Pastors College Stories
Drew Williams
College-Ministry Leader
“Like a traveler looking for a guide as he sets out on a journey, I have been pointed to the true north of pastoral ministry this year: the good news of Christ crucified and risen for sinners.”
Read his story
Drew Williams attended the Pastors College from Cornerstone Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. He gave a testimony during the graduation ceremony, representing the entire class.
It’s an honor to represent the class to you today, and share about how this year has affected me. The verse I’ve chosen to sum up what I’ve received this year is 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
If we’re being honest, this verse may seem a bit simplistic to sum up the year. A lot has been delivered to us: Preaching training, counseling, theology, languages . . . But most importantly, the gospel has been delivered to us. Like a traveler looking for a guide as he sets out on a journey, I have been pointed to the true north of pastoral ministry this year: the good news of Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Pastors do a lot of things, but receiving this news and delivering and applying this news is the main thing. I want to share a bit about how I’ve received the gospel as the true north of my ministry compass this year, and how this year has equipped me to deliver the good news to others.
I’ve received the gospel in the classroom: The very first week of class, Jeff taught us that God’s revelation in Scripture is always centered on redemption. Some weeks later in biblical theology, he showed us how the whole story of Scripture fits together with the central thread of God’s saving work in Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, there is ONE main message to convey. This has profoundly shaped how I read and teach the Bible. I want to show people the centrality of redemption throughout Scripture and the classes have equipped me to do that. Jeff, thank you for teaching us this year. Whether it was you, or another professor you picked out, the gospel has been delivered to us in the classroom. It has sharpened our minds and changed our lives.
I’ve received the gospel in our care groups: I came to PC expecting to be sharpened theologically, but I didn’t expect I would grow so much personally and in my marriage. Gary and Betsy taught us to be more aware of God’s activity and grace in each other’s life than where we need to grow. This simple advice, applied over and over again, has made me a more gracious husband, a more gracious person, and a more gracious pastor…Thank you Gary. By God’s grace and your effort, I am a more gracious husband than when I came to PC. You have delivered the gospel to us and shown us how it affects our marriages.
I’ve received the gospel from all of you guys right here. It’s hard to believe that 10 months ago, I didn’t know any of you…You have challenged me in specific ways, exhorting me by both your words but more poignantly by your example…Thank you for delivering the gospel to me. I want to be more like you men. I can’t wait to see what the future has for us, and I pray we’re serving together in Sovereign Grace for years to come.
I’ve received the gospel from you, Sovereign Grace Church Louisville: From the very first day, you have served us, fed us, partied with us, prayed for us, and showed us what it means to be a community formed by the gospel. Your joy is compelling… Finally, maybe the most important mark you’ve left on me, is how you love and support your pastors. As I’m leaving Louisville, I’m more excited to be a pastor than when I first came, and a big part of it is seeing how you receive the leadership of your pastors with joy.
Finally, I’ve received the gospel from your pastor: CJ. There are so many things you have taught me this year, but the most important one is to “keep the main thing the main thing.” The gospel is the true north of your preaching and your life, and I leave this year wanting to follow your example. Charles Spurgeon once said something like “just as there is a road to London from every town and village in England, so there is a road to Christ from every text of Scripture.” Your preaching has taken us down the road to Christ. I know each time I hear you preach, I’m going to take a trip to a hill called Calvary and see my Savior there. This has served my soul, and it has also left an example for me. I want to preach sermons full of Christ. Full of grace. Full of gospel-rooted motivation for holiness. But it’s not just your preaching that has delivered the gospel to me, it is your life as well: You taught me that there should be a special shelf in my emotional life reserved only for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you’ve shown me what that looks like. You’ve exhibited what John Newton called “gospel simplicity”: you are aware of the depth of your sin and it humbles you, but you are more aware of your Savior. His work on the cross has changed your life, and you live to proclaim it to others. Thank you, CJ. I pray you see the gospel-centered legacy you are leaving, a legacy that will far out-live you.
So, what have we learned this year? There are many things, but above all we’ve learned to apply Christ’s finished work to our lives, our families, our studies, and our ministry. My prayer is that as we leave to serve in various roles and various places, we would deliver what we have received this year. May the gospel of God’s grace ring out from us. May our lives and marriages and sermons be “full of Christ” for the good of his church and the glory of his name. Amen.
