WHILE AS EDITORS we have written relatively little of this volume, the amount of time we have spent on it has been considerable. Consequently, a project of this kind simply does not work without the help, kindness, and love of many people. We would therefore like to acknowledge some who have been so important to this process.
It is appropriate to begin by expressing our genuine gratitude to our covenant Lord, in whose love and compassion we find ourselves. We have felt his enabling grace even as we have worked on this project of reintroducing the church to his servant, John Owen.
Cameron Moran, Kelly’s research assistant, provided invaluable assistance in tracking down references and helping us to get the manuscript in shape. Others who have given support, insight, and sometimes acted as guinea pigs include Daniel Hill, Jay Green, Jeff Morton, J. I. Packer, Tim Cooper, Ivor J. Davidson, Frank A. James III, John Holberg, Tad Mindemann, Brian Hecker, Andrea Long, Rebecca Sasscer, and Joshua Sowin (who helped Justin create www.johnowen.org).
We would like to acknowledge the generous support received from the Kaleo Center at Covenant College, which is funded through Lilly Endowment Inc.
We are especially thankful to John Piper for interrupting his own writing projects to pen the foreword for this book.
We are grateful to Crossway Books for sharing our vision for this project, and for Bill Deckard in particular, whose excellent edits have made the manuscript better.
We profoundly appreciate our wives, Tabitha Kapic and Lea Taylor, who have patiently and selflessly encouraged us during countless hours of editing. There can be no doubt that without your sacrificial love and support this volume would never have reached completion. And more than that, thank you for always reminding us that life is bigger than books read or written.
Finally, we dedicate this edited volume to our children, Jonathan and Margot Kapic, and Claira and Malachi Taylor. Even though it will be years before you can understand this book—if you ever read it in the first place!—we do pray that by God’s Spirit you will always know the freedom and hope that comes in the gospel. We stand in awe of the incredible gift God gave when he gave us you.