Pulpit Magazine

Today is the first day of our annual Shepherds’ Conference. You can track what is happening at the conference by checking Tim Challies’s blog. We will also keep you updated here at Pulpit. The article below comes from our daily newspaper, The Conference Chronicle. It was given to each of the conference attendees as they arrived on campus this morning.

We trust there are many good reasons to be here this week. It may be for the world-class teaching from the keynote speakers. It may be for the dozens of seminars on practical ministry issues. It may be for the tremendous times of worship and fellowship. We hope you’ll find all these—and countless more—as worthwhile reasons to be at the Shepherds’ Conference.

But taking a wider, more collective look, what brings a few thousand like-minded pastors and church leaders together like this?

By now, you’ve almost certainly heard the hype about “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” documentary. The headlines have been everywhere—from the evening news to the local papers to the blogosphere. Perhaps you even watched the show on Sunday night.

The documentary, of course, was baseless—receiving the stiff criticism it deserved for its low-level of credible scholarship. Nonetheless, it brought the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ again to the forefront; and in so doing, underscored (albeit in a negative way) the very reason that we as Christians are here.

Though the constant attacks grow wearisome, it’s good to be reminded of the essence and nature of our faith. The issue isn’t a lost tomb; the issue is an empty tomb. Nothing is more fundamental to Christianity than the physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:14 that “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is vain also.” Our entire hope, that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was approved by God and that those in Christ will one day be likewise raised, is based on our Lord’s resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20, 22). Without the resurrection, we would have no reason for hosting a conference like this. And you would have no reason for coming.

But the good news (yea, even the gospel) is that Jesus did rise from the dead, having been seen by more than five hundred eye-witnesses (1 Cor. 15:6), many of whom gave their lives as martyrs for their risen Savior. Biblical prophecy, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the existence of the church, and even the testimony of Christ’s enemies all testify to this historical fact..

So, yes, we are here to sit under faithful preaching and to worship alongside and encourage our fellow soldiers in the fight. And all of that is possible because, at the most foundational level, we are here to celebrate the salvation we enjoy through the sacrificial death of the risen Christ. We are forgiven because God has accepted His sacrifice. And we look forward to His appearing because He conquered death, and is currently seated at the right hand of the Father.

With this as our common starting point, we hope you will enjoy this year’s Shepherds’ Conference, as we join together to worship our risen King.

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