Shepherds’ Conference recap

The Shepherds’ Conference is always a highlight for me, and one of the things I look forward to is reflecting over what I heard over those days — of assimilating a few ideas that will stimulate me spiritually to greater godliness and provided direction for ministry decisions in coming days.

To that end, here are a number of statements that I thought were particularly well-spoken and helpful to me.  [These are most likely not exact quotes, but my best attempt to get down the essence of what the speaker said.]

• “There is a difference between being a Christian and a non-Christian.  That line is significantly blurred in our church culture.  There are two opposing forces — Christ and Satan, light and darkness.  They are utterly distinct and mutually exclusive.  They cannot have fellowship on any true spiritual basis.  One perishes.  The other lives forever.  Believers cannot live in both those worlds.” [John MacArthur]
• “Do we come in fear and humility when we preach? We are tempted to think that we have the capacity and tools to preach the Word and make people respond to the gospel. When that thought comes, we need to repent in sackcloth and ashes. Self-confidence is deadly in a preacher, indicating he has no clear understanding of himself or of the task he has been given.” [Tom Pennington]
• “The call to preach is not just preaching, but it is indicative of our entire ministry — to be faithful proclaimers anywhere and to anyone.” [Rick Holland]
• “The disappearance of the pulpit is the hallmark of the age. Have you noticed the sermons of the age? They’re small. Not short. But small. Preaching needs to be big. Not long. But big.” [Al Mohler]
• “There are no little texts, and there must be no little sermons. Feel the full weight of the audacity of this statement. The entire cosmos is nothing but the theater of God for the demonstration of the unfolding of His salvation.” [Al Mohler]
• “Friendship of the world seems to be the number one goal of the [contemporary] church. It’s not. The church is to be an army waging war against worldly values.” [Phil Johnson]
• “The need for vigilance is greater today than yesterday! Be watchful over yourselves — your words and ways of life; be watchful of one another; be on guard against Satan and his tactics and false teachers and the world and its snares and seductions. And watch to the point of prayer.” [Phil Johnson]
• “There are no easy assignments in ministry. The closer we draw to the front line, the more we find ourselves in the cross fire between God and Satan. It has always been this way.” [Steve Lawson]
• “With great godliness comes great exposure to the enemy.” [Steve Lawson]
• “Sometimes we suffer because of our sin or other’s sin, or because we live in a sinful fallen world, band other times because there is a challenge between God and Satan. Does God think highly enough of your spiritual walk to make this challenge with Satan? Does God see you as blameless, God-fearing and upright? It is a badge of honor that God pins on the man that he appoints to suffer for the sake of righteousness.” [Steve Lawson]
• “Will we worship God in tough times? Will we bless the name of the Lord when we are throne into the fire of affliction? Are we going to go home and curse God, or will we say, ‘I will worship the Lord?’ That is the challenge for each one of us. The more we grow in ministry the more will be the attacks and challenges.” [Steve Lawson]
• “Job didn’t malign, but magnify the name of God. Not to revolt, but to reverence. This is the choice we must make again and again and again. There are times that we are thrown into the deep end of the pool, and we must make the choice to say ‘blessed be the name of the Lord.'” [Steve Lawson]
• “How wise it is of God to bring adversity into your life and dark nights and difficulty in ministry and antagonistic elders and unconverted members and shrinking budget. How wise to bring all these storms of afflictions so that we will be broken vessels, walk with a limp, weaned from this world, so that our faith will grow stronger, be more humble, be more Christlike. His ways are not our ways. As high as the heavens above the earth, so high are his ways above ours.” [Steve Lawson]
• “What contributes to a lasting ministry? Separation, sincerity, and sympathy. They need to know that you care. You can tell them that God is sovereign, but you had better be there to wipe away their tears. Because God would have it no other way. He only came to earth only one time and He came in compassion. Even when you can explain that God has a purpose, you be there to show sympathy.” [John MacArthur]
• “Lloyd-Jones said the preacher’s most important task is to prepare himself, not his sermon. This mimics what Paul said — pay close attention to yourself and teaching. Preaching should be done with a devotion for Christ. The one who preaches what he does not feel is at best a phony and at worst a charlatan.” [Jerry Wragg]
• “Real Christians resist passivity — they want to be like the Savior who came to serve and not be served. They are devoted to the teaching of truth and prayer and the people of God, the purposes of Christ. Gospel service is done by gospel servants — immersed into the glories of Calvary that they understand what is at stake.” [Tom Paton]