9Marks Interview with Mark Minnick

This past February Mark Dever interviewed my pastor Mark Minnick as part of a forum between conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists. I thought the mp3 recording of this interview wouldn’t be available until August or September, but thanks to Andy Naselli for pointing out its availability now. Check out this interview for insightful comments on the similarities and dissimilarities of different groups of believers as we practice and promote our common faith.

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Here are some links to discussions on this interview:

• Andy Naselli 5/25/08
  
• Greg Linscott (Current Christian) 5/25/08
  
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) 5/25/08
• Frank Sansone (A Thinking Man's Thoughts) 5/25/08 more on 5/28/08
  
• SharperIron's Fundamentalism Forum 5/26/08
  
• Dr. Bob McCabe's brief comments (Old Testament Studies) 5/26/08
• Chris Anderson (My Two Cents) 5/29/08
• Kent Brandenburg (What is Truth( 6/9/08
  
• CurrentChristian.com 6/12/08
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) adds a transcript of a latter portion of the interview and asks "is there an answer here? 6/14/08
• Mark Dever explains his practices of separation and asks "Mark Dever doesn't practice separation?" 6/14/08
• Don Johnson (an oxgoad, eh?) takes a stab at answering Dever's latest contribution to the discussion - "do conservative "e's" separate?" 6/15/08
• Dave Doran (Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary & InterCity Baptist Church) added some helpful comments to Dever's post at Church Matters, the 9Marks blog 6/15/08
  
• Kent Brandenburg rants on 6/16/08
• Jeff Straub (Central Baptist Seminary) also added a response to Dever's post at Church Matters, the 9Marks blog 6/16/08
  

9Marks Interview with Mark Minnick

Mid-America Conference on Preaching: Oct. 18-19, 2007

Andy Naselli has posted an announcement about the upcoming Mid-America Conference on Preaching, hosted by Inter-City Baptist Church and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 18–19, 2007.

"Learning from the Past, Pressing toward the Future"

This year’s speakers include Doug McLachlan, Mark Minnick, Sam Horn, David Saxon, David Doran, and the faculty of DBTS.

Here's some more information on the conference...

A Message to Pastors

Dear Pastor,

We would love to have you join us for the 2007 Mid-America Conference on Preaching. Our theme for this year, Learning from the Past, Pressing toward the Future, is a reminder that we are runners in a relay race that began with the Apostles and will continue until our Lord returns. We can’t live looking backward, but if we don’t understand what has happened before us, we’re surely headed for trouble.

Our desire for the MACP remains the same: to equip and encourage those who serve Christ’s church as pastors. We count it a real privilege to serve the Lord and His servants in this way. These two days will be packed with great times in the Word and encouraging fellowship together. We are pleased to have Doug McLachlan, Mark Minnick, Sam Horn, and Dave Saxon join the DBTS faculty and me as speakers for this year. We are making some changes to the format that I think you will enjoy, and we have some special surprises for you that we hope will make the conference a special blessing to you. Dress for the conference is business casual.

The reality of our accountability to the Lord constantly motivates me to grow as a believer and a pastor. I am looking forward to how God will use this year’s conference in my own life. Please join us for two spiritually refreshing and refining days!

For the sake of His name,
David M. Doran

• Special discounts at Inter-City Christian Bookstore
  
  
  
  
• Shuttle service to/from airport and conference hotel
  
  
  
  
• Hospitality room: refreshments and fellowship
  
  
  
  
• Internet café available for e-mail service
  
  
  
  
• Wireless web connections for laptop users
  
  
  
  
  
  

Sample Workshop Topics

• Essential Qualities of God-Honoring Worship Songs
  
  
  
  
• A Model for Developing A God-Centered Ministry
  
  
  
  
• Shades of Evangelicals: Recognizing the Differences
  
  
  
  
• Conservative Evangelicals and Fundamentalists: Recognizing the Differences
  
  
  
  
• Are We Worried about Holiness or How We Look?
  
  
  
  
• Expositional Preaching from the Parables
  
  
  
  
• Designing Sermons for Effective Communication
  
  
  
  
• Weakness or Wisdom? Fundamentalism and Romans 14:1–15:13
  
  
  
  
• Are Baptists Protestants?
  
