Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone, my name is Ben Kreps. I'm the Lead Pastor at Living Hope Church, a Sovereign Grace Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania. I'd like to welcome you back to this podcast where our goal is to help connect our global family of churches with our executive director Mark Prater. How are you Mark?

Mark Prater:

I'm doing great man. How you doing?

Benjamin Kreps:

Doing great. Last year on November 4th at our Council of Elders, you gave our State of the Union address. We're not gonna actually getting the specifics of that. We'll put a link in the transcript. You can click cause it's actually on the Sovereign Grace Church blog. But the Book of Church Order mandates that you give a State of the Union address at our Council of Elders each year and you do, which is wonderful. But I wanted to ask you, how do you approach the task of writing that State of the Union each year and formulating your hopes and prayers and vision for Sovereign Grace in the year ahead.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, it's something I love doing each year since I've been the executive director. The Book of Church Order doesn't really give any specifics on what the State of Union should be. So being the first Executive Director, I really got to make it up basically. And I really wanted it to be encouraging, so I include a number of updates that are intended to encourage our pastors as well as communicate that we are truly a global family of churches. So the updates that I give are from different parts of the world, but I also wanted the State of the Union to be inspirational in nature, so that it would cast vision for our future. So when we left the Council of Elders meeting and then the Pastor's Conference that follows that there's a sense of vision casting that's happened and that our pastors and our churches are filled with vision walking into the new year.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, so what about the nuts and bolts? So is this something that you're working on? You probably are working on this like on the plane and Orlando, I'm just assuming, but maybe not. So, uh, so what does it look like for you--your process of thinking through what you're going to be presenting to us at the council?

Mark Prater:

Well, the way I've approached it (I'm sure it can be different for different guys that will be in this role), but the way I approach it is I'm actually thinking about it throughout the year. I've already put in some thought to what I might even say in fall of 2020 at our Council of Elders meeting. And the reason I do that is as we go throughout our year, as I visit our churches, as I've talked to our pastors and even to the members of our churches, I'm just making notes of sort of the state of where we're at as a family of churches and from my perspective where we need to grow or how I can inspire us to continue on in gospel ministry. So this last State of the Union that I gave in November, I think I wrote the original draft in July, just to kind of get it down on paper, knowing that by November it may need to change some because of situations that would change in Sovereign Grace. But I actually wrote it several months before.

Benjamin Kreps:

You do visit a lot of churches. So you're going around, you're interacting with pastors and you're prayerfully thinking for months actually what you want to present to us at that Council of Elders.

Mark Prater:

Right. I am. Yeah.

Benjamin Kreps:

So do you get input on what you're going to say?

Mark Prater:

I do. One of the things I've done each year is I go to the Executive Committee retreat and I present them a draft version of the State of Union. I don't fully deliver it; I just kind of give them an abbreviated version and then they spend time giving me a lot of input. So that's nine guys on the Executive Committee giving me input. And I've always found that their input has really helped me improve it so that what I give in November is better than what I gave them in August.

Benjamin Kreps:

So they're not just rubber stamping. They're actually giving their thoughts to help sharpen and improve what it is that you're writing.

Mark Prater:

Their changes are represented in it. Even some of their own quotes are represented in it, and I really feel like they, they improve it. So it's a team effort in that regard.

Benjamin Kreps:

So it's the new year. And you had six exhortations to us in that State of the Union address last year. See the beauty of the glory of Christ, see the transforming power of the gospel, see the beauty of reaching the nations, see the beauty of God's provision, see the hope of future generations, see the beauty of our unity in Christ, which is all wonderful. We would all say amen to that. But if you could add or sort of crystallize a thought, one brief thing that you want to leave Sovereign Grace Churches pastors with as we enter into this new year and think about the year ahead, what would that be?

Mark Prater:

I think I would say this: I would say continue to faithfully preach Christ. And do that with even more faith that your preaching of the gospel every Sunday, of you reaching out to unbelievers in your community throughout the week. and hopefully having opportunities to share the gospel, doing that with a renewed faith or a strengthened faith of the gospel's power to save. As I approach the new year, one of my big prayers for Sovereign Grace is that we would reach the lost and people would be born again, and that the greatest miracle of regeneration that we will ever know would happen through the ministry of our churches. So be faithful brothers to preach Christ, and believe people will be saved.

