The Resurgence

Two weeks ago I went to Seattle for the Acts 29/Resurgence Conference. I had been looking forward to the conference for several months. Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, hosted the conference. John Piper, Matt Chandler, and Jim Gilmore were the guest speakers with a last-minute addition of C.J. Mahaney. Piper has pointed me to the majesty, supremacy and glory of God for more than 10 years. Chandler pastors The Village Church where my wife and I are members. He's a great communicator commited to preaching the gospel. Gilmore is the author of The Experience Economy. I'm still not sure what he said or why he was there. Mahaney leads the Sovereign Grace network of churches and is an incredible statesmen of the faith. And Driscoll...well, Driscoll is just Driscoll. I love hearing him preach the gospel as well. The conference was one of the most powerful I've ever been a part of. The audio of the conference has been posted on The Resurgence website and is available for free download. What follows is a summary (with links to the audio) of the highlights:

Driscoll kicked off the conference by dumping his announced topic and instead offering a message entitled: "Putting Preachers in Their Place." (There's a video link for this one as well.) Driscoll's introductions are famous for the breadth and length, and this one didn't disappoint. He began in Genesis with God preaching creation into existence and walked through the Scripture demonstrating the importance of preaching. Then he launched into a discussion of ecclesiology that was both thorough and well-reasoned. His conclusion is that preaching is a necessary but not sufficient component of a church. He distills the reformation formulas down to five basic requirements for a church ending with the suggestion that some attendees thought they were pastoring churches but were really leading cults. I highly recommend listening to and thinking through this message by Mark.

The second message was far and away the most powerful message of the conference for me. I ve heard a lot about C.J. Mahaney, but this was my first time to hear him preach live. I finally understand why those who've heard him love him so. The character of the man and his passion for Christ are so evident as he speaks and this one was a message I needed to hear. The title was "Pastoral Care & Loving People." He took as his text the first 15 verses of 1 Corinthians. The focus of his message was how to see those to whom you minister with a divine perspective. It was an incredible message, a convicting message, and a life-filled, hope-giving message. It's one I will be listening to over and over.

Piper finished out the first day with a message on "Why I Trust the Scriptures."

[I'll continueto edit and finish this post when I get a few minutes; have to run right now.]

UPDATE: O.K., so I never really finished this post, and no one really cares anymore, but I can't leave it that unfinished. So, the first day of the conference was the best and without a doubt C.J.'s message impacted me the most. I've referred to it countless times and had all of my Leadership Expedition staff listen to it. Matt's message was also good, but I think he was even better at this year's (2009) Desiring God conference: A Shepherd and His Unregenerate Sheep. So, the Resurgence Conference was great. You can get all the audio and most of the video on their website. And I'm finished with this post.