The panel discussion from the first session of Plant, our church-planting conference, featured Mark Dever, Dave Harvey, Darrin Patrick, and Jeff Purswell, and was moderated by C.J. Mahaney.

Panel discussion 1: Discipling, Assessing, and Training Men for Ministry

Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)

Here’s what was asked:

• Theologically, what informs your practice of identifying and training men for ministry? Describe your practice.
• How do you identify and gather men and intentionally train them?
• Let’s say I start attending Capitol Hill Baptist Church and become a member, and I want become one of the guys who are asked to teach. What would that process look like?
• I’m a pastor of a congregation numbering 100. What recommendations do you have for me for how to begin identifying and training men for ministry?
• Why do you think it is so easy for pastors to neglect this imperative?
• If I’m an aspiring church planter, how do I find my way to someone who can train me for a potential future church plant?
• What do I do if I have a pastor for whom my desire to plant a church doesn’t seem to be welcome news?
• Do you see any gifts in a church planter that are distinct from, say, a support pastor?
• What are some strengths you look for in a church planter’s wife?

(RSS readers, you may have to click through to the post to stream the audio.)

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Dave Harvey’s message from the first session of our church-planting conference is now available for listening or download.

“Sending Onesimus” (Philemon 1-25)

Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)

(RSS readers, you may have to click through to the post to stream the audio.)

Update: Here's a three-minute video clip from the message. In it Dave explains that future leaders have present problems—and that's not a reason to write them off:

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If you tried to download our new album, Risen, from our store in the last 24 hours, you probably noticed that we’re having technical difficulties. We apologize, and we hope to have the $5 downloads back up shortly.

But if you just can’t wait, and you don’t mind paying a couple extra bucks, the downloads are available at Amazon ($6.99) and iTunes ($9.99). CDs are still available for $12 at our store, and as always, we throw in free U.S. shipping for all orders over $15.

If you had trouble with an order for Risen and have questions about your status, please email resources@sovgracemin.org.

Keep an eye on this blog for updates (or Facebook or Twitter if you prefer). We’ll let you know when the downloads are back in business.

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Sovereign Grace Music exists to give local churches songs that teach sound doctrine. Today they released Risen, an album featuring thirteen songs celebrating Christ's resurrection and all that it means for those who have trusted in his atoning work on the cross. 

We want to make this easy for you to listen to right now, so for the next two weeks (through April 4) the MP3 version is available for $5. The CD version is $12, and on April 5 price of the MP3 version will go up to $9.

To learn more about the album, visit Sovereign Grace Music's website to download a free song and preview the others, or watch the video below to hear Bob Kauflin explain why we made this album. And to keep abreast of Sovereign Grace Music projects in the future (including song giveaways), consider following the Sovereign Grace Music page on Facebook.

(If you're reading this in an email or RSS reader, you may have to visit our website to see the video.)

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Update at 10:40pm on March 22: It looks like the demand for the album slowed our store server to a crawl this afternoon and then crashed it around 7:00pm. We're very sorry for this inconvenience. We're working to get things back online; but in the meantime, if you had trouble with an order today and have questions about your status, please email resources@sovgracemin.org.

Update at 11:00pm on March 22: The store server is back online.  

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Fans of the Sovereign Grace Music Facebook page have already gotten two free song downloads from our upcoming album, Risen. Join the Facebook page to find them and get other album previews in the future. 

New on Vimeo: The details behind the making of our Spanish album, Allí en la Cruz.

Stephen Altrogge, a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church (Indiana, PA), has a new book available for pre-order: The Greener Grass Conspiracy: Finding Contentment on Your Side of the Fence.

Covenant Life Church (Gaithersburg, MD) posted some information about ministries working with local churches in Japan to whom they'll be sending financial aid. If your church is looking for ideas, these suggestions may be a helpful starting place. 

Crossway Church (Lancaster, PA) posted an encouraging evangelism story from a church member on their blog.

KingsWay Community Church (Midlothian, VA) had their "send out meeting" on Sunday for Keith Breault, who will plant a church in Redeemer Church (Charlottesville, VA) this year.

