Some will recall that I blogged about a pastors’ conference with pastor-theologian Steven Lawson in New England in early April 2009. Here’s a report from the organizer, Dave Ricard, the man who runs the New England Center for Expository Preaching, an internship program that brings interns to preach in a variety of New England churches over several months. The report is powerful and gives a sense of the challenges New England churches face in our day. Before we get to... Read more
CT Editor-at-large Collin Hansen contributes a typically thoughtful piece, entitled “Mobile No More,” that wrestles with the question of mobility. Hansen wonders out loud in the article how the church should confront this issue, especially when it directly affects how urban churches can carry out ministry in a long-term sense (Photo: Triumphs for Life). He cites one Boston pastor who has considered the issue at length: “Stephen Um pastors in one such Boston neighborhood with CityLife Presbyterian Church. Visiting Chicago... Read more
The May-June version of the 9Marks eJournal is here, and it is, as usual, terrific. Kudos to editor Jonathan Leeman. Here’s the PDF with clickable links. This issue centers on the multi-site church and includes numerous articles evaluating it from a variety of angles. This is perhaps the biggest question today for many evangelicals regarding polity, and it would be well worth your time to read a number of these pieces. 1. Mark Dever reveals (cue drum roll) that he has pastored... Read more
1. If you’re interested in more of the vision behind Dr. Ware’s Big Truths for Young Hearts, here’s a Family Life interview that should help (HT: JT). Now, if the Wares would just write a book on parenting… 2. This high school junior is skipping his senior year of high school to play professional basketball in Europe. This goes in the “I am not making this up” category. (Photo: Mark Avery for the NYT) 3. If you have not watched... Read more
If you haven’t heard of theologian Bruce Ware’s latest book, Big Truths for Young Hearts, you’re one of the few. The text is storming up the Amazon charts and has gotten as low as #500 (incredible!). The happy little secret about this book is that, while targeted to children, it will work remarkably well for a number of different groups: Children, particularly older children and especially teens College discipleship groups Church small-group Bible studies Seminarian cramming (!) Preaching and teaching... Read more
This just in: the media for the Piper-Carson event is here. The Desiring God blog has all the goods, and believe me, they are nice, as the event was shot in high-definition video. If your computer can handle it, I highly recommend that you watch these talks and the Q&A through the video. Here’s the announcement from the DG Blog: “All the audio and video from The Pastor As Scholar and the Scholar As Pastor is now available. Piper’s message... Read more
From a story published today in the NYT: “It’s not about carrying banners or protesting,” said Herb Silverman, a math professor at the College of Charleston who founded the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, which has about 150 members on the coast of the Carolinas. “The most important thing is coming out of the closet.” Purportedly, the number of atheists is rising: “Polls show that the ranks of atheists are growing. The American Religious Identification Survey, a major study released last month, found... Read more
For those of you looking for the Piper-Carson video and audio, it will be here shortly. I can’t wait for it to come! Here’s a snippet for you while you wait. From David Mathis at Desiring God last Thursday: “John Piper was in Chicago this evening. He spoke at Park Community Church alongside Don Carson at an event hosted by the Henry Center called The Pastor As Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor. John’s address was mainly autobiographical and titled... Read more
Whew. It’s been quite a week. Here’s my first opportunity to reflect on the three events I was involved with. The Gospel Coalition Ben Peays did a tremendous job with this conference. It went off without a hitch. The speakers all edified their audience and honored the Lord. I personally enjoyed the panel discussion on Wednesday night the most. I would commend that to all of you. I love panel discussions when they’re done well. Piper had a number of... Read more
For the next three days, I’ll be at The Gospel Coalition. I’ll try to do some updates from the conference, but I’m not sure how much posting I’ll be able to do. I’ve been looking forward to this for months, and I’m excited for Band of Bloggers and the Piper-Carson event this Thursday night. Blessings to all! Read more
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