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DG Pastor’s Conference – Day 2

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Today was the busy day at the conference. I started off with a breakout session featuring David Michael of Children Desiring God, which helped reaffirm my passion for training the next generation. I had a chance to visit with David and he was encouraging about things our church is doing to help children prize Jesus.

The 1st AM session featured Eric Mason from Epiphany Fellowship in Philly. (Notes, Audio, Video) His message was to pastors on having joy in suffering, especially as it relates to sanctification. It was a compelling call to this end.

The 2nd AM session was Sam Storms giving the foundations of Christian Hedonism (Notes, Audio, Video) I think what stuck out to me there was the reminder of God being the fountain of all joy.

After lunch, Piper gave his biography of C.S. Lewis (Manuscript, Audio). There were lots of zingers in this talk. Piper showed why he appreciated Lewis so much in his summary: he had an awesome experiential joy and a determined hold on objective truth.

After Piper’s talk, I was able to sit down with Matt Perman, Director of Strategy for Desiring God, and talk about vision planning, BHAG’s, and other things related to being organized and leading in terms of big picture direction. There were lots of practical helps in this time.

Finally, after supper, we were back for Sam Storms final session: Killing Sin with Christian Hedonism (Notes, Audio). This session got practical, again encouraging us to have joy in suffering. The session ended with Bethlehem’s Elders and Pastors praying for individual needs of the pastors present. Very meaningful.

Back at hotel, we are working to prep to leave tomorrow.

Session 1 – Sam Storms

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The conference kicked off with a video of a old guy playing with toys in a little kids play room with the quote from C.S. Lewis’ Weight of Glory about how we are satisfied with childish things while infinite joys await us.

From this, we sang about God being our Rock and Savior. We declared in song how Jesus is our Joy.

Sam Storms came and brought us a message from 2 Corinthians 1:23-24. The thrust? At the heart of pastoral ministry should be a passion to glorify God by shepherding others to find their joy in Him. This is the path that brings God the greatest glory. This message laid the foundations for Storms’ messages to us tomorrow. It was a deep way to begin, but helpful for establishing a foundation.

Check out notes taken or download the audio.

Review of Paul Tripp’s Seminar

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We attended the Pre Conference Seminar with Paul Tripp. Desiring God has posted notes from both sessions on their blog (Session 1 / Session 2).

Bob thought that what stood out to him was how he was able to relate every problem an individual or pastor would have needs to be brought back to the Gospel. He also appreciated Tripp’s sense of humor. And thought Tripp’s strength, real-life illustrations, were helpful in his communication of truth.

I thought that this session was personally convicting in many ways. Tripp was relentless in helping us see our hearts in ways that we maybe haven’t seen them in the past. He did this masterfully for all of us in that room. Question after question and example after example helped us see our hearts and how ministry temptations must be fled from for the help that is offered in the body of Christ.

I would encourage you to read through the notes from this session.

Getting Rolling with Pre-Conference Seminar…

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Today, at 1PM, we will be taking in the Pre-Conference Seminar here at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. The speaker is Paul Tripp. Here’s a preview of what Tripp will be presenting…

For all of the excitement and privilege of ministry in the local church, it is important to remember that ministry with, to and for the Body of Christ is accompanied by a unique set of obstacles and temptations. Successful, God-honoring, productive ministry in the church is never just a matter of mastering the requisite body of information and possessing the right set of skills. Ministry in the local church, whatever it is, is always shaped by the condition of your heart. What are the issues that are at the heart of ministry struggle and failure? What are the protections that need to be built into the life of everyone who is active in ministry of any kind? How do we assure that the message of the transforming grace of Jesus Christ is not only operating in the lives of those being ministered to, but in the one doing ministry as well?

The schedule shows 2 sessions:

Session #1:
Title: The Pastor: Who Do We Think He Is Anyway?

Session #2:
Title: The Pastor: Not Yet Perfect, Still Under Attack

After this conference, we will register, grab some dinner, and prep for the evening session with Sam Storms. If I get a chance, I’ll update everyone later.

Sunday in Minneapolis…

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Up and around this morning then out the door to Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Bloomington, MN (home of Cole Aldrich & Best Buy, a south suburb of Minneapois).

