Well, I made it. It is good to feel a hot sun for the first time in many months! It was an early start this morning—the alarm rang at 2:44 AM and I was out the door just a very short time after that. After having some very bad flights in the past few months, I was blessed to have two good ones today. So thanks to United Airlines for good and on-time service (insert Air Canada joke here)! We landed in Orlando right on time and I quickly found my friend Nick who had flown in an hour earlier. We also happened upon another conference attendee who needed a ride from the airport (and who knew we were heading to Ligonier because of the John Stott book Nick was holding). By the time I picked up a rental car, dropped my bag at the hotel, grabbed some lunch and found the church I had already missed the first couple of sessions of the preconference—sessions that were led by Steven Lawson and R.C. Sproul Jr.. Alex Chediak, posting over at the Ligonier blog, has notes on the first sessions if you want to know what they were all about. I’ll begin to add some thoughts as the evening goes on and as the conference proper begins.

The Ligonier Ministries 2008 National Conference kicks off later today and I’m on my way to Orlando to take it all in. Unfortunately I waited a little too late to book my flight, so I would up with a flight that necessitates leaving my home at 3:15 AM (just imagine when that means I need to wake up!). That has to be a new record for me. But, Lord willing, I should be in Florida for a lunch in the sun, even if I fall asleep face-down in my food.

You may have heard of some of the speakers for this year’s conference: Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, John MacArthur, C.J. Mahaney, R.C. Sproul and Joni Eareckson Tada. It promises to be a great weekend. I will be bringing you plenty of blog updates, though this year many of them will be over at the new Ligonier Blog to which I am a contributor. Alex Chediak will also be blogging and I look forward to working with him.

If you are unable to attend the conference, you may still wish to tune in for the live webcasts. You can find information for the webcasts right here.

I will check in again later in the day as the conference begins…

The Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology wrapped up last night with Dr. Carson speaking on “Preaching Christ Crucified.” It was, I think, a very useful conference and one that seems to have touched many of those who attended. The staff and the team of volunteers were very kind and very eager to serve. I always love the conferences that are held at local churches as they give such great opportunities for service. It was a joy to see so many people serving and to be able to meet so many brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you live in the Nashville area (or even if you don’t) and you’d like to get out to a conference next year, NCCT ‘09 will be featuring John MacArthur and Bruce Ware (and probably at least one more speaker). It will be another great one, I’m sure, and will be worth adding to your calendar even now.

My parents drove up from the Chattanooga area to spend some time with me, so this morning we’ll head over to Community Bible Church for the morning worship service (where D.A. Carson will be preaching once more) and then we’ll go out for lunch before I begin my journey back to Toronto. If all goes well I should be home for dinner!

Thanks for those who took the time to pray for me and for the other speakers. My first conference plenary session went about as well as I could have hoped, I suppose. I’m still far more confident behind a pen than behind a pulpit, but over time that may well change.

I do apologize for the shortness of the posts over the past couple of days. Because I have not been blogging this conference, I’ve been leaving my computer at the hotel and have been doing just little snatches of writing here and there. Hopefully by tomorrow we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming around here.

It’s day two of the Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology. Things kicked off last night with a session from Dr. D.A. Carson in which he introduced the Emergent Church and Emerging theology. He also dipped into postmodernism and a variety of related topics. For those unfamiliar with the whole movement, I’m sure this proved a useful introduction. You will be able to download audio from the conference site after things have wrapped up. I’ll post a link when it’s available. When his session was complete he fielded some questions which allowed him to clarify a few matters. It was a helpful session, I think.

Today will begin with Dr. Steve Lawson speaking on the Power of the Gospel and he’ll be followed by Carson who will speak on The Gospel and Postmodern Minds. Later this afternoon, after Dr. Lawson’s second session, I’ll take a kick at things and discuss Loving God with your Mind. I continue to covet your prayers on my behalf and on behalf of the other speakers today. Nashville, it seems, represents a rather unique church setting.

Speaking of which, I am going to go through my notes one more time before heading over to the church. I pray you have a great and relaxing Saturday. I may check in a little bit later if I have time or opportunity!

So I am here in Chattanooga (the official city motto seems to be “We close at 5”), spending the weekend at a conference room at the Chattanooga Choo Choo (which is a local hotel/attraction/Holiday Inn). Somewhere around 1000 people are gathered for the Reality Check conference which will feature teaching by Matt Fowler, Paul Washer, Jeff Noblit, and Jono Sims. This event is a ministry of Anchored in Truth Minitries and caters primarily to young people, though despite this, there are many adults here. From my vantage point in the middle of the room I’d estimate they represent perhaps one in four or one in five attendees. Many parents have come with their teens—far more, I think, than I’ve seen at any similar conference. This is interesting to me and I look forward to seeing how that demographic contributes to the overall experience of the conference. Registration was so far beyond expectations that an overflow room was opened down the hall and people in that room are watching the proceedings via a video feed. This is a big event and a great way to close out a year.

