Last year I posted a series of interviews under the banner of Meet the Ministries. It was a means of introducing you to some of the great ministries that serve the church today. You got to meet Grace to You, Desiring God, Acts 29, Peacemaker Ministries, CCEF and Truth for Life. I am continuing that series this fall with another set of interviews. It began with Eternal Perspective Ministries and now turns to Ligonier Ministries. I interviewed Chris Larson who serves as Ligonier’s Executive Vice President.

How and when did Ligonier Ministries begin?
To answer these two questions well requires a little history. Ligonier Ministries began in the fall of 1971 (so in 2011 we turn 40). Dr. Sproul was approached by a group of Christians in the Pittsburgh area about starting a study center for Christian learning and discipleship in the hills of western PA. He consulted with Francis Schaeffer at the time about L'Abri, and Dr. Schaeffer encouraged RC to do it and believed it would be helpful for the church. This new outreach appealed to RC for a number of reasons, but largely because of his interest in communicating theology in practical terms to the layperson. After stints teaching in colleges and seminaries, he found the most joy in seeing the average churchgoer come alive when they grasped the things of God. Remember that the zeitgeist of the 1960s had introduced rampant relativism, in effect accelerating the secularization of culture and liberalism in the church. Thus, Ligonier Valley Study Center was born as a place to equip Christians to be articulate and effective in their defense of classical Christianity. And hundreds of students came to live and learn among the Sprouls and other teachers. It was there that the first talks on The Holiness of God were delivered.

I would call that Ligonier 1.0, because it quickly became apparent that the Lord had more in mind for the teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul. As he taught, new forms of media and communication were rapidly developing. While the ministry's use of radio was still a few years away, the rise of "radical" new technologies such as audio cassettes and Beta/VHS presented the ministry with a whole new audience beyond the confines of the study center.

Students studied resources delivered by the mail, and the growth was explosive. Adding to the growing national following was the birth of Tabletalk magazine in 1977. The distance learning aspect of Ligonier quickly eclipsed the regional campus, so in the early '80s, Ligonier relocated to Orlando to accommodate the growth. We did this all while Dr. Sproul continued to pour his academic life into students through service at the seminary level. In 1985, The Holiness of God was published, followed by Chosen By God in 1986. Nineteen eighty-eight saw our first national Reformed theology conference. And the pace of growth kept going throughout the '90s into the present. In 1994, we began our international radio broadcast, Renewing Your Mind. In 1995, The Reformation Study Bible was first published, originally as the New Geneva Study Bible. Reformation Trust Publishing began in 2006 to maintain our focus to serve learners with trustworthy Christian books from contemporary authors. Much of our activity today focuses on strengthening the outreach of our core teaching ministries and harnessing new communication technology, while at the same time returning to our study-center roots with the new Ligonier Academy campus.

A few months ago I bought Pieces of a Real Heart the most recent album from the band Sanctus Real. I have listened to Sanctus Real since their debut album, but felt like there was a whole new depth of honesty and depth of theology in this new record. There were songs about failing as a leader in the home, about the meaning and beauty of forgiveness, about the questions that God seems unwilling to answer.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Matt Hammitt, who sings, plays guitars and writes most of the songs. I asked him him about life, family, music and ministry.

Q: Tell me a couple of the ways you and Sanctus Real have seen God’s grace evident in the past few months. How has he been blessing you and what has he been teaching you?

There are some things that I hadn’t expected to count as blessings this year that have taken me by surprise. My son, Bowen, was born last September with a rare heart defect, and has required a lot of special care. This experience has been our family's greatest struggle, as well as the greatest blessing that God has delivered into our hands. "Grace" was once a word that could pass through my lips without much thought. I no longer use it lightly.

As for the band, four (out of five) of us have families that are growing. I believe we’d all consider our children to be our greatest blessings during this season of our lives. They’ve taught us innumerable lessons about grace, leadership, and tenderness, all of which have positively impacted our relationships with one another.

Q: In your song “Forgiven” you write “In this life, I know what I’ve been / But here in Your arms, I know what I am / I’m forgiven / And I don’t have to carry the weight of who I’ve been / ‘Cause I’m forgiven” Who and what have you been, Matt, what makes you cry and struggle and feel like you can’t fit in?

My struggles have never been as much with what I’ve considered to be the greater sins on the list, but with the very thing that causes me to make lists according to my own standards. Pride, disguising itself as insecurity, has been a major issue in my life. It has caused me to feel isolated and has hindered me from freely giving and receiving love. Thanks to the work of God in my life over the last year, justification by faith has become more than a good doctrine to me. It’s become my present reality. My life and ministry are much more fruitful these days.

Q: When the “Past is playing with my head” and “the Devil just won’t let me forget” how does the knowledge that I am “a treasure in the arms of Christ” make a difference?

I’m a people pleaser, so it’s a daily temptation to wrap my thoughts around getting others to think more of me. This goes hand in hand with the pride and insecurity I mentioned earlier. Over the past several months, I’ve been consumed with seeking the Lord, as well as studying the Bible and theology. Wrapping my heart and mind around the truth has been pure joy. I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but I’m finding a far greater sense of my freedom, worth, and identity in Christ.

Q: In “These Things Take Time” you wrestle with the kinds of questions that most people, whether Christian or not, find themselves asking at one time or another—why do good people die? Why are we so drawn to sin and darkness? Why is it easier to doubt than to believe? In my experience such questions can drive people from God or closer to God. It seems that this song is a declaration of submission. How did you come to that place of letting God be God and realizing that “these things take time?”

When I wrote the lyrics that song (and others on our latest album) I was definitely beginning to submit to, and find great joy in, the sovereignty of God over all things. A month after the album released, when Bowen was diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart defect, I began to dig much deeper into the harder questions about life and faith than I ever had before. Writing the lyrics to Pieces of a Real Heart and the events surrounding its release mark the beginning of a personal, spiritual reformation.

Q: The song “Lead Me” seems to come from a very private place in your own life and in your family life. Why did you determine to write and record a song about this?

My wife, Sarah, and I once heard that the gap between reality and expectations is disappointment. There was a time when we were living in disappointment with our marriage. Now, we can see that our conflict was the result of our greatest expectations being placed on each other as opposed to God. I wasn’t investing enough emotionally or spiritually into my family because my own well was dry. I wasn’t walking as closely with the Lord as I believed I was at the time.

I wrote the majority of the song "Lead Me" on the day that Sarah appealed to me to be a better leader. The cry of her heart also became mine. Her courage to lovingly challenge me as her leader not only led to a song that is encouraging men and marriages around the world, but also has led to the most satisfying season of our nine year marriage to date.

