21 Servants of Sovereign Joy: Faithful, Flawed, and Fruitful

by John Piper

Throughout history, the lives of spiritual giants―though full of struggle, sin, and weakness―magnify the glory and majesty of God. Their lives and teachings are full of messages that are still profoundly relevant. Their voices live on. And their stories should be told and read today. In this book, John Piper explores the lives of twenty-one leaders from church history, offering a close look at their perseverance amidst opposition, weakness, and suffering. Let the endurance of these faithful but flawed saints inspire you toward a life of Christ-exalting courage, passion, and joy.

Genres: Biography, Christian, Theology, Church History, Faith, History, Christianity

816 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2018

About the author

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.

John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

HOWEVER.... I would recommend to buy the 7 volumes compiled in this BIG book separately. This is a huge book and it took me longer to read because I couldn't take it with me to everywhere.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is simply one of the best books I’ve ever read. Yes it’s mammoth (7 books, each with three biographies, totalling over 800 pages) but it was so encouraging. My favourites were Augustine, Newton, Wilberforce, Athanasius, Tyndale, Paton, Judson and Muller. Uplifted and challenged.

[Megan Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! This one took me over two years to finish.
It’s long, but I took so long reading it so that I could think on each person and not get them all muddled in my memory.
The last 3 chapters were so excellent!
Piper writes of Müller, Spurgeon, and Taylor, “Their confidence was not that God would prevent sickness and death, but that God would give them all they needed to do his will and give him glory in life and death.”

[Josiah Schrodt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me a long time to finish, but it was marvelous. The sub-title is apt: “Faithful, Flawed, and Fruitful” and the men Piper writes about have stirred up in me great zeal for the kingdom of God and love for Christ. I also think Piper is a wonderful biographer; I am so grateful for his deep thinking and fervency of affection.

[Noah Hosking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read. It is an anthology of 7 books of 3 biographies, so it is a decent commitment. That being said, the combination of biography and theology is very approachable. Reading about these men is utterly inspiring. They were single minded, focussed and gave all of their lives to God. You also have to love the way Piper writes. He cannot help but exalt in the glory of God and the all consuming supremacy and sweetness of Christ in all things. And he was surely glorified in these men who savoured Christ more than anything!

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lire ce livre est un vrai régal pour l’âme ! Il ne s’agit pas simplement de biographies historiques, mais Piper a le désir d’encourager et d’enseigner au travers de ces récits, en particulier les pasteurs et prédicateurs.

[Lauren Fee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so exhorting. I love to read about the faithful, flawed, and fruitful lives of brothers and sisters who have walked out their pilgrim journeys before me. I commonplaced endlessly, was introduced to new-to-me saints and re-acquainted with other ones. I could not agree with John Piper more that “these swans are certainly not silent.” If you listen and take the time to read their stories, their lives still sing loudly for us to hear of the Sovereign Joy they found in Christ.

[Alec Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most exhorting books I have ever read. Definitely would recommend this book, but it is more geared for those in ministry (specifically pastoral ministry of some sort—missions included). Definitely long, but each saint you read about will call you to admire them and the God they serve. It also calls us to look to our leaders and fathers of the faith (Heb. 13:7).

[Kirk Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to 21 Christians from throughout Church history. I highly recommend this book for all Christians—it will encourage you in your struggles, remind you of Christ’s faithfulness, and inspire you to serve God with both resolution and courage.

[Malachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant collection of short Christian biographies. So encouraging and enlivening. This is definitely worth the time to carefully read!

[Grant Steiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful read. Piper’s joy in writing about these saints bleeds off the pages, and results in a book that is enjoying and a pleasure to read.

My only criticism of the book is the same I have for a lot of Piper’s work, and it’s that I think he has a tendency to force his philosophy of Christian Hedonism into everything, even if it isn’t necessarily there. However, this is a relatively small gripe.

[Nia Nimmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only cried 3 dozen times!

[Rachel Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! It took me a long while to get through, but I always came away encouraged after reading. Piper does a great job sharing the stories of these godly men, but he doesn’t leave it at just a biography. He takes the important themes from their lives and ministries and finds ways to apply these principles to our lives today. So encouraging to read how God has worked in and through his people!

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

I received my copy at T4G 18’ and read some of the biographies then. However, I read it from start to finish this last year discussing it monthly with my good friend Parker Consolo. What a treasure of a book! Great introductory biographical material of the lives of various saints of the last 2000 years.

Piper’s perspective is always considerate and worshipful. I also don’t want to ever hear that he is a boring writer. His prose is explosive and budding with beauty too often. Could he make the points of his other books more shortly? Sure. But this is a man who is not lazy in his thinking and prose. He “sees and says beautifully” as he wrote about Herbert, Whitefield, and Lewis.

Will I buy the newly released 27 Servants of Sovereign Joy? No. So, Cole Shiflet, please buy it for my birthday on April 24th. Thanks.

[Dogeared Wanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian biographies have always been a source of encouragement to me, especially how they responded in the midst of personal failures. No matter which spiritual giants you respect throughout church history, none of them are perfect. All of them grew in faith and their understanding of grace and the Bible. As the subtitle summarizes, they were "faithful, flawed, and fruitful". And so God works in our lives too.

