If John Piper wants Christians to find their ultimate happiness and joy in God, why hasn’t he ever told a joke from the pulpit? Pastor John, ten years ago this month, what I think to be the weirdest video of you preaching was recorded. You were speaking in front of thousands of Christian counselors in Nashville, at the national gathering of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Reports claim up to eight thousand people were in attendance. It was big. And there you delivered a message titled “Beholding Glory and Becoming Whole: Seeing and Savoring God as the Heart of Mental Health.” From the start of the message, you poured your heart out and shared your personal struggles. But what makes the video so weird is that for several minutes, the counselors responded to your serious confessions with laughter. I have so many questions. A lot of people have questions, a decade later. Caleb asks, “Pastor John, am I right in saying that I hear the crowd laughing at you as you poured your heart out to them and became very vulnerable? It seemed they totally missed the fact that you were really being serious with them. What in the world happened?” Matt asks, “It seemed like there was a lot of confusion. I was just curious on what the reasoning for the response might have been.” Adam asks, “Pastor John, your message was encouraging for me in many ways, and I was particularly encouraged and moved by the humility you showed at the beginning of the message when you discussed your struggles with self-focus both in your ministry and in your marriage. That said, I was disturbed by their audible laughter. Judging by your remarks and composure during all this, I also noticed you were concerned and disturbed as well. What do you remember from the event, and what are your thoughts as you look back, now a decade later?” Read or listen to this interview at our website: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/john-pipers-most-bizarre-moment-in-preaching Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes: https://www.desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john