First Evangelical Free Church Sioux City, Iowa

Desiring God Pastor’s Conference

I was privileged to attend the Desiring God Pastor's Conference in Minneapolis, MN over the past week alongside one of our overseers. It was a wonderful time of hearing and learning from other men of God on the topic of "God, Manhood, and Ministry." I took a few notes during the sessions and wanted to share some select quotes with all of you which I found to be helpful or challenging:

1 )  "If you want your kids to give away their heart [to God] then you must show them how by doing it yourself." -Pastor Douglas Wilson, speaking on how to raise up your children with a vibrant and healthy faith.

2 ) The idea of headship (and the consequent idea of submission) has been taken to unhelpful extremes in the church. "The issue in headship isn't necessarily related to gender," said Wilson, referencing how Christ relates to God. Similarly, "Submission isn't about disrespect or lack of value," again referencing how Christ submitted to God. Instead, Wilson argued, we would be wise to realize that "Biblical headship is bleeding sacrifice... The application then is that men are called to provide and protect... A man is to be a fortress for his family. This is exactly what Adam did not do when the serpent tempted Eve." Or, to cast the whole debate in a different light: "Men, your authority is a gift to others, not a gift to you."

3 ) Speaking of setting an appropriate balance in the home between what is prohibited (i.e. parents saying "no") and what is encouraged, Wilson observed that "The Garden of Eden was a world primarily of 'yes' with only one 'no.' Do our homes have any relation to this balance?" (As an editorial sidenote, don't take this out of context - Wilson's point is that we should be encouraging out children to live with wide-eyed wonder at all that God has provided for them while at the same time respecting and obeying what God has commanded of them which their parents are responsible for teaching)

4 ) "You are called to have a home of grace regardless of whether your kids are 'good' or 'bad'." Wilson made this excellent point when he was asked by a parent about what to do with children who are difficult. His wise reply indicates that our parenting is answerable to God - there aren't escape clauses stating that we get out of our responsibilities when our kids don't behave like we would want them to. Regardless of their actions, we are in control of our own actions.

5 ) Pastor Crawford Loritts noted that "manhood must be engraved into your boys." This is to be done by showing them that a "real man embraces obligation and responsibility."

6 ) Another helpful comment by Pastor Loritts: "Your children need you [their father] more than they need you to work for more square footage in the home." The point is simply this: if the choice is between providing "better" for your kids or actually being there with them, the second should always win out even if it means you make do with a little less.

7 ) Pastor Darren Patrick had this wonderful quote that every Christian needs to understand: "Struggle in life isn't a sign of God's absence, but instead it is a sign of God's presence." Why would he say this? Because "spiritual fruit grows painfully - this is the truth of Christianity."

8 ) One closing quote from Ramez Atallah of the Egyptian Bible Society: "Western countries may actually be more hostile to Christianity than muslim nations because there are fewer religious similarities in western countries." By this Atallah means that at least there is a basic religious underpining in muslim nations. Granted, that underpining is not God honoring, but it creates a national conversation that allows folks to speak more openly about their faith than is common in most western countries.

For anyone who is interested in listening to the sessions, they have been posted online (both audio and video) here.