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Galatians 5:16-23 teaches that at any moment we are either walking by the Holy Spirit or according to the sin nature. Walking by the Spirit, enjoying fellowship with God, walking in the light are virtually synonymous. During these times, the Holy Spirit is working in us to illuminate our minds to the truth of Scripture and to challenge us to apply what we learn. But when we sin, we begin to live based on the sin nature. Our works do not count for eternity. The only way to recover is to confess (admit, acknowledge) our sin to God the Father and we are instantly forgiven, cleansed, and recover our spiritual walk (1 John 1:9). Please make sure you are walking by the Spirit before you begin your Bible study, so it will be spiritually profitable.

2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference

2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference

March 2013

Biblical Priorities for Church Ministry

The theme for the 2013 conference was Biblical Priorities for Church Ministry with an emphasis on understanding the contemporary Christian worship controversy. Scott Aniol, the keynote speaker and author of "Worship in Song", a book we highly recommend, provided critical insight into understanding that there is biblically consistent music and music that contradicts a Christian worldview.

Tens of thousands of churches have almost identical doctrinal statements. However, when attending them they may seem vastly different. That difference is what is usually called the “philosophy of ministry” and basically describes the priorities and emphases of any given church or ministry. Sadly, apostasy, division, and church splits are more often the result of differences in how to “do church”, than in what we believe, and few churches ever articulate their philosophy of ministry.

One of the most divisive areas of philosophy of ministry today is not only the meaning of the word “worship”, but its exclusive identification with music. Our keynote speaker, Scott Aniol, is exceptionally qualified to address this topic and has written and spoken much about this over the years. Other significant areas that must be addressed relate to the priority of Bible teaching in a local church, what it means to be a pastor, ministry to men, and ministry to children, along with many other day-to-day activities of a local church.

The men teaching at this conference combine decades of experience in numerous different venues of church ministry. Each is committed to the sufficiency of Scripture and the prime directive of Scripture to “feed the sheep,” “teach the Word,” and to do the work of an evangelist. But we also need to think through how these priorities shape the day-to-day operation and decision making in the local church.

Hosted by West Houston Bible Church from March 4-6, 2013, the speakers at the conference also included daytime speakers Charles Clough, Robert Dean, Bruce Einspahr, Bryan Hult, George Meisinger, Jim Myers, Mark Perkins, David Roseland, Paul Schmidtbleicher, Jeremy Thomas, and Andy Woods.

To view all video Bible studies in the 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference series, click here (Vimeo) or here (YouTube).

14 - Holy Culture
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
by Scott Aniol
Passage: 1 Peter 1:13-19
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 33 mins 45 secs
The missional church movement has significantly influenced evangelical churches in recent years, especially through its philosophy of evangelism and worship. Missional advo­cates argue that the church is part of the missio Dei—the mission of God—and thus it must see its ministries as fitting within that mission. Essential to the accomplishment of that mission is embedding the church in its target culture, which missional authors call “incarnation.” In order to evangelize a culture, they argue, churches must contextualize the message of the gospel in the culture. According to the grandfather of the missional movement, Lesslie Newbigin, contextualization is “the placing of the gospel in the total context of a culture at a particular moment, a moment that is shaped by the past and looks to the future.”
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13 - Producing Generational Loyalty to God
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
by Jeremy Thomas
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 20 mins 26 secs

“Whereas in 1820 Protestants had thought about children’s religious experiences primarily in terms of family and church, by 1880 it was impossible to conceive of them without reference to the Sunday school. During the nineteenth century, this new institution became the primary locale – outside of the family – for religious indoctrination of Protestant youth. In the annals of church history the saga of Sunday school was unique, involving not only the creation of a new institution to fulfill functions previous entrusted to parents and pastors…”

Has it been successful? At present the church is facing a mass exodus of its young people into the hands of the culture. Conservative Seminaries, Bible churches and men well-prepared for the pastorate are shrinking by quantum leaps. In light of the present distress one response is to reconsider our manner of discipling the next generation. Sunday school has been the order of the day for the last 200 years in America and Youth Ministry programs were added 50 years ago as the primary means of discipling young people. And yet with the escalation of these programs the departure from the church among young people has only escalated.

