ETS There I Was!

            Last week I had the opportunity to attend my first annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society or ETS in Boston. For a brief introduction to ETS and my expectations of the meeting check out my pre-conference post here: ETS Here I Come! — Liberty Community Church Now that I’m back I thought it would be helpful for myself and fun to share with you some of my takeaways. I will shape this reflection around my expectations so reading the above link first will help you see how reality lined up with what I had anticipated.

            First off, I will say that the overall trip was a wonderful success! I got to stay with my brother in Boston so even beyond the conference it was a fun vacation opportunity to spend some time with him and my future sister-in-law, his fiancé Kaelyn. I had some incredible meals (thank you Beeson Divinity School for an amazing alumni dinner) including double dipping on New England Clam Chowder at Joe’s and some amazing fish and chips at an authentic Irish pub. The idea to go to ETS in the first place came from my good friend Dan Masshardt (or was it my idea, Dan?) and it was a blessing to share several meals with him as well as some fun debriefing times, not to mention someone to sit with at the large plenary gatherings. Perhaps the biggest surprise overall was the considerable time that Dan and I were not together…there was just so much to do! Beyond that though, I am blessed by how much reality lined up with what I hoped, and my three biggest takeaways lined up almost perfectly with what I thought they might be.

            Hope 1. Falling more in love with Jesus – Success!

            While for most attenders, especially those who have been going to ETS annually for awhile now, the academic papers are actually low on their list of top priorities (or at least so I gathered). I would imagine it is common for many attendees to perhaps attend 1-3 papers each day. I however attended 21 papers total, 7 each day! While I was completely mentally exhausted by the end and probably could not have kept up such a rigorous schedule for one more day, I’m glad I packed things in the way I did. Thinking deeply about the Bible and more importantly the God of the Bible while surrounded by such a godly (and brilliant) cloud of witnesses for an extended time like this was such a unique experience. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a mountaintop experience. I felt not only the presence of the academy in every room but the presence of the Spirit as well. Overall, seven of the papers I attended were outstanding while the remaining fourteen I would categorize as well worth my time. I didn’t feel that any of them were a waste of time or poorly done. Highlights for me were: Herem in the Rest of the Old Testament, Reading John 6 in Light of the Exodus, and Now You Know the Hour: The Olivet Discourse. An additional excellent piece that I could not have anticipated is that because participants are constantly moving between sessions during the breaks, every single paper started and ended on time to the minute! A rarity indeed! For first timers my biggest piece of advice would be to come with a plan! You don’t have to keep to your plan but if you arrive thinking “I’ll just figure it out on the fly,” you’ll be lost before you even get started. It can be a totally overwhelming experience, especially the first day, and at least having some idea of what you want to do and where you want to be is essential.

            Hope 2. Reconnecting with former professors – Success!

            Perhaps one of the greatest joys of ETS is walking the halls of the hotels (yes, it’s so big it covers two hotels) and seeing a friend to exchange a greeting and a hug with. Ironically, and again because ETS is so huge, there were several friends who I knew were there who I just never saw. That being said it was wonderful to connect with former professors Mark Gignilliat and Vince Bacote. I also got to reconnect with former classmate Benjamin Smith and perhaps the greatest blessing (and a result of my pre-conference blog post) was grabbing dinner with my dear friend Noel Forlini Burt. (If you haven’t read her book Hope in the Wilderness do yourself a favor Hope in the Wilderness: Spiritual Reflections for When God Feels Far Away: Forlini Burt, Noel, Sittser, Jerry: 9781532689345: Amazon.com: Books). We skipped right over “Chilly weather here in Boston, isn’t it?” and shared a delightful hour discussing real ministry, real life, and real joys and pains. Even if I did manage to get us hopelessly lost on the way to the restaurant, I was grateful for that evening.

            Hope 3. Meeting for the first time scholars and thinkers who have shaped my theology and ministry – Success!!!

            This was the highlight of ETS for me! Meeting my dear friend Myrto Theocharous in-person for the first time was worth the trip itself but in addition to this I was able to interact with so many thinkers whose fingerprints are on my ministry. It was a joy to (finally!) meet Carmen Joy Imes and I had very meaningful conversations with Cynthia Long Westfall, Sandra Glahn, and Ben Witherington. Additionally interacting with Nicholas Piotrowski, a professor I didn’t know much about before was a real treat and Charlie Trimm signed a copy of his book for me with a fun (if a bit nerdy) inside joke. Overall, I got 28 books signed and while I only actually bought 3 books, the conference discount codes from many of the publishers are good through the end of the year so anything could happen! Next year, ETS is in Denver, and I already can’t wait!