This compilation is divided into 7 sections:
👣Book 1 - Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin
👣Book 2 - John Bunyan, William Cowper, David Brainard
👣Book 3 - John Newton, Charles Simeon, William Wilberforce
👣Book 4 - Athanasius, John Owen, J. Gresham Machen
👣Book 5 - William Tyndale, John Paton, Adoniram Judson
👣Book 6 - George Herbert, George Whitefield, C. S. Lewis
👣Book 7 - Charles Spurgeon, George Muller, Hudson Taylor

Each biography focuses on a particular theme which was manifested in the life of that individual. This is a very thick book (about 2 3/8 inches) and took me awhile to read but I was so blessed to do so!

[Paige Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was a journey during which God used the stories of these men to bring intense revelation and heart-change on same major points in my life. This is a book I will cherish forever and I am eternally grateful to Mr Piper for it. Now that it is over, the only thing I can say is that I just want to immediately start it over again.

I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough. But beware, God has been using the men in here to change the world for hundreds of years. If you aren’t careful (or maybe, if you’re hungry enough?) he just might use them to change your world too.

Favorite Quote: “A man preaches that sermon only well unto others which preaches itself in his own soul… If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.” ~ John Owen

[Kevin Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically, I listened to the audio messages preached by Piper at his annual pastor's conferences
[available here for free]. The two biggest surprises for me were 1) William Cowper, the depressed hymn writer and friend of John Newton and 2) George Herbert, the Christian poet who passed before his time.

While I do enjoy full-length biographies for a deep dive, I find shorter biographies enticing as I can get a birds-eye view of a great man or woman's life. Here are
[100 of the Best Christian Biographies] I compiled earlier this year.

[Chase Pheifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 7 sets of 3 biographies, each around 20-50 pages long and connecting to some common theme respectively, with all linked by a quote from Augustine's successor after his death about the Swan being silent, joyful faith in the sovereignty of God, and faithfulness, fruitfulness, and fallibility — this lengthy work was a delight to go through as a quick overview of the lives of 21 influential saints in Christ's Church through the ages. Filled with interesting anecdotes from Piper inspired by the life and writings of his present subject, these are unique biographies in that they focus on big overarching themes of the subjects' lives as well as lesser highlighted aspects. I particularly was struck by the section on William Cowper — a fascinating yet tragic life to be sure.

[Dayton Rumbold · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time diving into biographies of this nature. I would recommend it as a good starting place for getting into Christian biographies.

God raises up laborers from generation to generation. The faithful lives of these men is inspiring.

As a college student trying to decide what to do next, I have been thankful for the lives of these 21 men that have shaped and molded me.

Closing with the words of Hudson Taylor, "Let us see that we keep God before our eyes; that we walk in His ways, and seek to please and glorify Him in everything, great and small. Depend upon it. God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."

[Leila Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

These texts as individual releases (three biographies per book) were my introduction to reading biographies back in my 20s, and they were life-changing. As a collection, these are excellent "spring-boards" into bigger and more in-depth biographies, but also have direct application for Christian living and thinking on their own. I think the overall writing improves, especially from the first and second collection into the biographies on Wilberforce and company, and I also appreciate that Piper began to broaden his audience past primarily pastors.

[Tim Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is great lacking and lost art of in the Christian world today in studying and knowing the great heroes of Church History. John Piper offers us 21 servants of sovereign joy throughout the past two thousand years of church history. He hits on some of the heavy hitters such as Hudson Taylor and Charles Spurgeon. Also, talking about some less known heroes of faith like John Paton and J. Gresham Machen. This work is not meant to be read through, but multiple books that should be pulled out over and over for study.

[Rich Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of several volumes released by the author.

The biographies of dozens of Christians chronologically from Augustine to CS Lewis. But the book is organized topically, grouping people of different eras within the same topic, as opposed to proceeding by time period.

The book covered each person's biography and then went deeper into how the person thought, acted, and exhibited the attributes of the topic they were listed under. The author also issued challenges to Christians, especially pastors, to emulate these examples.

[Rick Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of John Piper these days!....Ive been reading many of his books these last couple of years...This one is compilation of biographical books he has written on 21 Christian leaders in Church History...His premise for these biographies is “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Hebrews 13:7 Highly Recommend.

[Nicolas Carney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish.

No lack of quality, but more than anything I was continually reminded that a) these were each originally delivered orally; while the content is good, Piper's delivery just doesn't come across as well in text, and b) a self-declared mini-biography can only scratch the surface. That's the purpose of the book of course, but ultimately it's just given me a good list of full biographies to seek out.

[Boaz Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book that Piper has produced looking at twenty one great christian lives. He weaves beautiful truth in and amongst the stories of their lives and displays how they relied on a Sovereign, gracious God to sustain and empower them in all they did. Piper shows their fruits and flaws and most importantly centers it on the impact Jesus has on these people. A book I will definitely keep refreshing myself in. A mammoth of encouragement!

[Emma Sunderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over two years later I finally finished this book! It’s 7 books compiled into one. Books 5 and 7 were my favorite (that I remember, maybe I liked the earlier ones too but can’t remember at this point).

Always looove to read about those who have gone before us. A lot of names in here that should be remembered and Piper did a nice job examining all parts of their life, the good, bad, and hard.

[Andrew Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

This easily finds its way into one of the top ten books I’ve ever read. This book is theologically-rich, biblically-saturated, and incredibly engaging. It has been so encouraging for my own walk with the Lord to read about these spiritual giants.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection contains all 7 of Piper's "The Swans Are Not Silent" biographies. It is a great collection but a little hefty. Readers may find they enjoy saving shelf space but may prefer reading the individual volumes. Either way, it is a great collection.

[Cory McArtor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent introduction to the lives of many faithful Christ-followers with application to the lives of those who would follow and serve Christ today.

[Joey Dutcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biographical sermons.