The schedule for this conference gives us two sessions this evening with a short break between. Tomorrow we’ll see two more sessions before breaking for the whole afternoon. There will be two sessions that evening and one for Sunday morning worship. Each morning there will also be times for leaders’ devotions (youth group leaders, that is) and tomorrow there will be a roundtable luncheon for these leaders. Saturday afternoon gives a long period of time to explore downtown Chattanooga (which, as you’ll know if you’ve been here) is a really great place with lots to do and lots to see.

The conference’s first evening kicked off with a time of praise and worship led by Tom Clay. Accompanied by a contemporary (and loud but not-too-loud) band, he led in a variety of hymns and contemporary favorites (“Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Hallelujah, What a Savior,” “How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord,” etc). In just a few moments, Matt Fowler, will begin the first teaching session.

I’m going to be in the Atlanta and Chattanooga areas over the holidays this year, hanging out with my family and then attending the Reality Check Conference (where I’ll be blogging, book signing, and having fun). So that means a couple of days in Adairsville, GA, a couple of days in Woodstock, GA (which, I hear, is a ‘burb of Atlanta) and a few days in Chattanooga, TN. Looks like it’s going to be a busy week or ten days!

While down south I have been asked to speak at a couple of churches and thought I’d let you know in case anyone out there in cyberspace is interested in attending. On December 23rd I’ll be speaking at Grace Community Church which meets in Dawsonville, Georgia. I believe the worship service begins at 6 PM and will be followed by a Christmas candle-light service. Then, the next Sunday, December 30th, I’ll be speaking at Lyndon Avenue Baptist Church in Chattanooga. The service begins at 6 PM.

At both services I’ll be speaking on Hebrews 5 and teaching on the Bible’s call for us to be men and women of discernment. On the 30th I believe I’ll also speak a little bit on my experiences working in the blogosphere and in new media.

So if you live in the area and if you’re itching for something to do on a Sunday evening over the holidays, feel free to visit either of those churches.

I wanted to draw your attention to a couple of conferences that, though they do not take place until 2008, are coming up rather quickly now.

Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology (February 8-10)

The Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology is hosted by Community Bible Church. This is how they introduce this conference: “After fifty years of ‘church growth’ methodology, the Church's landscape is littered with countless relics of the latest and greatest models for ministry. But above all our attempts at "relevance" stands the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is our only message and our greatest relevance. We preach Christ crucified.

“The Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology is an opportunity to rediscover the power of the Cross. NCCT 08 is a call to reformation. It is for preacher, leader and layman alike all wrestling with the same questions. Can the church reach out without selling out? Can it address the culture without abandoning its core message?”

The speakers will be Steven Lawson, D.A. Carson, and me. I will be speaking once, Dr. Lawson twice and Dr. Carson three times (with Dr. Carson also preaching at the church Sunday morning). The topic I’ll be speaking on is “Loving God with Your Mind: The Place of Discernment and Critical Thinking in Worship.” Other topics include “From Foolishness to Irrelevance: The Diminishing Message of the Cross,” “The Gospel and Postmodern Minds: How Do We Reach Out to a Changing Culture Without Selling Out?,” and “Bring the Book: Why Preaching the Truth is the Greatest Need in Every Age.”

Though I tried to work my way out of it, the conference organizers determined I should be part of this one, and so I’ll attempt to keep people amused between talks from the real speakers. If you are in the Nashville area, you might like to make some room on your schedule for this one. You can find more information about it here: Nashville Conference on the Church & Theology.

2008 Band of Bloggers :: The Gospel Trust (April 15)

Only a few weeks before the inaugural Together for the Gospel conference Timmy Brister had the idea of inviting bloggers to gather together immediately before the beginning of the main conference. Over seventy of us did so in what was probably the largest gathering of evangelical bloggers to that point. With the 2008 Together for the Gospel Conference fast approaching, Timmy has once again set about organizing the Band of Bloggers. The theme this year is “The Gospel Trust” and the conference will feature a panel comprised of Justin Taylor, Thabiti Anyabwile, Mark Lauterbach and me. This event will take place at noon the day that Together for the Gospel kicks off and will happen in or near the same venue.

If you are a blogger or even someone who just enjoys reading blogs, why not get to Louisville just a half a day earlier and take in this event? You can find more information here: Band of Bloggers.

