I arrived back in Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, filled with a myriad of thoughts about the three days that many of us spent in Louisville. There are numerous bloggers who have provided a better coverage of what happened than I can. Tim Challies and Shaun Nolan both have comments on the different speakers and their messages. I can't duplicate their outstanding work, but would like to add some of my own thoughts.
People are buzzing - and rightly so - about John Piper's message. While each speaker was outstanding (I did not get to hear John Macarthur due to having to leave for the airport), John Piper seemed in the role of the OT prophet. If you get no other message from the conference, you must listen to that one, though I have to wonder if the impact will be the same. Some things are moments, events, and cannot be adequately replicated.
The wonderful people at Sovereign Grace have already made the sessions available for purchase. An MP3 of all of the messages (not the panels) is available for only 11. It is a must.
The singing, led by Bob Kauflin on the piano, was moving. Hearing 2800 men singing the great cross-centered hymns of yesterday and today was a great experience. A CD of just the music would be worth having.
As far as my own life, there were two things that stood out to me. One was the encouragement that I received from the messages to keep doing what I am doing in terms of preaching expositorily and focusing on the Gospel. You other pastors know all of the stuff that we get bombarded with that focuses on a different message and management methods. What a refreshing drink of water this conference was for that alone.
Secondly, I was deeply encouraged at the age of the participants. There is obviously a growing movement in our day that transcends denominations, is vested in our younger men, that affirms the historic Gospel and doctrines of grace. I would estimate that 2/3 of those in attendance were 45 and under.
Other highlights for me included striking up a friendship with fellow-Pennsylvanian Shaun Nolan, riding home from the conference with Will Metzger, author of the book Tell the Truth, used by God in evangelism training for 25 years, praying with 6 other pastors from Texas on the way to the airport about my son and one other man's father and their need for Christ, the fantastic accommodations, Ligon Duncan's rap with his brother, the banter between the four founders of T4G, Mark Dever's warm MC'ing, the amazing generosity that led to giving away over a dozen fine books, CJ Mahaney's challenge to watch our lives closely.
I could go on.
It's happening again in 2008, and Lord willing I will be there, even if I don't like to fly.
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Shortly after Christmas, my daughter Cindy decided that we needed to do something with our living room. So she began to scrape off two layers of wallpaper and more layers of paint from the plaster walls of our home. It was being done bit-by-bit and had come to resemble what my wife called "early crack house." While I was away, to my astonishment and gratitude, my small group worked for three nights (and during the day when possible) to finish stripping the wallpaper, removing the glue, spackling, priming and painting the walls. Their motive was to express appreciation, and it did that and more.
At Together for the Gospel
I am not a fan of flying, and sure enough, the ride to Louisville was a bit of a test of faith. It got pretty bumpy for the last half of the flight. I figured that if anyone started to scream, then I'd get scared, otherwise I'd pretend that the shaking plane had no impact on me whatsoever, just like the other guys.
There were a number of guys on the plane from Sovereign Grace churches. Several sport the Mahaney haircut.
I will be attending the meeting for bloggers that Timmy Brister put together and am looking forward to that. Mark Dever speaks tonight on The Pastor's Understanding of His Own Role. That is followed by a panel discussion on Why I'm Doing What I'm Doing with My Life. Tomorrow is a very full day.
I walked a few blocks around the hotel last night and this morning. This part of Louisville is very nice. Lots of restaurants. The Louisville Slugger Museum is just down the street, and for being as much of a baseball fan as I am, I should get there. Kind of like going to London and not seeing Big Ben. But I'm not sure that the schedule will allow that tomorrow.
There were a number of guys on the plane from Sovereign Grace churches. Several sport the Mahaney haircut.
I will be attending the meeting for bloggers that Timmy Brister put together and am looking forward to that. Mark Dever speaks tonight on The Pastor's Understanding of His Own Role. That is followed by a panel discussion on Why I'm Doing What I'm Doing with My Life. Tomorrow is a very full day.
I walked a few blocks around the hotel last night and this morning. This part of Louisville is very nice. Lots of restaurants. The Louisville Slugger Museum is just down the street, and for being as much of a baseball fan as I am, I should get there. Kind of like going to London and not seeing Big Ben. But I'm not sure that the schedule will allow that tomorrow.
- I understand that the sessions will be available after the conference. See www.togetherforthegospel.org for more information.
Monday Discoveries, Except It's Tuesday
As several bloggers have noted, the April 9Marks newsletter has some outstanding articles. The review of George Barna's book Revolution is great, as is the article on "expository listening."
John Samson at Reformation Theology, links to a great pastoral-centered post about the Gospel of Judas.
An earlier post at the same site lists books that are "must reads" for our theological edification and education. I don't even have some of these. As such I haven't read them. Alas, each day brings me face to face with more books I should read. Thanks for the great post! I was on the mailing list of a well-known (and formerly very helpful) Christian publisher who just keeps pumping out the Christian therapy books. I canceled out of that list today.
Al Mohler has a post, also referenced in a number of blogs, about the pastor as theologian.
I've been using an RSS aggregator called GreatNews. Freeware published by CurioStudio. Catch them here.
Hoping to meet some of you folks at the Together For the Gospel Conference next week!
John Samson at Reformation Theology, links to a great pastoral-centered post about the Gospel of Judas.
An earlier post at the same site lists books that are "must reads" for our theological edification and education. I don't even have some of these. As such I haven't read them. Alas, each day brings me face to face with more books I should read. Thanks for the great post! I was on the mailing list of a well-known (and formerly very helpful) Christian publisher who just keeps pumping out the Christian therapy books. I canceled out of that list today.
Al Mohler has a post, also referenced in a number of blogs, about the pastor as theologian.
I've been using an RSS aggregator called GreatNews. Freeware published by CurioStudio. Catch them here.
Hoping to meet some of you folks at the Together For the Gospel Conference next week!
Monday Discoveries
Here are some good links that I found over the last few days:
A great article by John Samson on Preaching for the Glory of God over at Reformation Theology. Worth printing and reviewing from time to time.
Pastor Samson also provides a link to the Gospel of Judas over at the National Geographic site. With this "discovery" and the upcoming DaVinci Code movie, it would be helpful to have resources for our people so that they are not shaken in their faith. While people who do the research might see these things as fully answerable, I am concerned about less mature believers in whom these things plant a seed of doubt. Al Mohler had a great column on the Gospel of Judas this past week (see the entry for April 7).
Andrew at Faith and Practice had a very good entry on discernment. Another worthwhile article to print out.
The White Horse Inn (Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals) is not available as a podcast. Good stuff, and free.
On a different note, if you want to enjoy a moment of levity, check out this video. For those of you who enjoy the latest and greatest free software, check out this link.
A great article by John Samson on Preaching for the Glory of God over at Reformation Theology. Worth printing and reviewing from time to time.
Pastor Samson also provides a link to the Gospel of Judas over at the National Geographic site. With this "discovery" and the upcoming DaVinci Code movie, it would be helpful to have resources for our people so that they are not shaken in their faith. While people who do the research might see these things as fully answerable, I am concerned about less mature believers in whom these things plant a seed of doubt. Al Mohler had a great column on the Gospel of Judas this past week (see the entry for April 7).
Andrew at Faith and Practice had a very good entry on discernment. Another worthwhile article to print out.
The White Horse Inn (Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals) is not available as a podcast. Good stuff, and free.
On a different note, if you want to enjoy a moment of levity, check out this video. For those of you who enjoy the latest and greatest free software, check out this link.