John 3:16 Conference: Attendance and Mood

  • Tim Challies
  • 11/07/08
  • 2

Guest blog by Andrew Lindsey

Before I go to the Conference this morning, I wanted to answer some questions some have been asking me about the attendance and mood of this Conference.

Attendance:

There appear to be somewhere between 800 and 1000 people at the Conference. [For readers who may be familiar with First Baptist Church Woodstock, GA- the bottom level of the “chapel” in A building, the building behind the main building housing the sanctuary, is full during sessions, with Conference-goers seated comfortably, but not too many open seats apparent at all.]

When asked to raise our hands if we are pastors, an overwhelming majority (about 90%) raised their hands. I would estimate that about 90% of Conference-goers are over 30 years old- at 28, I feel like a young guy there- with a clear majority being 40 years old or older. (Many of the younger guys who are there appear to have come with the schools represented in the vendors’ hall.)

Mood

The mood of the Conference, as best as I can determine thus far, does not seem to be vitriolic nor panicked in regards to Calvinism. From the conversations I have over-heard, Conference-goers tend to regard Calvinism as an attempt to draw systematic, logical conclusions from Scripture (rather than being based directly upon Scripture), and Conference-goers genuinely believe that Calvinists have come to wrong conclusions, which are contradicted by specific scriptural texts. Conference-goers seem to be looking to the speakers at this Conference to provide an exegetical basis from which they can offer a defense for their rejection of Calvinism.

Comments (2)

1
Anonymous's picture
a comment from TDP • 11/07 @ 10:56am

Thank you SO MUCH for covering this conference! I was so disappointed that it was basically a refutation of calvinism, yet they weren’t going to stream it, nor post the sessions online afterwards. I actually e-mailed Vines’ ministry 3 times, BEGGING them to put up the content…and to stop charging people to access his website…but I got (surprise!) NO REPLY to any of my mails. It’s very telling that so many “calvinist” conferences post EVERYTHING for free, yet this so-called response to those conferences is hush-hush. Wouldn’t they WANT to share their good news with all of us who are so misguided?

2
Anonymous's picture
a comment from Howard • 11/07 @ 11:32am

I thought the last two sentences (if an accurate description) were quite telling. One group draws incorrect logical conclusions and are accused of such. The other claims direct Biblical truth while “looking” for an exegetical defense.

“From the conversations I have over-heard, Conference-goers tend to regard Calvinism as an attempt to draw systematic, logical conclusions from Scripture (rather than being based directly upon Scripture), and Conference-goers genuinely believe that Calvinists have come to wrong conclusions, which are contradicted by specific scriptural texts.”

“Conference-goers seem to be looking to the speakers at this Conference to provide an exegetical basis from which they can offer a defense for their rejection of Calvinism.”