2013 Ministerial Conference
This afternoon I returned from a refreshing couple of days with colleagues at a retreat a couple of hours north of here. Most of the brothers in attendance were CanRC, but we also enjoyed the company of a URC missionary and a pastor from the Reformed Church of Quebec (ERQ). We heard presentations on the following topics:
American Revivalism (presented by yours truly)
The Pastor’s Role When a Parishioner Dies (Garnet van Popta)
The Homosexual in the Church (Rev. J. DeGelder)
Hemorrhaging Members to Credo-baptist Churches (Rev. E. Kampen)
The Book of Jeremiah as Decalogical Lawsuit (Dr. J. Smith)
It was a good range of topics and the presentations were followed by some lively discussions. The highlight for me was the last presentation by Dr. Smith. In this thought-provoking paper, he proposed that the book of Jeremiah is structured along the lines of the Ten Commandments.
One of the regular features of these conferences is the sharing of good books. Let me pass on to you the titles mentioned by me and my colleagues at the conference:
Abraham Kuyper:Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat, James Bratt
Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, J. I. Packer and Gary Parrett
The Anglican Agenda series of booklets
Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry, Paul David Tripp
Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ, Russell Moore
Finishing Well to the Glory of God: Strategies from a Christian Physician, John Dunlop
Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will, Kevin DeYoung and Joshua Harris
