by Hansol An and Eugene Park

Editor’s Note: Pastor Patrick wanted to do a series here on the Beacon that encouraged the attendees of the Shepherds Conference to share their thoughts with the church. This is the first part in that series.  And if you are interesting in listening to the messages, you can download them all for free.

From an overall evaluation, what was at least one thing that was encouraging to you from the Shepherds Conference?

Being with pastors and leaders from all around the world is always an encouragement. It is a blessing to hear about how God is using faithful men to carry out His work among different people in various places. There is so much division in the world, and even among those that call themselves Christians it can be difficult to find unity. But those that attend Shepherds’ Conference are of a common mind. There is unity. There is an understanding that the call to lead is a great honor and great responsibility. There is empathy. It comes with many challenges too numerous to name to which few can relate. There is encouragement. (Hansol An)

I really enjoy spending 3-4 days straight with people from church. Just being able to hang out, talk about different things in ministry, and seeing how excited these guys are to apply what they’ve learned from the conference encourages me so much. I also enjoy being able to see people I know from other churches attending the conference. (Eugene Park)

What was at least one thing from the messages that was particularly helpful or challenging for you?

Rick Holland shared a message called Shepherdology. In it he outlined what it means to be a shepherd. He summed it up with, “Shepherding is not something you do; it’s something you are.” This year all the messages had a more poignant impact than in previous years, particularly this one. I’ve been on College Life staff for many years now, but this is the first year taking the lead. This expanded responsibility brought a greater appreciation for what Pastor Holland was sharing and what all pastors and elders do. It was also a sobering reminder that brought a fuller understanding that God has placed me in that role. (Hansol An)

Tom Pennington said in his message that the greatest danger to our ministry is our own pride. And as he talked about those manifestations of pride, I could see myself in a lot of them. (Eugene Park)

What was at least one lesson that challenged you in regards to your service at LBC? How will you take this and apply it to ministry here in San Diego?

Today’s churches stress relevance and people want to have their ears tickled. Not much has changed in 2,000 years. The cure for ears that want to be tickled is the preaching of the Gospel. My goal is to do whatever it takes to teach and live out the Gospel. (Hansol An)

Every year I attend Clayton Erb’s seminar on music even though he pretty much says the same thing each year. But I keep attending because I enjoy listening during the Q&A to the issues other people have at their churches in regards to the music ministry. And hearing those issues helps me to appreciate the many volunteers involved with the music ministry at LBC. (Eugene Park)