Well, we are officially in the dinner break for the busiest day of the conference.

Our day got rolling early. Conor headed to an incredible breakout session on family ministry. He said it gave us a lot to think about, so I am anxious to talk with him about it.

As the AM session began, we started with singing. It really is awesome to experience 1500 men singing at the top of their lungs. We sang “Holy, Holy, Holy” and other songs. Matt Chandler gave the message on how we can help ensure the salvation of our hearers from 1 Timothy 4. It was an excellent talk.

After an AM break, Dever came back for his second (of 3) message outlining how pastors can lead their people in evangelism as well as defining what evangelism is not.

After the lunch break, Piper gave his bio of Whitefield. Piper presented a wonderful picture of this incredible servant of God.

It’s been a full day, but there is more to come tonight.

After yesterday, pretty beat last night, but ready for another day. After the post, I headed to Mall of America with Bob L and Benjamin. We had a fun time there and yes, Benjamin and I, covered the entire mall in under 3 hours. Once back, we went through registration (and got free books) then checked out the bookstore and headed to supper with our guys.

The first session featured Mark Dever and a conference staple–good music. Dever’s message sought to define the gospel and then give 3 reasons we should share it. You can read or listen to the sermon at the DG website. After the session, we got together and reviewed the session (a very helpful exercise) and came back to hotel for night. Good day and we plan on a pretty full Tuesday.

I’m back at my second office, and thought I would give an update. We enjoyed watching the game last night. Arizona really turned it into a great game in the 4th Quarter. Most of the people where we watched it were cheering for Arizona. But Pittsburgh did a great job in that winning drive, perfect pass and catch for the win. That was an enjoyable time, though. I also would agree with what USA Today said this AM – the Doritos commercial was the best.

I got up and after some quiet time, got down to the workout room, listening to David Platt‘s latest sermon. After this, we all met together and ate at Hell’s Kitchen. Guys are presently walking around downtown and some might end up on a quick trip to Mall of America.

As for the conference, they have released a bookstore list and things get rolling later today. I’ll post an update later.

Saturday was full of driving. We left Hutchinson around 7:15 and drove all day, arriving in Minneapolis, MN around 7PM. We made some fun stops like Palmer’s Deli in Des Moines and Cabela’s (which I consider to be necessary contextualization to come up here). We drove downtown to our hotel and after checking in, we ate at Bob Guthrie’s favorite German food, The Black Forest Inn. After a great meal there and our full trip, we were ready to crash.

Sunday AM meant getting up and heading to church at Bethlehem Baptist, where John Piper serves as Teaching Pastor. Piper’s message, which will soon be online, had to do with “Don’t Waste This Recession” and what a sovereign God might be up to in allowing America to face it. We also took communion with this body of believers.

Another highlight was that this is also the church home of Rick and Tracy Cornish, missionaries we support. We had a great lunch with them and got back to the hotel with full souls. Many of us hit the workout room for a good time of exercise.

The plan this evening is to enjoy the Super Bowl and continue to have good fellowship. Look for more summaries of our time soon.