Today, many of us look back with gratefulness at the long pastoral ministry of John MacArthur. I had the privilege of knowing John through the years.
When my father was president at Moody Bible Institute back in the 1970s, he invited John to speak on Moody radio with its expansive broadcasting network. Moody Press began publishing John’s commentary series and books.
Right out of college, I had the privilege of serving as a pastoral intern under John at Grace Community Church (GCC) in Sun Valley, California. These were the days before the Master’s College and Seminary. But the church was rapidly growing.
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Here’s how I remember John. He was a man who had a passion for teaching and preaching the Bible verse by verse. He loved God’s Word and was committed to its truthfulness, teaching it verse by verse redundant. He shared his gift of expository ministry with many over the church’s Grace to You broadcasts, and had over 150 books that he wrote. I admire John for his faithfulness in preaching the Word to the very end of his life.
I remember conversations with John when he had just discovered the writings of Martin Lloyd-Jones and found himself drawn to Reformed theology. Although John was to remain a premillennialist all his life, he called himself a “leaky dispensationalist.”
John loved the Gospel and believed in its transforming power. It was amazing to meet many new converts at the church who were being discipled under John. His was not a thin Gospel. He believed in and proclaimed Christ as savior and Lord. His outspokenness on this at the time is remembered in the “Lordship salvation controversy.”
This man also had a deep commitment to the Church. As a pastoral intern at his church, John not only exposed me to all aspects of GCC’s dynamic ministries, but I had to study and read a lot while I was there. I particularly remember his series on Ephesians and his early “Shepherdology” course aimed at developing a biblical theology of pastoring. John lifted up the role of pastor-teacher. He not only served in one church for over 54 years, but he had a growing interest in training pastors. Out of that grew the annual Shepherd’s Conference (an idea I think he got from Moody and speaking at its pastor’s conference).
John eventually did serve on the board of Moody and almost became its president, but he turned it down because he felt committed to pastoring Grace Community Church and staying in California.
John was a man of conviction. Sometimes controversial but always courageous, he “earnestly contended for the truth.” Yet he was not shy about calling out what he believed was misguided or false teaching (a thin gospel, the prosperity gospel, social gospel distortions, progressive ideologies). In this sense, he often “swam against the current” of various popular Evangelical trends.
I think one of John’s finest hours was when he defied Governor Gavin Newsom’s statewide order in California to ban churches from holding worship services during the COVID pandemic. Grace Community continued to meet. What was controversial then, now in retrospect, was both right and bold.
We were blessed to have John speak at Colorado Christian University while I was president. We asked him to bring the Gospel to the many conservatives gathered at the Western Conservative Summit. John did not disappoint.
I’ve been blessed by many amazing Evangelical teachers and writers in the last 50 years. One thinks of Billy Graham, Carl Henry, John Stott, J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, and others. John MacArthur was certainly one of the most influential Christian voices of the late 20th and early 21st-century Evangelical world. But he, too, knew he needed a savior and looked forward to the day when he would meet his Lord face to face.
Dr. Donald Sweeting is a noted educator, minister and author. He currently serves as Chancellor of Colorado Christian University. Previously he served as the president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and prior to that he served as a pastor for 22 years. He holds a BA from Lawrence University, BA and MA degrees from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. from Trinity International University. He is the author of several books. His writings have been widely published by Townhall, Fox News, The Washington Times, The Jerusalem Post, and many other outlets. Dr. Sweeting and Christina have three adult sons and a daughter. He regularly posts his thoughts at donsweeting.com and can be followed on Twitter @dsweeting.
