thoughts from the pastors college

Farewell to the PC (plus one last new song)

2008-06-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Well, this is our last week in Maryland. We graduated last weekend (check Bethany's blog for pictures). I know I haven't kept up with posts the 2nd half of the year, but the absence of posts in itself gives you a picture of how busy we have been this year!

This is the last post I will make on this blog. I will leave the blog up for a while I guess. I'll let you know from here if I ever venture back into the blogsphere.

For my last post, here is a new song that I have been working on called For Your Sacrifice.

Download mp3

long time no post

2008-05-12T08:11:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know that it has been a really, really long time since my last post. Oh well, that's just the way it goes.

First, let me say that if you want more regular updates on what's going on with the Grover's at the PC, you should check out Bethany's blog at bethanygrover.blogspot.com.

Ok, so what's the reason for this new post? Check out this picture taken last week for our Pneumatology class with Dr. Wayne Grudem. We had a number of guests in the class for the week who are also in the photo.

Preaching Conference

2008-02-18T20:20:00.001-08:00

For several years now, the Pastors College takes one week a year to bring additional focus to a specific subject. This year, the special focus was the task of preaching. Last week we had about 100 pastors crammed in to the PC classroom for the preaching conference. Mike Bullmore taught most of the sessions, but we also heard from our dean, Jeff Purswell, as well as an introductory message by CJ Mahaney. All 3 men participated in Q&A throughout the week. One quote in particular that I think represents the heart of Mike Bullmore's emphasis on preaching is:

“Preaching is less a treatise on the material of your text and more a
communication of the burden of the text. Preaching is not coverage of biblical
material, it’s the accomplishment of a biblical intention. A good expository
sermon is one whose content and intent is controlled by the content and intent
of a passage. You cannot just be satisfied with the content, you must accomplish
what God was trying to accomplish in the preaching. The end of preaching is not
information, it’s persuasion. Your sermon’s purpose needs to find itself
completely in line with the purpose and burden of the text. This will give your
sermons unity, focus, and effectiveness.”
HT: The Shephards Scrapbook for the quote.

Songwriter's Retreat

2008-02-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I was able to participate in a songwriter's retreat for Sovereign Grace Music. We were working on potential songs for an upcoming Sovereign Grace Music project based on the Psalms that will be released at the Worship God conference this summer.

This year I brought just one song to work on. Obviously I have a lot on my plate this year, and I was grateful to have the time to even work on one song!

What a great privilege it is to get to work on songs with such gifted and humble people.

Preaching in Joppa, MD

2008-01-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

All the PC students take turns preaching once in class on a Friday afternoon sometime during the year. I did my in class preaching last Friday from Ephesians 1:3-14. I received much encouragement as well as some very helpful reccomondations on how I could improve the message. Taking the feedback I recieved, I am reworking my message from Ephesians and will be preaching the same text this Sunday at Chesapeake Community Church in Joppa, MD.

Please pray for me as this will be by far the biggest congregation I have ever had the privilege to preach to.

Back to school, William Tell, and Minor League Baseball

2008-01-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a long time since the last post. Now that the holidays are over, things are back in full gear. We just finished our Old Testament 2 course with Bruce Chick. Bruce is the senior pastor at the Sovereign Grace church in Roanoake VA. He is also a former AAA minor league baseball player.

Bruce is renowned for his monumental reading assignments, daily quizzes as well as his competitions at the Pastors College. For example this week our class champion, Efisio Setzu went up against a former PC student in an archery competition. Efisio won the competition and the class was rewarded with being able to drop a quiz grade. Then for a bonus challenge, someone set an apple on top of the target and Bruce told Efisio if he knocked the apple off the target in one shot he would take away one of the 2 essays from our test. Off went the apple and off went one of our essays!

The PC Library

2007-12-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Across the hall from the PC classroom is the PC Library. It is an ever growing library with some of the best commentaries and theological books available. It is also the place you will likely find many of the PC guys on weekends studying. Since a number of us live in apartment like situations, it can be difficult to read or write papers at home. And yes, those big leather chairs are as comfortable as they look. The library is also right next door to the break room where we can get coffee, soda, and lots of snacks.

We are currently working on our second major paper of the year. We are doing a research paper for our Church History II class (which we won't actually have until later this winter) on the doctrine of scripture seen in the writings of one of the reformers. I will likely do my paper on Calvin since our library has more books avaiable for him than many of the lesser known reformers.

Boys day out

2007-12-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

William and I had a day out together today. Bethany needed some time to write thank you notes from the countless people who have been generous to us since Lily Beth has arrived. We ran errands, went to the playground and played in the leaves, and then ended up at Starbucks where we shared a rasberry moca latte and a rainbow cookie. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful son.

