of Chicago where we attend the Evangelical Free Church of Crystal Lake. Licia spends her week working part time for the church youth ministry and part time for Starbucks. I typically spend my week teaching voice lessons at two local High Schools (one of them being my Alma Mater), as well as performing dueling pianos in a group called Felix and Fingers. It can all seem a bit discombobulating and chaotic at times, especially in recent weeks, but it’s been a great learning sesaon for both of us leading up to the EP’s release.

A few years ago you were in the top-24 of American Idol (season 5). Tell me about that experience. What were some of the highlights of being on the show? What were some of the surprises? Any regrets?

American Idol was a whirlwind. I have catalogued the full narrative in a 5 part series of blog posts elsewhere, but here are some brief thoughts. The audition process was certainly interesting. You basically have to go through two rounds of audtions before you can stand in front of the actual judges (Paula, Simon, and Randy at the time). Interestingly enough, what actually landed me in front of them was a Louis Armstrong impersonation that I offhandedly mentioned I could pull off in a preliminary interview. In response to the question, “do you have any hidden talents,” I told an AI staff member I could pull off the impersonation fairly well. I ended up being asked to prove it in my executive producer audition. They laughed and sent me through just because of that (they did actually ask me to sing for real though). I think what put me in the top 24 after being able to sing well was the fact that I could diversify their contestant roster as a young guy singing big band and jazz. The greatest part of the whole show was the relationships I made with the other contestants. I grew pretty close with some of them, especially the other minors (we all had to go to “school” during the day). Also, having no idea what each day would be like when I woke up and sharing that experience with my friends was amazing. I loved it. My greatest regret is that I did an awful job of keeping in touch with those on the show, and have virtually lost contact with all of them. Maybe one day I’ll be able to start reconnecting again.

This morning I posted a review of Shon Hopwood’s new memoir Law Man. After reading the book I tracked down the author and did an interview with him. Give it a read, as I think you’ll enjoy it.

If you had to give a short summary of the theme of your book, what would it be? I don’t mean an outline of the contents as much as an underlying theme. What will the reader take away from it?
I think different people will find different themes, depending on their worldview. Some are going to come away from the book and say, "Why does a former bank robber deserve forgiveness, his wife, law school, and to tell his story in a book?" Others will see redemption through hard work and dedication--your typical pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps story. But the real crux of the story is God's grace. He poured out his grace not only through my salvation, of course, but also through the help of others. I would love to sit here and tell everyone that I'm super smart and that it was my legal ability and hard work which resulted in the Supreme Court granting two of my cases. But that simply isn't true.

You are a professing Christian and outline the story of your conversion in the story, yet this isn’t a “Christian book” per se. Why did you choose to for the mainstream instead of a book that would be sold in the Christian market?
I really struggled with that decision. At one point, Crown Publishing and I talked about writing two books: one mainstream book and one Christian book. It never materialized. And, after praying about it for a long time, I realized that there was a reason God had given me a book deal. It wasn't just to tell my story of sin and grace to believers; it was to show unbelievers that, through Jesus, even those who committed crimes can be redeemed. I also knew that if the publisher labeled the book Christian and if it was segregated to the Christian section of bookstores or Amazon, very few unbelievers would read it. So, I decided to write a mainstream book that contains a Jesus story with the hope that those who don't or won't normally read a Jesus story, will still read this book and hear the good news.

Can you tell me about your local church and how you and your family are involved in it?
My wife, Annie, and our two children attend Mars Hill Church U-District in Seattle, Washington. We chose to accept a scholarship at the University of Washington School of Law, in part, because we found Mars Hill online, and we wanted to land in a Bible-based church. We love Mars Hill and our church family, especially our bible study leaders who have lovingly served us with friendship and leadership in community. And Pastor Justin Holcomb has gone out of his way to make us a part of the church's future. Our faith has grown by leaps and bounds in the short time we've been at Mars Hill. In a few short weeks, Annie and I will, for the very first time in our lives, become members of a church. We are excited about that.

Yesterday I shared the first part of my recent interview with Dr. R.C. Sproul. We discussed his new book, his teaching style, his view on Creation, how he determines where to place boundaries in cooperating with other Christians, and a few other topics. Today the interview continues…

This matter of "Christian celebrity" has come up in the past few years. How have you dealt with the pull toward pride and ego-inflation, and has this been a particular challenge for you?

Well, everybody has to fight the sin of pride. I remember reading Benjamin Franklin's resolutions when I was in college, where he, at one point in his life, was very committed to improving his moral conduct. He wrote a big list of virtues, and every day he checked off the virtues as to whether he achieved them or not. One of the things that he considered a great virtue was humility. He said he was careful to maintain a humble attitude toward things, so at the end of the day, he would write a check for humility, and then the next day, write a check for humility, and the next day write a check for humility. He said after a while he realized he was getting proud of his humility. Pride can come at you from so many different ways, and get you just when you think you've overcome it. It's always there. 

This business about Christian celebrity, I don't know what that means, really. If you talk about celebrities, you're talking about people who are extremely well known, usually through national media such as television, movies, or professional sports. Everybody's heard of Arnold Palmer and Elizabeth Taylor or people in the political arena. 

