Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Cross Con 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky, a massive Christian conference for 18-25 year olds. They had incredible speakers such as John Piper, Kevin DeYoung, and Rosaria Butterfield, but ultimately the call of Cross Con is for Jesus’ name to be made known. Their emphasis is the gospel, the local church, and God’s heart for the nations.
As I reflect on my experience, I am so grateful for so many reasons. With 15,000 attendees, it was clear that a huge amount of effort went into organizing this conference, and it was all fueled by an immense amount of love and prayer for my generation. My Christian fellowship and our church were incredibly gracious to fund our group of over twenty students. Additionally, I saw God’s love through a friend and her family, who picked me up from the airport, hosted me for a night, and drove me out to the conference. Then I saw God’s love through two other friends, with whom I carpooled after the conference. God has shown His love to me through so many people, in every logistical detail of this experience.
Cross Con was a beautiful time of worship, learning, and fruitful conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ. These are my notes and takeaways from the conference. The great news for you is that all the sessions have been recorded and posted online, so you can listen to them for free!
#1: Putting Comparison to Death (John Piper)
The highlight of my first day at Cross Con was listening to an interview with John Piper titled, “How the Glory of Christ Dims Our Distractions.” Piper responded to the question, “What is so wonderful about Jesus?” by especially focusing on how Christ is true. When we have the context of Christ’s glory and power recorded in the Bible, Piper says that it’s a simple logical argument: “If true, staggeringly glorious.”
With this in mind, the interviewer asks, “How does seeing Jesus the way you just talked about help us put comparison to death?”
This is the part of the interview that especially sticks with me. You can listen for yourself if you’d like. It is 20:36-28:14 in the recording.
John Piper highlights 1 Corinthians 15:10 as a personal motto in the fight against comparison. He says, “It didn’t land on me until recently when [Paul] said, ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am.’ Now, grace is good. Grace is good. Grace is not ‘oh I missed it’ or ‘your harm is really what I’m after.’ That’s not grace, and Paul said ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am.’ Either you’re going to be okay with that or reject [God]. ‘He’s not gracious, He’s not powerful, He’s not wise, He’s not gracious, because I don’t like how tall I am or how my fatty tissue is proportionate in my body or how my hair is or how my complexion is or how my personality is or how my disability is.’”
Piper makes a plug for Joni Eareckson Tada’s The Practice of the Presence of Jesus, and then he shares some confessions about his own vices. He talks about his frustration that he can’t read as quickly as Kevin DeYoung, his insecurities and stage fright as a teenager, and a recent story about not knowing what suits are in a card deck. “Idiot, Piper!” he thought to himself. And yet, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.”
Altogether, there was so much good stuff in that interview, and I highly recommend listening.
#2: The Church is Not a Pep Rally (Trip Lee)
The next day, Trip Lee gave the talk: “One Family: The Church.” He explained that many Christians see the church as a weekly pep rally, but the problem with pep rallies is that the excitement dies down. Pep rallies are ineffective and unnecessary, according to Trip Lee’s experiences. In contrast, the church is a crucial tool for the believer to hold on to hope.
Trip Lee’s main two points were 1) hold on (Hebrews 10:23) and 2) watch out. Bible studies, college fellowships, and Christian friends are great, but they can’t replace the church. The church is clearly defined in the Bible with the components of teaching, worship, prayer, Scripture reading, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and elders and deacons. The church is designed to help us hold on to hope, together as the body of Christ.
#3: Love of Neighbors when it is Uncomfortable (Mez McConnell)
Mez McConnell gave a talk called, “One Result: Love of Neighbor,” which dove into John 13, the passage in which Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. The act of the Rabbi washing his disciples’ feet is countercultural. It is unseemly. It is intensely uncomfortable. Peter says no. But Jesus effectively answers, “My way or the highway.”
Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” – John 13:8
Christ shows us that love is uncomfortable. If we want to love our neighbors, we can’t be content with doing what is easy and socially acceptable. If we want to be like Christ, we can’t step over the homeless or ignore those who disgust us.
“There is a sense in which Jesus was often in the wrong places at the right times—at least according to society’s perspective,” said McConnell. Whether he was eating with tax collectors, talking with a Samaritan woman, or caught at the temple as a kid, Jesus went against culture’s expectations because of His love for His Father and neighbors.
#4: Scripture Reading Strategies
I went to a session called “How to Read the Old Testament As the Apostles Did” with Dr. Jim Hamilton. I came away with two takeaways that I am already implementing into my Bible reading plan.
- Read BIG chunks of the Bible in one sitting. You will find so many things that you would ordinarily miss and make so many more connections.
- Prioritize memorization and meditation. This helps you to see the author’s intent in the logic and progression of the passage. Dr. Hamilton recommended a method where you read the passage ten times and recite it ten times per day.
#5: 50 Reasons the Holy Spirit is Awesome (David Platt)
When David Platt gave the last talk for Day 2, “One Power: The Holy Spirit,” he told us that he had stayed up all night writing an entirely new message than the one he had originally planned. Instead of his original message, he decided to share fifty ways the Holy Spirit supernaturally transforms our lives. His excitement was contagious, and he actually got through all fifty points—and I wrote them all down, too! It is overwhelmingly amazing to reflect on all the work that the Holy Spirit does in our lives, from when we are saved to when we are welcomed into eternity.
#6: The Beauty of Corporate Worship
Throughout the conference and especially on Friday night, I was reminded what a joy it is to worship my amazing God together with my brothers and sisters in Christ! I carry insecurities, like what if I’m actually tone deaf and my voice is obnoxious and nobody has ever told me? It’s possible, right? 😅 But I will resolve to sing all the louder because I have a Savior who is worthy of all my praise.
As I worshipped my mighty God, I also admired the diversity of fellow worshippers around me, with different voices and worship styles. It is a joy to sing with them, and the worship is beautiful in both the individuality and the collectiveness. We all sing and agree and remind each other of the same truths. All glory be to God.
#7: The Sin That Will Undo Me Is My Own (Rosaria Butterfield)
On the final day of the conference, I went to a session given by Rosaria Butterfield, called, “Open Your Home, Build up the Church, Reach the Lost.” She shared stories of radical hospitality and love as she befriended the lost in her neighborhood and shared the gospel. During the session, I realized that hospitality is an incredibly powerful tool in evangelism. By inviting someone into your own space, you are able to show love and create a relationship. The relationship may even be strong enough that you can repeatedly and obnoxiously share the good news of the gospel! Butterfield mentioned that her husband turned his prayer at their backyard barbeque into a mini sermon. If you care about your neighbors’ eternity, what better way is there to love them than that?
One quote stuck with me: “The sin that will undo me is my own, not my neighbor’s.” So often, Christians fear non-Christians. We cut ourselves off and don’t dare to come anywhere near their sinful lives. But their sin is not the sin that will undo us. We are all in need of a Savior. This is a call for us to not shy away from our neighbors, but extend radical Christ-like love to them.
What Do You Think?
Have you been to Cross Con or heard of it before? What takeaway resonates with you most?
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