Summit Ministries

The Summit...What impacted me most.

When I was asked to write this blog-post, or whatever it is, I thought to myself, "What the heck am I going to say?" But more importantly I thought, how am I going to compact this all into 3-4 paragraphs? Well anyways, here is my feeble attempt to sum up two of the most influential weeks of my life.

Summit has been an amazing experience; I have grown up in a Christian school, church, and family, and have heard most of the information I received here so many times before. Yet listening to it this time was so much more different. The speakers had so much passion and excitement about what they were sharing, that it came through very strongly in the way that they presented their material. I came to Summit to learn more about worldview and how to apply that to the way I live. After the first week though, I felt like my world had been rocked and turned upside down.

I think that one of the most influential points of the Summit for me was listening to the testimonies of all the speakers, and how what they were going through affected them and their families. For example one of our speakers in particular was telling us about the experiences that he had over in the Middle East and how he has had contracts out on his life. To me this was mortifying, scary, and hilarious at the same time. I know that really sounds like something that is not funny, but hearing Terry Moffitt tell his story was so amazing. The power of God was very clearly seen through his life, as was God's protection. Someone with a story like Terry Moffitt might be someone that we picture as living in fear, but in no ways did that come across in his person or speech because of his trust in God. Not only did the speaker's testimonies speak to me, but their ideas really challenged me.

Dr. Ken Turner, for example, totally gave me a new perspective for the way that I personally look at, read, and interpret the Bible. After his lecture I went straight up to him and started debating with him, and he was very receptive to my questions. As a student, this was something that I really appreciated because he answered my questions and did not treat me as an inferior just because I did not have a Ph. D. in front of my name.

All in all, I think that Summit Ministries is something that everyone should do. As much worldview knowledge as anyone thinks that they have, they still can never have enough. God has revealed so much to me in the 2 weeks that I have been here, that I feel like I am on information over-load; but at the same time I have a new perspective on creation, His Word, and just how to live my life. As a young person growing up in this world, I feel so much more prepared to go out and engage the culture successfully.

- Lindsay T.