Midwestern Magazine - Issue 43

BIANNUAL MAGAZINE O F M I D W E S T E R N S E M I N A RY AND SPURGEON COLLEGE

MBTS.EDU THE ART OF PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING

ISSUE 43

I S S U E 4 3 SHEPHERDING FROM THE PULPIT | A DISPOSITION SHAPED BY SUFFERING | WHOSE JOB IS SOUL CARE? | WHERE TO FIND HOPE IN THE AGE OF DISCONTENTMENT

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C O N T EN T S

Midwestern Magazine Issue 43

AT A G L A N C E

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT Collin Coffee

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IN FOCUS Wornall Road Baptist Church

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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT Daniel & Clara Sylvester

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FACULTY HIGHLIGHT T. Dale Johnson

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AROUND CAMPUS A review of news and events

at Midwestern Seminary

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BOOKS IN BRIEF Recent and upcoming

books published by Midwestern faculty and staff

Jason K. Allen

RESOURCES FOR THE CHURCH A selection of articles from the For The Church resources site at ftc.co

62

FROM THE PRESIDENT

4 Shepherding from the Pulpit

Geoff Chang

Todd R. Chipman

T. Dale Johnson

ARTICLE

ARTICLE

ARTICLE

8 Learning the Art of

14 A Disposition of

20 Whose Job is

Suffering

Soul Care?

Pastoring from C. H. Spurgeon

The Pastor and Biblical Counseling

24 Where to Find Hope in an Age

28 Center for Biblical Counseling Question

Dean Inserra

Samuel Stephens

of Chronic Discontent

and Answer

View past issues of MIDWESTERN MAGAZINE at mbts.edu/magazine.

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FROM THE

President JASONKALLEN.COM

ne of my highlights every year is getting to teach a class on “Pastoral Care and Counseling” to a new crop of M.Div. students. This class is vital to their ministry formation but, at the beginning of the semester, not every student actually knows it. On the first day of class, most students pile into the classroom not knowing what to expect. Some of them are zealous to conquer the world for Christ. Some of them can’t wait to get behind the pulpit to preach God’s word. Yet, a few of them, those with previous ministry experience, those who know the difficulties and weight of pastoral ministry, come in more alert, more sober. They recognize how important this course is, and they are eager to grow in their ability to shepherd God’s people.

While one class dedicated to pastoral care and counseling is essential, one can only cover so much in 16 weeks. I recognize, along with

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 JASONKEITHALLEN

 JASONKALLEN

almost everyone else in theological education, that to be a pastor is to be a lifelong learner.

Pastors must continually read, continually learn, and continually grow in their knowledge and ability to shepherd God’s flock. This is one of the reasons we have dedicated this edition of the Midwestern Magazine to “Pastoral Care and Counseling.” It is my hope and prayer that this magazine will further help God’s undershepherds lead and care for God’s sheep.

Sincerely,

JASON K. ALLEN, PH.D. President Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Spurgeon College

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by J A S O N K . A L L E N

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What does it mean for a preacher to be faithful? How does one even measure a preacher’s faithfulness? While I acknowledge that whole books can be written to address these questions alone, let me offer at least six marks of a faithful preacher.

A Faithful Preacher Knows His Audience In order to be a faithful preacher, you must first know your audience. Different groups in different settings often require sermons that are different in style and depth. Thus, every sermon should be a customized sermon, crafted specifically for the recipients.

When I prepare sermons, I think through exactly who will be in the audience. I bombard myself with questions like: • How will this point strike the 80-year-old widow who lost her husband last year?

• Will people be able to grasp this biblical concept as presented, or do I need to simplify my explanation?

• What does this truth have to say to the young couple who is struggling with their marriage?

• How might this concept be expressed in a way that is encouraging to the middle-aged woman recently diagnosed with cancer?

Every sermon is delivered in a context, situated in a cultural moment with space and time realities. Preaching is not a sterile or clinical act. Therefore, in order to be faithful, familiarize yourself with your audience.

A Faithful Preacher Takes the Time to Interpret the Text Faithful preaching requires being familiar, broadly speaking, with the text or book you are preaching. This familiarization takes place at both the macro and the micro level. At the macro level, it means having the big picture of the text clear in the mind. One way to accomplish this is

by keeping track of context. For example, when preaching through a book of the Bible, I read through it at least twice in a row. Additionally, I peruse commentaries and other resources early on to help familiarize myself with the contours of the book.

Obviously, as my sermon preparation progresses, I will move from broad familiarization to a more technical analysis of the passage. Nonetheless, at this point, I am already trying to familiarize myself with the main idea of the text. Even though I may not reach a conclusion until after I have done more exegetical work, I am already asking myself, “What is the author saying in this passage?”

A Faithful Preacher Structures His Sermon Around the Theme of the Text Faithful preaching involves structuring your sermon around the structure of the text. Not all sermons will, nor should, sound the same. The surest way you can confirm that your sermon structure is textually oriented is to preach expositionally. As you do, the theme and contours of the text will become apparent and, as a result, they will drive your outline.

A pertinent question along these lines is: “Do my illustrations amplify or detract from the text?” To illustrate is to play with fire. When contained and rightly calibrated, good illustrations can add light and heat to the sermon. When uncontained and over-torqued, they can consume and destroy the sermon. Balance here is key. Ponder this question carefully, “Will this illustration illuminate or overshadow what the text says?” Keep your illustrations tied closely to your structure, and you will likely avoid error. And whatever you do, never illustrate an illustration.

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A Faithful Preacher Is Courageous Preaching is God’s appointed means to strengthen the church and convert the lost. In every generation, the church needs pastors who preach with courage and fervency, who view preaching as the center of their ministry. Courage is essential to being a faithful preacher.

"We are to present the text with force— probing, pushing, and prodding our listeners."

I love the way 2 Timothy 4:2 encapsulates this courage.

Recall the backdrop of the book. Timothy, a young man who is probably in his early 30s, is clearly discouraged and second-guessing himself, so Paul is writing in a prophetic, apostolic way and in essence saying, “Buck up.” He is challenging him. He is exhorting him to do this. He is reminding him of his rootedness in Scripture, his call to stand on Scripture and preach it.

Then, he moves into how to preach the Scripture and bring it to bear on his hearers: “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all patience and instruction” (4:2).

Notice the word preach. To preach means to herald or to proclaim, to speak intensely. It comes with a force that presupposes courage. It is not so much the modulation of one’s voice but the force of the words, weighted with conviction because you are proclaiming God’s very Word.

Preaching is more than a data dump. The central liability of many expositional sermons is just that. It is a rambling commentary that drops data on people, and preachers cannot figure out why people are getting bored. We are to present the text with force— probing, pushing, and prodding our listeners. It is more than transmitting what you read in the commentaries to your people that week. It is to take it and apply it with a “Thus sayeth the Lord” charge.

Mark your life and set yourself to preach with courage.

A Faithful Preacher Connects the Text to the Gospel As gospel preachers, every sermon should contain the gospel.

Usually this happens quite naturally and organically within the text itself. You don’t have to be an archaeologist to find Christ in the text; you just have to open your eyes.

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Paul’s ambition to preach Christ and him crucified should be ours as well, and we can best accomplish this by not just preaching “gospel” messages, or by tacking on the gospel at the end of our sermon.

grapple with knotty texts, and apply the full complement of Scripture to my own life. Plus, regularly delivering sermons has knit my heart to my community and allowed me to grow as a preacher.

To rightly interpret any text is to draw lines from that text to the broader, biblical metanarrative of Christ and Him crucified. Therefore, to preach an Old Testament narrative or a New Testament epistle should not be a detour from the gospel. Rather, it should be an inroad to it. Every sermon based on Scripture is a sermon where Christ can be rightfully and prominently featured.

All of this, and more, facilitates spiritual growth and maturation—not just for the preacher, but for his hearers.

The more we develop in our craft, the more others are built up. Thus, a faithful preacher will not tire in refining his ability to divide and deliver the word of truth.

A Faithful Preacher Grows in His Craft

Pastor, you are called to be faithful above all else. Can you say these six marks reflect your pastorate?

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from "Portraits of a Pastor" by Jason K. Allen. The book is available via Amazon or wherever Christian titles are sold.

Biblical exposition isn’t easy. It takes time to interpret the passage in its context, build an exegetical outline, and fashion it all together in homiletical form. And then you have to deliver it—a craft in and of itself.

Year after year, the rigor of preparing sermons has deepened my Scriptural knowledge. The thousands of hours wrestling with texts have been incalculably sanctifying. Moreover, preaching verse-by-verse through books in the Bible forces me to confront difficult doctrines,

DR. JASON K. ALLEN | President, Midwestern Seminary & Spurgeon College

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LEARNING the art of PASTORING FROM C.H. SPURGEON

by G E O F F C H A N G

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N T H E 1 9 T H C E N T U R Y, Charles Spurgeon pastored the largest evangelical church in the world, reaching a membership of over 5,000 toward the end of his ministry.

Despite its size, the Metropolitan Tabernacle operated fundamentally like any historic Baptist church. They built a large meeting space so that they could all gather together weekly for worship and prayer. Spurgeon preached 45-minute sermons. The congregation sang hymns acapella. They held congregational meetings. They maintained a rigorous membership process. They practiced church discipline. By all appearances, Spurgeon’s approach to pastoral ministry was not in itself all that unique; it was only unique when considered in light of the size of his church.

Of course, the church was not always as large. When he began pastoring in London, the congregation was only a few dozen people. Spurgeon was a solo pastor working alongside five deacons. The church grew rapidly under his preaching, reaching a membership of over 1,000 in just five years. Spurgeon had to adapt on the fly and adjust his approach in order to care for so many people. The structures that worked for a church of under a hundred members were no longer sufficient for this church of over a thousand.

In making those adjustments, Spurgeon never changed his core pastoral convictions. Spurgeon believed in the primacy of preaching and the right administration of the ordinances. He held to regenerate church membership.

He was a firm believer in congregational polity and he believed in the pastor’s responsibility to shepherd Christ’s flock. Even with such a large congregation and many more joining, Spurgeon refused to compromise his convictions about what the church or the pastor is to be.

In many ways, this dynamic of holding fast to convictions while being flexible in adjusting to changing circumstances is like a dance. Just like the waltz or lindy hop has a basic framework or structure, so the pastor needs firm convictions about what the church is to be and do.

Within that structure, dancers have a lot of room for creativity and adaptation. Likewise, pastors need to be flexible and creative as the needs and circumstances of their congregation change. Pastoring is not a mechanical process of following 10 steps to success or the latest formula for growth. Pastoring is an art.

"Pastoring is not a mechanical process of following 10 steps to success or the latest formula for growth. Pastoring is an art."

What did this look like for Spurgeon? How did he go about the art of pastoring?

Worship Gatherings As an heir of the Reformed tradition, Spurgeon believed that Christ alone reigns over the church through his Word. This truth is seen supremely in the church’s worship. While Christians worship God in all of life, when it comes to the corporate gathering of the church, God has revealed how he is to be worshiped. This is what theologians call the “Regulative Principle.” Like the English Puritans before him, Spurgeon believed that the elements of a church’s worship gathering should only contain what is commanded in Scripture. This included prayer, congregational singing, Scripture reading, preaching, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

As a result, the services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle were marked by simplicity. While other churches of the day experimented with new forms of entertainments, instruments, styles of preaching, and liturgies from other traditions, the worship at the Tabernacle remained the same throughout Spurgeon’s ministry. In fact, it wasn’t all that different from the church’s worship under previous pastors such as John Gill or Benjamin Keach. As

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one deacon stated, “The services of religion have been conducted without any peculiarity of innovation. No musical or aesthetic accompaniments have ever been used. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty.”1 But despite its simplicity, the worship at the Tabernacle was not stale or predictable. While the elements of Spurgeon’s liturgy were fixed, he had no problems varying the order of elements, the content of prayers, the number of hymns, the length of Scripture readings, and more. As Spurgeon planned each service, he allowed the sermon text to uniquely guide the themes and emphases of each service. Speaking to his students, he advised them, “Vary the order of service as much as possible. Whatever the free Spirit moves us to do, that let us do at once.”2 Rather than letting the Regulative Principle become a straight-jacket, Spurgeon urged his students to remain sensitive to the leading of the Spirit.

In many ways, Spurgeon modeled this dynamic in his preaching. Throughout his ministry, Spurgeon was committed to preaching expositional sermons based on Scripture. “Let us be mighty in expounding the Scriptures. I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository.”3 While Spurgeon did allow for topical sermons and other kinds of sermons, he believed that the main diet of a church’s preaching should be expository sermons. As a result, the vast majority of Spurgeon’s 3,563 published sermons are an exposition and application of a Scriptural text.

However, Spurgeon refused to work mechanically 1 NPSP 5:350.

2 Lectures 1:68.

3 AARM 44

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“Let us be mighty in expounding the Scriptures. I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository.” through books of the Bible. Instead, every week, the most difficult part of his sermon preparation was prayerfully searching for and waiting for the Spirit to lead him to the text that his people need to hear. In other words, Spurgeon believed every sermon he preached to be freshly given to him by God. The result of such a practice is 40 years’ worth of sermons that are remarkable in their originality and diversity of application, illustration, and theological insight. Spurgeon’s sermons adapted to the challenges and circumstances that his congregation faced.

as Hudson Taylor and Johann Oncken. At times, Spurgeon ordered the meeting around different theological themes.

Prayer Meetings

Church Membership

In addition to the Sunday gatherings, Spurgeon was also committed to holding weekly congregational prayer meetings. Each Monday night, thousands would turn out to pray together for the ministry of the church.

Spurgeon believed that prayer was the engine that fueled the work of the church, and he taught his people to prioritize these meetings.4 Prayer meetings were not only necessary; Spurgeon also sought to make them lively. To maintain freshness, he regularly varied the themes of each meeting. By default, the church always prayed for church members, the preaching of the Word, and the salvation of the lost.

