GOSPEL DELTA

TGC 2009 Schedule

// March 29th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I’m looking forward to meeting some of my heroes in the faith and soaking in the beauty of the Gospel at this conference. Wondering if an official  chapter of the Gospel Coalition in the Portland area has been established yet…

Click the image below to download the schedule:

Conference info:


The theme of this Conference gets to the heart of the book of Second Timothy. As Paul is mentoring a young Timothy, he is communicating the great privilege of proclaiming the gospel to the world. In an age bereft of courageous leadership, declining biblical literacy, and rising cultural accommodation, a prophetic voice from the center is needed, a voice that faithfully speaks the ancient text to our contemporary context. This Conference seeks a renewal of faithful preaching that is rooted in the Scriptures and centered on the gospel.

The best of gospel-faithful ministry is not only taught, it is also caught. This was the practice of the Apostle Paul — the great missionary of the early church — who not only had much to say regarding what constitutes gospel-faithful ministry, but also had much to show of what it looked like in an individual life and in the life of the church. We see these two foci coming together harmoniously in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth:

Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church (1 Corinthians 4:16-17; cf. 11:1; Philippians 3:17).

On 21-23 April 2009, The Gospel Coalition will hold its second National Conference on the theme, “Entrusted with the Gospel: Living the Vision of Second Timothy.” During these meetings we will seek to imitate Paul’s dual practice of show and tell.

The Plenary Sessions — led by John Piper, Phil Ryken, Mark Driscoll, K. Edward Copeland, Bryan Chapell, and Ligon Duncan — will expound the book of Second Timothy. It is through these expositions that we hope to model the sort of preaching through Scripture of which the church is in need, while teaching the glories of this gospel of the blessed God that has been entrusted to the care of the church. Tim Keller and Don Carson will each give addresses that seek to situate gospel-faithful ministry in the currents of the twenty-first century, and Ajith Fernando will discuss the global challenges and priorities of gospel-faithful mission for the next Christendom. There will also be several workshops devoted to the faithful appropriation of text (Scripture) to context (contemporary issues).

While this Conference is aimed at pastors and students of pastoral ministry, all are welcome, and we encourage everyone to attend. Please join us on 21-23 April 2009 for “Entrusted with the Gospel.”

The conference will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Conference Center, 5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, Illinois 60018.

Film & Theology | Religulous & Expelled

// March 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.801955&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Marriage and Men

// March 24th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Slightly convicting……

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More resources for Men:

1. Sermons

• Men and Masculinity – Proverbs is a book written by older men (particularly a father) to younger men (particularly a son) for the purpose of raising masculine men. (Proverbs)

• His Garden – King Solomon and his bride celebrated their love in the Song of Songs-and then he betrayed her hundreds of times over. The first day of a marriage is important, but not as important as the last day. (Song of Songs 3:6-5:1)

• The Sword and the Trowel – We must make sure to continually defend that which we’ve been called to build-whether it be our marriage, family, business, and/or ministry. (Nehemiah 4:15-23)

• Fall: God Judges – The story of our first father, the curse we’ve inherited and perpetuated, and the only hope for redemption. (Doctrine series)

• God’s Hand in Our Luck – Meet Boaz, whose masculine strength serves to protect and provide for Ruth from their very first providential meeting. (Ruth 2:1-13)

• Fathers and Fighting – How does the godly man respond when the world around him becomes complacent about parenting for the glory of the Lord? (Nehemiah 13:23-31)

• The Revelation of Jesus’ Sickle – God is patient and gracious, but one day Jesus will ride into battle to destroy sinners. The only thing that can save you is Jesus’ blood. (Revelation 14)

• Jacob Wrestles With God – God blessed Jacob, but their physical struggle demonstrates that God could have easily and justly harmed or killed him at any point. (Genesis 32)

• The One Woman Man – The qualifications for church eldership include helpful standards for all men, namely a commitment to one woman for life (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

2. Lectures

• Men and Marriage – Pastor Bill Clem addresses the married men at Mars Hill Church’s Basic Training event.

• Sex for Singles – Pastor Bill Clem addresses the single men at Mars Hill Church’s Basic Training event.

