The story is way too common. The parents had done their best to raise their child to follow Jesus. And now their child headed off to university to get the finest education available. Only their education was not just in engineering or architecture or medicine. Their child was also challenged with the value or truth of faith in God. And their child could not answer the challenges and walked away from following Jesus. And the parents asked questions: How could this have happened? What are they supposed to do now? What did they do wrong? How are they supposed to respond as Christians? What would Jesus have them do?
That's but one example of how we are confronted with people (or our own family) whose beliefs conflict with our understanding of the Bible. It's easy to simply avoid the issues or take an argumentative stand. It's easy to question our own faith. It's easy to become fearful for our children.
We often respond reflexively because we don't know what to do. More importantly, we don't know where to begin thinking so we can respond in a godly fashion to people who do not know Jesus.
Next March 25 & 26, we will be having Sean McDowell at Grace Baptist for our annual Family Life Conference. The theme for the weekend is Living as Believers in a Changing Culture.
On Saturday evening he will be speaking on the campus of Manhattan Christian College to High School and College students on the topic of Engaging The LGBTQ Conversation: Compassion and Clarity. This session offers a biblically informed, yet gracious approach to loving LGBTQ people as God loves them and helps us learn to respond with clarity and compassion. We are inviting students from other churches and campus groups to participate.
Then on Sunday, Sean will be speaking during the worship services, Bible Hour, and an afternoon session. We are also inviting people from other churches to participate.
During the worship services, Sean will be preaching on Passing Your Faith to The Next Generation. He will use Deuteronomy 6:4-7 as the roadmap. This will practically encourage raising children according to the biblical model.
During Bible Hour, he will be speaking on True for You, but not True for Me to address the issue of truth, the ability to know truth, and understanding the implications of truth in our daily lives. This is intended for everyone aged 5th grade and up.
The afternoon session will continue the ideas from Bible Hour but with a high-level focus on A 30,000 Foot View of Biblical Sexuality. It will be a mix of theology and practical information. There will be a time for anonymous Q&A as well. This session is intended for everyone 5th grade and up.
We believe this weekend will be valuable for everyone, whether married or single, parents or not, students or grandparents. Mark your calendars today. This is a weekend you don't want to miss.
