This is the first year that childcare will be offered at Clarus for the duration of the conference. To provide this for families with children, we’re offering a complementary ticket to anyone who works childcare for a session of the conference.

Of course, this is a ministry to parents, but also to children. We want them to know what it means that God has spoken in Scripture as well.

We still have a few gaps in our childcare lineup, so if you are interested in helping, please contact the church office at 505.797.8700 or email Kayla at kayla@desertspringschurch.org.

On Monday we began our series of speaker introduction posts with a post introducing you to G.K. Beale. Now it’s time to introduce you to Carl Trueman.

Thankfully, C.J. Mahaney has done much of the work for us. About a year ago, C.J. conducted an interview with Dr. Trueman (part 1, part 2).

Here are a few excerpts from Mahaney’s interview:

Carl, thanks for your time. Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

My children have to be at school by 7:30, so I rise at about 6:15 to 6:30. I usually wait until I arrive at work, ca. 8 a.m., to have devotions. Westminster offices do not open till 8:30 so this gives me a half hour of peace and quiet. I typically read four chapters of the Bible. I read continually from Genesis to 2 Chronicles; from Ezra to Malachi (excluding the Psalms); from Matthew to Acts; and from Romans to Revelation; I finish with a Psalm or two, reading continually through the Psalter. At this precise moment, I am in Numbers, Job, John, and 1 Corinthians, with the daily Psalm being 143. Prayer then involves adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. The simple ACTS pattern that I learned at college.

Carl, what single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

From my wife, my most faithful supporter and most astute critic: be aware that when you preach, there are children in the congregation and I must neither make them stumble nor preach over their heads. I think particularly of a time when I preached on 1 Corinthians 1 and referred to the church in Corinth as probably containing the first century equivalent of “pole dancers.” My wife rebuked me afterwards for using a term which could have provoked embarrassing conversations for parents over a Lord’s Day family lunch. Point taken. Never done it again. Other times I have used pretentiously technical vocabulary which kids (and some congregants) would not understand. At such times, I did not preach Christ, I preached Trueman and how clever he is. I now try never to do this, and confess it when I think I may have slipped. As a professor, this is always a temptation, so now I assist my wife in teaching the 4 year olds in Sunday School. That has helped me—and humbled me—more than anything with regard to how I communicate in the pulpit.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?

Again, I have to plead to be allowed to break the rule and list four things.

(a) Pick your battles. Not every hill is worth dying on; and not every battle is something you are competent to fight. As a younger man, I wanted to fight all comers and win every battle. Neither necessary nor possible.

(b) Be part of a team who care for you and whom you trust to tell you when you are going the wrong way or crossing a line that should not be crossed—and listen to them. Yes-men are fatal to good leadership. A trustworthy colleague who is prepared to oppose you to your face is worth his weight in gold.

(c) Understand that leadership is lonely; being liked by everyone is a luxury you probably cannot afford. Deal with it and get on with the job. If you want to be liked, be a circus clown; if you want to lead and lead well, be prepared for the loneliness that comes with it. This is why, for me, a happy home has been crucial for it has been a place where work is, as far as possible, kept far away. Home is the one place I can go each night and know that I am loved, and I guard it fiercely. I have even banned my kids from Googling my name—if there is nasty stuff out there about me, I deal with it at work; I do not allow it into my house.

(d) Don’t waste time defending your own name for the sake of it. If Christ’s honour is at stake, or the innocent are made vulnerable by some attack on your character, you need to respond; otherwise, let it be. If I responded to every wannabe crank who thinks I’m arrogant, hypocritical, lying etc. etc., I’d never have the time to do anything else. The secret is not caring about your own name except as it impacts upon others.

Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not? (Please be specific.)

Fanatically. I spin, cycle, and especially I run distances. I’m a consistent sub-4 hour marathoner (but only on Saturday races—I am a Presbyterian, after all!), and hope this year to run a 50k ultramarathon with a friend who is a Presbyterian pastor in Colorado.

Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?