Thanksgiving Break

2007-11-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving. We are officially on break (no class) from yesterday until next Tuesday. We do have a Greek midterm to study for though, so I think it will be a working break. We are driving up to my mom's house for Thanksgiving today. My grandma is living with my mom right now, and my sister is coming from Pittsburgh. It should be one of the biggest family Thanksgiving dinners my family has had in a number of years.

Jerry Bridges

2007-11-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

This week we have the privelige of sitting under the teaching of Jerry Bridges. If you are familiar with the phrase "preach the gospel to yourself every day", then you have been effected by Jerry's ministries wheather you are aware of it or not. Jerry has written many books including "Transforming Grace" and "Trusting God". What a privlege it is to get to sit under such a godly man.

New Song: Be Known, Be Loved

2007-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a new song that I have been working on.

Be Known, Be Loved

Wherever we live, wherever we go
We want you to be exalted
Whoever we meet, we want them to know
You are our precious Savior
You are our joy, You are our song

We want You to be known and You to be loved
And Your grace to be what the nations sing of
Let every heart treasure Your name
Until then we pray
Be known, be loved

Whatever we do, whatever we say
Whenever we fail, whenever we stray
We will recount Your mercies
You are our joy, You are our song

more pictures

2007-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Lilly Beth!

Elisabeth Grace has arrived

2007-10-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth Grace Grover was born this morning at 3:35am. She is 7lbs 3oz. She is 20" long. Both Lilly Beth (what I am going to call her) and her mother are both doing well. Bethany is still experiencing some pain from the piesionomy, but otherwise is doing great.

More pictures will follow in the days to come.

Video upload bugs

2007-10-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well,

I guess I still have some bugs to work out with the video upload!

New laptop

2007-10-23T16:00:00.001-07:00

My new laptop is here!

Do you smell something burning?

2007-10-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well, when I got back from my uncle's funeral in upstate N.Y., I opened up my laptop to check my e-mail and my laptop wouldn't bootup. It kept starting to boot and then turning off. After about 30 seconds, I smelled that distinct smell of burnt electronics. My Gateway laptop is now toast. The hard drive is still intact (I was able to save all my data), but the screen is kaputz.

I put an order in for a new Dell laptop on Sunday night. Hopefully it will arrive sometime next week.

Bethany's Blog

2007-10-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Bethany now has her own blog so she can post pictures and give her perspective on life.

Iron Sharpens Iron

2007-10-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

We were assigned into fellowship groups for the year. These are the guys with the inenviable task of trying to help me grow in humility and Godliness. Pray for them!

From left to right is Curtis Allen, Ben Ross, myself, and Zac Martin.

A very full life

2007-10-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

I was just about to write about how busy this week has been with our Old Testament 1 course (which is supposed to be one of the most demanding academic courses of the year), and then I thougt about how busy next week is going to be. I will be speaking at the Covenant Life School's 1st-5th grade chapel, Bethany and I will be visiting our host care group and I am leading worship Friday morning for our class. Did I mention that I also have an exegetical paper that is due in a couple weeks? Then I thought about it and realized that this is nothing compared to what life will be like once the new baby arrives!

So I guess this is just life for now. Now you know how you can pray for us!

Taking a stand for righteousness

2007-09-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

This year at the PC we have several international students with us. One of them is Christian Wegert. Christian is from Germany where his father leads a very large Pentecostal Reformed church. This week Christian told us a story about his grandfather's courage during World War II. His grandfather worked for a ship building company in Germany. Adolf Hilter came to visit the company to celebrate the launching of a new ship. A picture was taken of the crowd of workers who were there listening to Hitler. Every person in the crowd had their arms raised in salute to Hitler. Everyone except Christian's grandfather. He stood alone in the midst of the crowd with his arms crossed refusing to show respect to Hitler. What a wonderful heritage Christian comes from. How many of us would have the courage to take a stand for righteousness like that in the midst of such overwhelming pressure?

Our God Saves

2007-09-23T21:04:00.001-07:00

Paul Baloche just released his newest project called Our God Saves. On his website he says that he focused much more on the lyrics for these new songs. He also said that he was trying to incorporate biblical theology in the lyrics. I think he succeded (at least on some of the songs). The title track is a great cross centered call to worship. A couple other songs that will definitely find their way into my worship notebook are "You Gave Your Life Away" and "I'm Clinging To The Cross". I am so grateful for the wonderful songs that are being written that magnify the saving work of Christ.

What doesit mean?

2007-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

The author controls the meaning and there is only one meaning. That's what we learned this week in Hermeneutics class with Mark Mullery. We also learned to patiently observe and dilligently study God's word so that we can understand what function it is intended to have in our lives.

I grew up in charismatic contexts where we heard sermon after sermon where the Bible was allegorized to find meanings that the author never intended. By God's grace I will be able to avoid those errors and be able to comminicate God's word in the way he intended for it to be heard.

Like father like son

2007-09-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

What a sobering (yet humerous) reminder that our children are watching us and follow our example. William sees his dad with his face in a book a great deal now a days. Hopefully he doesn't start imitating my pride and selfishness!

Redemption's Story

2007-09-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finished our week with Jeff Purswell teaching us Biblical Theology. In 3.5 days he attempted to give us a grand overview of the entire story of the Bible while showing the typology present in the Old Testament that points to to the fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We learned that the gospels are the hermanutic key for the Old Testament and that all of the scriptures (both old and new testaments) are first and formost are about Jesus Christ.

Our main text book for the week was According To Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy. If you feel like the overall story of the Bible is a bit fuzzy, or would like to understand how to read the Old Testament correctly, it is an excellent primer.

A note of warning, you may never be able to watch Veggie Tales in the same way again!

songwriting between books

2007-09-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Even though I have a ton of reading to keep on top of, I hope to be able to get a little bit of songwriting in throughout the year. I find it to be a great way of taking a break from all the brain frying intellectual stuff. It's a creative exercise that seems to help me recharge my brain.

Here is a song that I started last spring that I have been working on this week.

Here is the mp3.

THE GOD WHO IS NEAR

VERSE 1
When hope and joy seem far away
And my path is dimly lit
When I seek in vain the break of day
And the darkness will not lift
Though I am tempted to despair
One promise holds me fast
My faithful Father keeps me in
His wise and loving grasp

CHORUS
You are near and You hear when I’m crying
You know all of my trials and fears
Speak to me from Your truth everlasting
You are the God who is near

VERSE 2
When tears of grief pour streaming down
And my heart is torn in two
In those bleak times of dulling pain
When the sadness is still new
There is a Friend who’s closer than
Any brother I have known
I know that You weep with me and
I do not mourn alone

Still Charismatic After All These Years

2007-09-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Does Sovereign Grace ministries still have a "significant charismatic dimension"? This week Brent Detwiler flew in to teach us Systematic Theology I. Brent is a member of the Sovereign Grace apostolic team and without a doubt is a bonifide charismatic. One of the highlights of the PC is listening to Brent retell stories of his own personal experience of the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. And though the stories he tells about his charismatic experience are faith building, what is especially encouraging is to see that Brent is still determined in his conviction that we should expect to see God doing the supernatural still today.

Much has been highlighted in regards to Sovereign Grace's growth in our understanding of reformed doctrine and our new relationships with evangelical leaders. I am grateful for that growth, but I am also grateful that our leaders are still passionate about pursuing and experiencing God's empowering presence.

Biblical Knowledge Exam

2007-08-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

We took a biblical knowledge exam this week in order to find out where we all were at in our knowledge of the Bible. I got 101 out of a possible 120 (about 84%). This seems to be right around the average score of the class. While we were grading the tests together as a class the discussion about certain questions revealed just how well read and intellegent many of the members of the class were. But I also realized that in a real way, "tis a gift to be simple"!

Orientation Day

2007-08-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

I once had the opportunity to go to a golf/lunch outing that a friend of mine who sold financial products hosted at a country club. That is the only comparison that seems fitting when describing yesterday at orientation. All in all over 100 members of Covenant Life Church were on hand to serve the PC students yesterday.

When we arrived at CLC, we were directed to pull up to the front doors and our cars were valet parked by CLC folks. We then went down to the PC classroom and were introduced to each other via an ice breaker. Jeff Perswell took us over the schedule for the year and explained to us what the year would be like. While we were in the classroom, voluneers from CLCs children's ministry were watching the kids.

We then went upstairs again for lunch and spent a couple hours talking. At our table was Gary and Betsy Ricucci (the PC pastor and his wife), and Rob and Michelle Tombrella (a PC family from Frisco, TX).

CLC helpers were on hand to help carry children's plates through the food line and whatever else we needed.

During lunch, several rooms were staffed with baby sitters so that the parents could continue talking while their kids watched veggie tales or played in the gymn.

When it was time to leave, they announced that while we had been at orientation, other members of the church had been busy washing and cleaning our cars inside and out!

What a blessing it is to be here!

