The Role of the Pastors College

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Ben Kreps:

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace churches with our Executive Director. Mark, as you and guys that pay attention to the podcast know, I recorded our podcast a few weeks ago from the Pastors College. Had a wonderful week there studying pneumatology with Jeff Purswell. I went to the Pastors College in 2011, graduated in 2012, and have been, now for over a decade, very grateful for the role that the Pastors College plays in Sovereign Grace in training pastors. Talk to us about the importance of the Pastors College.

Mark Prater:

Yeah. We have a Pastors College because of scripture really. Titus 1:9 says that elders are to be able to teach sound doctrine and to rebuke those who go against sound doctrine. So obviously the Pastors College provides not only theological training, but we also hope that leads to theological discernment; to discern right and wrong theology. And for men to be able to do that as pastors and elders in churches and in Sovereign Grace churches in particular, we've sought to theologically train pastors really for most of our history in Sovereign Grace. I mean, very early on, I think your former senior pastor, Ken Mellinger may have went to the very first School of Ministry Pastors College. School of Ministry it was called at the time. I think that was late eighties, early nineties.

Since that time there has really been a commitment on our part to theologically train, not only our existing pastors, but also to train young men who aspire to be in pastoral ministry. And we want to theologically equip them. And yet, you know this Ben, the thing about our Pastors College is that it's based in Louisville connected to the Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. And so there's not only theological training, there's theological training that's connected to how that gets worked out in the life of a local church. And there's also just care for families and character development that young men receive, and their wives, when they attend the Pastors College.

In fact, one of the comments I hear often is, "boy, I was theologically deepened and my marriage was strengthened". I hear that as a common refrain from guys who make the sacrifice of moving their families to attend the PC for 10 months to receive theological training. So, in its current configuration, Jeff Purswell has led it,  I think approaching 25 years now, I think 23 or 24 years. He is a gift to us. And yes, I would say if you have any opportunity to sit under the teaching of Jeff Purswell, that makes the Pastors College even more attractive and I think more necessary to attend.

Ben Kreps:

Yes. Amen. Now, back at the School of Ministry, if I recall correctly, one of the textbooks for the preaching class was How to Win Friends and Influence People. So we've <laugh>, yes, we've certainly evolved over time and especially under Jeff's leadership. One of the complaints that I heard a number of times coming out of our year at the PC was simply that we wish Jeff taught more classes because of the effect he had on us. And, it really is unique. There were guys in my class that had gone to seminary and found this experience more enriching than the seminary experience because of the bent towards applying the theology we were learning to pastoral ministry, equipping us to be pastors. And not just theologians, but theologian pastors. So grateful for that. But you have some stories. There's a new PC class starting to form; people are enrolling. You've got some stories for us about the next class that's gonna be heading down to Louisville in the fall. Tell us about them.

Mark Prater:

I do. There are men applying for the Pastors College for the next academic year, which actually begins in August, this summer, 2023. And I want to highlight these stories because they really illustrate the sacrifices men are making and they illustrate in these men's minds the the need for theological training. So the first is a story from Josh Tong. Josh Tong is the Senior Pastor of the Sovereign Grace Church in Toronto. Little bit of background on Josh. He was a very successful, competent attorney in the Toronto area, and several years ago felt called to pastoral ministry, transitioned out of that career to to go into pastoral ministry, and became a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Toronto, alongside of Tim Kerr. And then a few years later, Tim Kerr transitioned the Senior Pastor role over to Josh. Tim remains a happy pastor there in Toronto with Josh. During that time, their church was given a building, which is really remarkable.

And through faithful preaching and faithful pastoral ministry, by both Josh and Tim, that church is now gathering 350 people on a Sunday. So in the last couple of years in particular, they've almost more than doubled their size. And it's in the midst of all of that, a man who's very competent, a man who's very bright, a man who's leading a growing church, has said, I need more theological training. And he told Jeff, I need to sit under you and be theologically trained and benefit from you in particular. And so they've applied to the Pastors College. They're going to be going. It's no small feat that he's leaving a growing church, but also that he and his wife Nina and their six kids are moving to Louisville. He couldn't be more excited about attending the Pastors College.

Another story is that of Emerson Soares who leads a Sovereign Grace church, or a church pursuing partnership in Sovereign Grace; Igreja Nova Vida, in Rio Grande, Brazil. He's a younger man who had hoped to go to the Pastors College about five years ago. The plans were in motion, he was serving on staff with a pastor, and that lead pastor tragically committed suicide and left a family and a church that really needed pastoral leadership. And so Emerson stepped in as a young man and just began to lead that church. And he has done a remarkable job leading it and pastoring it to the point of health that he can now attend the Pastors College the next academic year. And so he's moving from another country as Josh is, and moving a young family because he sees the need to be theologically trained.

And then just one other story, I won't use this leader's name for purpose of security, but we have a key leader in Nepal that most likely will be attending the Pastors College, as well. So, I tell you those stories because embedded in those stories is each of those men have a desire to be theological trained. The leader from Nepal has been leading his ministry for years, and yet he's saying, I need theological training. So there's the need for theological training and they're pursuing the Pastors College, making sacrifices, some of them really substantial sacrifices, to attend. And I tell those stories because if you're a pastor and you're thinking about sending a guy and you're just not sure, don't know if he can pull this off, or if you're a man listening to this podcast and you desire to be in pastoral ministry in Sovereign Grace and you've thought about going to the Pastors College and you've had that thought, I don't know if I can pull this off. I don't know if I can move my family. Yes, you can. God will meet you in the sacrifices that you can make.

Maybe you're listening to this and ask, is the Pastors College really necessary? Yes it is. And I think Josh's story and Emerson's story are examples of men who are leaving healthy, active churches to pursue theological training because in their mind, it is necessary. So I say all that because if you've got a guy in your church that thought about sending in an application, please send the application. We would love to have a few more guys join us for this next academic year. If you're thinking about applying to the PC apply. We would love to serve you, and Jeff Purswell and his team, serve you well should you go to the Pastors College. So, my encouragement, I think you're hearing me, is to air on the side of going.

Ben Kreps:

Yeah. Yeah. When my wife Kate and I think about that year we were at the Pastors College, we sometimes have said we would just love to go do that again, if that were possible. It was such a rich experience. And having sent my Executive Pastor, Kevin Busch, a couple years ago, and looking forward to potentially sending someone next year as well, I couldn't be more grateful for the Pastors College, the role it plays in Sovereign Grace, the role that Jeff plays in leading that Pastors College.

It's remarkable to think about these men who are going and making not only a sacrifice, but making a sacrifice with discernible humility. I mean, these are senior leaders. It's not like this is career advancement going on. They want to be equipped to care for their churches that they lead, better. And that kind of humility and sacrifice is something that's been reflected throughout our history. So grateful to hear those stories about these men who are going to the PC. And yes, please consider who you might send or if you want to apply yourself. You will not regret it. Thanks, Mark, for the update. Thank you all for watching or reading. We'll see you here, Lord willing, next week. Bye for now.