Enjoyed an amazing morning with these dear saints.
The service began at 10AM with songs centered on grace (Holy, Holy, Holy, O What Grace, Ransomed, Grace, Grace Like Rain, Grace Unmeasured and All I Have Is Christ). After a welcome, they dismissed the children to teaching Pastor Matthew Wassink gave an amazing message from 1 Peter 1:22-25 entitled, “Grow in Faith, Grow in Grace: Love One Another.” This fellowship of churches does such an amazing job in welcoming. I was so encouraged visiting with Pastor Rick Gamache.

We left from there for lunch and other fun things in Bloomington and came back to the hotel to rest. Hoping for a restful night.

Pastor’s Conference Travel Day…

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Yesterday, Saturday, January, 30th, Bob Lansdowne (a deacon at our church) and I left Hutchinson around 5:45AM and drove straight through to Minneapolis. We were able to get in here around 4:30, which was pretty good time. We checked into the hotel and headed over to Bethlehem Baptist Church (where John Piper pastors) for their evening service.

A brass ensemble called us to worship. I loved the way Piper weaved the service together with Scripture, pointing us upward. We sang songs (All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, Everlasting God, You Are My King) and watched them welcome around 80 new members. They make them publicly affirm a Membership Covenant, then the congregation publicly affirms (again) their willingness to be those kind of people. It was a moving night.

Piper’s message from Matthew 16:13-18 was entitled Invincible Purpose: I Will Build My Church. The message was a historical, Biblical defense of church planting which led into John Erickson preaching. Bethlehem is launching Jubilee Community Church and this was the service to call people out to that. I must say, I was stirred to consider my life in light of planting congregations and reaching out to others.

Our hearts were full, so we finally grabbed supper after church and went to bed.

My Upcoming Week…

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I will be attending the 2010 Desiring God Pastor’s Conference in Minneapolis, MN. I am leaving Saturday AM and hoping to make in to Minneapolis in time for evening service at Bethlehem Baptist Church. On Sunday AM, we are planning on attending Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Bloomington.

The conference starts on Monday with a Pre-Conference Seminar featuring Paul Tripp. Then we get rolling through Wednesday and come back on Thursday.

Here’s the trailer for the conference:

You can catch updates on the DG Blog and I will try to get something up here.

How To Wreck Your Church…

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From Thabiti & Ray Ortlund…

How to wreck your church in three weeks

Week One: Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are. Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now. Take note of every person who displeases you.

Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.” Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out. Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.” Agree together that you must “pray about it.”

Week Two: Send an email to a few other “concerned” members. Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church. Problems have gone unaddressed for too long. Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”

As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church. Circulate the petition quietly. Gathering support will be easy. Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing. Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.

Week Three: When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands. Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward. Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.

Whatever happens from this point on, you have won. You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances. To some degree, you will get your way. Your church will need three or four years for recovery. But at any future time, you can do it all again. It only takes three weeks.

Just one question. Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7)

Thabiti’s encouragement was to read, pray and (if appropriate) repent.

In an upcoming sermon, we will see how Paul endured lots of suffering and afflictions for the sake of Christ’s body, the church. We need to practice active love toward the bride of Christ. Josh Harris has also weighed in timely on this matter. How are your actions showing love to those for whom Christ shed His blood?

Orphans

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My wife sent me an email last week on the needs of orphans in Haiti. As she read certain posts online, her heart was moved with compassion for the needs of these. As we are urged by James, caring for orphans is the essence of Christianity working itself out in love (James 1:27).

Here are some interesting sites to consider for this need…

Together for Adoption
Look After Orphans (an article in the recent World Magazine)
Noel Piper has had some amazing articles and challenges.

Here’s the questions my wife asked me in email (taken from the T4A site)…
• What can we do over the next several weeks so that we don’t forget about the people of Haiti?
• What will our church be able to do if/when Humanitarian Parole is granted for Haiti’s orphans?
• Where in Haiti can we send our people to serve on short-term trips come summer?
• How many people can our church send?

Oh Phil, will God call us to sacrifice greatly is the midst of this devastation?

I hope you can sense the compassion in her pleading. Let’s pray for God’s mercy and pray for wisdom in our actions.