  
  
  
• In Defense of Penal-Substitutionary Atonement
  
  
  
  
• Evangelistic Calvinists Past and Present: Being What We Were Chosen to Become
  
  
  
  
• Is There a Present Form of The Kingdom of God/Heaven: A Case Study in Hermeneutics and Theology
  
  
  
  
• The Meaning of Fellowship in 1 John
  
  
  
  
• An Overview of Ecclesiastes
  
  
  
  
• Local Church Membership and the Practice of the Ordinances
  
  
  
  

Conference Schedule

Mid-America Conference on Preaching: Oct. 18-19, 2007

Bring the Books (pt. 3)

Read Part One

Read Part Two

My first post (pt. 1) covered the introduction and first point of Dr Minnick's book talk. The nature of our faith leaves little need to urge believer's to read. The first reading priority for believers is the Bible. Any reading that supersedes our desire for and attention to the Bible is improper.

After the Bible, the thoughtful Christian ought to begin with the writings of the Church's best teachers (see pt.2). Dr Minnick provided some very helpful suggestions and recommendations for tackling these writings. Under this heading he had recommended (very highly) James Rosscup's Commentaries for Biblical Exposition. I'm excited to report that I've acquired a copy for myself. This is a fine resource, indeed, and I'm glad to be able to use it.

After the Church's best teachers, one ought to consider the lives of the Church's faithful Christians. We ought to read the lives of those with whom we agree, and of those with whom we disagree (I'd like to visit this point in another post and share some thoughts on a book I read recently).

Now, to conclude our consideration of Dr Minnick's book talk at the Whetstone Conference (2007) we will look at the final three points in his outline.

IV. THE DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE.

This section merely contains a list of recommended devotional literature. I remember hearing him recommend many of these titles from the pulpit while my family worshiped at MCBC. This is a great list of books that ought to have a good representation in every Christian home (well, if not all of Spurgeon's sermons, at least some of his works).

• John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress; The Holy War [Amazon]
• L. E. Maxwell, Crowded to Christ; Born Crucified [Amazon]
• E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer [Amazon]
• David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression; Revival [Amazon]
• G. Campbell Morgan, Discipleship; The Life of the Christian [Amazon]
• William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armor [Amazon]
• Anything by F. B. Meyer
• Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer [Amazon]
• C. H. Spurgeon (any of his sermons in The New Park Street Pulpit or The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit)

V. OTHER LITERATUrE.

(Quot: Robert Murray M'Cheyne wrote to a friend in school, Beware of the atmosphere of the classics. It is pernicious indeed; and you need much of the south wind breathing over the Scriptures to counteract it. True, we ought to know them; but only as chemists handle poisons--to discover their qualities, not to infect their blood with them [Andrew Bonar, Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, 29].)

For Guides:

• David L. Larsen, The Company of the Creative [Amazon]
• Leland Ryken, Realms of Gold: The Classics in Christian Perspective [Amazon]

V. SOME SUGGESTIONS OF HOW AND WHAT TO READ:

1. Surrender your reading to the Lord (love Him with all your mind).
2. Be very careful about reading known error. (II Tim. 2:16-18)
3. Pray about what to read/pray when you read.
4. Read those books which call you.
5. Consider charting our yearly reading objectives.

   (Exp: This would include (1) Categories, (2) Titlles, and (3) amounts of time.)

6. Read books of varying difficulty and interest to you.

   (Exp: Read what you want to read, what you don't want to read, and what you should read.

   (Quot: Austin Phelps wrote, A third object of a pastor's study of books [is] assimilation to the genius of the best authors. There is an influence exerted by books upon the mind which resembles that of diet upon the body. A studious mind becomes, by a law of its being, like the object which it studies with enthusiasm. If your favorite authors are superficial, gaudy, short-lived, you become yourself such in your culture and your influence. If your favorite authors are the grand, profound, enduring order, you become yourself such to the extent of yoru innate capacity for such growth (Men and Books, 220).)

   (Exp: If you have difficulty with the mechanics of reading, give some attention to Mortimer J. Adler's How to Read a Book. [Amazon | WTS])


7. Do not dismiss a writer simply because you encoutner something with which you disagree.
8. Be careful not to allow yourself to lose objectivity about a man.
9. Do not be enslaved to finishing books.
   

