It's Probably Time to Grow Up

Sad to say...the conference is over; such things are not made to last for long periods of time. The entire thing was nothing short of amazing. There were many things learned about shepherding and preaching that I'm sure will prove invaluable in the future. It was especially nice to watch the four hosts (Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler, and CJ Mahaney) and the three guests (RC Sproul, John Piper, and John MacArthur) on the panel discussion times. They were completely at ease and goofy at times, life-and-death serious at others, and very genuine. It proved true that they were mere sinners who have been mercifully justified by faith before the Father. Each of them has been gifted and they have poured their lives into using those gifts for the Kingdom.

As far as an overall lesson learned: I need to grow up. Big shocker. I realize sanctification is a process, but watching these men made me look at the fruit of discipline in my life and notice the lack of it. Perhaps this feeling culminated the second afternoon/evening with Sproul and Piper, and continued on into hearing about MacArthur's 40 years as a faithful minister of God's word. The weight they feel as souls are in the balance is something we should all taste. There is indeed a call for men to submit to the Father in discipline and living by faith. This is a very weighty, but encouraging thing to feel. After all, the Lord disciplines those he loves. I would encourage guys to check out the mp3's of the sermons when they appear on the TogetherfortheGospel site.