American Adventure PART 1: Gospel Unity

I recently had the chance to visit Louisville, Kentucky for two weeks as part of a 3-month sabbatical I’m taking this year. It was a wonderfully refreshing trip and I’ve been asked by a number of people from my church whether I’m going to report back on how things went. This post is PART 1 of my attempt to pull together some of my reflections and give an idea of what I got up to.

WEEK 1: Together for the Gospel

The focus of the first week was attending ‘Together for the Gospel’ – a massive pastors conference that occurs every two years in Louisville, Kentucky.

Louisville is famous for being the home town of the boxer Muhammad Ali and of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s also famous for its bourbon and for hosting one of America’s most famous horse races, the Kentucky Derby. However every two years it also hosts a huge three-day pastors conference called ‘Together for the Gospel’, or T4G as it’s known. And this year, I got to go.

One of the most striking things about T4G is the sense of unity that characterises it. The leadership team and main speakers at T4G come from very different church backgrounds and the delegates reflect this. During the three days I met pastors of presbyterian churches, baptist churches, congregational churches, elder-led churches, charismatic churches, non-charismatic churches – I could go on. However, despite our differences on secondary issues, there was a tangible sense of unity.

The reason for this is very simple: when T4G was started 12 years ago, its founders worked hard to clarify the basis on which their unity would be built. They recognised the biblical truth that true unity can only occur ‘in the gospel’ – where there is a clear embracing of gospel truth (1Cor 15v1-2, Rom 1v16, Eph 1v13, John 17:20). This basis for unity is expressed in a series of ‘affirmations and denials’ which define the gospel truths that are of ‘first importance’ at T4G. You can read them HERE. 

The network of churches Woodgreen belongs to - the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches - has a similar 'doctrinal statement' which clarifies the gospel truths its member churches hold to. T4G reminded me of how essential this is if there is to be meaningful unity and how sweet that unity is when it's based on a clear understanding of the gospel.

This is because clarity on the gospel leads to charity on secondary issues. Issues such as views on church polity, second coming, baptism, spiritual gifts etc which so often divide Christians can be put to one side because we are clear about what it is that unites us: a common understanding of the gospel. I was reminded again that this the basis of all true Christian unity. We can only be truly together in the Gospel.

The sheer scale of the conference was the first thing that struck me. This year it was sold out, with 12,500 in attendance, most of whom were pastors and church leaders. We met in a basketball stadium – the KFC Yum Center – which was transformed for the purpose. The photos above and below give you a sense of the scale, but they don’t do it justice. 

I remember walking into the stadium on the first day and being overwhelmed by how many people there were. And then there were the exhibition area and the monster-sized bookstall. It was like nothing I have ever been to before.

The theme of the conference was ‘Distinct from the World’ and the backbone of the three days were 10 main preaching sessions featuring: Mark Dever, David Platt, Matt Chandler, Albert Mohler, John MacArthur, Ligon Duncan, Thabiti Anyabwile, Kevin DeYoung, H.B.Charles and John Piper. I was familiar with most of these preachers but some were new to me. I had not come across H.B.Charles before, but his exposition of 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 - ‘The Message of the Cross’ - was the stand out sermon for me. You can listen to it HERE.

It was such a privilege to be taught by these faithful men and refreshed by Christ-centred preaching that was aimed at church leaders. These main sessions were interspersed with less formal ‘panels’ where four or more leaders would discuss an issue while the rest of us listened in. These were often good fun as well as being insightful and helpful.

But the highlight for me was – without doubt – the singing. Bob Kauflin from Sovereign Grace Music led us from the piano and I was often moved as we sung the gospel together. 

We sung old and new and the spontaneous response after each one was a very natural round of applause – in celebration of the truths we had just delighted in together.

Another distinguishing feature of the conference were ‘zero dollar books’. I’d heard about this before I went and had gone with space in my luggage, but I hadn’t realised just how many books would be given away! I collected nearly 30! Before and after each session delegates were given a free book and many of the exhibitors also gave books away. And they were really good books! Commentaries, biographies, books on relevant contemporary issues, books to inspire and encourage.

More than anything else, this feature highlighted for me the heart of T4G. It is a conference that honours pastors and church leaders and has a genuine desire to encourage, equip and spur them on. 
This was one of the things that struck me most on the first night as Mark Dever got different groups of people to stand up: lay elders, pastor who had served for less than a year, pastors who had served more than 10 years in one church to name just three categories. As each group stood there was spontaneous applause – an honouring of their service for the Lord.

I am so grateful for the chance to go to T4G. It was refreshing, inspiring, moving and, above all, a reminder of the privilege of serving Jesus as a pastor of a local church. 

However... T4G was not the highlight of my trip. The highlight was the time I got to spend with Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. But more about that in PART 2 HERE.