Articles

Converse With Scholars

Feb 9, 2007 | Interviews

Thanks to Justin Taylor, this link may prove to be quite edifying – conversations with major Bible scholars and teachers.  I’ll be checking it out. Between Two Worlds: Converse with Scholars: Jim... read more

Desiring God Pastors’ Conference – Day Two

Feb 6, 2007 | Miscellaneous, Pastoral Ministry

UPDATED It is still cold here. As we came back from dinner this evening it was about 8 degrees. Thankfully, we have not had to be out in it during the conference. The conference began this morning with another music session. I enjoyed the songs, most of which I was unfamiliar with. Interestingly, out of all of the singing, the most robust song among the entire group was the first and the last: “Immortal, Invisible” and “Solid Rock.” I love the newer and contemporary songs we have been singing, but it is obvious that many of them do not lend themselves to the most robust congregational singing, but to a more personal contemplation. Thabiti Anyabwile, a pastor from the Cayman Islands, opened the word to us from Ezekiel 8-11. He read a long and powerful portion from chapter 8. After explaining the text, he offered 10 applications for pastors, in relation to applying the holiness of God to pastoral ministry. From my notes, his ten points are: Help people choose God Himself over idols. Choose your leaders wisely. Take oversight of the people Be clear about the distinctions between justification and sanctification. Meditate on the truth that judgment begins at the household of God. Meditate on the plight of the lost. Surround yourself with those who sigh and cry over sin. Pursue a regenerate church membership Commit yourself to intercession before the Lord comes. Pursue holiness with the joy of the gospel. R. C. Sproul gave the next session on the trauma of holiness in Christ’s holiness. As he did yesterday, Dr. Sproul followed the content of his well-known... read more

Desiring God Pastors’ Conference – 1st Session

Feb 6, 2007 | Miscellaneous, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching

Pastors James Billings, Stacy Johnson and myself had an uneventful drive down to beautiful San Diego, CA to catch a plane out to the frozen tundra of Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Desiring God Pastors’ Conference. From what we can estimate, we’ve experienced about a 90 degree change in the temperature from Hemet to Minneapolis. That means it is absolutely freezing here. We checked the temp at about 11:00 p.m. here and it was 5 below zero (not chill factor). My two crazy compatriots drug me outside our hotel to experience the freeze. James (originally from Wisconsin) trotted himself outside in short sleeves and was exhilarated with the feeling being back close to the land of his roots. Stacy has never experienced this kind of cold before and it concerns me that he wants to continually take a walk outside to experience more of the frozen air. Me personally, I hate this kind of cold and fervently thank God that I am now a resident of sunny Sothern California. The high tomorrow is supposed to reach 6 degrees, which is better than today – I don’t think it got above 0. We arrived at our hotel, the site of the conference, just 40 minutes before it began. Approximately 1300 pastors are present to hear Dr. R.C. Sproul as the keynote speaker and several other men (including Dr. John Piper) speak over the next three days. I must say that the servant attitude we have experienced from the people of Bethlehem Baptist Church has been so very encouraging. The church provided a free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel.... read more

CAPRANICA IN MINNEAPOLIS

Feb 5, 2007 | Miscellaneous, Pastoral Ministry

Pray for Kel and Brie and if you think about it, the two pastors I serve with and myself. This morning, I leave with my two compatriots for Minneapolis, MN for the Desiring God Conference for Pastors (they’re waiting on me to finish this blog so we can get in the car and head to the airport). Pray for Kel and Brie that they will do well while I’m away. Pray for me that I will do well away from... read more

Welcome Brie to the Blogosphere (and to THE CAPRANICA).

Feb 2, 2007 | Personal

As some of you know, Kelly and I just recently completed certification to be foster parents. Our prayer and desire was to have a little infant. Yesterday, while I was away in Escondido studying for my Doctoral project, Kelly called me to say that we had just received a call to come pick up a seventeen day old little girl, Brie Ann. Due to the circumstances, we will be on an accelerated track to adopt this new little treasure. Brie arrived in our home this morning and we are thrilled to welcome her. She is in my arms participating in her first blog and loving every minute of it. Thanks in advance for your... read more

Will You Switch to Office 07?

Jan 30, 2007 | Blogging, Miscellaneous, Pastoral Ministry, Uncategorized

Not for you Macintrash users, but for those of us who live in the real world and enjoy the flexibility and software availability of a PC, will you be switching (or have you switched) to Office 07? Last week I downloaded the 60 day trial for the new Office Professional Suite 07. I could not be more impressed. The Business Contact Manager with Outlook will seamlessly synchronize our church’s membership records between all three of our pastors. We can instantaneously share, update and correct information associated with our membership files. All we do is turn our computer on and connect to the internet. Groove is rapidly becoming an essential for us as we are constantly sharing files and information. This tool allows us to collaborate on ministry projects and have them seamlessly and instantaneously updated by anyone on our team. Thanks to Denny Burk’s post, I am also using the new Word to write and publish this post. Have you seen the way the new Word handles footnoting for papers? This should help immensely with my project. We are also toying with a few of Microsoft’s other features that may prove helpful. I’ll mention them in the future as we find them... read more

Expository Convictions – part 8

Jan 26, 2007 | Preaching

About My Exegetical Process Once I have completed the diagram and the main idea of the text, I then go through each verse, studying each significant word and/or phrase. This could consist of tracing a word’s usage through the circles of context.[1] I note significant issues from verb tenses and syntactical structures. I generally consult one or two Scripture indexes from an original language grammar to see if they contribute anything significant to the verse or passage I am studying. I still consult notes I took in seminary language classes for syntactical issues. [begin unnecessary diatribe] To be honest, and in my opinion, the most helpful and necessary part of seminary is training in Hebrew and Greek. I believe any one who wants can read on his/her own from good theology texts and develop a basic systematic theology. However, one’s systematic theology will be quite limited without significant training in the details of exegesis. I don’t think most people (especially myself) can (or will) pick up the art and science of exegesis without formal and concentrated training. I know by saying this I’m going to raise the ire of a few who preach well and accurately without formal seminary training or training in the biblical languages. I did the same for eight and a half years of pastoral ministry before seminary. Of course a person can preach and teach clearly and accurately without formal theological or exegetical training. However, the benefits far outweigh not having such training. I do believe one’s study skills will be limited without a solid education in the original languages. By advocating seminary training I... read more

Are you a Workaholic?

Jan 26, 2007 | Time/Life Management

You may be a workaholic if . . . Check out not only the brief overview at Lifehack – but click on and read the corresponding article.  I think I may be a workaholic. Are you a Workaholic? –... read more

Mohler’s Lessons

Jan 23, 2007 | Miscellaneous

Dr. Mohler lists a number of lesson he has learned from his recent physical trial. Listen to his radio show from yesterday for more. Lessons Learned in a Crisis of... read more

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C.J., Lig, Al, Mark, et. al. Mark Dever and Company John Piper John MacArthur Phil Johnson and Friends the same says it all.