   (Exp: God had read some books for only one chapter.)
   

10. Note what you read in the margin of your Bible for future use.

    (Quot: Never read without taking notes: all other reading is self-indulgence and an occasion for sleep (John Hutton, That the Ministry be Not Blamed, 152).)

11. Share what you read with someone else.

    (Exp: This completes the joy and makes it more your own.)

12. Purchase books for others to read.

    (Quot: Thomas a Kempis, If he shall not lose his reward, who gives a cup of cold water to his thirsty neighbor, what will not be the reward of those who by putting good books into the hands of those neighbours open to them the fountains of eternal life? (Quoted by Sinclair Ferguson, Read Any Good Books?, 18).)

His 9th point was a great relief to me some years ago when I first heard this. A friend of mine had asked Dr Minnick about finishing books and he gave him this piece of advice which liberated my friend's conscience. I like to finish books, but, now, I don't get so torn up about it. I often need to give the book some time to let it "call out to me."

CONCLUSION

(Quot: Andrew Bonar, at age 45 wrote in his journal, Led today to notice that all my books, my many suitable and profitable books that come to help my study and suggest what I might preach, as well as those papers, and the like, that stir up the soul, are all part of God's calling of me. By these He carries on what He began... (Monday, Nov. 12th, 1855).

With this he concluded his talk. This was an enjoyable and helpful session. I hope and trust that sharing his notes (with a few of my own comments) will be of help to you.

Bring the Books (pt. 3)

Bring the Books (pt. 2)

Read Part One

Having set the Scriptures in their proper place (preeminent) among other books, Dr Minnick progressed to his second point.

II. THE WRITINGS OF THE CHURCH'S BEST TEACHERS.

(Quot: Spurgeon wrote in his Commenting and Commentaries, It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what he has revealed to others (9).

1. These Are Christ's Gifts To His Church (Eph. 4:8-11).
2. All things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (1 Cor. 3:21-22a).
3. The Church's Most Gifted Teachers Are All Available Through Their Writings.

(Exp: Their writings continue to be published and read because they are truly classics. Leland Ryken, quotes various authors about what a classic is.

• A masterpiece that modifies our very being and makes us feel...that we are not the same men and women we were when we began...
• [L]ays its images permanently on the mind [and] is entirely irreplaceable in the sense that no other book whatever comes anywhere near reminding you of it or being even a momentary substitute for it...
• [I]n some sense a landmark in our intellectual, spiritual, or literary experience...
• [A] multiplicity of both content and technique that makes them inexhaustible.

(Realms of Gold: The classics in Christian Perspective, 1-2)

(Sugg: Read them first hand rather than through someone else's analysis. Use Shepherd's Notes to get you started with C. S. Lewis, Augustine (City of God, Confessions), Calvin's Institutes, Justin Martyr, etc. or Google for a Wikipedia article to find out the best authority.)

(Note: A word about help with commentaries. The best annotated commentary bibliography available is Commentaries for Biblical Exposition, by James Rosscup (published by Grace Books International). D. A. Carson's New Testament Commentary Survey and Tremper Longman's Old Testament Commentary Survey are useful, but often lack the conservative discrimination.)

III. LIVES OF THE CHURCH'S FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS.

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise (Prov. 13:20).
...whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation (Heb. 13:7).

A. Those With Whom We Agree.
(App: Pick out a saint of the past whose theology and philosophy of ministry accords closely with your own. Let him tell you what to expect when you hold those positions. What criticisms? What encouragements? What's required to persist? Where to get inspiration? What are the consequences?)

B. Those With Whom We Disagree.
(Quot: Phillips Brooks, The object of reading biography...is not imitation but inspiration/instruction.)
(Exp: This will give us a necessary sympathetic understanding, combined with an education in what not to do.)

C. Choose By Author Rather Than Subject.

Examples of well-researched and written biographies:
[Also, check the Westminster Seminary Bookstore for many of these titles.]