In case you missed it, Tony Reinke posted a useful "Reader's Digest" to the Rob Bell debate on C.J.'s blog this week.

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This spring, John Butler will plant Sovereign Grace Church near Dayton, Ohio, joining a group who have been waiting several years to see a Sovereign Grace church planted there.

In part 1 of our interview, John explained how his own unusual story intersected with the story of the group in Dayton. Today, he talks about what it's like to plant a church with Sovereign Grace Ministries and how to learn more about the church.

The group in Dayton has been waiting for a church planter for a while. What principles did you find helpful as you and they navigated this unconventional situation?

When I became involved, a number of these folks had already walked through their personal decisions. I found that those who had been involved in other churches were careful to leave in ways that would not bring distress or cause problems for these churches. These folks completed service in the areas they had committed to serving at their previous churches.

I think the guiding principles were to do our best not to disrupt any local church, and to pursue dialogue as the changes took place. We didn’t want any local pastors to be blindsided by someone leaving or being interested in something different.

Additionally, Brad Sanders took the approach in assembling the group to carefully avoid creating any positions for the people in the group, so that in coming I would not have to undo anything in order to start again. This took great humility on the part of the team to wait to establish structures after my arrival. This is so helpful because a main job description for those on the initial team is “servant.” We all have to do what is necessary.

What’s the next step for the church plant?

Right now we’re building together as a team. We meet weekly to review the essentials for our church—beginning with the centrality and primacy of the gospel.

I am doing my best to identify the main needs we will have to start the church and to position people to take those responsibilities to allow us to launch. Two simple examples are children’s ministry and worship. I continue to pray that the Lord will bring all those who are to be part of our team. It is exciting to watch this happen.

Our current plan is to start public meetings in May. We haven’t firmly identified a location, although we currently meet in Waynesville. I am endeavoring to get to know the area better and see if there is a more ideal location. We will make an informed decision later this spring.

As a pastor and a church planter, what do you find helpful about partnering with Sovereign Grace Ministries?

I really couldn’t imagine going on my own to plant a church. Our church-planting mission has been on my heart, part of my DNA, since I got saved. It’s been exciting over the years to watch God bless and expand the initial efforts of Sovereign Grace Ministries. I think church planting is consistent with what I understand to be the gospel’s “fruit-producing nature”—as we see in Colossians 1 and Mark 4 and elsewhere. The gospel is bearing fruit all over the world and always producing. It seems we ought to make as much room as possible for that production of gospel-fruit.

That’s why I say I wouldn’t want to do this alone. Church planting is meant to be done in a company of friends. I’ve been very encouraged by the Sovereign Grace pastors in Ohio. They’ve helped us in many ways—they’ve served the group with their teaching and have offered to help me in any way they can. I’ve also been encouraged by some of my friends who pastor in established churches. I am the beneficiary of their cumulative wisdom and the tangible support of the Sovereign Grace leadership team. The ministry has faced the broad range of challenges for building and growing healthy churches and offers a well-thought-out plan for moving forward. We are able to anticipate many common pitfalls and avoid them.

It’s encouraging to see the Plant! conference coming up with a number of different church-planting ministries making contributions. We will be able to mutually encourage each other. I’m attending as a learner. I also should get some kind of senior discount as I think the crowd may trend a bit younger.

How can we pray for you and the team in Dayton?

Please pray for us! Here’s how you can pray:

• that we would have unity and friendship laboring with the team
• that we will identify the exact location where the Lord would have us concentrate our efforts
• that our house in Charlotte (NC) will sell
• that we would adjust quickly to living in a new area
• that God would build friendship and gospel partnership with like-minded pastors in the area; this is already happening, and I want it to happen more
• for the right people to be added at the right time so we will lack nothing by way of gifts
• that the gospel will prosper, and that we will reach the lost and provide care for believers who have lost their way

How can interested folks find out more?

Email me at jbutler@sgcdayton.org. Our website (www.sgcdayton.org) should be finished soon. Or our Facebook page is here.

For more about Sovereign Grace Church in Dayton, see our interview with Brad and Paula Sanders, who are part of the church-planting team (part 1, part 2).

