Greyfriars Hall

The Church Should Train Pastors

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––by Douglas Wilson

Greyfriars Hall began with the conviction that ministerial training needs to occur within the confines of the institutional church. This conviction does not spring from an ungrateful disregard all the good that parachurch seminaries have done over the years, but rather with the view that it should always be possible to learn as we go, and also possible to inquire how we can raise the standard. As the church grows and matures, and as God has brought our generation the gift of massively decentralized resources, we believe that it is increasingly possible for church leaders train up their own successors.

Near the end of his life, the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, and one of the things that was on his mind was the critical task of ministerial training. It is striking that Paul expected Timothy to do this.

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

Notice that there are four generations of ministerial training represented in this short verse. Paul taught Timothy, and Timothy was to teach “faithful men.” One of the tasks of these faithful men, the men taught by Timothy, was to turn around and teach “others also.” These others would be the “great-grandsons” of the great apostle.

There are a few distinctive features of Greyfriars Hall that should be mentioned. The first is that if a prospective minister is accepted, his tuition costs are covered by the church. We do not believe that going into debt is good preparation for ministry. The program is designed to run for three years. There is extensive reading associated with it, as well as regular meetings with ministers of Christ Church. One of those weekly meetings is set aside to go over the sermon outline that will be preached the following Sunday. After completing the first year of Greyfriars, the prospective minister begins sitting in on the weekly meeting of the Christ Church elders. In some ways this is inspiring and in others it is the equivalent of viewing the ecclesiastical sausage get made.

If you believe that God is calling you to the ministry, and if you and your mom are not the only ones who believe this, we would encourage you to look around the rest of the Greyfriars Hall website, starting here.  

Spring 2018 Preaching Retreat

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Twice a year our Greyfriars Hall students––along with some tag-alongs––have a preaching retreat. Everyone is given the same text (this Spring it was Acts 20:17-38), and 15 minutes to preach. Starting with the youngest, and going to the “elder statesmen,” each preacher delivers a short message on the text.

What is wonderful about it is that though there is obviously overlap, each sermon is unique and packs a different punch. It really is a profound exhibition in how the living and active Word works mightily as it is proclaimed by different messengers. Take some time to listen through each of these short sermons, and be encouraged.

Shawn Paterson

Aaron Ventura

Ty Knight

Ben Zornes

Toby Sumpter

Our Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat

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Every Fall & Spring we have a preaching retreat where the Greyfriars (plus some other special guests) preach a sermon on the same text. This year they were given a few texts to choose from, but all in regards to the Ascension. They then go from youngest to oldest and preach a 15-20 minute sermon. It makes for a great night of exhortation for those listening, and learning for our Greyfriars. Enjoy these sermons from our Greyfriars!

Ty Hatcher

Greyfriars Hall Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat – Tyler Hatcher from Christ Kirk on Vimeo.

Aaron Ventura

Greyfriars Hall Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat – Aaron Ventura from Christ Kirk on Vimeo.

Ben Zornes

Greyfriars Hall Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat – Ben Zornes from Christ Kirk on Vimeo.

Gabe Rench

Greyfriars Hall Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat – Gabe Rench from Christ Kirk on Vimeo.

Toby Sumpter

Greyfriars Hall Spring 2017 Preaching Retreat – Toby Sumpter from Christ Kirk on Vimeo.

The Right Price

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Free? Or Cheap?

Christ Church offers Greyfriars Hall free of charge. You read that right, there isn’t a financial price tag for Greyfriars Hall! That might lead to an assumption that the training will in some way be “cheapened” by this; “after all,” the question might go, “how are you to pay competent tutors, instructors, lecturers, etc.?” This is a very important question, and we have been blessed to have a fine Christian liberal arts college, New Saint Andrews, a few blocks away, and this institution is also under the spiritual oversight of Christ Church’s elder board, so as to ensure our community is providing a robustly Christian education!

Now, this also provides us with a shared wealth of “instructional resources” with which Greyfriars Hall students are able to glean. Furthermore, the reason we make the training free of charge is two-fold.

