Friday, April 24, 2009

Reflections from the Gospel Coalition

Earlier this morning I returned from the Gospel Coalition Conference. It was truly an amazing three days. So here I will simply list in bullet form a series of thoughts, reflections, highlights, etc. from the conference.

  • While the conference is amazing on its own terms, it is so much better when you can enjoy it with others. I had the privilege of taking 12 students from Grace College and Seminary, and it was a blast. It was so fun to introduce many of them to some of the great speakers/teachers for the first time.
  • I love getting to see friends both old and new. These conferences provide opportunities to catch up with individuals that I don't get to see very often and hear what God is doing in their lives. These conversations often lead to meeting new friends, and this conference was no different. In my estimation, this one of the primary benefits of conferences like these.
  • The content of the teaching was fabulous. I especially appreciated the messages by Keller, Piper and Lig Duncan. But for me the absolute highlight was the post-conference event "The Pastor as Scholar, the Scholar as Pastor" with Carson and Piper. Carson's message on "The Scholar as Pastor" was the most helpful set of reflections of what it means to be a scholar who serves the church. Perhaps it will serve as grist for later post.
  • On a different note, a friend passed along tickets to the Cubs game yesterday for me and five other guys. The seats were absolutely AMAZING. We were 11 rows from the field, behind the plate off to the 3rd base side. When the batter was in the box he was closer to us that he was to first base. Talk about a completely different experience! The only downside was that the Cubs lost.

If you were unable to attend the conference, you should go to the Gospel Coalition website and download the messages. You will not be disappointed.

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