I don’t know about you, but it seems like so much of my ministry development seemed unsupervised. I’ve had some great teachers and I am so thankful for the constant direction of God’s Spirit, so don’t get me wrong, but there were many times I felt left to figure things out on my own. This is not a complaint – it has instilled deep inside of me a desire to come alongside those who are growing and taking leadership around me.
“Leaders need someone to shepherd their soul so that they can then lead others to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Every church leader—from fulltime ministers to volunteer leaders—needs a Gospel Coach who will come alongside them with words drawn from Scripture and godly wisdom, grounded in the gracious saving work of Jesus Christ, and presented in the context of a trusting relationship.” - Gospel Coach
That’s why I am really interested, excited, and hopeful for the training that Scott Thomas, president of Acts 29, has developed. Gospel Coach: Shepherding Leaders to Glorify God is due to be released in May. Scott Thomas is also leading training events that are crisscrossing the nation. The closest event to the Northeast so far is next week, February 3-4th, in Syracuse, NY. This is real short notice, so it may be worth following Gospel Coach on Facebook, to read more and see where more trainings will be held.
Mark,
Thanks for the update. There have been a number of solid books on Gospel-centered discipleship in one form or another that have been flowing out of Re:Lit and Crossway lately. Sometimes, it feels like whenever I think “it would be great if there were a book written on this aspect of ministry,” it is announced and written by Re:Lit or Crossway or perhaps something from Baker, Zondervan, IVP on rare occasion. It seemed a few years ago that every other book had the word “Gospel” in bold on the cover and everyone was making a quick buck on the same train. However, though my concern still is that the Gospel can become as Matt Chandler worded it “a junk drawer” for many things, I am excited to see so many works written specifically for the church and with the Gospel as the center, always the main thing. It is unfortunate that I have to say that and the Gospel has not always been central in doing ministry even to the smallest aspects, but I am thankful that this seems to be more than a trend and something that is penetrating the joint and marrow of the local church. I have been blessed in my first year of full-time pastoral ministry in reading Church Planter by Darrin Patrick and the honest, blunt, and humble work of Mark Driscoll called Confessions of a Reformission Rev, among many other works outside of the Re:Lit stock. More recently, Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft has blessed me, and I’ll probably read it again. I provided it to leaders I’m developing in the church as well. I read Note to Self almost daily, one reading or two, at a time. That book is small, yet, powerful. It is an injection of Spirit-filled, Gospel-centered, conviction into your heart. I love it. Currently working on Bill Clem’s book Disciple and looking forward to Brad House new book Community. Also, I’ve been reading the Explore devotions several times a day from The Good Book Company and been richly blessed by it’s simplicity and basic notes and directed questions in wading slowly through Scripture. Needless to say after all that, I’m encouraged by the great wealth of works coming out of Re:Lit and Crossway in making the Gospel central not only to church ministry, but also to the family. Looking forward to what 2012 and 2013 will see in regards to more works like Scott Thomas’ work, but more than that, seeing what the fruit of this Gospel-centered literature will show in communities and regions around the US and the world.