PCRT Philadelphia Attendees
Approximately 600 attended the Philadelphia Conference of Reformed Theology on April 19–21. The theme was “In the Beginning: God, Adam, and You.” I arrived late on Friday, due to having to lead a funeral of one of our dear members in Grand Rapids that morning, so I missed the pre-conference by my good friend Jon Payne on “Our Forgotten Heritage: Recovering a Reformed Ministry,” which focused on the lives and ministries of Charles Simeon, John Owen, and Zacharias Ursinus in conjunction with the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism. (By the way, Dr. Jason VanVliet and I can still take on a dozen more travelers for our European tour this summer, July 9–19—we’d love to have you join us.) I also missed Derek Thomas’s opening address, “The Bible’s First Word.”
On Saturday, Liam Goligher (senior pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church, where the conference was being held) preached on “Lord of the Garden,” Rick Phillips (the conference organizer and MC), spoke on “The Bible and Evolution.” I spoke on “The Case for Adam,” participated in a QA session, did a video interview for PCRT, and then spoke on “Christ the Second Adam.” As soon as my last address was finished, I had to rush to the airport to catch the last flights home, arriving a few hours before midnight. The next day I preached for Seventh Reformed Church in the morning and our own church in the evening.
