Shepherd's Conference (XII) (03/10/07 - 12 Comments)
Some conferences end with a bang. They crescendo in a big song or a passionate call to action, the lights come on, and they are over. Others end less abruptly, sort of slowly fizzling rather than culminating in a bang. The Shepherds' Conference falls into the latter category. John MacArthur finished his session last night and the conference was done. Or kind of. After he was finished the Soapboxes were opened for business and the...
Shepherd's Conference (XI) (03/09/07 - 8 Comments)
This evening marked the final session of the 2007 Shepherds' Conference. It occurred to me quite suddenly this afternoon that I had been misplacing an apostrophe the entire time. The apostrophe in "Shepherds'" should be going after the "s" and not before. I'll try to do better if and when they ask me to return next year. Not too long before this evening's session began, I started to feel a little bit queasy. I'm not...
Shepherd's Conference (X) (03/09/07 - 12 Comments)
I do not typically attempt to record the speaker panel or question and answer sessions at these conferences. The relaxed, casual and unplanned atmosphere makes it quite a challenge. However, today I thought I'd give it a try. And actually, I think it worked out quite well. Here is a brief rundown on what happened when the five speakers gathered on the stage (C.J. Mahaney was not present as he has already headed home) and...
Shepherd's Conference (IX) (03/09/07 - 18 Comments)
The final session of the conference is set to wrap up sometime around 8 PM tonight. However, it won't quite be over at that point. This year the five speakers (minus MacArthur, so Lawson, Dever, Mahaney, Duncan and Mohler) will each have the opportunity to share issues that are of particular concern to them. Five soapboxes will be setup around the Grace campus and each of the men will speak for a few minutes, sharing...
Shepherd's Conference (VIII) (03/09/07 - 6 Comments)
Every time I'm down here in California, I'm surprised by how much the temperatures fluctuate from day to night. While it is supposed to top out at around eighty degrees by later in the day, right now I'm just about shivering sitting here in the shade. I suppose it must be the humidity that helps moderate the temperatures in the climate I am accustomed to. Either way, it's pretty chilly right now! This morning Mark...
Shepherd's Conference (VII) (03/08/07 - 16 Comments)
The Shepherd's Conference is infamous for being the conference that gives away the most and the best stuff. Every year each attendee walks away with a good pile of books and one big-ticket item. Last year I got in trouble for not posting an exhaustive list of the books and I thought I had best remedy that this year. So here is the list of books we got. What Jesus Demands from the World by...
Shepherd's Conference (VI) (03/08/07 - 5 Comments)
This evening's session began with a selection of songs being sung by the Master's College choir. They are clearly an exceptionally talented group and sing absolutely beautifully. It was a real blessing to hear them. When they had finished up, MacArthur introduced Al Mohler, tonight's speaker. After regaling us with some hilarious stories of his own ineptitude (with the final story culminating in him buying a hilariously inappropriate Mother's Day card for his wife), Dr....
Shepherd's Conference (V) (03/08/07 - 7 Comments)
Yesterday I had the honor of serving at the Shepherd's Conference Scholar's Desk. This is a stand-up desk where experts on various fields are available to answer questions on a given topic. Together with Nathan Busenitz we fielded questions for an hour on the subject of blogging. And it was a lot of fun. Some theological questions arose and I pretty well just deferred to Nathan on these since he is, after all, a PhD...
Shepherd's Conference (IV) (03/08/07 - 5 Comments)
We've come to the mid-point of the conference (or at least the mid-point for those of us who do not stick around until Sunday afternoon). A round of seminars is beginning right now and a second round will happen immediately after these ones. I've decided to forego he seminars and am sitting between two buildings, in the shade, and am just enjoying the beautiful weather. It is warm, sunny and dry as a bone (as...
Shepherd's Conference (III) (03/07/07 - 18 Comments)
MacArthur's early-morning speech is the talk of the conference to this point. It has taken the blogosphere by storm and is generating a lot of discussion around the church campus as well. The most common comment is along the lines of "This is what happens when R.C. Sproul is not at the conference!" Please do heed the advice I posted and wait for the audio before drawing too many conclusions. I actually spoke to MacArthur...
Shepherd's Conference (II) (03/07/07 - 6 Comments)
The day's second session was led by Steve Lawson. He began by sharing how much the conference has meant to him. It was a moving tribute to the conference and upon the impact it can have upon a pastor. For his text he chose Acts 2:14-21 and titled the sermon "The Passion and the Power of Apostolic Preaching." We need men of God to stand up to preach and herald with much love the full...
Shepherd's Conference (I) (03/07/07 - 70 Comments)
Well we weren't expecting John MacArthur to begin the conference this way. He decided to forego his usual opening sermon and speak instead on a touchy topic. His lecture was titled (and I'm not sure how much this is tongue-in-cheek) "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Pre-Millennialist." A couple of weeks ago, at the Resolved Conference, he mentioned this topic so it was interesting to hear him fill it out. Now I am going to...
The Shepherd's Conference (03/06/07 - 16 Comments)
This marks the second year I've been given the privilege of liveblogging the Shepherd's Conference. Just a few minutes from now I'll go out into the -35 degree cold (that includes windchill, mind you) to set out for Los Angeles where rumor has it I can expect 75 degree temperatures. That is an adjustment of 110 degrees! The conference, which is geared primarily towards pastors and is sponsored by Grace Community Church in Sun Valley,...
