What Did We Learn at the "Serious Joy" Conference?

• Recap: What is the Bethlehem Conference? Why do they call it “Serious Joy”?
• Why do we invest in pastor conferences each year?
• What was the theme of this year’s conference?
• What were some memorable quotes and lessons learned? (Share in turn for the rest of the time.)

Michael Reeves - The Lord of the Church

• “God has put all the authority in the universe under Christ’s feet. You can put your problems there too.”
• “If We could see the final end, we would see that our enemies are doing all that we wanted them to do.”

Lewis Guest - The Nature of the Church

• “One of the most powerful antidotes to discouragement in the world is a strong ecclesiology.”
• “Look at your congregation. You are looking at the work of Christ in the flesh”
• “Five most encouraging words to any pastor: I will build my church. "

David Mathis - The Priority of the Church

• “The church is God saying, ‘checkmate’ to Satan."
• “The church shows Satan and his minions that his time is short.”

John Piper - The Leadership of the Church

• “You don’t have to know everything. You need to know the most important thing about everything. You need to know God.”

Steven Lee - The Mission of the Church

• “The mission is not impossible, rather it is impossible for the mission to fail because Christ is Lord.”
• What was your biggest takeaway?

Listener questions:

• How do you deal with family or friends that are being destructive and refusing help? - Anonymous