‘Already? Not Yet? Let’s Get It Right!’

For the sixth year in a row, I had the privilege of attending and exhibiting at the Shepherds 360 Church Leaders Conference, held at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, N.C., on Monday through Wednesday of this week.

The theme of this year’s conference, which focused on dispensationalism, was “City of God—City of Man,” with the tagline: “Already? Not Yet? Let’s Get It Right!”

As one might expect, this edition of Shepherds 360 was more controversial than most. It brought together many of the leading voices from both traditional and progressive dispensationalism, thus affording those in attendance an unparalleled learning opportunity regarding this topic. The purpose, however, was not so much to facilitate debate or even discussion between the two sides. Instead, the stated goal was to promote dispensational theology in a broad sense, as opposed to alternatives like covenant theology and related views.

General session speakers representing the progressive side included three of its originators: Craig Blaising, Darrell Bock and Bruce Ware. Notable among the traditional teachers were Mark Hitchcock, James Fazio and Cory Marsh. Of course, several of the faculty from Shepherds Theological Seminary also spoke on this subject, including Doug Bookman, Peter Goeman, Tim Miller and Michael Vlach.

It will come as no surprise to readers that I am a traditional dispensationalist, so my comments must be taken in that light. Here are some observations that struck me as I listened to the great majority of the teaching from the general sessions.

First, I thought that those from the traditional perspective focused their sessions on advancing their specific topics—most of which were not polemical in nature. The progressive speakers, however, were more direct in addressing their traditional critics. Most pointedly, on Monday afternoon Blaising presented a paper titled, “Progressive Dispensationalism as Kingdom Theology,” which he aimed largely at traditionalists. Marsh responded briefly to some of Blaising’s charges in the introduction to his talk on Tuesday morning. Marsh’s theme was “Correcting Common Mischaracterizations About Dispensationalism”—primarily from covenant theology.

Another observation I made was that references to the significance of, or support for, the modern State of Israel were noticeably absent from the general sessions of this dispensational conference. This was a rather striking omission, in my mind, within the current climate of war and terrorism in the Middle East, and escalating worldwide antisemitism. Of course, those of us who hold to traditional dispensationalism may wonder if this oversight might be attributed to the emphases found in progressive dispensationalism. Attorney David Gibbs III did mention support for Israel in his talk on Wednesday morning. In fairness, Israel’s importance was also the subject of several workshop sessions, including one by Paul Hartog, who spoke about “A Future for National Israel in Romans 9-11.” The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry was also joined by Ariel Ministries among the 33 conference exhibitors. Still, it might have been unifying if a statement had come from the pulpit declaring that, whether traditional or progressive in our dispensationalism, we stand united in recognizing the significance of, and expressing our support for, the people and nation of Israel.

My final observation is that, while this conference truly offered an amazing occasion to hear from those influencing both traditional and progressive dispensationalism, it seemed to me that providing a platform for adherents of both views yielded some degree of tension, and perhaps confusion. Many of the listeners may have already had strong convictions on these issues. They were able to choose workshop speakers who either reinforced or challenged those views. I don’t know how many of the attendees left feeling that we had “gotten it right,” or if some were, perhaps, more conflicted. I will be interested to see what, if anything, results from these meetings in the future.

In all, the conference consisted of 15 general sessions, 61 workshop sessions (including a panel discussion featuring Blaising, Bock and Vlach, as well as some sessions that were repeated), and five sessions on practical subjects that were offered during lunch on both Tuesday and Wednesday. As always, music from the choir and orchestra of The Shepherd’s Church helped to create a wonderful atmosphere, and the seminary personnel made it a first-class experience for everyone who came.

I lengthened the conference week by arriving in time to visit the STS doctor of ministry class, taught by Erwin Lutzer (also a general session speaker), on Saturday morning. Lutzer continued his tradition of bringing the sermon at The Shepherd’s Church on Sunday, and that was combined once again with a panel discussion featuring several speakers from the conference.

On Monday morning, I attended the Carolinas IFCA Regional, which was also held on campus, where we heard presentations by Lutzer and Ware.

Next year’s conference is scheduled for Oct. 13 to 15, with the theme, “Persevering in Ministry.”