Good Shepherding

Audio from our 2021 Shepherds Conference: The Good Soldier. Session 4, "Soldiers Fight," by Elder Brian Bailey.

Ministry is warfare. Warfare means fighting. There’s no ministry without conflict. Yet many church officers who engage in battle every day in their occupations outside the church are consciously or subconsciously opposed to conflict within the church. Why? In what condition will this tactical error leave the church and her sheep? Why are we scandalized by conflict among the sinners who make up each congregation?

2 Tim. 2:3-4 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 

Audio from our 2021 Shepherds Conference: The Good Soldier. Session 3, "Soldiers Work," by Pastor Andrew Dionne.

Ministry is hard work—you don’t get to live as an ordinary civilian. The Lord enlisted you and now you are on duty serving as His soldier. This is more than the work of preaching—it’s the work of constantly shepherding, counseling, rebuking, and praying for God’s people. This work never stops coming. How do pastors remain faithful when they come to the limits of their own strength? How do pastors give to their wives and children when the people of God have left them exhausted?

2 Tim 2:4-7 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 

Audio from our 2021 Shepherds Conference: The Good Soldier. Session 2, "Soldiers Must Be Trained," by Pastor Stephen Baker.

No military officer sends his soldiers into battle without first putting them through bootcamp. The Church needs pastors for the warfare of ministry, but those pastors need training. More is at stake in ministry than in warfare—the casualties are eternal souls—so the Church’s training of her shepherd had better exceed the rigor of the training of the armed forces. How should the Church take responsibility for the men who will shepherd Her? What role should the Church play in training them?

2 Tim. 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Audio from our 2021 Shepherds Conference: The Good Soldier. Session 1, "The Pastor is a Soldier," by Pastor Tim Bayly.

Ministry is warfare. Pastors are soldiers enlisted by the Lord: "Suffer hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Men who fight, command, and lead aren’t popular today, but the pastor isn’t working for popularity with women and men. He only has eyes for God. So he humbles himself to fight, but it’s hard not to pick the wrong battles with the wrong enemies at the wrong times. Fighting takes the sort of wisdom that develops with time. Through an exposition of 2 Timothy 2:1-7, Pastor Bayly lays the groundwork for understanding ministry as warfare.

In episode 6 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, Andrew Dionne addresses suffering and the pastoral ministry. Calvin, Spurgeon, and Lloyd-Jones serve as examples of faithful suffering.

In episode 5 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, Andrew Dionne addresses effeminacy and pastoral candidacy. A quick look at the practice of Geneva's Company of Pastors rounds out this short episode.

In episode 4 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, President Andrew Dionne reflects on NGA's logo and the Apostle Paul's exhortation not to be arrogant. 

In episode 3 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, President Andrew Dionne reviews John Chrysostom's life and zooms in on his "Letters to a Fallen Theodore." 

In episode 2 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, President Andrew Dionne interviews Pastors Jody Killingsworth and Phil Moyer on worship music and leading worship effectively in the church. 

In episode 1 of New Geneva Academy's Good Shepherding podcast, President Andrew Dionne interviews Pastor Stephen Baker on how to train pastors, and why a lot of modern seminaries are doing it badly.