Throughout the year, the church also devoted prayer meetings to the various ministries of the church—the Orphanage, the Pastors’ College, and the many evangelistic and benevolent ministries of the church. Once a month, the entire meeting was devoted to praying for missions, and the church often heard from visiting missionaries such

4 S&T 1881:91.

Learn more about THE SPURGEON LIBRARY at spurgeon.org.

All of this produced a weekly prayer meeting that was world-renowned. As famous as Spurgeon was for his preaching, those who visited the Tabernacle were often more encouraged by the prayer meeting than the Sunday services. Visitors from all over the world “carried away with them even to distant lands influences and impulses which they never wished to lose or to forget.” 5

As a Baptist, Spurgeon believed the church was to be distinct from the world. The church’s distinction was to be expressed not through foreign customs or isolated communes but through the practice of regenerate church membership. The church was to include those who had a credible profession of faith, giving evidence to their new birth. Baptism, then, was the entrance into membership, and the Lord’s Supper was the ongoing expression of membership in the church. Whereas many Baptists in his day watered down church membership and disconnected the ordinances from the discipline of the church, Spurgeon held these ecclesiological convictions firmly.

In his 38 years of ministry, Spurgeon brought over 14,000 people through the membership process at the Tabernacle. Each of these applicants interviewed with

5 Autobiography 4:81.

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an elder and again with the pastor, were visited by a messenger from the church, and were voted on by the congregation. Every applicant who was baptized at the Tabernacle was brought into church membership. Additionally, even as visitors flooded into the church, Spurgeon “fenced” the Lord’s Table and required all participants to either be a member of the church or to interview with an elder before taking the Lord’s Supper.

At the same time, though the membership process was rigorous, it was never meant to be daunting. Preaching on church membership, Spurgeon warmly declared: Whenever I hear of candidates being alarmed at coming before our elders, or seeing the pastor, or making confession of faith before the church, I wish I could say to them: “Dismiss your fears, beloved ones; we shall be glad to see you, and you will find your intercourse with us a pleasure rather than a trial.” So far from wishing to repel you, if you really do love the Savior, we shall be glad enough to welcome you.6 In interviewing candidates, Spurgeon examined their understanding of the gospel, but he also took into consideration their background and age. Youth joining the church had to go through the same process as everyone else, but the elders did not expect from them the maturity of an adult. Those without an education might explain the gospel in a folksy way, but Spurgeon did not require an advanced vocabulary—only a credible profession of faith.

If any were unable to articulate the gospel, they were not condemned but arrangements were made to meet with a church member to study the Bible. While Spurgeon held to regenerate church membership, this conviction created opportunities for him to shepherd even in the membership process.

6 MTP 17:198-199.

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Pastoral Care Beyond bringing people in, Spurgeon believed that the membership rolls should mean something. In many churches, the membership rolls had simply become a sentimental record of those who, at one time, belonged to the church. Sometimes, they contained members who had not attended in decades, had moved away to Australia, or were dead! At the Tabernacle, Spurgeon strived to make the church’s membership an accurate representation of those who were regularly partaking of the Lord’s Supper and walking in fellowship with one another.

With this conviction about church membership, it is in the area of pastoral care where Spurgeon needed to exercise the most creativity. As the church grew into the thousands, Spurgeon adjusted by teaching on the biblical office of elders and leading his church to appoint elders for the spiritual care of the church. Apart from the tireless labors of his elders, he believed that the church would have been a sham. With elders in place, Spurgeon also divided the congregation into districts and assigned elders to oversee the different districts. This division of labor allowed the elders to shepherd the congregation meaningfully and to not grow overwhelmed by the task.

Members were also given communion tickets that helped track their attendance at the Table.

If any member did not attend the Lord’s Supper for three consecutive months, the church clerk would notify the elders, and they would follow up. Yet non-attendance did not mean immediate removal. Instead, the elders saw this as an opportunity for pastoral care. Often, the member’s non-attendance reflected financial, physical, or spiritual difficulties, and the leaders stepped in to care for these members. The elders strived to exercise patience and wisdom in all these

cases. Sometimes, non-attendance was the result of serious, unrepentant sin. In such cases, church discipline would need to be pursued, a matter that once again required great wisdom and care. Today, many pastors struggle with holding to biblical convictions in their ministry. As a result, they find themselves blown about by every wind of doctrine or the latest form of pragmatism. They are like dancers who have forgotten the framework of the dance and, as a result, their movements are erratic.

Other pastors have clear convictions about pastoral ministry, but within that framework, they exercise their ministry mechanically, with little creativity or dependence on the Spirit. They are like dancers who follow the basic steps of the dance but do little else beyond that.

Spurgeon reminds us that pastoral ministry is an art. Pastors must hold fast to their biblical convictions while demonstrating flexibility, patience, and creativity as they seek to implement those convictions amid their unique congregations. What that means is that Spurgeon’s example does not give us a blueprint for how we are to pastor. We are not him, and our churches are not the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Even as we’re challenged and helped by his example, our task is to know our people, to depend on God in prayer, and to turn again and again to his Word. Only then will we be able “to shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2).

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A DISPOSITION SHAPED BY SUFFERING: THE PASTOR AND BIBLICAL COUNSELING

by T O D D R . C H I P M A N

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A PASTOR FULFILLS A VITAL ROLE IN THE BIBLICAL COUNSELING MINISTRY OF A LOCAL CHURCH. T H E CONGREGAT ION L OOK S T O A PAS T OR For teaching and training in righteousness, an example in following Christ, and counsel when they suffer. As Dale Johnson notes, “The church is made up of broken people who need to grow in maturity, and God provides them with shepherds to minister his Word to make them complete in Christ.” 1 What kind of pastoral deportment might establish a platform for effective biblical counseling in the local church? A pastor would have to be a man who knows about suffering and the power of the Spirit.

A DISPOSITION SHAPED BY SUFFERING SUFFERING BECAUSE OF SIN

Creator (Rom 1:25). Like David, repenting of his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah in Psalm 51, they feel dirty and guilty.

Their choices have resulted in a season of spiritual and emotional instability. Their family, friends, and financial state may have also suffered loss because of their sin.

Who is qualified to counsel someone who is broken and suffering due to sin? A pastor is well aware of his sin, just as Paul urges the Corinthians to remember what they were when they were called (1 Cor 1:26). Some were sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers (1 Cor 6:9-10). When Paul shares his testimony in Rom 7:7-12; Gal 1:11-24; Phil 3:3-9; and 1 Tim 1:12-17, he discloses his sinful behavior before Christ. Paul never forgot that he and others (e.g., Stephen in Acts 8:1) suffered because of his sinful choices. As J. Oswald Sanders notes, “Paul spoke of his failures and successes with an openness few of us are prepared to copy.” 2

Sometimes those in need of biblical counsel from a pastor are suffering because of their own sin. They have worshipped and served the creature rather than the

A pastor who is mindful of his own sin and the suffering he has caused is positioned to help those seeking counsel

1 T. Dale Johnson, The Church as a Culture of Care: Finding Hope in Biblical Community (New Growth Press: Greensboro, 2021), 108.

2 J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2007), 63.

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"A PASTOR WHO IS MINDFUL OF HIS OWN SIN AND THE SUFFERING HE HAS CAUSED IS POSITIONED TO HELP THOSE SEEKING COUNSEL IN A SEASON OF SUFFERING FOR SIN."

in a season of suffering for sin. The degree to which a pastor can empathize with a counselee will influence the degree to which he can help the suffering one be made whole. A pastor can create a culture of empathy for suffering sinners by sharing his testimony occasionally while preaching and teaching.3 Prudent authenticity from the pulpit can encourage those needing counsel to come clean and seek help from their pastor and God’s word.

SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS Peter admonishes his readers that they have spent enough time sinning and suffering the consequences of idolatry (1 Pet 4:3, 15). But not all suffering is of the same stock.

Ridicule for the name of Christ is laudable, bringing glory to God (1 Pet 4:14, 16). Sometimes believers suffer because of righteousness. Their testimony ruffles the feathers of their family and friends. Their refusal to compromise standards of righteousness to fit in with their coworkers leads to snickers, jeers, and schemes for their removal. Daniel and his friends were not the last to endure the cunning plans of the wicked. All of that hurts. Believers who have suffered for righteousness can have bouts of depression even though the Spirit ministers to them along the way.

So, they seek counsel from a pastor. Any pastor who is faithful to the Word will at some point suffer for righteousness. Sooner or later in pastoral ministry, the Lord will lead a pastor to step out in faith and reform some aspect of the church. Though a pastor can cite chapter and verse as to why he is leading the church in a different or new direction, some saints may resist his leadership. Others may openly rebel against him. Suffering for righteousness that pastor will know. A pastor can suffer because of opposition

3 Johnson, The Church as a Culture of Care, 149, 154.

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from inside the church and outside. If a pastor takes strong stands against cultural sins—even if he does so with a benevolent attitude—he can suffer the wrath of local media, the business community, and political leaders.

Commenting on Peter’s statements regarding elders in 1 Peter, Sam Storms writes, “The suffering and persecution all believers face (4:12-19) puts a special strain on leaders.

They need to understand what is required of them, especially when the sheep are being harassed.”4 If a pastor’s commitment to righteousness elicits the ire of the church or the world, the church and the world often come after those associated with him. This only compounds a pastor’s suffering. Is not a pastor called to

4 Sam Storms, “1 Peter,” in ESV Expository Commentary, vol. XII, Hebrews-Revelation, eds. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton, Jr., and Jay Sklar (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 354.

love and protect those nearest him? So, in his suffering, a pastor’s grief is compounded. Paul knew this. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is filled with emotional and personal language because the Thessalonians had suffered for believing the gospel Paul preached to them (1 Thess 2:14). Reflecting on Paul’s statement to the Thessalonians, Douglas J. Moo writes, “Paul cites the suffering they are enduring—suffering that marks God’s true people.”5 A pastor who has been at his task for very long will know the emotional hardships that result from a commitment to righteousness. A pastor can thus help believers who suffer because of their allegiance to Christ at home, work, and the community.

5 Douglas J. Moo, A Theology of Paul and His Letters: The Gift of the New Realm in Christ, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, ed. Andreas J. Köstenberger (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021), 92.

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A DISPOSITION SUSTAINED

BY THE SPIRIT A couple of years ago, I had a bout of mild depression. A strained relationship ushered in darkness that would come and go—and when it did, I had to sit down. I talked with some leaders in my church, sought their help and prayer support, and turned to Romans 8. I memorized it. Not because I was planning to quote it in a public forum or for a class but because I wanted to have a defense for when those moments of darkness would appear unannounced.

So, when I read Dale Johnson's comment, “All elders should feel inadequate for the tasks we have been called to perform as shepherds. In ourselves, we do not have what it takes to accomplish the work of the ministry. We are dependent upon the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit,”6 I say Amen—from personal experience.

Congregants suffering the effects of their sin or their commitment to righteousness need the aid of the Spirit. A pastor who has suffered and experienced the help of the Spirit is a mighty tool in the Lord’s hands.

In Romans 8, Paul views Christian suffering within the broader unfolding of God’s historical plan. In Paul’s view, Christians do not suffer alone. Even creation was subjected to futility when Adam and Eve sinned (Rom 8:20, 22). Even creation longs for the day when believers are revealed to be children of God—even though they suffer now as if God had cast them off (Rom 8:21, 36). J. Gary Millar writes that God uses suffering to shape and transform His people, commenting, “Whether this is construed as God’s ‘redeeming’ particularly difficult situations (and suffering for Christ in particular) or ‘disciplining’ his children through the rough and tumble of life in a broken world, the sovereign God uses all things for our good and his glory, as we are remade in Christlikeness.” 7 A pastor who knows the hope the Spirit provides in seasons of suffering knows where to point suffering believers who come to him for counsel. A pastor can share how the Spirit has enabled him to endure (Rom

6 Johnson, The Church as a Culture of Care, 122-23.

7 J. Gary Millar, Changed into His Likeness: A Biblical Theology of Personal Transformation, NSBT 55, ed. D.A. Carson (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2021), 240.

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8:23-25). He can share the confidence he has, knowing that the Spirit is interceding for suffering believers in the presence of the all-knowing God (Rom 8:26-28). A pastor who has viewed his suffering through a trinitarian theological grid can help suffering believers identify how the Lord allows us to see the good He works even in our suffering (Rom 8:28-30).

TODD R. CHIPMAN | Dean of Graduate Studies, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies

Bringing the Whole Counsel to Bear in Biblical Counseling Midwestern Seminary’s biblical counseling program offers undergraduate (B.A.), graduate (M.A.), and post-graduate (Ph.D. and D.Min.) biblical counseling degrees.

These degrees are designed for significant training in the principles and methods of biblical counseling, preparing you for service in a local church, in a biblical counseling center, or in a wider ministry setting. Our goal is to equip ministers and laypersons to minister biblically within their local churches and communities, making the church the first place people go for help, rather than a last resort.

Take the next step.

mbts.edu/counseling

WHOSE

JOB IS SOUL CARE?

by T. D A L E J O H N S O N

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U P P O S E A Y O U N G M A N —let’s call him Sam—came to you because his life had disintegrated. He described a series of sad events that left him desperate. His wife Aisha left him, taking Jerome, their baby boy, with her. He lost his job. He felt all alone in the world and passed his time playing video games and drinking too much.

You know he needs help, but who can help? Are his problems relational? Is his drinking an addiction with a physical basis? Why can’t he hold down a job? Of course, it’s possible that he should see a medical doctor, maybe a lawyer, or even someone to help him find another job, but where should he start?

S TA R T W I T H THE CHURCH God’s Word tells us to start with his church. That’s what this book is about—reclaiming the church as God’s agent to care for the souls of his people—people like Sam and Aisha. The Scripture paints a picture of the world as full of consistently desperate and broken people, who are in constant need of and dependent upon God’s care. The New Testament traces for us how the early church cared for those whose lives were overcome with grief, lust, anger, selfish ambition, and a host of other problems.

Some troubles were caused by personal sin, and others by suffering in a world cursed by sin. Nevertheless, the apostle Paul consistently reminded believers of the benefits of God’s Word, the fellowship of the saints, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit as means of comfort and correction to the weary, wounded, or wayward soul (2 Corinthians 1:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:18).