Bart Lipscomb
Senior Pastor
Read his story
This snapshot was written by Bart Lipscomb, who graduated in June of 2018. He and his wife Jessica came from Redemption Hill Church in Round Rock, TX. This is a portion of what he shared at the Pastors College graduation.
When we were praying and making the final decision to come to Pastors College (PC), one of the main verses that God used to guide us was the verse on the back of your program – 1 Timothy 4:16, “Watch your life and your doctrine closely.” And so, when we sat down way back in August for orientation, unbeknownst to us Jeff started talking about how the entire program is designed around those words. It was the first of many, many times throughout the year where God confirmed this was exactly where we needed to be. We’ve been blown away at the rigorous equipping, intentional care and genuine fellowship that has spurred us on to watch our doctrine and lives. It has marked every aspect of PC…
I can say, without a doubt, the content and the world-class scholars we had every week in the classroom were second to none. Beyond that, the quality of the professor’s character was just as instructive as their lectures. People ask what my favorite class was and I really have a hard time deciding. The Lord used the Parenting class with Brian Chesemore and Bob Kauflin to reveal to me what it means to parent by faith in Christ. And I thought I knew what it meant to serve as a pastor before, but I spent the entire class we had with C.J. Mahaney on pastoring having my view lifted to see responsibility and privilege beyond imagination. The same thing could be said for Greek, Church History, Apologetics and Theology courses. Each class caused me to understand the Gospel better, to love Christ more deeply, and to desire to serve with passion and precision…
The joy of all these things was multiplied by getting to spend this year with my fellow classmates. I didn’t know you could experience such a bond in such a short period of time. But, these men and their wonderful families –people I’d never met before—are now lifetime friends. I eagerly looked forward to fellowship group to spend time with and learn from them. These men love Jesus, they are extremely gifted and at the same time they are humble servants. They truly were part of my education this year. I have so much respect for them and anticipation for how God is going to use them in the future…
As we return [to our churches], I can’t help but shake my head and think “Why me?” Why did I get to experience so much of God’s grace this year? But, that is what makes grace, grace. And our desire is to steward and pass on what we have received here. When I think about the effects of the PC upon 10 students and their families being multiplied in the lives of all those we’ll encounter in our home churches and new church plants in years to come, I truly marvel at God’s kindness and grace.
Mike Seaver
Church Planter
Read his story
Mike graduated from the Pastors College in 2007, is the senior pastor of Risen Hope Church in Summerville, SC, and serves on the Sovereign Grace National Church Planting Group and the Mid-South Regional Church Plant Committee.
At age 27, after having finished my Masters of Divinity degree, I was working in a thriving ministry as a College and Youth Pastor in a good church, and adding to a growing resume of pastoral experience. One question kept nagging me though. I knew I was currently qualified for pastoral ministry per the requirements of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, but could I stay qualified? Seminary had taught me much about watching my doctrine. I had good theology classes, I’d spent hours writing lengthy papers, and I had professors that helped me trace the smallest error in theological exegesis. However, my wife and I had recently had our first child and were pregnant with our second. We had no clue how to be godly parents, and the tensions of sleepless nights and parenting exasperations exposed weaknesses, which we had previously been blind to, in our marriage. The question lingered. How can I stay qualified?
In 2005, I was exposed to Sovereign Grace Churches while attending a conference to hear my favorite pastor, John Piper. To my surprise, at the conference I found a reunion of pastors and wives that did not only watch their doctrine (though they seriously cared about doctrine), but they also had a robust plan for watching their lives as well. After the conference, my wife and I began feasting on the books and sermons from Sovereign Grace Pastors. We found that it was shaping our communication with one another, awakening us to a greater understanding of the gospel, and helping us learn to parent in faith and not in fear.
In 2006, we moved to Crossway Community Church in Charlotte, NC for an internship, and then were sent to the Pastors College (then in Maryland). The Pastors College brought excellent teaching and great practical wisdom for pastoral ministry. Our instructors helped us to drink deeply of the Word of God and learn much theological knowledge, but they also cared about how we would pastor people in our churches. They cared about us having hearts like the Good Shepherd and the humility like 1 Peter 5 exhibits. The atmosphere of the Pastors College also helped me watch my life and doctrine. The fraternity atmosphere of the 20 guys in the class built lifelong friendships. The weekly times of accountability allowed the Holy Spirit to expose areas where He was working to conform me more to Christ. The monthly Care Groups with Gary and Betsy Ricucci brought a model of how to encourage and correct in a culture of grace. The Pastors College is purposeful. It is intentional in being an incubator (and sometimes a boot camp) of spiritual learning and spiritual growth.
