To begin this process, we are asking you to consider submitting your name and blog address for this directory.  Bear in mind, however, with this vision and trust comes accountability and a standard which we desire to maintain–that is, to blog in a manner worthy of the gospel.

If you would like to move forward with us and join us to spread a passion for the gospel in the blogosphere, please leave your first and last name along with your blog address in the comments section.  

In the coming weeks, we are going to redevelop this website to make this a hub and launching point for gospel-centered blogging.  Please stay in touch as we work together to keep Jesus Christ and him crucified front and center in our blogging.

My hope and desire behind the BoB fellowship was that it would be an encouragement and blessing to you, to strengthen you and provide opportunity to fellowship and strengthen others to be set apart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We come from all across the world, all with different stories of how the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed us, shaped us, and continues to transform us from one degree of glory to another until we see His face.

What most of you do not know is that this almost did not happen. In fact, in early February I was one week away before needing to make a decision to call the conference off. The fact that this even happened was the direct result of answered prayer and the kind providence of God. While I have been recognized as the person with the vision for the Band of Bloggers, it cannot be said enough how important each person has been to believe in, and be an important part of, this gospel-driven vision. For instance, many of you have used your blogs and contacts to get the word out about this meeting, where there was a total of over 150 bloggers in attendance, more than twice that of the 2006 fellowship. The immediate needs of financial administration and sound equipment was provided by the gracious help of Tony Kummer and Calvary Baptist Church where he serves. Fantastic graphics and poster design was provided by Jake Stutzman who serves with Heartcry Missionary Society in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. About a dozen of you who attended arrived (very) early to spend a couple of hours making the BoB goody bags (including the publishers who freely provided them!).

One of the dreams I had for this year’s conference was being able to give away two books–one more than 2006. Yet, as I began talking to friends and publishers, two became three, three became four, and four became eight! I am indebted to Desiring God, Founders Press, Reformation Heritage Books, InQuest Ministries, Grace to You, Crossway Books, and Banner of Trust for allowing me to experience so much joy in see these books freely given to so many brothers and sisters. I believe these resources will be invaluable tools in the hands of gospel-centered followers of Christ.

Finally, I want to say a special thanks to the panel for their participation and leadership in the discussion of “The Gospel Trust.” Tim Challies, Thabiti Anyabwile, Abraham Piper, and Phil Johnson did a fantastic job of raising the bar for all of us and fostering the discussion on how to be good stewards with our blogs for the sake of the gospel. I also want to express my appreciation to Justin Taylor who was not able to be with us due to the exciting adoption opportunity which precluded his participation. Justin has been and continues to be a wonderful supporter of BoB, and his absence from this year’s meeting was significant.

In the future, we are hoping to continue with the vision to be good stewards of the gospel trust by developing a center for perpetuating gospel-centeredness in the evangelical blogosphere. Please stay tuned for developments in the upcoming days and weeks intended to incorporate everyone who desires to be a part of a community of bloggers who willingly hold one another accountable to the gospel trust and the glory of God.

Time: 11:30-1:30 (lunch will begin at 11:30, panel discussion at noon)

Place: Combs-Chandler Room (The Galt House, Suite Tower, 2nd Floor)

Your Questions: The last round of the panel discussion will be comprised of questions fielded from the audience, so be sure to join in the discussion with your thoughts!

Registration Payment: For those of you who were unable to pay via PayPal, please remember to bring the registration cost in cash.

* Once in the Galt House, there should be signs directing you to the second floor.

See you tomorrow!

1. Is it ever appropriate to use sarcasm and satire in our blogging as carriers of the gospel?

2. What about controversy? Knowing that people are interested in controversial matters, is it ever acceptable to tackle controversial matters as a means of connecting people with the gospel?

3. Can our attitudes and how we treat (or neglect) our readers cause people to be turned away from the message we carry?

4. Are we taking advantage of the tools and resources available to us to transmit the gospel message to as many people as possible in a God-honoring way?

5. How can we communicate the gospel to people beyond our network or created blog culture? Are we reaching out to unbelievers with our blogs, atheists, seekers, etc.? Should that be a stated goal? If not, why not?

I realize that the issues of contextualization and culture are huge issues here, and I hope that we can come together to target intentional ways we can be good stewards of the gospel trust with creative and challenging discussion.

May we all reflect on how the gospel is at work in our individual lives, the formatting of our blogs, and the manner and ways in which we communicate the gospel through our blogs and in our lives. I look forward to seeing many of you and discussing “The Gospel Trust” in just a couple of days!

Tell them that it takes relentless intentionality to keep a Christ-exalting blog from become a clever blog. The temptation to entertain is almost irresistible.

Relentless intentionality.  In other words, gospel-centered blogging is hard work.  It is concentrated work.  And it is a discriminating work–that is, discriminating against other things that might obscure or diminish the glory and worth of the gospel to which we have been entrusted. 

So with that said, let us consider the content of our blog(s) and remind ourselves of the stewardship of being entrusted with the most important, most valuable, most glorious reality in the universe–the gospel of the glory of Christ.

