Bryan Loritts on "The Greatest Challenge Facing Churches in the South"

Bryan Loritts, lead pastor of Fellowship Memphis, was asked what he thought the greatest challenge facing churches in the American South was today. Read his answer here.

Loritts will be part of a one-day conference in Birmingham next Tuesday called Engage the South, which will be advocating for the kind of churches needed in today's American South.

"Engage the South" One Day Conference

Engage the South is a one day conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, September 24. Sponsored by Acts 29 Network in partnership with Beeson Divinity School and The Gospel Coalition, Engage the South is a gathering of church leaders, those considering church leadership, and anyone who has a desire to be a part of church planting in the South, or the world. It will have a cultural framework for church planting in the South, but clearly God’s call is for the gospel to go local and global. Whether you have been in church leadership for many years or a young leader praying and thinking about church planting, this one day wave of truth, experience, and wisdom from godly, proven leaders will be an effective time for you and your team.

Speakers include Ray Ortlund, Bryan Loritts, Kevin Smith, Matt Chandler, and David Platt. 

To see the topics, schedule, and to register, click here. 

Van Neste on "The Psalms as an Entryway to the Scriptures"

If you weren't able to make it to the Ryan Center Conference at Union University back in April, I encourage you to listen to Ray Van Neste's excellent theme interpretation on "Read, Pray, Sing: The Psalms as an Entryway to the Scriptures."

The audio can be found here.

And check out the book on the Psalms edited by Van Neste and Richard Wells, Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship, which can be found here.

Salt and Light in the Public Square

For those of you in and around West Tennessee, Union University will be hosting a conference this weekend (Thursday-Saturday) to honor the legacy and vision of Chuck Colson entitled Salt and Light in the Public Square. Keynote speakers include Robert George, Timothy George, Garland Hunt, and Russell Moore.

For more details, click here. 

KJV400: Legacy and Impact

The Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University will be hosting KJV400: Legacy and Impact this Thursday-Saturday (Sept. 15-17), a festival celebrating the broad cultural impact of the King James Version of the Bible in honor of its 400th anniversary.

Plenary addresses will be delivered by three prominent scholars: Timothy George, Leland Ryken, and John Woodbridge. Breakout sessions will be led by Union faculty from a variety of disciplines, and there will be celebrations of music, film, art, Shakespearean play, and dramatic reading.

In addition to the addresses, breakout sessions, and artistic expressions, there will be a one-of-a-kind historic Bible display - one of the best in all of North America. This display will be open to the public for free on Thursday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.

For more information, click here.

Addressing Two Difficult Topics

Tim Challies provides helpful overviews of two recent talks given at the 2010 Ligonier Ministries National Conference, both of which address difficult topics.

• "Why the Universe Looks So Old" by Al Mohler

• "How God Could Command Holy War" by Derek Thomas

They're both worth reading (the audio is not yet online).

Together for the Gospel 2010

Just a reminder that the early bird registration discount for Together for the Gospel 2010 ends October 31, 2009. To register (and see hotel options, schedule, speakers, etc.), click here.

Reflections from the Renewing the Evangelical Mission Conference

You may remember a recent post where I mentioned the "Renewing the Evangelical Mission Conference" at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Jonathan Leeman provided a sobering reflection from that conference on the 9Marks blog. Here is an excerpt:

I praise God for the faithful academics who trained me in seminary. Yet the best ones were good because they were churchmen first and academics second. Any academic who takes offence at my remarks, I dare say, just might take offense because he or she finds more identity in being an academic than in being a churchman.

Click here to read the whole thing.

Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism

Trevin Wax did a little live-blogging during the conference last week at Union University. Below are the links to his posts, which give a summary, a brief outline, and some memorable quotes from each address. For those of you wanting a helpful wrap-up and overview of the conference, this would be the place to begin.

For audio of all the addresses, click here.

1. Ed Stetzer: “Denominationalism – Is There a Future?”
2. Jim Patterson: “Reflections on 400 Years of Baptist Movement”
3. Hal Poe: “The Gospel and Its Meaning”
4. Timothy George: “The Faith, My Faith, The Church’s Faith”
5. Duane Litfin: “The Future of American Evangelicalism”
6. Ray Van Neste: “Pastoral Ministry in SBC Life”
7. Robert Smith: “The Church’s One Foundation”
8. Mark DeVine: “Emergent or Emerging”
9. Danny Akin: “The Future of the SBC”
10. Michael Lindsay: “Denominationalism in a Changing America”
11. Jerry Tidwell: “Missions and Evangelism”
12. David Dockery: “So Many Denominations…”
13. Panel Discussion
14. Nathan Finn: “Passing On the Faith”
15. Albert Mohler: “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism”

Audio from the "God Exposed" Conference

Justin Taylor has posted the audio of all the talks from the God Exposed conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Speakers include Mark Dever, Daniel Akin, Michael McKinley, C.J. Mahaney, and Thabiti Anyabwile.

Click here to listen.

Renewing the Evangelical Mission Conference

Although it is quickly approaching (October 13-15), the upcoming conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary looks to be very interesting. This year's conference is in honor of David Wells and each presenter (it is a who's who of evangelical theologians) will address the topic: "What is the evangelical mission in the public square?" Click here for more information.