Now that I’ve been pastoring in a Sovereign Grace church for almost 13 years, I look back at my Pastors College experience with gratefulness. I’ve often told people about how many of the ways I live out my pastoral ministry is directly based on what I learned that year. I often find myself in discipleship settings beginning a sentence with, “In the Pastors College, I learned…” or “I remember [insert PC lecturer] saying…”. I look forward to sending men from my church plant to the PC in the future. I look forward to them learning as much as I did.
However, what benefited me the most from my Pastors College experience was not a growing theological knowledge, or preaching improvement, or even the ongoing friendships. My greatest joy in thinking about the Pastors College is how much it impacted my marriage. My wife and I grew tremendously in learning how to trust the Lord, embrace a difficult living situation, and juggle the demands of family life with my school. I learned how to watch my life, how to be a better husband, and ultimately be a pastor that stays qualified (Lord willing)!
Rich Richardson
Second-Generation Pastor
Read his story
Rich graduated from the Pastors College in 2000 and is the senior pastor of Center Church in Gilbert, Arizona. He also serves on the Leadership Team as our Director of Global Missions.
As a member of the Sovereign Grace Leadership Team, I’ve been put in the position of having to think much more broadly about Sovereign Grace than I did when only serving as a senior pastor. This is not to say I feel adequate in this task, but it’s been both sobering and exciting to think carefully about how we may labor to remain faithful to the gospel as, by God’s grace, we have throughout our history.
One thing that’s more clear to me than ever is our ongoing need for theologically informed and discerning pastors. And as I think about that need, I immediately think about the Pastors College—and in particular, my own experience of the Pastors College. It’s that experience that has convinced me of the importance of the Pastors College for our future—and with our new polity, now more than ever. My wife and I think about and thank God at least weekly for 1999. That was the year we uprooted and moved 2,200 miles across the country for me to attend the Pastors College. God used the college, not just as an “educational option,” but to forge me into a different sort of man. How? Space is too short to pen all of the benefits, but let me give voice to at least three.
First, the Pastors College opened up to me a world I knew existed but had only a faint understanding of. I loved Scripture, theology, and had devoted myself to study. What I was exposed to, however, rocked my world, showed me how much I didn’t know, and exposed me to waters I’ve continued to drink from since then. And the longer I’m in pastoral ministry, the more I value that season of devoted, in-depth study.
Secondly, my education was never disconnected from real life. The professors held forth the high and lofty truths of Scripture married to our gritty, street-level calling as shepherds. A constant refrain rang in our ears. It was, “What are the pastoral implications of this truth?” That question forced me not just to learn theological truth but also to understand how to serve people with that truth. The very environment of the Pastors College militated against the folly of gaining knowledge without application. I learned that good theology would always lead to rich worship and faithful pastoring.
Finally, the college was embedded in a healthy church. We were blessed to be coming from a church that was faithful in belief, proclamation, and fellowship. I did not know it then, but what we lacked was expositional Christ-centered preaching. I didn’t know what I was missing until I experienced it firsthand. Forever burned into my soul is C.J. Mahaney’s sermon on Mark 5, when Jesus healed a man with a demon. C.J. preached the text with profound clarity and compelling power. “All” he did was explain what the text said. For someone coming from the land of topical sermons, that Sunday seemed like a visit to heaven. This was modeled for me along with many blessings because the Pastors College takes place in and around a church. As a member of the Leadership Team, and more importantly as a pastor in Sovereign Grace joined in common leadership with our other pastors, I’m more grateful than ever for the Pastors College. Not just as a distant, sentimental experience, but as a context which I believe is crucial for our future. That’s why I believe going to the Pastors College is worth any sacrifice. It was for my wife and me. We might have uprooted our lives and gone 2,200 miles away from home, but in the end, we found that the Lord had taken us a great deal further than we anticipated. And I long for as many Sovereign Grace pastors as possible to have that same experience, both for their good and the long-term blessing of our family of churches.