A personal highlight of the 2nd National Conference for Uniting Church and Family was the opportunity to introduce Scott Brown as the new director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. Scott is one of the happiest and most grateful men I have ever met. Scott is optimism on steroids. A visionary pastor of a North Carolina church whose well-managed home is a safe haven of hospitality and discipleship for the students at the nearby seminary. Scott has a God-given knack for inspiring men to reach their full potential in Christ. Scott married his childhood sweetheart and one-true-love Deborah (who he met when she was twelve), and together they have built a household which is brimming with life, love, and enthusiasm. (Picture this: They live in a gigantic barn which has been converted into a lovely country home, and comes complete with a swing in the living room that actually reaches over the massive dining room table. I call it the “presuppositional barn” because the entire design has been calculated to promote family-centeredness — smaller bedrooms — larger living area.
In the picture above, Scott leads the Vision Forum team and NCFIC conference speakers in early morning prayer. The entire conference was bathed in prayer, but these early morning prayer sessions were especially dear.
Bill Einwechter is not only a pastor and father of ten, but the leader of the National Reform Association. His messages (accompanied by a detailed outline and exegetical defense of his position) “A Covenantal Perspective on the Jurisdiction of the Family and the Local Church), and “A Biblical Vision for Multi-Generational Faithfulness” were careful examples of much needed biblical scholarship on the issue of church and family. He addressed issues as diverse as whether women should speak in church, to the question of household voting. In the picture above, Bill (seated in middle) discusses issues with Scott and (Attorney/Pastor)Don Hart.
Jeff Pollard (middle above) has been a friend for more than a decade. Jeff loves Jesus Christ, and preaches with an uncommon and utterly sincere humility. A former well-known top-forty Rock musician, Jeff gave up the paganism of one world, for a new life of holiness in Jesus Christ. (Jeff even contributed to the break-up of the 70’s Rock phenomenon Kansas, a group for which he once opened in concert, by bringing the Gospel to members of the group). Today he is a pastor, a careful student of the Scriptures, and the man behind what is probably the most faithful reformation tract ministry in the world, Mt. Zion Chapel Library. His messages on holiness and the biblical meaning of legalism profoundly impacted many in attendance at the conference. Jeff is also the author of Christian Immodesty and the Public Undressing of America.