I've been thinking back on the 2010 Ligonier National Conference. I'm thrilled to have attended because we were able to spend a good amount of time together as a family. That alone made it worth it.
(For a slideshow view of images from the conference, click here.)
I'm still trying to process the mix of thousands of people, theology, Starbucks, books galore, crowded restrooms, Starbucks, nice pools, good conversations, hotel food, and Starbucks. If you have ever been to one of these big conferences, you probably have felt semi-overwhelmed as I did. Despite this, a few ideas have begun to crystallize in my mind.
I'm going to focus on the speakers. John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Derek Thomas, Steven Lawson, Alistair Begg, and Al Mohler were excellent. The other speakers were adequate. Click on any of the above names to read about what they had to say. I found Lawson's and Mohler's presentations, in particular, to be very beneficial.
As a group, I appreciate the speakers' emphasis on the sovereignty of God. There is no doubt that everyone was Reformed (at least as far as soteriology is concerned). The teaching was excellent as far as intellectual knowledge was concerned. All the presenters had clearly spent a great deal of time preparing.
Despite the above positives, there was also what I considered to be a significant negative: the speakers spent comparatively little time discussing the application of the truths they expounded. This is not true of all the speakers; rather, it is a generalization. In listening, I almost got the overall impression that all that matters is what we believe intellectually. Actively living out these truths was not stressed enough.
I'm certain that all the speakers believe that we must live out what we believe. Despite this, they just didn't spend enough time on it. It may be that the sessions just weren't long enough for this to occur. I'm not sure. Whatever the reason, many of the talks felt more like academic lectures than exhortations to live out the truths presented.
The last thing I want to see happen is for the new, Reformed resurgence to end up being simply an academic exercise. I know this is not the case in the local churches where the sovereignty of God is now being proclaimed as never before. For this reason, my wish is that a conference of this significance would have a better balance between intellectual knowledge and life application.
My suggestion to Ligonier is that in the future they have fewer speakers and topics. Each speaker could then be given more time to deal more effectively with application to the Christian life.
Overall, as I've said before, my reaction to the conference is mixed. Despite this, I'm glad I attended. The questions raised are very important ones for both society in general and the church in particular. As Christians, we must know how to answer difficult questions like those posed at Ligonier 2010.
Let us also remember that we are called to live out the truths we believe. Truth necessitates application.
4 comments:
Eric,
Your post reminds me of something Josh Harris wrote in the last chapter of his new book, "Dug Down Deep".
He calls for the need for humble orthodoxy, in other words, standing up for truth and opposing falsehood, but with a humble and loving attitude towards others. (The exact opposite of this would be the young crotchety Calvinist you encountered in the bookstore)
On page 226 of the book, Harris writes, "I won't pretend that I've arrived at humble orthodoxy. When I gain a bit of theological knowledge, I all too frequently get puffed up with pride. But I'll tell you what deflates my arrogance and self-righteousness faster than anything else: trying to live whatever truth I have.
"Do you want to keep your orthodoxy humble? Try to live it. Don't spend all your time theorizing about it, debating about it, or blogging about it. Spend more energy living the truth you know than worrying about what the next guy does or doesn't know. Don't measure yourself by what you know. Measure yourself by your practice of what you know."
I know the feeling. It seems that conferences have become the same people going to conferences to hear the same speakers talking about the same stuff.
Micah,
I completely agree with the need for humble orthodoxy. I haven't arrived either.
As for this conference, the danger seems to be that everyone believes the same things. When that happens, it can be hard to see out of the tunnel.
Arthur,
I would like to attend a conference on the church using only the bible as a reference. Do you know of one?
Post a Comment