Church & Ministry

General Session 1: The Wisdom of God vs. the Wisdom of This Age

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

The opening session of the conference began simply with prayer, two hymns, and a musical ensemble. Dave Doran delivered the first address.

Introduction

Each fall, Inter-City Baptist Church (Allen Park, MI) and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary host the Mid-America Conference on Preaching (MACP). This year’s event is being held October 16-17. I have attended six of the conferences in the past ten years or so and have thoroughly enjoyed every one.

Purves, Andrew. The Crucifixion of Ministry: Surrendering Our Ambitions to the Service of Christ. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP, 2007. Paperback, 152 pages. $15.00

(Review copy courtesy of InterVarsity Press.)

I’ve just returned from the fourteenth Bible Faculty Leadership Summit. The BFLS is sponsored annually by a different institution within mainstream fundamentalism. It is attended by biblical and theological faculty from the mainstream fundamentalist institutions. The point of the meeting is to challenge one another academically and intellectually. It is an event in which the educational leaders of fundamentalism help each other to think, write, and teach better.

Recently I sat down with Pastor Matt Morrell to discuss the challenges of being a young pastor, life in a pastor’s family, the state of Fundamentalism, the role of the Internet and blogs, and other topics. Matt is the new pastor of the historic Fourth Baptist Church of Plymouth, Minnesota. He succeeds Richard V. Clearwaters, Dr. Ernest Pickering, and Dr. Doug McLachlan in that role.

Wilson, Michael Todd & Brad Hoffmann. Preventing Ministry Failure: A ShepherdCare Guide for Pastors, Ministers and Other Caregivers. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2007. 265 pages, Paperback. $16.00.

(Review copy courtesy of InterVarsity Press.)

^{Editor’s Note: Dr. Jeff Straub’s articles occasionally appear in lieu of Dr. Bauder’s regular column.}

Rosin, Hanna. God’s Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America. San Diego: Harcourt, 2007. Hardcover, 304 pages. $25.00

Reviewed by Doug Smith.

Mark Dever. What Is a Healthy Church? Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2007. Hardcover, 126pp. $10.99.

(Review copies courtesy of Crossway Books.)

^{Note: Dr. Sam Horn is host of The Word for Life radio program.}

by Dr. Sam Horn