Greetings, folks. Here you’ll find my two presentations from the GES 2010 National Conference and assorted other links and references that may be useful.
The Forgotten Sanctuary
My plenary session was titled “The Forgotten Sanctuary: Why is Hebrews 8:2 Part of ‘The Main Point’?” You can download the full manuscript, as well as the handout and the audio (the first couple minutes got clipped off, sorry. But the rest of it’s there.)
Broadly speaking, the doctrinal point of the presentation is that the church worships in heaven…every Sunday. I drew out practical implications having to do with how we worship and how we handle controversy. If the worship implications interest you, keep reading — I think you’ll find the workshop presentation below very helpful. If you are interested in the implications for how we handle controversy, you may want to also take a look at my Free Grace Food Fight page, and in particular this post on doctrinal unity. That material is mostly addressed to one particular controversy, but it will flesh out the approach I’m advocating.
Return to Obedience
My workshop was titled Return to Obedience: The Role of Ritual in New Covenant Worship. That manuscript is also available, as is the handout and the audio.
This presentation made two points. First, a serious, detailed attention to the commands and patterns of worship presented in the New Testament will lead us to overhaul the typical evangelical worship service. The result will be a much more formal, structured service. Second, our approach to the acts of worship that we perform within that framework must take into account that we are not merely observing principles or carrying out object lessons; we are engaged in fellowship with, and worshipful service for, the living Christ, who is really present with us.
If the worship implications interest you, you may want to see my Psalms page for further resources. You might also find some value in my position papers on liturgy-bashing and unity in music, and my posts on the Lord’s Table.
Full Contact Christianity 
Good stuff…thanks Tim. Its been a long time, but I’m still alive and kicking…LOL.
Jim,
Thanks for your kind words; glad to know you’re still out there. Keep the faith, brother.
Whoa, that one against liturgy-bashing opened my eyes quite a bit bro. Tim. I surely took a good old-fashioned toe-smashing on that one, but I am sure I needed it. Thank you bro. Tim.
Unity in Music is even better than the one against liturgy-bashing! Great stuff, bro. Tim!
David,
Thanks for your kind words. I’m glad you found that material helpful. I had hoped to write a bit more on the subject, but with my role changing, I haven’t had occasion to write for public consumption. I’m working on a book on prayer that I hope to have ready before summer; that will have some further work in this direction in it.