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. Thanks Mark. And as you're working on your thoughts already for this upcoming fall we look forward to hearing from you again at our State of the Union address at the Council of Elders in November. Hopefully I'll talk to you before then. Actually, I think next week. So everybody, thanks for taking some time to watch this podcast. God bless all of you and goodbye until we meet next time.

Transcript:

Eric Turbedsky: Hey, my name is Eric Turbedsky, Director of Communications for Sovereign Grace Churches, and I'm here with our Executive Director, Mark Prater on his podcast, which is about getting you what you need to be part of our global family of churches. And today I want to hear from Mark a little update: How did the conference go? What kind of things would you look at to evaluate the conference? Tell us some things that surprised you from the conference. It was a great conference Mark. Thanks for leading us. What were your thoughts? 

Mark Prater:  Well thanks. Thanks for asking. I thought the conference went really well. It actually went better than I'd hoped. I mean, you pray, but God always does more than you ask or even think to ask him. So I'm very grateful to God for how the conference went overall. 

Some highlights for me were: 

-People traveling from 18 different countries to be here in the States was so encouraging. 

-I was very affected (I know a lot of people told me they were as well) on Wednesday night, before we started singing to have Psalm 1:17 read in eight different languages. It just makes the gospel big. It reminds us that the gospel transcends racial, cultural, and language barriers and saves people from tribe, tongue, and nation. So that was so encouraging. 

-The preaching was outstanding. And we could spend a whole podcast talking about the preaching. 

-One of the things that surprised me in a good way was the interest meetings that were held throughout the conference. We had a church planting luncheon where we had 16 guys who are interested in planting a church with Sovereign Grace. It's actually the largest church planning interest meeting that we've had over the last six years. So that was a surprise, and very encouraging. 

-That luncheon was packed out. It was led by the national church planting group. And I heard back from Mike Seaver in particular who said that these guys were engaged. He said he could hardly eat his lunch cause they're just asking him all kinds of questions about how to plant with Sovereign Grace. So in a time when people might be thinking who wants to plant with Sovereign Grace, we're actually finding the opposite to be true. 

-The other thing that was encouraging was on Wednesday afternoon we had the Pastors College interests meeting and that room was packed out. We had to bring more chairs to accommodate the interest there. And there's just this increased interest from people who attended the conference to actually apply to the Pastors College next year. So that was really encouraging. And that same afternoon we had an evangelism meeting led by Mickey Connolly and Jim Donohue and those guys were telling me that room was packed out, and we had to bring chairs into that room as well. 

So that was all just a pleasant surprise that I think gives you a little bit of an idea of where we might be as a denomination. That's a picture of health in some sense you can measure. So that was encouraging. 

Eric Turbedsky: Well those are all outward reaching and expanding. We're chasing the gospel as it works. It felt big on whatever that was Wednesday night when all the languages, people just reading Scripture in different languages. But if you think church planting, Pastors College, so training for the future, and evangelism... it is really encouraging to think all my friends are looking outward and wanting to build and take risks for the expansion of the gospel. That's really encouraging. 

The room seems really big at our conference. This would be a question for everyone that was there this week. Is there a reason why all the chairs are zip-tied together and we're not allowed to spread them apart? Do you know anything about this Mark? And what are you going to do about it? 

Mark Prater: I didn't know they were zip-tied actually, so that's good to know. Last year we were in a smaller room and so we requested that bigger room because it felt like we were too packed in last year. So we moved over to this bigger room. I think we can make some adjustments: either bringing the stage out a little bit more or not zip tying the chairs so people can move around. I'll make sure that gets fixed. 

Eric Turbedsky: I also heard that there were a lot of silver alerts.. explain to those that are still lost that we're looking for them. So we learned there. And I don't think this was ever an issue in the past with Sovereign Grace Churches, but these silver alerts in Florida... 

Mark Prater:  Yeah. The silver alerts are something Mickey mentioned in the panel that he learned about, which is just folks that are a bit older who get confused and lost and they can't find their way. We had some of those at the conference. So it also tells us how we're moving from the first generation to the second generation, hopefully in Sovereign Grace. 

