On 31st October 1517 Martin Luther changed the world.
His nailing of the 95 Theses to the Church doors in Wittenberg ultimately called into question the authority of the Pope and therefore set him on a collision course with the Roman Catholic Church. At the same time, Luther was also rediscovering where true authority lies in Christian faith, not in an individual person or an office of the Church, but in Scripture as God’s inspired word. As he dug deeper and deeper into the Bible he also rediscovered the good news of the Gospel, that we are made righteous through what Christ accomplished on the Cross and, as we receive this imputed gift by faith, our sin is laid upon Him – what Luther called the “great exchange.” All of this came to revolutionize first Luther’s own thought, then his University, next Germany and, ultimately, much of Europe
The earliest supporters of Luther were not called“Lutherans” but “evangelicals”. Five hundred years later, those of us who would call ourselves evangelicals recognize the huge debt that we owe to the grace of God that was upon Martin Luther. At the same time, we also acknowledge that Europe is now decidedly post-Christian. If ever our continent needed a fresh discovery of the authority of Scripture and the power of the Gospel to change the human heart it is surely today 500 years after the original Lutheran Reformation. Europe needs a fresh move of God, not simply a nostalgic nod to a historical event.
It is for these reasons that we are holding the Reformation 500 Conference at Kings Community Church Southampton on 29th – 30th September 2017. The conference will start at 10am on the Friday and finish at 4pm on the Saturday. Terry Virgo has agreed to give us some Bible readings over the two days in which he will unpack parts of one of Luther’s favourite books, Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Other speakers will include Andrew Wilson, Joel Virgo, Glen Scrivener, Mike Reeves and myself. Those who have been invited to speak are not simply gifted preachers and communicators of the Gospel but they all have a particular interest in Luther, the Reformation and historical theology.
The price of the conference is £30 (£35 if bookings are made after 31st June 2017)and includes tea, coffee and biscuits but not lunches or overnight accommodation. KCC is an excellent modern facility with plenty of free car-parking and is within 300 yards of Junction 7 of the M27.
The delegate fee will also include beer and bratwurst on the Friday evening for a special event which we have called “Beer, bratwurst and Bible”. Whilst I was studying for my PhD on Luther’s influence outside Germany I had the privilege of leading a fellow postgraduate to Christ by the name of Stefan Smart. Stefan was doing his research on the early English Reformation and became particularly interested in how early evangelicals committed Scripture to memory. With this in mind, he has committed the whole of Mark’s Gospel to memory, which he will perform as a two act play – hence the “Beer, bratwurst and Bible” title! If the Reformation stands for anything, it stands surely for the power of the word of God. As Luther wrote in 1522, “While I sat and drank beer [with friends] the word of God dealt the papacy a mighty blow.” I can promise you that Stefan’s one man enactment of Mark’s Gospel will be a truly stunning performance.
Do join us for these two days of teaching, preaching, celebration and prayer for a fresh move of God in Europe.
Full session details will be released nearer the time. If you require any practical information regarding local places to stay or have queries relating to the conference, please contact info@kccconferencing.co.uk.
Andy Johnston
Schedule
Friday 29th
1000 Coffee
1030 Worship – Chris Johnston
1100 Session 1: Terry Virgo – Sons and heirs
1150 Coffee
1215 Session 2: Andy Johnston – New ground for the gospel
1300 Lunch
1400 Session 3: Andrew Wilson - Justification
1500 Break
1530 Session 4: Mike Reeves – Joy in God
1630 Worship & Prayer - Chris Johnston
1700 Session 5 & 6: Stefan Smart – Beer, Bratwurst and Bible (Including break for food)
1930 Stefan - Q & A
2000 Finish for the day
Saturday 30th
0930 Coffee
1000 Worship – Chris Allison
1030 Session 7: Terry Virgo – Free in Christ
1130 Break
1150 Session 8: Joel Virgo, Georgi Zafinov & Chris Allison – Contending for Europe testimony
1300 Lunch
1400 Session 9: Glen Scrivener – Christ, Scripture & Proclamation
1450 Break
1500 Session 10: Joel Virgo – The Cross
1600 End of Conference