First, we believe the local church should shoulder the burden of training and equipping men for the ministry either within her own walls or to be sent out to advance the mission of Christ’s kingdom in areas where there isn’t a healthy, evangelical, reformed church.

Second, we recognize that men who are pursuing pastoral ministry also face the reality that their “career” is not as financially lucrative as it would be if they pursued some other field; this could discourage many an able and gifted man from taking steps towards being evaluated and trained for Gospel ministry. We offer Greyfriars Hall free of charge in order to remove certain hurdles that should not prohibit a man from pursuing ministry; this also enables us to better enforce the biblical hurdles that should prohibit certain men from ministry!

Along this vein, William Perkins discusses three things that hinder good and godly men from pursuing pastoral ministry; the third reason is included here:

The third and last reason is especially relevant to ministry in the New Testament era, namely the inadequacy of the financial recompense and status given to those who enter this calling.

All men are flesh and blood. In that respect they must be allured and won to embrace this vocation by the kind of arguments which may well persuade flesh and blood. The world has had a careless attitude about this in every age. Consequently in the law. God gave careful instructions for the maintenance of the Levites (Num. 18:26). But especially now, under the gospel, the ministerial calling is poorly provided for, even although it deserves to be rewarded most of all. Certainly it would be an honourable Christian policy to make at least good provision for this calling, so that men of the worthiest gifts might be won for it.

The lack of such provision is the reason why so many young men with unusual ability and great prospects turn to other vocations, especially law. That is where most of the sharpest minds in our nation are employed. Why? Because in legal practice they have all the means for their advance, whereas the ministry, generally speaking, yields nothing but a clear road to poverty.

This is a great blemish on our church. I wish it were not true that the Roman Catholics, those children of this world, are wiser (in this particular area), than the church of God. Reformation here is a work worth the labour of both prince and people.

Unless special attention is given to this matter, it will be left unreformed. No doubt, in the Old Testament period, if God Himself had not given direct orders for the material support of the Levites, they would have suffered the same privation as the ministry does today. These considerations, taken together, produce an infallible argument. For who will accept such vile contempt and such a weighty responsibility for no reward? But where there is so much contempt and such a heavy burden, yet such a poor reward, is it any wonder that a good minister is ‘one in a thousand”?

Greyfriars Hall is our attempt to reform this matter, and by God’s grace we trust He will bless our efforts!

Why Is Greyfriars Hall Free?

Enjoy watching as Pastor Doug & Ben Zornes discuss this topic further!

Before you go…

Peruse a few of our other INTERVIEWS

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall:
APPLY HERE

What’s With the Name?

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Where’d the Name Greyfriars Hall Come From?

We realize that the name of our pastoral training program might seem a bit obscure. After all, it has the word “friar” in it, which summons up a wide variety of imagery; depending on who you are it might sound either too “catholicky”, or else too Monty Python.

We’d like to set the record straight on the name and give some insight as to why this name was originally chosen. Greyfriars Kirk was a rather important site in the story of the Scottish Covenanters fight for gospel purity & biblical authority. It was both where the famous National Covenant was signed, and where some 400 “covenanters” were held prisoners awaiting trial for so-called disloyalty to the king.

They were kept there under guard for five winter months, with little more than four ounces of bread and water, and little shelter, before either being executed, transported abroad as slaves, or else were given their liberty on signing oaths of allegiance to the king. Many Covenanters died in the prison and were buried in Greyfriars kirkyard, in the spot traditionally reserved for criminals.

George Gilfillan said of these saints and their zeal for Christ’s headship of the church:

They were terribly in earnest. The passion that was in them , like all great passions, refused to be divided. Their idea possessed them with a force and a fulness to which we find few parallels in history. It haunted their sleep , it awoke with them in the morning – it walked , like their shadow, with them to business or to pleasure – it became the breath of their nostrils and the soul of their soul.

You can see that that description is very much the sort of spirited zeal that any pastor or minister needs for doing gospel work in the church and the world. It is what we desire the men of Greyfriars Hall to come away with.