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12 - Panel Discussion
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 19 mins 14 secs
Robert Dean facilitator, Scott Aniol, Charles Clough, Bruce Einspahr, George Meisinger, Mark Perkins, and Paul Schmidtbleicher
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11 - Biblical Analysis of the Emerging Church - Part 2
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
by Andy Woods
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 14 mins 31 secs

These sessions involve a a critique of a movement that you may not know anything about if you are over the age of 40. This movement that I am speaking of is the emergent church.

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul warned that the last days of the church would be characterized by apostasy. What I would like to share with you in these sessions is really the next wave of apostasy which is coming and in fact is already here. It is called the emergent church. You may not be familiar with it at all because it is targeted towards the young. All you have to do to validate what I am saying is to go to Google and type in the words "emerging church" or "emergent church," and you will find a plethora of emergent websites, all targeting the young.

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10 - Corporate Worship: The People’s Work
Wednesday, March 06, 2013
by Scott Aniol
Passage: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 16 mins 5 secs
You can read more about this topic in Scott Aniol's book Sound Worship: A Guide to Making Musical Choices in a Noisy World
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9 - The Importance of Aesthetic Form in the Preservation of Truth
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
by Scott Aniol
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 38 mins 57 secs
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8 - Issues in Chaplaincy
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
by Bryan Hult
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 10 mins 7 secs

1) What is a chaplain?

a) Definition of a Chaplain: A chaplain is a credentialed minister recognized by a faith-based organization to render spiritual care to assigned recipients in a non-religious institution, like the Army. Chaplains serve in hundreds of capacities from the military, to hospitals, prison, sports, businesses, educational institutions, police and fire departments. He/she can be Protestant, Catholic, or even Jewish, Buddhist or Imam. The chaplain is a non-combatant, i.e., he does not carry a weapon.

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7 - Developing Biblical Manhood in a Feminizing Pagan World
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
by Bruce Einspahr
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 8 mins 51 secs
Video:watch Audio:listendownload Text:slideshow
6 - The Apostle Paul’s Pastoral Ministry
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
by David Roseland
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 7 mins 38 secs
A philosophy of pastoral ministry is indispensable to the task of shepherding God’s flock. A pastor’s approach to his sacred task may arise from his own experience, the examples that have preceded him in his theological or ecclesiastical tradition, pressure from the congregation, or any number of perspectives which purport to have the most expedient answers to challenging questions of our time. Today it is not uncommon to hear from the world of commercial trade about how to succeed in leadership for the church. As many different instances of ministry philosophy exist as pastors and leaders in the various local churches that comprise the Body of Christ. In the larger category of ecclesiology, this topic is one of the most varied regarding opinions and perspectives. This paper will argue that the biblical philosophy of pastoral ministry begins with the imitation of Jesus and His apostles. It will be shown that this concept of leadership imitation extends from the general features common to all believers in the growth process of experiential sanctification to the specific tasks that belong to pastors and teachers in the local church.
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5 - A Biblical Analysis of the Emerging Church - Part 1
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
by Andy Woods
Series: 2013 Chafer Theological Seminary Bible Conference
Duration: 1 hr 6 mins 16 secs

These sessions involve a a critique of a movement that you may not know anything about if you are over the age of 40. This movement that I am speaking of is the emergent church.

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul warned that the last days of the church would be characterized by apostasy. What I would like to share with you in these sessions is really the next wave of apostasy which is coming and in fact is already here. It is called the emergent church. You may not be familiar with it at all because it is targeted towards the young. All you have to do to validate what I am saying is to go to Google and type in the words "emerging church" or "emergent church," and you will find a plethora of emergent websites, all targeting the young.

Video:watch Audio:listendownload Text:notesslideshow