• Reverse-Engineering Your Life – What do you want your life to look like? It’s not going to happen by accident. Pastor Mark Driscoll explains how to be make a plan.

• Parable of the Talents – Pastor Jamie Munson draws stewardship principles from Matthew 25:14-30.

• The Biblical Mandate on the Man – Pastor Scott Thomas addresses church leaders at an Acts 29 event.

• The OX: Qualifications of a Church Planter – Pastor Mark Driscoll explains the work it takes to plant Jesus-honoring churches. It’s hard work, but it can change the world.

3. Video Clips

• Vegas Bachelor Party – Pastor Mark answers the question: “My boyfriend went to Vegas for a bachelor party. He went to a strip club. Do I have the right to be mad?”

• Boyfriends Fearful of Commitment – Pastor Mark answers the question: “I’m a single gal who’s dated guys who were physically ready for marriage but too fearful of commitment. Advice?”

• Confront Dad Who Looks at Porn? – Pastor Mark answers the question: “I suspect my 71-year-old dad is looking at porn. I’m afraid that if I bring it up it will hurt my mom. Any suggestions?”

• Ashley’s Advice for Daddies – Pastor Mark’s daughter offers tips for dads.

• Husbands Protect Their Wives – Biblical headship means “he gets hit by the car.” You make sure that she is safe.

4. Books and Articles

• Porn Again Christian – A free ebook that deals frankly with the topics of pornography, masturbation, lust, sexual sin, etc.

• Five Dangers for Young Men – 19th century preacher J.C. Ryle’s timeless advice for young men.

• Al Lobaina’s Blog – Life and times of a Christian soldier who served five years in the army with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. (The Resurgence)

• Financial Training Articles – A series of posts that provide practical advise for building a budget, buying a home, creating a spending plan, etc.

God's Sovereignty in this Recession

// March 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

John Piper‘s reflections on Some of God’s Purposes in the recession:

1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world-the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church-precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.

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A Day with Dr. Tim

// March 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Tim Keller was invited to speak at NewFrontiers in Brighton, England last February. Here are the videos along with links to the notes from adrianwarnock.com:

Preach to Change Them In Their Seats – Tim Keller

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Why Cities Matter – Tim Keller

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Relate to the Culture – Tim Keller

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Bio | Tim Keller

// March 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Dr. Timothy J. Keller was born in the year 1950 and grew up in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania where he attended Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Westminster Theological Seminary. During his seminary training, he met and married the former Kathy Louise Kristy of Pittsburgh, Pa. They have three Sons: David, Michael, and Jonathan.

Timothy J. Keller was converted during his University years through the ministry of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. The writings of C.S. Lewis were, says Dr. Keller, the foundational work of God in his life. His ministry experience began with three years as an associate on staff with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in Boston, Massachusetts. Reverend Keller was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America in Boston. Dr. Keller and his family relocated to Virginia where he served as a pastor for nine years. While fulfilling his pastoral duties during that time, Dr. Keller also served as director of church planting for his denomination in the Middle Atlantic region, supervising the development of some two dozen new congregations.

During the mid 1980′s the Keller family moved to Philadelphia, where Tim served on the faculty of Westminster Seminary, teaching communication and leadership. While in Philadelphia, Tim and Kathy became involved in Urban Ministry. During this time, while serving as Directory of Mercy Ministries for his denomination, Tim authored two books: Resources for Deacons (for the PCA, 1986) and Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road (Zondervan, 1989). Both volumes provide theory and practice for ministry to persons with material, physical, emotional, and economic difficulties. In Philadelphia, while actively involved in an evangelistic outgreach to Muslims, he also chaired an evangelical organization reaching out to the homosexual population. While acting as chairman, Dr. Keller helped organize and set up a much-needed ministry to people with AIDS. Dr. Keller served as a consultant to a local Christian service organization that provided literary education, job training, and job placement to unemployed and underemployed people in the city.

Between the years of 1987 and 1988, the Presbyterian Church in America began to form plans for planting a church in New York City. Tim was approached and asked to do the field research and lay the foundation for this new project. It was through this assignment that Tim and Kathy found their hearts being captured and warmed by the great need and opportunity for ministry in New York City.

