Kevin DeYoung Interiews Me (Not!)

The Art of the Self-Interview

Kevin DeYoung

This summer Kevin DeYoung is interviewing various leaders and publishing the results on Fridays. He asks all the same set of questions which allows readers to compare the answers of one with the others. I am enjoying reading the interviews and learning more about the interviewees.

Multi-tasking

I have patiently waited the my phone call or email request for an interview. But, alas I have heard nothing from Kevin. So, I have decided to interview myself using Mr. DeYoung's questions:



1. Where were you born?

Pensacola, Florida

2. When did you become a Christian?

At my baptism sometime in 1948. "Christian children all should be mild, obedient, good as he." But, if you're asking the evangelical/revivalist question then I don't know.

3. Who is well known pastor/author/leader who has shaped you as a Christian and teacher?

J.I. Packer

4.Who is one lesser known pastor/friend/mentor who has shaped?

John K. Reeves

5. What’s one hymn you want sung at your 
funeral?

Abide with Me

6. What kind of nonfiction do you enjoy reading when you aren’t reading about theology, the Bible, or church history?

History/Biography

7. Other than Calvin’s Institutes, what 
systematic theology have you found most helpful?

Concise Theology by J.I. Packer

8. What are one or two of your favorite fiction authors or fiction books?


Walker Percy, John Updike

9. What is one of your favorite non- Christian biographies?

The Last Lion (3 vol) by Manchester/Reid

10. What is one of your favorite books on preaching?

Don't have one. Wish there were one that
taught Biblical faithfulness coupled with
clarity and brevity and treating God's people as God's people. Wish I had read it and had ears to hear it 40 years ago. If I had to have one, maybe Between Two Worlds by John Stott.

11. What is one of your favorite books on evangelism?

The Lost Soul of American Protestantism by D.G. Hart

12. What is one of your favorite books on apologetics?

Don't have one. If I have to have one maybe Cornelius Platinga's Beyond Doubt.

13. What is one of your favorite books on prayer?

Psalms

14. What is one of your favorite books on marriage?

Life with Father

15. What is one of your favorite books on parenting?

Life with Father

16. What music do you keep coming back to on your iPhone (or CD player, or tape deck, or gramophone)?

Lately Sam Moore. Always George Jones.

17. Favorite food?

Fried chicken, rice with chicken gravy,
butterbeans cooked with bacon, fried okra, homegrown tomatoes, my grandmother's soda biscuits, homemade vanilla ice cream. Now, let's get on with the execution.

18. After the Bible, a hymnal, and a shipbuilding guide, what book would you want with you on a desert island?

The Book of Common Prayer

19. One more just for you, Bill. What do 
you think about being interviewed by
me?

What took you so long?

20. OK, thanks. Do you have quick question
for me?

Do you have a tie and jacket?

Kenneth Pierce

Uh...Kevin, how about calling Pierce. When he hears about this he is going to be really jealous.