I do not suppose anyone who read this woke up this morning wondering why my third son’s middle name is Joseph. But in the ten plus years since my wife and I gave this name to him, I have never regretted it. No man apart from Christ is perfect. Dr. Pipa will be the first to bear witness to his profound need for the cleansing blood of Christ, and His freely imputed righteousness, received by faith alone. Yet we are called to give honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7), and that is why my son’s middle name is Joseph.

My wife and I have four sons. The first two were born during our time in Greenville, SC while I was studying at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The third arrived during the first year of my work at Heritage OPC in Royston, GA, where I am still privileged to serve as a pastor. We named our third son Elijah Joseph. That may not strike anyone as being particularly important—who cares what a small-town pastor and his wife names their son? Well, we named him after Dr. Joseph Pipa. Since my former professor has been the object of much reviling very recently, I thought it fitting and timely to publish my rationale for my son’s middle name. At the very least, I hope it will honor Dr. Pipa, but I also want to provide another perspective on this man, for he has been a father in the faith to me. One might even say a true patriarch worthy of the name. Here are five blessings that Dr. Joseph Pipa handed down to me that motivated our choice of our son’s middle name.

He Taught Me to Love the Holy Scriptures

I cannot recall exactly how many classes I was privileged to have with Dr. Pipa, but one major theme stood out above the rest: his love for and commitment to the Word of God. I learned very quickly that this man was relentlessly exegetical. Whether we spoke of man’s origin in Genesis 1, the development of the Covenant of Grace throughout the Bible, or the mystery of God’s decrees, speculation was given no countenance nor quarter. His model was not unique to him, but firmly and devotionally planted in the middle of the Reformed heritage. I thank God that his example and encouragements played no small part in fashioning those convictions in me. This is precisely what the Apostle Paul exhorted the church in Corinth, “…that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other” (1 Cor. 4:6). In short, Dr. Pipa taught me and a generation of ministers, elders, and other servants of Christ, to love “the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it” (Jer. 6:16). Our age is one in which many reply “We will not walk in it,” just like they said in Jeremiah’s day. This is all the more reason I am grateful that Dr. Pipa instilled in me and my colleagues a love for the plain Word of God.

He Taught Me to Love the Church

In August of 2009 I sat in a classroom at GPTS for my first course. Professor Elkin told us in the very first session: “Brothers, if Jesus loved the church enough to die for her, I should love the church enough to be patient with her.” Those words have been vindicated—and tested—over and over through my nearly twelve years of work in the church. While Dr. Pipa did not speak these words on that occasion, he most certainly led his students with the same ethos. As he taught us about the importance of study, prayer, preaching, and pastoring, the goal was always to honor the Lord Jesus and to serve the church. He taught me by precept and example that the pastor’s goal was not to be the next great celebrity, not the next high-powered academician, but to prepare the next most needful sermon for the congregation in front of me. My goal was to be able to speak a word in season to the weary saint beside me, and to pray for them when no one else was with me. Additionally, he encouraged us to be engaged in the life of our elders, in the work of presbyteries, and in general assemblies (or their equivalents). In this way, he instilled in us the love of being committed and thoughtful churchmen, something I have sought by the grace of God to embody in my own ministry. I am thankful that I was taught by Dr. Pipa that I ought to spend and be spent gladly for the sake of Christ’s church (2 Cor. 12:15).

He Taught Me to Preach

“It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor.  1:21). Preaching is not always popular, and sadly, much of what is called preaching today is impotent and effeminate. These are just some pressures that men face as they prepare for ministry.

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