Eric Turbedsky: Do you expect anything--any big expectations for next year, thinking ahead of the conference? What would be different next year? Obviously maybe some different speakers or topics or whatever, but is there anything, in particular, you're thinking next year? 

Mark Prater: I think we'll look at different speakers because that can be helpful. One of the pieces of feedback I got was how well Josh Blount preached at his very first conference. 

Eric Turbedsky: We call him the Jeff Purswell of the West Coast, even though he lives in West Virginia. 

Mark Prater: Right. He's close enough. His state is called West Virginia. So you can claim it. I get it. He just did a great job. 

So a piece of feedback is: There are guys that we don't typically hear from that have that kind of gifting and ability. And so that's one of the things I would be thinking through in the year to come is other guys like him. I would have Josh speak again, obviously, but, I want to think about other guys, for example. 

And we didn't have CJ speak this year, so I want to most likely ask him again. I think it's good to hear from our founder. So that, that'd be something I'd be thinking about. 

The other thing is to continue to look for times of just praying for one another. We did that a little bit on Wednesday night and I'm wondering if there's another place in the conference to do that because it's an opportunity for pastors and wives to be cared for. Typically they're caring for others, but this is a conference where they can be cared for. So I'd be looking for those. There may be one additional opportunity there for next year. 

Eric Turbedsky: I have grown to appreciate it as I've been a pastor additional years and adding those years up that our Pastors Conference is still about word and prayer, which is just so appropriate for men and who are giving their lives to the ministry of the word and prayer to come be ministered to. So thank you for how you lead us Mark. I'm grateful. I think most of us, if not all of us, went home really happy. Thanks for the update. Thanks for being a part of Sovereign Grace Churches. Hopefully this serves you. Until we meet again.

If you have questions or comments, Mark, would love to hear from you. For more videos like this, hit subscribe on YouTube or by email at markkprater.com.

Transcript:

Eric Turbedsky: Hey, my name is Eric Turbedsky, Director of Communications for Sovereign Grace Churches, and I'm here with our Executive Director Mark Prater on his podcast, which is all about getting you ready and all you need to enjoy being part of our global family of churches. And this coming week is an exciting week, Mark, as we look forward to our Pastors' Conference. 

Mark Prater: Yeah. I can't wait. This is my favorite conference for a number of different reasons. And I'm especially excited about this conference. Let me just give you a few reasons why. First of all, just knowing that we have people traveling from—I believe it's 16 or 17 different nations to be there together—is a picture of the gospel and how the gospel unites us all in Christ. So we've got actually an evening plan on Wednesday evening where Bob Kauflin and Roberto Estupinian are going to lead singing together. We'll probably sing a couple of worship songs in Spanish, and I believe we're going to start that with a Scripture reading that will be done in several different languages. It'll be a visual reminder and an audio reminder when we hear the Scripture read of how Christ unites us from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And we're all represented in that room. So that's one of the reasons I'm excited is just the people traveling from different nations. 

Also, I'm very excited about the sermons—the main session messages—that you're going to hear that I believe will strengthen us. And we're going to end the conference with Rick Gamache reminding us that the sole purpose of life and ministry—the sole motivation of life and ministry—is the glory of God. 

Also just being together. I consistently get this feedback after every conference, every year, from guests who say this: I have never been around such a joyful group of pastors and wives. And there will be joy in that room because we love one another and we love being together. And I can't wait to be with you when we gather in Orlando. 

Eric Turbedsky: Oh, it is always just a wonderful time. Sometimes I go kicking and screaming. I don't want to leave my home and my family and church. But I always return really happy and always very encouraged to see its effect (the conference, every year) on the entire pastoral team of leaders and our church as we transfer all those things as we're being refreshed and encouraged and taught and bringing that all back to our local churches. So I'm really looking forward to it. 

Okay. So we call it the Pastors Conference. And to be clear, Mark, does "pastors" have an apostrophe like as in a possessive pastors' conference? How do you spell the pastors' conference? Guys want to know. Actually the Communication Director who wants to know. 

