The 2014 Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference took place at the University of Leicester from April 22 – 24.
This Easter marked the 40th anniversary of my very first visit to the ‘Banner’, which left me asking not only where my life has gone, but how has the conference changed over the years?
Numbers have certainly increased since those days at College Hall, though today they are considerably down on the heady days of the 1990s. And this year, due to scheduling difficulties, the conference was only two days long – though the organisers managed to cram as many sessions into the programme as usual. One unusual feature about the 2014 gathering was the lack of a ‘main speaker’: no speaker had more than two sessions. I guess I was a little disappointed about that: it is good to be led deeply into some great topic.
Refreshing
Some things have not changed, however. I always find the fellowship warm, and surprisingly broad. And I don’t think that I have ever attended without coming home refreshed and renewed. Asking myself why that is, I have concluded that the key reason is that at Leicester, more than any other conference I have been to, the ministry is always aimed at humbling the heart and strengthening the soul, as well as stretching the mind.
This year one of my highlights was listening to David Meredith preaching on ‘Preaching Christ to the contemporary world’, for the way he strengthened my confidence in the gospel and expectancy of life-transforming results.
Another highlight was drinking in Palmer Robertson’s delightfully enthusiastic handling of the structure of the Psalms.
So much more
Yet ‘Leicester’ is so much more than the ministry sessions, wonderful though it is for men who spend so much time ‘giving out’ to be fed so richly from God’s Word. It is seeing old friends and making new ones: it is just extraordinary helpful to talk with men who understand the pressures, heartaches and immense joys of the ‘ministry’. It is also enjoying a sumptuous cooked breakfast served so graciously by the college staff!