—2 vols. of Hudson Taylor’s life by Mrs. Howard Taylor [Amazon | CBD]

—Borden of Yale, by Mrs. Howard Taylor [Amazon]

—But Now I See, life of John Newton, by Josiah Bull [Amazon | CBD]

—Mountain Rain, life of James Fraser, by Eileen Crossman [Amazon | CBD]

—John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides (autobiography) [Amazon | CBD]

—Life of David Livingstone, by William Blaikie [Amazon | CBD]

—To the Golden Shore, life of Adoniram Judson, by Courtney Anderson [Amazon | CBD]

—Isobel Kuhn's autobiographical writings [Amazon | CBD]

—Mary Slessor of Calabar, by W. P. Livingstone [Amazon | CBD]

—C. H. Spurgeon: The Early Years [Amazon | CBD]

—C. H. Spurgeon: The Full Harvest [Amazon | CBD]

—Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon, Charles Ray [Amazon | CBD]

—Andrew Bonar: Diary and Life [Amazon | CBD]

—Man of the Word, life of G. Campbell Morgan, by Jill Morgan [Amazon | CBD]

—Five English Reformers, J. C. Ryle [Amazon | CBD]

—Anything by Iain Murray (Jonathan Edwards [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (2 vols.) [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; A Scottish Christian Heritage [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; etc.)

—Anything by Faith Cook (Singing in the Fire [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; Sound of Trumpets [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; Samuel Rutherford and His Friends [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; Selina: Countess of Huntingdon [Amazon | CBD | WTS]; Hymn-Writers and Their Hymns [Amazon | CBD]; etc.)

(Note: The best survey of the history of preaching is David L. Larsen's, The Company of the Preachers [Amazon | CBD]. Thorough without being tedious, factual though not exhaustive, interesting and well indexed.)

Bring the Books (pt. 2)

Bring the Books (pt. 1)

I was particularly glad when I first learned that Dr Minnick was devoting an entire session on the discussion of books. Sitting under his ministry for about seven years, I learned much of what I know about good books. Dr Minnick is, without a doubt, a man of one Book, but this does not mean that he doesn't read anything else. Matter of fact he has a very large personal library. What is key is the priority he gives to those books. They all are secondary sources. The Word of God is his primary source.

A preacher is greatly impoverished if he spends the bulk of his time in the secondary sources and not in the primary. This is also true of students and teachers of any subject. This is my way of summarizing what I have learned about books from Dr Minnick and other men who have served as mentors to me. Well, enough of my words, here's the first part in a series of posts on Dr Minnick's lecture entitled "Bring the Books." (Note: The following notes are shared with the express permission of Dr Mark Minnick.)

For a text, he chose 2 Timothy 4:14, "When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments." (NASB)

Introduction:

C. H. Spurgeon preached on this text on Sunday morning, Nov. 29, 1863. He noted, Even an apostle must read. Some of our very ultra-Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot, and talks any quantity of nonsense, is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men's brains--oh! that is the preacher.

How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the NT, and yet he wants books!

The apostle says to Timothy, and so he says to every preacher, "Give thyself unto reading." ...Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read... We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction form books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in our Lord and Master's service. Paul cried, "Bring the books"--join the cry (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, IX, 668).

A. There is Little Need To Urge the Need.

1. The Christian Faith is a religion of cultivating the mind (Romans 12:2).
2. The Calling of a Man of God is to be his people's example.

Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (I Timothy 4:12-16).

I. THE SCRIPTURES MUST HAVE THE PREEMINENCE.
(Exp: The parchments. Word from which we get our word membrane. Refers to manuscripts written on very thin sheep or goat skin--vellum.)
[Quot: Matthew Henry said, No company like good books, especially the book of God (quoted by Warren Wiersbe, Victorious Christians You Should Know, 92).]

We must jealously guard our appetite.

A. Set Aside Anything That Dulls Our Taste For Scripture.
B. Use Varying Approaches.

1. Plow work: the surface. (The Telescopic Approach)
2. Spade work: the depth. (The Microscopic Approach)
3. Memorization.

This is the 1st of six points.

Reflection:

• Are you a reader? If not, why not? God gave us the written Word so that we might read it. If nothing else, we must read the Word. At least in that sense, we must be readers.
• How do you spend your leisure? Read! I don't know about you, but I try to take a book with me, no matter where I'm going. Traffic around here is awful, there's often a chance to read while waiting for traffic to clear. How about waiting in lines? Take a good book. Especially to the DMV.
• Do the Scriptures occupy the highest priority in your reading schedule? What kind of appetite do you have for the Word of God? I must improve here and also with regard to memorization. How about you?
  