In June of 1989 the Keller’s moved to the city to begin planting what is now Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which with God’s help has prospered beyond all of their early projections and expectations. As a result, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has become especially effective in reaching Manhattan professionals from many diverse occupations and cultural backgrounds.

Tim and Kathy Keller are committed to promoting nurturing and supporting the growth of new churches in America and around the world. It is their desire to minister in New York City for the remainder of their lives. Their prayer is to plan and help incite the movement of holistic ministries to meet the needs of both the body and soul. This plan encompasses a church planting movement that will spawn dozens of new congregations throughout the urban area and the world, continuing into decades to come.

Now with a staff of over forty full time employees and a church attendance of approximately 4500 members and regular attendees, Redeemer has begun sponsoring the planting of other professional and multi-ethnic churches throughout the metropolitan area and the world.

Currently the Keller family resides on Roosevelt Island in New York, in the belief that one should live among the people one ministers to.

Redeemer Presbyterian Church

HT: TheResurgence

Pastor as Medic

// March 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life

We need to build a community of Christ that deals openly and honestly with the issues that are causing spiritual paralysis and death in our people. Sexual sin is by far the biggest issue for men. Sex is the biggest idol in our world, and yet, most Christian communities play lip service to the problem of sexual sin in their ministry, while placing greater importance and emphasis on outward, peripheral issues such as hospitality and missional engagement. We need to bring the Gospel to bear on specific sins and addictions that people are dealing with so that they can learn to war against and mortify their sin through the power of the Holy Spirit in accountable community. Missional outreach, social justice, fellowship…none of that stuff is going to be effective if the people that you have serving in those ministries are paralyzed by sexual sin, pornography, and lust, and if you don’t have redemption ministries that can help them. Without outlets for healing, we’re spreading superficial Christianity, hypocrisy, and the people serving in those ministries will not endure, because the weight of their sin will eventually break them.

I don’t think you can build healthy community without a robust and effective redemption groups ministry. How can a person who is constantly checking the knots in their suit of fig leaves, hiding their sin, and walking in darkness share the freedom and love of Christ with the world? They can’t. You can not evangelize the Gospel if you are not living in it yourself. We need a ministry focused on people struggling with addictions and depression, so that people will know that the community of Christ is “an okay place to not be okay” (as Matt Chandler says).  Qualification: It’s okay to not be okay, but it’s not okay to stay there. Moreover, we need to stop sending the message that church is a country club. It’s not a place where people come to network and feel better about themselves, get their favorite latte made for them, where the pastor is a life coach. Church is a HOSPITAL, where people own up to their brokenness, their sin, their idolatry, and the pastor is a MEDIC who carries people to the surgery table of the Cross, so Jesus the Great Physician can heal them and set them free for kingdom service. If you are a pastor, you’re not a motivational speaker, you’re a medic. Medics don’t need to look cool, dress in the latest fashions, or be an amazing musician. They need to understand how the redemptive and restorative work of the Gospel heals wounds and transforms hearts. God help us to be that kind of community.

[I understand that the church is not JUST a hospital, and the pastor is not JUST a medic. But in regard to the devastating effects of sin in our lives, and our desperate need to help men and women deal openly with sexual sin and other addictions, I think it's a perspective that needs to be fostered.]

Biblical Accountability

// March 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

How to Start a Fight Club  -  article by Jonathan Dodson, Austin City Life

Fighting the Old Man as the New Man (Col 3:5-11)  -  sermon by Jonathan Dodson, Austin City Life

I believe Dodson will soon be publishing an e-book on Fight Clubs through Re:Lit, the publishing branch of TheResurgence.

The Gospel Coalition 2009

// March 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Overview

Speakers

Schedule

Travel Information

FAQ

Promote

Register

The Gospel Coalition 2007

// March 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Plenary Sessions

D.A. Carson: “What is the Gospel?”

Tim Keller: “What is Gospel-Centered Ministry?”