(Keep Reading - there’s more after the jump)

Last year I posted a series of interviews under the banner of Meet the Ministries. It was a means of introducing you to some of the great ministries that serve the church today. You got to meet Grace to You, Desiring God, Acts 29, Peacemaker Ministries, CCEF and Truth for Life. I am going to continue that series this fall with another set of interviews. And it begins today with Eternal Perspective Ministries.

How and when did Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) begin?

Randy was a pastor for 13 years at a church he loved--and continues to be a part of--before he began participating in a number of peaceful nonviolent rescues (civil disobedience, blocking entry) at abortion clinics.  This decision to participate came after being involved  for years in many other aspects of prolife work and included much soul-searching, Scripture-searching, prayer and counsel.  As a result of his involvement in rescues, he was named in a lawsuit where the abortion clinic was awarded the largest judgment in history against peaceful protestors: $8.2 million. In order to avoid garnishment of his wages by the clinic, he was forced to resign as a pastor.

God, in his faithfulness, used what was intended for evil and turned it to good. Consequently, Randy founded EPM, which gave him the ability to devote much more of his time to writing.

The complete story of how EPM began may be found on Randy's blog, in part 1 and part 2.

Why does EPM exist? What are its chief goals and key emphases?

Eternal Perspective Ministries is a Bible-believing, Christ-centered nonprofit organization with two goals:

• to teach the principles of God’s Word, emphasizing an eternal viewpoint;
• to reach the needy in Christ’s name, calling attention to the needs of the:
  • unreached, who’ve never heard the gospel;
  • unfed, unclothed, unsheltered and poor due to circumstance (not choice);
  • unsupported, Christians suffering in hostile spiritual environments;
  • unborn, targeted for abortion, and their mothers deceived and exploited by the child-killing industry;
  • unreconciled, those of different races and cultures who are alienated, hostile, or suspicious of each other;
  • untrained, a generation growing up in a society without moral absolutes and eternal values, who need to hear God’s truth spoken in love, and whose parents need to be equipped to be their children’s educators and role models.

How can EPM serve the readers of this web site?

Our website, www.epm.org, is a wealth of free information, covering a wide range of subjects. There are over 2,000 articles, Q & A's, etc., mostly written by Randy, as well as video and audio to draw from.

We have free resource packets for pastors and group leaders  that can be used to help their study and teaching on a variety of topics.

Follow and connect with Randy at his blog, Facebook and Twitter.

We have a free quarterly newsletter, Eternal Perspectives, which features many thought-provoking articles written by Randy as well as news about his latest books and resources. You can read a color copy of the newsletter at our website or sign up to receive a mailed copy at http://www.epm.org/newsletters/.
 
On the same page you can sign up to receive our  monthly ENews Update that shares current information about Randy's speaking schedule and our book specials. It often highlights other worthy ministries and their current needs.

100% of designated giving is passed on to a worthy ministry within our EPM guidelines. So if someone wants to give to missions or famine relief or prolife work, etc. but isn't familiar with a specific organization, the donor is free to give to EPM and that money will be sent on to one of the many we support and/or recommend. This method can be useful for people who do not want to be on the mailing list for several different organizations.

Over the past few months I’ve been running a series I’ve called “Meet the Ministries.” The purpose of this series is to learn about some of the more prominent or more interesting ministries seeking to serve the church today. In the past this series has stopped at Grace to You, Desiring God, Acts 29, Peacemaker Ministries and CCEF. Today we go to Truth for Life, a ministry inexorably linked to the name Alistair Begg.

How and when did Truth For Life begin?
Truth For Life began from the seeds of prayer planted by the Elders of Parkside Church back in the 1980’s. They prayed that God would provide a way for them to reach the world for Christ. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, a young man who had grown up in the church and was then working for the Moody Broadcasting Network, offered to help begin a weekly program. The first weekly program was heard in April of 1992 on three stations. It expanded to 6 stations over the next year and half. In April of 1994, the program found a spot in the Moody Broadcasting Network and expanded to 80 stations. That same year, Alistair was approached by a broadcasting executive about the possibility of starting a daily radio program. The executive helped gather the men who would financially underwrite such a venture and on February 28, 1995, Truth For Life Daily began on 25 radio stations. The program slowing grew and gained momentum over the next 15 years to where it is now heard daily on over 1,300 radio outlets and weekly on over 1,100 outlets.

Why does Truth For Life exist? What are its chief goals and key emphases?
Truth For Life exists to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance so that unbelievers will be converted, believers will be established, and local churches will be strengthened. We believe that the regular teaching (and hearing) of the Bible is a critical discipline in the lives of believers and local churches. Our goal, then, is to take the regular Bible teaching of Alistair Begg, which happens primarily at Parkside Church, and distribute it as widely as possible to see these 3 particular groups strengthened and encouraged.

How can Truth For Life serve the readers of this web site?
1) Through our daily and weekly radio broadcasts: Each day and every weekend, we air a 30-minute radio broadcast on radio stations around the country and on a few international stations. The broadcast is also available via podcast and our website. We often hear from listeners that having a regular diet of solid Bible teaching each day has created an appetite for God’s Word that they didn’t have before. Through our daily broadcasts, we want to provide that routine, quality preaching that challenges our listeners (and ourselves!) on a daily basis to be in the Scriptures, hearing what God is saying to us, and applying it to our lives. In the coming months, we’ll be airing messages in the book of Nehemiah, Jonah, and James.

2) Through our free downloads: Last year, we made all of Alistair’s sermons available for free download on our website. We realize that not everyone has 30 minutes every day to listen to a radio program or that they can or will pay for sermons. As we looked at the online trends, we realized that there is a lot of teaching available on the Internet for free, yet not all of it is worthwhile. We were challenged to follow the leads of other ministries like Desiring God and Grace to You and many churches to remove as many barriers as possible to see God’s Word spread as broadly as possible. In the year since we’ve made that change, we’ve made a large amount of Alistair’s sermon archive available and digitizing some of his older messages this year. We’re also working to improve our search functionality and topic indexing to make the archive more searchable. We would invite your readers to browse our Resource Center if they’re looking for Biblical teaching on certain passages or topics or would just like to systematically study through certain topics or books of Scripture.

