May 31, 2011 by
Sarah Lewis
Categories: Conferences | Resources
D.A. Carson, R.C. Sproul, Kevin DeYoung, Jeff Purswell, and Scott Oliphint all spoke at this weekend’s Next conference in Orlando. Here’s all the general-session audio, for streaming or download.
Jeff Purswell, “God on the World: The Bible’s Framework for a Christian Worldview”
Jeff Purswell is dean of our Pastors College and a pastor at Covenant Life Church (Gaithersburg, MD).
Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)
Scott Oliphint, “Think or Believe? The Role of Reason in the Life of Faith”
Scott Oliphint is Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)
D.A. Carson, “The Gospel and the Postmodern Mind”
D.A. Carson is Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)
R.C. Sproul, “The Reality of Truth in a World of Relativism”
R.C. Sproul is the founder and president of Ligonier Ministries, and is the senior minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s (Sanford, FL).
Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)
Kevin DeYoung, “Who Am I? Humanity in the Eyes of the World and the Christian”
Kevin DeYoung is senior pastor of University Reformed Church (East Lansing, MI).
Download (right-click and select “Save link as” or “Save target as”)
Next month, Keith Breault is planting Redeemer Church of Charlottesville, Virginia. In part 1 of our interview, Keith talked about the transition from pastoring an established church to planting a new one. Today, he talks about plans for outreach at UVA and how to get in touch with the new church.
Redeemer Church of Charlottesville will be meeting across the street from UVA. What do you envision for outreach at the university?
Right now we’re waiting on the Lord. I envision our outreach at UVA being primarily relational. I don’t see us doing big events and trying to draw a crowd as we’re starting out. Those events have value—people hear the gospel at events like that, and that’s great. But given where we are and the size of our church plant, duplicating a big college ministry isn’t an option for us right now.
We’re looking at relational outreach, hanging around a campfire in our back yard, inviting college students to go to coffee with an older Christian—and I think that is exciting to these students.
I also think there’s something about diversity of age and demographic that pleases God. It’s like musical harmony—it’s intrinsically pleasing, and you can’t have harmony if every note is the same. So we’re excited about just inviting these students into our homes. I think it will bring a balance to students’ lives and a balance to the church’s life. We’re trusting God that the outreach, Bible studies, etc. will grow organically from what we have now.
College is a busy time of life. What would you say to the student who says, “I’ve got classes, extracurriculars, my part-time job, my campus ministry—I’ll join a church after I graduate”?
I’d much rather answer this question one-on-one, because there are nuances to each situation. But in general, I believe that we need each other. In a church we aren’t gathering just because of our season of life, or because circumstances caused our lives to intersect, but because we’re bound together by Christ. We’re agreeing that we need each other. We’re essentially saying, “I’m part of you and you’re part of me. We need each other for strength, wisdom, and so much experiential grace that only flows to us through one another.”
Now it’s true that there’s a lot of community in college. A lot of that grace does come through our friends in college—encouragement, studying the Bible together, memorizing Scripture—basically having a blast! So if you’re experiencing that, that’s great!
But there is also an authority that comes to us from the local church. We don’t just take it or leave it; my church is a place to which God has called me, and I’m responsible to respond to the teaching and accountability there.
When we join a church we’re saying, “These aren’t just casual friends; this is my church. These are my people, and I need them, and according to Scripture, grace flows to them through me, so they need me as well.”
It’s not about which church you join, as long as it follows Scripture. But by all means you should join yourself to a local church. And this doesn’t just pertain to college students; it pertains to all of us.
As a church planter, what do you find helpful about partnering with Sovereign Grace Ministries?
I just smiled when I saw this question. I can’t even imagine doing any of this apart from Sovereign Grace Ministries.
From the moment my wife and I came through the doors of Sovereign Grace Church in Chesapeake, we had a sense of “this is home.” We were engaged at the time, we knew Jesus, we had memorized lots of Scripture, we had been in church since we were little kids, but looking back, we had no practical theological training as we were preparing to embark into marriage.
During that foundational time in our lives, being part of the local church was a gift. (A big thank you to John Butler, who was our senior pastor then!) We found examples to follow in our church, and then at the Pastors College. It was like Paul said to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering for the gospel..." or "Follow my life and my conduct.” We were—and are—so blessed everywhere we turned to be surrounded with godly people whose walk of faith we can imitate.
And then there’s the instruction we’ve received: through preaching, written materials, and at the Pastors College (and the scholarship that enabled us to be there).
