Many men gathered at Bryn-y-groes for the first New Pastors Conference. The purpose of the conference was to encourage, motivate and prepare new pastors for a lifetime of ministry and to build lasting supportive friendships and relationships. Those who attended were in the first five years of Christian work or were students in the final year of their training. Under the genial chairmanship of Phil Swann we were addressed by senior men in the ministry.
Art Azurdia III, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Church Ministry at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, gave four thrilling messages on the centrality of Gospel preaching in the worship and witness of the church. With biblical clarity and spiritual passion he spoke of John the Baptist as a model of the true preacher, whose aim is not to make a name for himself or steal glory from God but to make Christ glorious. The preacher is to be both faithful and successful, success being measured by spiritual fruitfulness as well as numerical growth. He is to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified as God’s answer to the real need of human beings, so that believers and unbelievers are continuously confronted by Christ clothed with His Gospel. These messages had a prophetic ring to them. They alerted us to the danger of assuming the Gospel instead of affirming it. We were warned that the next stage to assuming the Gospel is the abandoning of it.
Bill Dyer’s two sessions were a passionate appeal to make gospel evangelism and importunate prayer absolute priorities in church life. When Christians are tempted to divide over matters of relative importance this focus on what is really important - the making known of the Lord Jesus Christ - not only gathers believers around what unites them, but also galvanizes the church for action. Drawing from his considerable experience of pastoring a Gospel-driven church at Pontefract, Bill, with typical attention to detail, provided a wealth of motivational and practical instruction, delivered with enthusiasm and inspiration.
Andrew Davies spoke on “Change without a sledgehammer”. Change must not be for its own sake but be change for the better, i.e. the ongoing renewal and reformation of church worship, life and order after the pattern laid down in Acts 2. This is God’s work, but there are things we can do. We can remove the mundane and the formal from public worship; we can make our preaching Christ-centred and passionate; we can become better pastors; we can equip the saints for their ministries; we can carry our church leaders with us through gentle persuasion; we can pray; and we can reach out in evangelism and mission.
In addition to these main addresses several seminars were held. Geoff Thomas laid down some valuable principles for long term ministry, whether in one location or several. Martin Downes looked at the way to deal with error and opposition in the Church. Andrew Davies led a discussion on seeking purity in public and private ministry. Bill Dyer spoke on being an evangelistic pastor. And on the last evening Art Azurdia answered a series of pressing questions about preaching.
It seems that the conference met a real need. In the early years of a man’s ministry expectations are often high. But there are many difficulties to face and issues to resolve. The need for vision is paramount. Vision means dissatisfaction with the status quo but confident expectancy in God. By combining these two elements the New Pastors Conference went some way towards helping us keep our feet on the ground whilst raising our hearts to Heaven.
It whetted men’s appetite for the June Ministers’ Conference. Those who have attended the June conference over the years have not only had their minds stretched and their hearts warmed, but at an even deeper level their spirits have been stirred. Among the many conferences held these days, in this respect it is unique. It is to be hoped that more men will see the importance of being dealt with in this way and will make every effort to attend.
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