3) Through our events: Lord willing, Alistair will be speaking at a number of conferences and events in 2010, including an event in Los Angeles in March, two events in Philadelphia in April, two events in Minneapolis in May, and of course Parkside’s annual Basics conference for pastors in May. We have a particular heart to encourage local pastors and churches in their work and would love to invite any pastors to consider joining us for one of our Pastors’ Appreciation Breakfasts this year or the Basics Conference. Other readers might consider sponsoring their pastors at the conference as a way to encourage and support them in their ministry. We’re looking forward to having Sinclair Ferguson and John Shearer join us this year as we go “back to the basics” and consider the topic of preaching this year.

Who are the key leaders within the ministry?
In addition to Alistair Begg and our board of directors, we have a small, but talented leadership team: Bob Butts, Executive Director; Amy Casselberry, Stations Relations Manager; Nancy Curtiss, Production Manager ; Jenn Fraher, Communications Manager; and Whitney Podboy, Customer Service Manager.

How many employees does Truth For Life have?
We have 15 full time & part time staff member. We also have about 60 volunteers who come to our offices each week to help with everything from opening mail to shipping packages.

What is Truth For Life’s annual budget? How is the ministry financed and how do you ensure financial integrity?
Our annual budget for 2010 is $6.4 million. The majority of our ministry is funded by gifts from our listeners, including more than 5,500 Truthpartners who support the ministry on a monthly basis. We have been incredibly blessed and humbled to see God provide for our needs each year through the sacrificial giving of donors who have joined with us to fulfill our mission.

We are committed to financial integrity and stewardship. Each year, over 93% of donated funds go directly to ministry expenses (rather than administrative costs). In addition to an annual external audit, we maintain a relationship with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and Excellence in Giving. Additionally, Charity Navigator has awarded us their top 4-star rating for 6 consecutive years and Ministry Watch has named Truth For Life a Shining Light Ministry and awarded us their top 5-star rating for numerous, consecutive years.

How do you expect Truth For Life will be different in ten years? Twenty years?
As we look to the future, we realize that we are approaching a number of turning points within the ministry. While much about the future remains unknown to us, there are a few things that we do anticipate and are preparing for and/or exploring:

1) An increased role of the web: Historically, we have been a radio broadcast ministry. Even today, the bulk of our budget is allocated to purchasing radio air-time. As we look forward, we realize that there has been a shift in how content is distributed and taken in, and the Internet now plays a role in our culture that we can’t ignore. We’ve adjusted to that slowly, but we expect that digital content, particularly distributed over the Internet, will play an increasingly important role.

2) A diversity of materials: To this point, most of our content has been audio content. As we move forward, we hope to explore different types of content (video and written content specifically) and also content aimed at different age groups.

3) A legacy ministry: At some point in the future, we know that we need to be prepared for Alistair to eventually have a reduced role as a full-time pastor. While we hope that that day is still decades down the road, we are beginning to think what that might look like for Truth For Life and to begin to even now build foundations that will allow us to continue to distribute his teaching when he enters the next season of his life.

How does Truth For Life work with other Christian ministries?
Our partnerships happen in three primary ways:

1) With local churches: Although we are a teaching ministry, we believe that the local church should play the primary teaching role in the believer’s life. We desire to come alongside the local church by providing supplemental teaching to the people in the pews and by challenging and encouraging local pastors.

2) With radio stations: We partner with over 1,300 Christian radio stations and outlets around the country, providing them with content that their listeners are looking for.

3) With other teaching ministries: Alistair spends a portion of his year speaking at conferences hosting by other ministries. It’s a great opportunity for us to encourage other ministries and meet new listeners.

What are some of the ways Truth For Life has seen evidence of God’s hand of blessing?
1) Changed lives: Every day, we receive letters and emails from listeners whose lives have been changed as a result of hearing God’s word taught. It is incredibly encouraging to be reminded of why we do what we do when we hear of people repenting of their sins, developing a passion for the Bible, and seeing their lives transformed day after day.

2) Financial provision: As we celebrate 15 years as a daily radio ministry this month, we are able to look back and see how God has faithfully met our daily needs. Philosophically, we tend to do little fundraising, yet we have been able to operate and even expand the ministry without debt and without layoffs or other drastic cuts, even in times of economic uncertainty.

3) Staff: Although we have a small staff, God has faithfully sent us talented, godly people with a heart for this ministry. We would not be where we are today, nor looking to the future with such hopeful expectation without the team that we have in place. Our volunteers have also been a huge blessing as well, allowing us to invest a significant portion of our financial resources into programming, rather than staff costs.

How can the readers of this web site serve and support Truth For Life?
We’d love to have your readers listen to the broadcast or free downloads, then pass on the messages to a friend! If they’re benefiting from our ministry, they should consider becoming a Truthpartner and supporting our work on a monthly basis. We are able to provide so much content for free to our listeners because of the faithful support of our donors and Truthpartners, and we are always grateful to those who are willing to join that team.

Ultimately, we would love to have your readers pray for us: that we would remain faithful to God’s Word, faithful to our calling, and faithful to our families. Pray that we would have wisdom as we make strategic decisions about the future (both short-term & long-term) and that God would continue to use Alistair’s teaching to change the lives of men and women around the world.

Last spring I received an email from a reader of this site who asked if I would be able to send an inscribed copy of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment to a young man who was just graduating high school. This would serve as a small graduation gift. I was glad to do so and sent the book to Silas Thompson. You may know that name now as Silas is currently in a Haitian prison, arrested and charged with child abduction and criminal association. He is there with his father Paul and eight other Americans. You have undoubtedly heard of the story through the media.

Over the past few months I’ve been running a series of interviews called “Meet the Ministries.” The purpose of this series is to learn about some of the more prominent or more interesting ministries seeking to serve the church today and to learn how we can serve them and how they may be able to serve us. In the past this series has stopped at Grace to You, Desiring God, Acts 29 and Peacemaker Ministries. Today the series turns to CCEF, a ministry I assume most of us are at least somewhat familiar with. The interview was conducted with Tim Lane.

How and when did the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) begin?
CCEF is a Christian counseling and educational ministry located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. CCEF was founded to call the church back to the primacy of Scripture as the basis for thoughtful and effective pastoral care and counseling.

With the advent of modern secular psychologies at the beginning of the 20th century, many seminaries no longer made the Scriptures primary in their pastoral care and counseling curriculums. This vacuum was filled by a host of alternatives that tended to minimize, change or overshadow the redemptive message of the Scriptures. In response to this trend, a “biblical counseling” movement emerged in the late 1960’s with CCEF, founded in 1968, playing a leading role. For the past four decades, we have continued in that role by growing and contributing to the development of biblical counseling.

