MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP REFLECTION

A REFLECTION PAPER

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

MN 5475 PASTORAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICUM: THE PASTOR AND THE GOSPEL

BY

CLAYTON MILLER

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

APRIL 30, 2022

 Course Reading

Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders was one of my favorite books in this class. I

read this book when I first started at Midwestern for a leadership class and it has been one of my

favorite textbooks I’ve had since. Sanders does a great job looking at the key aspects and

qualities that a leader who relies on the Spirit needs in his life in order to succeed. Sanders also

does a great job of interacting with both Scripture and various quotes from leaders on how to

lead with good intentions as well as how to train other leaders to take your place when your time

to leave your leadership role.

Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler was a very great book on leadership. I enjoyed how

Mohler was able to show the different areas that must be trained in order to be a good leader. I

also enjoyed his emphasis on the importance of having the conviction to lead others and how that

places a part in the leader’s work. Mohler did an amazing job showing the many different aspects

a leader needs to possess in order to lead well in all areas. My favorite chapter from the book is

arguably the beginning chapter about how the conviction to lead is the most important aspect for

the leader.

What’s Best Next by Matt Perman was a great book on productivity in the Christian

realm. Perman in this work was able to construct a very helpful reason for why Christians should

care about their productivity and a system to bring the conviction into reality. The book was

littered with great tips and tools to use in one’s growth into the hustle of ministry and to increase

one's ability to do good works for Christ. My goal is to implement the Gospel-Driven

Productivity system into my life over the summer so that I can hone and improve on the system

for my own life before the start of the next academic year.

1
 Effective Executive by Peter Drucker was a great book on personal management and

effectiveness in a person’s personal life. I was able to try and use some of the principles found in

the book during the week of Easter break and it was a wonderful experiment to see what parts of

Effective Executive and What’s Best Next I prefer and what parts I didn't care for or needed to

change.

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper was a very helpful book that gave me

a correct mindset for pastoral ministry. Piper’s charge given to Christian pastors to become one

like the flock of the church has been extremely helpful to remind me what the pastoral work is

and how the pastor is to interact and relate to God’s flock. I’ve never had the chance to read a

book by John Piper until this book and I am glad that I was able to read it, his writing and

pastoral heart are crystal clear in this book.

The Pastor’s Justification by Jared Wilson was an incredible book on pastoral ministry

and the spiritual life of the pastor. Wilson does an amazing job of consoling and confronting

pastors with the truth of the gospel that can apply to their lives in the hard and often discouraging

work that comes from pastoral ministry.

T4G Session Reflections

Session One was wonderful. Listening to Kevin DeYoung and H.B. Charles was

wonderful. One takeaway that I took from Kevin DeYoung’s message was the absolute

importance of the doctrine of justification for the Christian walk. One thing that I found

extremely helpful that Kevin DeYoung pointed out in his sermon is the culture of guilt that has

developed in the West. I never thought of the West as having an honor/shame culture in the way

that many Eastern countries do until Kevin De Young pointed out the reality of how our society

2
has shifted. Since the sin guilt of man still resides in us we try to become honorable by making

others feel shame for what they are doing, even though we are as guilty as them of committing

these actions. Later in the session, H.B Charles spoke on the significance of salvation which was

very helpful for me to remind myself about the beautiful simplicity of the gospel and its

application to my daily life as a Christian bought by the blood of Christ.

The third session was great to hear from Greg Gilbert about the importance of unity in the

church. Gilbert’s main point that unity starts in self-regard dies yet self-regard starts at the cross

is a very important fact in today's culture. In a day where both Christians and non-Christians

have been marked by their arguments and disunity, the cross stands at the center of what all

should look to for comfort and unity among one another. Greg Gilbert’s Panel discussion about

critical race theory was also very important to combat the current controversy about the “he said

she said” environment that has sprung up from its popularization. Bobby Scott’s sermon was

great. His centrality on the gospel by showing how the gospel should be of first importance for

all Christians was a great encouragement to me. Dwelling on the gospel is something that I wish

that I could dwell on more consistently as I walk in Christ so it was a blessing to hear Bobby

Scott speak on its importance for the Christian.

The sermon given by David Platt and the panel discussion with Radius were very helpful

in centering the attendance on the gospel mission through the Great Commission. David Platt did

an amazing job showing how the Great Commission is something that is to be obeyed by all

Christians and not something solely for missionaries to fulfill. The panel discussion with Chad

Vegas and other people associated with Radius was great to hear what kind of mission work is

being done overseas and how they differ from what Radius is training their students through their

program. One thing that I want to look into more following this panel is the Church Planting

3
Movement and how their concepts of “person of peace” “discovery group” and “four fields

ministry” came about in the modern evangelical mission. Hearing about how church planting

movements have shaped the current world of missions makes me want to be intentional in the

future about how missions should be done.

Our course question and answer session was amazing. Going into the meeting I didn’t

know what to expect for the meeting but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the

conference. The questions that were asked by the other students in the room were very well put

and also questions that I have thought about through our reading in the class. I was able to take

many notes from the answers to the questions that Dr. Allen answered. It was also great to see all

of the Midwestern and Spurgeon students from on-campus and online who came to the

conference and have a chance to talk to them. One of the biggest takeaways I had from the class

meeting time was Dr. Allen touching on the fact that there is no “Secret Fomula” for growing

leadership. The fact that leadership is a process of growing and learning how to learn is

something that I need to grasp fully before entering the ministry. The continual growth of a

leader’s knowledge in both spiritual and practical ways will ensure that a leader is able to

confront and overcome any challenge that arrives in their career.

Session Five was my favorite session out of the entire conference. Hearing Shai Linne

preach for the first time after listening to his music for years was an amazing treat for me. His

sermon was something that I found was very important for me as a seminary student. The simple

truth to remember Jesus Christ in all of my life is something that I feel that the Lord has shown

me through Shai Linne’s sermon. Often times I feel that in the busyness of seminary you can lose

your grip on the gospel and Jesus Christ so remembering the reason for why you are attending

seminary is vital. John Piper’s sermon was just incredible. His message was very insightful for

4
me as I think about the expectations of ministry and the wonderful truth of justification. The

interview that Mark Dever had with him after his sermon gave me a lot of insight as to what to

expect when entering the role of the pastor and how I should prepare and train for my potential

future in pastoral ministry.

Unfortunately on Thursday morning, I had to leave T4G early to help with setting up the

Spring Picnic on campus. On the car ride back I was able to listen to some of the sessions that I

could not make it to such as Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, and others. Although it was a

shame that I was not able to listen to and worship in the sessions with the attendees in person it

was awesome that I was able to get to listen to the rest of the sessions online and learn from these

speakers.

Overall Course Reflection

Overall I would say that I have enjoyed the class and have learned much from the reading

as well as the sessions at T4G. The assignments were fine but I do think that an 8-page book

review might be too large since even the Midwestern Style Guide has the maximum page limit

for a book review of around 7. The books that we read were good all around but I think that

some of the books that we read could be changed to more fit the theme of leadership such as The

Effective Executive or What’s Best Next. These books were no doubt helpful for developing a

sense of personal leadership and management but there was not a good segway between these

books and the other books that were about leadership for the Christian.