Mark Prater: It's a big debate actually in Sovereign Grace. You've got your grammar geeks who have an opinion on it. Actually we're gonna go with: Both are appropriate in Sovereign Grace. 

Eric Turbedsky: Oh, that's wishy-washy. Okay. Very good. Okay. Another one is that historically we've called it the Pastor's Conference or the Leaders' Conference. Why is it called the Pastors Conference? And the reason I'm asking because many of us are bringing our wives.

Mark Prater: Actually, to be more accurate we should call it our pastors and wives conference. But we call it a pastors' conference because it is a conference designed to serve and strengthen and equip and love on the pastors in Sovereign Grace Churches. And all of our guests who are pastors (or those who are in leadership in churches), we want to do the same for. But the ladies coming is so important because... Let me, just begin with this: why it's important for your wife to come if she's able is because I can't do what I do without Jill. And I think probably every pastor in Sovereign Grace would say that they can't do what they do in pastoring their church and leading their church without their wife. 

That doesn't mean you can't be single as a pastor. Please keep your theology right. But our wives are so key and so important to what we do as pastors for a number of different reasons. So the conference is a place for wives to come and to be encouraged and to be strengthened and to be cared for. 

There are certain aspects to pastoral ministry that wives experience very uniquely, that are sometimes difficult to talk about with members of the church. Not that you can't, but it all doesn't translate because they just don't have that experience. But you're coming to a conference where other wives are there and you can talk about some of the challenges in ministry and you know that person understands and can give you wise counsel and pray for you. 

So there's not just the care that we want to bring as a leadership team in the way we think about a conference. There's just being together with other wives and other women and talking about some of the challenges, not only in ministry but in your home as well. You can do so in a way that you can kind of let your hair down and speak very freely and yet receive very good care. So I just encourage wives to come partly for that reason. 

Eric Turbedsky: How do you prepare Jill for the conference? So Jill is going to go, and obviously you have a different role than many of us (or all of us) have. You're the only one that's the Executive Director, so you relate to all of us in a different way. But for the average pastor in Sovereign Grace Churches, yeah, your wife is coming. How do you prepare for the conference? 

And I'm thinking in particular many times: I'm busy. And so my wife is trying to navigate the conference without me at moments. But both the messages that are often directed towards pastors (and she's not a pastor, she's a pastor's wife) but as well sometimes she'll be without her pastor during the conference... What are some of the things you talk about with Jill before you go? 

Mark Prater: I have the advantage of seeing the registration report. So I've got a pretty good idea of who's coming. So I'm letting her know that she's going to see people that she's familiar with but doesn't talk to very often and just encourage her to look for them and engage them. I also let her know about guests that are coming and if they're bringing their wives and tell her, boy, I want you to meet so-and-so's wife. So Jeffrey Joe, who's not a Sovereign Grace pastor at the moment is bringing his wife, Virginia, literally from the Philippines this year. I'm telling Jill, I want an opportunity to introduce you to Virginia so that she has a chance to engage our guests and I want to prepare her for that. 

And then also, I have the advantage of seeing the sermons before they're preached and I'm telling her what's going to be preached and how it could really have application to what we're facing together as a couple or in our home or even in our church and just to help prepare her for it—for the sermons and how to receive from them and benefit from them. 

But the other thing I do with Jill: I think you've got to study your wife. I mean, that's something that CJ I think has taught us over the years so well. Study your wife. Know, your wife. And when I think about Jill, she brings joy into any situation she's in, typically. So I'm encouraging her to engage as many people as she can, because her joy just kind of spills out of her and can be contagious. A lot of times actually I'm waiting on her to leave the room to go back to our sleeping room because there are more people lined up to talk to her than to talk to me quite frankly—which I completely understand. She's a joy to be around. 

Eric Turbedsky: Okay, one last question is this: What do you say to the wife or the pastor who would like to have brought his wife to the conference, but they're church planting and they don't have much of a budget or they've got lots of young children and they can't make it, but they're not going to be there. How can they take advantage of the conference even though they're not there? And obviously being there is a big part of it. 