Why does CCEF exist? What are its chief goals and key emphases?
At CCEF, we teach people how to explore the wisdom and depth of the Bible and apply its grace-centered message to the problems of daily living. Simply put our mission is to: Restore Christ to Counseling and Counseling to the Church.

Restore Christ to Counseling. We have a passion for personal change that is centered in the person of Christ. This passion is our heritage and heartbeat, and it leads us to constantly revisit the question, “How do the riches of the Gospel impact my life and my efforts to help others?”

Restore Counseling to the Church. We believe that the body of Christ is God’s primary context for change, the community God uses to transform his people. CCEF’s mission is to equip the church to be this kind of transforming community. We see ourselves as an extension of the local church, and we want to serve and promote its ministry.

We accomplish our mission through a unique synergy of counseling, training, publications, and conferences.

Counseling: We have a robust counseling ministry in our home office where we counsel individuals, couples and families on a wide variety of personal, marriage and family issues.

Training: We train future leaders, pastors, counselors and people with a heart for discipleship through a certificate program through both on-site and distance education classes. We teach several accredited counseling programs in conjunction with Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and are affiliated with Redeemer Seminary in Dallas, Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, PA, and SEMBEQ Seminary in Montreal, Canada.

Publications: To further equip pastors and counselors, our faculty has published numerous books, booklets, articles, study guides, and curriculum series. Many of these are available from New Growth Press.

Conferences and Speaking: We host a National Conference every fall at which we offer extensive instruction on a selected topic, and our faculty also speaks and teaches at a variety of conferences, seminars and church-based events throughout the year.

How does CCEF differ from secular counseling ministries? How does CCEF differ from other Christian counseling ministries?
CCEF differs from secular counseling practices in a foundational way. Secular psychology removes the personal God of scripture from its counseling model and therefore views people and their problems through a purely human-centered lens. At CCEF, there is always a concern to define what can legitimately be learned from modern psychology, but believes that Scripture provides the orienting “generalizations”: a God-centered view of people, problems and solutions.

How do we differ from other Christian counseling ministries? That is a harder question to answer. Some ministries are staffed by Christians, but they are still essentially using a secular model of counseling. Others represent an integrationist model, meaning they intentionally work to integrate psychology with Christianity. Our model is built on the primacy of Scripture, more specifically on the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. We think there are helpful things to learn from anyone who counsels and writes about counseling but we remain steadfast in the way we allow the Scriptures to provide the primary orienting perspective for our work. For a fuller statement of what this looks like, visit our website.

How can CCEF serve the readers of this website?
CCEF can serve your readers immediately through our,

Website Resources: Through our website (www.ccef.org) we offer many free counseling resources including podcasts, blogs, videos and feature articles. We also offer audio downloads of our National conference lectures for a modest fee.

Publications: Our faculty has published many books and booklets available through New Growth Press at www.newgrowthpress.com

National Conference: This year’s conference is November 11-14, 2010 and the subject matter will be marriage. Our conferences are helpful for people personally as well as professionally.

On-site and Distance Education: We offer over a dozen courses that are especially designed to help people in the Christian life as well as their ministry whether it is informal or more formal. Both professionals and non-professionals can benefit from our courses.

In what circumstances might they want to get in touch with CCEF?
You may want to get in touch with us if you are interested in:

Counselor Training: We offer training in biblical counseling with both on-site and distance education classes. Our on-site program includes accredited degrees through Westminster Seminary and our distance education program is beginning to offer classes for credit through Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

Counseling Services: We offer counseling services at our main campus in suburban Philadelphia.

Registering for our National Conference: For 2010 our conference is on marriage and is titled: ONE—For Better And Worse. This is the best way to see our entire organization at work. For many of our attendees it is a weekend well spent…considered both content-rich and spiritually refreshing.

Who are the key leaders within the ministry?
Our ministry is comprised of about 30 full time and part time staff. The most obvious leaders in our ministry are our faculty who teach, write and speak around the country. They are:

Michael R. Emlet, M.Div., M.D.
Monica Kim. M.A.R.
Timothy S. Lane, M.Div., D. Min.
Julie Lowe, M.A.
David Powlison, M.Div., Ph.D.
Aaron Sironi, M.S.
Winston T. Smith, M.Div.
Edward T. Welch, M.Div., Ph.D.

To learn more about our faculty, go to our website by clicking here.

What is CCEF’s annual budget? How is the ministry financed and how do you ensure financial integrity?
CCEF’s annual budget is approximately $2.5 million. 60% of our income is generated through revenue we produce through the services we provide. 40% is dependent upon individuals and churches who support the work of CCEF. Our goal is to raise $1 million dollars a year in donations. Because we attempt to keep our fees as reasonable as possible and because the cost of education is extremely high, we rely upon the generosity of others who want to see the ministry of CCEF thrive. In case you are wondering, we have made it very safe and easy for folks to give online at our website!!

We work hard to follow generally accepted accounting practices and communicate our financial system to our donors. We have an audit of our financial records performed every year by an outside firm and annually survey our employees concerning conflicts of interest and fraud, providing confidential means of reporting any problems.

How do you expect CCEF will be different in ten years? Twenty years?
As a ministry, we want to continue to grow in humility! That can’t be stated enough. In a broader way, as CCEF enters the 21st century, it continues its commitment to work out the implications of biblical counseling in three primary areas:

1. Counseling Theory or Model: what is a robust, biblical, Christ-centered approach to people and their problems; both sin and suffering? We have made significant strides here, but there is always more to be done.

2. Counseling Methodology: what does it look like to actually counsel people face to face, meeting after meeting? We have made progress here as well, but there is still much room for growth, particularly as we seek to transfer what counseling looks like at a practical level to those called to this Kingdom work.

3. Counseling Context: how do we capture the attention of lead pastors, staff and every person in the local church to see that “counseling” is a very broad term that ranges from very informal interactions to more formal one-on-one counseling? How do we help people see that “counseling” is not a modern invention but has its roots in Creation where there is a need for God to speak in order for us to make sense out of life? And how do we create places for uniquely gifted formal counselors to use their gifts in serving and training the body of Christ?

As we look out 10-20 years, we hope to see CCEF using technology and new delivery systems in such a way that winsome biblical counseling is the norm in the local church and the broader Christian community. When CCEF started in the 1960’s, the task before us seemed insurmountable. Now, 40 years later, we are watching an explosion of biblical counseling in churches, denominations and large movements. The challenge is to clearly articulate, define and train people with the distinctives that we at CCEF think are essential if biblical counseling is going to be established as the primary way people think about their lives and the change process. We are engaged in the significant task of persuasion. That calls for clarity, humility, an ability to listen to your critics, and zeal to keep moving the ball down the field one play at a time. It does feel like we may have crossed the 50 yard line and are moving more pointedly towards the goal line but much more hard work is left to be done.

