Summit Ministries

Today we woke up to the same drill, some milking as much sleep as they could get away with while others rose long before the wake up call to exercise and/or shower and beautify themselves( the latter part especially in the case of the girls). The food was great as usual, while many of us enjoyed a novel edition to breakfast that has become vital here at the Summit: Coffee. At 8:15 we began our first lecture with Dr. Chuck Edwards, who always gives us a down to earth, straight from the Bible information, on Postmodern Bible Study, in which he showed how we can miss the message of a Bible verse, here Matt 18:20- For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I will be also, when we don't look at the context, which in fact, when studied, shows that this verse is not about believers in meeting, but is actually about believers the agreeing on the judgment on a fallen believer(for those parents at home, look into it yourselves!)......

Good morning! Or perhaps, goodnight dependent upon the time that you are reading this, my name is Susanna Bender and I am a Texas native writing to you about today's (or yesterday's) adventures in Colorado. I was greeted this morning by Banana Pancakes. No, not the delicious breakfast food but instead the song by Jack Johnson. My roommate decided that would be a good song for us to wake up to this morning rather than the morning call of the male leaders however, it only made me want to eat pancakes. Unfortunately, I was not enticed to the cafeteria by that scent and instead was served French Toast Sticks, a close second. After eating my weight in Sticks, sausage and coffee I made my way down to the classroom to be greeted by Judson's question, "How do you pronounce P-A-M-P-H-L-E-T?" Apparently other Texans decided that word was pronounced with a "p" sound instead of the "f" sound the "ph" makes. I disagreed, as did most of the class....

Howdy! (That's how we say "Hello" in Texas). My name is Addie Baird. This morning, I caught the tail end of breakfast after waking up twenty minutes after our wonderfully gifted staff guys began the day with a melody in honor of Canada's birthday. Lovely. Simply lovely. Props to the kitchen staff, who does a masterful job neither over- or under-cooking the bacon! The Texas cookin' I'm used to is grand, so that's saying a great deal. Following breakfast, I visited the Air Force Academy to help the new students clean their rooms for military inspection...ok not really. All I had to do was walk upstairs to my room to find an equally insurmountable task. Thankfully I've passed inspection all of the three mornings I've been here. I've heard some talk of bribes, but I mean, who am I to know? My best friend-my sister- and I oddly found ourselves assigned to the only two person room in the hotel, so I probably have the room thing easier than most. It's great. DING DING DING!! Sorry for the jump. I had to rush down three and a half flights of stairs to make it to my seat in the (definitely braking fire code) crowded classroom. I think I feared being marked tardy less in English class last year than I do now with Judson's watchful eye on our class. I was late Monday. One strike down. Two more until dish duty!...or a comparable privilege. Chipper as usual, Dr. Noebel started today's lecture series with an interactive, entertaining, and politically incorrect address on the influence the Bible and Christianity have had on Western Civilization. We camped a while on the issue of slavery and the way that a few iron-clad Christians confronted the practice full-on and tore down its strongest fortresses. A difficult thought, though-it isn't over. People, even blacks, are being sold and exploited today, June 1, 2009. That was convicting. Why couldn't one of us, sitting in this hundred year old hotel, surrounded by picturesque mountains, be the warship filled with the Holy Spirit, directed by the Father, and empowered by Jesus' demonstration of selfless love, sent to demolish the slave trade of the twenty-first century? Dr. Noebel astounds me with his insight and hard-earned knowledge every lecture. We have all been challenged both by his direct address and his example to endeavor such understanding.....

The morning started at 6 am, after going to bed at eleven last night, but I fell back to sleep several more times for the next hour. That is until I had the sudden realization that breakfast was in fifteen minutes, and the food here is ALWAYS amazing! So I excitedly hopped up and started getting ready as soon as I could. When I got down stairs, I found out that breakfast was mini-waffles and sausage. It was delicious. I always look forward to the food here. Afterwards, we went to our morning classes. We started with Dr. Noebel; he gave us a look into why we should study the Bible. He told us that the Bible is an important part of world literature. Here is why: the Bible has had a tremendous influence on the USA and on all of the western civilization! If we read other world literature (for example, we read Greek/Roman literature and Jane Austen and so much more), shouldn't we read the Bible too? It really made me think. I read other books, but why don't I sit down and read the Bible?

I slept like a rock through the night, but NO ONE slept through the sound of many feet and the loud sound of a banging door of the morning runners heading out for their exercise. I was slightly agitated at them for being so energetic at such an early hour, but I then realized that it was almost my turn for the shower. While I was still mentally waking up, there was a sudden banging on our door; "Time to get up! Everyone out of bed!" shouted Jonathan, one of the nigh watchmen. Breakfast was a slow and groggy start for a lot of students, most of whom were still adjusting to the oxygen deprived altitude. After finishing our eggs and meat patties, we headed off to our first official Summit session. We started by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, both to the American Flag and the Christian Flag, and then continued with worship......