by Pastor Patrick Cho

This week a number of our church’s men have traveled to Grace Community Church for its Shepherds’ Conference. Each year, this proves to be one of the great annual highlights on the church’s calendar. But this year is particularly special because The Master’s Seminary is hosting a summit on the inerrancy of the Word of God. This has been the theme of the Shepherds’ Conference, and perhaps there has never been a time when it was more needed. It has been tremendously encouraging to see more than 4,500 pastors, missionaries, scholars, and church leaders come together to affirm the perfection, reliability, authority, and sufficiency of the Bible. It has been a great display of the unity that comes from the Spirit of God when believers are committed to God’s truth.

It is no surprise that one of the most prominent principles of application of the gospel we find in the New Testament is unity. Since we worship and serve one God, according to one truth, in one Spirit, by one faith, so God calls all believers to fellowship together as one (cf. Eph. 4:1-6). Any attack or compromise to the unity of the body of Christ is an attack or compromise in one’s theology of God. This is one of the key areas of Bible application where theology (what we believe) and theopraxis (what we do because of what we believe) come together.

The basis behind this unity is the gospel. Throughout the conference, though it has been a time focused on the inerrancy of Scripture, we have been reminded of the grace of God in salvation. We have sung the gospel, we have been taught the gospel, and the fellowship has been a reminder of the gospel that has brought us together. This certainly makes sense since the whole of the Word of God really in some ways is the gospel of God. It also makes sense since the goal of knowing Scripture is to come to know the God who authored the Scripture. All true believers share this common fellowship with their God and Savior, and this in turn brings believers together in fellowship with one another.

Through all of this, I have also been reminded of the unity we strive for in the Lighthouse Alliance. There are certain ideals that Lighthouse has held to throughout the years. We have said repeatedly that what defines Lighthouse is really its commitment to the MVP statement, the Peacemaker Pledge, and the doctrinal distinctions of the church. We have also communicated that the Lighthouse Alliance is striving to be more than just a simple association that agrees on the gospel. But while we are striving to be more than that, we are definitely not less than that. More foundational and fundamental to anything else we are doing is that the gospel brings us together and holds us together in fellowship with one another.

In this sense, we can echo the sentiment of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:3-5, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you . . . because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” This is a passage that Pastor John Kim of Lighthouse Los Angeles recently encouraged all the other Lighthouse pastors with, and it has been on my mind since. The word for partnership in this verse is koinonia, which is also translated “fellowship” or “participation.” It conveys the idea of holding together through the thick and thin of gospel ministry. It is not just about basking in the joys and successes of gospel ministry, but also trudging through the trials and hardships. Having a partnership in the gospel is a significant bond that I am thankful all the Lighthouse churches share in. We have walked with each other through some very difficult trials and we have rejoiced with each other in times of celebration, and all of this has been for the sake of the gospel and for the glory of God.

I am so grateful for this partnership we share in the gospel. The time we have been spending together at the Shepherds’ Conference has helped as a reminder of the blessing of this fellowship. It is also serving as a great opportunity worship together with thousands of other men who also value this fellowship.