The first morning of the windy city came to us around 7:30 AM on Tuesday. We had slept early the night before because of our packed-schedule to come. The shuttle bus ran from our hotel (Palmer House Hilton) to the conference Center (McCormick Place) from 9 AM to 11 AM, hence we wanted to finish everything (eating breakfast and getting ready) by 9 AM. So we woke up around 7:30, got ready and met everyone at the lobby around 8 AM. We walked about half a block to a diner called “Marquette” (I think that’s how it is spelled). It was like home-style diner and most of us ate normal egg, sausage, toast, omelet, the usual breakfast you would get at Dennys. We came back to the hotel and got ready for the shuttle. By this time, the winds picked up and it was seriously cold. However, one thing we’ve noticed (as we were waiting for the bus) was that there were a lot more people who were attending the conference lodging at the same hotel as us than we had first imagined. A pile of people came out about the same time to wait for the shuttle bus going to the McCormick Place. The shuttle bus, unlike what I’ve expected (I’ve expected something like a 16 seat van) came, which was greyhound size bus; one came after another; it was impressive.
Once we’ve arrived at the McCormick Place around 9:30, we followed whole bunch of other people to the registration site. The registration site was alphabetized by the attendees' last names. Once we registered, we were given several different versions of new bibles and books with bags. Just like any reputable Christian Conferences, The Gospel Coalition didn’t fail us in providing free books. Then we checked out the place by looking around. The place was much bigger than the LA Staples Center, and McCormick Place resonated the meaning of the word “grandiose.” Everything was grand and white; floors and walls were decorated with marbles, huge conference banners and the presence of hundreds of volunteer workers were truly impressive. Surrounded by hundreds of other attendees, we took a long escalator up to the second floor where huge cafeteria was located on the left. Then we got on another escalator to the third floor, where everything else was located. There was an open bookstore to the right side whereas the main meeting place was located on the left side. First we checked out the bookstore, which was big as, if not bigger than, an average university bookstore. And it was there that we picked up more free books. Then we had lunch at the cafeteria; the cafeteria was huge and good selections of food were available. We ate piles of salad, reminded me of Souplantation. We finally came to the meeting room around 1:30PM; the place was already packed by the time we got in, so we found some seats in the back. However, because of four huge TV screens horizontally set up centering the main stage, we didn’t have difficulty seeing or hearing the speakers. The meeting began with the 30-minute worship, which was led by Keith and Kristyn Getty, who gave Celtic flavor of tune. All of the worship songs were hymns except for one contemporary song, “Everlasting God” by Chris Tomlin. The worship session was truly amazing!
After the brief introduction by D.A. Carson, one of the founders of TGC, the first session began with Al Mohler, the current president of Southern Baptist Seminary, who is widely known as one of the more influential speakers of our time. He spoke on the topic of “Studying the Scripture & Finding Jesus.” The message was about the fact that everything and everyone in the bible is testifying about Jesus Christ based on John 5:31-47. The first session was well deserving of the conference theme “They Testify About Me,” and was finished within an hour. After the 30-minute break, second session of teaching ensued. Tim Keller, the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (of Manhattan, NY), a best selling author, a former director of church planting & professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary, took the podium. I personally enjoy listening to Tim Keller because of the richness and depth of his understanding of the Word. Hence, I was eager to listen to him, and once again he didn’t fail me. His message was from Exodus 14, which focused on Christians exiting the life of sin as the Israelites have come out from the bondage of slavery from Egypt. The message made a profound impact on me as well to others as I glanced over to observe others.
At 5 PM, we were given 2 hours of dinner time, but we did not go out of the McCormick Place because of the ride issue. Instead, we ate lightly (a slice of pizza or a hotdog). Ensuing the dinner was the third and the final session of the day, which was given by Alistair Begg, the senior pastor of the Parkside Church in Cleveland Ohio, and who is also the host of “Truth for Life” radio program. Pastor Begg spoke on the topic of “From a Foreigner to King Jesus” based on the Ruth chapter 1. Knowing Alistair Begg being one of Jay Kee’s favorite speakers, I listened to him intently. Although the message was somewhat uneasy to listen to, because of Begg’s Scottish accent, the message was one of the better messages I’ve heard. Following the session, a panel discussion followed at 8PM, which all of us intently listen to. Although a scheduled-concert followed at 9PM, we left the conference to return to our hotel because we wanted to rest and prepare for the next day. The first day of the conference was utterly enjoyable and it was everything I had imagined it to be. As I reflected upon the day in my bed, several words came to my mind: safety, belongingness, encouragement, purpose and vision, all of which reflected the conference. I was so glad that I was able to attend this conference:)
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