Christian Thought & Tradition

On September 21-22, 2012 the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies at Southern Seminary will be hosting its sixth annual conference. The conference theme is “Andrew Fuller and His Friends.” From the conference website:

It is not every Baptist theologian who has a movement named after him, but Andrew Fuller was so important a theologian that historians of the church actually talk about a perspective called “Fullerism.” Fuller’s views, though, were not the product of simply his own theological reflection, but were formulated by him in dialogue with a close circle of friends and subsequent joint action with these friends, especially in missionary endeavors. This year The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies is thrilled to devote its annual conference to thinking about Fuller’s friends: their lives and ministries and how they shaped and were shaped by Fuller, whom later generations called “the elephant of Kettering”–a reference to his weighty theological influence. Come and join us this September as we spend time and energy in thinking about a past Christian thinker and his circle of friends whose influence for good and for the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus has been enormous.

I’m excited to be giving one of the plenary addresses at the conference. I’ll be speaking on “Robert Hall Sr. Andrew Fuller’s Mentor.” My address will be a adapted from my introduction to the new edition of Hall’s Help to Zion’s Travellers, which I edited for BorderStone Press in 2011. Robert Hall Sr. was the “grand old man” of the Northamptonshire Association. He is largely unknown to church history, but mentored many of the younger pastors in the association, including Fuller and William Carey. He is a role model for all pastors who are interested in investing in the younger generation.

Check out the conference website to see the full schedule and register for the conference. I hope to see some of you in Louisville in September for this conference.

Andrew Fuller Baptist Studies Robert Hall Sr.