“It’s the end of an era—the era of Piper as local-church pastor—but God willing, just the beginning of a new season of ministry,” David Mathis wrote on Desiring God’s blog. Piper announced in 2011 that he would leave pastoral ministry to invest his time in his wider Desiring God ministry and continue as chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.

In an open letter to the church, he announced that he, his wife and his adopted daughter, Talitha, will spend a year in Tennessee starting in May to allow the new leadership to plan the church’s direction. He also plans to use his time working on a few writing projects and figuring out how to divide his time between “speaking at conferences, international ministry, teaching through Desiring God, and life on the family front.” ...