THE 1st ANNUAL STONE MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE ON RT

The First Annual Stone Mountain Conference On Reformed Theology, hosted by All Saints Redeemer Church, was held at Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA), Friday July 14-Saturday, July 15.

Our Lord was very gracious: He sent us far more attendees than we expected. We are ever grateful to Him for this grand token of His evangelical presence among us.

Ambitiously patterned after the Philadelphia conference of the same name which was sponsored by our dearly departed brother, Dr. James Montgomery Boice, and The Alliance Of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE), this conference was aimed at testing the waters. With very limited material resources, inadequate planning and insufficient advertising, its main purpose was to alert the professing Reformed community of a new, organized movement to promote and further this sound teaching in the Atlanta area. Needless to say, the Lord also allowed us to have encouraging interaction with many attendees who are still inquiring into the distinctives of the Reformed faith. The question and answer sessions were very encouraging, lively and supportive. In a sense, the conference confirmed what we already knew, that is, in spite of the widespread influence of non- and even anti-Christian teaching in the "church," there is a (slowly?) growing number in whose hearts the Lord has placed the intense desire to know Him rather than to bring Him "vain oblations." It was racially mixed.

Its theme, "When Grace Comes Home," was taken from Terry L. Johnson's book of the same title. Addresses centered on the impact of Reformed Theology on the lives of those encountering it. For example:
Anthony Carter's presentation, "Why Reformed Theology?", emphasized that Reformed Theology is biblical and utilized many quotes from the old masters including Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Abraham Kuyper, Wilhelmus À Brakel, and others, to emphasize the profoundly historic and comprehensive character of this body of teaching. He particularly emphasized its experiential nature in the realm of worship and in all of life.

Robert Benson, Pastor of Southwest Christian Church in Atlanta, used the theme of the conference for his presentation' s title and powerfully described the joyful and illuminating impact of Reformed Theology upon the hearts of church members through non-preaching pastoral discourses such as visitation; formal and informal conversations; counseling; etc.

My talk, “Covenant Theology: The Forgotten Part Of Reformed Theology,” drew attention to the increasing non-recognition of Covenant Theology as an intrinsic dimension of Reformed thinking. This was done in two ways: by tracing their historical relationship and by showing that the entirety of Scripture is founded on a bi-covenantal structure-- God's Covenant of Works with Adam prior to the Fall and, since the Fall, His Covenant of Grace with His elect through Jesus Christ as Surety. Both of these have their foundation in the inter-Trinitarian, ante-creation Covenant of Redemption.

Lastly, Keith Tolbert summarizeb the conference by issuing a challenge in the form of a question, “Can You Handle The Truth?” That is, now that we had been enlightened by the eternal verities of Reformed Theology, it was necessary for us to place ourselves in churches that preach and teach these doctrines faithfully. Truth always has consequences. To return to our Semi-Pelagian securities; to our beguiling bishops; to our prolix prophetesses; to a gospel of dis-grace guaranteeing roseate futures through all kinds of ridiculous religious rigmarole, was indeed to show that we could not handle the truth.

Lord willing, this conference will be an annual event. Prior notices will be made far in advance through blogs and web sites and provision will be made for early registration. We look forward to seeing you next year around mid-July. In the meantime, be semper reformandi.