In this session MacArthur continued where he left off as time ran out in the last one. As he discusses the value of expository preaching he is, in a sense, preaching to the choir (which is not to say there is anything wrong with that!). The crowd here has assembled to hear exactly this kind of information and receives it eagerly. Being a southern crowd, the sermons or addresses are punctuated by cries of “Amen!” and “Preach it!” and “Yes!” This is something we don’t hear much of in Canada. I suppose there are some who may find it an annoyance, but I love it. And I have to think it’s an encouragement to the man in the pulpit.

So here we continue with problems with failing to preach expositionally.

A failure to do expository preaching…

8. Depreciates by example the spiritual duty of personal Bible study.

9. Prevents the preacher from being the voice of God to every issue of his time.

10. Breeds a congregation that is weak and indifferent to the glory of God and Christ.

11. Robs people of their only true source of help, the Scripture.

12. Produces an attitude of indifference toward divine authority.

13. Lies to people about what they really need.

14. Strips the pulpit of power.

15. Assumes the preacher can change people by his own ability.

16. Reduces the preacher’s words to the level of everyone else’s words.

17. Portrays an attitude of self-love rather than loving God with all your heart, mind and soul.

18. Creates a destructive disconnect between doctrine and life.

19. Denigrates the full glory of God by omitting the attributes and the aspects of His revelation that are somehow unpalatable.

20. Reduces the preacher to the level of every rival preacher.

21. Emasculates the dominion of the pulpit over people’s minds and souls.

22. Disconnects people from the legacy of the past.

23. Removes protection from error and carnality so dangerous to the church.

24. Abandons the duty to guard the truth.

25. Fails to defend threatened truths.

26. Denies de facto that all spiritual blessings flow from one’s relationship with the Lord.

27. Generates selfish, shallow prayer.

28. Fails to leads people to self-denial—to true humility.

29. Cheats people of the means to truly delight in the Lord.

30. Lacks the general manliness of message and ministry.

Once again, if you wish to hear the brief explanations of each of these points, you’ll need to download the audio. Later this afternoon there will be a Q&A and that will be followed by two more addresses by Steve Lawson.

Here’s a winning quote from MacArthur when he was discussing a recent appearance on CNN’s Headline News. They said to him “Will you come on the show and talk about yoga?” He said, “Of course! I don’t care what the subject is. I know what I want to say. I know where I’m going with it.” And those who have seen him on Larry King or any other show know that he always gets there.

Incidentally, MacArthur often mentioned the Emerging Church in this talk. At one point he revealed that he has begun work on a new book that will serve as a follow-up to The Truth War. Since the publication of that book people have said that the book was unloving and that he should not write such books but instead just join in the conversation. So he has decided to write a book that answers the simple question, How did Jesus deal with those who misrepresented the truth? Did Jesus tend towards conversation or condemnation? Those who have studied the gospels will know…

I enjoyed a declious breakfast this morning with Don Elborne (of Rebuild Lakeshore fame) and some other new friends. This followed what was a great night’s sleep—a blessing since I was awfully weary with fatigue last night. No one can make breakfast quite like the southerners, even if they do insist on including grits and gravy with everything. I was assured that the grits down here are the definitive grits and have to say they weren’t quite as bad as some other attempts I’ve tasted, but I still don’t really understand the attraction. But no matter—I need to stop blogging about grits at all these conferences I go to. I think I’m just going to give up on grits altogether.

This morning we have the privilege of having Dr. John MacArthur speak to us. He will speak twice today, both times focusing on an aspect of expositional preaching. He began by discussing the slave metaphor so popular in Scripture in order to help pastors understand how they function as slaves. And from there he will transitioned into a list of dangers of not doing expositional preaching from the pulpit.

You have to view yourself in the big scheme of things as a slave. The language of contemporary Christianity is very man-centered and is all about a personal relationship with God (even though everyone has a personal relationship with Him). It is the language of personal fulfillment—of finding your dreams and purpose. The language of the New Testament is very different—the dominant metaphor is that of a slave. The word doulos or its variations appear over 100 times though it is not always translated as “slave” because that word carries with it so much stigma. But this tends to obscure its fullest meaning and is a liberty translators should not have. It should also be noted that slavery was as disgusting a concept at the time of the Bible as today—it was the absolute lowest status a person could have. It was as hard a sell in that day as it is today.

MacArthur went through many of the New Testament books (and, primarily, through the first few verses) showing how often the authors identify themselves as slaves. See, for example, Romans 1, Philippians 1, Revelation 1, and so on. Though your translation may render the words as “servant,” the literal (and better) translation is “slave.”

A slave is a person whose life is completely controlled by another person. He is completely dependent. This may seem to take us low, but even Jesus Christ took the form of a slave, being subject to a foreign will. His slavery took him down through obedience to the point of death on the cross. The Bible neither condones nor condemns slavery—it merely finds in it the perfect model for understanding the relationship of God to His people. But God’s people are not merely slaves, for God makes them sons and joint heirs and allow them to sit in His throne.

