Summit Ministries

A piece of advice: when sitting at the dinner table at Summit, DO NOT mention the fact that there are only five weeks left in our semester. The comment will be met with disapproving frowns and will be, for the most part, ultimately ignored. The halfway mark of our time here has come and gone and I think I speak for all the students when I say I would not change a thing.
Eric asked in one of our recent Family Meetings on Sunday night what we wanted or expected out of the next six weeks. I have spent a lot of time thinking about his question.
I came to Summit Semester not sure what to expect. I did not even know exactly how to explain it to people when asked about my semester plans, an "Academic retreat?" "Leadership training?" "A foundational character building semester?" Even after being here for a while, I find that an adequate answer to that question would be more of a long conversation than a simple sentence or phrase.
Looking back through the semester, I see several different stages that I went through that have helped me answer Eric's question. On first arriving, I definitely knew that there was a lot I did not know, and from my past experiences with Summit, I was excited and expectant to find some answers (or validation of my own answers) here. The first few weeks of class were quite basically intellectually humiliating. I was pretty sure I was the dumbest student here and was certain that the more I talked in class the sooner everyone else would discover this. I then became more and more overwhelmed, not just because of the increasing realizations of my ignorance in most of the subjects we discussed, but because I was beginning to see a lot of the gaps in my thinking in the areas where I was previously confident.
I still have this feeling, and rightfully so, but I am slowly beginning to see some light. I see now that it took the first six weeks that I was here to break down some of my unstable Christian beliefs, not necessarily to replace them with new ones, but developing a justification for believing them. And not answers that have been handed to me, but ones that I have reached through my own critical thinking and the revelation of my gracious God who wants me to be able to understand Him better. I can now begin to start building up again. Not with the naive, standard arguments that I would have earlier employed, but with wise intellectual tools to discern and to find truth.
So to answer Eric's question, within the rest of the semester, I expect to build up my knowledge and grow stronger and wiser. I now know better what to expect of myself when it comes to searching for truth. I expect not just a constant searching for answers, but to finally find some. The time I have here is precious, and I expect to leave at the beginning of December knowing why I believe in my faith.

When I first arrived in Pagosa Springs, I did not really have an idea of what I was getting myself into; I had never been to Snow Wolf Lodge, I did not know any other students very well, and I had no idea how these three months would be structured. However, the thing I knew the least about was the Professor, Dr. Michael Bauman. Now looking back, so deep is the impression he has left already, that it is hard to remember a time when I did not know him.
How can I describe Dr. Bauman? Well, he is an older gentleman with a youthful face. In class, he has a discerning glance that strikes fear in his students, and a smile that brings warmth to the whole room. In sports, he can trash talk like a professional, and will play even when the odds are stacked against him. In wisdom, he is a true educator; he is never willing to teach you merely what to think, but strives to teach you how to think. In conversation, he has been blessed with quick wit and understanding, yet he is willing to let you fill an hour of talk without interruption. In life, his love of teaching is only surpassed by his love of learning. But most of all, I am grateful for the example of one who so ardently pursues the truth, diligently applies it to his life, and then does not waste his knowledge, but shares it with others. He is an example to me of one who has given his mind to God, and God has blessed that offering by filling his mind with Truth. So Dr. Bauman, here is to you. Thanks for being a great teacher, and a good friend.

This week Dr. Don Williams visited as a guest speaker. He taught us the importance of literature for Christians, why we should care about it, how we should approach it, the different worldviews in literature, and different role models in literature. One of my favorite sessions with Dr. Williams was when he talked to us about going home.
Summit Semester has been the best semester of my life so far and none of us want to think about leaving. The thought of not seeing everyone every morning can make you melancholy. However, Dr. Williams brought up an important point about our return home.
What are we going to tell everyone about our experience here? How are we going to take the knowledge and the wisdom that we have acquired here and transfer it into our lives at home? It would be wrong not to say anything about the issues we have addressed and let others around us continue in their strain. Many of us will go back to churches that are not on track with preaching or practices and we will be faced with a decision: do we let it continue or do we say something, and how do we say it.
After sitting under Dr. Bauman for three months, I do not believe that any of us are capable of holding our tongue and letting things continue in vain. Dr. Williams outlined a few important things to remember, specifically, remaining respectful of everyone. Especially if it is our pastor that we are approaching, we should remember to ask for his vision for the church, then say that we might have something to add to it. The incorrect approach would be to condemn his vision as wrong. It will never hurt our case to be humble and establish common ground and meaningful relationships before saying anything.
To sum up Dr. Williams point, we should all remember to act in Christian love — never condemning with our words, but always seeking to help and edify in love.

