The 20/20 Collegiate Conference, held at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary February 6-7, was a terrific time of fellowship and learning.

Particularly encouraging and challenging to me was Mark Driscoll’s talk on Saturday morning. Mark brought up points about idolatry that I had never considered before. His thesis was that we in America are blind to many of the idols in our own culture. He also pointed out that idolatry is not only a moral issue but a question of worship as well. When we sin by putting an object, goal, relationship, or any other thing above God, we are worshipping that thing rather than God. Mark argued that comfort is the primary idol in America today.

I also benefited from various breakout sessions. Keeping with the theme of the conference – “the gospel comes to life” – these sessions focused on how we can live out our Christian faith in career choices, family, and in the public square.

C.J. Mahaney, Bill Brown, and Danny Akin gave keynote addresses that touched on the major theme of the conference, too. C.J. used the beginning verses of Mark 14 to show us that extravagant devotion to Jesus is an evidence of real conversion and encouraged us to often dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard. Danny spoke from 1 Corinthians 13 about the many attributes of true, godly love. One helpful part of Danny’s talk to me personally was his statement that each of the attributes of love mentioned in the passage is a verb. In other words, love should be action-oriented.

Overall, I enjoyed the conference. The Lord used it to challenge, encourage, and correct me in many ways.

Tags: 20/20, conference, gospel, love, Sermons