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This spring, John Butler will plant Sovereign Grace Church near Dayton, Ohio, joining a group who have been waiting several years to see a Sovereign Grace church planted there. (For more of the story, see our interview with Brad and Paula Sanders, who are part of the church-planting team.) John has been a pastor for a total of 21 years. He and his wife Beverly have two grown children.

In part 1 of our interview, John explains how God used some unexpected events to lead him to Dayton.

Where did you pastor before this church plant?

I was saved while attending the University of Maryland and immediately became involved at what would eventually become Covenant Life Church. I served as singles pastor at Covenant Life from 1987 to 1988. We then relocated to serve in a church plant in Virginia Beach. I served Sovereign Grace Church (Chesapeake, VA) for 17 years—eight of those years as senior pastor. I then relocated to serve our church in Atlanta for a couple of years. I left ministry from 2007 to 2010 (more on that below). We’ve been living in Charlotte, North Carolina, and were part of CrossWay Community Church during that time.

This church plant has an unusual story. How did you first hear about the group that was assembling there? What led you to move to the Dayton area and lead what’s been called the “backwards church plant”?

My story is a little different too. In 2007 we went through a very challenging time as a family, and I pulled back from ministry for a season to concentrate on understanding the situation and caring for my family. The break from ministry allowed us to learn about the unique needs of our family and pursue a long-term plan to meet them.

During that break, I also had opportunity to think about pastoral ministry and what I would do differently should the Lord allow me to pastor again.

I experienced a few periods of unemployment and had to depend on the Lord in ways that taught me, I believe, greater compassion for others, the unwavering love of God for me through Christ, and faith and trust at deeper levels than I’d previously known. We also learned more about God’s unconditional acceptance and his grace. I think the life lessons learned during that time gave me a deeper love for people, compassion for the many difficult things—often inexplicable things—people walk through, and a desire to bring the gospel to bear on life in every situation.

My wife Beverly and I have learned that everyone has a story, and each person’s story is unique. The love of God in Christ is unique for each person, and he meets each one of us in our own story. I think of the crazy man running naked through the tombs (Mark 5). He was abandoned by all human warmth—utterly alone and completely hopeless in the world. Jesus made a purposeful visit—through an utterly overwhelming storm—to see this man, put him in his right mind, and commission him with his life purpose: to tell the good news of what Christ had done for him.

All of that is to say that the Lord really used the time off in a number of ways which proved beneficial for my family and me.

As I began to think about ministry again, I really didn’t know what was going to be next. My efforts to return coincided with the major economic downturn, and no church I knew was in a position to fund much of anything. So I made a proposal: I appealed to my friends on the Sovereign Grace leadership team that I think I have enough energy left to make one more good run planting a church.

That’s when I first became aware of the group in Dayton. I wasn’t initially keen on Dayton as a city—I liked and always imagined I would finish my life living in warmer weather. That is not Ohio. Additionally, I had attended the University of Dayton as a freshman in college many years ago and had decided I wouldn’t return. But as I really questioned my next step in ministry, I conversed with a friend who serves overseas as a missionary. He said, “You need to go where you’re wanted.” That encouragement was really simple, but it was profound for my wife and me. As I met the Dayton folks and began to learn more about the odyssey they’d been on, those words rang in my ears. Pastoral ministry is about the people, not the place primarily. I began to see how the Lord had prepared their story and my story to come together in a way we never could have imagined. I was impressed by the way they asked good questions and that they took an interest in us as a couple and family. They are people who’ve thought about their doctrinal beliefs, about their need for help, about their desire to give themselves to mission. We are grateful for our new friends.

I could never have planned this myself. Someone had appealed to Sovereign Grace Ministries asking, “Isn’t there an older guy somewhere who could pastor this group?” And I’m praying, “Lord, is there a place for me somewhere? How is this going to work?” And here we are.

Check back tomorrow for part 2.

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This spring, John Butler is planting Sovereign Grace Church in the Dayton, Ohio, area.

Brad and Paula Sanders are part of the church-planting team, and in part 1 of our interview, they began telling the unusual story of this church. It’s been six years since they first emailed Sovereign Grace Ministries to ask for a church to be planted in their area.