Crawford Loritts: “Passing on the Torch”

D.A. Carson: “Plans and Puposes of The Gospel Coalition”

John Piper: “The Triumph of the Gospel in the New Heavens and the New Earth”

Workshops

Graham Cole: “The Doctrine of God Today”

Ray Ortlund and Reddit Andrews: “Defining Evangelicalism”

Phil Ryken: “Union with Christ and Justification”

Mike Bullmore: “The Use of the Bible in Pastoral Counseling”

Mark Driscoll and Michael Lawrence: “Mentoring Younger Pastors”

Harry Reeder and John Yates: “Mentoring Younger Lay Leaders”

Jeff Louie: “The Church of the Living God: Crucial Issues in Gospel and Community”

Stephen Um: “The Church of the Living God: Practical Challenges in a Mobile Society”

Sandy Willson: “Christ and Culture Revisited”

Crawford Loritts and Ligon Duncan: “Q & A on Preaching”

Andy Davis: “Cultivating Biblical Meditation and Prayer”

David Bisgrove: “Evangelizing People in a Post-Christian Society”

Overview

On May 23-24, 2007, The Gospel Coalition held its first national conference, attended by over 500 pastors and other ministry leaders. Here are some highlights from the report by Collin Hansen, editor at large for Christianity Today:

Tethered to the Center: The Gospel Coalition is committed to core evangelical beliefs and wide-ranging cultural engagement.

The Gospel Coalition kicked off in late May with little fanfare, just how organizers wanted it. Any conference headlined by D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper would likely attract more than 500 attenders with a little publicity. But Gospel Coalition leaders chose a word-of-mouth strategy and capped attendance by hosting the two-day conference in the chapel at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). They wanted to test their ideas on a relatively small, friendly group.

Don’t let the low-key strategy fool you. This new group, spearheaded by 40 stake-holding theologians and pastors, has big goals. They want nothing less than a renewed evangelical commitment to core confessional beliefs. And they have the strategy to match their ambition.

The Gospel Coalition already boasts one hallmark achievement with its foundational documents, a confessional statement and theological call to ministry. Gospel Coalition’s diverse leadership, ranging from Presbyterian pastor Phil Ryken to emerging leader Mark Driscoll, hashed out the documents in meetings over more than two years. Carson wrote the original draft of the confessional statement, while Keller penned the theological call to ministry. The confession, dense and comprehensive, addresses current trends with a positive tone meant to attract rather than condemn. . . .

The Gospel Coalition consciously includes an ethnically diverse group of stakeholders. . . . The coalition also derives strength from its leaders’ diverse church backgrounds, from Anglican to Southern Baptist. . . .

The stakeholders acknowledge that precious few churches fully model this vision for ministry. So the Gospel Coalition’s first goal might be aligning its own churches with these standards. Imagine an evangelical movement led by churches that grow by multiplying, preach with theological substance and winsome apologetics, encourage holiness among members, engage their communities in areas such as politics and art, and even share economic resources and welcome the poor. Who can argue with these aims? If the Gospel Coalition’s churches can pull this off, they will have a much easier time persuading other evangelicals to return to the theological center.

Speakers

Plenary Speakers

• D.A. Carson Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
  Deerfield, IL
• Tim Keller Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church
  Manhattan, NY
• Crawford Loritts Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church
  Roswell, GA
• John Piper Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church
  Minneapolis, MN

Workshop Speakers

• Graham Cole Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology
  Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
• Ray Ortland Pastor of Immanuel Church
  Nashville, TN
• Reddit Andrews Senior Pastor of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church
  Elk Grove, CA
• Phil Ryken Senior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church
  Philadelphia, PA
• Mike Bullmore Senior Pastor of CrossWay Community Church
  Bristol, WI
• Mark Driscoll Senior Pastor of Mars Hill Church
  Seattle, WA
• Harry Reeder Senior Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church
  Birmingham, AL
• John Yates Senior Pastor of The Falls Church
  Falls Church, VA
• Jeff Louie Senior Pastor of Sunset Church
  San Francisco, CA
• Stephen Um Senior Pastor of CityLife Church
  Boston, MA
• Sandy Willson Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church
  Memphis, TN
• Crawford Loritts Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church
  Roswell, GA
• Ligon Duncan Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church
  Jackson, MS
• Andy Davis Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church
  Durham, NC