The Leicester Conference

The recent Leicester Ministers’ Conference hosted by the Banner of Truth does not seem to have much coverage in the blogs this year. One of the talking points has been the reduced attendance this year. I have no more idea of the reason for this than anyone else but I suspect it was a combination of factors. A couple of times I heard people say that this was one of the best conferences, so perhaps numbers will revive next year. I suspect that they will at least be much better than this year’s. One advantage this year was that queues were not so large; also it was easier to find your friends, though I was glad to be able to talk with a number of people I’d never met before. Another advantage was the ‘tabernacle’ in which we had coffee, which had tables and chairs and much more opportunity for relaxing and chatting than in Gilbert Murray Hall.

I only wish to mention three sessions that I found truly outstanding. The first was the opening sermon by Steven Curry on Matthew 6:1-18. This was real preaching: good exposition but seriously and sympathetically applied. It was an excellent beginning. Second was the address by Iain Murray on Archibald Brown. He was more a name than anything else, though I realised I knew that he was pastor at East London Tabernacle when I was reminded of it. He had a truly amazing ministry in London’s East End. I was very struck by hearing that he had hundreds of photos of people of great poverty, and/or, great sinfulness, with notes about them written on the back. He was not just a preacher; he went out among the people, got to know them and their needs, and sought to minister to them in every way he could. His ministry was bathed in congregational prayer. Finally, Phil Arthur gave a masterly address on William Tyndale. One minister from Australia said it would have been worth coming all the way to the Conference just for that alone. As Phil is my pastor my remarks might be taken with a pinch of salt – get a CD and check it out for yourself.

I do not know whether I shall be at next year’s conference; these last two or three years I have found myself completely drained by the end and I was tired out on the Friday after. But I am very glad I made it this year.

A dry stick blooms

A few years ago we answered an ad for a free magnolia tree. We received by post a cardboard box about 2ft long or thereabouts; inside this was a dry stick with an excuse for a root at one end. We duly planted it in a pot and eventually it began to grow and we had leaves for two or three years. But this year it has produced 20 white flowers, though heavy rain these last couple of days has not helped it. I could not help remembering Aaron’s rod that budded, and also Ezekiel 17:24, where we are told that the Lord ‘made the dry tree flourish’ (though I had to look the latter up in a concordance). Spring reminds us of the way God is able to renew the face of the earth and this leads us to consider what he is able to do for the churches. There may be churches where everything seems pretty dry and some ministers appear to be dry old sticks, but the Lord can make them flourish and fruitful.