Just got back from an incredible lunch with pastor Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC. Mark is one of the Whiteboard speakers and founder of the bi-annual Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville. I walked into the final minutes of a staff meeting in Mark's charming, book-lined office, buzzing with young staffers and interns. The sense of energy and activity at CHBC was nothing like I've ever seen.
Mark is constantly inviting young ministers to share in his life. I'll be honest, I was nervous about meeting with this Oxford trained pastor, but he was so gracious to me and curious about my life. I tried to glean as much as I could, and came away with a great friend and mentor in ministry. Mark is reason #1 to put Whiteboard on your calendar. If you run in my circles, you get enough of the same speakers rotating around the same conferences. Time to shake it up.
Ben, this is the guy that bugged you about the Hybel's sermon from '03.
Dude, you met with Mark Dever with your collar flipped up like that? And that litle smirk on your face? You look like Jakob Arminius!(see picture at Wikipedia) Dever might back out of WiBo now! And... I think thats an illegal pic of the White House. Homeland security wants to talk to you, and it's not about being a sponsor at WiBo. One more thing, CJ Mahaney only has two more people working on his conference than WiBo does. Not too bad, Ben, you're doing a great job! WiBo is going to be awesome!
Posted by: slowtraincoming | January 17, 2008 at 06:52 PM
Note to self: "If your ever in a car driven by Ben Arment...be ready to grab the wheel anytime the spirit leads him to take a picture while driving"
...VERY SCARRY!!! :)
Posted by: Jim Henry | January 17, 2008 at 10:14 PM
What is it about Mark Dever that will "shake things up"?
Posted by: Matt | January 18, 2008 at 08:57 AM
Matt, not knowing anything about you, I'm not sure how to answer your question. Let's start with some background: Do you know who he is?
Posted by: Ben Arment | January 18, 2008 at 09:08 AM
I do. And I can't imagine him and (for instance) Tim Stevens, at the same conference. Not knowing exactly the topics that each guy will speak to, I'm assuming the divergences between these two guys alone is the kind of thing will shake it up?
Posted by: Matt | January 18, 2008 at 09:27 AM
Exactly, even Ed Stetzer mentioned how he'd never seen some of these guys speaking in the same room before. It's landmark.
Posted by: Ben Arment | January 18, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Will we know anymore specifically about the nature of each presenter's topic?
Posted by: Matt | January 18, 2008 at 12:06 PM
matt, I've never been to a conference where I know the speaker's topic in advance. I think some of the sessions are going to be shaped by the day itself... Its a living, breathing thing. Just hold onto the bar :)
Posted by: Ben Arment | January 18, 2008 at 03:56 PM
jim, that's the way I look. What are you talking about! =)
Posted by: Ben Arment | January 18, 2008 at 05:34 PM
I totally agree Ben. I think innovative young pastors who respect the wisdom and discernment of men who know and live their Bible backwards and forwards, like Dever is so important.
I have to admit I was a little surprised to see Dever speaking at this conference, but I think it's a great and healthy thing. Thanks for putting it together Ben!
Posted by: Mike Anderson | January 18, 2008 at 09:17 PM