Making Disciples: Purposing Reproduction and Practicing Replication
Pastor Bob Selph of Grace Baptist Church in Taylors SC gave two lectures on the subject of “making disciples” for our course on Church Ministry. In the first lecture entitled “Purposing Reproduction,” Bob discusses the biblical basis and importance of discipleship as a vital facet of the church’s ministry. He focuses on the practical ways in which the pastor and church members may disciple one another in his second lecture entitled ”Practicing Replication.” If you’re a church leader and are seeking to equip the saints for works of ministry as well as training future gospel laborers, I heartily commend these lectures. Read more 
Our Church’s Journey in Evangelism – Gary Hendrix
Our recent module on church ministry included an emphasis on evangelistic outreach. We invited Pastor Gary Hendrix, who has over 30 years of pastoral experience, to address the topic and to share with our students his church’s journey in evangelism. In this lecture Pastor Hendrix emphasizes the importance of pastors training and mobilizing their people to engage the lost with the gospel in ways that are appropriate to their gifts, maturity, and the providential opportunities God has placed before them. If you want your church ministry to cultivate an outward focus, I highly recommend the free video message below. Read more
The Three Dimensional Church – Ted Christman
Reformed Baptist Seminary invited Pastor Ted Christian to serve as one of five lecturers for its recent module on Church Ministry. In the lecture below Ted explains how the church’s vision, mission, and strategy are grounded in its identity. Moreover, he argues that the church’s identity also constrains a three dimensional focus that is upward (worshiping God), inward (building up one another), and outward (ministering to the lost). Read more
2013 Summer Module: Doctrine of the Church
Grace Baptist Church of Taylors, South Carolina will host RBS’s 2013 summer module on The Doctrine of the Church on the week of August 24 thru 30. Pastor Gregory Nichols (M.Div.), who serves as a professor of systematic theology for RBS, will deliver 30 lectures in which he will expound universal church principles as well as local church polity. Read more
Worship & Music: A Theology – Matt Foreman
It’s not a secret that the great Reformer Martin Luther loved music and believed it played an important part in worship. “Next to the Word of God,” writes Luther, “the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” Indeed, Luther goes on to assert that “a person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs” (!). Though perhaps his language is a bit strong, Luther’s point is valid. As images of God we’re hardwired to love what God loves, and God loves music. Read more
Technology & Church Ministry: Free Video Lectures
For the recent winter module on Church Ministry, I was tasked with lecturing on the topic of “technology and church ministry.” In the first lecture I attempt to provide a biblical and theological framework for understanding technology and its relation both to culture and also to the church. Then, in the second lecture, I survey various modern technologies used to facilitate ministry outreach, discipleship, community, and worship today. Along the way I try to highlight the benefits as well as the drawbacks of some of these technologies. Read more
Don’t Be Hasty: Dealing with Apparent Discrepancies in the Old Testament
Certain accounts in the Old Testament provide data that seem to contradict data found in other parts of the Scriptures. Bible critics frequently cite these apparent discrepancies in their argument against viewing the Old Testament as God’s inspired and inerrant word. Some evangelical Bible scholars affirm that discrepancies really exist but argue that their presence need not undermine our faith in the Bible as God’s word. Others, however, insist that such discrepancies are not real but only apparent. Read more
Molehills, Not Mountains: Resolving Some Tensions in the Old Testament
Certain statements, principles, and teachings in the Old Testament seem, at first glance, to contradict other data within the same Scriptures. How should we view such “tensions”? Peter Enns, a contemporary Bible scholar, believes these tensions are real and irreconcilable. They serve as evidence, argues Enns, of the human side or “messiness” of the Old Testament. But, as Gregory Beale notes, Enns’ approach makes “diverse molehills into irreconcilable hermeneutical mountains.” Read more
Pastoral Theology: Free Video Lectures!
Earlier this year, Reformed Baptist Seminary invited Pastors Bob Selph, Tom Ascol, Gary Hendrix, and Donny Martin to lecture on various topics related to pastoral theology. These four men combined represent over 125 years of ministry experience and addressed topics like “Shepherding the Flock,” “Christ as the Pastor’s Center,” “The Pastor with the Lord’s Army,” and “The Preeminence of Grace in Pastoral Ministry.” We also invited Dr Mark Ward Jr to address the benefits and dangers of technology in a two-part series, which he entitled, “Technology Giveth, Technology Taketh Away.” Read more
Christ as the Pastor’s Center – Tom Ascol
Every serious-minded pastors desires to have a Christ-centered ministry. But what precisely does it mean to have a ministry where Christ is the central theme of our preaching and controlling paradigm of our shepherding? This is the question Dr Tom Ascol attempts to address as he discusses how Jesus Christ should shape the pastor’s ministry. Read more