And the financial support has been so generous. As we’ve stepped out in faith to explore church planting, Sovereign Grace has totally stepped out in faith with us. We’ve never been dangling out there by ourselves. Every time the path or the timetable changed, Sovereign Grace guys were caring for us in very personal and practical ways. After the Pastors College, when I needed more training in preaching, Sovereign Grace sponsored that. And it wasn’t an impersonal “Here, we’ll write you a check,” but Dave Harvey was on the phone with me talking about it and asking how we were doing. As we planted this church, because of Sovereign Grace's first-year grant for this church plant, we are freed up to focus on reaching our community instead of worrying about finances.
So from when we were first married all the way up to the details of church planting, we can’t imagine doing any of this without Sovereign Grace Ministries. Christ has cared for us so well through SGM's care, teaching and practical support!
How can interested folks find out more about Redeemer Church of Charlottesville?
It's easy to contact us through the website: www.RedeemerCville.org. From there, I'm happy to speak with anyone and do my best to answer their questions—either by phone, by email, or face to face.
Next month, Keith Breault is planting Redeemer Church of Charlottesville, Virginia. Joining him is a church-planting team from Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Richmond, and elsewhere.
Keith graduated from our Pastors College in 2000 and has been in pastoral ministry since then. Most of that time he’s been at Sovereign Grace Church (Chesapeake, VA), including four years as senior pastor. Most recently, he completed a church-planting residency at KingsWay Community Church in Richmond, Virginia. Keith and his wife Joanna (pictured at right) have one daughter and four sons.
(And in case you had the same question we did, Keith’s last name rhymes with Salt.)
Where and when does the new church start?
We start officially on June 5. We’ll be meeting on Sundays at 3pm at University Baptist Church, across the street from the University of Virginia (at the Corner).
You spent about ten years at an established church in Chesapeake, Virginia. How did you move from there to church planting?
From the very beginning my wife Joanna and I wanted to plant a church. We always had a sense of call to evangelism, and as a military kid I was used to moving around a lot and meeting new people, so that didn’t intimidate me. It seemed the most normal, natural thing to do.
After I returned from the Pastors College to Sovereign Grace Church in Chesapeake, church planting was put on hold for a while because of the season the church was in. They had just finished a building and were in a time of gathering people locally rather than sending out. After the senior pastor (John Butler) moved to Atlanta, I became the senior pastor. Joanna and I love the church family there deeply, but we both had a sense that God ultimately had something else for us.
A few years later Eric Hughes, who had been on staff at Chesapeake, went to the Pastors College with the intention of planting a church afterward. Early in the year he emailed me saying that his heart was being drawn back to Chesapeake and asking where my heart was. Eric and I are really good friends, and for years we had talked to each other about our respective callings and desires. So when his email came, it was kind of a “Yeah!” moment. He had been a teenager in the Chesapeake church and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else, and I’d wondered about church planting for years.
So we prayed and fasted, talked to the other pastors, talked to friends, and eventually sought counsel from the whole church. The church confirmed it, even though they have been through a lot of pastoral transitions. It’s counterintuitive but Sovereign Grace Church, rather than being winded by things like that, has been reminded through this that the Holy Spirit is their head, and he is bearing fruit through them.
We began to pray about the location, and our sense that we would end up somewhere in Virginia was confirmed as we visited Charlottesville and got to know the area. It seemed to match how God has made us—our background, our education (we both graduated from the College of William and Mary), our demographic as a young family, our heart for people who are grappling with the big questions of life, and our desire to reach people from other nations. People move to Charlottesville from all over the world for the university and for big research employers, and a lot of international refugees come here as well. Then people began to email us asking about the possibility of a church plant in Charlottesville.
The church plant will be meeting at University Baptist Church, and we have been welcomed by this church to the nth degree. They’re renting us a facility that will meet all our needs, at a very generous rate. We officially start on June 5.
A reader named John emailed us with a question about church planting in Charlottesville and collaboration with established churches. Here’s his question:
First, let me say that I greatly appreciate the church planting dedication of SGM. However, as a lay leader in a healthy local church here in Charlottesville, VA, I'm wondering what type of collaboration occurs with established churches before deciding to enter a certain area. Our church, for example, wouldn’t align with your ministry on every doctrinal issue, but as a "9 Marks" baptistic church, SGM would certainly approve of our confession, identity, and ministry. My fear is that all too often, we "over plant" in areas before proper due diligence thus hyperdenominationalizing the area and fragmenting the body of Christ more than we unite it.
