Right now there’s a conference happening in the States, in Durham, North Carolina, called Advance 2009.
Piper, Driscoll, Chandler, Stetzer, Chapell and a few others…
I’m guessing that full audio/video will be available at a later date, but the audio is being made available straight away on Desiring God… listening to Chandler ranting, his intro makes me laugh becuase he has “a picture of Dr. Piper on his fridge”.
‘Porn-Again Christian‘ is the punningly named title of a new e-book written by Mark Driscoll and published online (for free) at The Resurgence. Driscoll doesn’t mince his words, hence the sub-title – “a frank discussion on pornography and masturbation”… and that’s what it is; real, honest words to men about the issues surrounding lust, with a grasp of both the theology and practicalities of the issue.
Because the book is very frank I won’t go into details… but there’s two focuses of the book… firstly the theology – what is lust, why do we lust, why do we sin, why do we reject God for the inferior pleasures of lust? and secondly the application of that, how practically can I avoid temptation and fight it when it comes… it covers porn, masturbation, godly sex in marriage, being a man, and some Q&A.
The book concludes with something very profound, and very disturbing. It is an interview with Ted Bundy, American serial killer who explains in an interview with a Christian leader James Dobson how experiences of soft porn started a slippery slope into more hardcore, more violent materials and then ultimately to sexual violence and murder in the real life. What’s frightening is that Bundy had a ‘normal’ upbringing… a stable family and a Christian home, but the images of pornography and the violence of films changed him. There’s also an appendix looking at the real, current effects of prostitution and sexual slavery in the world today.
“In closing, sin leads to death. Jesus died for your sin. You are in a war. Be a man. Put your sin to death.”
I love the banter that goes on between these two…
At the last Resurgence conference there was the joke question from Driscoll… “Would you let an Arminian cut your grass?” and just after the infamous Driscoll-Chandler punch.
Then there’s his 4 reasons why I love John Piper…
and reason number 5, “He’s a good sport”… see below: John’s Piper’s New Coat!
Hope to see him preaching in it soon! Best line in the video… “I love John Piper… but not in an Episcopalian way!”
Haven’t seen it all yet, but it’s gonna be good. Matt Chandler is the preacher outsider of my church that I listen to most at the moment, I’m regularly encouraged and convicted through his preaching – currently going through Luke.
Tim Keller has a new book coming out in October called ‘The Prodigal God‘, it’s an exposition of the ‘Parable of the Prodigal Sons’ and I get the impression that like ‘Reason for God’ it will be accessible for both Christians and non-Christians alike. It’s released on the 30th and you can currently pre-order from Amazon for around £9, I’m hoping that the Good Book Company might have it in stock at a similar price nearer the time, I’ll let you know.
Here’s a short interview with Keller about the book, and a response from Keller about the use of the word ‘Prodigal’ in relation to God.
Also, Mark Driscoll has lots of books coming out this year which has prompted the launch of Resurgence Literature publishing (ReLit). The first book was Vintage Jesus, I’ve finally got round to reading that so I’ll review it soon.
The latest books out (released last week) are a series of 4 books – ‘A Book You’ll Actually Read‘ – they’re less than 100 pages on ‘The Old Testament’, ‘The New Testament’, ‘Church Leadership’ and ‘Who is God?’. These are the square shaped ones (left). At the end of July there’s a book called ‘Practical Theology for Women’ coming out by Wendy Alsup, a deacon at Mars Hill. ‘Death by Love‘ (right) is coming out at the end of September, from what I gather it is based on Driscoll’s ‘Christ on the Cross’ series and then put in to a letter format. Finally in January 2009 ‘Vintage Church‘ (middle) is being released, subtitled ‘Timeless Truths and Timely Methods’ – it’s in the style of the Vintage Jesus book and I’m guessing will be similar to the Radical Reformission, probably with more of a focus on some of his sermon series (1 Corinthians, Nehemiah) and some practical suggestions. One more thing, they’re also publishing other non-Mars-Hill books, so far just Total Church by Timmis and Chester.
Last week I picked up some books for myself at EMA – Total Church (Timmis and Chester), Why we’re not Emergent (some American guys), and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (Dever)… will give some thoughts when I get round to reading.
Here’s what I’ve been waiting for… the Q&A sessions from The Resurgence ‘Text and Context’ conference are now online. There’s two hour sessions, one with Matt Chandler and John Piper, and the other just with Mark Driscoll, well worth listening to.
I was a bit disappointed they didn’t put on something similar with Carson and Piper at New Word Alive, but alas…
This is one of the pre-Resurgence conference videos – Matt Chandler, Advice for Preachers… Live Preaching, Live the Gospel… burn for the text… possessed by the text…
Terry Virgo (well his son, Joel) is currently interviewing Mark Driscoll in the run up to his visit to the Brighton Conference in July, there’s a few parts coming slowly.
Also, I put the wrong link down for the Text and Context talks… click the image below. Still waiting for the Q&A sessions.
The Resurgence conference starts today in Seattle (probably about 8000 miles away, maybe not quite that far… a long way anyway!)… would have been fun to go, but know matter, because of the wonders of technology I can sit at home and watch the sessions streamed live! Which means in theory I could live-blog about them… just one snag, we’re 8 hours ahead, which means I would have to stay up till 3am to catch the final session… maybe not.
I have a feeling that Jonathan Thomas of proGnosis is there and making a video diary which you can see on their Youtube page… so look out for those if they appear.
Tom B: Hey Hugh,
You may well have seen this already but I found this article...
Maxime Soumagnas: By the way, I'm pretty sure we'll speak French in heaven, so your bett...
Maxime Soumagnas: Nice article Hugh! Hope you are well, we had a brilliant holiday in Br...
Alf: Fabulous have just made - first ever chocolate toothpaste tart and loo...
Anthony Smith: I'd love to hear renewed creation featuring more strongly in our teach...
© 2012 HughBo. Powered by WordPress.
Premium Pixels Theme by Orman Clark
