2009 Desiring God Conference for Pastors (Feb 2-4, 2009)

If you've never been before, this is a great year to start attending the Desiring God Conference for Pastors in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The theme for 2009 is Commending Christ: The Pastor, the Church, and the Perishing.

The speakers are:

Mark Dever
Keynote Speaker

Matt Chandler
Pastoral Speaker

Michael Oh
Missions Speaker

John Piper
Biographical Speaker (George Whitefield)

This will be my 4th straight year and it's one of the highlights of my year for sure.

Called to Preach? How do you know?

2 quick hits on being called to preach ...

“There are some preachers who so loudly declare their love of preaching that it is unclear whether it is their own performance and their love of power that has captured them or their desire to minister to the men and women who listen to them.”
-D. A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, 82

Christlikeness Required in Ministry

A great Sinclair Ferguson quote I came across ...

"Either become more like Christ or get out of the Gospel ministry because, if you don't do the former, you will do great damage to the latter."
- Sinclair Ferguson

Great is Thy Effectiveness?

I heartily recommend the following article put forth by the folks who bring you the Leadership Journal.

Great is Thy Effectiveness?
There’s danger in rooting our identity in ministry rather than in Christ.

"Brothers and sisters, you are more than the measurable outcomes of your work."

If you've been in ministry long, I think you'll understand the subtitle, or at least the temptation described. It seems almost automatic that we tie our self-esteem and identity to the church we've been called to shepherd.

Making matters worse is the unnatural and unbiblical pressure for church leadership to "produce" results, for one's measure of worth tends to be interwoven with quantitative growth.

Yet, the vast majority of churches are either plateaued or in decline. If our identity is tied up in how we do, rather than in whom we are, we're doomed to despair.

Do seminaries, book publishers, parishioners, or even fellow pastors really believe success is measured in faithfulness to the task God has assigned?

"Yes, we need to work diligently and serve Christ with our very best—this is our worship to God. But how we define success should look very different in the economy of God’s kingdom from the tangible stats the world celebrates."

Who's to blame? Does the congregation put unrealistic expectations on the clergy, holding them accountable for what is clearly God's responsibility? After we've planted and watered, only He can make it grow. (1 Cor 3:6-7)

"Some might say these leaders have failed to nurture their souls sufficiently. We usually want to blame leaders for their own burn out, but when I see the pervasiveness of this problem I wonder if there isn’t also a systemic factor. Could contemporary church ministry itself be the problem?"

Read the full article.

Preaching: You can't count the wins and losses...

A good friend of mine, Heath Cross, and student at RTS in Jackson has an excellent post entitled, Preaching: You can't count the wins and losses. It's a great reminder that as preachers, we have to walk and preach by faith, since so much of what we do has fruit born out in the realm of the unseen.

Here is just a bit of what Heath wrote:

Preaching is not like coaching a football team. A football coach gives his message to his players. He implements his philosophy. He installs his game plans. The player practice in order to develop their skills and flourish in the coaches system. And then comes game day. This is when the coach gets to measure the progress his team is making. You just can't do this in practice. Practice can be deceptive. It has to come on game day. The skill and improvements of his players are measured in statistics and in wins. That's the bottom line.

Preaching is not like this for one primary reason - the preacher can't count the wins and losses.

I cannot judge by the response of a congregation on Sunday morning whether or not I am a success. The true determination of the preachers success comes in places where the preacher simply cannot be - at dinner tables, in living rooms, in cars, etc.

Read the rest of the article here.

Conference on Depression in the Clergy (FREE & local for DFW folks)

I got the following email and wanted to share it with my DTS alumni in case you missed it.

My humble suggestion ... don't wait until you get to the point Tommy was.

Follow Barney Fife's advice and nip it in the bud.

"I wanted to let you know of an opportunity for area alumni. Dr. Lee Jagers (ThM 76), Director of Counseling Services at Dallas Seminary, is inviting area alumni to a conference addressing the issue of depression in the clergy. Dr. Jagers is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of CAPS (Christian Association for Psychological Studies) which is sponsoring this event. Tommy Nelson (MABS 82) and Dr. David Nicholson are the featured speakers."

CAPS Conference on Depression in the Clergy

Speakers: Tommy Nelson (MABS '82) & Dr. David Nicholson

Place: Irving Bible Church
2435 Kinwest Pkwy
Irving, TX 75063-3434

Date: Friday, September 26, 2008
Time: 12:00 noon to 3:30 pm, 30-minute networking and snacks midway
Cost: Free to all DTS alumni who are pastors

Register

More Information

[Tommy Nelson] has forgotten more Bible than many people will ever know. He has helped more people in their authentic spiritual growth than any of us will ever realize. But two years ago, he found himself beset by such anxiety and depression that he had to shut down for several months and pull out from the ministry. One of the best known pastors in the North Texas area, he found himself very alone.

He wrestled with many questions which defy easy answers:
• Is the Bible alone sufficient for every human condition?
• Can a person work too much within the will of God?
• Should a spiritual person seek help from psychiatry (for medication) and from a psychologist (for counseling)?

Indispensible Pastoral Resource

Here's a Monergism Books deal too good to pass up.

Richard Baxter's Reformed Pastor is on sale for $6.75, plus another 10% off if you buy $25 or more. Just enter the coupon code banneroftruth to receive additional savings.

(Actually, many Banner of Truth titles are greatly reduced and can be had for an additional 10% off as well.)

I heartily encourage anyone in pastoral ministry and it would be required if I had my way.

Incidentally, our pastors fraternal will be meeting to discuss the book in September. If you're local, you might want to join us.