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.