Schedule Released for Upcoming Conference at Union University

You may remember my post from several weeks ago about a conference this fall at Union University on "Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism." Well, the schedule and each speaker's topic have now been released (thanks to Ray Van Neste for bringing this to my attention). To see the entire conference website, click here.

As I said before, this looks to be a very worthwhile few days focusing on a significant subject.

2009 Expositors' Conference

The theme of this year's Expositors' Conference at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, is "The Sacred Desk: A History of Expository Preaching from the Reformation to the Present." Steven Lawson will be joined by Joel Beeke as they explore this fascinating subject (for bios of Lawson and Beeke, click here).

Here is a look at their topics:

"The Preaching of the Reformers: Martin Luther and John Calvin" (Steven Lawson)

"The Preaching of the Puritans (I)" (Joel Beeke)

"The Preaching of the Puritans (II)" (Joel Beeke)

"The Preaching of the Great Awakening: Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield" (Steven Lawson)

"The Preaching of the 19th Century: Archibald Alexander and Charles Spurgeon" (Steven Lawson)

"The Preaching of the 20th Century: Martyn Lloyd-Jones and James Montgomery Boice" (Steven Lawson)

The thought of these topics alone make this a very desirable conference to attend. If you are in relative proximity to Mobile, Alabama (or have the means to travel there), I would encourage you to try and go. The conference is scheduled for September 28-29.

Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker at the Toronto Pastors Conference

The audio from the 2009 Toronto Pastors Conference with Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker is now available.

Displaying God's Glorious Gospel, Session 1 (Matt Schmucker)

Preaching and Biblical Theology, Session 2 (Mark Dever)

Encouragement for the Pastor's Soul, (Carl Muller)

Gospel, Conversion, and Evangelism, Session 3 (Mark Dever)

Panel Discussion and Questions (Mark Dever and Matt Schmucker)

Membership, Discipline, and Discipleship, Session 4 (Matt Schmucker)

Do You Like Jesus? (Mark Dever)

Leadership, Session 5 (Mark Dever)

Covenanting Together, Session 6 (Matt Schmucker)

J.I. Packer & "The Reformation of Pastoral Ministry"

Beeson Divinity School recently announced that J.I. Packer will be the lecturer for the 2009 Reformation Heritage Lectures (October 27-29). He will be speaking each day at 11:00 am on "The Reformation of Pastoral Ministry" (with an additional lecture Wednesday at 1:00 pm). The lectures are free and open to the public, but there is a charge of $7.50 for the luncheon on Wednesday.

Reservations will not open until mid-August, but mark your calendars now.

Michael Horton on the Gospel-Driven Life

Michael Horton's newest book, The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World, which serves as a follow-up to Christless Christianity, will not be released until October. But you can hear lectures that form the content of this new book now.

He spoke on this subject at the Spring Theology Conference of the Reformation Society of Oregon, and they have graciously made the MP3s of his lectures available. Click here to download them.

Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism

Union University just announced this week that they will be hosting what looks to be a very promising and considerably interesting conference in October - "Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism." The conference will feature Duane Litfin, Michael Lindsay, Timothy George, Al Mohler, Danny Akin, David Dockery, Ed Stetzer, Robert Smith, Steve Harmon, Mark Devine, Ray Van Neste, Hal Poe, Jim Patterson, and Jerry Tidwell.

For more details, click here.

Word Within the Word Conference

The audio is now available from the Word Within the Word Conference hosted by the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University. The three plenary sessions with D.A. Carson as well as all the breakout sessions have been posted on the Union University website.

Plenary Sessions with Carson

• Plenary 3: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 in Hebrews 7
• Plenary 2: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Psalm 95 in Hebrews 3-4
• Plenary 1: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in Hebrews 1

Breakout Sessions

• Breakout Session - Greg Spears - Paul's Worldview Apologetic in Acts 17
• Breakout Session - Richard Wells - Using the Psalms in Pastoral Prayer
• Breakout Session - Brad Green - Salvation and Works in the Old and New Testaments
• Breakout Session: George Guthrie - How to Do Biblical Word Studies
• Breakout Session - James Patterson - Church History and the Interpretation of Scripture
• Breakout Session: David Olford - Preaching an Old Covenant Text as a New Covenant Preacher
• Breakout Session - Terry Wilder - Paul's Use of the OT in Romans 15:1-13
• Breakout Session - Taylor Worley - Seeing the Psalms in the New Testament
• Breakout Session - Ray Clendenen - Theological Themes in the book of Malachi
• Breakout Session 3 - David and Sally Michael - Aiming for Application and Response in Teaching Children the Bible
• Breakout Session 2 - David and Sally Michael - Raising Bible-Saturated Children
• Breakout Session 1 - David and Sally Michael - God-Centered Bible Teaching for the Glory of God
• Breakout Session - Paul Jackson - Psalm 22 in the Words of Jesus
• Breakout Session - Ken Easley - From Promises to Reality: How Christianity Fulfills the Ancient Plan God Promised
• Breakout Session - Justin Barnard - Eschatology and Ethics: Envisioning the Christian Life Without a Bracelet
• Breakout Session - Gary Smith - The OT and NT Identification of the "Servant" in Isa 42:1-13