I run. I love to watch rugby. Every summer, I spend three weeks watching the Tour de France on television (even had to switch my cable provider this year when the Tour switched channels!). Above all, I like to watch my sons compete in their sports, particularly middle distance running.

You can read the whole interview here and here. Tickets for Clarus are available for purchase online at the Clarus site.

An interview with Ryan Kelly was recently featured on AM1000 here in Albuquerque and 94.7 FM in Santa Fe. In his two part interview with Ryan, CrossTalk host, Massimo Lorenzi, asked Ryan about his conversion, his years in ministry, and his work at Desert Springs Church.They also discussed a number of topics, including the gospel, discipleship, The Gospel Coalition, Clarus, church membership, and what to look for in choosing a church.

Ryan has hundreds of hours of sermons available online, but I’m not aware of audio for an extended conversation like this in an interview format, so I’m glad CrossTalk conducted this interview.

You can download the mp3 files from this interview at CrossTalk’s site:

• CrossTalk: Interview with Ryan Kelly, Part 1
• CrossTalk: Interview with Ryan Kelly, Part 2

You can tune in to CrossTalk on AM1000 here in Albuquerque on Sundays at 7:00 AM and 1:05 PM. Also, you can download other segments from CrossTalk online or subscribe to the CrossTalk podcast.

Since we’re getting closer to our conference weekend – Clarus ’11 – it’s time to get better acquainted with our speakers. Over the next two weeks, we will be posting conference related videos, quotes, and links to excite those who have already bought a ticket, and entice those who haven’t yet done so. Tickets, by the way, are available online or at the church office.

So, let’s start with a quote from G.K. Beale. Dane Ortlund recently asked a number of biblical scholars, pastors, and leaders to summarize the message of the Bible in a sentence. John Frame wrote, “God glorifies himself in the redemption of sinners.” Kevin DeYoung wrote, “A holy God sends his righteous Son to die for unrighteous sinners so we can be holy and live happily with God forever.”

Dr. Beale managed to say quite a bit in this single sentence:

The OT storyline appears best to be summarized as: the historical story of God who progressively reestablishes his new creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend that new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful (defeat and exile), all of which issues into his glory; the NT storyline can be summarized as: Jesus’ life of covenantal obedience, trials, judgmental death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit has launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-and-not-yet promised new creation reign, bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend this new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the unfaithful, unto God’s glory.

Read more about Dr. Beale at the Clarus speaker page, and check back as the week clicks along for more quotes, videos, and links.

Tickets for Clarus are available online here.

The Gospel Coalition’s National Conference was held from Tuesday through Thursday of this week. The theme was “They Testify About Me: Preaching Jesus and the Gospel from the Old Testament.” Conference audio is now available for download.

• Session 1: R. Albert Mohler, Jr.: “Studying the Scriptures and Finding Jesus” (John 5:31-47)
• Session 2: Tim Keller: “Getting Out” (Exodus 14)
• Session 3: Alistair Begg: “From a Foreigner to King Jesus” (Ruth)
• Session 4: Panel Discussion: Preaching from the Old Testament
  Panel: Tim Keller, John Piper, Crawford Loritts, Don Carson, Bryan Chapell
• Session 5: James MacDonald: “Not According to Our Sins” (Psalm 25)
• Session 6: Conrad Mbewe: “The Righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23:1-8)
• Session 7: Matt Chandler: “Youth” (Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14)
• Session 8: Mike Bullmore: “God’s Great Heart of Love Toward His Own” (Zephaniah)
• Session 9: Don Carson: “Getting Excited about Melchizedek” (Psalm 110)

Early on Thursday morning, a session was added, “God: Abounding in Love, Punishing the Guilty.” According to Collin Hansen, this event was “prompted by recent events that have cast doubt on evangelical teaching about the love of God, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and judgment for sin.” Audio from D.A. Carson’s special address is available, as well as audio from the panel discussion which followed, including Kevin DeYoung, Tim Keller, Stephen Um, and Crawford Loritts.