Bring the Books (pt. 1)

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (conclusion)

In the opening day session of Whetstone 2007 Pastor Mark Minnick brought a message on the topic, “Speak, Lord, in the Stillness.” Taking his text from Exodus 33:1-19 he raised the question of the necessity of setting aside a place and time for private meeting with God. Though the practice isn’t mandated in this passage, it is shown to be a felt need of God’s men and highly desirable, in spite of the advantages and pressures of being in the ministry. Or maybe private communion is desirable and needed because of the pressures of the ministry. In addition to the tent Moses pitched away from the camp representing a place to meet with God, Pastor Minnick brought out some other applicable lessons from Moses’ practice.

The very location of the tent of meeting was meant to signify something. It signified a grievous spiritual reality: that God was no longer prepared to be in the midst of these people (Ex. 33:1-6). God said He would send an angel to lead them to the land He had promised them, but He would not go up in their midst because He would destroy them for their obstinacy. They had just sinned in connection with the golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law. “When the people heard this sad word, they went into mourning” (v. 4). It was in this context that Moses pitched the tent of meeting “outside the camp, a good distance from the camp” (v. 7). Though far off, the tent was visible to the people, who would stand and watch when Moses went to meet with God.

It’s interesting to note that despite the people’s disobedience God still guaranteed their success (vv. 1-3). Is it possible to have gross disobedience to the Scriptures and still have success that can be attributed only to God’s miraculous working? Apparently so, according to this passage. That would be fodder for another article to itself, or perhaps a lively (but Christian) discussion in the comments section. Why is the Lord promising to give these rebellious people success? Because of His promise to the fathers (v. 1). They would still have the things promised, but what would be missing was God’s approving presence. That would be strangely absent.

But, though the point of communion was now outside the camp, God was still graciously accessible (vv. 9-10). When Moses entered the tent, “the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent” (v. 9). The people would see this and know that He was still graciously accessible in spite of their sin.

This leads to the next lesson: that place (the tent of meeting) was one where Moses’ practice became influential. After setting up the tent (v. 7), “everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.” When the people saw Moses go to the tent, the pillar of cloud descending in response, “all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent” (v. 10). So Moses’ practice was influential. Maybe that’s one of the greatest arguments for the necessity of private communion with the Lord: to set an example for the people, who truly live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and who in many ways have been insidiously damaged by the culture in which they live.

What if it’s true that ministers can sufficiently commune with the Lord on the run? What if it’s true that the work of the ministry provides abundant opportunity for fellowship and spiritual growth? Even if all that were true, what of the people? What of the people who don’t live and move where ministers do? What of the people whose business isn’t in the Word all day long? What of the people whose fellowship has frequently been broken by sin; and the ungrieved, unquenched presence of the Lord is seldom, if ever, recovered while they’re carpooling to work? There are few things more powerful in the hearts of the people than when they find out something about their pastor’s own walk with the Lord. A mere passing comment from the minister about his devotional life during a sermon might be what the people latch onto and take home as the inspiration for their own private devotion. Pastor Minnick did this himself in a message this past Sunday. We are sheep listening to the voice of our undershepherd. We are following the leadership of our divinely-appointed guides. Do pastors really want to teach their people to do their devotions on the fly?

Moses set the example, who in his communion successfully interceded for the people so that the Lord was once again willing to go with them and dwell among them (vv. 12-19). This approving presence was what distinguished them from all the nations of the earth. Moses’ experience of the Lord in private communion led him to desire to know more of God. “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!” That’s our need! Moses caught a glimpse of God’s glory and it made his face shine. We need our faces to shine with the glory of God, and private communion with Him is where the transformation takes place. May we steal away often to meet with God and hear Him speaking in the stillness.

Certain things from Whetstone have really stuck with me. This message was one of them.

Lord, I have shut the door,

Speak now the word

Which in the din and throng

Could not be heard.