A Conversation

Pastor Douglas Wilson and Ben Zornes discuss where the name for Greyfriars Hall comes from, as well as why it was chosen.

Before you go…

Peruse a few of our other INTERVIEWS

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall:
APPLY HERE

What a Preacher Oughta Preach

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The prevailing notion of truth in the Western Culture of the 21st century, is that it has about the same rigidity as a trampoline. Everything is “fudgable” and should we insist on some objective basis for truth we are running the risk of being insensitive to millennials’ “feelies”.

For the Christian preacher, his task is not simply to dialogue, discuss, or even debate; his task is to declare God’s Word. This means that he is asserting that the message he brings has its authority outside of his own fancies. He speaks as one persuaded that what he speaks is truth and it is true because it is God’s Word.

Greyfriars Hall stresses the importance of not only piety and boldness, but it must be rooted and grounded in the sacred Scriptures. All of life is addressed by the Bible. So, we drill into our students the fact that all our thoughts, actions, words, and sermons must be subject to the scrutiny of the Word of God. A wise Puritan put it well when he said:

Preach the truth. Take heed of giving your own dreams and fancies in God’s name. All is chaff, except the pure word of God. Oh stamp not God’s image on your own coin! We live in high-flown times: many people are not content with truths which lie plainly in the Scriptures; and some, to please their wanton palates, have sublimated their notions so high, that they have flown out of the sight of the Scripture — and unawares run themselves, with others, into dangerous errors! Make not experiments upon the souls of people, by delivering what is doubtful. Better feed people with sound doctrine, though it be a plain meal — than that you should, with an outlandish dish, light on a wild gourd, that brings death into their pot.

William Grunall – “Preaching”

Preach the Truth, Man

In this interview, Pastor Douglas Wilson and Ben Zornes discuss why this is so important and how we undertake to train men for the ministry with this as their understanding!

Before you go…

Peruse a few of our other INTERVIEWS

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall:
APPLY HERE

The Ingredient of Boldness

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One of the most needful ingredients that has seemingly gone missing in the modern evangelical world is that of boldness. In the book of Acts, we often read passages such as this: “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:29-31).”

The attribute which hallmarked the early church was boldness. They were fearless, courageous and unflinching in their commitment to speak plainly the truth of the Gospel of the Risen Christ. At Greyfriars Hall, our goal is to cultivate this disposition in men training for the ministry. Boldness is not merely talking loudly, or shouting down the opposition; rather it is a steady devotion to the truth and a refusal to compromise when it comes to the truth.

CH Spurgeon comments on this:

Their boldness could not therefore spring from the self-sufficiency of knowledge, but from the Spirit of the living God! Nor did they acquire their courage from their station, or rank will confer a sort of dignity upon a man and make him speak with a feigned authority even when he has no talent or genius, but these men were, as it says in the original text, “idiotai, private men who stood in no official capacity”—men without rank or station. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and per- ceived that they were unlearned and private individuals, they marveled and they came to a right conclu- sion as to the source of their power—they had been dwelling with Jesus! Their conversation with the Prince of light and glory, backed up, as they might also have known, by the influence of the Holy Spir- it—without which even that eminently holy example would have been in vain—had made them bold for their Master’s cause. Oh, my brethren, it would be well if this commendation, so forced from the lips of enemies, could also be compelled by our own example; if we could live like Peter and John; if our lives were “living epistles of God, known and read of all men.” If, whenever we were seen, men would take knowledge of us, that we had been with Jesus, it would be a happy thing for this world and a blessed thing for us.

In the following discussion, Pastor Toby Sumpter and Ben Zornes discuss why boldness is an essential ingredient in men called to the pastoral ministry and how we endeavor to cultivate it in the Greyfriars Hall students.

