The Gospel Coalition - Entrusted with the Gospel

The stuff below was posted today by Justin Taylor on Between Two Worlds blog. It is my plan to attend this conference as my one "big" conference next year to challenge me to grow as a pastor. There are other great conferences, but this one is calling my name. I know Ovidiu is going, is anyone else who reads this blog going?

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The Gospel Coalition recently relaunched their website, and it looks excellent. Here's more information about the upcoming conference, April 21-23, 2009, in Chicago.

The theme of this Conference gets to the heart of the book of Second Timothy. As Paul is mentoring a young Timothy, he is communicating the great privilege of proclaiming the gospel to the world. In an age bereft of courageous leadership, declining biblical literacy, and rising cultural accommodation, a prophetic voice from the center is needed, a voice that faithfully speaks the ancient text to our contemporary context. This Conference seeks a renewal of faithful preaching that is rooted in the Scriptures and centered on the gospel.

The best of gospel-faithful ministry is not only taught, it is also caught. This was the practice of the Apostle Paul -- the great missionary of the early church -- who not only had much to say regarding what constitutes gospel-faithful ministry, but also had much to show of what it looked like in an individual life and in the life of the church. We see these two foci coming together harmoniously in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth:

Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church (1 Corinthians 4:16-17; cf. 11:1; Philippians 3:17).

On 21-23 April 2009, The Gospel Coalition will hold its second National Conference on the theme, "Entrusted with the Gospel: Living the Vision of Second Timothy." During these meetings we will seek to imitate Paul's dual practice of show and tell.

The Plenary Sessions -- led by John Piper, Phil Ryken, Mark Driscoll, K. Edward Copeland, Bryan Chapell, and Ligon Duncan -- will expound the book of Second Timothy. It is through these expositions that we hope to model the sort of preaching through Scripture of which the church is in need, while teaching the glories of this gospel of the blessed God that has been entrusted to the care of the church. Tim Keller and Don Carson will each give addresses that seek to situate gospel-faithful ministry in the currents of the twenty-first century, and Ajith Fernando will discuss the global challenges and priorities of gospel-faithful mission for the next Christendom. There will also be several workshops devoted to the faithful appropriation of text (Scripture) to context (contemporary issues).

Register here. Each attendee will also receive a free copy of the ESV Study Bible.