Preaching to the Heart in Derbyshire

To The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire for the Church Society Fellowship Conference.

 There are no shortage of conferences aimed at equipping clergy and church leaders, but I was attracted to this one because of the theme, 'Preaching to the Heart', and the discovery that main speaker was to be R.Kent Hughes.

The main sessions of 'Preaching to the Heart' examine the purpose and practice of preaching. 
'What is it that God intends to be changed in us? Is it to give us truth for our mind? Is it to give us therapy for our soul? While intellect and feelings matter deeply, the transformation God desires of us from His Word is the transformation of the heart!' (from the conference booklet)

It has been challenging and inspiring stuff so far! I've been challenged to ask myself how deeply I allow a Bible passage or truth to affect my heart before I then dare to preach it to others so that their hearts might be touched and changed.
Last night's seminar on Jonathan Edwards (the 18th C preacher, rather than the 20th C Olympic triple jumper...) looked at his belief that preaching must address the whole person ie the mind, the will and the affections.The affections are best described as our deepest desires. 

The main speaker is R Kent Hughes (pictured with his eyes closed, left), an American pastor, author, and writer of Bible Commentaries. It was because of these commentaries - which I have used for several years - that I was sure the conference wouldn't disappoint!

His sessions on Preaching to the Heart have developed the above, drawing from his own experience of pastoral ministry and from his reading of - and learning from - others.
So far, so (very) good!

Roughly half way through the conference and my brain is close to full, but my heart is warmed and my affections are moved! Looking forward to another evening and morning here, and then to going back to put it into practice.

BTW, that's a bit of my shirt in the bottom left of the photo...