Next week the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) will be meeting in Denver, CO, and I will be there. This will be my second ETS in as many years. Last year, I wrote two blog posts outlining my expectations and then experiences and I thought it would be fun to do the same this year. For an overview of what ETS is, check out last year’s posts here: ETS Here I Come! — Liberty Community Church
and here: ETS There I Was! — Liberty Community Church
Similar to last year, my expectations for ETS this year fall into three categories as outlined below.
1. Fall More in Love with Jesus
The word “evangelical” is a complicated one in America right now. Is it a helpful word? A harmful one? Does it describe me, or everything I stand against in the American church? I find I am in the best place to answer these questions when I remind myself that evangelicals live all over the world and very few of us globally are struggling with the political infusion that has polarized American evangelicals for the last few decades. All that being said, I think ETS, in many ways, represents some of the best that the evangelical church has to offer. Last year’s trip was such a spiritually rich experience for me, and I am hopeful that this year will be similar. While many conference attendees sit in on relatively few presentation, it is my hope to keep up a rigorous schedule this year and be drawn closer to Jesus as I soak up the richness of the theological and biblical depth all around me.
2. Connect with Friends
One of the things that made ETS so meaningful last year was connecting with so many dear friends, from former classmates and professors to fellow ministers and disciples of Jesus. I fully expect that this will be the case again. I will be rooming with my good friend Dan Masshardt this year and I’m sure that this will give us extra debriefing time after each day. I’m fully looking forward to that…you don’t snore, do you Dan? I’m also looking forward to reconnecting with my dear friend Noel Forlini Burt and discussing life, ministry, and perhaps, my writing and what the path to publication might look like. Meals with Beeson Divinity School professors and alumni were a highlight last year and I am looking forward to replicating those this year. It’s also so fun to simply walk the hallways and experience chance encounters with those that I am blessed to call friends. While not nearly as many as last year, I am also bringing a handful of books I am hoping to get signed by the authors.
3. Be Surprised
Last year my third expectation was meeting for the first time those that I had only interacted with previously either virtually or through their writing. Ironically, because that was so successful, the list of such scholars has shrunk dramatically. What I didn’t anticipate last year were the scholars that I had not known who I met either through their presentations of through mutual acquaintances. And so, this year I am looking forward to that which I don’t know to anticipate. Who will I meet? What conversations will I have? Who will be the people and presenters who will open my eyes to fresh ways of considering the gospel and new ways to praise Jesus for all that he has done? I’m excited to find out.
I feel so blessed to be able to do this once again, and I look forward to sharing my reflections upon my return.