Mark Prater: It is. Well, a couple of things come to mind. I think if you're there without your wife, call her right after a session where you've got a few moments and just tell her what happened. I think most of our wives just really like to hear updates on the testimony that was shared. Carlos Contreras is going to be giving an update about Mexico next week and you're just going to love that. So call and tell your wife what he said. Tell her about the sermon that you heard and how you've benefited from it and you can't wait to get back home to listen to it with her so you can discuss it. 

Which is the second thing I would do is: Once you get back home make some time to listen to the sermons if you can together. I know that's really hard, but certainly if you can't, then have her listen to it or watch it on video, and then take some time to discuss it. 

And I think one other thing that does come to mind: You will encounter other ladies who are going to ask about your wife and how she's doing. Make sure your wife knows that those women asked about her, because that can just be a meaningful connection and make it more personal, even though she's not at the conference. 

Eric Turbedsky: Oh, that's good. Those are encouraging notes when people remember you and notice when you're not there. And there sure are going to be women in different seasons that are making a huge contribution locally. And some of that is seasons, just caring for young children or caring for aging parents and just can't leave. And we want them to feel the effects of our union together and our fellowship as pastors and partners in the gospel. 

Very helpful, Mark. Thanks so much. Thanks for your leadership. Good stuff. Until the next episode when we'll meet again, thanks for watching. Thanks for being our partners in the gospel and Sovereign Grace Churches. 

If you have questions or comments, Mark, would love to hear from you. For more videos like this, hit subscribe on YouTube or by email at markkprater.com.

Transcript:

Eric Turbedsky: Hey, my name's Eric Turbedsky, Director of Communications for Sovereign Grace Churches, and I'm here with our Executive Director, Mark Prater on his podcast, which is all about giving you what you need to be a part of our global family of churches. And today, Mark, I want to ask you a question, as we're getting ready for the pastors' conference. Actually before asked this question, I've heard that you are both traveling and moving before this pastors' conference. Where are you right now?

Mark Prater: I'm actually in Texas. It's a personal trip. As you can tell, I'm in a hotel room. My sister has two boys both in high school who are running a big cross country meet tomorrow. And my nephew is the captain of his cross country team, so this is a really big meet for him. And I was looking to bring some family support. So Jill and I are in Texas cheering them on when we get back. We are moving, we're closing our house November 12th. But I made the leadership decision, which was not well received by Jill, by the way, to move all of our stuff out before the pastors' conference. So we're moving Saturday before the pastors' conference and we'll come back home after the conference, move the smaller stuff out, clean up the house, and close on November 12th. So that's how we roll right now in the Prater home.

Eric Turbedsky: Oh my. That is how you roll. And you're not moving far, I assume. You're moving to California? That's where I am.

Mark Prater: That's tempting. No, just a mile.

Eric Turbedsky: A mile. Very good. All right. Here's my question. We're all getting ready for this pastors' conference. We're part of Sovereign Grace Churches and here's my question: Why do we encourage prophecy (the practice of prophecy) at our annual pastors conference? We don't have to. It's just a conference. I'd say some might not even expect this or be wondering why. So why is it? Why do we encourage it? And how can we come prepared, desiring to be part of the prophetic ministry at our conference? So first, what is prophecy, and why do we do it at the conference?

Mark Prater: Well, we do it because, as you know, we are Continuationists in our Pneumatology. I believe that the gifts continue today until the return of Christ. And that would be all of the gifts, not just the gift of prophecy. And all of the gifts are given for the common good of the church (1 Corinthians 12:7), but prophecy in particular is given by God to the church to build up, to encourage--to even console--people in the church, which is 1 Corinthians 14:3. This gift uniquely has this ability to edify the church. So when pastors and wives gather and they come to a conference where we hope they don't have any responsibility (or, if they do, not much at all) our desire is to care for them in many, many different ways. One of them would be through the work and the activity of the Holy Spirit that can empower the gift of prophecy, where we hear prophetic words or impressions that are not equal with the authority of Scripture, yet can have the effect of edifying people. So I would say come to the conference expectant. Pray for the Spirit to move and to act and to empower the gift of prophecy, and that it would be prophetic words that would be specific in nature, because when that happens, you know that it's the spirit that's working and it's not someone's random thoughts. One of the ways that we've enjoyed prophetic ministry over the years at the conference has been prophetic songs that Bob will actually get in the moment, spontaneously. And they can speak right into a person's situation and comfort them, build them up, and encourage them. So I'm grateful for the gift and grateful that we look to practice it at our conference.

