Because pastoral ministry has a public dimension to it, Charles Spurgeon said, “Public men must expect public criticism.”
Over the last year the pastors in Sovereign Grace Ministries have received a lot of thoughts, input, and criticism. Much of it has been necessary and helpful. God is using the input and critique to sharpen us as pastors and grow us as a family of churches. One area that God seems to be sharpening us as pastors is to learn how to effectively respond to criticism by loving and leading those who criticize. How do we as pastors listen to critique, be shaped by it and yet lead if we don’t agree with the input received? And how do we love and lead those who criticize without minimizing their voice, benefitting from the diverse perspectives in our churches while maintaining unity? Those questions are answered in this 2012 Pastors Conference breakout session taught by Mark Prater, entitled “Loving and Leading Those Who Criticize.”
Right-click to download, or listen here:
Do elders have a role in the Great Commission? Absolutely!
In this breakout session from the 2012 Pastors Conference, Dave Harvey addresses four specific ways elders play a vital role in the global mission. It is the goal for every church to be even more passionate and more involved in seeing the gospel proclaimed to the nations.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
How do we receive people? In particular, how do we receive people who are different than us on indifferent or debatable matters. Paul addresses this very question in Romans chapter 14. His answer: welcome them because God has welcomed them.
In this breakout session, Discerning Holiness: Legalism, License, and the Principle/Practice Distinction, Mickey Connolly discusses how Paul’s understanding of welcoming has helped him recognize and adjust some of the mistakes he has made in trying to apply biblical principles to certain practices. Scattered throughout are eight practical implications of Paul’s teaching that can help us all be more welcoming, less judgmental, and more biblically informed Christians and churches.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
From our earliest years, what God says in His Word about raising children has been an important value in Sovereign Grace churches. But over the last three decades, Sovereign Grace churches have grown in number, our children have become parents, and we’ve become more aware of the implications of the gospel. As parenting standards and practices have become more diverse, some have wondered if our understanding of the grace of God in parenting has changed.
In this breakout session from our 2012 Pastors Conference, Bob Kauflin addresses from his own observations and experiences what has and hasn’t changed in the way we seek to equip parents to raise the next generation. As a father of six children who have all grown up in Sovereign Grace churches, Bob sheds light on the difference between changing practices and unchanging principles and helps us see the significant role God’s grace plays in thinking about our past, present, and future.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
One seasoned church leader wrote, “Uttering the word ‘change’ is the equivalent of yelling ‘shark’ at the beach." Announce some big changes are coming and panic will often ensue. In this breakout session from the Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference, Craig Cabaniss - Pastor of Grace Church in Frisco, Texas - teaches how pastors and leaders can lead through change.
This message offers a theology of change addressing questions like:
- How do we understand change from God's perspective?
- How are we to respond to change?
- How do we identify the various types of change and measure their impact in the church?
- How do we care for God's people as we lead through change?
- How should leaders communicate about change with the church?
- And most importantly, how does a leader keep the gospel in view during times of change?
There is no avoiding change in our lives or our churches. But by God's grace it needn't result in conflict or chaos. Instead, change provides an opportunity for God's people to mature together as we follow him.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
“Union with Christ is that driving principle that transforms our gospel ministry." - Sinclair Ferguson
The treasure of our union with Christ glitters throughout the pages of the New Testament. The massive New Testament emphasis on this golden doctrine should be reflected in our own study and, for pastors, in our ministry. It is because Christians are united to Christ that all of God's promises are "yes" and through this union that we have received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
Jon Payne encourages pastors to dig deeply into this doctrine for the benefit of their own souls and to infuse its driving principle into their pastoral ministry. He taught this breakout at the Pastors Conference: Union with Christ and Everyday Pastoring.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
Polity is important. Too little organization and our family of churches will flounder, too much and we can fossilize. And while the Bible gives us instructions and guidelines about our ecclesiology, we must also remember that even the best polity isn’t designed to do everything. It performs a specific structural purpose in service to the greater tasks of gospel mission and ministry.
As we enter into a 90-day examination of the new SGM polity proposal it’s important for our pastors and churches to realize both the limitations and benefits of what is before us. To that end, Matthew Wassink—Sr. Pastor at Providence Community Church and a member of the Polity Committee—taught a breakout at the Pastors Conference: What Polity Can, Can’t, and Shouldn’t Do.
Right-click to download, or listen here:
Ian McConnell preached from Matthew 16:13-21 at the final general session of our Pastors Conference. His message, titled "Being Gospel Men on Gospel Mission” answered the question “What kind of men does God bring together to use to lead in the mission of the Gospel?":
- Men gripped by the gospel.
- Men who believe that God uses men like us partnered together on gospel mission.
- Men who believe that God works through our work.
- Men who believe that God’s mission cannot be stopped.
In his conclusion Ian appealed to us, “…let’s preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten together. We’re in this together. And may the Lord renew our desire and delight in doing this together.”
Right-click to download, or listen here:
Ligon Duncan preached from Deuteronomy 34, 1 Kings 19, and 2 Timothy 4 at the third general session of our Pastors Conference. His message, titled "God and Your Ministerial Discouragement” addressed illustrated the ministerial endings in the lives of three of the Bible’s greatest leaders – Moses, Elijah and Paul.
They each knew very hard endings and bitter discouragements. And yet, the Lord often prepares his shepherds by breaking their hearts.
Ligon taught through these three examples, illustrating for us the kindness and care of God even in our discouragements. He reminded us that,
”In our discouragements, God has not abated his practice of kindness towards us…Even in all these very real discouragements, He is so generous, so lavish, so fatherly, so kind and so merciful.”
”If Jesus was lonely, we will be lonely. If Jesus was deserted, we will be deserted... The faithful minister, though deserted, is never alone."
Right-click to download, or listen here:
Jeff Purswell preached from Ephesians 6:10-20 at the second general session of our Pastors Conference. His message, titled "A Call to Arms” addressed spiritual warfare and the battle that we wage against the enemy of our souls. Jeff said,
“Satan only works as God allows. When He does work, God uses even those evil schemes. What the devil means for evil, God means for good…This is the mystery of providence...This gives us hope. We wrestle with subjugated powers. Vanquished powers. They wreak havoc and have real consequences, but they have no enduring power over those who are in Christ Jesus. At their worst, they are in service to God’s sovereign plan.”
“Spiritual warfare is mysterious. But fighting is not a mystery. All of us in Christ Jesus have this armor at our disposal. And all of us are called to deploy it.”
This armor is a divine gift we receive. It doesn’t drive us to our own cleverness or resources. It drives us to Christ and his resources.
Right-click to download, or listen here: