Minnesota

Day two of Desiring God ministry's annual conference continued at the Minneapolis Convention Center Tuesday with author and speaker Darrin Patrick, who spoke about building and training men for local missions, in a culture where many males are stuck in arrested development.

Patrick's book Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission explores how in today's society a growing number of males prolong their adolescence, choosing instead to live between childhood and adulthood.

The theme of his book tied in to that of the conference, which is exploring the leadership role of men in both ministry and culture, titled: "God, Manhood & Ministry – Building Men for the Body of Christ." more >>

God's intention for Christianity is for it to have a "masculine feel," evangelist John Piper declared on Tuesday.

"God revealed Himself in the Bible pervasively as king not queen; father not mother," Piper said at this year's annual pastors conference hosted by the Desiring God ministry. "Second person of the Trinity is revealed as the eternal Son not daughter; the Father and the Son create man and woman in His image and give them the name man, the name of the male."

He continued, "God appoints all the priests in the Old Testament to be men; the Son of God came into the world to be a man; He chose 12 men to be His apostles; the apostles appointed that the overseers of the Church be men; and when it came to marriage they taught that the husband should be the head." more >>

A man is a portrait of what has been invested in him, said Crawford Loritts, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Ga., said at Desiring God ministry's annual conference today.

The theme of the conference, held at the Minneapolis Conference Center, was "God, Manhood & Ministry – Building Men for the Body of Christ." Prominent evangelical pastor John Piper is hosting the event, and speakers are exploring the role of manhood in ministry and culture.

Loritts preached in Minneapolis shortly after participating in The Elephant Room conference last week. At this conference though, he spoke about something much more personal: his own father. more >>

Good church leadership begins at home, the first speaker of this year's annual pastors conference hosted by the Desiring God ministry at the Minneapolis Convention Center said Monday.

"The apostle Paul considers the fruit of a man's behavior in his home as one of the central qualifications for pastoral office," Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, told those in attendance and an online viewing audience.

"He says that if a man does not know how to manage his household well, then how will he know how to care for the church of God as he says in 1 Timothy 3-5? From this we learn that fatherhood in the home and pastoral care in the church are analogous activities." more >>

Prominent evangelical pastor John Piper along with other church leaders plan to tackle the issues of men becoming strong Christian leaders in today's world during the Desiring God ministry's annual pastors conference held Monday to Wednesday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Joining Piper at this year's conference, titled, "God, Manhood & Ministry – Building Men for the Body of Christ," will be Doug Wilson, Crawford Loritts, Darren Patrick, and Ramez Atallah. The main sessions –which begin with Wilson's message, "'Father Hunger,' in Leading the Home" – are Webcast for free at www.desiringgod.org starting at 7 p.m. EST.

In a short video clip introducing the conference, Piper said, "It seems to us that a really important thing to us is helping men be men – Helping men discover what is [their] unique contribution to life, church, family, mission as man, not just as human, but what is God calling [them] to be as a man." more >>

Michele Bachmann spoke to members of Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition in Minnesota recently and pledged support for a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.

Minnesota Rep. Bachmann, who dropped out of the Republican presidential nomination race earlier this month, told members of the conservative group that met in Eagan, Minn., Friday that she was "back on the team" and ready to push for passage of the marriage amendment she first proposed as a state senator, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The group met to discuss ways to approve a marriage amendment that will appear on November's ballot. The measure is to ensure that neither courts nor future legislatures can legalize gay marriage. more >>