Here is a summary of the messages from the SBFC-SW 2009, as well as a collection of photos from the conference and a video I took of the attendees singing “Be Thou My Vision”.

“Devotional Psalm (Psalm 130)” – Pastor Jeff Young

“Preaching Christ from the Old Testament” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Preaching Christ from the New Testament” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Redemptive-Historical Preaching: Pros and Cons” – Pastor Steve Garrick

“Summary of Founders Ministries” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“The Lost Element of Theology in Preaching” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Q&A Session (Moderated by Larry Vincent)” – Pastor Earl Blackburn, Pastor Tom Ascol, Pastor Steve Garrick and Pastor Fred Malone

“A Critique of Contemporary Models of Preaching” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Preaching Christ to the Christian” – Pastor Fred Malone

“Preaching Christ to the Natural Man” – Pastor Tom Ascol

“Unction in Preaching” – preached by Pastor Earl Blackburn

Three helpful Facebook pages have been created for all you Reformedish or Baptistish (heck, I’d like to invite even the Reformed Presbos) folks.  You should check ‘em out (and get on Facebook if you aren’t already.)

I fear that if I put my notes up from this session I will erroneously portray what Tom spoke about.  So, I’ll just include a couple of quotes and then pictures and I would strongly encourage you to view the video below.  It was one of the most fair, gracious, and knowledgeable presentations of the Emergent Movement I’ve yet heard.  Well worth your time to watch and listen to it.

Just because you can’t know everything doesn’t mean you can’t know anything.

Evangelicalism is more American than Evangelical.

Their chastened epistemology becomes un-hinged subjectivism. [speaking of the Emergent Movement]

Emergents today find themselves the unabashed Liberals of tomorrow.

Any Church that marries the culture today becomes a widow tomorrow. [paraphrase provided by Mike Woodall]

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Ephesians 4:1-16 :  Tom Ascol

The notes are working a little better this time.  These are my notes verbatim (forgive any misspellings or mistakes.  Anything in quotes are from Tom that I was able to type out fast enough to make sure I heard right.  Everything else are simply my notes and if you ask anyone who knows me, me hearing ain’t always the best.  :-)

The Gospel is Good News
It is what God has done for us.
Paul always goes from Creed to Deed
The emphasis in Ephesians has application yes, but its about doctrinal truth
For a church to walk in a way worthy of its calling is to….. (didn’t get the last part)

The Community of Faith (in the Church)

Some churches are very active in being involved with the works of the kingdom, yet when doctrine is spoken of, they glaze over
-like a man with long arms and legs but a tiny head

Then some church over-emphasize Doctrine and have a problem with fleshing out that doctrine
-like a man with a huge head and little tiny arms and little tiny legs

“Both are a perversion.”

Every member is to work on unity in the church

First, a right understanding
-unity can be very easily misunderstood
-unity is NOT mere toleration
-”toleration of gross and fragrant sin is not unity, it is an unholy conspiracy”
-Neither is unity coercion
-individual Christians will be at different levels of maturity
-Uniformity is NOT to be coerced
-Uniformity also is not mere outward
What Unity IS
-essential agreement that Christians share in mind, heart, will, and purpose
-God is the Creature of Unity, who cause is to exist in the life of the local Church
-This is to be maintained through the bond of peace
-He regenerates individuals who are brought into the Church
-what Christ has done on the Cross has crushed the dividing line that we would have had between us

“One significant reason that so many churches do NOT taste this kind [of God-honoring] unity is that so many churches are filled with unregenerate church members”
-this is especially so in the SBC

There can be NO unity between amongst a group of believers and non-believers
-this is a huge reason why so many churches grasp for substitutes for Biblical Unity

How do we promote humility within ourselves?
-be honest with yourself

We should be long-suffering with one another

We are to love one another as God has loved us
-He sent and sacrificed His Son
-God’s love is not dependent upon our performance, but rather on the performance of One who has already done the job!
-this knowledge sets us free to love!

The Church ought to be a community of Love!

Christian Unity is a Fact and a Duty
-When we are saved, we are joined together in Christ with our fellow brothers and sisters
-Yet we also have a responsibility to work on our unity

Jesus prayed for our Unity
-He did this on the Eve of His Death
-Unity is a Biblical Teaching, it’s a Biblical Reality, it’s a Biblical Responsibility

The Church is considered by Paul as being One Body

Christian unity is based upon Jesus Christ
-because we have One Lord, we are to preserve the Unity that the Spirit has provided for the Church

Christ designed Diversity
“Unity is not Uniformity”
“Where there is not Diversity in the Local Church, something is seriously wrong.  In fact, it may be the mark of a cult, instead of a mark of the church of Jesus Christ.”

All of God’s People are given gifts to encourage and edify the Body

A balanced Church will have as a stated goal to have every member exercise their God-given gifts
When a body is functioning as it should, in unity, with diversity, what will be the result?
The Church will experience Corporate Growth and Maturity
-    Doctrinal Stability
o    We are to no longer be Children

• Children are naturally unstable
• “Balanced Churches produce Balanced Christians”

-    Loving Devotion
o    To Truth and to People
o    We are to love Truth yes, but we are to also love People
o    One of the blights to us is that too often we are known as loving Truth way more than People
o    We are to Love Truth AND People
-    Practical Service
o    We must recognize our relationship to Christ
o    We must recognize our relationship with the Body
o    We must recognize our Responsibility as an Individual within the Body

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Excellent session from Pastor Larry.

The name of the message was “The Pastoral Office and Church Growth”.  Working from Ephesians 3 and 1 Timothy 3, the primary point that Larry made was the point of 1 Corinthians 3, namely that the minister is called by God to plant and water and rely on the Lord to provide the increase of the fruits of his labor.  Ministers are NOT to worry about the number or rear-ends in the seats on sunday morning (my words, no Larry’s :-) ), they are to preach and teach the word and trust the Lord to use it as He sees fit.

Well, my notes are not copying over from Word correctly so I’ll give you a few highlights.

The politicians, the governments, the educators are not guardians of the Truth, the Church is.

Pastors are to concern themselves exclusively with planting and watering

They are field laborers.  They can only work in the dirt.  They cannot make the rain fall from the sky, nor can they make the plants grow, nor can they make the seeds germinate.

A Pastor’s focus is on what God commands him to do, not on the job that God does!

God is Sovereign both on the Minister’s Labor as well as the increase of the Minister’s Labor

Pastor’s must ultimately rely on the Lord to provide visitors, repeat visitors and members

God’s Glory and the Members Spiritual Good are the concerns of the Pastor

The Church informs the Family, not the Family the Church

And here are some photos, followed by the video of the message.

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Tweet Tweets:

Tom Ascol

Andrew J. Nicewander

This weekend, my church (Heritage Baptist Church) is hosting the annual Southern Baptist Founders Conference Southwest, on Growing the Local Church.

The main speaker this year is Tom Ascol, Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida and Director of the Founders Ministries.

I will be live-blogging the conference, as well as live-twittering, so check back often!

Info:

Live Video Feed Page

Registration

Schedule

Speakers

Sermon Audio

Accomodations

Principles

Map