Misconceptions about Death

Misconceptions about death are far too widespread not just in the wider culture, but specifically within the church. The shelves of Christian bookstores are filled with books that misguide us in regards to this topic of eminent importance. It is our hope that this year's conference will help to serve as an antidote to this condition.

David Platt will not be one of the speakers at our conference this year. But listen below as what he has to say speaks directly to our theme!

2016 Speaker Profile...Leroy Cole

In an effort to help you get to know our conference speakers, we share a Q&A profile on each of them. Up first is Leroy Cole.

What’s your wife’s name and how long have you been married?

• My wife Cora and I recently celebrated our 59th anniversary.

How many children do you have?

• We have four grown sons.

Share a little about your educational background.

• I am a graduate of Kearsley Hih School, class of 1957. I received my BD from Bible Baptist Seminary in 1967.

How long have you been in your current pastorate?

• I have been at Emmanuel Baptist Church on and off since 1967. I'm presently retired in place there. During most of the years I was not there, I served as a Ruling Elder at Calvary Presbyterian Church.

What have been some of the best lessons you’ve learned in your role as a pastor?

•   The sufficiency of Christ to know and bless his sheep through appointed shepherds.

What would you most like your church to be known for?

• I would like the church to be Christ-like minded in its life and love.

What books of the Bible have been most impactful on your personal growth and ministry?

• Having been in ministry for over half a century, it is hard to narrow in on a few books. Certainly Romans more than Jeremiah, Genesis over Revelation. In fact, Genesis and Romans are usually connected in my mind as I study the other 64 books.

Who are some of your greatest spiritual influences?

• Charles Spurgeon from the 19th century, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones from the 20th and R.C. Sproul from the last 30 years.

• There have been so many people that have joined me for a segment of my pilgrimage and have enriched my journey and sharpened my sanctification! It would be impossible to number those blessed people. And it is ongoing.

Are there any books that you find yourself regularly re-reading?

• I seldom re-read an entire book, but Packer and Lloyd-Jones works seem to recycle across my desk more than others.

If you could spend an entire day with one person of your choosing from the Bible (not including Jesus), who would you choose and why?

• I should say Paul, but it would probably be Peter. Somehow I seem to relate to him and understand his actions.

If you could have been present at any event in the Bible, which event would you choose and why?

• I should say the crucifixion and/or the resurrection/empty tomb, but the Day of Pentecost would be my choice. However, the 40 days of the post-resurrection walk of Christ would have been like the pre-Fall Garden: the Son of God inhabiting His people without the persecution of man interrupting the fellowship.

What are some of your hobbies/interests apart from the Bible/theology?

• Automotive history, now fading into history. That's about all there is to me. Lloyd-Jones said in those dying weeks, "I am a forgiven sinner; that's all there is to me." And with one toe in the river, that's all that is really important.

Conference Registration

For the fourth straight year, we are thrilled to invite you to attend the Conference free of charge! We do ask the you would register in advance by clicking here so we can prepare for your attendance. 

If you would like to financially support the conference to ensure that it will continue to be free in future years, there will be a donation box at the conference. All donations to Calvary Presbyterian Church designated for the Conference will go into a special fund, 100% of which is used to support the Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference.

Audio from Past Conferences

2016 marks the 13th time Calvary has hosted this annual conference.Click here to access audio from our previous years. You can also subscribe to the conference podcast through iTunes to automatically receive audio from future conferences.

2016 Speakers

October 29th, Calvary Presbyterian Church will be hosting the 13th annual Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference. Our theme this year will be Death, Be Not Proud, as we examine the oft avoided, oft misunderstood topic of death in an effort to help us develop a more biblical corrective. Speakers for the conference are:

• Leroy Cole, Emmanuel Baptist Church (Otisville)
• Doug Phillips, South Church (Lansing)
• Jim Mascow, Tyrone Covenant Presbyterian Church (Fenton) 
• Chris Winans, Cornerstone Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Brighton)

The conference is once again free this year, including a delicious hot lunch. Please click here to register in advance.

2016 Conference Theme Announced

In determining a theme for the 13th annual Mid-Michigan Reformation Conference, we considered a number of topics. In the end, we decided on one that impacts every one of us, yet we far too often neglect to deeply consider: Death.

A quick stroll through most Christian bookstores will reveal numerous evidences that even when we do think about death, our thinking is frequently misguided. With the year's conference, we hope to bring a Biblical corrective to this often muddled thinking. Our title will be Death, Be Not Proud, inspired by John Donne's Sonnet X, and our four talks will be on the following:

Talk 1: "The Source and Scope of Death”

·         Talk 2: “The Death of Christ”

·         Talk 3: “The Death of the Believer”

·         Talk 4: “The Death of Death”

Please plan on joining us at Calvary Presbyterian Church from 10am-4pm Saturday, October 29th for a time of learning and fellowship. As has become our practice, the conference is free (including lunch). We simply ask that you click here to register so that we can prepare for your attendance.

Death Be Not Proud

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die.

        - Sonnet X  by John Donne