Tim Keller kicked off the conference on the subject of idolatry and how essential it is to confront the prevailing idolatries of the culture in which you preach. Basing his message on Acts 19:21?41, he said we need to (1) discern, (2) expose, and (3) destroy the idols. I have never heard anyone give more insight into the nature of idolatry and how it should enter into our preaching than Keller. Go to the Gospel Coalition website after the conference, where all the messages will be available, and don't miss this message. When I got home last night, I told my wife that every Christian needs to hear it.

John Piper spoke from 2 Timothy 1:1?12 on the importance of staying white hot in our ministry of the gospel and how we receive the grace to do so. Piper's message was an example of passionately taking apart the flow of ideas in a passage and applying them to his hearers. On the level of preaching craft, Piper is a master not only of tracing the flow of ideas in a text but of setting up the ideas in a way that stirs you to want to hear what comes next. He is continually setting the stage for what's next, previewing what to see, than raising the curtain and giving the answers. In my view, this is quintessential exposition that includes both theology, exegesis, and application. Some might wish for a bit more illustration, but Piper is more than up to the task of delivering the mail without it.

Phil Ryken spoke in the third session from 2 Timothy 1:13?2:13. In the messages I have heard from Ryken, including last night, you sense that this is a man with an unwavering eye and ear for what is most important in a text, in a situation, in life. It's not all about Ryken, that is clear. Last night's message was a call to faithfulness and hard work and sacrifice. Listen not for fireworks but for a challenge to keep doing the hard thing for the sake of the gospel and the Savior.

Mark Driscoll spoke from 2 Timothy 2:14?26, and as he said it, "This text has been hitting me like an anvil all week." The text says a lot about dealing with conflict, and Driscoll couldn't miss the irony of that. His message was organized around what he says are the three kinds of people in every church: the negative people, the neutral people, and the positive people. What I appreciated most from Mark in this message was his complete honesty about how much he has missed the mark in the area of conflict and often been more of a negative person than a positive person who brings gospel into a conflict. He even called himself a hypocrite, several times as I recall. He models what every preacher needs to do, which is to first apply the message of the text to ourselves before we apply it to others. On the technical side, if you like a message with a lot of points, this one is paradise.