From its inception, the church has been a constant, although never perfect, haven for the downcast and hurting. For centuries, the church was the first place that people would turn for help with their inner anguish.

Gregory the Great’s The Book of Pastoral Rule encouraged a focus on shepherding and tender care for church leaders in the sixth century. A book compiled by Theodore Tappert, Luther’s Letters of Spiritual Counsel, catalogs several of the constant inquiries Martin Luther received for spiritual counsel and his attempts at biblical soul care.

Luther’s student Martin Bucer wrote the well-known work Concerning the True Care of Souls, in which Bucer used Ezekiel 34 as a model of pastoral care. He assumed that the

responsibility of care was the burden of the church carried primarily by pastors. The Puritans certainly added to the notion that the church, particularly her leaders, were responsible to shepherd the flock of God through their soulish vexations. This is how pastors became known as physicians of the soul.

But today the church is not usually the first place, or even the second place, people turn to for help with their troubles. Sometimes the church is viewed so negatively that it’s not even the last resort. As Jerry Bridges remarked, “There is a crisis of caring in the Church of Jesus Christ today.” 1 There are a variety of reasons for this, including broader cultural shifts and the fact that the church has not always been a good steward of its responsibility to provide soul care. Often, we in the church have ostracized sinners and added to the burdens of sufferers. And yet, God has called the church and equipped her with sufficient resources to care for the sinner and sufferer alike. For these failures, both past and present, we must repent of our blindness and our neglect toward caring for others the way God intended—as his hands and feet.

We also must consider how entrenched modern culture’s assumption is that secular, professionalized counseling provides the template by which all counseling approaches should be measured. The modern secular paradigm has become so dominant that it has often clouded the minds of believers to the vitality of the Scripture and the design of God’s church for the ministry of soul care. Many modern Christians view the paradigm of counseling and soul care from a secular perspective and dismiss the Bible because it does not seem to have an equivalent structure, methods, or techniques that fit the mold of secular counseling models. So, some Christians have neglected the Scriptures altogether for soul care—giving that essential church function to secular professionals. Other Christians, who don’t want to throw the Scripture away entirely, have worked to incorporate the Bible within established secular systems of care. This school of thought, which we will call “integrationism,” often has good intentions, but does not see the primacy of the Bible for soul care. An unintended consequence is the continued professionalism of soul care, the neglect of the Scripture, and the marginalization of the church’s role to care for souls.

1 Jerry Bridges, The Crisis of Caring: Recovering the Meaning of True Fellowship (Philipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1992), 9.

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A DEFINITION OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING AND PURPOSE Unlike secular counseling, biblical counseling doesn’t stand alone. The very name “biblical counseling” points to the truth that, at its core, biblical counseling has no grounding without the Scripture and no authority outside of the church of Jesus Christ. God has given his church the responsibility and calling to minister the Scripture so the broken can be healed and the lost saved. To do the personal ministry work of biblical counseling is to do the mission and ministry of the church.

How do we faithfully respond to God’s call and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, renew the church as a culture of care?

Let’s begin by defining biblical counseling. Biblical counseling, as a modern movement, began more than 50 years ago with the publication of Jay Adams’s seminal work, Competent to Counsel.2 Since then, the biblical counseling movement has continued to grow and is now in its third generation.3 With the growth of any movement, it is always helpful to revisit key tenets. Dr. Samuel Stephens, my colleague at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and I co-wrote the following definition to offer a starting point for understanding biblical counseling’s foundations, parameters, and goals: Biblical counseling is the personal discipleship ministry of God’s people to others under the oversight of God’s church, dependent upon the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Biblical counseling seeks to reorient disordered desires, affections, thoughts, behaviors, and worship toward a God-designed anthropology in an effort to restore people to a right fellowship with God and others. This is accomplished by speaking the truth in love and applying Scripture to the need of the moment by comforting the suffering and calling sinners to repentance, thus working to make them mature as they abide in Jesus Christ.

2 David Powlison, The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2010), 1.

3 Heath Lambert. The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001).

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THE CHURCH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF SOULS Who is responsible for the care of souls? There are a wide variety of approaches to answering this question. We might try to identify who we believe does soul care best.

We may answer based on our experiences and then decide who should be responsible from the data we gather. While this approach may yield valuable insights, it should not be how we, as Christians, engage such a question.

As Christians, our priorities demand that we consider the question from the position of Scripture first. Has God granted one of his ordained institutions the authority and responsibility to provide soul care? As John MacArthur said, “A truly Christian worldview…is one in which the Word of God, rightly understood, is firmly established as both the foundation and the final authority for everything we hold true.”4 Those who do not believe the Bible is God’s revelation will certainly have a different approach to answering this question. Understandably, they begin with a variety of presuppositions that help them create meaning from observable data in the world. For Christians, however, the Scriptures must be the lens through which we see the world. The Bible is not the only place where Christians should seek information, but it must be the first place we go to understand the data we observe and the last place we go to make sense of it in God’s world. Otherwise, the data we observe will be ordered in earthly terms and constructs which will cloud our understanding of people and their problems in God’s world and ultimately send us in the wrong direction to find solutions.

"BIBLICAL COUNSELING IS THE PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRY OF GOD’S PEOPLE TO OTHERS UNDER THE OVERSIGHT OF GOD’S CHURCH, DEPENDENT UPON THE AUTHORITY AND SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S WORD THROUGH THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."

Excerpt adapted from "The Church as a Culture of Care" ©2021 by T. Dale Johnson, Jr, published by New Growth Press.

May not be reproduced without prior written permission.

T. DALE JOHNSON | Director of Counseling Programs and Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

4 John MacArthur, Thinking Biblically!: Recovering a Christian Worldview (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003), 21.

For more information about CENTER FOR BIBLICAL COUNSELING, visit www.mbts.edu/cbc

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HERE TO FIND HOPE IN AN AGE OF CHRONIC

DISCONTENT

by D E A N I N S E R R A

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ATELY, HOME DOESN’T SOUND VERY APPEALING TO TIM ANYMORE. GOING OUT AFTER WORK FOR A DRINK with the office staff went from being an occasional act of bonding with co-workers to a steadily increasing way to avoid a house full of whiny kids and awaiting responsibilities. He especially likes to go out for happy hour when his co-worker Laura is joining the group. She is recently divorced and around a decade younger than Tim. She is everything that his wife, Natalie, used to be when they first got married, especially before kids. Laura is fun, easy going, fit, dresses well, and never seems tired like his wife at home. More than that, she laughs at Tim’s jokes, respects him at work, and makes him feel confident.

Tim is a church-going man and sees his draw to Laura as no more than innocent and fun, nothing out of bounds or inappropriate for a family man like himself. But before long, he’s got a “pep” in his step, someone to impress, and is spending less time at home. Tim makes sure he sees the kids but hardly pays attention to his wife. They do not fight or argue; they simply exist in the daily grind as co-parents and roommates.

When Natalie fails to notice the few pounds he’s lost, he starts to mention Laura at home, citing her as an example of a fun and outgoing person and a perceptive friend. When his wife gets upset that he neglected to do a household chore she’d been asking about, he gets defensive about how she needs to remember her duty to respect him and that at least when he is at work people do not nag him. Feeling insecure already, Natalie begins to get suspicious that something is going on and shares her

fear with Tim, but he lashes out that she is just jealous (or crazy) and that he is allowed to have friends.

His wife is no fool, and sadly she sees that, what started as a connection at work is now the relationship that makes Tim feel young and good-looking again, just like back in his college days. Tim's focus on himself and how Laura makes him feel has made him conclude that this must be what God wants for him. Why would God want him home in a marriage he is no longer excited about, when he can be with Laura, a girl who makes him feel respected, attractive, and excited? Besides, he concludes, Laura is a good Christian woman, and he can still be an involved dad to his kids. They will be better off in the long haul with a dad who is happy and fulfilled, right?

Recently, Tim’s been listening to a sermon podcast from a pastor he heard about on social media who says that God never wants people to settle, but instead to thrive and experience the destiny God designed for them. Prompted by this newfound “destiny,” Tim walks into the room after work one evening and tells his wife he’s been “praying about this,” and believes they would be better off just as friends and parents, not husband and wife. “After all,” Tim says, “I think it is what God would want for both of us, and it will allow you to find someone you deserve, too.”

I wish I could say such scenarios are far-fetched, but there seems to be an epidemic in my community. People are walking away from their marriages, not because

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they failed to learn the other’s love language or did not balance each other out on their enneagram but because the thought of being married to an average man or woman, with average jobs, living in an average house, in an average city, seemed like an unfulfilling and less-thansufficient life. The life God has given you, and (in the case of marriage and parenthood) has directly called you to, becomes a symbol for all that is keeping you from a “truly” fulfilling life. What started out with butterflies ends up with disdain for being trapped with a nice guy who has a “dad bod” or the woman who has “let herself go.”

I know a professing Christian who decided to get divorced because she was about to be 40 and claimed there wasn’t much window left for her to “get back out there” and find that person who will make her happy. Her husband’s crime was being too settled and living a life that had no adventure. I’m not being snarky; those were her words.

Tim Keller writes: In the past every culture assumed that you found truth outside the self, either in God or tradition or some transcendent values, or in the good of your family and community. That meant we had some objective, external norms by which disputes between persons could be adjudicated. Now our culture says we find truth inside ourselves; we are told to “live our truth” and never sacrifice our happiness and inner desires for someone else. To do so is unhealthy at best—oppression at worst.

Marriage, however, requires this kind of mutual sacrifice every single day. So it’s not surprising that both marriage and also child-bearing is in decline in our culture.1

1. Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller, Kathy Keller, “Tim and Kathy Keller on Dating, Marriage, Complementarianism, and Other Small Topics,” The Gospel Coalition, last modified October 24, 2019, accessed March 7, 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ tim-kathy-keller-marriage/.

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While this is not an article on marriage, the effects visible in marriage reveal an underlying problem impacting so many young adults in my city, married or not: in our self-focus, we as a people are chronically discontent.

Social media inundates us with messaging that we should never have to settle. And instead of being a respite from this chaos, the church is too often laying on more of the same. Contentment is a borderline curse word in what I call “pop-Christianity,” because not pursuing or desiring something “better” is seen as settling for less than God’s best. As if we didn’t have enough pressure to measure up to more, now we’ve got spiritual guilt too?

In our self-focus, we as a people are chronically discontent.

Ironically, the discontented life is one that is actually settling for less than God’s best. It is the devil who is called the thief, coming to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). The presence of discontentment in the life of the believer, and convincing us this comes from God-given desires, is part of the strategy he uses to carry out his

"THE PRESENCE OF DISCONTENTMENT IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER, AND CONVINCING US THIS COMES FROM GODGIVEN DESIRES, IS PART OF THE STRATEGY HE USES TO CARRY OUT HIS MISSION OF DESTRUCTION." mission of destruction. Thankfully, there is a much better option for us, as Jesus has life, and has it more abundantly, and this is God’s best. The yellow brick road to God’s best life for us is one of contentment in Christ, obedience to Christ, fulfillment in Christ.

If only we could follow that yellow brick road.

The Apostle Paul gives us the map. Writing from prison and facing great hardship, he wrote, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content —whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:11–13).

Pastor Jason Helopoulos notes that Paul both qualifies this as a “secret” and something he has had to learn. That’s significant! Helopoulos believes that: discontentment may be the greatest trap in our culture. It may be greater than lust, greed, and even lying, because discontentment leads to all

these other sins . . . it feels like the entire world is colluding to stir up discontentment within us. Every billboard, every commercial, every brochure tends to communicate, ‘You deserve and need more.’2 So how do we learn to abide in the secret Paul discovered? The secret to contentment is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ and you struggle with discontentment, chances are you have not been told, have forgotten, or have failed to believe that you don’t have to go around or outside of Christ to find the things you are looking for, such as satisfaction, fulfillment, meaning, purpose, love, belonging, and identity.

DEAN INSERRA | Founding and lead pastor of City Church.

2. Jason Helopoulos, “Contentment in a Discontented World,” guest writer on Kevin Deyoung.org via tgc.org; 07 03 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/ contentment-in-a-discontented-world/

For more information about CITY CHURCH, visit www.citychurchtallahassee.com

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QUESTION AND ANSWER

Center for Biblical Counseling with S A M U E L S T E P H E N S

Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at MBTS and Director of the Training Center Certification for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC)

MBTS What is the overall mission and vision of the Center for Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Seminary?

SAMUEL STEPHENS The mission is three-fold. First, the CBC exists to provide biblical and practical resources to the church relating to counseling and care.

These are sourced from our students in an effort to foster fruitful thinking leading toward equipping and helping Christians engage sufferers and sinners in the church. Secondly, the CBC promotes quality training in biblical counseling that upholds doctrinal integrity, methodological competency, and Christ-like

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compassion in providing biblical solutions for the problems that people face. Lastly, the CBC fosters partnerships with churches around the country in an effort to provide our students with opportunities to put into practice what they have learned about counseling while simultaneously supporting the overall ministry of the host church.

MBTS What degree options are available for those hoping to pursue formal theological training in biblical counseling?

SS A unique characteristic of biblical counseling that distinguishes it from

integrationist or secular counseling models and method is our belief that all Christians are called to counsel. Whether a pastor, professor, auto mechanic, or housewife, we affirm that all conversations between Christians about life problems necessarily involves the task of counseling.

Regardless of the level of desired preparation, MBTS provides the widest range of educational opportunities from the nondegree certificate program focusing on the fundamentals of biblical counseling to graduate degrees like the comprehensive Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling or even professional and research doctoral degrees.

MBTS Practically speaking, what opportunities are available for students and ministry leaders who hope to work in tandem with the Center?

SS Students in our degree programs will have the opportunity to produce helpful articles for the church that will be platformed on our website. In addition to that, the CBC offers free counseling services to the MBTS community, which includes not only students, but their families as well. Our biblical counseling students may apply through the CBC to offer counseling to others under the supervision of one of our faculty members or CBC Fellows. We also

strive to help students with ministry placement after graduation.