But to be a minister and to have a certain visibility because of lesser media such as radio and book writing, these are two different worlds. There's the Christian publishing world and then there's the New York Times bestseller world, and those two hardly ever cross over. So when you talk about Christian celebrity, you're talking about a very small universe. I've had people introduce me to their friends and say: "This is R.C. Sproul. He's famous." I laugh because I say, "If I'm famous, you don't have to tell people that." So this whole celebrity thing is really overblown, I think. I don't pay much attention to it.

Looking back over your life so far, and I emphasize "so far," what are some of your personal regrets? What do the words "well done, good and faithful servant" mean to you at this time in your life?

I can remember--I'm going to take the second part first--that when my mentor, Dr. Gerstner, was getting older, into his later 70s and into his 80s, he seemed to take a second wind. He took on more and more and more labor when most men were retired at that age. I asked him about it, and he said he knew that he didn't have much time left. He wanted to fill his days with as much productivity for the sake of Christ as could muster. That left a profound impact on me. 

I’ve often spoken of my love and respect for Dr. R.C. Sproul and the ministry he founded. I was recently given the opportunity to interview Dr. Sproul and turned to the readers of this site to see what they would like to ask him. Over the next two days I will share a transcript of the interview I conducted. In today’s installment I ask Dr. Sproul about his new book, his teaching style, his view on Creation, how he determines where to place boundaries in cooperating with other Christians, and a lot more.

What motivated you to write The Work of Christ? Was it an area in which you perceived a lack of theological understanding among Christians? Was it motivated by pastoral concern?

Well, the very first series that I did in the field of adult education was in 1969 at a church in Philadelphia, and the series was on the work of Christ. That was such an exciting time for me. It really was pivotal because I acquired a taste, indeed a passion, for adult education as a result of that experience of working with the laity in the church. I saw how they responded when they gained a deeper understanding of all the things that Jesus did in His ministry. So that passion was born in 1969. It's never really left me.

Recently we did that series in a new setting with a new audience, and out of that grew the inspiration for this book. I think it's extremely important, because at the heart of the Christian faith is Christ--who He is and what He has done. This is so often overlooked in the church. It's amazing to me, but yet it's of critical importance for us as Christians to come to a deeper understanding of what Jesus has done.

[You can read my review of The Work of Christ here]

From the beginning of your ministry, your teaching style has always included pacing around the lectern and across the platform, as well as regularly writing key terms on a chalkboard. Can you tell us how your teaching style developed and share your insights on the nature of presentation in teaching others?

When we talk about teaching style, I guess some people think about a carefully choreographed style for communication. I've never done that. My teaching style is just an expression of who I am. My concern is always to get my message across. The idea of walking around and using a blackboard started in my teaching of philosophy and Bible as a professor in a college.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview John Piper. I promptly solicited questions from you, the readers of this site, and Pastor John was kind enough to answer them. Because the focus of this year’s Desiring God National Conference is sanctification, I asked him questions related to that subject. In this interview he discusses why sanctification is not an instantaneous act, how we can emphasize personal toil in holiness without diminishing the goodness and sovereignty of God, why we need to continue to confess our sins to God, and how we can know if we are growing in sanctification. If you read only one of the answers, be sure it is the final one!

What is God’s purpose in making sanctification a lifelong pursuit rather than an instantaneous act at the moment of conversion?

First, I agree with the assumption that this is true. God does do this. That is, he intentionally does not conquer all our sins in an instant, though he could. He could perfect us now. We know this because he is going to do it when we die. We will not sin in heaven. We will be among "the spirits of the righteous made perfect" (Heb. 12:23).

And we know that God will finally throw Satan into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10) and take away his influence in the new world entirely. If he will do it then, he could do it now. But he doesn't. He gives Satan leash. So why is Satan allowed to rage, and why does God let us go on stumbling toward holiness?

I am not aware of any text in the Bible that answers this question explicitly. So we answer with inferences from God's broader statements of purpose. The largest answer is that God does all things for the greater display of his glory, and so this too must be for his glory.

One clue to make this more specific comes from Romans 9:22-23. Paul asks rhetorically, "What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy?"

John Piper does not do a lot of interviews, so it’s rather a thrill for me to be able to do just that. Since I have this opportunity, I thought it might be fun to open it up to the readers of this site (as I did recently with R.C. Sproul—that interview will be ready to go shortly). Here’s your opportunity to ask John Piper a question.

Obviously there are millions of things we could ask him, so before I solicit your questions, I want to put a boundary in place: Let’s keep the questions focused on the subject of sanctification. This year’s Desiring God National Conference is titled “Act the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification.” Let’s anticipate that conference by confining ourselves to that subject. There should be lots we can learn!

With that stipulation in place, go ahead and leave a comment with your question about sanctification. I’ll choose some of the best ones and send them through to pastor John.

In a couple of weeks I am going to have an opportunity to interview R.C. Sproul. This isn't something that comes along every day! I thought it would be interesting to have an open mic, so to speak, allowing those of you who read this site to suggest questions I may like to ask him.

