We're getting ready for one of the most unique and engaging conferences we've ever done. The Exchange conference will take place in San Diego June 17-18.

Speakers

Mark Driscoll
Peter Jones
Francis Chan
Kevin DeYoung
and more (full list here)

How you can help:

• Tell your friends in the area on Facebook or email
• Sign up to get postcards and flyers to hand out at a Southern California church
• Download this PowerPoint slide to help promote the event at your church

Exchange Conference

June 17-18, San Diego: A conference about identifying the Truth and the Lie of life. Learn more.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can’t see the video.

How can you know if you’re called to plant a church? Called to preach? Called at all? The Seattle Boot Camp in March 2009 welcomed speakers from all over the world to weigh in on the topic of calling, including PJ Smyth of GodFirst Church Johannesburg. Get all the audio and video at the links below.

Session 1: The Calling of the Planter – Mark Driscoll

• Audio
• Video

Session 2: Great Commision Call to Plant Churches – Scott Thomas

• Audio
• Video

Session 3: The Call to Preach – Matt Chandler

• Audio
• Video

Session 4: The Call to Proclaim the Gospel – PJ Smyth

• Audio
• Video

Session 5: Your Vision is Too Small – Dave Bruskas

• Audio
• Video

Session 6: The Call to Endure – Mark Driscoll

• Audio
• Video

Also from Seattle Boot Camp 2009, check out Seven Seasons of a Church Planter Part 1 and Part 2 with Hunter Beaumont (Lead Pastor of Fellowship Denver and Resurgence contributor), and Russ McKendry (Lead Pastor of L2 Church, Denver).

Rain City Hymnal

A fresh approach to 12 ancient hymns. Listen online and get the album from Re:Sound. Find out more.

Pastors are called to love, serve, and lead through the opportunities that lay in front of us. With so many paths to choose—and with opposition at every turn—every day becomes a complicated exercise in wisdom and discernment.


Go Ask God


Overwhelmed with the never-ending list of things I could do, I find myself often praying Solomon’s words in 1 Kings 3:8–10:

And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?

And also James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives 
generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”


Be Desperate


If a ministry leader—or any Christian, for that matter—doesn’t find themselves in desperate 
need of God’s wisdom and discernment, I’d be really concerned. No human can wade through the opportunities in front of him or her without God’s wisdom. When we try, that’s usually when our proud hearts fall.

What Would Jesus Not Do?

When reading the Gospels I’m stunned at Jesus’ ability to listen to the Holy Spirit and wisely and perfectly say “no” to some needs and “yes” to others.

For instance, in Luke 4:42-44, Jesus clearly understands his call and the need to continue moving and preaching throughout all of Judea. He could have stayed there in Capernaum, set up shop, and spent the rest of his ministry helping and healing those who came to him. But he didn’t. Through wisdom he said “no” despite a long line of needy people pursuing him.

How desperately we need the same attentive heart to the Holy Spirit’s leading and the wisdom to say no when that’s the right answer, even though it may ruffle some feathers.

Jamie Munson is the Lead Pastor of Mars Hill Church. You can connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.

Religion Saves

Pastor Mark answers the top nine most-asked questions in Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. Find out more.

Are you building the Kingdom of God or are you building your own Empire?

The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church, saying he had received reports of divisions among them. “What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:12-13)

Followers Want a Hero to Worship

While Paul specifically addresses the factions and quarrels roiling the Corinthian church, implicit in the “I follow Apollos” and “I follow Cephas” charge is the tendency of some people to derive identity, sustenance, and life itself from obeisance to a leader. Following well is what followers should do, and giving honor to one’s teachers is biblical, but what is godly about hero worship?

Leaders can’t help that sin manifests itself through some people putting mere images of God on pedestals. It’s not the sin of good leaders but the sin of the idolatrous followers that pedestalizes mere humans.

That’s all on the demand-side.

Our Empire or Christ’s Kingdom?

The supply-side of the same problem is the temptation that leaders experience to create personal or corporate Empires. The Empire can be the organization or the part of an organization that one leads, or the Empire can literally be a cult of personality that a leader creates and fosters. While the supply-side problem of Empire-building occurs in any arena of human endeavor, this problem looks particularly grotesque when we recognize our imperial labors done in the name of Christ’s Kingdom.

But how could we not pervert the calling of Christ’s Kingdom? We sin. Our hearts are idol factories (Calvin, Institutes, 1.11.8). We pervert everything else we touch, so how would we not, at least in part, turn Christ’s Kingdom into personal Empire? If the telos of our call is to glorify God by building his Kingdom, the means for obeying that call can become, unwittingly, means of disobedience.

Hijacking God’s Gifts for Empire-Building

As Pastor Mark Driscoll taught in his message at the Advance 09 conference, the essence of idolatry is this: take a good thing, make it an ultimate thing, and that’s a bad thing. Our various specific callings within the call to build the Kingdom are good things that require all sorts of specific actions to fulfill the callings. Your special talent and mine? Perverting those good actions, hijacking the means intended for the Kingdom and diverting them into means of Empire.

Repent, Believe, Obey

I spend a lot of time trying to build an Empire, Docent, in the name of the Kingdom of God. My failures in this regard prove that one doesn’t have to have a reputation or lead a large organization. All that is required is a heart that longs for significance found anywhere but in Jesus. So I repent, believe the gospel, and seek by the Spirit’s power to follow Christ again in Kingdom-building. Over and over I repeat this three-fold gospel rhythm of repent, believe, obey.

With renewed recognition of the gospel, knowing that Jesus has already redeemed your sin of Empire-building, and has already made you righteous—knowing that you’re not under condemnation—would you ask yourself this question? Better yet, ask your spouse, your close friends, your colleagues to ask you this question:

Are you doing what you’re doing for your Empire or for the Kingdom of God?

Pastor Dad

Every dad is a pastor. The important thing is that he cares for his flock well. Pastor Mark Driscoll's new eBook offers spiritual insights on fatherhood. Get it here.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

Lots of pastors and teachers today agree with everything orthodox, but what plays on Sundays? Michael Horton says to get serious about knowing what you believe and why you believe it.

In this interview series, Mars Hill PR Director Nick Bogardus interviews Dr. Michael Horton. For more information and resources from Dr. Horton, check out White Horse Inn.

Exchange Conference

June 17-18, San Diego: A conference about identifying the Truth and the Lie of life. Learn more.