Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Conferences!

A way to promote renewal in the churches is to get our pastors and members under the teaching of solid, biblical teachers. Are there any good, Reformed conferences you have been to in the past that you could recommend to others? What was good about it? Who were some of the speakers and what were the topics?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've attended both the Bethlehem (Piper) Pastors' Conference and the PCRT (several times) and have found both to be immensely beneficial - good connection to the broader Reformed community and sound, biblical teaching.

Every year, a group of CRC pastors go out for dinner together the Tuesday of the Piper pastors' conference. Keep an eye out for CRC looking people!

Also, a few pastors' families with young kids are extending a few days beyond the conference to enjoy time together at the Mall of America. If anyone is interested to join us - send an email to returningchurch@yahoo.com.

Anonymous said...

I was able to attend the annual Ligonier Ministries Pastor's Conference this past October down in Orlando, FL. There were a few hundred of us there, and it was an EXCELLENT deal. Essentially you attend for free during the week. The conference cost $150 for Sunday night's stay through Thursday afternoon, which included all the meals at the Marriot Hotel (VERY nice formal meals), but they gave you a $150 certificate to use for ordering books and CDs from their catalog. So essentially it was free, and at a very nice hotel. The only cost was transportation to and from the hotel, and most churches will pick that tab up for their pastor(s).
The highly-respected and often-published Dr. R.C.Sproul was one of the speakers, as was Dr. Ligon Duncan and Dr. Steve Lawson. All excellent topics dealing with Reformed approaches to evangelism, worship, preaching, music, prayer, etc. I have pages of notes to attest to what was covered. The variety of denominations present was a bit astounding, with many Southern Baptists and Presbyterians, along with Episcopals, Methodists, Christian Reformed, Independents, AME, United Reformed, RCA, etc. Quite the variety.
The teachings were very good. Plenty of Q&A sessions as well. The evenings were often free for relaxing and fellowship. The Detroit Tigers were playing in the World Series, then, so we could even watch the games.
I would highly recommend this annual Pastor's Conference through Ligonier Ministries for my fellow CRC clergy. An excellent buy, solid Reformed content that heavily drew from Scripture, and worth the time.

Rev. Tyler Wagenmaker
Beaverdam CRC, Hudsonville, MI