MBTS How do the Center for Biblical Counseling and the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) partner to help cultivate a culture of care within our local churches?

SS It all begins with winning the hearts of future pastors and ministry leaders. We hope to cast a strong vision for biblical sufficiency in the area of counseling and care that will become contagious among the MBTS student body.

In order to see cultures of comprehensive care take root in our churches, we must do the

work of convincing pastors and church leaders that counseling first and foremost is Christian ministry. When the lens by which we view counseling and care moves from a therapeutic, clinical, and even secular mindset to one that is deeply rooted in church history, tradition, biblical theology, and Christian discipleship, we will see more and more faithful church members take up the call to counsel God’s Word with competency, effectiveness, and compassion.

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Biblical Counseling and Care Rooted in the Local Church.

T H E C E N T E R F O R B I B L I C A L C O U N S E L I N G AT M I D W E S T E R N exists to provide resources, training, and support in order to promote excellence in biblical care and counseling to those in the local church and the community. Our vision is to see biblical counseling and care rooted in the church by equipping Christians to engage the Scriptures for life and to take up the call to counsel the Word of God effectively, compassionately, and comprehensively.

Our approach is three-fold: Equipping, Engaging, and Encouraging.

LEARN MORE.

cbc.mbts.edu

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Meet

COLLIN COFFEE

M.Div. 2019

It’s no secret: training pastors for local church ministry is the core of our work here at Midwestern Seminary. At every commencement, we have the opportunity to pray over and celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates while sending many of them out, ready to take on the significant task of local church leadership. Collin Coffee is one such graduate.

Originally slated to fill a student pastor position at his church, Collin soon took on the role of lead pastor, an experience that has taught him much in ministry. We are thrilled to feature Collin as this issue’s Alumni Spotlight.

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MBTS Thanks for joining us for this issue, Collin. To help get to know you, tell us about your church and your current role there.

COLLIN Calvary Baptist Church is in Inola, Oklahoma, a rural small town east of Tulsa. I was initially hired as the youth and associate pastor in the Fall of 2020. Not long after I began, our lead pastor was called to another church after 14 years at Calvary. The church called me to make the transition and become the new lead lastor. I have been serving in that role since August 2021.

MBTS What degree program did you complete at MBTS, what seminary experiences equipped you best for your current ministry role, and how did they do so?

COLLIN I completed the standard M.Div. in Spring 2019. Everything I took with Dr. Chipman was excellent.

He is a true pastor-theologian that is passionate about equipping students to use their skills in Greek to craft better sermons and content for the church. Studying the Doctrine of God with Dr. Barrett was formative for me, and I highly recommend every course that Dr. Madsen teaches.

Another experience that prepared me well for pastoral ministry was the time in The Leadership Project, a monthly gathering started by Dr. Charles Smith. Every month, we engaged in a book discussion full of practical advice and dialogue on the topic of taking initiative for the glory of God and the good of others. I also worked for the Institutional Relations Department while at Midwestern and am

thankful to Dr. Allen, Dr. Smith, Dean Bierig, and Dr. Bumpers for the time and wisdom they shared with me over coffee, lunch, and at various seminary functions.

MBTS What has been the most rewarding aspect of pastoral ministry thus far? What has been the most challenging?

COLLIN The answer to both is “people.” God has really blessed me, my wife, Aubrey, and our family by bringing us to Calvary.

By God’s grace, many of the things you try to get people to do at a larger church just happen naturally in a smaller setting. They have been so gracious and welcoming to us, and they really want to be and make disciples of Jesus. But, when you love your people, you are exposed to disappointment at times. Some you want to be more committed to discipleship, and others have stopped coming because of COVID and have not returned. Some people simply attend but resist buying in. Though there can be discouraging aspects, it is encouraging to serve Jesus and not focus purely on results. I am truly blessed when it comes to the members at Calvary. For some, this is the only church their family has ever attended, and they have been serving the whole time they have been here. I am thankful they do not hold my youth and inexperience against me!

MBTS Any recommendations for individuals considering formal ministry training through seminary?

How can one make the most of his/ her experience?

COLLIN Take the dive and study on campus for three–to–four years, then be willing to move out of that seminary town to wherever God calls you. I believe both are important. There are some things that only studying on campus can supply, and it is worth the investment in your future ministry to take full advantage of these opportunities. It is attractive to stay near seminary for many graduates, but the need for qualified pastors is great. There are a lot of small-tomidsize churches out there looking for a shepherd that you could really bless with what you gain from your studies. In some ways, you learn even more from pastoring than you did during your time in seminary.

One final word, if you are going to get the most out of seminary, join a healthy local church and do everything you can to be a faithful, active, serving member that makes disciples. I learned a lot from the pastors and saints at Liberty Baptist Church while we were in Kansas City. A mentor once told me that an essential of pastoral ministry is embracing hidden service. Doing so cultivates the type of humility that sustains the long-serving pastors that I really respect. Staying connected to the local church will keep you from viewing the people you may one day pastor as projects to be completed rather than seeing ministry as the worship-filled vocation to care and shepherd that God wants it to be.

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Wornall Road Baptist Church One of the great advantages of the Midwestern Seminary location in Kansas City is access to a growing number of healthy local churches. Wornall Road Baptist Church has a storied history in our city. In 2006, the church was replanted in partnership with the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. Mark Carrington, the current lead pastor at Wornall, joins us for this issue’s church spotlight.

MBTS Thanks for joining us for this issue, Mark. Could you explain the history behind Wornall Road Baptist Church?

MARK In 1915, John B. Pew and David M. Proctor, the namesake lawyers of the downtown Kansas City law firm, Pew & Proctor, noticed the city moving southward. At that time, there was no Baptist church south of 39th St. and north of Grandview, a Kansas City suburb southwest of downtown.

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CHURCH HIGHLIGHT

They began looking at plans to start a Baptist church in September of 1916 and moved their families to what eventually became the Brookside area of Kansas City. After purchasing a lot, their efforts turned toward building a prospective membership. Pew and Proctor were members of Calvary Baptist Church and attempted to persuade members of Calvary to move south to help with the new church plant. When the U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917, their plans were paused until the end of the war. After the war, Pew and Proctor continued with their original plans. On November 6, 1921, thirty-three people covenanted together to form Wornall Road Baptist Church. In the next few decades WRBC grew to a very large church, with around 600700 people in attendance. In reading the history, and in line with many Baptist churches in the mid-20th century, Wornall Road began approaching ministry more pragmatically, which prompted a slow drift into theological liberalism. In the early 2000s, Wornall Road even employed a universalist pastor! In 2006, Mark Clifton from the North American Mission Board (NAMB) came onboard to help replant the church. That good work continues to this day. We’ve seen slow and steady growth over the last four-and-a-half years. Three books that have shaped the way we minister to one another and to unbelievers are Trellis and the Vine, Compelling Community, and The Gospel Comes with a Housekey.

MBTS What have been a few particularly encouraging aspects of ministry in recent years?

What have has been the most challenging?

MC I have enjoyed seeing the Holy Spirit work in our church through normal, yet supernatural, ways. I have been shaped by the Reformers of the 16th century and their emphasis on letting the Word do the work. We’ve seen God’s Word convert and grow people as it has been taught, prayed, read, sung, and seen through the Lord’s Supper and baptism. Our role as pastors is to equip the saints of the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12). This equipping can feel like it is taking a long time. Now that I have been here for almost five years, I have the privilege of looking back and seeing people converted, discipled, and discipling others. I enjoy equipping the saints to get excited about having an active role in the ministry of the gospel. I am still on a learning curve. I am still “finding my way” as a pastor, which can be frustrating at times.

I am grateful for patient and gracious elders and church

members that bear with me as I continue to learn how to pastor. I am learning to be more like the man in Mark 4 who scatters seed on the ground and then goes to sleep! He sews, goes to sleep, and then God grows the seed. I have too often tried to carry things that are not mine to carry. That can have all sorts of negative effects on me, the church, and my family.

MBTS What connections does WRBC have to the Midwestern Seminary/Spurgeon College community? How do the church and seminary mutually benefit from one another?

MC We have a fair number of Spurgeon College students who attend and a handful of seminary students. The college students bring a lot of zeal, especially zeal for missions and evangelism. As for the seminary students, I’m especially helped by their theological astuteness and knowledge about what’s going on in broader Christendom. I am not very involved with social media or blogs, so if theological debates are brewing about, I rely on our seminary students to inform and even help me think through the latest. We know that many of the seminary students we receive will not be at our church more than a few years. We see our role with them to help the Great Commission, as we, alongside the seminary, help to train young men and women to help fulfill the GC in a variety of ways.

MBTS What should seminary students strive to keep in mind related to local church ministry?

MC The mystery of the gospel is displayed through the local church. God designed that different types of sinners would be saved the same way—through repentance and faith in Christ. Our common salvation showcases the glory of the gospel. Local church ministry can be difficult but also glorious. It is a blessing to give yourself to this role as it will have eternal implications. While you are in seminary, and presumably not yet a pastor, find ways to serve behind the scenes. Offer rides to people who are unable to drive; volunteer in children’s ministry; clean the stalls; wipe down the pews. Get to know other members of the church, not just the pastoral staff. Open up your hearts wide to the people in your church and enjoy this unique season of concentrated learning that God has for you while in seminary.

For more information about WORNALL ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH, visit www.wornallroad.org

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MBTS Clara and Daniel, thank you for joining us for our Student Spotlight. To start off, tell us a bit about the degree program you’re in and how far along in the program you are.

CLARA I am just two semesters away from graduating with my Masters of Divinity. When I moved to Kansas City, I wanted to earn a M.Div. to be equipped as a writer. I love creating content for discipleship and for the church. In addition to pursuing my degree, I am also completing my certification in biblical counseling through Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).

Meet

DANIEL & CLARA

SYLVESTER Midwestern Seminary’s Biblical Counseling program and additional training opportunities through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) add a unique element to campus life in Kansas City.

It is refreshing to be among students who have committed a season of their lives to being equipped to help others via the truth and sufficiency of God’s Word. Daniel and Clara Sylvester are two such students. Daniel and Clara met as students at Midwestern. They were married in 2020 and have been pursuing their degrees along the way.

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DANIEL I am going to graduate with my Master's in Biblical Counseling this May! The MABC has equipped me to be a competent counselor and grow in my understanding of how the gospel is able to speak into and transform every problem we encounter.

MBTS Though more resources have been made available in recent years, many people may not know what makes biblical counseling unique or how it functions within local churches.

What is one thing you would have people know about the importance of biblical counseling and care within the local church?

CLARA Biblical counseling has reminded me that real people have real problems, and the Bible has real, specific, pertinent answers to any season or any sin we could experience.

Caroline Newheiser, a trained biblical counselor, says something along the lines of, “The Bible doesn’t tell us how exactly to change a tire, but it does tell us how to change a tire with patience and self-control.” Biblical counseling isn’t intended to assuage guilt or teach us coping mechanisms but to

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help us experience the true and lasting heart change that comes only from walking by the Spirit.

When practiced within the local church, it becomes an on-ramp for discipleship. Instead of my growth being solely a private pursuit, receiving biblical counsel equips me to actively fight sin instead of passively struggling, and it teaches me to walk with trusted church members, mentors, and pastors. Biblical counseling is a family endeavor.

DANIEL I agree! Biblical counseling is important for every context. The Bible teaches that every Christian is a counselor and that when we step into any context with hurting people, we have the Word of God to split the joint and the marrow and expose the heart of the issue so that we can grow. Biblical counseling is important because Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3 that issues like manipulation, greed, gossip, broken homes and disobedient children, self-love, religious hypocrisy, and more are real problems that will pop up inside the church! So, Paul is calling Timothy to prepare and to not shy away from problems. He’s encouraging Timothy, and us, to use the sufficiency of Scripture as the main power and instructor in how to approach and redeem them.

MBTS How has your time at Midwestern helped shape you both as individuals and with regard to your future plans in ministry? Any specific courses or relationships that have aided you most?

CLARA I often tell people that I moved to Kansas City for

Midwestern, but I will stay in Kansas City because of our church. We attend Cross Fellowship Church in Overland Park, and it has been the best part of our lives here. I’ve never known a deeper community of believers that have walked along every aspect of my life, know the deepest parts of my heart, and have held me accountable for sin in such personal and intimate ways.

Biblical counseling is an intense and intentional form of discipleship, and it is best accomplished and carried out within the body of the local church. We would love to stay here and build a formal counseling ministry at Cross to serve its members and community.

DANIEL Sitting with faculty like Sam Stephens and Rhenn Cherry to walk through specifically difficult counseling cases has transformed my ministry. They have helped me see how moving away from the desire to be a ‘fixer’ and toward the centrality of Christ, the great counselor, completely changes how we view helping others. If I am going into ministry for the rest of my life, I am going to be tired at times. They have helped me see that my strength is depleted more when I am relying on my own strength, skill, or theories rather than the sufficiency and power of the Holy Spirit in counseling. The Word of God is not just sufficient to explain and understand our problems; it also teaches us that the Spirit of God is who creates real change in those we are counseling.

Realizing this has transformed how I understand ministry, and it has made me long to dig my feet in deep with our local church as we encounter every sort of sorrow or pain.

MBTS For prospective students considering a season of formal ministry training, what is one piece of advice you would give?

CLARA You don’t have to have a clear career path or identified vocation to pursue formal training, especially if you’re interested in biblical counseling. Learning how to effectively apply the Word to the deepest hurts of life is such a valuable pursuit and will change everything about your life—your walk with the Lord, your relationship with others, how you handle conflict, endure suffering, and even how you experience joy.

Do not hold back from pursuing opportunities that equip you to rightly handle the Word of God—it will never return void.

DANIEL You are more likely to burn out in ministry if you are only filling your head with knowledge and it is never affecting your heart. If you know a lot about God, but do not apply the truths you learn to your life, then you will struggle in your immaturity and as a minister of the gospel.

So come and learn, but recognize what stirs your heart for Jesus, submit and depend on him while you are in school, and surround yourself with wise counselors who know your heart and press you to daily change to become more like the image of Christ. That being said, do not be afraid of growing tired in your ministry. The gospel provides a road map for how to be content in all things and with joy rather than exasperation. If God has called you to ministry, he will equip you for it.