Before you go…

Peruse a few of our other INTERVIEWS

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall:
APPLY HERE

Greyfriars Hall vs. Seminary

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A Common Question

One of the more frequent questions about Greyfriars Hall is how does it compare to a typical seminary experience. There are certainly areas overlap and disparity. In the following video, Pastor Doug gives a compare and contrast to answer this question. So often the pursuit of pastoral ministry is thought of as merely an academic foray; however, as Christians, our standard for ministers must be God’s word and what it states to be the attributes of a godly man and therefore a godly minister.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once made a pithy statement in regards to what is really necessary for a man to become a minister (and it isn’t a degree):

What matters? The chief thing is the love of God, the love of souls, a knowledge of the Truth, and the Holy Spirit within you. These are the things that make the preacher. If he has the love of God in his heart, and if he has a love for God; if he has a love for the souls of  men, and a concern about them; if he knows the truth of the Scriptures; and has the Spirit of God within him, that man will preach.

Indeed, we cannot be too frequently reminded that our standards must be biblical standards, not worldly standards. Enjoy the video, share it, and if you’re interested in the adventure of pursuing pastoral ministry get in touch with us!

 

Furthermore…

If you missed the first interview with Pastor Douglas Wilson, head over and read this blogpost: Purity, Boldness & Truth.

If you missed the interview with Pastor Toby Sumpter, go here: A Greyfriars Hall Discussion: Pastor Toby Sumpter.

If you missed the interview with Pastor Mike Lawyer, this is the place to click: A Greyfriars Hall Discussion: Pastor Mike Lawyer.

Also, meet the other FACULTY of Greyfriars Hall.

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall: 

APPLY ONLINE

A Greyfriars Hall Discussion: Pastor Mike Lawyer

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Pastor Mike Lawyer, director for Christ Church’s “Center for Biblical Counseling”, has served in a wide variety of ministries, and has a wealth of wisdom and insight into the temptations, trials and difficulties which are likely to face men in the ministry. In this wide-ranging interview, Ben Zornes & Dr. Lawyer discuss how God prepares and shapes a man for pastoral ministry. Such preparation must go beyond just academic book-learning; rather it must be a combination of deep seeded faith in Christ, love for God, and compassion on lost and suffering souls.

Greyfriars Hall aims to prepare men in three key arenas: Purity, Boldness, & Truth. They must first of all be men of purity, men of boldness, and men of truth. Take one of these ingredients away, and you have a toxic brew for heresy, abuse, or ministerial burnout. As Robert Murray M’Cheyne once said:

Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise, of pleasure, of good eating, he has ruined your ministry. Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. Luther spent his best three hours in prayer.

A Greyfriars Hall Discussion with Dr. Lawyer

Furthermore…

If you missed the first interview with Pastor Douglas Wilson, head over and read this blogpost: Purity, Boldness & Truth.

If you missed the second interview with Pastor Toby Sumpter, head over and read this blogpost: A Greyfriars Hall Discussion: Pastor Toby Sumpter.

Also, meet the other FACULTY of Greyfriars Hall.

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall: 
APPLY HERE

A Greyfriars Hall Discussion: Pastor Toby Sumpter

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Ben Zornes sits down with Toby Sumpter to discuss Greyfriars Hall. Pastoral ministry is not for weaklings, and any man who would desire to serve the church in this capacity must be faithful to God both publicly and privately. It does no good to speak on Sunday morning of a holy & pure life while living a sinful & selfish one the rest of the week! Of course, such a lifestyle is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in a man.

 

toby sumpter - ben zornes - greyfriars hall - christ churchIn this conversation Ben & Toby range over a wide survey of the attributes necessary for pastoral ministry. Purity in life, boldness in preaching, steadfast in the truth of God’s Word; if one of these are missing it can result in compromise, burnout, deception, and sin. Greyfriars Hall aims to train men to be the sort of men who are not merely theology wonks, but live with warm-hearted zeal for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus.

 

2 Timothy 2:15 – Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If you missed the first video, head over and read this blogpost: Purity, Boldness & Truth.

Also, don’t miss Ben’s interview with Pastor Mike Lawyer.

Also, meet the other FACULTY of Greyfriars Hall.

If you’re interested in potentially attending Greyfriars Hall:
APPLY HERE