How does CCEF work with other ministries?
We have teaching relationships with several seminaries where our faculty either teaches or the seminary’s resident faculty uses our curriculum in their counseling program. We are also connected to various national and international church planting movements. In addition, we are always attempting to engage in meaningful dialogue with those who may differ with us. We want to engage the conversation, have influence, learn ourselves and simply remain open to change.

What are some of the ways CCEF has seen evidence of God’s hand of blessing?
The fact that we are still standing in the midst of a tragic economy is one sign! God has sustained us through hard financial times but there is more than that. He has provided us with excellent faculty, a staff of Godly counselors, committed support staff and a team spirit that money can’t buy. Only the Spirit can produce those kinds of things. We are also witnessing a younger generation of qualified counselors and thinkers that will sustain the ministry of CCEF in the future. Even beyond that, we are beginning to see a ground swell of interest in biblical counseling across ministries, seminaries and local churches. You would have never seen this even 20 years ago. And it is happening amongst younger and older audiences across denominational lines. We simply look at the growing number of people taking our Distance Education classes and to the requests from significant leaders in the evangelical world asking for guidance as they implement biblical counseling ministries in their churches and communities.

How can readers of this website serve and support CCEF?

• We always covet the prayers of God’s people. Pray that we would be true to our mission of restoring Christ to counseling and counseling to the church.
• Become a monthly donor. We depend on donations to fund 40% of our ministry.
• Encourage your church to develop a relationship with CCEF by becoming a Supporting Church
• Direct churches to our website for counseling needs and discipling curriculum.
• Create a CCEF link from your church or blog page.
• Become a fan Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our channels in YouTube and iTunes or simply pass on helpful resources from our website www.ccef.org

Last year I began a series of interviews called “Meet the Ministries.” This purpose of this series is to learn about some of the more prominent or more interesting ministries seeking to serve the church today. In the past this series has stopped at Grace to You and Desiring God and Acts 29. Today the series resumes with an interview with Fred Barthel, Director of Communications at Peacemaker Ministries.

How and when did Peacemaker Ministries begin?
Conflict is an issue in all our lives and churches—there’s no escaping it, even for Christians. (As it’s sometimes cheekily noted, “Wherever two or three are gathered, there will be conflict.”)

The same was true back in 1982, when Ken Sande was faced with a choice: enter a law firm as an associate attorney or create a local venue for providing biblically-based mediation and arbitration services. Thankfully, Ken chose the latter. He began helping Christians and their church leaders learn how to follow 1 Corinthians 6:1-8—resolving disputes within the local church rather than bringing lawsuits against one another.

Eventually, the small ministry expanded as more and more Christians learned how to resolve conflicts with goals of justice, personal reconciliation, and glorifying God. In a process from 1987 to 1993, Ken’s own organization merged with several other conciliation organizations and became what is now Peacemaker Ministries.

Why does Peacemaker Ministries exist? What are its chief goals and key emphases?
As Francis Schaeffer noted in The Mark of the Christian:

Jesus says, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” In the midst of the world, in the midst of our present dying culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians.

Isn’t this an amazing thought—that God has essentially given the world the right to judge whether the gospel is true based on how Christians get along with each other? Along these lines, it is our goal to help the bride of Christ become more lovely and beautiful in her unity so that a watching world will readily see that the gospel really is true.

Yes, we know we are a parachurch ministry. That means that our role is squarely one of a bridesmaid supporting and directing attention to the bride rather than being in competition with her. We want people to look at the church and say, “Wow! Look how they persevere with one another. Look how they love each other. How is that possible? I want to learn more … ”

For this to happen, Christians must learn to be peacemakers. And so as a ministry, we desire to help create churches that are marked by peace and unity, even in the midst of real-life relational struggles.

More formally, our mission is to “equip and assist Christians and their churches to respond to conflict biblically”:

Equip - We don’t want to be viewed merely as “firefighters”—i.e., in case of conflict, break glass and call the “professional peacemakers.” We’d much prefer for all Christians to be equipped to respond well to conflict themselves (and to the extent possible, to stay out of destructive conflict in the first place).

Assist - Sometimes, though, we do play the “firefighter” role when a conflict is so serious or involves so many people that a family, business, or ministry requires outside help to resolve it. One of our divisions, the Institute for Christian Conciliation, offers a network of trained professionals to provide direct assistance to individuals and organizations through its conciliation services. After nearly thirty years helping Christians in conflict, we have experience assisting in almost every situation you can imagine: from family fights to congregational conflicts to multi-million dollar contract disputes (and everything in between).

Christians and their churches - Again, our passion for peacemaking goes beyond the individual Christian—we firmly believe that the church is God’s “Plan A” for building the Kingdom (and frankly, there is no plan B). We believe that peacemaking is an essential ministry of the local church, not a task reserved for professional mediators or lawyers. Therefore, we encourage Christians to take unresolved conflicts to their church families, which are called by God to restore peace by promoting biblical justice and reconciliation.

Respond to conflict biblically - As a ministry we want to be faithful to Scripture in all that we do and all that we encourage others to do. We believe that the Bible contains all of the promises and principles needed for true peacemaking. That means that God’s Word is totally authoritative and completely sufficient for all aspects of life, and his peacemaking commands and promises apply to every conflict a Christian can encounter.

How is Peacemaker Ministries a distinctly Christian ministry? How would it differ from a similar secular organization?
First of all, Christ is central to all that we do as a ministry. We believe that genuine peace between people cannot be found through a process or a set of skills; it can be found only through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we encourage people in conflict to believe the gospel, trust in Christ, and faithfully rely on his promises.

There’s a direct connection between the gospel and peacemaking—peacemaking is one clear snapshot of what the gospel looks like in all our lives. The greatest conflict in history—the one between God and man—was reconciled on the cross, and as a result there is hope for reconciliation in any other conflict. Even when we were still his enemies, God made peace with us through the death and resurrection of his Son.

If we truly believe this (and we do!), then it must make a difference in our relationships and how we deal with conflict. Since we have been reconciled with God, we can be reconciled with one another. Because God has forgiven us in Christ, we can forgive others. And because God has forgiven us in Christ, we can freely confess where we have sinned against others. This is a radically different way for Christians to relate to each other, and we at Peacemaker Ministries exist to help the church live this out.