Greek, and the Doctrine of Scripture

2007-08-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

We were given some assignments to work on over the summer including some initial Greek work (memorizing the alphabet, punctuation, pronounciation, etc.). I did that and am trying to get as far ahead as I can. I have memorized some vocabulary and am working on memorizing the definite article (i.e. "the") in different cases.

We also were sent the syllabus for the second week. Brent Detwiler will be teaching us Systematic Theology I, the doctrine of scripture. One of the primary texts that we will be using this year is Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.

I have already read sections about the canonization of scripture. This afternoon I spent some time reading about the authority of Scripture.

What a blast to be able to immerse myself in such great stuff.

We made it!

2007-08-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

We are in Gaithersburg! Saturday I drove a 24' moving truck, Bethany drove our car full of stuff, and Grandpa and Grandma Roggio drove William from Toms River down I-95 to Gaithersburg.

When we arrived we were greeted by an army of helpers from members of Covenant Life who are adopting us for the year. They had the truck unloaded in about a half an hour and then helped me unload our storage as well.

They had stocked our refrigerator full of beverages and food. They also had bought William a new dump truck and some other fun things. Bethany Gill (who works at Sovereign Grace) baked us a chocolate rasberry cake. Evie and Laura (friends of Bethany) stopped by with flowers. Sovereign Grace left us a basket full of snacks as well as helpful information about the area.

Our new pastors Gary and Betsy Ricucci stopped by and greeted us as well.

Needless to say our heads were spinning (in a very good way).

Grandma and Grandpa B. came Sunday after church and helped us unpack and settle much of the apartment. It is going to be great having them so close for the upcoming year.

Our basement apartment at the Simpsons is amazing. They just finished putting in a kitchenette and a bathroom, so they are completely new. The rest of the apartment looks like it's new as well even though there were bedrooms for some of their kids down here previously.

I'll try and send some pictures soon so you can see our new abode.

William is adjusting well. He has been sleeping well and we praise God for the grace that William seems to be enjoying during this transition.

I am sure I am leaving out a lot, but this has been a very full weekend! We are so thankful to God and to the many people who have made this move so amazing!

William's first taste of Starbucks

2007-08-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Since I was awake most of the night (see previous post) and since my coffee maker is packed away, I went out and bought a grande rasberry mocca from Starbucks this morning. William really wanted to try some, so he got his first taste of Starbucks today. He was giggling and getting more hyper with every sip. I think he is hooked.

A Cricket in the house

2007-08-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

One of the things we will not be missing when we move is the crickets. The property we live on is infested with them. Last night there was one in our kitchen that kept chirping and chirping. I finally found and killed it at 4am. Thankfully it didn't wake William up.

Grandpa and Grandma are coming to help

2007-08-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Roggio are driving all the way from Ohio to help us move! They are driving here on Thursday, and will be driving down to Gaithersburg with us on Saturday. What a blessing it will be for William to have his grandparents here during such a traumatic time.

To store or not to store

2007-08-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

This week we are finishing our packing. I finished packing and marking all of my stuff that is over at the church today. Thursday afternoon we will pack the moving truck, Friday we will clean, and Saturday we are off to Maryland!

One of the challenges for me has been deciding what to put into storage and what to keep at home. For instance, do I send my amp that I use when I lead worship to storage? It seems very strange to mark stuff like that for storage since it has been indispensible tool every week for the last 11 years.

One More Sunday

2007-08-06T07:43:00.001-07:00

This week will be our last Sunday at Trinity and it will be the last time I lead worship on a Sunday morning for a long time. I have been leading worship most Sunday mornings for the past 11 years. It will be very strange to actually go to church all together as a family without any leadership responsibilites. I am going to love the break, but I think I will definitely miss leading.

I already packed up all my sound equipment that the church is using. John Roberts (Trinity's Tech Team leader) and Tim W. Shorey (who will take back the music team) are going shopping this week to purchase replacement equipment.

Our move is coming fast!

More than we could ask or imagine

2007-08-01T08:58:00.001-07:00

How amazing it is to see God providing for all of our needs and beyond.
I just got a call from one of my managers at work who told me that they are sending me a bonus check for $5,000.
We have already received scholorship money from Trinity, Providence, and the church formerly known as Lord Of Life for over $12,000.

Thank you to all who have contributed to sending us to the Pastors College. Bethany and I are filled with faith that God is indeed sending us to the P.C!

We missed our own goodbye party

2007-08-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

You would think that if someone throws a party in your honor, the least you could do would be to show up.

Trinity had planned on using their quaterly family meal/meeting on Sunday as a goodbye party for us as we prepare to leave for Gaithersburg. We had every intention of going.

