Registration for the October 14-16, 2009 Gospel Growth=People Growth conference at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL) is rapidly rising.

Make sure that you visit the specially created event website.  Click here to register for the conference.  $59 for students, $99 for pastors.

Between hearing from Carson, Dever, Jensen and others, and being encouraged in your ministry to be faithful to the gospel, this conference should provide much opportunity for growth, reflection, and upbuilding.

Cosponsored by Matthias Media, the Henry Center, The Gospel Coalition, and the Simeon Trust.

The Henry Center is pleased to announce that it will be webcasting the Kantzer Lectures in Revealed Theology featuring Stephen Williams (Union Theological College, Belfast, Ireland).  These lectures will be available on the Kantzer Lectures page from September 8-15, 2009.  See the series page for the times.

The Center is pleased to be able to bring its constituency these lectures thanks to cutting-edge technology.  Past webcasts have proven highly successful for the Center, with thousands watching the Ware-Grudem debate roughly one year ago.

The Director of the Henry Center, Doug Sweeney, has authored an important text entitled Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word (InterVarsity, July 2009). The book covers the life and Word-centered ministry of the colonial pastor-theologian, a subject area in which Sweeney has already produced numerous important works, including Volume Twenty-Three of the prestigious Yale Works of Edwards series.

The text’s 200 pages stretch over seven chapters that each address an aspect of Edwards’s biblically based ministry.  The writing style is characteristically Sweeney: clear, thick, vivid, and doxological.  Readers of all kinds–pastors, laypeople, Edwards devotees, and even the uninitiated–will benefit greatly from Sweeney’s comprehensive grasp of the Edwardsean corpus and his ability to distill that knowledge for readers.

This is historical theology for the church.  The book succeeds in repositioning Edwards as, first and foremost, a minister of the Word.  Sweeney shows that Edwards was nothing if not a pastor, a shepherd who gave the full force of his mind and heart to strengthen the faith of his people.  Sweeney does not call pastors to be just like Edwards, but he does call them to be Edwardsean–that is, to embody a rich pulpit ministry centered on the Bible that will fill ordinary Christian living with the glory and grandeur of the gospel.

This is an important book, one that promises to transform modern conceptions of the pastorate.  The text will also permanently affect one’s understanding of both Jonathan Edwards and the Christian life.  Readers can purchase Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word from InterVarsity Press or Amazon.  Blogger Justin Taylor recently posted about the text.  In addition, a diverse and distinguished group of commentators has praised the text.  Selections below:

A “masterful analysis”–Harry Stout, Yale

“Admirable” and “authoritative”–George Marsden, Notre Dame

“Nourishing and tasty”–Gerald McDermott, Roanoke College

A “blessing to pastors, preachers, and spiritual leaders”–Kenneth Minkema, Yale

A “vibrant portrayal”–Sam Storms, Brideway Church

“Accessible and accurate”–Mark Dever, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

In just two weeks, on Thursday, April 23, 2009, at Park Community Church in Chicago, IL, the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School will host an evening of free lectures and discussion with Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Dr. D. A. Carson of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. The event will begin at 7:00pm and conclude around 10:00pm.

Titled “The Pastor as Scholar, and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry with John Piper and D.A. Carson”, the evening will feature hour-long lectures by Drs. Piper and Carson that offer reflection of a theological and personal nature on the work of the pastor and the scholar, respectively.  All are welcome and invited.  See below for details on parking and transportation (note: shuttle buses will run from both the Chicago and Division blue line train stops to the church from 5pm to 7pm).

We at the Henry Center are really excited about this free event, which is sponsored by our title partner, BibleMesh.  Additional partners include Moody Press, Christian Focus Publications, and Crossway Books, all of which will be featuring a book in the initial moments of the event.  The evening will be recorded in high-definition by Desiring God Ministries and live-blogged by the Henry Center.  All material will be available for free at DGM, The Gospel Coalition website, and the Henry Center website.

For more information as we rapidly approach this event, please visit the event website, pastortheologian.com. This event embodies the mission of the Henry Center, which is to strengthen the church by bringing the riches of pastoral insight and scholarly acumen to bear on its life and mission.

If you are a budding pastor or scholar with a love for God’s Word and a heart for the church, we encourage you to come out to this free event and be a part of a growing movement that is changing the church as it recovers the historic model of the pastorate and reinvigorates it with the power of biblical truth and the resources of theological study.  We seek both heat and light to bless the people of God and strengthen the work of ministry.

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1. Event Location:

Park Community Church (Chicago, IL, 60610)

1001 N. Crosby map between Chicago and Division Streets

River North District.

2. Parking:

Parking is available on the street level of the building (enter on Crosby).  It will be scarce, so the train may be optimal for local attendees.

Additional parking is available in the lot on the north side of the building; street parking is available in the neighborhood.

Validated parking is available in the parking deck at 950 N. Kingsbury ($4 for 3 hours).

3. Public Transportation:

For those in the city, by bus, take #66 Chicago, #70 Division or #8 Halsted.

By train, to the Brown Line to Chicago and head east to Larrabee; take the Red Line to Chicago & State and catch the westbound #66 Chicago bus.

Special Note: For those coming from the northwest (from The Gospel Coalition), take the blue line to either Chicago or Division. From 5:00pm until the event begins, chartered buses will take attendees from either stop to the church building.

4. Schedule:

Thursday, April 23, 2009

7:00pm | Introductions
7:10pm | Piper Talk on “The Pastor as Scholar”
8:10pm | Carson talk on “The Scholar as Pastor”
9:10pm | Break
9:20pm | Audience discussion
10:00pm | Conclusion