The Gospel Coalition Conference: Day 2 Breakout Workshop, Mark Driscoll & Michael Lawerence--Mentoring Younger Pastors

Michael Lawrence, associate pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church began this session with one basic point: if a church/pastor is not training younger/future pastors, that church/pastor is likely in sin. Lawrence briefly grounded this point from Paul's words to Timothy in the Pastorals and then went on to explain how he and Mark Dever train men in their Pastoral Internship Program at Capitol Hill. Lawrence passed out a detailed handout that outlines all that's involved in this internship (mentoring relationships, books to be read, writing assignments, etc.). I'm looking forward to examining the reading list in this handout.Next, Mark Driscoll spoke. He spoke about three kinds of men to look for in calling up and training younger pastors and four qualities that all such men must demonstrate. Here's some rough notes:Three kinds of men:1. Some guys are going to be "prophets"--guys great at proclamation, preaching, and teaching.2. Some guys are going to be "priests"--guys great at caring for people.3. Some guys are going to be "kings"--guys great at overseeing the overall ministry of a church.As a mentor, you've got to know what type of a guy you're dealing with (though realize that there will certainly be overlap).Four things to look for in young pastors:1. Relationship with God--making sure a guy understands the gospel and walks closely with God.2. Relationship with his wife--making sure a guy has good relationship with his wife.3. Relationship with his kids--making sure a guy leads and cares for his children with skill and faithfulness.4. Relationship with himself--making sure a guy can pastor himself.After Driscoll's brief message the workshop shifted into a  Q&A  session.The questions were thoughtful. So were the answers. At one point things got a tad heated between Driscoll and Lawrence when a young guy asked if Driscoll would appoint an unmarried man without children to be an elder at his church. Driscoll, for a variety of reasons I won't explain here, said he would not (unless under very unique circumstances) appoint such a man to be an elder in his church.  Lawrence then  gave his different take on the matter and this made for some slightly heated,  interesting, and  humorous interaction between Driscoll and Lawrence.What I enjoyed most about this workshop was listening to these two very different guys lead this session together.