Conference Christians "like Deadheads"

I had earlier posted on another thread in which part of the post was critical of the present trend of conference attending. Two posters took acception to my post. Then this article appears here. I may not agree with Mark Driscoll on some things but his observations and analysis appears to be right on rgarding the present conference trends.

Even in the the realm of fundamentalism, I have noticed that there are a set of groupies that you’ll see at most every conference. On top if this, there is a lot of repetition at conferences. Most conferences use the same speakers and you hear the same thing over and over again if you attend multiple conferences. Also, most conferences have too much politics in them these days. From the moment a conference is announced, bloggers will be writing about the speaker choices and the implications that has on the conference. By the time most of the attenders get to a conference, there is just too much politics to experience. Also, some conferences are nothing more than big fundraisers.

A great alternative is to invest in the churches more in your local area. Several years ago, I decided that I could meet and pray with pastors who did not graduate from the same Bible college as I did. Last Monday, I sat in a church in Waterville, NY where a BJU grad hosted some other BJU grads as well as grads from Word of Life, Liberty, and some other schools but all Bible-believing men of God. It was one of the most powerful prayer meetings I have ever been in. Have a local conference where preachers in your area who better understand the needs your people are facing can speak and be a blessing to them.

Another recommendation is to not attend so many conferences. I personally attend the annual conference of my fellowship of churches every August. Thats enough for me. I would rather use my other travel opportunities to do something with my wife and four children.

annual revivals and camp meetings that bring in “full-time evangelists” who haven’t ‘evangelized’ anything in decades.

When I read #4

They wrongly believe they are more spiritually mature than they are because they listen to a lot of preaching from highly skilled world-class experts. But they are often far better at hearing rather than doing the Word, which makes them more hypocrites than mature believers.

it reminded me of the many young men I’ve known, from Bible college until now, who can quote their favorite speaker, but have trouble expositing Scripture. And what is scary is that they can get by on regurgitating what they’ve heard and read, and yet if you ask them how many times they’ve read the Bible cover-to-cover, they can’t say they have ever done so. A person who doesn’t read and study the Scriptures for themselves is not spiritually mature by any sense of the word.

It’s ironic reading this perspective about conferences in circles like these. I used to flip through Charisma Magazine now and then when I worked in my seminary’s library, and I got the impression that being an active charistmatic Christian meant hopping from one hyped up conference to another. While the type of conferences mentioned in this article are notably different (in a good way), I think he’s spotted a disconcerting tendency: the overvaluing of “Platform Christianity.”

Good article. Bob I did not take exception to your point - only that the Reformed guys are the only ones who do this. I don’t know anyone who does this. But if I did, I would lovingly point them to this article. The last two years I have only gone to a one day conference and I loved it. I enjoy going to a conference once a year if I can. Sometimes i am too busy with ministry and family to go.