Some questions for consideration:

1.  How readily accessible is the gospel on your blog?

2.  How does the gospel shape your writing and govern the content of your blog?

3.  Is there regularity or gospel normativity to the overarching purpose and theme to your writing? 

4.  Does the content of your blog reflect joy and delight in the gospel?  Can readers be led to treasure Jesus Christ through what you have written?

5.  How often do you think, plan, pray, and seek the Spirit’s leadership in preparing and posting your thoughts? 

Let us encourage and exhort one another to be faithful stewards of the gospel trust! 

Many of you already know that the theme for this year’s meeting is “The Gospel Trust” (I have written briefly about this earlier). To set the stage, I would like to briefly share some thoughts about three areas for our consideration by way of prolegomena: thoughts on the Christian Writer, on the Content of our blogs, and the Communication of the Gospel.

Thoughts on the Christian Writer

First and foremost, as Christians, we must consider how the gospel is affecting, influencing, and transforming our lives. Perhaps this might sound elemental, but we cannot and will not graduate from the daily experiencing and applying the good news of Jesus Christ to our lives as we seek to be conformed into His image on a continual basis. Some questions we might ask ourselves include:

1. If someone were to ask us, “What is the Gospel?” would be you be prepared to share that with them?

2. How are you applying the gospel to your own heart and life on a regular basis?

3. Are you paying close attention to your heart’s affections, your mind’s thoughts, your conscience and will as to how the gospel is shaping and transforming your moral faculties?

4. Has the “gospel-centered life” become a slogan that has been embraced but is lacking in substance?

5. What are some ways to be gospel-driven in the ordinary, day-to-day scheduling of your life?

When we gather together around the theme, “The Gospel Trust,” it is important that each of us consider what kind of steward we are when it comes to the gospel and our own soul and personal sanctification. It is very easy to meander away from the center, to view the cross at a comfortable distance. Yet, the life of repentance that sings and faith that treasures all that God is for us in His Son Jesus Christ should lead us to greater enjoyment of our Savior whose face radiates “the light of the glory of God”. As we near our time together, let us consider ourselves in light of the gospel trust–a trust that begins first and foremost as we live coram deo.

General Info:

2008 Band of Bloggers
“The Gospel Trust”
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 :: (11:30 - 1:30)
The Galt House (Louisville, KY)
Combs-Chandler Ballroom
Tim Challies, Justin Taylor,
Thabiti Anyabwile, Phil Johnson, and Abraham Piper

We will begin serving lunch at 11:30 a.m. as you arrive. There will be greeters and volunteers who will help direct you to the Combs-Chandler room which is on the second floor of the Suite Tower of the Galt House. The panel discussion will begin at noon and will last one hour. We will conclude with a time of corporate prayer and fellowship before we conclude at 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be your choice of either turkey or ham sandwich in a boxed meal which also includes beverage.

Travel Info:

I have created a Google Map with directions from the airport to the Galt House, along with directions to the Kentucky Convention Center (which is only two blocks away). Let me encourage you who are traveling by air to pack an extra backpack or bag to tote your books back (as a second checked piece of luggage). Please arrive early if you can as we will be working with a relatively tight schedule!

Miscellaneous Info:

The last half of the panel discussion will be an opportunity for you to ask questions for our panelists on blogging and “The Gospel Trust.” Please take some time prior to the event to think about what you would like to ask to contribute to the conversation. We will also be asking for those who would like to contribute to Band of Bloggers in the future to sign up at the end of the meeting. Our desire is to foster gospel-centered community in the evangelical blogosphere to encourage one another in faithfulness to Christ His message to which we have been entrusted.

We are making plans to record the discussion and make it available to download in MP3 format. We are also looking to have video available in short YouTube clips from the discussion which we hope to add in the weeks following the fellowship.

The books we will be giving away will be given to you in a BoB Goodie Bag. If any of you are in the Louisville area and would like to help Tuesday morning in putting these goodie bags together, then please let us know either by emailing us or dropping a comment in the meta.

Questions?

If you have any questions yet to be answered, please send them on to thegospeltrust@gmail.com.

Here is a brief bio sketch of Phil:

Phil Johnson is Executive Director of Grace to You, a Christian tape and radio ministry featuring the preaching ministry of John MacArthur. Phil has been closely associated with John MacArthur since 1981 and edits most of MacArthur’s major books. Phil also pastors a group of 500 adults collectively known as GraceLife at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA . He stated blogging on a whim in June 2005 and can’t stop. His blog, PyroManiacs, features two first-rate co-authors, Dan Phillips and Frank Turk, plus Phil’s nearly-mute sidekick, Pecadillo. Elsewhere on the World Wide Web, Phil is best known as the curator of The Spurgeon Archive and The Hall of Church History.

Thank you, Crossway, for the generous contribution, participation, and partnership with the Band of Bloggers! For those interested, you can also join the conversation on Facebook in a group Crossway started, appropriately called “Young, Restless, Reformed.”