I had about three good days after arriving home from Together for the Gospel before getting sick and laying in bed for a week, so, while I’ve had some time to think about it, I have been unable to post any reflections on what was an outstanding conference.

Some of the items I found most helpful:

1. The Simplicity Yet Depth of the Music. Mark Dever was responsible for the selection of the songs (as well as the choice of instrumentation). Bob Kauflin did a masterful job of leading from one lone piano on the stage. What I enjoyed most were the songs chosen after each speaker. The hymns fit the message as a perfect expression, both in content and passion of what our hearts were thinking and feeling. “How Sweet and Awful is the Place” was stunning as it was powerfully sung by over 5,000 mostly male voices, just after John MacArthur finished an excellent message on Human Inability. The singular instrumentation was perfect for allowing our voices to carry and our minds to remain focused on the truth of what we were singing. While I love lots of instrumentation, it was wonderfully simple and helpful to remain undistracted as Bob led from the piano.
2. C.J.’s Charge to Bless Our Wives. After reminding us that “Conference Life” was not real life and that our wives were the only ones experiencing real life, C.J. exhorted all of us to return home, take our wives to an unhurried, childless dinner and share with her all we heard. I very much enjoyed doing this with Kel, who had dealt with two sick children and being sick herself while I was away. We had a great date night.
3. The Placement of Piper’s and C.J.’s Messages. Both of these messages were a perfect summary and preparation to return home and engage again in ministry. They were sobering, convicting, encouraging and perfectly timed in the pantheon of speakers. I’ve listed to both messages again since returning home.
4. John Piper’s Message. An excellent summary of the main point of Hebrews with a powerful depiction of us thinking through what it will mean for us to go outside the camp to embrace the reproach of Christ, finding our greatest joy through the hard yet God-honoring implications.
5. C.J.’s Message. Are you a joyful pastor? Cultivate gratefulness, develop an enduring faith and build an affection for others – these were three keys practically portrayed for pastors to be biblically, thoroughly joyful in ministry.
6. Mark Dever’s Message. Five cries in our world that seek to drive us away from or redefine the gospel today: Make the Gospel Public, Larger, Relevant, More Personal and Kinder. Mark’s points were right on target, well thought through. This is a must listen to message. His statement on contextualization was one of the best on the subject I have heard yet: “Has your contextualization made the offense of the gospel clearer?”
7. Thabiti’s Message. Forget the subject of race. All human beings are of only one race. Biological differences among us are not racial differences, they may be associated with ethnic differences. Thabiti called us to think differently about the subject of race and ethnicity, placing the conversation on a ledge where we are all of the race of Adam, in need of Christ, all who are in Christ are to be unified in the church. He called for us to change the foundation of our conversation from one of multiple races to one of multiple ethnicities so we can discuss our differences more helpfully and in the end, because of the cross, more Christ-centeredly.
8. Panel Discussions. After almost every message, the speaker joined Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan and C.J. Mahaney for a discussion of the message. It was a great glimpse into how these men interact with one another and think through the implications of a message they just heard. It was a good illustration worthy of our application.
9. Quality of Books Given. Unlike other conferences I have attended, T4G boasts of no snack food, no lunch or dinners provided. Not even a bottle of water given at the door. So what did our conference registration help to pay for outside the facilities and no doubt a nice honorarium for the speakers? Books. Not just books a good publisher has too many copies of (for lack of sales) and needs to move out of inventory. No, as we arrived at each session, a stack of books awaited us, some of which were just released from major authors or some I’ve yet to interact with. These books reflected a portion of the theme of the next speaker(s) or were books the panel felt were must reads for continuing the discussion of what they mean when they say we were Together for the Gospel.
10. Attending with My Pastoral Team. Spending time each day over lunch, during dinner and at a quick breakfast, discussing each speaker’s message with the men along whom I have the privilege to serve the Lord and His people, was a true highlight for me. We had great discussions, an enjoyable time together (as usual – loads of laughing). I really loved introducing James to grits. We talked about ministry and life while attending the conference or while touring Southeast Christian Church and Southern Seminary. It was a good team building time for us.

Here’s just a few memorable quotes:

“When I’m preaching to corpses, I don’t have to figure out how to make them believe.” Mark Dever.

“The panic of ministry is gone for me. I can’t raise the dead.” John MacArthur.

“Ministers are constantly trying to get an interim report card on their ministry effectiveness before eternity.” Ligon Duncan.

“Don’t assume anyone will ever remember what the gospel is.” Mark Dever.

Honestly, I could go on and on. If you did not attend, be sure to check out the T4G resources where you can see listen to or download any of the messages, see photos from the conference, see a list of the books highlighted in the gigantic bookstore and see what songs were sung. It was an excellent and encouraging time. Lord willing, this will be a bi-annual oasis for us.