Westminster Conference Papers 2025 Now in print

 

Westminster Conference 2025

So I have spent the last two days at the annual Westminster Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are now well settled inSt Giles Christian Mission, strange as it seemd to be there away from centrl London the first time we did it. We tried something new this year. Normally most of the papers are followed by discussion time but this year on day one we had most of the diiscussion at the end of the day after the three papers had been given. This was only a partial success, among the problems being that speakers tended to produce over long papers, despite their best efforts. We kicked off with Mark Thomas on the Puritans and original sin - a solid and useful paper, quite demanding to listen to. Then Paul Levy took us through Machen's magisterial Virgin Birth of Christ. The third paper was from Donald J MacLean on the temptation of Christ from Thomas Manton but ending with Hodge and Shedd. Jeremy Walker led the discussion but it was hard to focus anywhere.

Day 2 was more traditional with Andy Young on the active obedience of Christ, covering pretty uncharted territory regarding Karh, Piscator et al. We then had a marathon from Sinclair Ferguson on Samuel Rutherford. We closed, in contrast, with a fresh, very lively and brief life of Athansius given by Gavin Kinnaird. Great numbers resnet. We meet again next year, God willing, around the same time.

Westminster Conference 2025

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Westminster Conference 2025

The programme for next year has been announced (the order may change)

1. The Puritans on the temptation of Christ - Donald John McLean

2. The Puritans and the orgin of sin - Mark Thomas

3. The development of the doctrine of active obedience - Andy Young

4. How to delight in Christ with Samuel Rutherford - Sinclair Ferguson

5. Machen and the virgin birth of Christ - Paul Levy

6. Athanasius - Gavin Kinnaird

Do plan to come!

Westminster Conference 2019 Day 1

Pipa, Walker, Strivens

It was very good to be at the conference this week down in Oxford Street. We had a decent turn out and the papers and even the discussions went well. We kicked off by looking at William Perkins. Our American speaker Joseph Pipa is a Perkins expert but was able to bring a lightness of touch to his delivery that made the subject come alive. It was a great start and we had a good if slightly diffuse discussion under a good chairman (Andy Young).

The other two parts of the day followed on from each other with committee members Jeremy Walker and Robert Strivens looking consecutively at the theory (A holy God worshipped in spirit of holy fear according to a holy book) and practice of Puritan worship. The latter focused on the 1662 men adn their rejection of the prayer book. They spoke and chaired each other with time only for questions of clarification immediately after the paper. We then discussed both papers together. On reflection it might have been better to introduce a third person to chair that. We also got slightly sidetracked onto the question of Christmas trees in the worship area but it was a good day all round.

Westminster Conference 2017 Day One

About 120 of us gathered once again at the Regent Hall in Oxford Street for the Westminster Conference. Stephen Clark kicked us off with a fairly comprehensive and persuasive exposition of Word and Spirit touching on regeneration, assurance, guidance an other matters seeking to demonstrate the independence of the Spirit with regard to God's Word. With supporting quotations from Edwards, Murray et al I was more convinced than ever that this is a biblical approach. Some found the long paper hard work and certainly anyone unfamiliar with the arguments might have struggled. Robert Striven chaired and we had a worthwhile discussion on assurance.

Dovetailing neatly with the first session we had a paper in the afternoon from Guy Davies on the felt presence of God, majoring on Thomas Goodwin but including references to Owen. I chaired. I did fear there wold be nothing more to discuss after the morning session but we were able to discuss quite profitably God's felt presence and whether it should be sought. There is some divergence among us but a general unity.

The final paper was slightly different as we went back to Calvin and Reformed liturgy with Andy Young. This was again a useful paper and a good discussion under the strict chairmanship of Jeremy Walker. Inevitably one or two exclusive psalm singers felt obliged to make their points but otherwise we seemed to be able to help one another at the end of what had been a very good day.

Here's a quote from Thomas Goodwin I enjoyed

conscience itself, which is ordained, as the urine of the body, to shew the estate of the whole, and therefore is accordingly called good or evil as the man’s state is, this is apt in such distempers to change and turn colour, and look to a man’s own view as foul as the state of a very hypocrite.” (Goodwin Works III, p. 254.)

Looking forward to day two.

Banner UK 2017 Session 8 AndyYoung

In our second session of the morning Andy Young took us to Luke 4 and spoke of Christ's ministry. He said five things about it. It was marked by

1. Use of ordinary means 

We must believe in the ordinary means

2. Spirit filled might

To be Messiah was to be a man anointed by the Spirit. If he needed the Spirit then certainly we do. We need the Spirit but realise that the Spirit is available.

