Crystal Valley Baptist Church  5507 Crystal Hill Road | North Little Rock, AR  72218

  
   

 

One of the great duties of biblical church leadership is to humbly and diligently prepare to one day be replaced.  The Apostle Paul modeled this very priority when instructing his own successor, Timothy:  "What you have heard...entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2).
      Passing on the baton of pastoral ministry to personally discipled successors not only expands a pastor's legacy beyond himself and his own ministry, but ensures qualified leaders for the church of tomorrow.
 

At Crystal Valley Baptist Church, our pastors are committed to identifying the call to ministry, as well as cultivating those gifts associated with the call to ministry, in the next generation.  As such, our church benefits from the service of select men of God, oft referred to as "Undershepherds," who engage together with our pastors to receive training and direction.
 
 
 
        What do Undershepherds do?
The majority of an undershepherd's responsibilities include studying key works related to matters of theology, general Christian living, and pastoral ministry (see recommended reading  list below).  Additionally, our Undershepherds receive hands-on experience by regularly participating in weekly church ministry through studious observation, teaching, mentoring, counseling, service planning, and service leading.		     
     
     
Recommended Reading List:
 
« By Whose Authority? (booklet) Mark Dever
« Display of God’s Glory (booklet), Mark Dever
² How Do I Know If I'm Called? (audio sermon), Jeff Purswell
« Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever
« The Deliberate Church, Mark Dever and Paul Alexander
« The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter

Note: This list is currently being revised and expanded.
 
        Undershepherds Luncheon
Every month, our Undershepherds and pastors meet for lunch for the purpose of practicing fellowship and accountability together.  With a focus on the need to refine one another's character, attention is given to the confession and mortification of sin.  In addition, time is set aside for dialogue regarding the current month's Seminarian Study.*

   * Below is a list of Seminarian Studies recently reviewed by our Undershepherds.		     
     
     

Seminarian Studies
 

MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED BY Sunday, March 16, 2008
² How Do I Know If I'm Called?  Jeff Purswell, Dean of Academic and Student Affairs for the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Ministries, helps identify four helpful markers of a man called to gospel ministry.  In short, "God's work in a man demonstrates God's call of a man."
 
The Calling Equation - Elements of the Call.  Excerpted from the booklet Am I Called?  A Summons to Ministry by Dave Harvey from the Sovereign Grace Perspectives series, this article explores the Bible's equation for figuring out the call to ministry.
 

MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED BY Sunday, April 20, 2008
² Watch Your Life and Doctrine. In this exhortational message based on I Timothy 4:16, C.J. Mahaney, president of Sovereign Grace Ministries, reminds pastors of the central importance of continually pursuing sanctification and accountability, and offers a wealth of practical guidance toward that end.

The Pastor's Priorities: Watch Your Life and Doctrine is an article version of the above message by C.J. Mahaney, Watch Your Life and Doctrine.
 

MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED BY Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Cross and Criticism by Alfred J. Poirier, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Peacemaker Ministries, presents a helpful discussion of how we, as Christians, should thoughtfully, mercifully, and humbly give and receive criticism.
 

MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED BETWEEN Sunday, June 15 and Sunday, November 16, 2008
What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism serves to articulate what respected pastor Dr. John Piper and his congregation at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN believes the Scripture to teach on the doctrines of grace−namely, the doctrines of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints.  This article has been recommended for the purpose of thinking through the biblical observances and teachings of these precious truths.
 

MATERIALS TO BE REVIEWED BETWEEN Sunday January 18 and Sunday, December 20, 2009
Essentials of New Testament Greek by Ray Summers and Thomas Sawyer is an introductory and easy-to-understand volume made to assist a serious student in learning New Testament Greek.  This language study has been recommended for the purpose of tightening our grasp of the scriptures themselves for the sake of more faithfully guarding the message of gospel which it contains, and which has been entrusted to our care (2 Timothy 1:14).  As Martin Luther explains, "We will not long preserve the gospel without the languages. [They are] the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained...If through our neglect we let the languages go, we shall not only lose the gospel, but the time will come when we shall be unable either to speak or write [an accurate translation for our people].