5 Quotes from Mark Dever’s “Upon This Rock” Shepherd’s Conference 2018 Seminar

I’m here blogging at the Shepherd’s Conference.  Mark Dever, Pastor at Capital Hill Baptist Church taught a seminar on how to build a healthy church.  It was very edifying and helpful.

Here are the top 5 quotes form his message.

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Al Mohler: Shepherd’s Conference 2018 Message Notes

I’ve been having a hard time taking notes from the Shepherd’s Conference.  Here’s my rough notes from Al Mohler’s sermon.

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Review and Recommended: The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever

First off before I share my review I want to welcome all those who have recently found our blog on Monergism.com.  We are a blog that is intent on covering apologetics, Christian worldview and theology with posts on book reviews, resources and our own written content.  Feel free to subscribe and bookmark our page for daily posts!

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. The Deliberate Church.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 9th 2005.  221 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Both authors Mark Dever and Paul Alexander have written a helpful book for pastors and church leaders on doing church ministry according to the Bible and centered on the Gospel.  As the book states on page 28, “The Gospel alone shapes and evaluate must both shape and evaluate any ministry method we use.”  This is a great antidote to the seeker sensitive church method or other marketing gimmick that is driven more by man-centered pragmatisms instead of the Word of God.  I love how this book is both biblical and practical since I believe there is a real need of resources on practical ecclesiology (doctrine of the church).  Too often one find two kinds of extreme: practical works without it being biblical or biblical works on the church without a deeper practical picture of what does it look like.  Dever and Alexander writes from being biblically informed and years of wisdom and experience which through their 9 Marks ministry have greatly helped many other local churches including the one I minister at.

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Thinking Through Christian Memes: Gang not a Problem?

Sometimes I don’t want to go on social media as much because you see so much folly.  Its true among non-Christians but it is also true among Christians.

Take this meme for example for some church in West LA:

Here’s my thoughts:

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Collection of Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers

This is worth bookmarking if you are a pastor or teacher in the Church.

Here’s a post on “How to Get the Most from our Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers Series.”

Here’s the series:

1. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Be Worthy of Your Wages!
2. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Sharing in His Glory
3. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Receiving the unfading crown of glory
4. Sunday Morning Motivation for Preachers and Teachers: Used by God to bring People to Salvation
5. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Fixing our hope on the living God
6. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Your Spiritual Gift Bestowed by God
7. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Power
8. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Love
9. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Self-Discipline
10. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You were appointed a preacher or teacher
11. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Your reward is great in heaven
12. Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Knowing Christ

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Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: Your reward is great in heaven

It is Sunday!  I know teaching, preaching and ministering is not always easy.  Sometimes in faithful Gospel ministry there arises the following situation:

• People hate you
• People ostracize you
• People insult you
• People scorn your name as evil

We ought not to be surprised.  This is what Jesus said will happen in Luke 6:22 and will happen “for the sake of the Son of Man.”

Yet in the next verse Jesus said “Be glad in that day and leap for joy” (Luke 6:23a).

What?  Why?  We don’t typically associate all those things happening as a reason to rejoice.  The reason Jesus gives is also a powerful motivation to continue ministry even when people persecute us in the second half of Luke 6:23:

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Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You were appointed a preacher or teacher

It is Sunday!  I know teaching, preaching and ministering is not always easy.  As I was meditating on 2 Timothy 1 note the difficulties in Paul’s ministry.  Perhaps they parallel your own ministry in teaching and/or preaching:

• There was persecution, even up to the point that Paul was made a prisoner (v.8)
• There was suffering, even up to the point that some could be ashamed (v.10)
• There was abandonment, even at a point when the company is most needed (v.15)

Yet Paul said

How can we as preachers and teachers (be it small group, Sunday school or other ministry) be encouraged and properly motivated to endure despite the trials?

We find one key powerful motivation that propelled Paul in 2 Timothy 1:11:

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