"I don't like this poem, but in a few weeks Dr. Williams will come and interpret it for you. He likes 'Ars Poetica,' so that shows you how smart people can be wrong." –Dr. Bauman
"Now that Dr. Bauman is on vacation, we shall work on undoing his heresies." –Dr Williams
Dr. Williams came and took over our daily class time for the week. He is an unusual man who arrived with a suitcase and fedora last Saturday during our Farvest Hall Celebration (unfortunately not a time that we all looked ourselves), and since then we have come to love him. Having an air of humor and a tendency to spout quotations, he taught us just as much at the dining table as he did in the classroom.
With Tuesday came his anticipated lecture on the poem by Archibald MacLeish, "Ars Poetica." A few weeks ago, Dr Bauman tried to feed us a description of the said poem as pretty trash. Thence broke out a war that enveloped the rest of class time and many discussions that followed. Dr. Williams' explanation of the poem gave confidence to those of us who were unwilling to dismiss the poem as garbage, and so the battle continued.
"Good morning," conversations would begin, "Are you for or against 'Ars Poetica'?"
Dr. William's greatest lesson was in the third class on Thursday. While we were trying not to think about lunch, he changed the topic from English to Ephesians.
"We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:14–16)
My heart sank towards my empty stomach as Dr. Williams further prodded us to explain how we are going to treat people when we get home. Apparently, people in the real world do not like being smacked with truth, no matter how good our intentions. That also leads us into how we treat each other – while it is fun to destroy each others' arguments (well, I am assuming it would be), we still need to treat each other with the love unified Christians should exhibit.
That was our most important lesson for the week, and maybe the entire semester.

Last Saturday, we celebrated the beauty of the changing of the seasons with a fall harvest celebration, known at Summit Semester as the Farvest Hall. To start the day, the girls gave all of the guys a special surprise. They treated all of us to a breakfast in our honor that they personally cooked and served accompanied by specially planned music and followed by an award ceremony to recognize some of our qualities. All this was a great surprise to the guys and greatly appreciated.
After breakfast, we went outdoors for a pumpkin carving contest and a shooting competition. Those were followed by games such as the three-legged race, the egg and spoon race, and an egg toss, which ended with most of us covered in egg yolk. (Those who broke their eggs were kind enough to share the mess with others.)
After a light lunch, we resumed the activities, including a very competitive game of bobbing for apples and then making caramel apples.
We ended the Farvest Hall that night with a costume party. We enjoyed apple cider, bratwurst, potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce, cakes, and pies, while participating in games like the cakewalk, ball toss, and a fishing station with witty messages from our creative staff.
Saturday was a great time to have fun and fellowship with each other, showing us how much the staff wants us not just to learn new things and grow in our faith, but to enjoy every minute of it.

Today, the most prominent theory on how the world began taught in the classroom is evolution. Although the theory lacks a substantial amount of evidence to defend it and ignores an incredible amount of evidence against it, it remains the explanation that grade school children receive when posing the question "How did we get here?"
Even in light of all of the contested theories of our day, evolution still has an iron grip on the next generation's education. Evolutionists would argue that other supposedly legitimate theories (i.e. creationism) are nothing but religious jargon and should be discarded from the classroom for that reason. This is partly true. Many of the explanations of the origin of the universe depend largely on faith and thus would be considered a "religious" position. However, the belief that any religious theory should not be taught in the classroom is inconsistent with the present condition.
The evidence supporting evolution does not offer a better answer to these standards. Evolution is also a theory. The amount of evidence presented for evolution does not offer a greater argument of facts than the other theories. If all religious viewpoints on the subject should be dismissed from school curriculum, then we should under no circumstances be teaching evolution to America's youth.

I am torn over whether to say that I am sad or joyful to have made it through yet another amazing weekend of Summit Semester. We had a blast this past week and the weekend held only more unforgettable experiences. Saturday morning we left the lodge for almost a full day of hiking, and the weather could not have been better. Out first excursion was to the top of Treasure Falls. Along the way we crossed a stream over a fallen tree, laughed as we all struggled to keep our balance on the steep and rocky hillside, and paused on occasion to savor the incredible scenery around us. Once we reached the falls it was impossible not to stand in amazement at the inexplicable majesty of this picture painted by our creator. We spent some time at the waterfall letting the cool mist spray our flushed faces and taking pictures to help us remember this experience.
After lunch we drove up a small mountain road for another hiking expedition. Part of the group went exploring the continental divide and the rest of us caught up on some necessary studying while enjoying the view. To top off our afternoon, we saw our first flurry of snow! (This is an exciting moment in the life of an Alabamian who has not seen snow on the ground in fourteen years.)
Later that night, a few of us decided to soak our scrapes and bruises from the day's hike in the hot springs. The water was pleasant and relaxing and the night was gorgeous for star gazing. After a long day of physical exertion, this allowed us to unwind.
All in all the weekend was exhilarating and definitely memorable. However, in spite of all the positive things, I still struggle with a conflict of emotions over the passing time. Summit Semester has been an incredible experience for me so far and it brings sadness to think about how swiftly the weeks past. I do my best to make the most of my time here so that I will have too many enjoyable memories to count when the time comes for me to return to Alabama. I assure you that everyone has that same idea.

