Holly, Alyssa, and I just returned from an outstanding “pastors conference” in Louisville, KY called T4G (Together for the Gospel). The group of well-known conference speakers and preachers have been putting this conference on since 2006, every two years, and this one is their “Last Word,” (the theme of the conference.)

We heard from well-known speakers like John Piper, Alistair Begg, David Platt, Mark Dever, Kevin DeYoung, Sinclair Ferguson, Ligon Duncan, Shai Linne, and even a Kenyan preacher named Christian Lwanda. Since the conference was in Louisville, where Adam attends seminary, we were able to spend time with him and his good friend Sofia, and they attended the conference with us. The kids were even able to catch some photo ops with some of their favorite speakers.

Joining with 12,000 other voices (mostly men) in singing praises to our awesome God was truly a rich experience. Click below for a few quick video clips of the singing:

Pastors and some key leaders from our main two churches we attend in Washington were also present, so reflecting on the conference with them was an added bonus.

There were many great take-aways from our time in Louisville. Certainly one of the most special was spending some time with Adam before he and Sophia head off on a mission trip to Indonesia in early June. They are both progressing well through Southern Seminary, and although the MDiv program is rigorous, they are managing, and are both passionate about using their education  to spread God’s glory globally through missionary service. Another joy was being able to participate in the conference with my wife, daughter, and dear brothers from churches back home.

Each of the speakers gave excellent messages, some more expository than others, but each with helpful application that I jotted down and will try to apply. Piper’s message on the “effective connection between the work of Christ on the cross cancelling sin and our work of striving for holiness in conquering sin” was particularly memorable. David Platt offered a familiar but rousing message calling all people to do whatever it takes to reach the 3.2 billion unreached people in the world with the Gospel of Christ. I was encouraged by Alistair Begg from 1  Corinthians 2:1-5 to preach the simple message of Christ and Him crucified, a message Bobby Scott and Shai Linne reinforced. There were also a number of panel discussions where questions were asked of the speakers and they offered their impromptu answers.

As an extra bonus, the day before we returned the mask mandate was removed from domestic flights so we could fly mask free!

Two days after we returned, my teammates Steve and Mike arrived from the midwest to spend a week in curriculum revision meetings at our house. We are hosting them, and are in the thick of our meetings as I write this, so we appreciate your prayers as we strive to refine our Pathways Bible Training program to make it most effective for pastors globally.