Almost 13,000 pastors and church leaders gathered from 11-13 April for the 7th biennial Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
Together for the Gospel started with a friendship between four pastors and has now burgeoned into one of the largest Christian conferences in the world. Attendees came from over 50 different countries including a record 62 from the United Kingdom.
Living holy lives
The theme this year was ‘Distinct from the World’. The conference talks focused on how the church should live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christians. The Bible’s answer is that God calls us to live distinct, holy lives that reflect his character.
In the inaugural address, Mark Dever reflected on the theme of ‘holiness together’. Dever challenged us that too often, ‘we are so much like the world that we provoke no questions and provide no answers’. He then gave a number of steps for pastors to promote holiness in the local church including; ‘preach through the Bible’, ‘be more concerned with your members than how many members you have’, ‘teach your church how to find the right pastors’, and ‘understand that holiness doesn’t compete with missions, it adds to it’. This is well worth watching at www.t4g.org.
There were many other highlights of the conference. At one of the pre-conference events Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, and Albert Mohler held a panel discussion on the relationship between Bible colleges and local churches. The triumvirate emphasized that a local church is the only place that can make a pastor, but also highlighted the unique role that Bible colleges play in equipping pastors and churches.
The singing was uplifting and loud! There is something deeply encouraging about singing biblical truths with 12,000 brothers and sisters. This year’s conference featured a number of old hymns given new life by the very talented Matt Merker.
A John Newton quote summarizes the conference well: ‘I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am’.
