The conference has become a who’s who of Reformed celebrities –joining the aforementioned this year are John MacArthur, John Piper, R. C. Sproul, and Thabiti Anyabwile.

Louisville is the home of the Kentucky Derby, the Louisville Slugger, the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Southern Baptist Seminary, Muhammad Ali, and now the biennial Together for the Gospel conference. T4G began as a gathering of friends sharing their friendship with others, across denominational lines, but united by common purpose. This year’s theme is “The Unadjusted Gospel.” The four friends whose camaraderie led to this Young, Restless and Reformed gathering are Ligon Duncan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS, Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries, and Mark Dever of 9 Marks Ministries and pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.The conference has become a who’s who of Reformed celebrities –joining the aforementioned this year are John MacArthur, John Piper, R. C. Sproul, and Thabiti Anyabwile.

The conference began in earnest on Tuesday, with 7,000 attendees gathering on the banks of the Ohio to sing the praises of the sovereign triune God. Most are pastors, and most come from the PCA, Southern Baptist Convention, and Sovereign Grace Ministries (who required their pastors to attend). Mark Dever spoke first, on the centrality of the local church in God’s gospel program. The church creates the arena for the gospel to be lived out as a living witness to the truth of what Christ’s blood accomplishes, and the difference between the world and the church being the visible love for the truth and for one another that flow from the gospel.

R. C. Sproul was providentially hindered from attending, but spoke via video uplink from the sanctuary of St. Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida. The noted Reformed theologian is celebrating fifty years of gospel ministry this year, and was presented an authentic jersey from his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers to mark the occasion. There was some talk that Sproul’s next call might be the prison chaplain for his beloved team.

Sproul spoke on the troubling trends in the church today by giving a broad historical overview. The main problem, as Sproul sees it, is a synthesis between the gospel and works, which can take a variety of forms. He reminded the crowd that the doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness and death of Christ is no stuff of arcane theology: either we are saved by Jesus, or we save ourselves, robbing God of his glory in showing mercy to the ungodly.

Interspersed throughout the speakers were informal times of conversation between the various speakers, which were most edifying and profitable.

The evening plenary was led by President Mohler, who spoke of the various trajectories that lead us to accommodate the gospel, including modernism, post-modernism, aesthetics, pragmatism, materialism, and moralism.

Ken Pierce is Senior Minister at Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jackson, MS. Ken will be providing regular updates on this conference for The Aquila Report.