A great model for pastors...

Mark Dever has had a great impact on my life and ministry. When I was a Southern Baptist pastor who had come to embrace the Doctrines of Grace I felt incredibly isolated until I stumbled across 9 Marks Ministries around 2000 or 2001. I have also had occasion to visit Capitol Hill Baptist Church on several occasions and been blessed by once dying, now thriving congregation.

Jonathan Leeman, a long-time associate of Mark and editorial director of 9 Marks has written a very helpful piece on Mark's style of leadership. Particularly, Leeman highlights the ways in which Dever shares authority. If you are a pastor, you would do well to carefully read and re-read the piece. Share it with your elders and associate pastors. Find ways to begin implementing at least some of these practices.

Calvinism in the NY Times

You read that right.

Check it out HERE.

The Church by Mark Dever

The first chapter of Mark Dever's important book The Church is available on-line HERE.

"I’m not sure that I know anyone who has read more on ecclesiology, from the whole breadth of Christian tradition, than Mark Dever. So, his exegesis is not done in isolation but in conversation with twenty centuries of Christian thinking. As a Presbyterian, I would encourage non-Baptists and non-Congregationalists to read and engage with Mark's work, not only because it is so well done, biblical, and helpful, but also because of a huge evangelical blind spot the book addresses. Ecclesiology is indisputably one of evangelicalism’s great weaknesses, in part because of subjectivism, individualism, and pragmatism. Mark offers a robust corrective to this, and even where you may disagree you will find yourself edified and instructed. Mark approaches this subject not simply as a skilled historical theologian and systematician, but also as a local church pastor who has fostered a vital and healthy embrace of biblical polity in his own congregation, with happy results. He is no ‘dry-land sailor’ or impractical theoretician but a faithful shepherd. The growth and life and fruitfulness of his flock testify to this."
- Ligon Duncan, Senior minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi

Evangelism, Conversion, and the Local Church

Mark Dever delivered the a helpful message at Boyce College this week. Check it out HERE.

CSM weighs in on the new Calvinism

The Christian Science Monitor recently ran an article that has been getting some attention throughout the blogosphere. It is about the renewed popularity of Calvinism. Of course, this is anything but a new story. Several years ago Christianity Today and many other publications noted the resurgence of Reformed theology. Some have wanted to dismiss this simply as a fad. Certainly there is always the reality of "bandwagonism" with any popular movement. But my experience is that the Reformed resurgence has been primarily driven by two factors: 1) a more careful study of Scripture by a growing number of Christians and 2) a corresponding disgust for the lack of sound doctrine and preaching within evangelicalism.

Of particular interest to me was the article's attention to Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. I admire very much Capitol Hill Baptist and their pastor Mark Dever.

Membership at CHBC isn't for the faint of holy. Classes on theology and Christian history are required before joining. At the "Lord's Supper" once a month, members stand and recite an oath that ties them to one another. In addition to Sunday worship and Wednesday night Bible study, they spend hours each week in small-group study or one-on-one "discipling." They say those sessions – a time for confessions, encouragement, and prayer – are the most challenging and rewarding feature of church life.

"Christian fellowship is so much more than hanging out with friends," says Claudia Anderson, a magazine editor. "It involves spiritual intimacy, support, learning, counseling, and stunning acts of kindness."

Christopher Brown, a lawyer, concurs. "I came for the theology but stayed for the community," he says. "As Americans, we're so individualistic. But the New Testament rebukes this 'rugged individualism.' We're not saved to be lone rangers."

The BlackBerry-wielding Millennials who worship here say they crave teaching that challenges them – "preaching for PhDs," as one puts it. Ask them what books they're reading, and they won't mention "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." They'll reel through names of 17th-century Puritan preachers like a pack of baseball cards...

At CHBC, several members say they became authentically Christian only after a friend studied the gospel with them verse by verse. "As I studied the Bible, I saw that God has every reason to send me to hell," says Connie Brown, a kindergarten teacher. "God broke me down – and renewed my heart."

New Calvinists talk about their sin a lot. Despite that – or rather because of it – they exude not guilt but great joy. Their explanation: If we play down our sinfulness, we'll play down our gratitude for the magnitude of God's love and forgiveness.

Many members were drawn to CHBC precisely because they had yearned to be "convicted of their sin" again and grown frustrated with "watered-down preaching." School vice principal Jessica Sandle says she came after the pastor at her former church read a book on growth and became consumed with filling pews. "So he stopped talking about sin, and why we need God," she says.

The article concludes with some less than illuminating thoughts from Phyllis Tickle, a leader in the emergent church movement.

Carl Trueman has posted an appropriate response to Miss Tickle's historical revisionism.

Congratulations Mark Dever on 15 years at Capitol Hill!

Mark Dever is a hero to me. He is the kind of pastor I aspire to be. The video below is a surprise celebration hosted by his church to mark his 15th year as pastor.

The men gathering across the front of the stage midway through the video are men mark has mentored who are now patoring churches overseas.



The following is taken from a deeply moving testimony written by a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church:

it dawned on me, in God's loving providence, that God reserved my life's MOST challenging experiences for when i would be sitting in a church that has continued to sustain me. i wish there were words for all that i feel for this body of Christ. for these friends. for this unbelievable example of Love and Unity i share with these 600 people. i had no idea church could be like this...

this church isn't a club...or a place where we gather to hang out with people who are JUST like us. where we can find a common bond...or build relationships on human, earthly commonalities.

this isn't a shopping center where we can go and pick up something that serves our purpose. and this certainly isn't a place where we all gather for an emotional experience that provides warm fuzzies for our egos.

conversely, church for me can be painful at times...and that's ok. it's refining. it's clear. it's sharp. and it takes me from a place of comfort, into a place where i recognize i need something infinitely bigger than myself, or all this world can provide.

i say all of this, because our dear shepherd and tireless pastor, Mark Dever, has been leading our congregation for 15 years! and tonight we held a TOP SECRET surprise celebration for him, which was more meaningful than i even expected.

Read the entire post HERE.

Mark Dever on Preaching

The following is Mark Dever's message from the God Exposed Conference at Southeastern Baptist Seminary. Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. is one of my heros. When I was a new and terribly green pastor of a new Southern Baptist Church it was Dever and IX Marks Ministries that let me know that it was possible for the church to be committed to evangelism and doctrine, growth and biblical fidelity.

Desiring God Pastor's Conference

Check out the audio of this year's Desiring God Pastor's Conference by clicking HERE.