Every aspect of life here encourages community. Over the past month I have witnessed first hand the beauty and importance of a strong community and what that really looks like. Once the "honeymoon phase" passed, which took only about a week, we established a sense of camaraderie and genuine love for everyone as we settled into a routine. Mealtime offers a snapshot of our camaraderie. We eat every meal "family style," sitting and enjoying the great food and the company of each other for half an hour. The conversations vary anywhere from discussions about class to simply getting to know each other better. Once we finish the meal, everyone clears off the tables together, and then the rotated "dish-crew" takes over. Whether it be the "Apron Strings, Bleach Busters, Crumb Crushers(my crew) or the Dishpit Devils," you will always find us having a blast cleaning dishes, jamming to music, having water fights, and dancing with Elsie. When all the work is done, we gather arm in arm and shout out our completed check list with great enthusiasm. This last aspect of dish crew is my favorite, because no matter what, I walk out of the kitchen with a smile on my face. Another part of our community life includes "work crews." Twice a week we spend two hours cleaning and doing other various work around the grounds. After I arrived the first day, they put us right to work trimming dead limbs off the Aspen and Pine trees around the property, which turned out to be a perfect opportunity to get to know everyone. For the past few weeks we built a new deck railing. We have enjoyed the team work and sense of accomplishment, and look forward to carving our names in it. Being in a community has taught me a lot about myself and how to live a more selfless and disciplined life. Everyone here is so amazing, but what gets me the most excited is that God chose for each of us to be here together at this moment in time for a reason, it was not just an accident or coincidence. In this morning's devotion, we discussed what a community really is. A successful community does not mean just "getting along," it takes genuine love for one another and a common love and passion for Christ. I believe our community has this, and I praise God everyday for it.

Church History, English Literature, and Politics comprise only a small portion of what I have been learning here at Summit Semester. Since being here my aspirations and goals of all I learn and want to learn have expanded! Coming to Summit Semester I hoped to learn how to be better prepared with an answer for my faith, and I believe I am succeeding in strengthening the foundation of my beliefs in that way.
In addition, driving a stick shift (thanks to Kate!), waltzing, swing, and other dances, and basic guitar chords (thank you Rebekah!). Using a Chop saw, Router, and Saws–all are also among my new abilities!
Most importantly, I am learning how to live my faith away from my family. I have discovered it is a whole new experience to remain strong and seek to honor God rather than man outside the tight knit circle of my home life.

Yesterday, Wednesday, October 3, all of us departed drastically from the usual schedule, a road trip to the acclaimed village of Ouray ("Little Switzerland"), which we had been gleefully anticipating. Some of us, meaning the guys, were kept in the dark as long as possible about the planned trip and did not find out about it until the day before, and boy was there excitement in the air! You see, this is a moment in time—and brief at that—when the fall colors reach their glorious peak. We were not disappointed.
Riding in a fifteen passenger van with, duh, fourteen other people (I should say "characters") can be quite a daunting prospect under most circumstances, but here at Summit Semester a van ride is always capable of producing unparalleled hilarity and mirth. This six hour trip was no exception, and incredibly many of us were able to catch some refreshing shut-eye in the midst of the cacophony, much of which was inspired by the veritable smorgasbord of music that included hearty sing alongs to such tunes as "The Phantom of the Opera". Needless to say, once we entered the high alpine meadows, God's creation left us breathless.
Numerous scenic stops dominated our trip to Ouray, and I decided while passing through Silverton that it would behoove me to ride the steam train through the mountains someday—something definitely to anticipate. We did ultimately reach Ouray and spent about ninety minutes making the most of the location, i.e. touring as many shops as possible and hopelessly gawking like tourists. Although a few of us were more than a little disappointed that the Ouray candy shop did not stock sassafras candy, the town redeemed itself in our eyes when we found a cache of old-fashioned sassafras hard candy in the general store. We celebrated.
As brevity prevails, suffice it to say that we would have been hard-pressed to spend a more delightful day on the road. I took more pictures during the trip than the previous three weeks put together. Not only did we pass through a glorious mountain region during the pinnacle of autumn grandeur, but we also managed to fit in a much-needed stop at Wal Mart on the return trip. And how better to cap off such a day than by eating supper at Applebee's in Durango?