Humbly,
John
That’s a really good question. Our burden in coming to Charlottesville is to see the church grow through God’s adding new believers to our fellowship—through evangelism and prayer.
Having been a pastor for eleven years, I know what it feels like to have a new church come to town and for folks to start going there. So I’ve been pursuing friendship with other pastors here. When this process started, I emailed several pastors in the area to ask for their thoughts, and they all said, “Please come, we absolutely need laborers here. Come and preach the gospel.” And since coming we’ve had weekly meetings with pastors from the area, communicating to them that this is our intention: we’re here to spread the gospel to people who are currently not saved.
If a believer does feel that they haven’t found their home yet, then we’ll be happy to meet with them and talk about that. But it’s not our focus. We’re not here to try to be the biggest church around. And overall the message from other pastors has been emphatically welcoming.
What are your present needs? How can we pray for the church plant?
- For wisdom! There’s no illusion that we know what we’re doing, that we know all the answers, or that there’s a clear blueprint. Every church plant is different, and we’re waiting on the Lord to know how we can serve the people here best. We are joining a solid group of believers that predates us in Charlottesville. We see ourselves as among a band of men, women, and children sent into the harvest.
- Specifically, for wisdom and fruitfulness in evangelistic outreach. Please pray that every person in Charlottesville would have a chance to hear the gospel, from whatever pulpit or ministry. We’re not the only ones preaching the gospel here, but preaching the gospel is why we’re here.
- That the details would go smoothly as we prepare for public meetings.
- Please join us in thanking God for the many doors he’s opened for us. For example, two families who were moving here for the church plant sold their houses within weeks of putting them on the market. It feels like the Israelites at Jericho—“Wait, wasn’t there a wall here?” “Aren’t we supposed to be in a recession?” We’re grateful for how God is meeting us in these ways.
Check back on Thursday for part 2.
May 19, 2011 by
Sarah Lewis
Categories: Resources
Marty Machowski leads the children's and youth ministries at Covenant Fellowship Church and is the author of Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God. In a recent article for Bible Study Magazine, he gives five pointers for teaching the Bible to your kids:
- Start with the stories.
- Shorter is better.
- Be prepared for distractions.
- Look for Jesus.
- Faithfulness over time is what’s important.
“Teaching the Bible to my children was easier than I thought,” Marty writes. To see his comments on each point, read the whole article at Covenant Fellowship’s blog.
May 12, 2011 by
Sarah Lewis
Categories: Conferences
If you haven’t registered for our Next 2011 worldview conference, there’s still time: we’re keeping registration open until midnight on Sunday. You can register here ($150 for individuals, $225 for married couples).
This year’s conference will be May 28-31 in Orlando. Onsite registration will be available, but it costs $15 more.
And if you don’t have a hotel room yet, you’ll be happy to learn that the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel is extending their deadline for discounted reservations, subject to availability. You can find more info and reserve a room here.
We hope to see you there! All four days of the conference will focus on the question, “How does Christ transform the way I look at the world?” General sessions from men like D.A. Carson and Jeff Purswell will focus on the foundations of a Christian worldview. Breakouts will focus on more specific questions (“Can we trust our Bibles?”) and vocational issues (law, journalism, art, and more). Plus a concert every night—what’s not to like? Reserve your spot here.
“I think I’m called to plant a church. What do I do now?”
Mark Dever and C.J. Mahaney answer that question in this six-minute excerpt from a panel discussion at our recent Plant conference. Along the way, Mark has some advice for older pastors on how to help young men who are interested in ministry.
Listen to or download the whole discussion (40 minutes) here.
If you’re thinking about entering the ministry, you might also be interested in a three-part series of messages Dave Harvey preached in 2002, titled Are You Called?. It’s available for free at our online store.
April 15, 2011 by
Sarah Lewis
Categories: Music
Our $5 sale on our newest album, Risen, ends at midnight. Don't have a copy yet? Download the album (including the digital booklet) for $5 here.
The album includes thirteen songs celebrating the reality and meaning of Christ’s resurrection. We hope you’ll listen to it not just at Easter, but all year round.
You can also…
In one of his messages at our Plant conference, Darrin Patrick encouraged church planters to ask, “When does my discernment drop? What are the triggers that cause me to default to error, or just not paying attention?”
In this three-minute excerpt, Darrin talks about the “belt of truth” described in Ephesians 6:14, some of his own early mistakes in church planting, and why leaders need discernment:
You can listen to Darrin’s entire message, titled “Mistakes in Church Planting,” here.