3. Christ centred message

Notice the unashamed emphasis on me himself. Puritan Joh Arrowsmith wrote that true ministers "set up Christ in their ministry; they are content themselves to stand in the crowd, and to lift up Christ upon their shoulders; content, not to be seen themselves, so Christ be exalted".
4. Eschatological magnitude
5. Gracious mission

Applications
Behold your God
Emulate Christ
Be encouraged - Christ is still ministering

Final illustration
He closed with what is probably an apocryphal storyA little boy was taken to a Paderewski concert by his mother. He slipped away from her, made his way to the platform, sat down at the concert piano and began to play Twinkle Twinle. The crowd reacted with anger and said to take the boy away. Paderewski, when he realised what was going on, went to the piano and began playing along with the boy, whispering to him, “Keep going. Don’t quit, son. Keep playing. Don’t stop. Don’t quit.”
As Andy put it very moved at the end "Pastor your socks off!"

Westminster Conference 2014 Day 2

Dr Robert Strivens on his feet (back to us) to ask a question following the paper by Dr Mark Jones (seated). Chairman Jeremy Walker stands pensive while Phil Arthur looks on (in profile). We can also see the backs of the heads of Gavin Beers and Dr Robert Oliver.

Yesterday was good but today was, if anything, even better. Numbers were perhaps slightly lower but 120 have attended, most of them on both days. The Oxford Street venue is proving ideal.

Today we had three excellent papers. Mark Jones kicked us off with his paper on the law, dealing with antinomianism (do see his book on the subject). Robert Strivens then gave an excellent overview paper on the enigmatic but godly Richard Baxter, author of 60 volumes. Both papers were followed by good discussion times well chaired by Jeremy Walker and Ken Brownell. In the Baxter session we discussed why we think N T Wright is much more dangerous than Richard Baxter, whose view of justification was defective. The final paper is traditionally a biography with no discussion and Andy Young of Cheltenham served us well in this respect with a well nuanced paper on the great John Knox concentrating on his international career. These papers would be well worth reading when published next year.

• Mark Jones (in his book page 114) “There is today a great deal of talk about ‘grace.’  It is described as scandalous, liberating, shocking, counterintuitive, unpredictable, dangerous, etc.  But when an emphasis on grace eclipses a focus on Christ, as it sometimes does, then grace is not being preached; rather, a sort of cheerleading experience takes place, in which very little is actually said about grace because it is divorced from the riches of Christ’s person and work”.
• Richard Baxter (Christian Directory) Becasue God hath made the excellent, holy writings of servants, the singular blessing of this land and age; and many an one may have a good book, even any day or hour of the week, that cannot at all have a good preacher; I advise all God's servants to be thankful for so great a mercy, and to make use of it, and be much in reading; for reading with most doth more conduce to knowledge than hearing doth, because you may choose what subjects and the most excellent treatises you please; and maybe often at it, and may peruse again and again what you forget, and may take time as you go to fix it on your mind: and with very many it doth more Than hearing also to move the heart, though hearing of itself, in this hath the advantage ... lively books may be more easily had than lively preachers.
• John Knox - "Grant unto us, O Lord, that with such reverence we may remember thy benefits received, that, after this, in our default, we never enter into hostility against the realm and nation of England. Suffer us never, O Lord, to fall to that ingratitude and detestable unthankfulness, that we should seek the destruction and death of those whom thou hast made instruments to deliver us from the tyranny of merciless strangers. Dissipate thou the counsels of such as deceitfully travail to stir the hearts of the inhabitants of either realm against the other. Let their merciless practices be their own confusion; and grant thou, of thy mercy, that love, concord, and tranquillity, may continue and increase amongst the inhabitants of this isle, even to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whose glorious gospel, thou, of thy mercy, dost call us both to unity, peace, and christian concord, the full perfection whereof we shall possess in the fulness of thy kingdom." (Old Scottish liturgy)

We are due to meet again December 1 and 2, 2015 when papers will be given, God willing,  on  Erasmus, Isaac Watts, John Owen (2), Andrew Fuller and Jonathan Edwards. The new website can be found here.

Two excellent conferences coming up - Book now!

I've been a bit sleepy on the conference front but I do want to flag up two conferences coming up. The first is the Westminster Authentic Calvinism on December 2 and 3 and the second is the Carey Minsitry in the last days January 6-8. Double click then copy to see more clearly. 

PS Carey time-table here