In the second half of the interview, Brad and Paula talk about what they’ve done over those years and what they envision for the future.

Check back tomorrow for our interview with John Butler, who's just moved from North Carolina to the Dayton area lead the church plant.

So it was a total of five and a half years before a church planter came. Did you ever consider giving up?

Brad: God has provided for us and met our needs. Through the resources we’ve gotten from Sovereign Grace and the people we got to know, we felt like we could keep going. I never felt like I was tired and wanted to give up.

Paula: It amazes me the way God provided for us, during the time of not being a formal church and not having a pastor. Other Sovereign Grace pastors have been phenomenal—visits, phone calls, encouragement. Many times our whole group made the trip to Covenant of Grace Church near Akron. On several visits their congregation even hosted a luncheon for us, taking time to fellowship with us and encourage us. We also attended all the Sovereign Grace conferences and seminars that we could.

The list of people who were instrumental along the way is too long to name. People like Mark Prater, Don and Tricia DeVries, Jason Reyes, Darren Lander, Randy Stewart, and the members of all these Sovereign Grace congregations. There has just been this army of people who supported us. When we would go to conferences, people would introduce themselves and say “We have been praying for you guys.” I believe that’s why this never became too heavy to bear. It’s been a peaceful thing—God has provided for us so well through these five or six years. And along the way we’ve changed and grown ourselves. It’s so clear that God had the perfect timing for this.

Brad: All along the way, they kept referring to us as a “unique group!” Most of the time when you’re planting a church, the church planter takes a team, finds a place, starts the church, and then people start coming. We’re doing it backwards—we already have a group of 75 people or so here.

Then when we found out John Butler had agreed to come lead the church plant, we thought, “John Butler? You’ve got to be kidding!” We knew of John and were amazed that God was sending someone with his wealth of experience in ministry to lead this group. We all rejoiced in God’s provision!

How has the group gotten to know John? And what’s this about a sauerkraut festival?

Brad & Paula: We’ve loved getting to know John and Beverly Butler and their two children. They began visiting our group last fall. John made weekly trips from North Carolina for quite some time, coming up to speak to the group and to get to know the families. They’ve now moved to the area, and John has been carefully and deliberately walking us through the process of preparing to plant.

And yes, Waynesville has an annual sauerkraut festival. Believe it or not, it’s one of the largest festivals in the state. We had the opportunity to run a booth as a fundraiser for the church plant. We had 53 volunteers working this booth over the course of the weekend. John was schlepping pork and sauerkraut right along with everyone else—and he doesn’t even like pork or sauerkraut! There’s nothing like standing over steaming sauerkraut for two days to get to know the people you’re working with!

What do you picture for the future of this church plant?

Brad & Paula: In terms of demographics, we think this area in southwest Ohio is a prime place to plant. We’ve always had the sense that it’s not just about this single church—we’d love to see more churches planted from here, moving into other areas of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

For us personally, we have four children, and we really long to have a place for them, a legacy to pass on to them. We want to see them take up the things that we believe and hold dear, and pass them on—a multigenerational faith. Our vision certainly extends beyond the present. We would love nothing better than to see our children’s children reaping the benefits and carrying on the vision.

Photos of the sauerkraut festival provided by John Butler, who seems to have found something he likes better than sauerkraut.

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This spring, John Butler is planting Sovereign Grace Church in in the Dayton, Ohio, area. The church plant has been six years in the making—a long time even for a ministry committed to patience and pacing in church planting. As a ministry we exist to plant and serve churches in obedience to the Great Commission (even if it takes a long time), so we’re excited to see this church launch.

In 2005, some people in the Waynesville area (near Dayton) emailed Sovereign Grace Ministries asking for a church plant, but at the time, no nearby Sovereign Grace church had a church planter to send. Over the next several years, the group in Waynesville continued to grow, working with nearby churches and praying for a church planter who could lead the group. Earlier this year John Butler and his family moved from North Carolina to the Dayton area, and the church launches officially this spring.

