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Impacts and Observations From T4G

If you follow me on social media you probably already know that I got the opportunity to go to a pastor’s conference from the 12th of April to the 14th called Together for the Gospel (T4G). It was a truly astounding experience that included getting to meet Dr. John Piper, learning more about the Reformation, and having new desires when it comes to topics like theology. If you have read my ‘About Me’ page at the top of the blog, you would know I said this is not some teenager’s ‘glorified diary’, so I’m going to stick to that. I will not give you a play-by-play of what I did or saw but instead, I hope to achieve two things:      1) Pull back the curtain a little bit on what these conferences are like           With the schooling opportunity, I have this year (Online at Wilson Hill Academy), I have opportunities others may not and one of those is getting to go to conventions. I hope to show a little of what they are like because I know I find interest and know that is also the case with some of you.    2) Share some very valuable lessons I learned This post is not going to dive into the sermons of Dr. John Piper, Dr. Mark Dever, and others, this post is going to lessons I learned from observing the atmosphere and generality of the conference. One of the biggest impacts the conference had on me was the change of role models. Going into the conference, if you had asked me who two of my biggest role models are (other than my dad, of course), chances are I would have told you something like ‘Steph Curry’ or ‘Dak Prescott’. However, that is no longer the case. Getting to watch and listen to the likes of Matt Chandler, Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. John Piper, David Platt, and others made me realize these are the guys I want to be like. Not because they are famous, but because they are very wise and well-educated. Because of the way they have studied God’s Word. In my opinion, the youth of America would instill a lot more hope in adults if we looked to imitate great theologians. Sure, I still pull hard for Steph Curry, and I really want to see Dak Prescott do well but when it comes to copying one’s every move, we should be looking to those who God has chosen to speak through. When you start to look up to someone, you start to imitate them, you begin the desire to do what they do, talk like they do, like what they do. One of the things that I really noticed was my deepened love for theology. Theology and philosophy have always had a place in my heart but during that conference, I found a very deep love for understanding theological and philosophical ideas and worldviews. The reader will hopefully notice my topics will begin to get deeper and deeper into challenging thoughts and concepts that I will explore and then state what this may look like for teens. Remember, while a majority of my audience are adults for the time being, this blog is really geared to discover what life looks like through the worldview and eyes of a Christian teen with other teenagers. This not only helps a fellow teenager understand these concepts but also gives adults a look at where we are coming from. Along with this newfound love for theology, I learned the importance and meaning of another I’ve begun to love: hymns. The church I’m raised in is a contemporary Baptist church, so the most I’ve really been exposed to hymns are during Summer trips to my grandparents’ church in Mendenhall, Mississippi, which is a traditional Baptist church. This has played a big role in my views on hymns which are not my favorite. In case you haven’t noticed, there is a little bit of a pattern forming here. At the conference, the music sung is all hymns. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize how much of an impact this would have on me. Picture yourself in a college basketball arena with 10,000 other people singing worship to God just for being God (if you can’t, don’t worry, the videos are on my Twitter ). I had heard about it and it didn’t really hit me until about halfway through the second day but when it did, wow. There were times when you just had to stop singing because it was so overwhelming. That night, some of the theologians had a panel about it and I started to realize that hymns are an important aspect of worship. The main focus of this conference was the Reformation which makes sense considering it’s a Protestant conference. As a result of this  focus, my understanding of the reformation grew much deeper in the sense of different reasons for the reformation, some of which I had never known or considered, ways martyrs acted as they were killed, and even some specific martyrs’ stories. This has given me the interest to know more about these martyrs and the Reformation, itself, through books such as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. All of these new desires motivate a central action: reading. I have always loved reading but not in the way that it does now. I no longer just want to read an interesting thriller, but want to read a theologically centered book, an autobiography, or even Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I feel we, as teenagers, should start filling our spare time with content that is beneficial and Gospel-centered. I did not feel as strongly about this going into the conference, but now, after seeing people like Dr. Albert Mohler and Dr. John Piper, I see how much reading good content can affect you. This may sound boring but I challenge you to try it; this goes for adults, too! I will have book reviews and free contest. giveaways (one very soon) on books that I have read and liked. I want to grow in my understanding of who God is and hope you join me. Overall, the conference was a great experience and I would recommend checking with your pastor of your church if there are any conferences that are available for the congregation to go on. I hope I have given some insight on what these conferences are like both through my blog and Social Media. Have a good day! (Check out the content below)