Reform and Resurge

Last week I finished listening to all the sessions from the 2006 Reform and Resurge conference, held earlier this year at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. This three-day conference focused on many of the issues involved with bringing the Gospel to an ever-changing culture. Although the conference was largely geared towards pastors and church leadership, there is much material that is profitable for everyone. Audio and video of the sessions are available at the link above.

Overall, I thought the sessions were very good, with Tim Keller's easily being the best of the bunch. During the course of his three talks, he addressed how the Christian faith enters into specific cultural contexts, how the Gospel should be preached to engage Christians and non-Christians alike, and how ideas of justice can be better integrated into the worship and life of churches. Highly recommended.

I also enjoyed the talk by Eric Mason, an African-American church planter in urban Philadelphia. Typically, words like "Reformed" and "missional" are only spoken in a predominantly middle-class white context; however, Mason (along with fellow speaker Anthony Bradley, also an African-American) is a great example of the multi-ethnic diversity that can arise from a solid Gospel foundation.

Mark Driscoll's concluding talk (sermon, really) on the Cross was very encouraging, as well, since he stressed the importance of keeping the Cross at the center of ministry and life in general.

These are just some highlights, but again, the entire conference is definitely worth a listen or two. So download away.