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My family is on the road today headed to Denver for the USMB Pastors' Conference and National Convention. We are looking forward to all of the activities as well as having some fun as a family.  We are planning to connect with friends from when we lived in Denver, headed to Winter Park to ride the Alpine Slide and more and an afternoon at Water World.  Pray for the USMB family, for safety in travel, and for a great vacation for us. I will also be posting here on the blog quotes and thoughts from the workshops as well as from our speaker, Matt Heard over the next several days.  Check back over the next few days!

I loved Jared C. Wilson's chapter "The Pastor and the Bible."  I highlighted a lot!  Often we can let good things become too important in the church and in life.  This chapter is a reminder that our absolute authority is God's Word and how important the Bible is in our preaching.  most gospel-centered preachers have an aversion to "how-to" sermons to begin with...Do these things and thereby reap these rewards is in essence legalistic..."How-to" sermons are specifically designed to help people become better Christians. The long and short of it appears to be that an entire ministerial enterprise dedicated to meeting felt needs, supplying biblical advice, and providing top-notch production values has quietly become a huge success at drawing crowds but a huge failure at what the Bible actually calls the church to do. Our words ought to stand under Scripture, not vice versa. When we come to the biblical text, it is meant to shape us: we are not to...

Here are some quotes from books I am reading right now: If the gospel is regularly being preached in your church, you will eventually become a magnet for the messiest kinds of sinners. I remind myself and my church that a message of grace may attract people, but a culture of grace will keep them. Messy people own their stuff. Sinners repent into the safety of the gospel. when we cease praying for our churches, we cease serving them and instead think ourselves powerful enough to mange quite well without the Holy Spirit's illuminating and enabling power. But the gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ frees us from hypocrisy. It frees us to boldly own our inadequacies, our flaws, our failures, and especially your sins. As we mature in the faith, then, He increases and we decrease. The gospel is fuel for courageous unself-consciousness. Therefore, wise parents aim their discipline at the heart. Fundamentally, Christian parents discipline heart attitudes, not behavi...

A few weeks ago, I started two new books on the same day.  The first is Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos and the second was The Pastor's Justification by Jared C. Wilson.  Here are a few quotes from the first chapters of each: Vos revelation does not stand alone by itself, but is inseparably attached to another activity of God, which we call Redemption. In the case of Biblical Theology this is historical, in the case of Systematic Theology it is of a logical nature. Each of these two is necessary, and there is no occasion for a sense of superiority in either. Biblical Theology draws a line of development. Systematic Theology draws a circle. The highest practical usefulness of the study of Biblical Theology is one belonging to it altogether apart from its usefulness for the student. Like unto all theology it finds its supreme end in the glory of God. Wilson And I have learned in ministry and out over the last twenty years the ...

If you have not picked up Jesus Outside the Lines by Scott Sauls, you are missing out on a great book.  I think this book should be required reading for all in church leadership and every Christian. Why?  Because in the church, we are horrible at dealing with disagreements.  We take sides. We hurt people.  This book is a breath of fresh air for me and I think it will be for you too.  Here are some quotes from his chapter on "Affirmation or Critique": Jesus was offensive to smug, judgmental, religious people. He was a breath of fresh air to broken, nonreligious people. This longing for affirmation makes sense. Both existentially real and biblically true, it is reason we Christians should be the most affirming people in the world. Have we grown accustomed to relationally including and excluding others based on a list of spoken or unspoken "clean laws" that have no basis in Scripture? Have we grown accustomed to scolding others for certain sins while exempt...

Let's be honest.  Bible memorization is hard.  Kids do it so easily, but as adults we struggle.  It is so encouraging when that verse comes to mind on that rough day.  Or you have a verse to share with a friend as you meet for coffee or lunch? Bible memorization is a good thing.  What matters most is the motivation.  Are we doing it to prove we are better Christians than someone else? Are we doing it to make God love us more?  Or are we doing it out of gratitude and joy for what God has DONE for us? As a pastoral staff, we are memorizing Colossians 3:1-17 because we want to go deeper in our relationship with Christ.  So, I thought I would share these amazing verses as it might just help me memorize a few more words. 3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3  For you died, a...

This book was recommended to me by Russell.  We met while I was on sabbatical and had a great conversation about discipleship, gospel, law, grace, parenting and more.  We covered a lot of ground in our 3 hour conversation outside Starbuck's in Dallas. Russell said he has read this book several times.  Based on what I have read so far, I think I might refer back and read it often too. Here are some quotes from the first chapter: Real obedience does not only consist of external good works and acts of love...True holiness is a matter of the heart...true holiness is not simply a matter of refraining from acting out your sinful lusts...True holiness means that you delight in doing God's will; you long to do it more than you long to do anything else! True holiness means that you cheerfully obey God. My whole book is about the means by which you can become holy, but many people will see this part as irrelevant and useless. Why? Because they only want to know what they have...

If you have been reading the blog lately, you have seen several posts including great quotes from Jack Klumpenhower's book, Show Them Jesus . If you are new to the blog, go back and check out posts over the last few weeks. I decided I would write a review of the book.  Let me start with this: go and buy the book!  Whether you are a parent or grandparent, Sunday School teacher, youth leader or pastor, this will change the way you minister to children and teens. Klumpenhower was unknown to me prior to this book.  Since starting the book, I have become acquainted with his curriculum for pre-teens and teens as well as his website which includes great tools and resources that he talks about in the book. The book is broken into two parts: why teach the good news and how to teach the good news.  Both parts are extremely rich in theology as well as practical ways to share the good news with kids/teens. In the first part, he shares his journey as a teacher from teachin...

This week, I am on my first trip for sabbatical.  I am visiting pastors at churches in Wentzville (near St. Louis) and Nashville.  Below are the two churches I am visiting:     Community Bible Church http://www.cbcnashville.org/ There are three priorities which are at the heart of all we do here at Community Bible Church—God’s Glory, God’s Grace, and God’s Word. The exaltation of the Glory of God in the Cross through the finished work of Christ is the aim of all our ministry. It is our desire and privilege to proclaim the Excellencies of His Grace to the world around us (I Peter 2:9). The Grace of God in Christ Jesus Our Savior has abounded to all those who know Him. We are committed to sharing the mercy of Our Savior’s Sacrifice with all who come through our doors and with all whom we encounter in our community (I Peter 4:10). Submitting all our lives to the Gospel of God’s Redeeming Work , depending upon its power,...

Photos taken by The Christian Leader Check out www.usmb.org for quotes & reflections from Pastor's Conference. ,

Check out my notes from Thursday night's session at USMB Pastor's Conference at www.usmb.org.

This week in our D6 Dads groups, we are discussing a chapter from Prayer Coach  by James Nicodem about praying for pastors.  I thought his suggestions were helpful so I would like to share them with you.  Some may apply more specifically to lead pastors, but all of them are good reminders of the importance of praying for our leaders. Hesston MB, we pastors appreciate your prayers. Here are seven days of praying for your pastor: Day 1-That they would be honored, affirmed, encouraged and respected. Day 2-That they would be protected from the focused attacks of Satan, stay far from sin, and walk in obedience to God's Word. Day 3-That God would give them wisdom, patience, perseverance, and grace in facing people problems, and that those they lead would be loyal, understanding, and supportive. Day 4-That their marriages and parenting would be God-pleasing and wise. Day 5-That, in preparation for teaching God's Word, the would hear God's voice, protect their time for ...

Watch this clip from Steven Furtick of Elevation Church about pastors and the church.