Hi! Thanks for your interest in my blog! As a pastor, seminary professor, and follower of Christ, I am aware that every time I read the Bible, I am given the opportunity to examine myself by the Word and see how I line up. When I see that I fall short (which is often), I am encouraged that the ministry of the Word and Spirit work together to help me grow and mature. Sanctification is a product of the Spirit and Word working to conform the Christian to Christ. Thus, I am always reforming and being conformed to Scripture.
My aim in writing is to share what God has taught me on this journey. I have learned a lot, and have lots to learn. And since so many people have poured their lives into me, I feel that I have a duty to share with others who are looking for some help too. I write primarily on the subjects of preaching, pastoral ministry, Bible, and Christian leadership.
A little more about me for those interested. I am the Executive Director of IFCA International, a fellowship of around 2,000 churches, pastors, Christian leaders and organizations around the world. I graduated from Biola University in 1997 with a B.A. in Christian Education and Bible, and The Master’s Seminary (M.Div., D.Min.) in Expository Preaching. I was blessed to serve for 12 years as a Faculty Associate at The Master’s Seminary from 2006-2018 in Pastoral Ministries while pastoring for 17 years in Los Angeles, CA.
I have been married for over 30 years to my High School sweetheart, and we have four wonderful daughters who love the Lord. With the addition of our yellow labrador retriever Jack, we have a pretty active home with lots of laughter and love to go around. Together, our family loves camping, fishing, and recently I have picked up woodworking as a new hobby.
Always Reforming 
Dr Bargas,
I was at the Truth for Every Man conference at SVC last month. You were a real blessing. I really appreciated your preaching!
Thank you, brother. I am thankful that the Lord used me as a blessing to you.
As a Student and Discipleship Pastor, your encouragement and practical application have been very helpful. Grateful for your willingness to teach others.
Thanks Clayton. I have been super busy lately and not giving the attention I need to recently, but I appreciate your encouraging comment. Blessings!
Sir, I would be grateful to continue to learn the best ways to identify doctrinal statements when preparing to teach and preach. Would you have any suggestions on the best ways to identify the doctrinal statement of the text. I find that sometimes there can be many present, but how do we identify the best option? I know there may be a better platform for questions. Forgive me asking in the comments section.
Hi Clayton, I think I might understand what you are asking, but I don’t want to answer a question if I am misunderstanding you. What do you mean by the “doctrinal statements?” Are you speaking about the main doctrinal idea in the passage or are you speaking about the “big idea” that leads to a propositional statement in the sermon?
I believe I am asking for both. My hope is that while commentaries are wonderful and I am so grateful for them, I want to make sure that I am able to approach the text and correctly identify both of these things mentioned above in your response. I believe I have been able to identify both of those things, but I am grateful for your teaching and would be grateful to have a few more tools to identify both, the main doctrinal idea of the passage (which there may be multiple) and the big idea that leads to the propositional statement in the sermon. Thank you sir.
If its easier for you to respond via email I understand.
Clayton,
I thought that I had already written a post on how to do this, but in my search I couldn’t find it. So, I hope to write a post on the practical how-to’s of this in the near future. For your more immediate need, I would recommend that you get a copy of Wayne McDill’s book “The Twelve Essentials Skills for Great Preaching.” His book is broken up into 12 chapters that each highlight a particular skill set for preaching, and each chapter includes a worksheet to help you learn how to do that specific skill. You are looking to move from exegesis to exposition, and that means you need to identify the theological ideas (main and sub-ideas) as well as the main, textually-driven preaching proposition, or big idea. The McDill book will help you do this. Otherwise, keep an eye out for my post at some point where I hope to demonstrate how I teach students how to do it using one of McDill’s forms and a form I have developed. Hope that at least gives you a starting point!
Blessings,
Richard