Pastor Blake Hickman of Providence Baptist Church kicked-us off this morning by reiterating the three-things the conference hosts hope to accomplish today. 1. That we will make “much of Him.” 2. That the gospel of Christ and its rich provisions will once again be proclaimed as our only hope. 3. That pastors and church leaders will be inspired to do ministry “on His terms”. We then enjoyed a wonderful time of worship through singing led by Daniel Renstrom. We sang Not to Us, Beautiful One, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Come Thou Fount, and Here I Am to Worship. After that, Leon Tucker, … [Read more...] about reThink Conference – Session I – Leon Tucker
Interview with Steve Wright: Part 2 of 2
[This is part 2 of a two-part interview with Pastor Steve Wright. Part 1 can be found here.] ALEX: You've been in youth ministry for over 20 years. How has it changed during that time? STEVE: Unfortunately I see student ministry heading in a very dangerous direction. Many of us got caught up on the “bigger is better” treadmill. Bigger budgets, bigger programs, bigger personalities. We believed we could entertain students all the way to the cross. While I would have never confessed it early in my ministry, I was literally trying to prop up the gospel with gimmicks, giveaways, and all the … [Read more...] about Interview with Steve Wright: Part 2 of 2
Interview with Steve Wright: Part 1 of 2
In my last post, I introduced Steve Wright and his book reThink: Decide for Yourself - is Student Ministry Working? Steve's book is the basis of a one-day Conference at Providence Baptist Church. What follows is the first installment of a two-part interview with Pastor Steve. ALEX: Please tell us a bit about how God saved you. STEVE: I met Christ as a 10th grader at a little country church in north Georgia. My grandmother who was a committed Christ-follower passed away a few weeks before I was invited to go to a revival by a neighbor. Before this time, I had never thought much of death and … [Read more...] about Interview with Steve Wright: Part 1 of 2
Steve Wright – reThink Conference
Over the last year or so I've had the pleasure of getting to know Steve Wright. Active in youth ministry for over twenty years, Steve currently serves as Pastor of Student Ministries at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. Last year he published a book entitled reThink: Decide for Yourself - is Student Ministry Working?. Having come to faith in the context of a high school youth ministry, but aware that many such individuals abandon Christianity during the college years, I read Steve's book with great interest. I found it to be extremely insightful, biblical, and balanced. Wright … [Read more...] about Steve Wright – reThink Conference
Young, Restless, &…Emergent or Reformed?
Two books appeared in March 2008 that both claimed to address movements that are attracting younger generations of Christians, while shaking up institutions, denominations, and churches along the way. The books are Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists by Collin Hansen and The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones. Hansen is an editor-at-large for Christianity Today and Jones is the national coordinator of Emergent Village. I am several chapters through Hansen's book and am finding it to be excellent (but you may have already … [Read more...] about Young, Restless, &…Emergent or Reformed?
Responsibility, Liberty, and Educational Options
Gregg Harris offers some wise words on Christians and educational options. "Educational choices have always been a matter of parental responsibility, not of some extra-biblical standard. Every householder should make an informed decision before God. All should research their local schools, public and private and become fully convinced in the way in which he (or she) decides to use his God-given liberty under the Lordship of Christ to bear the best and most abundant fruit he can for the glory of God.....I can honestly say that every option, including home schooling has its problems (as you … [Read more...] about Responsibility, Liberty, and Educational Options