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Dr. Dale Johnson ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING

T. Dale Johnson, Jr., is the Director of Counseling Programs and Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Johnson also serves as the Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. He regularly travels to speak and is the host of ACBC’s “Truth in Love” podcast. He completed his Ph.D. in Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has authored The Professionalization of Pastoral Care in America, The Church as a Culture of Care, and the forthcoming title, Free to Be the Church: Biblical Counseling and Legal Issues.

MBTS Could you share a bit about your field of study and how you first came to be interested in biblical counseling?

DALE JOHNSON Many years ago, as a sophomore in college, I decided to major in psychology. I believed that God was calling me to serve in pastoral ministry, and I thought studying psychology would help me understand how to help people. But even as a young Christian, I had many reservations about my psychology courses. The theories of Freud, Rogers, and others seemed inconsistent with a

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biblical understanding of people and their problems. The study of psychology was beginning to shape my foundational thinking about humanity, but I struggled to square it with what the Bible clearly taught to be true about people.

During this time, I had a casual lunch meeting with a local pastor.

I had not intended to discuss my concerns with him, but we ended up spending most of our time talking about the psychology courses I was taking. He began to shed light on my experience by explaining how the underlying

ideology and primary tenets of modern psychology were in direct competition with Scripture. He recommended that I read an author named Jay Adams and said that he would be a refreshing voice to a young man like me who wanted to know and understand how to help people from a biblical perspective.

I took his advice and started to read everything that Adams—who most would call the father of biblical counseling—had written. It was like having a light-bulb come on in my head as he defended the place of soul care in the church and the

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primacy of Scripture in that care.

His work articulated many of the concerns I had and also gave me a road map for a truly Christian counseling ministry under the authority of the church, dependent upon the Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit.

MBTS What is the unique contribution of biblical counseling within the life of the local church?

DJ Every aspect of the work of the church is intended to care for souls. Preaching, shepherding, one-anothering, church discipline, missionary proclamation, personal obedience—all are intended to awaken or strengthen the soul to live faithfully and peacefully in a war-torn and sin-cursed world. Counseling is no different.

Counseling is happening all of the time within the church, most often informally. The natural overflow of "one another" ministry is the engagement of more intensive and directive discipleship as acute problems arise within the church body. Naturally, more mature believers will be sought out for help and be watching out for other believers in need.

When a church recognizes its calling and responsibility to counsel, its members and leaders begin to care for and counsel one another. This change, over time, develops a culture of care within the church where it is okay to ask for help, to admit weakness, and where members and pastors look to the Scriptures for help and hope for lasting change. When this type of culture, a culture of care, marks a church, the

church recognizes its neediness and depends upon Christ for true change. This is what the desperate find so attractive about a church family. The church should be a place where the hurting and the broken can find refuge, hope, and love. Biblical counseling fosters a culture of care in a church where the hurting and the broken can find refuge, love, and hope for hope lasting change.

DJ My hope for the biblical counseling programs, in general, is that students would leave their time at Midwestern equipped to minister the Scriptures to hurting people in the churches they serve and attend, and that they would fall deeply in love with the Scriptures themselves and that that love would lead them to trust God’s sufficient Word fully for the issues they encounter in their own lives.

MBTS You carry additional responsibilities as the executive director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors.

How does the work of ACBC intersect with your work here at Midwestern?

As we have more students enter into the latter half of their degree program, approved students will be able to get their supervised counseling hours through the CBC. This provides students with a unique opportunity to receive instruction from our faculty while they counsel. As the program grows, students will be able to serve as counseling interns at churches in the K.C. Metro who have partnered with the CBC.

DJ Midwestern is an ACBC Certified Training Center, which means that students who complete a degree in biblical counseling at Midwestern will have met some or all of the requirements for ACBC certification while pursuing their degree. As I travel to speak, I often encounter students who are interested in pursuing a degree in biblical counseling. I’m able to point them to our degree programs at Midwestern. Since I serve as the director of Counseling Programs, I’m able to give prospective students a good idea of what to expect from the degree programs and explain the benefits of MBTS being a Certified Training Center and having the ACBC offices on campus.

MBTS What are your hopes for the biblical counseling program, in general, and for the Center for Biblical Counseling more specifically?

The CBC will also be able to provide training for churches and church staff who are interested in being equipped to counsel the Scriptures in their churches. The Center’s website will also serve as a hub for content that our students have written during their course work. As the Center continues to grow, we plan to begin hosting an annual lecture series as well.

MBTS Any advice for prospective students considering a season of ministry training in the field of biblical counseling?

Grow deeply in your walk with Christ.

First and foremost, grow deeply in Christ yourself. This is the most

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important piece of advice I can give a prospective student. The habits of personal spiritual growth and Bible reading you develop now will carry over into your studies, should you decide to pursue them. Seminary is a wonderful thing, but do not expect your studies in the classroom to act as some sort of jump start for your devotional life. Your studies will certainly enhance your walk with Christ, if you are a good steward of them, but they won’t magically help you develop a daily walk with Jesus if it is not already there.

The best way to grow as a shepherd of people is to grow into the image of our shepherd, Jesus. Pursue personal holiness and sanctification so that that you see people with the compassion of Christ.

God’s Word rightly and how to keep your own sword sharp.

Pursue ministry in the local church.

The church has been given the responsibility by God to care for the souls of people. True biblical counseling is done under the authority and oversight of a local church. My encouragement to a student who is pursuing training is to find a healthy local church, join it, and serve in any way that you can. Come with a humble heart that desires to learn from the church leaders. Make yourself available, be with God’s people every chance you get, and look for ways to fill in the gaps and minister God’s Word to people. If you do this, you will be an immense blessing to that church and its leaders.

Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

To minister the Scriptures faithfully, you must know your Bible well.

Counseling can expose your lack of knowledge of the Scriptures more than almost anything else.

To be a faithful counselor, pastor, or church member, you need to understand how the Scriptures are put together and how to interpret them correctly, so you teach, counsel, and minister the right truths from the right texts. Ministry is spiritual warfare. Be convinced that the Word is true by your own obedience. Only then can you confidently minister the Word of truth to the broken and destitute.

Your sword must be sharp, and you must be prepared to use it.

Seminary teaches you how to use

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To be a Christian is to love God’s people. Do not set aside this time thinking you will commit to the church later when you lead it. Be an active member serving it in preparation to lead. This will help bring theoretical things you are learning in the classroom to life, and you will see how relevant theology is to the practice of everyday living.

Find opportunities to serve people.

There is no better way to be like Christ than to think of others as more important than ourselves.

Serving demands humility.

Intentionally put yourself in roles of service so that you learn that Christian leadership is simply

humble service for the benefit of others. Cultivate this humble attitude in your heart so that the knowledge you gain in the seminary classroom does not puff up but becomes a catalyst of devoted service to others in the name of our Lord Jesus.

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Allen Addresses Faithful Stewardship in Spring Academic Convocation at Midwestern Seminary

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S

President Jason Allen opened Midwestern Seminary’s spring semester with an Academic Convocation message calling students to faithfully steward all the Lord has entrusted to them.

The service took place in the Daniel Lee Chapel on Jan. 25.

Additionally, one newly elected seminary faculty member, Camden Pulliam, signed the institution’s Articles of Faith during the service.

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With the convocation sermon, Allen began a semesterlong chapel series that will feature Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College faculty preaching through the parables taught by Jesus throughout the Gospel narratives.

Preaching from the “Parable of the Talents” found in Matthew 25:14-30, Allen explained the parable speaks primarily to the issue of stewardship.

“At times, we limit the scope of this parable to comments about financial matters. However, this parable presents for us a broader lesson on stewardship,” Allen said. “Life is stewardship.

Ministry is stewardship.

Leadership is stewardship. We all have a sacred trust.

“Life is short. Time must be stewarded, and it is to be stewarded in a way that is distinctly spiritual, Christian,

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and biblical, not humanistic or material. We are called to have a kingdom mindset, a spiritual stewardship, and a biblical worldview that teaches us how to live, lead, and how to serve in light of eternity, which is set in our hearts.”

In the parable, Jesus describes a wealthy master who goes away for a time, leaving three of his servants in charge of his business affairs. Jesus uses the illustration to teach his followers how to use their time and abilities as they await his return.

From the text, Allen reflected on Jesus’s exhortation to his followers, noting the parable portrays Christ’s followers as “slaves” of Christ who are entrusted with the work of God’s kingdom while Jesus, himself, is away.

“We are slaves of Jesus; we belong to him,” Allen said. “We have no rights, but we have a great responsibility. We have a heightened stewardship as those owned by the King.”

Allen continued, highlighting the servants’ response in the parable as each one is given a different measure of responsibility from the master. The first two servants, Allen observed, fulfilled their responsibilities while the third went his own way, earning the indignation of the master.

“The master represents Jesus while he is away,” Allen said. “The slaves in the parable represent us—waiting, longing, stewarding, and serving. The talent represents all he has entrusted to us individually.

“We have a customized stewardship, and we will be held accountable for our stewardship

“I want to challenge us to view all of life as one of stewardship. ... the gospel, your calling, gifts, time, money, education, and your words–see them all as stewardship.”

— JASON K. ALLEN

of what the Lord has entrusted to us. For those in this room and beyond it listening in, the Lord has entrusted specific gifts, abilities, experience, and opportunities to each of us. We are responsible for them.”

Allen closed the address with several observations and points of application for individuals and the broader Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College community.

“I want to challenge us to view all of life as one of stewardship,” Allen said. “Your treasure— the gospel, your calling, gifts, time, money, education, and your words—see them all as stewardship.”

To Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College students specifically, Allen issued a further challenge to make the most of the time allotted to prepare and train for ministry.

“See your time training for and preparing for ministry as a stewardship,” Allen said. “You are already on the clock. Your stewardship may be taken to a new level after you get your diploma, but it is not suspended while you are here.

“Don’t be insufficiently ambitious; channel your ambition

in God-honoring ways. Don’t under-dignify how God has gifted and equipped you and what he wants to do through you.

“If you aren’t serious about honoring Christ in your life and stewarding your life, this is not the best place to be. Here, the cupboards are filled with worldclass faculty members who love you, give of themselves to you, and are committed to you. If you are nonchalant about the Kingdom of Christ and what he has called us to do, you are not stewarding well all that is available to you.”

Prior to Allen’s message, Camden Pulliam signed the institution’s Articles of Faith.

Pulliam serves as assistant professor of Christian studies and vice president of enrollment management at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary & Spurgeon College. Pulliam holds degrees from Southwest Baptist University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2020, he completed his Ph.D. at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

His dissertation is titled Paternal Pastors: An Evangelical Approach.

Pulliam was elected to the faculty by the Midwestern Seminary Board of Trustees in October 2021.

The seminary’s Articles of Faith consist of the confession of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention, The Baptist Faith & Message 2000, and three institutional guiding documents: the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and the Nashville Statement on biblical sexuality. • To view Allen’s message in full, visit mbts.cc/spring22convocation.

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Historian Thomas S. Kidd Joins Midwestern Seminary Residential Faculty

by M I C A H E L S . B R O O K S

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen has announced that historian Thomas S. Kidd will join Midwestern Seminary’s residential faculty as research professor of church history.

Kidd, who has served as distinguished professor of history and the James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History at Baylor University, joined Midwestern Seminary’s faculty M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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as a visiting professor in 2019. He will transition to the full-time, residential role in fall 2022.

“Tommy Kidd is one of evangelicalism’s leading scholars, a man rich in gifting and academic accomplishment, but still young enough to train a future generation of pastors, ministers, and missionaries for the church,” Allen said. “We’re overjoyed he’ll be doing that with us here at

Midwestern Seminary.

“The most important measurement for the strength of an institution is the caliber of its faculty. When one factors in scholarly accomplishment, devotion to students, Great Commission passion, and commitment to the local church, I believe our faculty is second to none. Praise be to God, who’s given us a collection of such gifted and godly scholars.”

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Allen added that Kidd joining the residential faculty reflects God’s continued blessing on the institution, saying, “God continues to bless Midwestern Seminary on the enrollment and financial fronts. The Kidd family moving to Kansas City to join our work here at Midwestern Seminary is just one more sign of God’s continued favor.”

Kidd noted excitement about his new responsibilities, saying, “I am looking forward to joining Midwestern Seminary’s outstanding faculty, which is unified around its commitments to excellent teaching, scholarship, the church, and the Word of God. I hope to bring a passion for publishing and teaching in church history for the benefit of the pastors and laypeople who study with us. “I especially appreciate the single-minded focus of Midwestern Seminary’s faculty, staff, and administration on the seminary’s ‘For the Church’ vision. I am eager to spend the next stage of my career investing more directly than ever in the life and new leaders of the church.”

Kidd began his teaching career at Baylor in 2002 after completing a Ph.D. in history at the University of Notre Dame, where he worked with historian of religion George Marsden.

He also earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at Clemson University in South Carolina.

As research professor of church history at Midwestern Seminary, Kidd will primarily focus on writing, research, and scholarship in service of both Midwestern Seminary and broader constituencies such as local churches and other academic

outposts. Kidd will also continue leading doctoral seminars and instructing graduate and doctoral students in the discipline of history both in the classroom and in conference settings.

“I would say that Thomas Kidd is the George Marsden of his generation to help quantify what I think of his scholarly work as a Christian historian,” Provost Jason Duesing said. “Yet, Kidd’s helpful assessment of evangelicalism, both advocacy for and critique of, and his sincere commitment to the local church as a Baptist make him more than that. He is the Thomas Kidd of his generation.”

“I hope to bring a passion for publishing and teaching in church history for the benefit of the pastors and laypeople who study with us.”