—William M. Runyan

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (conclusion)

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (pt. 1)

I’ve been meaning to write something about the first day session of Whetstone 2007. It was a message by my pastor, Mark Minnick, and was titled, “Speak, Lord, in the Stillness.” Pastor Minnick took his text from Exodus 33: 1-17 and raised the question of the necessity of getting alone with God. Acknowledging that many preachers argue against the necessity of seeking quiet times with the Lord, Pastor Minnick demonstrated from Scripture that it seemed to be something highly desirable and was the practice of God’s men from the time of Moses onward.

Some in the ministry argue that because of the nature of their ministry and the demands made on their time they can meet with the Lord anytime, anywhere without something as time-consuming as private devotion. Pastor pointed out that if any man, other than our Lord, had those kinds of demands made of him and had that kind of access to God so that he might feel no need of private time with the Lord, it was Moses. Yet from this point on in the wilderness journey “Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting” (Ex. 33:7). This was before the tabernacle was erected. So Moses, to whom God spoke face to face as a man speaks with his friend, felt the need for shutting out the world for times of getting alone with God. In this way he foreshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, who had greater demands made of Him and unbroken fellowship with the Father, yet He would often slip away for seasons of private prayer.

The picture on the brochure for the conference is of a room that John Wesley set aside in the heart of London for getting alone with God. Wesley was 76 years old when he moved into this house, and he was still pursuing the same thing that Moses was. The purpose for such a place and time for meeting with God is to shut out the clamor of the world so we can focus our attention on the Lord. Jonathan Edwards used to walk out into the woods to meditate and be alone with God. A.W. Tozer had a small study behind the platform in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church he pastored. He used this room for getting alone with God in the south side of Chicago. When he entered the room, he would change into a pair of old pants he called his “praying pants” and get down prostrate on the floor with his nose pressed into a handkerchief to avoid breathing dust from the carpet. And there he met with the Lord. This just seems to be the felt need of God’s men from the time of Moses down to the present. While this passage in Exodus doesn’t mandate the practice, it definitely presents private devotion as something highly desirable.

I’ll try to post more on this message soon and bring out some of the details from Exodus 33 that are “written for our admonition.”

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (pt. 1)

Whetstone Conference 2007

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some of my vacation time in Greenville, SC attending the Whetstone Conference at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. I also had a good time visiting with my friend Tim Ashcraft.


The Whetstone Conference was held for the first time in 1993. Preachers and missionaries who had been sent out from Mount Calvary Baptist Church were invited back for a few days of fellowship, instruction, and refreshment. This year's conference was the fifth gathering (the conference convenes every three to four years), and this was my third opportunity to attend. The theme for this year was For a Closer Walk with God (see here). Speakers included Tony Payne, Mark Minnick, Peter Davis, Bruce McAllister, Gary Bill, Thurmond Wisdom, Dan Brooks, Nathan Crockett, Tim Bixby, Robert Vincent, Steve Hankins, Ken Hay, Gary Wilcox sat in on the panel discussion, and Tom Sims (my pastor). The women listened to Linda Minnick, Joan Hufstetler, Patty Whitcomb, and Cathy Payne.

The conference began on Tuesday evening and continued through Friday evening. Each morning the men gathered together for breakfast at the church. During the days the men enjoyed four sessions while the women met for sessions before an after lunch. Each evening we met together for a General Session of worship in music and the preaching of the Word.

Tim and I have discussed our desire to share some highlights from the conference and we will do that over the next few days, or so. There are a number of things that we would like to share. The Lord used this conference in a very definite way in my life. I was sharpened by the Word and the fellowship of many brethren. My wife also was blessed by the time spent in fellowship with the women.

One of the other highlights was the bookstore. What a sight: a bookstore full of preachers! The selection was fantastic and the prices were superb. Ps. Robert Vincent did a great job of stocking the store with excellent commentaries, biographies, and theological works. I came home with a very nice stack of books. We also were able to select a number of books for our church library.

Well, we'll say more over the next few days.

Whetstone Conference 2007

For a Closer Walk with God

William Cowper penned the words to the following hymn which has been the theme of the Whetstone Conference 2007.

O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heav’nly frame,

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul refreshing view

Of Jesus and His word?