With this paradigm in mind we are ready to understand the mindset of one who serves Christ. MacArthur shared that some time ago he began to consider this question: What are the consequences of non-expositional preaching? He decided to sit down and come up with ten of them. After he sat down and wrote for a while, he had a list of sixty three. He pared this down to fifty and began to share them in this session.

Failure to do expositional preaching…

1. Usurps the authority of God over the soul.

2. Usurps the headship of Christ over His church.

3. Hinders the work of the Holy Spirit.

4. Demonstrates pride. (I’m not 100% sure whether this is really 3b or 4).

5. Severs the preacher personally from the regular sanctifying grace of the Scriptures.

6. Removes spiritual depth and transendance from worship.

7. Prevents the preacher from fully developing the mind of Christ that is critical to his work.

He’s going to pick up where he left off a bit later on.

Those interested in a fuller explanation will have to get ahold of the audio. One particularly interesting quote I noted went something like this: “I never study the Bible to make a sermon. I study the Bible first and foremost for my own soul.” This is something even bloggers would do well to keep in mind! We cannot properly apply the Scripture to others until we have first applied it to ourselves. Here’s another quote that is perhaps just a bit less applicable. “In Russia, when the men are excited, they kiss you on the lips. That’s just a bad custom…”

I’m writing this evening from Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. I am here for The Expositors’ Conference which is a ministry of Steven Lawson and this church. It is a conference targeted at preachers and one that seeks to foster their love of, dedication to, and skill at expository preaching. Dr. Lawson was kind enough to ask me to come down here to take in the conference in this, its first year. Dr. Lawson will be speaking several times tonight and tomorrow and will be joined as well by John MacArthur.

I had a very early start to my day, leaving the house at 3 something (when taking into account a time zone change) and arrived around 11 after a couple of rather uneventful flights. I enjoyed lunch with Dr. Lawson and some other gentlemen from several states to the north. This afternoon I settled in to (finally!) catch up with some emailing. And then we came to the church tonight to enjoy the first two sessions.

Dr. Lawson kicked off the conference with a message entitled “The Invincible Weapon” drawn from Hebrews 4:12-13. Every great season in the history of the church, he said, and every hour of spiritual awakening has been accompanied by a recovery of biblical preaching. The only true reformation is reformation that emanates from the Word of God. The purpose of this message is to increase our confidence in the power of this invincible weapon. There is no true preaching of the Word of God apart from biblical preaching and there is no true biblical preaching apart from expository preaching. If we wish to see revival and reformation in our day, we must recover this manner of preaching.

The message was structured around seven marks of the supernatural, invincible weapon that is the Word of God.

1. In the opening words of this text we see that the Bible is the divine Word. God is the primary Author who used other authors to record his revelation. Thus it is not the opinion of men or the wisdom of this world, but the truth of the Almighty God Himself. This gives the Word of God the authority of God so that expository preaching carries with it His authority. We speak as one sent by God, under the authority of God.

2. The Bible is the living Word. This book is alive—it is a living book. Anyone who desires a living ministry that brings forth truth must bring the living book. Only a living book, when accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, can bring forth life.

3. The Bible is the powerful Word. Because it is living, it is powerful and dynamic and active. It is fully able to perform all that God wishes to accomplish through ministry. It is powerful to save, to sanctify, to satisfy, to strengthen, to stabilize, to steer, and to sustain.

4. The Bible is the sharp Word. The Bible is the sharpest weapon in any arsenal in the world. Nothing can compare to its razor-like sword. It is all edge—there is no dull side to it. Every chapter, every verse, every word, every jot and tittle is sharp. It cuts, converts, and changes. It cuts both ways, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, it hardens and it heals, blinds and enlightens.

5. The Bible is the piercing Word. This is similar to the last point but advances it further. The Bible penetrates the outward facade of the lives of people and the Word of God alone can get through to people and the very depths of their being. The Word of God penetrates into the hidden recesses of the heart showing a person to be what he truly is.

6. The Bible is the judging Word. The Bible has the ability to judge what it exposes within a person. It is able to sit as judge and preside over our lives and it alone has prerogative to carry its verdict. All things are open before it—it strips the soul and leaves us naked before God.

7. The Bible is the saving Word. The word “for” which begins the text points back to what has come before. Here we’ve seen a gospel invitation for sinners to come to saving faith in this superior Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. We learn, thus, that it is this Word that saves. We can only bring the Word and watch as the Spirit brings the Word to the heart, bringing life.

Though targeted at pastors, this sermon is valuable for any Christian. I’m sure the audio will be available before long and you may wish to consider listening to it that you can have a better apprehension of the wonders of the Word and its unique power and efficacy.

I’ll be back tomorrow with summaries of some other sessions and with whatever other updates I can come up with!