— THOMAS S. KIDD

In addition to his professorship in history, Kidd served as associate director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor, and he has authored numerous books, including American History, vols. 1 and 2 (B&H Academic, 2019), Who Is an Evangelical? The History of a Movement in Crisis (Yale University Press, 2019), Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father (Yale University Press, 2017), American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths (Yale University Press, 2016), Baptists in America: A History (with Barry Hankins, Oxford University Press, 2015),

George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father (Yale University Press, 2014), Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots (Basic Books, 2011), God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution (Basic Books, 2010), American Christians and Islam (Princeton University Press, 2008), and The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America (Yale University Press, 2007).

Kidd has written for media outlets including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, and he also blogs at “Evangelical History” at The Gospel Coalition website. In the classroom, Kidd teaches courses on colonial America, the American Revolution, and American religious history.

He and his wife, Ruby, have two sons, Jonathan and Joshua.

The Kidds have attended Highland Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, where Tommy has taught Sunday school.

“Thomas Kidd’s commitments to his family, the local church, and scholarship are what make him a wonderful addition to the Midwestern Seminary faculty,” Duesing added. “He is a superb example of a productive scholar of excellence who lives a healthy and vibrant ministry-life balance.

“I am eager for both future pastors and scholars to study with him. I can think of no one else currently writing and researching in American history that would be a better complement to our academic programs and our vision of pursuing scholarship for the church than Dr. Kidd.” •

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Midwestern Seminary Announces Lee & Tammy Roberson Endowed Chair of Church History

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S

During Midwestern Seminary’s fall Board of Trustees meeting, President Jason Allen announced the establishment and funding of the Lee and Tammy Roberson Endowed Chair of Church History.

Lee and Tammy Roberson, who reside in Hobbs, N.M., are owners of business ventures in the oil and gas industry and Roberson Farms, LLC. The Robersons are members of Taylor Memorial Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Hobbs, and Mr. Roberson is entering his seventh year as a Midwestern Seminary trustee.

The church history chair is the seminary’s second endowed faculty chair in Midwestern Seminary’s history. In 2010, Midwestern Seminary and the Missouri Baptist Convention announced the Missouri Baptist Chair of Partnership Missions, later renamed the Gary Taylor Chair of Missions and Evangelism.

“It is increasingly important to be mindful not only of our seminary’s past and present but also its future,” Allen said. “One of the ways we hope to do this is by securing endowed chairs for key professorships in primary disciplines within our curriculum.

“By God’s grace and as a result of a series of conversations over the summer and into the fall, Lee and Tammy Roberson have

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stepped forward to provide key monetary support in the form of an endowment for a chair in church history, now named in their honor. What is more, Lee Roberson saw fit to endow the faculty chair in honor of his mother, Mrs. Margaret McClure, a faithful and exemplary member of

“The study of the Word and the study of church history gives us the knowledge, confidence, and faith to know that the inerrant Word of God is true. The study of church history, and the Word alongside it, are pleasing to God and ensure we can confidently be faithful gospel witnesses to the world.”

— LEE ROBERSON

a Southern Baptist congregation in New Mexico. We are greatly encouraged by the Robersons’ unwavering support and their commitment in their own local

ministry contexts as well as to our institution and Southern Baptists more broadly.”

Lee Roberson, who has served as a seminary trustee since 2014 and currently serves as the board’s chairman, said he holds the administration and faculty of Midwestern Seminary in the highest esteem, and he is eager to see what the future holds for the seminary as more students are trained for gospel ministry.

“Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a place in which the Word of God is held in the highest esteem,” Roberson said. “The study of the Word and the study of church history gives us the knowledge, confidence, and faith to know that the inerrant Word of God is true. The study of church history, and the Word alongside it, are pleasing to God and ensure we can confidently be faithful gospel witnesses to the world.

“Tammy and I are more than pleased and humbled to support the theologians at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary who dedicate their lives to study, teach, preach, and live out the history of the Church in unique ways. We support, care for, and pray for all those serving in Kansas City who are truly for the Church.”

Midwestern Seminary Provost and Professor of Church History,

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Jason Duesing, reflected on the significance of the endowed chair related to Midwestern Seminary’s mission, saying, “It is a joy to see this chair established as it is a statement that emphasizes the DNA of church history studies at Midwestern Seminary.

“The study of church history should be done in service to churches present and churches future, with a view toward those

around the world who do not yet have a church history.”

Allen added the establishment of the church history chair is a hint of things to come at Midwestern Seminary and indicated rigorous theological commitments bolster the endowed positions.

“Our endowed chairs each have robust memorandums of understanding between the institution and those who donate,”

Allen said. “These ‘MOUs’ ensure that all who fill those endowed chairs will remain theologically faithful, thus adding additional doctrinal accountability for the seminary until Jesus returns.”

The first occupant of the Lee and Tammy Roberson Endowed Chair of Church History will be named at a later date. •

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Record Enrollment, Library Dedication, New Missions Program Key Business of MBTS Fall Trustee Meeting

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S ENROLLMENT GROWTH

During his President’s Report, Jason Allen reminded trustees of the current state of theological education and reported record enrollment gains.

In presenting the school’s fall semester enrollment, Allen celebrated another year of enrollment growth,

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noting significant gains at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. He also expressed thankfulness to God for continued enrollment increases, even as the institution has navigated challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We fully understand the environment in which we are operating,” Allen shared. “By God’s

grace, we have weathered many challenges in the past 18 months.

Now, we can look forward to all the Lord will continue doing at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College. We remain grateful, too, for Southern Baptists’ continued trust and support as we press forward for the Church.

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“Over the past academic year, our total headcount reached 4,720 students, compared to 4,374 for the 2019-20 academic year. Our continued focus is on our residential M.Div. degree program, but other avenues of training continue to flourish, including our online and doctoral studies programs.”

In his presidential address, Allen reiterated three critical questions that remain before the seminary. The questions were: 1) How do we maintain continued doctrinal faithfulness in the midst of a rapidly secularizing culture?

2) How do we ensure that we are most effectively carrying out our mission to be for the church?, and 3) How do we ensure that we are an ever-strengthening seminary in the ever-weakening context of theological education?

In answering these questions, Allen pointed to the essential role trustees must play in theologically securing and financially stewarding the seminary for future generations.

LIBRARY DEDICATIONS

The Trustee meeting was highlighted by the formal dedication of Midwestern Seminary’s newly renovated library, named in honor of the seminary’s third president, Dr. Mark T. Coppenger.

The seminary community celebrated the dedication with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony in the library courtyard on Midwestern Seminary’s campus.

“This is a special day in the history of our institution,” Allen said, commemorating the occasion.

“Dr. Coppenger and his wife, Sharon, served faithfully for four years here

at Midwestern Seminary and did so at a critical juncture in the history of our Convention more broadly.

Dr. Coppenger played a pivotal role in repositioning Midwestern Seminary theologically, bringing it into doctrinal alignment with the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. In so doing he added

the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana (1988-1991), and vice president for Convention Relations at the SBC’s Executive Committee (1991-1995). Dr. Coppenger retired from the United States Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Coppenger, who was joined by his wife, and several family

many key faculty members who have been an important part of our work here over the last three decades.

“We are honored to recognize Dr. Coppenger in this way for his years of faithful service and for the courage and commitment to biblical orthodoxy he demonstrated in his role as president at Midwestern Seminary.”

Coppenger served as president at Midwestern Seminary from 1995 to 1999. Before taking on the role at Midwestern, Coppenger taught philosophy at Wheaton College (1975-81). He also served as senior pastor of FBC El Dorado, Arkansas (1983-1988), executive director of

members for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and library renovation unveiling, expressed gratitude for the recognition, reflecting on his experiences serving at Midwestern.

“I’m still astonished that the Lord would save me and use me, but what a privilege it was to serve at Midwestern,” Coppenger said.

“When I first went to seminary, it was like drinking out of a firehose; it was a remarkable experience.

“I pray Midwestern can be like seminary was for me—an indispensable and exhilarating experience for so many. God has been good to us since we served here, and he has been good to

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Midwestern since we left. We are grateful for what the Lord is doing through Midwestern Seminary and the leadership here at Midwestern Seminary.”

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony and Coppenger’s dedicatory prayer, guests were invited to tour the renovated library. The renovation project features expansive changes to the library’s layout, including new library staff offices, faculty offices, conference rooms, and significantly more study space for students.

Additionally, the building’s second floor is home to more faculty office space and study carrels for the seminary’s doctoral students. The third floor will house Midwestern Seminary’s archives.

This fall, several display cases were installed throughout the library’s reading rooms, highlighting the contributions of Midwestern Seminary’s first four presidents, a sampling of the library’s rare book collection, a historical overview of the 1961 “Ralph Elliott-Genesis Controversy,” the seminary’s involvement with international missions’ efforts, and a display of artifacts from the seminary’s William Morton Collection.

GRADUATE-LEVEL MISSIONS PROGRAM APPROVED

A second major item of update was the announcement of a new graduate-level missions program aimed at equipping students desiring to serve in overseas ministry contexts.

The program is conceived as the master’s level equivalent of the FUSION program, a robust missions intensive program offered to undergraduate students through

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Spurgeon College. Like FUSION, the graduate-level iteration will be cohort-based and will feature opportunities for training and mentorship.

Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen said the opportunity to extend Midwestern’s missions training efforts to the graduate level is the culmination of extensive planning and comes at an opportune time.

“Thanks to generous ministry partners, we can move forward with plans to further equip students for faithful work in ministry contexts around the globe,” Allen said. “We are hopeful students will benefit from close proximity to like-minded students in missions cohorts while receiving world-class training through a robust seminary-level curriculum. Due to generous donor support, the missions students will also be eligible for substantial scholarship support.

“Additionally, the investment of faculty members like Dr. Joe Allen and others who have a keen sense for how to pair missions knowledge with on-the-field experience will aid our students in preparing them for effective gospel ministry.”

Midwestern Seminary Provost Jason Duesing added the program positions Midwestern to better partner with the International Mission Board and Southern Baptists more broadly in ongoing ministry efforts overseas.

“There are endless opportunities available for interested men and women to partner with Southern Baptist initiatives to bring the gospel overseas,” Duesing said. “Through this new graduate-level missions initiative, we hope to encourage students to consider career options

for overseas ministry following an extensive short-term experience with Midwestern and the IMB. On the strength of our undergraduate FUSION program, our institution is well-positioned to equip and train master’s-level students for maximal gospel impact, partnering with SBC churches and the IMB, to the ends of the earth.”

Details about Midwestern Seminary’s graduate-level missions’ program, including admissions requirements and program structure, will be available later this fall.

TRUSTEE MEETING BUSINESS

Additional trustee business included the election of two professors to the faculty, the re-election of two professors, the approval of two sabbatical requests, and the reappointment of one faculty member. Trustees also approved an updated campus housing plan, adopted responses to two SBC referrals, and received and reviewed reports on the seminary’s financial position and endowment performance.

In recommendations from the Academic Committee, the trustees elected Jared Bumpers as assistant professor of preaching and ministry and Camden Pulliam as assistant professor of Christian studies.

The committee also re-elected Dale Johnson as associate professor of biblical counseling and Matthew Barrett as associate professor of Christian theology. Professors Dale Johnson and Patrick Schreiner were approved for sabbatical for 2022.

Midwestern Seminary’s Board of Trustees consists of 35 members and meets biannually in October and April. •

Free courses on Scripture, theology, church history and more for you and your church.

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Midwestern Seminary Announces Steve and Mary Dighton Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S

During Midwestern Seminary’s fall Commencement exercises, President Jason Allen announced the establishment and funding of the Steve and Mary Dighton Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry.

Steve Dighton serves as pastor emeritus at Lenexa Baptist Church in Lenexa, Kan., a church he founded 25 years ago and served as senior pastor until

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2015. Dighton previously served congregations in Oklahoma before moving to Lenexa.

The pastoral ministry chair is the third endowed education, institutions have the opportunity to add an endowed professorship, ensuring the longevity of particular endowed faculty chair in Midwestern Seminary’s history.

Last fall, the seminary announced its second endowed chair, the Lee

and Tammy Roberson Endowed Chair of Church History. In 2010, Midwestern Seminary and the Missouri Baptist Convention established the Missouri Baptist Chair of Partnership Missions, later renamed the Gary Taylor Chair of Missions and Evangelism.

“On occasion in higher faculty positions for years to come,” Allen said. “By God’s grace, we are delighted to now add our third

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endowed chair, the second in the past two months at Midwestern Seminary.

“What is more, we are delighted to establish the pastoral ministry chair in honor of Steve and Mary Dighton, a testament to their faithful service at Lenexa Baptist Church for many years and their continual support for the work at Midwestern Seminary.”

Steve Dighton, who delivered Midwestern Seminary’s fall commencement address prior to being recognized, expressed gratitude for the honor and eagerness to see the fruit of the seminary’s continuing efforts to train the next generation of ministry leaders.

“My prayer is that this endowment would help train and instruct a coming generation to properly shepherd the flock of God for the glory of our Savior and the benefit of the local church.”

— STEVE DIGHTON

“Mary and I would like to express our appreciation and delight in having this new pastoral ministry chair established in our name,” Dighton said. “Over my 32 years here in Kansas City, Midwestern Seminary has always been important to me, but especially the last 10 years under Dr. Jason Allen’s presidency.

“My passion has resonated

with his passion, and that is expressed in the seminary’s mission to be ‘for the church.’

Midwestern Seminary has become the seminary I always hoped and prayed it would become.”

Dighton added he is especially grateful for the pastoral ministry focus of the endowed chair, and said he is hopeful for the next generation of ministry leaders who will be equipped through the seminary’s efforts.

“Pastoral ministry has always been my priority in my 40 years of serving the local church,” Dighton said. “So, to be associated with Midwestern Seminary in this way is only fitting. My prayer is that this endowment would help train and instruct a coming generation to properly shepherd the flock of God for the glory of our Savior and the benefit of the local church.”

Allen added that establishing the pastoral ministry chair is a significant step toward having

key academic posts secured for Midwestern Seminary’s future.

Allen also noted robust theological commitments reinforce the endowed positions, helping maintain alignment between the seminary’s academic practices and its vision and mission.

“This is an investment in training generation after generation of gospel servants, those who will equip the church,” Allen said. “The occupant of the Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry will represent, believe, and teach in accordance with all our confessional statements until Jesus returns.

