When I was on staff at a church, it was a habit to ride the conference circuit (FBC Jax Pastor’s Conference, Real Evangelism Conference, YS National Conference, etc.). Since that time, I have approached conferences differently. I have tried to be more selective and intentional with my time, especially now that I have a very limited number of days to take off from work and to participate in conferences that center on the essentials of our faith and will make the greatest impact on my life and ministry.
I say that because there are a ton of conferences out there these days, many which I would surely enjoy attending. One of the conferences I am seriously looking at is The Gospel Coalition Conference which was developed through the vision of Don Carson and Tim Keller for the purpose of rallying like-minded pastors and ministries around the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such ministers as John Piper, Mark Dever, Phil Ryken, Mark Driscoll, C. J. Mahaney, Ligon Duncan comprised the initial meeting.
The conference resonates with me because I long to live out the gospel in my life and ministry and join with others who will provoke one another to present Christ and Him crucified with humility and grace. The conference is only housing 550 people, so I am not sure if I would make the list (the audio from the conference will be made available for free on their website). However, I wanted to mention the conference here, and also encourage others to consider participating in conferences with such stated purposes as gospel, mission, and the glory of God.
Here’s the details:
What: Gospel Coalition Conference
When: May 23-24, 2007
Where: Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL)
How Much: $80
To register, go to the Gospel Coalition registration page. Enter the username gospel and the password coalition. Lodging information is available on the website.
Here is the schedule:
Wednesday Afternoon (May 23)
1:00 – 2:45 Open Corporate Worship
“What Is the Gospel?” Primarily an exposition of the first part of 1 Corinthians 15 (Don Carson)
2:45 – 3:15 Panel Discussion
3:15 -5:00 Gospel-Centered Ministry (Tim Keller), Panel Discussion
5:00 – 7:00 Supper Break (Melton Dining Hall)
Wednesday Evening
7:00 – 9:00 Corporate Worship and Exposition:
“Passing on the Torch” (Crawford Loritts)
Thursday Morning (May 24)
7:00 – 8:15 Breakfast for those in Trinity Hall
8:30 – 9:00 Devotions and Corporate Prayer
9:15 – 10:30 Workshops
- The Doctrine of God Today (Graham Cole)
- Defining Evangelicalism (Ray Ortlund, Jr., Reddit Andrews)
- Union with Christ and Justification (Phil Ryken)
- The Use of the Bible in Pastoral Counseling (Mike Bullmore)
- Mentoring Younger Pastors (Mark Driscoll, Michael Lawrence)
- Mentoring Younger Lay Leaders (Harry Reeder, John Yates)
- The Church of the Living God: Crucial Issues in Gospel and Community (Jeff Louie)
- The Church of the Living God: Practical Challenges in a Mobile Society (Stephen Um)
- Christ and Culture Revisited (Sandy Willson)
- Q & A on Preaching (Crawford Loritts, Ligon Duncan)
- Cultivating Biblical Meditation and Prayer (Andy Davis)
- Evangelizing People in a Post-Christian Society (David Bisgrove)
10:45 – 12:00 Closing Exposition:
“The Triumph of the Gospel in the New Heavens and the New Earth” (John Piper)
Since you’ve been to many conferences, are there a few you would selectively highlight for their fundamental teaching aspect. I’m a layman with an eager desire to learn theology and have begun enjoying the Ligonier events but I’d be interested in more opportunities like that to basically attend some “seminary-lite” teaching events. Appreciate your consideration of the question.
Mark,
If you want to go to a conference that will help you in your theological development, then Ligonier is a great place to begin. Other conferences are thematic and would be helpful in your understanding of certain doctrines or issues, such as Desiring God last year on “The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World” where postmodernism and culture was addressed.
What I would do is look to see what theme or thesis the conference carries. In other words, if it just a conference were circuit-ridng evangelists come and bring their sugar-stick sermons, I would encourage you to avoid that kind of conference. Not that it wouldn’t be encouraging I guess, but it is not enduring, and we are more prone to follow personalities than the truth. These are the conferences usually where lay people ask the speaker to sign their Bibles as though they were the author. 🙂
A place you might want to check out for a list of conferences and lnks is here:
http://www.challies.com/conferences/conferences.php
I would also say that location matters (at least for me). I would love to attend some in CA or Canada, but I simply can’t make it there, so I look for the ones within a decent driving distance. You may also want to check with solid, evangelical seminaries or colleges in your area who may sponsor or hold conferences on certain themes.
I hope that helps a bit. Not knowing your background and stuff, I have to be general. I appreciate hearing your desire to grow in your theological development (i.e. you want to know God more), and I hope your desire is shared by many others.
Timmy