The Story of How John MacArthur Became the World's Premier Expository Preacher. Listen at:
About This Podcast
How did John MacArthur’s ministry become synonymous with expository preaching? And what does an expository preaching ministry look like? To answer that question, The MacArthur Center Podcast went back to John’s childhood in a pastor’s home and to the year 1969 when he became the teaching pastor at Grace Community Church. It told the remarkable, providential story of how Grace Church grew, how suffering has shaped John’s ministry, how he’s responded to threats to his church, and how he’s entrusted the gospel to the next generation of preachers. In these personal, profound stories, there are lessons for all pastors, and believers, who believe in the transforming power of an expositional ministry.
Lastest Episodes
March 5, 2024
Season 3, Episode 6: Eschatology
Of all the theological categories in the Bible, eschatology—the study of things pertaining to the end—may be the most neglected. Otherwise sound and biblical teachers often avoid the topic either because they don’t think the Bible is clear about how the world will end or they don’t think it matters. Through his decades of ministry, John MacArthur has never shied away from teaching the entire Bible, including the prophetic parts. This episode explores what MacArthur actually believes about things to come. We’ll join host Austin Duncan at the porch of the Gloria hotel in Jerusalem where he asks several Bible scholars about Israel's role in the end times. We’ll also see what an Irish theologian named Darby, Kirk Cameron, and the word leaky have to do with the end of the world and your final days. See why Christians can, and must, live with hope.
February 26, 2024
Season 3, Episode 5: John MacArthur is My Youth Pastor
Over his 55 years as a pastor—and counting—John MacArthur has ministered to thousands of young people. Today, his ministry continues to provide profound value for teenagers and twenty-somethings. Why is that? What does he understand about reaching the next generation? We'll answer that question in this episode. We'll also take a look at the rampant anxiety and depression among teenagers, and how the church can help teens in crisis. We'll try to understand why churches seem desperate to make everything so juvenile. Finally, we're going to talk about aweed in the church." At least that's what critics call youth groups. All that and much more in this episode"John MacArthur is My Youth Pastor."
November 24, 2023
Season 3, Episode 4: Friendship and the Finish Line
After the study of God’s Word, nothing gives John MacArthur more joy in life and ministry than relationships. For him, being with those of like precious faith infuses his days with meaning, encouragement, and the grace of God. All pastors need to prioritize friendships. This episode looks at the biblical, cosmic scope of friendship, explores the reasons why it has fallen on hard times, and shows why no minister can endure without friends. Along the way, John recounts his unique, life-giving friendship with R.C. Sproul and gives all of us principles for cultivating relationships like that, maintaining them, and responding when friends disappoint.
November 9, 2023
Season 3, Episode 3: When Believers Stop Believing
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you probably know someone who used to follow Jesus Christ, but now wants nothing to do with him. Why does that happen? What marks the path from faith to apostasy? John MacArthur started exploring those questions in college, when long-time Christian friends stunned him by walking away from God and into atheism and false religion. What he found is that the path to apostasy is well-trod, dating back to Judas, who rejected Jesus after following him for three years. This episode traces what John learned, then taught for decades, about apostasy, what happens when believers stop believing, and how all of us can be sure that once we are truly saved, God will never let us go.
October 4, 2023
Season 3, Episode 2: The Gospel According to Jesus
In 1988, John MacArthur’s book The Gospel According to Jesus stirred no small amount of controversy. By simply looking at what Jesus meant when he said follow me, the book exposed more than one false version of the gospel prominent among evangelicals. This episode takes you back to that pivotal time, a turning point both in John’s ministry and the evangelical church, to show you what it really means to follow Jesus, and why a right understanding of the gospel is essential to an enduring ministry.
September 4, 2023
Season 3, Episode 1: The Drivetrain
If, like John MacArthur, your ministry is going to endure for more than a half-century, you need to know how to navigate doctrinal disagreements within your local congregation and with other pastors, churches, and Christian leaders. To do that well, you have to know how to prioritize doctrine and practice what’s often been called theological triage. See how John MacArthur has practiced this kind of triage and kept his ministry doctrinally pure by focusing on what he calls the Drivetrain. This is episode one of season 3 of the MacArthur Center podcast.
All Episodes
Episode 1: February 9, 1969
June 9, 2021
When John MacArthur became the pastor of Grace Community Church in 1969, only one thing motivated him.
Episode 2: The Kind of Bait They Would Like
June 23, 2021
While American evangelicals embraced Robert Schuller's marketing approach to church ministry, John MacArthur tried something different, and his ministry exploded.
Episode 3: The Origin Story
July 6, 2021
Why did John MacArthur become a preacher? You'll find the answer on a two-lane Alabama highway, in the pastor's home where he grew up, in the stern, loving counsel of a mentor named Charles Feinberg, and on the sports fields of John's youth. If you've ever wondered if God is preparing you for a lifetime of ministry, this episode tells a story that can clarify that calling.
Episode 4: The Quest for Cool
July 21, 2021
What is the MacArthur style? When John stands in the pulpit, what is he trying to do? Is he projecting an image or making himself relevant? Is he trying to be personable, funny, or cool? This episode looks at what preoccupies MacArthur—and what should preoccupy all expositors—in the pulpit. And in the process, it explains what David and Goliath has to do with $800 sneakers, the meaning of the word glib, and the quest for cool that defines many of America’s most prominent pastors.
Episode 5: When Terrorists Attack
August 25, 2021
Most Sundays, a faithful expositor preaches the next verse. He doesn’t respond to the headlines or the latest scandal in the Christian world. But every so often, a tragedy in the world—or the church— occupies all the space inside his people’s heads. How does a pastor respond in those crises? This episode looks at sermons John preached after two of the worst calamities of his lifetime. The first was the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. The second was the downfall of an evangelical celebrity that rocked the church in 1988. In these stories, John shows pastors everywhere how to help their people navigate through crisis.
