I should have been influenced by David Pawson more….
I love his teaching and I’ve read most of his books. He ministered for a large part of his life just down the road from where I grew up. Theologically I feel very close to his views – on things such as baptism in the Spirit, gifts and even eschatology (who agrees with anyone about eschatology?!)! I love his approach of working through the scriptures bit by bit, but at a reasonable pace. Plus his autobiography recounts how he was once banned from Spring Harvest causing a black market of his teaching tapes to spring up – how rock and roll is that? And yet, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t count David Pawson as a major influence on my life.
I shouldn’t have been influenced by John Piper – he is an american after all. His books are mostly heavy and dense – I’ve had as many negative responses as positive ones when I’ve lent or given one of them to my friends. They’re just a bit like hard work at times. He took over 6 years to preach through one book of the Bible. He wouldn’t be labelled ‘charismatic’ and when he comes to the UK it tends to be for the conservative evangelicals. However, I’m not ashamed to say he has been, and still is, a massive influence on me.
The reason?
I’d love to say something that sounds less shallow… but after thinking about it, it’s pretty simple really – you can access all 4,000+ bits of Piper’s stuff easily and for free, in contrast, to get one talk on MP3 from Pawson will cost you £2.50.
Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I think Pawson’s talks aren’t worth £2.50 – they’re probably ‘worth’ a lot more. I asked the person who runs his account on Twitter – why they charge for things (esp electronic stuff), and got a super helpful response (read it for yourself – here). I’m not denying his right to charge for his work. I’m not saying it’s unbiblical, or that anybody is trying to get rich off it. It isn’t wrong.
What I’m saying is – it’s not effective for spreading. There is a cost to cost, and it’s not really about the money. Even if they charged 1 pence per talk – I’d still have to sign up, give my credit card details and wait for a download. Why do that when there are other world class teachers who I can simply click on immediately and for free?
If I have a question about a text, I’ll go to Piper or to Driscoll. Not because I like everything they say or agree with all their theology (to be honest I’d rather listen to a guy leading a house church in the 10/40 window than an american mega church pastor) – but the websites are excellent, most of their content is linked to specific scriptures (making it a ‘go to’ resource and easily searchable), and it doesn’t cost me anything – it’s just so darn easy to get their take on the things I’m interested in!
For those reading who dislike some of Piper’s theology (I have friends who intensely dislike aspects of it) the simple truth is – he’s so influential in large part because he is both prolific and generous. If you want to spread a different message – you might think about copying his methods.
Even amongst ‘secular’ media there is an growing avalanche of talk about the ‘power (or even necessity) of free’ (e.g. Seth Godin) – surely those of us who treasure the free grace of God should be at the forefront of giving what we’ve received away for free?
Plus, once your stuff gets out there, people make funky videos of it:
If you want to think more deeply about this issue, check out Matt Perman’s articles explaining Desiring God’s ‘give it away for free’ policy here.
David Pawson, I have the greatest respect for you and your ministry. The above is simply a comment on your distribution policy. If you begin to give it all away for free I will set up a standing order to support the ministry. I will also spread it.
Would love to hear others take on this issue. Please do comment.
This one obviously stuck with me Andy, because I’ve just spent the last five minutes trying to track it down! Particularly the statement “The Power of Free”. I’m very appreciative of your pointing your readers in the direction of Seth Godin and other thought leaders, and hope these (free!) resources make me sharper in my thinking about communication.
The fact I can’t see any other replies to your post indicates you’ve been pretty compelling here…!
But, of course, none of this is really free is it? Piper’s and Driscoll’s stuff is cross-subsidised from their other activities (i.e. their congregations are paying for them to produce these resources). My thoughts go to the ministries of Jesus and Paul, both of whose work was “free” to those who received their ministry. In Paul’s case his “day job” subsidised his missionary activity – something that became a slight embarrassment when the Corinthians began to question whether he was a “real” apostle – and Paul had to point out that those other apostles were actually entitled to receive financial help and support from the churches. Jesus’ ministry was, we are told, supported by donations from wealthy women; otherwise would he and the other disciples have been able to undetake the work they did?
It does bother me that people will “go to” resources because they can be subsidised in this way rather than because they can be relied upon to encourage sound theological thinking (not trying to cast aspersions in any particular direction here!). I’m all for encouraging generosity, but we must not underestimate the (sometimes personal) costs involved.
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