2008 Mid-America Conference on Preaching, Part 1

Introduction

Each fall, Inter-City Baptist Church (Allen Park, MI) and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary host the Mid-America Conference on Preaching (MACP). This year’s event is being held October 16-17. I have attended six of the conferences in the past ten years or so and have thoroughly enjoyed every one. I have also attended a Shepherd’s Conference, the Lansdale Leadership Conference, and a Together for the Gospel (T4G) Conference. The MACP, in my opinion, is the most beneficial in a number of areas.

While I certainly appreciated the great preaching at some of these other conferences, the MACP stands out due to the in-depth, scholarly workshop sessions provided mostly by the faculty of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. Other conferences have always left me refreshed and spiritually stimulated, and the general preaching sessions at the MACP certainly provide that benefit as well. But where the MACP excels is that when you leave, you usually have also gained new biblical, exegetical, historical, and/or theological insight into one or more areas due to the excellent presentations of the seminary faculty. No, you don’t receive quite as many free books as those who attend T4G or the Shepherd’s Conference, but you certainly leave well-equipped for the pastoral task both spiritually and intellectually.

I’m particularly looking forward to this year’s theme, “Culture, Contextualization, and the Church.” I’m looking forward to hearing how these important subjects are addressed, especially in terms of fundamental categories and definitions that frame the issues. I’m less concerned about precise applications, but those are always enjoyable to consider as well. Dave Doran, pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church and the seminary president, usually offers one or two stimulating workshops in that regard.

I will be providing summary and comments on all of the general sessions as well as the workshops I attend. I hope these reviews will be helpful to those who are not able to attend the conference. Hopefully, my comments will stimulate some to make plans to attend next year’s conference.

Scott Aniol received a bachelor’s degree in church music at Bob Jones University. He has taken seminary classes at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and did graduate work in choral conducting and church music history at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. He earned a master’s degree in Musicology at Northern Illinois University and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology at Central Baptist Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. Scott speaks on the subjects of music and worship at various churches and conferences. Check out his Web site at Religious Affections Ministries.