The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

I’ve looked forward to this conference for about four years (since the last one). My eager expectations have not been let down. Praise the Lord! We have been enjoying some of the finest sermons and lectures on communion with God. I say “finest,” not because the speakers are world renown, but because they are humble, “unprofitable” servants exalting their Savior who is worthy of all praise.

The graphics for the conference banner and literature consist of a peaceful view of John Wesley’s prayer room. This particular room was set aside by Wesley when he purchased this home at the age of seventy-eight for a place to spend quality time communing with his God. This has served as an appropriate reminder of our need for secret communion with God.

I knew that Wesley was born in June in the year 1703 but I had been confused as to the actual date. Some sources site the 17^th, and others site the 28^th. I just learned that the difference is in the calendar used. According to the ‘old style’ calendar, prior to 1752, the date was June 17. According to the ‘new style’ calendar, after 1752, the date is June 28. So, it was neat, for me, to see a connection with John Wesley and the timing of this conference.

I wish that all of you could be here this week. We have truly been blessed by the Lord. Tim and I hope to give more information on the conference lectures over the next week or so.

For a Closer Walk with God

2007 Whetstone Conference (Greenville, SC)

Hot off the press! I just received my formal announcement regarding the 2007 Whetstone Conference at Mount Calvary Batist Church (MCBC) in Greenville, SC. June 26-29, 2007

What is a Whetstone

A whetstone is a stone used for sharpening or "honing" knives and other tools. It is our hope that the Mount Calvary Whetstone Conference will serve to sharpen the effectiveness of the ministers who attend.

"If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct." Ecclesiastes 10:10

MCBC was our home church from the summer after I graduated from BJU until the summer of 2004 (when we moved to Charleston). There are many fine churches in Greenville, and I had been attending one for a few years, but I visited Mt. Calvary because I heard from a friend about some messages Ps. Minnick was preaching on pioneer missions (Romans 15). I never left after that service until we moved here.

I often consider my time at MCBC as my real theological education. The ministry was far more than dry scholasticism, but it was no less than a theological gymnasium. I grew by leaps and bounds in my walk with Christ during those formative years. I'm am greatly appreciative for the tesimony and faithfulness of the pastoral staff and the congregation of MCBC.

It was during these years that I learned more of the Scriptures than I had ever learned anywhere else. It was there that I learned the beauty and value of solid, expository and applicational preaching. (The Puritans called this experimental preaching). It was also there, that I learned about books--what to pusue, how to pursue them, and how to use them. TheoSource was a project I started to keep track of the good recommendations I was getting from the pastors and teachers at MCBC.

In the schedule, Pastor Minnick will be taking time to talk about books. I'm looking forward to this chat.

Lord willing,I will be at the conference with my wife. I pray that you will consider coming too!

For more information about the conference, visit the MCBC website: here.

2007 Whetstone Conference (Greenville, SC)

Wise Counsel on Reading from John Newton

I was just reading some of the latest issue of FrontLine Magazine (July/August 2006, Vol. 16, No. 4) and I came upon the following quotes in an article written by Mark Minnick. The title of the article is Would You Like Some Wise Counsel?

His article is a "potpourri of excerpts from [John Newton's] letters to preachers." Amongst many excellent topics is that of Reading. Here is some of Newton's advise:

January 11, 1769. Next to the word of God, I like those books best which give an account of the lives and experiences of his people.... Some of the letters and lives in Fox's Acts and Monuments, in the third volume, have been very useful to me. But no book of this kind has been more welcome to me than the Life of Mr. Brainerd, of New England, re-published a few years since at Edinburgh, and I believe sold by Dilly, in London.... I suppose you have read Augustine's Confessions. In that book I think there is a lively description of the workings of the heart, and of the Lord's methods in drawing him to himself. It has given me satisfaction to meet with experiences very much like my own, in a book written so long ago. But nature and grace have been the same in every age (VI, 211-12).

1784. I know no author who is worthy the honour of being followed absolutely and without reserve (V, 86).

I love this last quote. I'm going to add it to the blog header. Great advise! Thank you brother Newton.

Banner of Truth has published six volumes of his collected works.

The works of the Rev. John Newton,: Containing, an authentic narrative, etc., letters on religious subjects, cardiphonia, discourses intended for the pulpit, ... Messiah, occasional sermons, and tracts,

Wise Counsel on Reading from John Newton