So here is your chance to ask Dr. Sproul anything at all (anything at all within reason, of course). Let's try to focus the questions on Sproul, his books, his ministry and perhaps some contemporary events. I don't see this as an opportunity to ask him the general theological questions that have been bothering you. Let's talk about him, his years of ministry, the books he has written, and maybe especially his most recent book, The Work of Christ, which I reviewed this morning. So go ahead and leave a comment with your question. To make things just a bit more interesting, I'll try to find some copies of The Work of Christ for some of you whose questions end up being chosen.

Suggest a Question

I have been able to conduct a lot of interviews in the many years I've been running this blog. A couple of weeks ago I drew up a list of interviews featuring Christian artists. Today I’ve got a second round-up for you, this one showcasing interviews about, well, everything else.

About Everything

“10 Questions with John MacArthur” and “5 More Questions with John MacArthur”

About Books They’ve Written

“Spiritual Healing in the Midst of a Husband’s Addiction to Pornography” about Vicki Tiede’s forthcoming book When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography.

“5 Questions with Josh Harris” about his book Dug Down Deep.

“Who Made God? An Interview with Edgar Andrews,” about his book Who Made God?

“The Gospel: The Key to Parenting” about Bill Farley’s book Gospel-Powered Parenting.

“The Soul in Cyberspace: An Interview with Douglas Groothuis” about his book The Soul in Cyberspace.

“An Interview with Os Guinness” about his book The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends on It.

About Faith in Real Life

“The Most Unlikely of Heroes,” an interview with Lee Dyck about adopting a special needs child.

“The God Who Gives Strength as Needed: An Interview with Terry Stauffer” about the power of the gospel in dealing with the murder of his daughter.

“Memorizing Scripture - An Interview” with Ryan Ferguson about the discipline of memorizing scripture.

“An Interview with Ben Zobrist” about being a Christian and a major league baseball player.

“Interviewing the ProBlogger,” an interview with Darren Rowse about being a Christian and a blogger.

About Theology

“Continuationism and Cessationism: An Interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem,” Part 1 and Part 2

“Tongues! Signs! Wonders! An Interview with Dr. Sam Waldron,” Part 1 and Part 2

I have been able to conduct quite a few interviews in the many years I’ve been running this blog. Recently I ran through those interviews and noted how many of them featured Christian artists, ranging from musicians to photographers to illustrators. Here are a few of my favorites:

Musicians

• Trip Lee - The Good Life: An Interview with Trip Lee
• Matt Hammitt - Pieces of a Real Heart: An Interview with Sanctus Real’s Matt Hammitt
• Burk Parsons - To Backstreet (and Back), Part 2 and Part 3
• Mark and Stephen Altrogge - Mark and Stephen Altrogge

Illustration

• Chris Koelle - The (Graphic Novel) Book of Revelation

Photography

• Lukas VanDyke - An Interview with Lukas VanDyke

Performance Art

• Max McLean - An Interview with Max McLean

Nihonga

• Makoto Fujimura - An Interview with Makoto Fujimura

When I was in Louisville for Together for the Gospel I bumped into Russell Moore and had a few minutes to speak about reading fiction. I quickly saw that he has done a lot of thinking about fiction, about the morality and responsibility of reading it. I was eager to learn more and he was kind enough to answer my questions.

In recent months I have been reading and listening to more novels than is typical for me. I’ve enjoyed this a lot, but have found that many of the good, popular novels contain some measure of what I would deem immoral or sinful--profanity, sex outside of marriage or violence, for example. How much or what types of profanity or sexuality can be in a novel and it still be spiritually edifying? What guidelines do you use in your own reading?

Yes, this is especially true when it comes to the writings of contemporary artists such as John Updike or Phillip Roth and so on. When it comes to novels, I have a similar rubric that I have with music or film. Violence and profanity and shocking content in Schindler’s List is different than violence or profanity or shocking themes in American Pie or Faces of Death (I’ve seen neither of those, in case someone wonders, but I can get the gist from a distance). In some films, there is a context to dealing with dark themes that doesn’t seek to enflame dark tendencies within the viewer, but rather to show reality for what it is.

The Bible does the same thing. The Bible depicts such dark material as murder, incest, adultery, and so on, but never in such a way as to glorify or arouse such tendencies.

Someone who is a converted and reformed ex-Nazi Party member shouldn’t watch Schindler’s List, if such would prompt in him a vulnerability to his violent idolatrous old ideology. And, for that matter, a former pantheist might not be able to watch Disney’s Pocahantus for the same reasons. There are certain things no one should watch or read, but then there are other things that wisdom and prudence would decree different sets of standards based on different sets of vulnerabilities.

Two questions come to mind. First, what are those things that no one should watch or read?

When I say some things would be out of bounds for any Christian, I am thinking of, for example, the kind of literary pornography that now abounds, especially in e-book form (because it allows for the privacy to read it). The top selling e-book in the country right now, according to the New York Times, is Fifty Shades of Grey (which, I’m quick to note that I haven’t read!), which is a pornographic fantasy about sadism and masochism.