Another key distinctive is one that I have already discussed, but it’s so important I’ll mention it again: we are devoted to the bride of Christ—the Church.

The final distinctive is that, unlike secular mediation-arbitration services, we not only address the substantive issues in a conflict, we also encourage people to deal with conflict at the heart level. James 4:1-3 teaches us that that destructive conflict comes from desires that battle within our hearts. For that reason, we don’t merely try to resolve surface issues. Yes, we can help with that contractual dispute. But we also strive to help Christians in conflict to find their fulfillment in Christ, renounce sinful desires and actions that have contributed to conflict, and seek genuine reconciliation with God and others.

How can Peacemaker serve the readers of this web site? In what circumstances might they want to get in touch with Peacemaker?
By all means, if you are facing a conflict and need some help that isn’t available locally, please contact our conciliation division. Or if you are interested in deepening your own peacemaking skills, then consider our training opportunities or come to our annual Peacemaker Conference (this fall it’s in Washington DC on the theme of forgiveness).

But probably what would serve most of you the best are our resources. If you’ve never read the The Peacemaker (by Ken Sande) before, I’d highly encourage you to do it. My wife often says that outside the Bible, it’s the one book that every Christian should read, and I agree. We also have several related books and small group studies that apply biblical peacemaking principles to pastors, women, children, missionary teams and more.

Our newest resource is one that we are particularly excited about—a DVD-based group study for church leaders called The Leadership Opportunity. Church leaders, just by virtue of their position, sit in the middle of conflict—whether in those times when tension surfaces in a leaders’ meeting, when managing a difficult change, or when an angry couple is sitting in their office. We’ve pulled together a practical resource to equip leaders in these difficult situations, encouraging leaders to truly live out the gospel in the many places where conflict and leadership intersect.

Who are the key leaders within the ministry?
Ken Sande is the founder and president, and he is surrounded by several experienced vice-presidents (Gary Friesen, Chip Zimmer, Tim Pollard, and David Schlachter).

How many employees does Peacemaker have?
Around 30 full/part time employees.

What is Peacemaker’s annual budget? How is the ministry financed and how do you ensure financial integrity?
Our 2009 budget was about $2.9 million. About 50-60% of our revenue comes from the generous donations of our supporters, while the remaining income comes from our resources, training, and conciliation services. We are a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) which carries with it all kinds of requirements to make sure we are above-board on everything financial (including an annual audit). With ECFA’s help, our donors can be certain that we are good stewards of the resources entrusted to us.

How do you expect Peacemaker will be different in ten years? Twenty years?
Lord willing, we will have closed our doors because churches will be doing such a good job themselves of dealing with conflicts that we won’t be needed anymore!

But if the Lord chooses not to do this, we want to continue transferring the ministry of peacemaking to the church. We would love to see thousands of churches establish dedicated peacemaking teams and develop a “culture of peace.” Such a culture is where members resolve most conflicts personally and privately, and releasing pastors from the “complaint loop.” It’s where marriages, friendships, and other relationships are strengthened and preserved, resulting in fewer divorces and a lower turnover of members, staff, and volunteers. Ministries and missions are more united and fruitful. And the gospel is lived out in relationships so that a church experiences the true blessings of peace and reconciliation. That’s our main goal in the coming years.

We are also excited to see is what the Lord will do overseas. God is already raising up people and organizations with a passion for reconciliation in key areas of South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. We are partnering with the organization Overseas Council to bring biblical peacemaking into some of the most influential evangelical seminaries around the world—helping the next generation of leaders in the global church be prepared for conflict.

Christians overseas tend to have a big vision for what peacemaking can do beyond their personal lives and church families. They see the biblical principles directly applying to the political and cultural conflicts they face, and have great hope that the power of the gospel can transform entire communities and countries. We are grateful for the many ministry opportunities opening up around the globe, and we look forward to seeing what God does in the future.

How does Peacemaker work with other Christian ministries?
Our work doesn’t necessitate a great deal of collaboration, but we have close ties to a few ministries, including: the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), Christian Legal Society, and as I mentioned above, Overseas Council. In addition, many other ministries and organizations have made use of our training, consulting, or conciliation services.

But, of course, our major partnership is with churches, and our primary desire is to work alongside denominations and churches for the benefit of the bride of Christ and the glory of God.

What are some of the ways Peacemaker Ministries has seen evidence of God’s hand of blessing?
God has given us a sacrificially dedicated staff and a committed and enthusiastic constituency, all with a passion for peacemaking.

We are also blessed by the enduring quality of Ken Sande’s book, The Peacemaker. It is a particular joy to us to see The Peacemaker translated into many languages to help our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world learn better how to live in unity with one another.

In addition ,we are consistently humbled to witness God’s work in the lives of those who are stuck in conflict. In situation after situation—often where there seems like no hope for reconciliation—we’ve seen God move people to humble themselves, confess, and forgive one another. It is such an honor to see the power of the gospel tangibly displayed in the restoration of broken relationships.

But the biggest blessing? That’s the one found in Matthew 5:9, where Jesus teaches that we get to be called sons of God when we are peacemakers. What a wonderful identity to have!

How can the readers of this web site serve and support Peacemaker Ministries?
Please pray for us and the work God has called us to do. Pray for encouragement, for it can be very wearying to deal with the ugly effects of Christians in conflict. Pray also for wisdom as we consider what God would have us accomplish this year with limited resources (like most churches and ministries, finances are tight in this tough economy).
Also, feel free to poke around our website (www.Peacemaker.net) and take a look at the resources, training, and services we provide.

But most importantly, if there’s just one thing you could do, we’d love for you to introduce these concepts to your own church and church leaders. In our desire to serve churches, we still need humble advocates for peacemaking within congregations. If that’s you, then we want to partner with you and see how the Lord might bless the peacemakers in your midst.

I really do appreciate this opportunity, and I thank you for taking the time to read this. And also, thanks to you, Tim, for all you do for the Kingdom through the written word. May God richly bless you all.

This morning I posted a review of Josh Harris’ new book Dug Down Deep. This afternoon I’ve got this brief interview with Josh in which we discuss the book.

Who is the audience for Dug Down Deep and why would you like them to read it?
I had a couple different groups of people in mind as I wrote the book. First, I wrote it for people like me who have grown up in church and immersed in Christian religion but who, as I did, lack a solid rooting in Biblical truth. Usually such people are indifferent toward or even turned off by doctrine. My goal was to show them how essential theology is to truly knowing God. I wanted to keep it simple and accessible.