In late March a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck northeast Burma, killing more than 70 people. We recently posted prayer requests for Burmese churches and an opportunity to give. Here’s a more recent update from David, who leads a church-planting ministry we partner with in Burma:
Two of [the churches] sustained major damage…Though there are no casualties from those churches, at least 18 families have lost their entire homes and some 30 families also suffered significant damage to their houses….
In an interview with a lady from the church, she told us, “Our house was made of wood and bamboo with a thatch roof. When our house collapsed, no one suffered major injury as the building materials are very light. Today, we sleep under the tree as the local authority warns us to stay away from any building.” When asked what worried her most, she replied, “We have planted some crops on the hills or terraces not too far from our home. Many of our crops were destroyed because of a landslide and trees falling. This damage will hurt us for several months as our livelihood deeply depends on our farm land.”
….[One leader writes] “In one village, the church was so badly damaged that we have to meet at the house of one of the members. For most people, the church building is often part of their identity in the midst of Buddhist pagodas in the region. For them, to lose their church is somehow to lose their identity. It has been a difficult time for them. But I know God’s grace is with them. I can only encourage them from the Word.”
A truck was hired and some bags of rice and several hundred large water bottles were transported to the affected villages for distribution. Many people were very hungry and thirsty, as most people lost their homes or dare not go into their homes. And there are no convenient stores to purchase food and water.
Please continue to pray for those victims. Many people still live in temporary tents due to fear. Please pray also for the two congregations that lost their buildings.
You can donate to our disaster relief fund for Burma here. And whether or not you can give, please pray with us that God will provide for these believers, protect them, and cause the good news of Jesus Christ to spread widely in this region.
Photo: An open-air prayer gathering after the earthquake.
April 7, 2011 by
Sarah Lewis
Categories: Conferences
Several people asked for the worship song lists from Plant, the church-planting conference we hosted in March. Below are the song lists for each session, along with video of a song for church planters by Bob Kauflin.
And in case you couldn’t fit all the books you wanted in your suitcase—or you couldn’t attend but are looking for books on church planting and leadership—we’re also listing books given to attendees and sold at the conference bookstore. Books are listed in alphabetical order by author.
Song lists
Thursday evening
- “Praise God” (Isaac Watts, Thomas Ken, Louis Bergeois, and Bob Kauflin) — from Upward
- “High above All Things” (Mark Altrogge) — from No Greater Love
- “You Are Our Hope” (Doug Plank) — from Risen
- “In Christ Alone” (Keith Getty and Stuart Townend)
- “Crown Him with Many Crowns” — traditional hymn
Friday morning
- “Your Great Renown” (Eric Grover and Steve Cook) — from King of Grace
- “God over All” (Devon Kauflin) — from Next 2009 Live
- “His Name Is Jesus” (Oliver Holden, Edward Perronet, John Rippon, and Judah Groveman) — from Next 2009 Live
Friday evening
- “You Are Our Hope” (Doug Plank) — from Risen
- “Let Your Kingdom Come” (Bob Kauflin) — from Valley of Vision
- “O Great God” (Bob Kauflin) — from Valley of Vision
- “All I Have Is Christ” (Jordan Kauflin) — from Next 2009 Live
Also on Friday night, Bob Kauflin sang a song for church planters:
(If you're reading this in an email or RSS reader, you may have to visit our website to see the video.)
Saturday morning
- “How Great Thou Art” (Stuart Hine and Paul Baloche) — from Our God Saves
- “All I Have Is Christ” (Jordan Kauflin) — from Next 2009 Live
Books given to attendees
Books carried in the conference bookstore
- Peter Adam, Speaking God’s Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching
- D.A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians
- D.A. Carson, The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story
- Tim Challies, Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys Who Are Sick of Porn
- Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
- Mark Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
- Kevin DeYoung, Don’t Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day
- Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion
- Greg Gilbert, What Is the Gospel?
- Dave Harvey, Rescuing Ambition
- James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World
- Tim Keller, Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just
- John MacArthur, The Book on Leadership
- Marty Machowski, Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God
- C.J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness
- Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything
- Mike McKinley, Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things
- P.T. O’Brien, Gospel and Mission in the Writings of Paul: An Exegetical and Theological Analysis
- Darrin Patrick, Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission
- Robert Plummer, Paul’s Understanding of the Church’s Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize?
- Eckhard Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies, and Methods
- J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living, and Speaking the Gospel
- Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love
- Tim Witmer, The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church