Reflections on the 2006 Desiring God National Conference

For the second year in a row I was able to attend the Desiring God National Conference held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Last year's topic was "Suffering and the Sovereignty of God." This year? "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World." The conference was inspired by Above All Earthly Powers: Christ in a Postmodern World by David Wells. The speakers were David Wells, Voddie Baucum, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, D. A. Carson, and John Piper.

Last year six leaders from our church went, all men. This year the number was six again, only this time is was three couples. As much as I always hanging out with the guys, I prefer going with my wife! My in-laws keeping the kiddos made this possible. I'm eternally grateful. :-)

A few thoughts (in no particular order) on the conference and the trip, many of which are rather trivial:

1. It was exciting to see a full house. There must have been almost a thousand more attendees than last year.

2. The additional 1,000 were probably all under 30 years old. Piper has truly connected with young adults. I felt like I was standing in the cover article from last month's Christianity Today.

3. I really, really like contemporary music wed to rich doctrinal lyrics.

4. Minneapolis at the end of Sep/start of Oct is like a box of chocolates. Last year we froze our fannies off. This year was gorgeous (55-80 degrees).

5. Sometimes $150 a night is truly worth the money. They Hyatt downtown was very nice. (Lesson: Cell phones demagnetize hotel room keys.)

6. I was surprised how much I liked Tim Keller. The dude is very insightful and now I understand why he is so popular.

7. Emergent churches are essentially the new face of theological liberalism.

8. Emergent churches/communities/villages/whatevertheywanttocallthemselves are faddish and will either morph into a false religion or fade into leftist liberalism/irrelavence.

9. The Desiring God bookstore is the best. The rolled back prices didn't seemed a rolled back as last year, but maybe my memory is just bad. Still yet, the selection and savings were signficant.

10. I wonder how I would look if I shaved my head, grew a gotee, and got some really cool looking glasses (they would have to be attitudes b/c the good Lord has blessed me with good eyesight thus far).

11. The preachers/pastors looked very comfortable speaking to 3,500 people. The two seminary professors looked a little like they didn't know how to handle that many people, especially Carson.

12. Remember that game in PE growing up where everyone races to the center of the room as fast as possible to pick up a ball or something? C. J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris sat right behind us on Saturday night. Immediately after the session ended several young people (think 20s) raced to the ball, who happened to be Joshua Harris. He was very gracious and patient. He is definitely a rock star.

13. D. A. Carson didn't give a message, he delivered a 50-page paper. Maybe it's because he was late on Saturday night and I was tired. It was good, but it was too looonnnnnngggggggggg.

14. Every city should have an efficient public light rail system. We never needed a car all weekend.

15. The Mall of America is ridiculously big, ridiculously overpriced, ridiculously overrated, and... just plain ridiculous.

16. Minnesota in the Autumn is gorgeous. There were a handful of maples that were brilliant gold just outside the Hyatt.

17. The Pastor's Conference in Febrauary is a bad idea.

18. Favorite channels on the satellite radio on AirTran flights: #70 - Real Jazz, and #4 - Best of the 40s.

19. Books I bought at the conference:
What Jesus Demands from the World by Piper
A Hunger for God by Piper
Biblical Exegesis: Discovering the Meaning of Scriptural Texts by Piper
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by Piper and Taylor
Convergence by Sam Storms
The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms
A new ESV Bible to replace my worn out one.

20. DVDs:
"Suffering and the Sovereignty of God"
"Open Their Eyes"

21. Most shocking moment: the word "smartass" coming out of John Piper's mouth.

22. Don't believe anyone else who says otherwise. The Metrodome is one UGLY building. But very functional. Friday night the Twins played the White Sox there. Saturday the Twins again played the Sox there. Saturday night the Minnesota Golden Gophers hosted the Michigan Woverines there. Sunday the Twins played the Sox there.

23. Mark Driscoll is hip. Tim Keller and Voddie Baucum are cool. John Piper, D. A. Carson, and David Wells are...well, they try real hard.

24. I assume that the guy sitting in front of me Sunday morning was either (a)emergent, (b) lost, (c) ADD, or (d) troubled. He surfed the internet on his phone and played video games on the same during the entire Piper sermon.

25. C. J. Mahaney clicked his pen throughout Carson's lecture/message/marathon He sat right behind us with his feet on my buddy's chair and his Nike cap on.