“We are grateful for all the Lord is doing at Midwestern Seminary, and we are eager to continue in our work, training the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders for the church.”

The first occupant of the Steve and Mary Dighton Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry will be named at a later date. •

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Midwestern Journal of Theology’s Fall Edition Released

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S

Midwestern Seminary released its Fall 2021 issue of the Midwestern Journal of Theology on Dec. 3, featuring assorted works from members of the school’s faculty.

The fall edition includes a brief note on the ongoing scholarly work at Midwestern Seminary’s Spurgeon Library and articles addressing theological topics ranging from a biblical theology of global missions, the Apostle Paul’s approach to preaching, salvation and the impeccability of Christ, Christ “becoming poor,” and the interpretive structure of Romans 6:1-14.

The issue’s penultimate article, written by Samuel Parkison, assistant professor of Christian theology at Spurgeon College, offers a theological meditation on the “riches” and “poverty” of 2 Corinthians 8:9. In the article, M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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Parkison argues that in becoming “poor,” Jesus Christ suffered no loss of his eternal richness.

President Jason Allen said of the Journal’s recently-released edition, “This issue of the Midwestern Journal of Theology will benefit many within the theological academy and the church more broadly. Dr. Michael McMullen has done an outstanding job of curating the Fall 2021 issue, and we could not be more thrilled for its publication.”

McMullen, who also serves as professor of church history at Midwestern Seminary, noted his excitement for the fall iteration of the journal, citing the unique opportunity to showcase the scholarly contributions of Midwestern Seminary faculty members.

The MJT’s selections begin with a note from Geoffrey Chang, curator

of the Spurgeon Library and assistant professor of church history and historical theology at Midwestern Seminary, updating readers on recent developments at the Spurgeon Library. Chang’s note details a collection of the famed Baptist preacher’s personal letters, a recent acquisition donated to the library by the late Gary Long, a former pastor in Springfield, Mo. and former president of Particular Baptist Press.

The first essay, entitled “By the Waters of Babylon: Global Missions from Genesis to Revelation,” is from Jason DeRouchie, research professor of Old Testament and biblical theology at Midwestern Seminary. In the piece, DeRouchie traces the theme of evangelistic missions through the entire biblical narrative, from Genesis to Revelation. DeRouchie contends that though Christians live today

in the “kingdom of Babylon,” we are called to participate in the ongoing work of making disciples of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

DeRouchie’s article is followed by a piece from Todd Chipman, entitled “Preaching Paul’s Points: Systemic Functional Linguistics of ἄρα οὖν and Sermon Preparation in Romans.” Chipman serves as dean of graduate studies and assistant professor of biblical studies at Midwestern Seminary. In his essay, Chipman addresses the tendency of preachers to allow their varying life circumstances to influence the interpretation and preaching of biblical passages.

Chipman argues the grammatical and lexical features of biblical texts signal what a preacher’s primary emphasis should be in preaching.

The next essay in the issue is entitled “Ontic Assurance: The Soteriological Significance of Christological Impeccability.” In it, Ronni Kurtz, former assistant professor of Christian studies at Midwestern Seminary, seeks to mend the growing gap in scholarly perception between the “person” and the “work” of Jesus Christ, particularly with regard to salvation. Kurtz employs the doctrine of Christ’s impeccability as a test case for his argument, writing, “The ontic reality of Christ’s impeccability aids the functional work by rooting soteriological assurance in ontological necessity.”

The closing essay, from Rudolph Gonzalez, is entitled “Romans 6:1-14: The Case for a Chiastic Q & A.” Gonzalez, who serves as assistant professor of biblical studies and assistant director of the Spanish Ph.D. program at Midwestern Seminary, offers extended argumentation for a chiastic reading of the Romans passage. According to Gonzalez, the passage reads similar to a question-and-answer session, and the import of one’s conclusion matters for one’s theological interpretation of Paul’s overall message.

In addition to the scholarly articles, readers will find several relevant and thought-provoking book reviews, many of which are written by Midwestern Seminary doctoral students. • Midwestern Seminary’s Journal of Theology is available in print version for subscribers. To subscribe, contact the Academic Office at (816) 414-3745 or Lduarte@mbts.edu.

Additionally, guests may view the issue in its entirety for free on the seminary’s website, www.mbts.edu/journal.

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MBTS Celebrates Fall Graduates; Dighton Encourages Students to Remain Faithful

by M I C H A E L S . B R O O K S

Celebrating graduates amid the Christmas season, the Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College community recognized its students’ hard work, dedication, and perseverance, as the school held its 70th commencement exercises on Dec. 10.

“This is the seventieth commencement exercise in Midwestern Seminary’s history,” said Midwestern President Jason Allen in his opening remarks.

“This is not like an ordinary M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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commencement service; it is a worship service. We are here to celebrate graduates and honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Further, we are a Southern Baptist institution which means we are a confessional institution, committed to our 45,000-plus local congregations. We believe the Bible is the Word of God, we take sound doctrine seriously, and we are committed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission. Echoes

of these commitments are heard throughout our service. That is intentional. We are not reluctant; we do so wholeheartedly.”

During the ceremony, 224 students were conferred degrees and began their ministry service as the next generation of pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders.

Alongside continued growth in the school’s total enrollment, which now exceeds 4,000 students, the number of graduates has also increased. The number of fall graduates in 2021

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is up from the 203 students who graduated this time last year.

Midwestern Seminary also celebrated a noteworthy milestone during the commencement ceremony, as 29 ministry leaders earned their Spanish Language Certificates.

Following his opening remarks, Allen introduced Steve Dighton, founding pastor of Lenexa Baptist Church in Lenexa, Kan., as the ceremony’s guest speaker.

In introducing Dighton, Allen expressed gratefulness for the ongoing investment of time and resources by Steve and his wife, Mary, to Midwestern Seminary.

Dighton based his commencement address to the seminary and college graduates on the Apostle Paul’s charge in 1 Corinthians 4 concerning faithful stewardship in ministry service.

Dighton’s first encouragement from the scriptural text was for

graduates to consider God’s calling on their lives to serve faithfully.

“Paul understood what you must understand,” Dighton said.

“It is enough to be considered as a servant of God. We are not merely professionals or proud of being the most educated man in any room.

Instead, we are servants of God. Is that how you will be remembered?

Is that enough for you?”

Secondly, Dighton encouraged graduates to succeed in their stewardship. “The matter of stewardship is no small matter,” said Dighton. “We will build a reputation on how well we handle what God has entrusted to us.”

Dighton added that the text refers specifically to the ministry leader’s stewardship of the gospel, saying, “We do handle holy things.

We handle the precious and powerful truth of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. What a calling!

Until you walk in humility, devoid

of pride, pretense, and hubris, you will never effectively steward the gospel. Today, we need soberminded, humble servants who can find great delight in diligently doing the work of God.”

“We do handle holy things. We handle the precious and powerful truth of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

What a Calling! Until you walk in humility, devoid of pride, pretense, and hubris, you will never effectively steward the gospel.

— STEVE DIGHTON

Dighton concluded the commencement address urging graduates to remain faithful. “Don’t falter in your faithfulness,” Dighton said. “It is an imperative, a divine decree: wherever God is calling you, you must be found faithful. Before long, you will find yourself in a situation where it will seem easier to quit. I am admonishing you today: don’t do it.”

“At the end of it all,” Dighton added, “the question will be, ‘Were you faithful?’ God is concerned about your faithfulness, and you need to be as well. Consider your calling, succeed in your stewardship, and don’t falter in your faithfulness.” • Dighton’s full commencement address will be available soon online.

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RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Books in Brief New and upcoming releases from the Midwestern Seminary community

LOVE ME ANYWAY: HOW GOD’S PERFECT LOVE FILLS

THE MISSION OF THE TRIUNE GOD:

OUR DEEPEST LONGING

A THEOLOGY OF ACTS

by Jared C. Wilson (Baker Books)

by Patrick Schreiner (Crossway)

50 ETHICAL QUESTIONS:

NO NEUTRAL WORDS:

A THEOLOGY OF ACTS

THE PASTOR’S INVESTMENT

by J. Alan Branch (Lexham Press)

AND STEWARDSHIP OF HIS MOST PRECIOUS AND POWERFUL TOOL

January 4, 2022

by Samuel L. Bierig (Rainer Publishing)

September 21, 2022

January 4, 2022

There may be no more powerful

In The Mission of the Triune God,

questions. What we need is

desire in the human heart than

author Patrick Schreiner argues

guidance to think well. In 50

to be loved. And not just loved,

that Luke’s theology stems from

Ethical Questions, J. Alan Branch

The aim of No Neutral Words is

but loved anyway. In Love Me

the order of his narrative. He

addresses questions about ethics,

to convince you to consider your

Anyway, Jared C. Wilson unpacks

shows how the major themes in

sexuality, marriage and divorce,

“word budget” and show you that

1 Corinthians 13 to show us what

Acts, including the formation of

bioethics, and Christian living.

every single word you speak is an

real unconditional love looks

the church, salvation offered to

Readers will find biblical and

eternal investment in your hearers

like whether you’re in a romantic

all flesh, and the prolific spread

reasonable guidance on their

for either life or death.

relationship or not.

of the gospel, connect. Through

questions. With Branch’s help, you

Schreiner’s clear presentation and

can navigate ethical challenges

helpful graphics, readers follow

with care and conviction.

Christians cannot escape difficult

the early church as it grows “all under the plan of God, centered on King Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit.”

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December 10, 2021

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Cultivating a Gracious Climate in Your Church

by J A R E D C . W I L S O N

GOSPEL-CENTERED RESOURCES

FOR THE CHURCH Recen t artic le s

A message of grace may attract people, but a culture of grace will keep them.

What our churches need, not in exchange for a gospel message but as a witness to it, is a gospeled climate. But how do you get that? How do you develop in your church community a safe space to confess, be broken, and be “not okay”? What are some ways to cultivate a climate of grace in your church?

1. ORDAIN TOTALLY QUALIFIED ELDERS

We often do well to make sure our elders are solid in doctrine and confident in leadership, but too often we let the just-as-important qualifications slide or we skimp over them in assessment.

Many churches fail their communities when they ordain the smartest guys in the building because those smart guys lack in qualities like gentleness, longtemperedness, or in shepherding their families well. Consider candidates who live in open, transparent ways, who distinguish themselves in hospitality and generosity, who have reputations for patience and meekness as much as intelligence and confidence. Examine their families. Do they lead their families graciously? Do their kids seem happy? Are their wives flourishing? There is a reason Paul puts the quality of husbanding and fathering at the top of his list.

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This is one reason I am particularly fond of older men as elders, particularly men with adult or young adult children. A man may have prodigal children in spite of him, of course, not because of him, and so I want to take that into consideration.

But if a man’s children are no longer walking with the Lord, I want to know if it was because they grew up in an undisciplined, ungodly home or an overly disciplined, rigid, authoritarian, graceless home. I am not opposed to younger elders with younger children, of course, or even single elders with none, but older men give you both the benefit of life experience and wisdom, and if they’ve been walking with Jesus for a while, they are often softer in heart than younger men. In short, what you want is not just elders who preach and teach well, but elders who love well, who shepherd well. You don’t want simply ruling elders, but gracious shepherds. Because whatever your elders are, your church will eventually be.

2. GO HARD AFTER DOCTRINAL ARROGANCE.

Most everyone who thinks they are right about a particular theological issue believes they came to it through growing in the Lord, not just reading information. Both the Calvinists and the Arminians in your church think that. Both the premillennialists and the postmillennialists think that.

Most every one of us believes that we came to our particular view in the midst of our spiritual growth. (And we’re all right about that, sort of.)

Thinking this way is only natural.

But the danger in this thinking is equating our particular view with progressive sanctification. Doing so means believing that because I believe ______, I am more sanctified

than you. The reason you don’t yet subscribe to my view on this matter is because you are more immature in your faith. Suddenly we are creating first and second class Christians in the community. And that’s gross.

Gently but firmly rebuke doctrinal arrogance and root it out wherever you find it. Factions develop over devotion to secondary matters quite easily if left unchecked. Be careful in preaching against sin that you don’t have “favorite” sins, pet sins to rail against. People guilty of such sins may be convicted and repent, but more often they do not hear the message of grace when their sin is repeatedly singled out but that your church is a safe place to have any sin but theirs. And there is an inverse danger in having favorite sins to preach against: it implicitly tells people who don’t struggle with that sin that they must be holy because they don’t struggle with it. By singling out certain sins for special treatment, you are helping everybody else embrace the arrogance of the Pharisee in the temple who was proud he wasn’t the tax collector.

Remind your people often that the demons have impeccable theology, that demons can be Calvinists and Arminians, millenniarians and amillenniarians.

3. PREACH A WHOLE GOSPEL AIMED AT HEARTS, AS WELL AS MINDS

Preaching that takes the form more of lectures is great for creating information-glutted minds.

Sometimes. But while every sermon should convey information—it should definitely teach—the purpose of a sermon is not primarily mind-

informing but heart-transforming.

Aim at the heart in two primary ways: 1) proclaim good news, not simply good advice, and 2) exult in your preaching. In other words, don’t just preach the text, as much as you are able, feel it. More often than not, churches don’t become passionate about what their pastors tell them to be passionate about but about what their pastors are evidently passionate about themselves. So if it’s clear from your preaching that what really fires you up is the imperatives of the Scriptures, and not the gospel indicatives, guess what? No matter how many times you tell your church to center on the gospel, they’re going to see that your zeal is reserved for the law.

And as you preach the gospel, preach to both prodigals and older brothers.

Explain how the gospel is opposed to self-righteous religiosity. Entreat both “brothers” to embrace Christ, the legalist as well as the hedonist.

Don’t give the impression that the gospel is just for those obvious sinners, the “lost” people, but for all people, including those in the pews every Sunday.

