Aberystwyth 2025 9 (final)

The conference closed with a packed Great Hall gathered to hear Lewis Allen who preached from Psalm 87. It has been a good conference, though one always yearns for more. More here.

Carey Conference 2025 Day 1

We are in Northampton this time round, a little unusual. It suits me as it only took an hour and a quarter to get here. My assistant Eddie came with me in the car. We had three sessions today. First, Lewis Allen on the Council of Nicaea, 325. which wa a very helpful overview. Then it was our American visitor, Brooks Buser, giving a mainly biograhical introduction to the theme of mission. Brooks was a pioneer missionary in Paua New Guinea so very interesting. The final session of the day was Austin Walker preaching from Isaiah 53 on particular redemption. Such a great day.

Westminster Conference Papers 2023 Now Available

The published papers for the Westmminster Conference have now been published (through Ettrick Press). The collection includes six papers - Aaron Prelock on Aquinas, Benedict Bird on Matthew Poole, Lewis Allen on Henry Venn, Thomas Brand on The cry of dereliction, Paul Wells on Beza and David CAmpbell on Eric Liddell. Do get hold of it.

Westminster Conference 2023 Day 1

We had a very good first day. We began, perhaps unexpectedly, with Thomas Aquinas. Aaron Prelock gave a very helpful paper focusing on Aquinas's understanding of the human soul as a fivefold entity. This aspect of his teaching was taken up by the Puritans and others and is still widely accepted to some extent today. We had a decent discussion on whether we need to read Aquinas, what we can learn from him and where we need to take care. In the afternoon Benedict Bird gave an excellent lecture on Matthew Poole (1624-1679) and his writings. We then discussed the use of commentaries and one or two other things. The final paper if the day was from Lewis Allan on his hero Henry Venn, the evangelical Anglican who ministered in Huddersfield and Yelling and who was the father of John Venn, chaplian to the Clapham sect. It was good to hear someone in full command of his subject as Lewis is. The main thing we went on to discuss was emotional intelligence.

Westminster Conference 2023

The brochure for the Westminster Conference in December is now out.

Double Click

Carey Conference 2020

More here

Carey Ministers Conference 2014

The Carey Conference brochure for January 2014 is now out (double click pic). See here.

Banner 2012 05

At 5 pm on Tuesday our fifth session here was a discussion on the question "Where are all the preachers?" Under the highly efficient chairmanship of Lewis Allen (Huddersfield) three of us addressed the subject - Warren Peel (Coleraine) Robert Strivens (LTS/Childs Hill) and myself. Warren spoke on the need for setting forth God's Word on its own terms, exalting Christ and being doxological. Robert spoke about encouragements but identified a lack of awakening preaching as a problem as we are living in a post-Christian age but need to bring the message home and not be diffident in our preaching. He also identified personal communion with God as an important factor. I will post my own contribution separately next.

Westminster Conference 2011 Day 2

Another excellent day rounded off an excellent conference.

1. We began with Lewis Allen on why Puritanism failed.

First there was the history - the opportunity before 1660, the upheaval from that time and the obsolence following it. We then had two concerns expressed. Firstly, with regard to ecclesiology, the Puritan's chief concern and secondly to do with heresy which came in with a vengeance the further on from the Reformation time moved. Finally, the two lessons emphasised were the importance of unity and the battle for truth and integrity in the local church. It was good to hear a church planter calling for doctrinally distinct churches to be founded and yet at the same time calling for unity with all who are orthodox in their teaching.

2. We then went to the 18th century with Robert Strivens.

He very helpfully charted the descent into heresy with regard to the Trinity that marked many of the nonconformists in that century, helpfully seeking to differentiate subordinationism, unitarianism, etc. Focusing on Doddridge and Watts as the defenders he pointed out how they too were defective in their defence, the problem stemming, he suggested, from the huge but often overlooked influence of Samuel Clark (1675-1729), whose heterodox theology Doddridge was unwilling to condemn and their attitude to creeds and confessions. He helpfully finished the paper by outlining Doddridge's objections to creeds (he much preferred for a minister to write his own confession. His objections were regarding

1 Ethics - imposing someone else's words on a person.

2 Conscience - its liberty

3 Language - the insistence on one set of words when ideas can be expressed in more than one way (Aristotelian Watts called it)

4 Scripture language - surely being preferable

5 Unity - a desire for greater Christian unity

6 The Bible - a desire to let it speak for itself.

it was this subject that we spent our time debating. Most appeared to be opposed to Doddridge.

3. Finally, Hugh Collier gave us the biography of the great missionary to the native Americans or Indians, John Eliot (1604-1690) a wonderful story a real a challenge and yet an encouragement to see what one man can do and a reminder to pray for those toiling in the lonely work of pioneer mission today. I liked the way that Mather pointed out that the secret of Eliot's success is found in his name spelled backwards (toile!).

God willing we will be meeting again next year at the same place on December 4 and 5 looking at 1662, Pascal, Henry Martyn, etc.

Westminster Prog 2011 Day 2

This is day two. Again double click to read if necessary. Brochures will be out soon.