T4G – My Response to Mark Dever's Talk

I have now listened to the mp3 of Dever’s talk. In a previous post, I included some quotes from the sermon, and Challies did a great summary post.

During C.J.’s introduction, Mark Dever was credited with being the prime human agent in the formation of the friendships that made the Together for the Gospel conference possible. When I interviewed Mark Dever, his commitment to being relational was immediately apparent. In understanding the T4G phenomenon, it is vital to realise that this is not a traditional ecumenical movement driven by the bureaucrats and managers of denominations. Rather this is the pet project of a group of four friends, who have also reached out to include three other individuals who would not normally have got on with the whole group.

One of the most bizarre images in my mind is of C.J. Mahaney playing golf with John MacArthur, the author of Charismatic Chaos. Apparently they have forged a successful partnership and have defeated their opponents each time. Is it possible that perhaps this golfing partnership will eventually contribute to the convergence of opinion on the gifts of the Spirit for which many of us dare to hope?

Anyway, Mark’s talk has the feel of a father’s pep talk to the preachers gathered. He is anxious to impart boldness and confidence to encourage us as preachers to “deliver the mail” that God has given us to deliver rather than writing our own messages or holding something back for fear of the response we might get.

Dever impressed me because, despite the fact that he was speaking to 3000 pastors, he refused to assume that every participant was a believer. Therefore, at one point in the sermon he specifically addressed unbelievers in the congregation and explained the Gospel to them. He stopped short of directly calling upon his unbelieving hearers to become Christians, but his hearers could certainly not have been under any illusion that this was what he wanted.

I detected a note of urgency and passion in Dever’s talk that, sadly, is frequently absent from many of our sermons. I commend this talk to all of my readers, especially those who have a responsibility to preach. We must refocus our preaching efforts around the Gospel, and begin to yearn for souls. It is clear from Dever’s talk that he feels nothing is more important than this task. Let’s cry out to God for boldness for the preachers of His Word, and for a hunger to see more souls saved. Spurgeon challenged his students to expect people to be saved each time they preached it’s time we did the same!