This past Memorial Day Weekend, I had the pleasure along with 5 members of Grace Bible in Philly to attend the New Attitude: Humble Orthodoxy Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. We headed down Friday night for to register and attend the first session on Discernment by Josh Harris, pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. So, the topic was discernment...not sure what to expect from the conference as a whole or from each speaker, but I knew God had strategically placed each man to unpack the Scripture in an expositional, well-versed manner. I want to give a brief recap though you can listen to each of the messages at the website which the people at New Attitude (Sovereign Grace) have so graciously provided free of charge. On the website you can also check the live blogs, daily messages, photos, etc. 
As directed in our community/family groups which we met in (groups of 10 or so) each morning for prayer/worship/application, I boiled down in a nutshell the conference: "Knowing and Applying Truth for the Glory of God and Exultation of the gospel."
So, I'll do my best to reduce my thoughts on each message to that "irreducible minimum". Beginning with Harris' Discernment message: Why should one examine discernment? 1.) Discernment is not so cut and dry & 2.) It is a matter of life and death. God's glory is at stake. We have to ask for it, study God's Word to gain it, and follow it. This requires 1.) resistance to a godless/materialistic view of life, 2.) a Renewal that is constant and on-going based on God's truth, and 3.) Action required b/c of a response to the gospel.
Good introduction to the idea of discernment from a man who I've come to respect especially his humility after having coffee with him on Sunday morning (interesting story...the ninjas were responsible), and I would recommend his latest book "Stop Dating the Church: Fall in Love with the Family of God" especially Chapter 5 on the ten steps to choosing a church.
Well, I'll be adding more as the days unfold and as I have time...Dever's message Sunday morning on Discerning our Doctrine was as Eric Simmons stated "a firehose" type message. A concise, to the point message that was packed with content...never prolonging a point to redundancy. Basic idea from his message was discerning primary (essential) and secondary (non-essential) doctrines. He used a 4-fold test for determining primary doctrines: 1.) How clear is it in Scripture, then 2.) How clear do others think it is in Scripture, then ow near is it (or its implications) to the gospel, and finally 4.) what would the effects be doctrinally if disagreement were to take place. So essentially, God (one and triune), the Bible (inspired and God-revealed), and the gospel (incarnation and atonement) are our common points. He stated that "disagreement is okay as long as they can not be distracted by those disagreements" and disagreeing well involved honoring the other party in love, listening humbly, and partaking in open dialogue. So, in a nutshell: "In essentials (primary doctrines): unity, in non-essentials (secondary doctrines): diversity, and in all things: love"!!
As you can tell it was a challenging conference. The call was to listen to truth (whether sung or preached), allow it to impact your life, and progress in sanctification (in spite of opposition) by following truth. I'll have to share more because time escapes me. But if you've made it this far, Praise be to God for his boundless grace and mercy in showing me truth in a manifold perspective.
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