I also wrote with the hope that Christians would give the book to unbelieving friends to introduce them to basic Christian belief. A big part of the reason I wrote the book is so that I could share give it to people I meet as a way to share the gospel. You can’t really do that with a book called “Sex is Not the Problem (Lust is).”

Why did you choose to write about theology from a personal perspective, through the lens of your own spiritual growth and development?
I wanted the book to be as engaging as possible for people who aren’t used to studying biblical doctrine. And I wanted to show that theology is for living. It’s for real people and real life. Hopefully my story will show that doctrine isn’t just for scholars and academics—it’s for twenty-somethings who want a deeper relationship with God; it’s for young moms who feel overwhelmed by diapers and laundry—it’s for everyone.

To be honest, I had to fight the urge to write to impress fellow pastors. Sharing from my own journey as a young adult helped me keep writing to people who are new to theological terms and concepts. I remember being at that place. It’s not always enjoyable to have someone tell you all the things you should know—it can be helpful to have someone come alongside you and share what they’ve learned and why it has made a difference in the living of their life. I hope Dug Down Deep does that. 

What is a chapter you would like to have included but that had to be left out, for one reason or another?
The first draft of the book’s outline was much longer than the final eleven-chapters I wound up with. But many of those were getting into secondary issues (how Christians relate to politics and engage with culture for example.) Those are important, but I decided that I wanted to stay focused on gospel-essential doctrines—God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the atonement. I stuck to the basics.

But then after Mark Dever read the book he said “Why didn’t you include a chapter on eschatology?” I think that probably would have been a good idea. But I feel good about how the book turned out. I wasn’t trying to be comprehensive. It’s not a systematic theology. I’ve referred to the book as a mix tape of specific doctrines that have transformed my life.

What was the greatest challenge in writing this book and what proved to be the greatest blessing to your own soul?
This is the first book I’ve written since I began serving as the senior pastor of Covenant Life. Fitting writing into my responsibilities at church was a challenge. My fellow-pastors really carried a lot during that time and I’m indebted to them for their support. I don’t have the same capacity as some of these guys who pump out books and preach three times a week. I felt very weak and inadequate and overwhelmed many times along the way. Holding the book now, I remember moments of literally being on my face feeling hopeless and crying out to God for help. But he met me over and over. And those private moments of seeing him provide are very meaningful to me.

It has been five years between your last book, Stop Dating the Church, and this new one. When should we next expect to see your name on a book?
I really don’t know. There are no plans right now. And I only write if my fellow elders and my wife all tell me they have faith for me to tackle a new project. So it will probably be awhile. My kids want me to write a children’s book. I think that would be fun. I’d love to write and illustrate a book for kids. But right now I’m just enjoying that “done writing” feeling a little longer.

Last week I wrote a review of the excellent new book Who Made God? by Edgar Andrews. This book is an intelligent, insightful response to many of the claims of today’s new atheists. I recently had the opportunity to interview Mr. Andrews and wanted to share that interview with you today.

What do all of those letters after your name actually stand for?
The first three (BSc, PhD and DSc) are earned academic qualifications while the remainder (FInstP, FIMMM, CEng and CPhys) are professional qualifications. My Bachelor’s degree was in theoretical physics; the ‘doctor of philosophy’ degree was awarded for research, and the ‘doctor of science’ degree is a higher doctorate awarded for eminence in a given field, as judged by the quality of peer-reviewed publications.

A few weeks ago I began a series called “Meet the Ministries.” This purpose of this series is to learn about some of the more prominent or more interesting ministries seeking to serve the church today. In the past this series has stopped at Grace to You and Desiring God. Today it continues to Acts 29 where Scott Thomas, Acts 29’s Chairman and Director, was kind enough to answer a few questions.

How and when did Acts 29 begin?
Acts 29 was founded in 2000 with Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle when it was about 200 in attendance and David Nicholas, a Presbyterian pastor of a large church in Boca Raton, Florida. They formed the network to plant qualified, entrepreneurial men who held to a reformed soteriology and were willing to engage an urban city with the gospel.

Why does Acts 29 exist? What are its chief goals and key emphases?
Acts 29 exists to make disciples by planting church planting churches.

Gospel Message: The major emphasis of Acts 29 is the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation and sadly many churches are ashamed of proclaiming it (Rom. 1:16). As a result we may not be experiencing the fruit of transformation in our churches that is normally associated with the gospel (Col. 1:4-6; 2 Peter 1:3-9). Gospel transformation cannot take place outside of gospel proclamation.

The gospel can be (cautiously) summarized in the following manner: Jesus Christ, God’s promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and rose again in triumphant evidence as the first-fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven sinners together by the Holy Spirit to live under his gracious reign as His Kingdom people.

Gospel Men: Our church planters are assessed on the basis of their qualification as elders, according to Scripture and their character as examined in an extensive review of their life and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). This includes a thorough examination of a man’s leadership in his home. A man’s family is his first congregation and his wife and children are his first disciples. We are looking for men who have been transformed by the gospel and are captured by the grace of Jesus and are following His mission to make disciples.

Gospel Mission: We believe church planting is the best way to take the gospel to the community it desires to serve. We believe new churches are the best means for Spirit-led followers of Jesus to make disciples of all people groups (Matthew 28:19-20). We believe church planting is the central process of evangelism in the Book of Acts, but also that doing so can spread the Gospel to every people or group, large or small, in every corner of the world. Throughout, the Book of Acts we read narratives of the Gospel being planted in city after city. The book ends abruptly in Acts 28. Our mission with Acts 29 therefore is to carry on the discipleship making, church planting in the culture where God has sovereignly placed us (Acts 17:26-27).

Acts 29 distinguishes itself as a network and not a denomination. What is the difference, what does that look like, and why do you take that approach?
In some ways networks strive to have all of the good aspects of a denomination and limit the negative aspects (there might be a couple negatives, maybe). We align under a common doctrine and a common name but Acts 29 exercises no authority in our member churches and we require no funds directed to the organization.

Additionally, we have no central controlling office. We currently have 11 regional networks that cooperate together for the advancement of the gospel. The central office has a serving, resourcing and unifying aim. We exist to serve the 11 networks to assist their effective regional church planting. We have an IRS required board for our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The board serves the regions like elders serve a church: shepherding, encouraging, resourcing, teaching, coaching, training and equipping as well as legal covering.

Our motto is “Churches Planting Churches.” It is not “Networks (or denominations) Planting Churches.” Every local church’s eldership assumes responsibility for their multiplying of men and churches. They direct funds to whomever they determine best expresses this advancement of the gospel in their context. Some Acts 29 churches direct their funds through their denominational affiliation and others choose their funding independently. We support whatever method they choose as long as they are multiplying churches.

