Text and Context Conference: Bonus Acts 29 Session, Jeff Vanderstelt
Above is a picture of the security guard guarding the stage during Mark and Grace Driscoll’s Q&A Session. You wouldn’t want to tangle with this guy.
The room has now shrunk down quite a bit as the official conference has come to a close. Instead of 1,2000 people it looks like there’s now just about 400 people remaining for these final Acts 29 sessions. All my friends have left and I’m sitting by myself. Time for me to make some new friends.
Jeff Vanderstelt, pastor of Soma, just delivered a great message, Biblical Missiology. I didn’t take notes for this session, but I’ll tell you the two points I appreciated most from Jeff’s message:
- His emphasis (he repeated this point about 20x) that our acceptance before God is based entirely and exclusively upon the work of Christ/the doctrine of justification, and not on the size or success of our church. Justification is what ought to drive our ministries. "If you’re not secure in who you are in Christ, church planting will kill you."
- This wasn’t so much a point Jeff made as a something that Jeff exuded–a great love for the lost. Jeff’s love for the lost is contagious.
