Desiring God Conference, 2006

The Desiring God Conference in Minneapolis this past weekend was a feast of theological richness, humble proclamation, mind stretching teaching and some very touching personal moments. Especially moving was DA Carson’s story of his father’s long laboring as a pastor in Canada. Several folks have commented on it. Justin Taylor’s blog has a transcript of it: http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/10/encouragement-for-pastors-of-smaller.html I also loved hearing David Wells speak of spending time each year in Africa and of how that helps him to keep his focus in the right place and not be molded by our culture.

My favorite sessions were Tim Keller’s for its thought provoking, church engaging content, and John Piper’s on the supremacy of Christ and joy. John never fails to raise my eyes to the glory of God, which we apprehend now in small degree, but which we will, in eternity, experience fully. He used the analogy of a mountain climber coming up over a ridge and gazing at the wonder and majesty of the sight before him knowing that beyond each ridge are more and more vistas even more glorious than before. What joy is to be found in gazing on our Lord Jesus, whose glory so far surpasses anything we can imagine now! In His presence, indeed, is fullness of joy.

The challenge for me after listening to John is how to hang onto this vision of joy in Christ and live it out amidst the challenges and distractions of daily living. This is not a new question or a new challenge. It is the constant struggle I think most of us face. How do I fight for joy and treasure Christ when I am in the middle of a day spent waiting in the doctor’s office for over an hour and then having to go to the hospital for a procedure they tell me they can’t do there, then, back to the doctor’s office for more waiting; sorting through mountains of dirty laundry; losing my keys; missing my children who are far away; forgetting to buy milk and toilet paper. Daily, mundane, un-extraordinary life…it can eat away at my joy more quickly and insidiously than major trauma. I am thankful for conferences like this that refresh and inspire and I'm also very blessed to be surrounded by people, especially my husband, who help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, day in and day out.

There is much more to reflect on. I’ll be pulling out my notes and listening to some of the transcripts to hear things I missed in both Wells and Carson’s talks because my brain was either too tired or overloaded by the time they spoke! I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference. On Sunday morning, John announced that the theme will be endurance and John McArthur will be one of the speakers. I hope more of our church family will be able to join us in Minneapolis next fall!