This past weekend friends of ours from Pittsburgh got married and we really wanted to be there, so we scheduled a flight back on Sunday morning thinking it would leave us plenty of time to make our party. But in the providence of God, we ended up getting delayed in the airport until 3pm and the folks from TFC graciously rescheduled our farewell party for the next evening.

But that isn't the whole story ...

On our way out to Pgh on Friday evening, we flew out of my favorite airport in the world, Philadelphia Interantional, and we were delayed for 5 hours. It just so happened that our good friends Mark and Jill Prater were on the same flight. So again, in the providence of God, we were blessed with quality airport time with Mark and Jill.

Quite a weekend. Poor William. I pray that he is too young to remember the tramatic experience of spending 9 hours in airports in one weekend!

The Glory of Perfect Justice

2007-07-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my last opportunity to preach before heading off to the PC. My message was part of a topical series that our church is doing this summer on the subject of heaven. My particular assignment was that of perfected justice.

If you want to listen, here is an mp3 of the message.

Boxes, boxes everywhere

2007-07-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, moving day is fast approaching and we have about 5 weeks left to pack everything we own. Bethany has already sorted through our storage in the attic and thanks to help from folks from church we are making progress.

This is one of the areas where Bethany thinks that I am overly optimistic. I look at what is left and think, "Hey we are doing great!". She looks at all that's left and thinks "Only 5 weeks to do all of this!". The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. And since she has been doing most of the packing, she is probably a better judge of what's left.

We have had several offers of help from friends at church, but we want to make sure we are sorting through things as they get packed so that we can keep track of exactly where everything is.

After we moved from Pittsburgh, it took us over a year to find our shower curtain, and we still haven't found the legs to our coffee table!

Songs From New Jersey - Part 2

2007-07-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here is another song that I wrote inspired by John Piper's book "God Is The Gospel".

The Greatest Gift mp3.

Some songs from New Jersey

2007-07-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a few songs that I wrote during our stay here in NJ. This first one, Breathe On Me, was inspired by a hymn by Edwin Hatch.

Breathe On Me mp3

Host Family

2007-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

An exciting development in our transition to the P.C. is finding out who we are going to be living with! We will be staying with Scott and Kathy Simpson who are graciously letting us live in their ground floor (basement) which they have made into a 2 bedroom apartment. They live a very short distance from the church, which will be a big help since we only have 1 car.

We hoping to move the 3rd weekend of August which will leave us a week to get settled in before classes start.

If you would like our new address, please send me an e-mail.

Back in the 'burgh

2007-06-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

I was in Pittsburgh this weekend preaching at Providence Church (http://www.pcop.org/). I had a great weekend. It was so good to see everyone at church on Sunday.

It was also a joy to see the Holy Spirit actively speaking to the church through the gift of prophecy. There were 2 words given during the first hour that really went with my message. I am grateful that God was present to bless his people in spite of my inadequcies as a preacher.

Once again, this preaching opportunity was a great learning experience for me. I feel like I was free from my notes in a greater way yesterday than I have been in the past. Even though I don't think I was as articulate in forming what I wanted to say as if I had read from my notes, I think I was more dependent on the Spirit and that is far more important.

I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit is the one who ultimately is the one who reveals to our hearts the mystery of the gospel. If he is looking for a weak vessel through which to do it, I certainly qualify!

The Cross And Christian Ministry

2007-05-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

One of the books that we have been asked to read before arriving at the PC this summer is The Cross and Christian Ministry by D.A. Carson. I already owned this book and had read some of it before, but this was a great reason to get it out and read through the whole thing.

I don't think there are too many books that are more influential to Soveriegn Grace ministries thinking on pastoral leadership or theological emphasis than this book. It was published in the early 1990s and I remember the effect that it had on C.J. Mahaney by the way he quoted from this book at a Celebration East conference. Before that, the theme of Celebration was different every year. But I think largely because of this book, the conference's theme every year after was "Celebrating The Glorious Gospel".

In the book Carson challenges us to not allow any other issue or topic to gain more emphasis in our churches than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He urges Christians not to assume the gospel.

Reading this book was a good reminder to make sure that I never assume what is most important.

3 and a half months to go

2007-05-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just a little over 3 months for now, Bethany, William, and I will be moving to Gaithersburg, MD so that I can attend 2007-2008 Sovereign Grace Ministries' Pastors College.

I am starting this blog to provide you with a window into our experience while at the PC.

I hope to post updates both on what is going on with our family (like our new baby in October!) as well as reflections on what I am learning in class and in other contexts.

I have already received some reading assignments to do over the summer so I will let you know how it goes.

If you would like more info about the PC, there is lot's of information on Sovereign Grace's website at http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/PC/Overview.aspx.