Brad and Paula Sanders sent one of the first emails from Dayton to Sovereign Grace six years ago. In part 1 of our interview, they explain what happened with that first email, why they waited, and what they did in the meantime.

Check back tomorrow for part 2. And coming on Thursday and Friday, an interview with John Butler.

How did this group of people come together?

Brad and Paula: We became acquainted with Sovereign Grace Ministries through some close friends around six years ago. We visited the Sovereign Grace church in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we really loved it— the music was great, the teaching was gospel-focused, and the youth seemed so mature. We emailed Sovereign Grace through the website and said we’d be interested in a church plant near us. We were put in contact with Mark Prater [Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA], a man who became a great source of encouragement to us.

In 2006, Mark invited us to attend a Sovereign Grace marriage conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That’s where we really got hooked. The teaching was phenomenal. And we couldn’t believe how the people we met just embraced us and began praying for a church plant for us.

We took the resources from that conference to the pastor of the church we were attending, and asked him if we could lead a marriage class. We were basically just playing the audio recordings from that conference and having discussion questions. Then folks who weren’t in our church heard about it and wanted to have a class. So we ended up facilitating a second class in our home. That class lasted about twelve weeks, and more and more people kept coming. When it was over, they wanted to continue meeting, so we studied Why Small Groups?, then some other Sovereign Grace materials. And that is how this group of people originally came together.

What happened with that email to Sovereign Grace Ministries?

Brad & Paula: After the initial response of “We’ll investigate the possibility,” eventually the conversation became, “We could plant a church when God sends the the right man to lead it.” We became more acquainted with Mark Prater and Don DeVries, who was pastoring in Cleveland. Mark advised us to stay in the church we were in, and to encourage the folks in this group not to leave their churches unless a church plant actually started.

For three years the group that met in our home kept growing. We certainly weren’t advertising, but people just kept showing up! The group met on Wednesday nights, more like a small group, not a church. This group was getting very interested in Sovereign Grace Ministries.

What drew us to Sovereign Grace Ministries was the Reformed doctrine joined with charismatic practice. There’s also the personal accountability that we and the folks who came to this group wanted. And the relentless commitment to keeping the cross at the center—that just drew us. It created a passion in us to see a church that would promote these same foundational truths here in our area.

What did the group do while you waited for a church planter to come?

Brad & Paula: Eventually we felt that it was time to leave the church we were in. Our pastors understood our vision and encouraged us as we pursued it. Some other folks in the group wanted to join us. Since then, for about three years, the group that started in our home has been meeting weekly for services. We maintained what we call “church plant readiness.” Pastors from Sovereign Grace churches would come and preach, and we also used video recordings of sermons that the Akron and Cleveland congregations graciously provided.

We focused on building relationships with each other and growing spiritually—we didn’t fill any formal positions because we wanted to keep a clean slate, allowing the church planter to be able to build from the ground up. We kept talking to Sovereign Grace pastors, waiting for the right church planter to come along. A few times it looked like a church planter was coming, then plans would change. But we knew God was in control, and we trusted his sovereign timing.

The people who have joined this group have really acted with integrity and wisdom. They did not just disappear from their churches; they sat down with their pastors and explained what they were doing. Several families stayed in their churches for an additional year, fulfilled all their commitments, and trained replacements in their roles before they left to join this group. It was encouraging to see that God was stirring the waters, drawing people who would come and say, “Yes, I understand the limitations, but God is making it clear that he is calling us to be here.”

Check back tomorrow for part 2.

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Our first-ever conference to focus on church planting kicks off in less than two weeks. Speaking at the main sessions, our own C.J. Mahaney and Dave Harvey will be joined by Mark Dever and Darrin Patrick. And among those gathered, we're on track to have about 600 people from a variety of backgrounds—Sovereign Grace, Acts29, PCA, Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, Evangelical Free Church, and others. Needless to say, we are expecting some great conversations about church planting. If you use Twitter, you can start meeting via the #sgmplant hash tag. 

If you haven't registered but want to join us for a few days of teaching, fellowship, and dialogue, you have through Sunday night to register. On site registration will be available too, but it is an extra $30.

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