How does Acts 29 serve the Global Church?
Nearly everything we do serves the global church. We make all of our teaching about church planting available for free on our website that gets close to 1 million unique visits a year. Our churches take this contagiously generous spirit into the communities they serve. They have free regional training events, make their resources available freely and counsel, coach and consult with individual church planters regularly.

We have an International branch of our network that seeks to identify indigenous pastors around the world who can be catalytic church planting leaders. We resource these men and work with them to teach, train and equip other pastors. We are not recruiting them to be Acts 29. We are exposing them to an understanding of a gospel-centered life, disciple making and ministry. We have a man who works full-time in this endeavor and a team of volunteer planters in the US who oversee this mission.

Many church planters or church planting organizations can fall into a trap of getting caught up in methods, tactics, bottom lines, or programs. How does Acts 29 avoid that?
We are united in the gospel and not in methods. It is a central core value. Our mission is to make disciples of all nations (people groups). We see church planting as an effective means to making disciples. But we can’t dictate how a church planter does that in his unique context and with his unique skills and gifts. Our program, tactic, bottom line and method is the gospel.

How can Acts 29 serve the readers of this web site?
Acts 29 is nothing special but our Savior is. If our message and emphases points people to Jesus as they revel in His grace, love and mercy, we have served the readers well. We pray that we are exalting Jesus as authentic worshippers as well as incarnating Jesus by finding our identity in Him and that we will repent of our idols and experience the fruits of our repentance in our obedient walk with our King Jesus. All of our articles, blogs and media on the Acts 29 website seek to express this aim and help the readers to image the gospel in their lives.

Who are the key leaders within the ministry?
Mark Driscoll, President and Founder; Scott Thomas, Chairman and Director; Darrin Patrick, First Vice President; Jeff Vanderstelt, Second Vice President; Board members: Matt Chandler, Chan Kilgore, Eric Mason and church planting strategist, Tyler Powell. Other regional leaders are Brian Howard, David Fairchild, Russ McKendry, Daniel Montgomery, Tyler Jones and Ed Marcelle.

How many employees does Acts 29 have?
Acts 29 Network does not have any employees. Every person that commits time and energy to Acts 29 is a volunteer. Key leaders are pastors or support staff employed in various churches and they dedicate a portion of their time toward serving the network.

What is Acts 29’s annual budget? How is the ministry financed and how do you ensure financial integrity?
Acts 29 Network has a budget of about $250,000, fifty percent of which goes toward the International mission projects. The balance goes toward an annual retreat, emergency relief for planters, boot camps (conferences) and minor corporation expenses.

The funding comes from voluntary gifts from the member churches and a minimal amount from individuals.

Mars Hill Church provides the financial oversight of the account and ascribes strictly to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Additionally, the Board of Directors of Acts 29 Network approves the expenditures of this fund.

How do you expect Acts 29 will be different in ten years? Twenty years?
As DA Carson once said, “I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet, although I work for a non-profit organization,” so I am not sure I can accurately answer that question. However, I am assured that we are still called to make disciples until Jesus comes. I am assured that church planting is not a fad, although the methods are changing in how we multiply churches. I can envision a network of networks totaling 500,000 people in the next ten years. Currently we have 11 geographic networks that align under Acts 29. That number will expand rapidly. Any organization that tries to maintain what they have will become an institution and an institution soon becomes a museum where they talk about the good old days. A museum quickly becomes a crypt for the once living.

A movement is of God. We cannot control a movement anymore than we can control the wind. But we can fly our kites higher in the wind. We will continue to release more line into the wind through influence and we will subsequently have less control of the outcomes. But that’s where faith and mission collide and we are willing to take that risk for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom.

How does Acts 29 work with other Christian ministries?
We regard many ministries as dear friends of ours. As a multidenominational network, we continue to work with many different groups, denominations, networks and churches. In my most recent trip, I preached, consulted or trained people affiliated with independent Baptists, a large Bible Church training center, Assembly of God, ARC, Sovereign Grace, British house church movement, Presbyterian Church of Ireland, Free Church of Scotland and one group that I am not sure whom they are affiliated even after I asked.

Our focus is on church planting, however and we do not want to get involved in a multitude of ministries that draw us away from that mission. So we do what we can, but our primary focus is on ministries that pertain to church planting and the training of pastors as they seek to multiply their churches.

What are some of the ways Acts 29 has seen evidence of God’s hand of blessing?
God has chosen to bless us in spite of ourselves. We have unmerited influence all across the world. It is very humbling. Opportunities are granted to us because people are watching what is happening through the great group of pastors and churches affiliated with Acts 29. We have almost 500 men in the application phase currently who want to align with us. Our only subject is Jesus, our only mode is the gospel and our only focus is the mission of Jesus to make disciples. The fact that we have almost 300 strong, dominant, take charge pastors who work together as Acts 29 is a testament to the gospel’s power to unite together for the glory of God. That’s grace at work!

Speaking personally, how has working closely with Mark Driscoll impacted you as a person?
I just told Mark today in an email that I loved working with him and he expressed that he loved working with me too. I know it sounds too emo for Acts 29, but we have mutual respect. He is my pastor and I am honored to serve alongside him. I serve with him on the executive leadership team—five elders who oversee the mission and vision of Mars Hill Church. As a team, we wrestle with big problems and big ideas and we have varied opinions, but we work in harmony with each other by deferring to the person who is most experienced or skilled in a certain situation to lead toward the best solution or strategy. I have never experienced a harsh word with Mark and we work well together acknowledging that neither of us deserve the blessings we are experiencing through Mars Hill Church and Acts 29.

Additionally, I have been blessed by Mark’s passion for the unchurched. I thought I had great passion for the lost. But Mark thinks about the unsaved person constantly and how best to communicate and preach Jesus particularly to the dechurched young male who has no interest in Christianity.

Finally, I am blessed most of all by Mark’s commitment to his family. It is obvious from being in his home that he loves his five children devotedly and he loves his wife sacrificially. I listen to Mark, not because he is a great preacher, but because he is a great Dad and husband.

How can the readers of this web site serve and support Acts 29?
Pray for us. Pray that our leaders can structure our growing organization to serve the regional networks by equipping, resourcing and strategizing the expansion of the gospel through church plant multiplication. Pray secondly that our churches can provide financial assistance to our planters that are suffering due to the economy. We are establishing an emergency relief fund to help these young churches to survive some economic downturn in their individual churches.