Thoughts from WorshipGod 09 part 1
August 11, 2009
If any of you were paying any attention, you may have noticed that I’ve (barely) begun a (fledgling) series on worship here. That series will continue, Lord willing (in the absence of anyone begging me to stop), but I wanted to take the chance to fill you in on some of what I experienced last week at the WorshipGod conference (put together by Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Ministries).
I first want to say thank you to FCC for allowing four of us from the church to attend the conference (two of our sound technicians, plus Kimberly and me). It is a great blessing to be supported by the church in this way.
The chief enjoyment and source of edification for me was the preaching. Although there was much to learn in the way of musicianship and leading the church in musical worship, the preaching was the heart and soul of the conference, and the preaching was excellent. Five men of God brought the Word–John Piper, Jeff Purswell, Thabiti Anyabwile, C. J. Mahaney, and Bob Kauflin.
One of the things God impressed on me through the ministry of these men was an important truth not directly related to the content of their sermons, and that was that men like these are gifts from God to the church. Ephesians 4:11-16 makes this clear–that those who lead and teach us are given directly from the hand of Christ for the building up of the church. It became quite clear to me as I listened to the extraordinary preaching these men brought that what they spoke came not from themselves but from God, and that each one was a vessel specially formed by God to bring His messages to His people.
And not only these men, but also all those truly called by God to shepherd His people are gifts from God. Paul in Ephesians 4:11 doesn’t name only apostles or only prophets, or only celebrity preachers or only traveling evangelists, but all of these and more–”the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastor-teachers” are all from God for the church.
And as I thought of the extraordinary gifts God gave the church in the men who preached at WorshipGod 09, I also thought of the extraordinary gifts God gave Faith Community Church in the elders and pastors who serve here. These men are extraordinary in their commitment to faithfully shepherd the flock of God; they are extraordinary in their commitment to faithfully and rightly use the Word of truth; they are extraordinary in their close care and tireless watchfulness over this body. These are extraordinarily gifted men, and they themselves are extraordinary gifts of God to His people here at FCC. Thanks be to God for giving these men to His church here!
We should show our gratitude to and for these servants of Christ by heeding the words of Hebrews 13:17–”Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
I will be posting more thoughts from the conference, including some of my notes from the sermons preached and the seminars I attended, but I would encourage you to check out the main session sermon audio, which has already been posted here. In particular, both of Piper’s sermons as well as Thabiti Anyabwile’s sermon are well worth your attention.