Carl Trueman wrote several provocative posts critiquing conservative evangelicalism in America and its purportedly unhealthy promotion of its prominent preachers and teachers—particularly as it relates to conferences like The Gospel Coalition.
Here they are:
- Home Thoughts from Abroad
- What hath Jerusalem to do with Hollywood?
- Thoughts on Marketing and Conferences
- Not guilty!
- The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
- Truly Honoured
- Fascinating Week
- An interesting email
Trueman makes some good points worth pondering, but I think his take is a little imbalanced—as did Thabiti Anyabwile:
For example, he said in his third post,
First, market conferences on the basis of content not speakers. Send a clear signal—from the design of the webpage to the wording of the fliers—that it is what is to be said, not who is saying it, that is important. Indeed, maybe one could be really radical: do not even let people know who is speaking; just tell them the titles of the talks. “Ah, but then no-one will come!”, you say. Well, if that is true, then the case for saying that conferences are all about idolising celebrities would seem to be irrefutable.
[Read more…] about Carl Trueman, Hero Worship, and God’s Gifts