I had the opportunity to attend the recent Together for the Gospel Conference (T4G) in Louisville, KY. It’s a bi-annual conference that focuses on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to view the messages or panel discussions, check it out at their website. Here are some personal thoughts on that experience:
1. I thank God for the refreshing and inspirational time. I have been fashioned and called by God for full-time ministry. There’s nothing else I would rather do in life. With that said, I have seasons when I feel “rundown” like everyone else who works. At times, I feel like a water sponge that has been squeezed for too long; I feel dry and spent. For the sponge to be useful, it needs to be dipped in a bucket of water and filled again. T4G is like a water bucket for me. Only Christ can truly rejuvenate my spirit, of course. But at such a Christ-centered conference, Christ is elevated and worshipped; and so I encounter Him in His Word in a powerful way in the hands of capable teachers. And it is not simply the messages (I can hear them at home in my living room using the internet), but being able to stop, get away from the regular routine of life, and spend time with the Lord one on one. And so I thank God for such a Mark 6:31-32 moment like this.
2. The worship of God still has me excited. There is nothing quite like hearing between 7,000-8,500 MEN (majority) singing with gusto to Almighty God. It gives me goose bumps because I know it’s a taste of what is to come in heaven. No fancy, slick band (nothing wrong with praise bands!). No team upfront entertaining us. It was just Bob Kauflin on a piano leading us in worship. How powerful that simplicity! I was so touched in the worship that tears filled my eyes. Click here to see a short clip of our singing at one of the sessions.
3. The personal testimonies of salvation by various people shared throughout the conference were vivid reminders to not underestimate the Gospel.
4. The sermons were packed with meat and fed my soul. How encouraging to know that there are other preachers who will stand for the true Gospel and preach it with boldness. I come to this conference not to see celebrities, but to hear men of God preach the Word of God without compromise. They are cool water in an age dominated by parched fluff in the pulpit. And so I highly respect and appreciate these men as they stand together for the Gospel. Here is a sample of some things I jotted down from the various talks (I am not listing all the speakers or my notes):
a. C.J. Mahaney (2 Cor. 4 – The Sustaining Power of the Gospel):
“We are called to take the Gospel to people who have blind eyes & hard hearts & even regenerates who are prone to wander – so it’s hard. But it’s glorious.”
“We are not innovators, we are proclaimers.”
“Why would anybody who has been captivated by Jesus want to preach about himself?”
“Your congregation doesn’t just study your sermons, they are studying your life.”
“But not!” [read 2 Cor. 4]
b. Al Mohler (Rom. 10 – The Power of the Articulated Gospel):
“God is a speaking God and He made us to communicate likewise.”
“We must be people ready to die for words.”
c. Mark Dever (I Tim. 4:16 – False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church):
“What your job as a pastor is to do is at the epicenter of what God’s plan for the nations is.”
“A pastor is always ministering to sinners even when he’s alone.”
““I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ at his judgment seat, you will think you have had enough.” [quote from Puritan Pastor John Brown]
“One of the most striking needs of the world is to see a church full of true Christians giving themselves to each other.”
“No cross, no crown.”
d. Thabiti Anyabwile (1 Tim. 1:12-17 – Will Your Gospel Transform a Terrorist?):
“What is the greatest hindrance to the Gospel in the Muslim world? The Christian’s lack of confidence in the Gospel.”
“Lost: convinced blindness combined with misdirected direction that leads to eternal damnation.”
“God only has 1 sermon in the whole Bible.”
“Is our confidence in method or the Gospel?”
e. David Platt (Rev. 5 – Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions):
“God does not need us in this room…He does not need your specific church or my specific church; He does not need Together for the Gospel or any one of our denominations or associations; the reality is that everyone one of us, everyone of our churches together in this room, Together for the Gospel, and all of our denominations and associations could drop dead and turn to dust and God will still make a great name for Himself among the nations. God involves us in His mission, not because He needs us, but because He loves us. And in His mercy, He has invited us to be involved in His sovereign design for the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”
“Our sovereign God holds the destiny of the world in the palm of His hand.”
“Let us lead our churches to pray confidently for the spread of the Gospel to all peoples.”
“God’s sovereignty necessitates prayer.”
“He has given us wealth in the world for His worship in the world.”
“Let us be finished & done with puny theology that results in paltry approaches to global missions in local churches.”
f. Ligon Duncan (1 Kings 19 – God’s Ruthless Compassionate Grace in The Pursuit of His Own Glory and His Ministers’ Joy):
“We are tempted to forget that God is God and God is good when deep disappoints come.”
g. John Piper (Jude 24-25 – Glory, Majesty, Dominion, and Authority Keep Us Safe for Everlasting Joy):
[Based on John 3:6] “There is no autonomous life in me.”
“If God doesn’t keep it up, I would not be a Christian.”
“So God calls you, loves you, keeps us, but you need to keep in the love.”
5. I thank God for the time of reunion with brothers and sisters I have not seen in a long time. Since T4G is such a big event, it attracts people from everywhere. So the likelihood of running into them is far better at this conference than at some others. I was able to have breakfast with my old pastor (and his wife) that I served with years ago as an associate, see my seminary advisor, talk with a peer from my D.Min. cohort, and run into a pastor friend I have not seen in 15 years. Such times are so sweet! Further, it was a great time to spend with a member of the church that was able to come along. He and I had a blast fellowshipping.
6. I thank God for the high caliber resources that were available at T4G and the free books that they offered to those in attendance. More tools for the shed! More shells for the cannon!
7. Having been away for a short time and having been fed wonderfully, I am thrilled to see my local church family again. I want to give them Christ & His Gospel and all that I have learned from the conference. There’s an excitement in my soul for the people of Songtan Central Baptist Church.
8. I don’t have a deeper need to listen to the podcasts or read the books of the various speakers I encountered at the conference than I already have (though they are good), but I have a renewed desire for holy living before God. I want more of Him. I want to proclaim Him more. I want to exalt Him more. I know that is the aim of the organizers of this conference. Job well done, T4G. Circling April 2014 on my calendar.
By Nelson Chapman
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Nelson is the English Pastor of Songtan Central Baptist Church. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Religion from Liberty University, M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a D. Min. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to his wife Michelle for 11 years.