Eric Turbedsky: How does it practically work at a conference? We would be familiar with how it functions at a Sunday service in a local church. But you're at the conference... you believe the Lord is moving you to speak... What do you do? Grab a bull horn? Stand on your chair in the back?

Mark Prater: Yeah, that'll get you kicked out.

Eric Turbedsky: Okay. Got that. Duly noted.

Mark Prater: We would apply the same principles that are directed for the local church in 1 Corinthians 14. We would apply those at a conference. So there's a difference between a conference and a local church gathering. We've gotta make that distinction. But the principles are the same where you want to bring governance and leadership to the gift of prophecy. You find that in 1 Corinthians 14:29-31 where Paul is bringing order. Paul is not wanting prophecies to be spoken out one over the other, but rather given one at a time so they can accomplish the purpose of building up. That is a language that he uses there. So if someone has a prophetic impression or word at the conference, we have a ministry mic at the front. I assign one Sovereign Grace pastor to that mic, usually just in the evening sessions. So come to the mic and share that impression with the guy at the mic. This year it's Rob Flood on Tuesday night, John Payne on Wednesday night, and Walt Alexander on Thursday night--just guys that you might know that you could look for and bring that word up and they'll determine whether we have it shared or not. Typically, I'm interacting with Bob Kauflin who is leading most of the singing, although not all the time, just where we might take prophetic words or if he has any prophetic songs that he's been praying about. So we do all that before the meeting, just to be prepared for any prophetic words that might come.

Eric Turbedsky: What's your favorite memory of prophetic ministry at a Sovereign Grace Conference? Does one pop to mind?

Mark Prater: Well immediately what pops to mind is: I think it was a couple of years ago that Bob had a prophetic song for pastors who were weary and had experienced people leaving their church or their churches, which seemed to speak right into the situation of several churches in Sovereign Grace. And it was just comforting. It was faith building. I can remember in that moment thinking: This is amazing how specifically God the Father is caring for his people through the work of the Holy Spirit. That's the memory I have.

Eric Turbedsky: Oh, good. I've got a lot of good memories. What about the person that's coming and maybe they are a Continuationist, but maybe they're not experienced, maybe they're even a guest, a guest that's watching right now, and you're a little bit nervous about what this all looks like, that kind of thing? What do you tell the person that's sitting in the back... suspicious isn't the right word... anxious about the whole thing.

Mark Prater: I would say: I can relate. When we first came to a Sovereign Grace Church, which is Covenant Fellowship, back in 1990, we came from a Cessationist church (Jill and I did)--a faithful church that preached the gospel, but didn't believe in the gifts--so when we saw the gifts in action, it just raised all kinds of questions for us--not only questions but apprehensions and fears. And I would say some cynicism even on our part. So what it did is it drove us to study Scripture. And as we studied Scripture, we realized, okay, theologically we're not Cessationists. We're actually Continuationists, but what does that mean? And what really affected us was to see how the members of Covenant Fellowship actually used their gifts. They used them in such a way that didn't draw attention to themselves. They used them in a way that served others and drew attention to God. And so someone who's coming to the conference, who's never received prophetic ministry, or has a lot of questions about how the Spirit might work... I would say, first of all, just observe and watch how the gifts are used. And I think that will help confront or deal with some of the fears or anxiousness you might be experiencing.

Eric Turbedsky: So you're free to sit in the meeting and enjoy the ministry of the Spirit. And you're not going to be put on the spot, but at the same time, we'd encourage you to come expectant that God will minister not only to all of us, but even to you specifically. You'd say that to them all. That's helpful, Mark. Thanks for your leadership. Thanks that we are Continuationists and because we're Continuationists, when we gather together we come expectant and desiring and pursuing the work of the Spirit among us. So just so grateful for that. Thanks for your leadership. That's good stuff. Until we meet again next episode, thanks for watching. And thanks for being our partners in the gospel, Sovereign Grace Churches.

If you have questions or comments, Mark, would love to hear from you. For more videos like this, hit subscribe on YouTube or by email at markkprater.com.