Very encouraging to be at the Coalition gathering this week. Mostly because I got to spend time with my dad and one of my brothers. Also great to hug and pray with old friends. More broadly, though, the conference showed us all very tangibly the widespread work God is doing of gospel-unity and gospel-fixation in many diverse evangelical clumps.
These conferences also bring out ugliness in me, especially in the heightened temptation to feed on man-approval. Yuck. I have not grown as much in this area as I thought I had. God is patient.
But this week has obviously been a big win for the kingdom and if I can have some role in that kingdom in spite of my screwiness, what a wonder.
And if you didn't get to Dad's workshop on justification vs. self-justification, you will not regret a careful read of the manuscript. That hour made the whole week worth it. It was timely, even prophetic.
Thanks, Ben Peays and Collin Hansen and Don Carson and hundreds of others for your hard work on our behalf, and on behalf of the gospel. The Lord sees.
Dane,
ReplyDeleteI had the same struggles with the approval of men while at TGC. When I found myself leaning towards that during the past few days, one way God guided me through it was to give thanks at that exact time for the evidences of grace in the lives of the men whose approval I was otherwise seeking. Being able to turn it from an inward selfish feeling to a praise of the goodness and blessings of God helped me in a great way to keep my eyes on the cross.
And thanks for all you do with Crossway. Your commitment to gospel-centered resources is a great benefit to all of us.
chris