The Gaffin Approach is not the Wright Approach

There are a couple of reasons that I will be refraining from offering substantial comment on this week’s Auburn Avenue conference. Primarily, I recognize my own limited understanding generally, and secondarily, I would have to listen to the recordings at least three times in order to retain more than half of what was said anyway. Additionally, there has already been and we will continue to see plenty of commentary from others, focusing on various elements of the conference.

My aim here is simply to point out something which seemed to be widely observed, but has not received much comment thus far. While both Dr. Gaffin and Bishop Wright have laboured diligently and faithfully in the gospel for several decades and have had a profound impact on the Church generally, their different experiences have yielded a very different approach to conference lectures.

Wright’s eloquence came very near overshadowing his message. He was so clear and persuasive in his choice of words and delivery of them that occasionally I just had to shake my head thinking simply, “Boy, he’s good.” As one companion noted, Wright exhibited a confidence which in itself seemed to stem from a right understanding and masterful grasp of the issues at hand. Surely, as several folks mentioned, Bishop Wright’s pastoral ministry has aided him in communicating effectively to commoners.

Gaffin’s approach did seem to overshadow much of his message, at least in the minds of the simpler audience members such as myself. His choice of words and delivery absolutely disabled my mind at several points, and I couldn’t help but wish that the sanctuary was equipped with dictionaries instead of hymnals. To understate the matter, there was a bit of a gap between his aptitude for teaching and my aptitude for learning. The pause button will come in handy when I’m reviewing the recordings of the conference.

All in all, as has been stated elsewhere, the conference was a clear success. Those in attendance could not help but to be blessed by God through both lecturers, and those who hear it on tape will be tempted to envy those of us who were actually there.