4. ESTABLISH LIMPING LEADERS

From elders on down, don’t establish any leader who has no record of or reputation for humility. You will want to know if the leader has ever been broken, ever had his legs knocked out from under him. Don’t establish leaders who don’t walk with limps, because they often have no empathy for the broken, the hurting, the abused, or the penitent. Don’t empower any leader who has not confronted and wrestled with his own sin, who doesn’t demonstrate an ongoing humility about his sin

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RESOURCES | FTC.CO

and a grief over it. Leaders who do not personally know the scandal of grace set a climate in a church of gracelessness.

5. PROMOTE HOSPITALITY, SERVICE, AND GENEROSITY

What values, programs, initiatives do I most want to promote? The ones that are most conducive to closeness with each other and outwardness with the community. Church people don’t learn to be gracious with unchurched people if they are never in proximity with them. And often being in the same work environment doesn’t cut it. We want to facilitate and promote opportunities for growth that involve the opening of homes, the active service of people inside the church and out, and the giving away of money and stuff. Lots of things fit these bills, so you can get creative. But when church people spend a lot of time with each other in these sorts of settings—as opposed to simply classroom type settings or the worship service—they get to know each other in ways that build familiarity, empathy, intimacy, etc.

And the same is true of spending time in these settings with unchurched folks, as well. A closed-off, insular, cloistered church is not conducive to a gracious climate. It runs out of air too quickly; people can’t breathe.

6. TAKE IT PERSONALLY

Most importantly, I must be what I want to see. So often as I am checking my church’s pulse—which Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together wisely counsels against doing—I am thinking of all the people who need to get their act together, who need a big dose of humility. We may be right about them, but applying to others first is not the humble impulse of grace

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taken seriously. I need to keep a close watch on my life and doctrine. I need to outdo others in showing honor.

I need to practice confession and repentance. I need to humble myself.

As I am growing intellectually, I need to hold the fruit of the Spirit up to my heart and be fearless and honest about asking, “How am I doing in these areas?” For each of us, a gracious climate begins with us. •

I Will Not Offer the Lord What Costs Me Nothing

JARED C. WILSON is assistant professor

There are several Bible verses that drive my commitment to faithful preaching. They are 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:15, and 2 Timothy 4:2. I regularly share these verses with young preachers when I am asked for a passage of Scripture to encourage them in the work.

But there is another passage that reminds me of my charge to preach the word. I rarely share this verse.

It is not from the "pastorals." For that matter, it is not from the New Testament. It is 2 Samuel 24:24.

But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price.

I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”

David sinned by numbering the fighting men of Israel. It was not wrong that the king took a census of his army. But there was a subtle but great sin behind this census.

Counting the men betrayed the fact that David was not counting on God. The Lord was displeased with David.

And he would punish Israel for David’s sin. But he let David choose the punishment. Three years famine.

Three months of persecution from your enemies. Or three days of pestilence. David responded, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the

of pastoral ministry at Spurgeon College, author in residence at Midwestern Seminary, general editor of For The Church (and co-host of the For The Church Podcast), director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church, and author of numerous books. A frequent preacher and speaker at churches and conferences, you can visit him online at jaredcwilson.com or follow him on twitter @jaredcwilson.

by H . B . C H A R L E S J R .

hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14).

For restoration, the Lord commanded David to offer a sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. In obedience, David asked to buy Araunah’s threshing floor, to build an altar on it. Araunah freely offered the land to the king. But David refused. He insisted on paying for the land, because he could not make an offering that cost him nothing.

Of course, this passage has nothing to do with preaching. Yet it does.

It addresses anything we do for the Lord. We should follow David’s example and never offer to God something that cost us nothing. How much more should cost us to preach the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ?

There are three costs you should pay to honor the Lord in your preaching: THE COST OF PERSONAL CONSECRATION

David prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

This is a good prayer for preachers to offer. But for this prayer to work, you must make both petitions.

The words of your mouth must be acceptable in God’s sight. God is pleased with preaching that has biblical fidelity, sound doctrine, and a Christ-centered focus. But God is also looking at the meditations of your heart. The Lord is not honored by a true word from a false heart.

We must guard our hearts. So that the words of our mouth will be the overflow of our devotion to Christ.

We must guard our life and doctrine.

Pay whatever it costs to preach with a clean conscience, pure heart, and godly motivations.

THE COST OF DILIGENT PREPARATION

Have you heard the one about the preacher who didn’t study? As he stood to preach, he prayed, “Lord, speak to me.” And the Lord did. He said to the preacher, “You should have studied!” Upon hearing that story, I concluded that I don’t want the Lord to talk to me in the pulpit. Get it?

I am convinced that the preachers that make it look easy work hard to do so. They pay the price in the study to be faithful to the text, clear in their presentation, and compelling in their argument.

How long does it take to prepare a sermon? As long as it takes. Get in the seat. Gather your tools. Go to work. And don’t quit until the hard work is done. Think about it. You may leave the pulpit feeling bad that you did not prepare better, but you never leave the pulpit feeling you over-prepared. When you offer God your best work, you will sense his smile on you as you preach.

THE COST OF BELIEVING PRAYER

You have prepared yourself to preach.

And you have prepared the message.

But there is another cost to pray. It is the cost of believing prayer.

In a real sense, the entire message should be an exercise in prayer. Pray before you begin your study. Pray as you study. Pray after you finish the message. Pray over the message. Pray for faithfulness, clarity, authority, passion, wisdom, humility, and freedom as you preach. Pray that those who hear the message will

have receptive hearts and minds.

Pray that the Lord would govern the presentation of the message, even as he has guided the preparation of the message. Pray that you and the congregation will encounter the Christ as you study the word.

When I was a boy, I used to hear preachers say, “Preaching and praying go together. When there is preaching in the pulpit there should be praying in the pews.” I fully agree. But there should also be preaching and praying in the pulpit. Powerful preaching comes from praying preachers. •

H.B. CHARLES JR.

has been the pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida since 2008. Over the course of H.B.’s pastorate, his love for God’s Word, the church, and lost people has resulted in joyfully balancing his pastoral responsibilities with speaking engagements in revivals, conferences, and other church events. He is married to his best friend, Crystal, and they are the proud parents of three children, H.B. Charles III, Natalie Marie and Hailey Breanne. He was a contributor of the Power in the Pulpit, and continues to seek further education to help fulfill his prayerful desire to write and teach alongside his calling to pastoral ministry.

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I Don’t Want To Be A Pastor Anymore

by J E R E M Y B U R R A G E

Twenty-something months into pastoring through this pandemic on a Thursday afternoon I had to reckon with the thought, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” I don’t want to be a pastor anymore.

In 18 years of vocational ministry and nearly eight years as pastor here, there have been times of burnout and leading from a place of emptiness, but this was different. This had been a season where every decision felt like a bad one, and the church seemed divided on every issue imaginable.

I wanted out. If “bearing with one another in love” met “seventy times seven,” I felt like I had reached the tipping point. I was done. It wasn’t one thing in particular. It was the endless drip, drip, drip that had finally worn me down.

I hadn’t been sleeping well. I began to be short with my kids and distant from my wife, and I couldn’t see an end in sight. With the fall approaching and everyone getting back into their routine after summer, this should have been the time when we were ramping things up. But I was drowning and I simply didn’t think I had it in me. I didn’t need anybody’s Jesus jukes or platitudes.

So, I talked to a friend. Then my wife (I know… I should’ve talked to her first. But it’s that kind of constant criticism that led me to this place.

Jenny and I went for a walk. I vented.

She lovingly listened. We got home.

Talked some more. I cried. A lot. I

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didn’t know what to do. I love my church, and I love what God lets me do, but I knew I just couldn’t keep doing what I’ve been doing.

Then came the gracious ultimatum from my wife: “Either you can talk to the elders or I will.” So… I reached out to these faithful brothers that I get to shepherd alongside, told them I was struggling, and asked them to pray for me. They did, and I am so grateful for them. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for God’s grace shown to me through these brothers.

Over the next few days I met with a few of these brothers individually then we met together as a group like we do every Tuesday at 6:15.

I was honest. They let me vent.

They offered encouragement and correction where it was needed. And we prayed. Sometimes it’s in difficult days like those that God reminds me of his faithfulness. Here’s a few lessons I learned: 1. THERE’S STILL WORK TO DO IN MY HEART

My nagging, Narcissistic Messiah Complex still needs to be put to death (among many other besetting sins). Colossians 3:5 reminds us to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” By God’s grace, I’ve come a long way with this, but the Spirit reminded me he has yet to complete the good work he has started in me (Phil. 1:6). And the "know-it-all, please everyone, fix

everything because it all depends on me" nature that shows up sometimes still has a ways to go! But I’m confident, the Spirit will complete that work as well!

2. MY WIFE IS A GRACIOUS GIFT THAT I OFTEN OVERLOOK

In Andrew Peterson’s song, “My One Safe Place” he writes about his wife: “And I know that you’re broken too, but you are a sacrament God has spoken through. He has spoken through you.” This certainly wasn’t the first time God has spoken through Jenny. I know it won’t be the last. But I thank God for the grace He has shown me through my wife over the last 17 years. She really is my safe place.

3. A GRACE-FILLED CHURCH CULTURE SHINES EVEN ON THE DARK DAYS

In a meeting several years ago that was tumultuous, to say the least, our worship pastor, Josh Hilliker said something that has defined us in many ways since that day. In the midst of some tough times, he said, “The gospel frees us to have hard conversations.” Man, has that stuck with me! And I thank God that though our church isn’t perfect, he has shaped us into a people that are free to be transparent. To be honest. To have hard conversations.

When I was struggling with whether or not I had it in me to continue on, I didn’t run from our elders. I ran toward them (with my wife’s nudging, of course). But even that

is a gift. My wife, while I was in despair, loved me and then said without hesitation, call the elders!

I’ve been in churches where that wouldn’t have been the case. But not here. Even though we have a long way to go as a church, God has created a culture where brokenness, transparency, and honesty are welcomed, not shunned. That has been a salve for my weary soul!

Dear pastor, you are not alone! A lot of us are struggling. Some of us have thought seriously about quitting. But don’t give up. The God that began this good work in you is going to complete it! So breathe. It’s all gonna be alright.

And if you’re not a pastor but you are a Christian, check on your pastor. There’s a good chance he’s struggling. He probably needs a little encouragement. Or a lot. Just let him know you love him and appreciate him. It’ll mean the world to him.

I’ll talk to Jenny first next time. •

JEREMY BURRAGE

is lead pastor at Capstone Church in Northport, Alabama. He is married to Jenny and has two children, Hannah and Clark.

God Loves Your Desire for Marriage

You’ve followed every piece of advice in Just Do Something, but risk brings ruin more than rejoicing. You know better than to read God’s providence, but still the question haunts you: Does my desire to get married disappoint God?

by K A D E N C L A S S E N

As if your own doubts weren’t enough, your well-meaning friends offer quick fixes that feel more like subtle rebukes than gentle encouragements. They remind you of the benefits of singleness and the hardships of married life. They quote 1 Corinthians 7 and note how much time you have to serve the Lord. They insist that God takes pleasure in those who are content with their singleness. So you beg God to dampen your desire, hoping that if he won’t grant you marriage, he’ll at least grant you contentment. But he never does. You’ve grown weary of law and long for someone to give you gospel.

We’d had this conversation before, three times in the previous seven months. I knew exactly what he was going to say because I’d heard it before. You did everything right in your pursuit of her. You’re a godly guy. You are not the problem here. Yet somehow not even the encouragement of the man I trust most could stop my tears.

The consistent pattern of rejection was beginning to wear on me.

It still does, even long past that conversation with my mentor.

Getting past a second date—let alone actually winning a girl’s heart—increasingly feels like a distance I’ll never be able to cover.

Insecurities and fears have plagued me. Perhaps I’m just unattractive and no amount of godliness can make up for that. Perhaps I’m single because God is upset with my dream of being a husband.

Perhaps there’s another reason. I’ve stopped asking these questions, though, because I’ve realized that even answers would not change my longing for marriage.

Perhaps this is you. There’s no unrepentant sin in your life, but you still can’t escape the feeling you’re being disciplined. You remain steadfast in prayer because you’re not willing to go around

If this is you, if your longing for marriage feels like something to be fixed more than embraced, if you are desperate for some indication that God is not disappointed in you, if you’ve grown weary of law, let me offer you a release: You can rest.

You can rest because God is pleased with you. And not just with you. He’s pleased with your desire for marriage.

When Adam greets his wife with a love song, God does not condemn him.

When Solomon tells his readers that a wife is a good thing, God does not add an asterisk. When Paul calls marriage a picture of heaven, God does not qualify the line by reminding us that singleness is better. God loves marriage.

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And more than that, God loves you.

He loved you enough to send his Son to die for you to atone for every sin you’ve ever committed. To prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is 100-percent for you. Because of this, there is not a morning you wake up into the condemnation of the Father.

And there is not a night that you lay down into his disappointment. Not a millisecond passes in your day where his smile is not on you.

And this love is for the real you.

The you who wishes you weren’t so romantic. The you who wonders if you’ve exhausted God’s patience by asking yet again for comfort in the latest rejection. The you who is afraid you’ll never be attractive enough. That is the you God loves. That is the you he is pleased with.

So when you come to God asking for a spouse for the sixth time this week, God does not lecture you on how to steward your singleness well.

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He does not pause to listen only after reminding you how content you ought to be. He hears your prayers. He sees your desires. And he loves them.

Rest in this.

Enjoy the desire he has given you.

Let go of the worry that he would be pleased with you if you could just manage to be more content. Set down the burden of trying to earn his approval. Christ has already borne that weight so you don’t have to.

I don’t know your situation. I don’t know if you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve been rejected.

I don’t know if the weight of your singleness feels heavier than anything else in your life. I don’t know if the ill-informed accusation of idolatry has left you feeling condemned or guilty.

But I do know this: God is pleased with your desire for marriage.

So to you who have no answers and see no end in sight, to you who feel overwhelmed with the fear of never

being enough, to you who wonder if the pain of rejection and loneliness will ever end: God sees your desire for marriage.

He sees it when no one else sees it.

And he loves it. •

KADEN CLASSEN is an M.Div. student in Midwestern Seminary’s Accelerate Program and works for MBTS in the Communications Department. He is a member of Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri.

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