Summer Celebration wins rave reviews from attendees
|
From fireworks to fellowship, Summer Celebration 2006 was a success with more than 1,000 people attending the more than 60 sessions from July 5-8, and participants reported they had a great time.
“It’s just so well-organized, and the fact that it is for the whole family is what really impresses me,” said Dianne Sosebee, a resident of Dallas, Ga., who attended Summer Celebration this year for the second time.
Sosebee attended talks by Jeff Walling, Jerry Jones and Lynn Anderson, among others.
“He talked about running deep in shallow times, and used lots of good metaphors,” Sosebee said of Anderson, from San Antionio, Texas, who spoke on how to deepen your spiritual life, she said.
Becky McCormick of Chattanooga said she was excited to hear Lipscomb University President Randy Lowry speak July 5 on applying the professional concepts of conflict resolution to problems within the church.
As the creator of Lipscomb’s new Institute for Conflict Management, Lowry strives to bring healthy conflict management to all walks of life, including the religious world.
“It was interesting to hear a lawyer’s perspective rather than a minister,” McCormick noted.
Lowry, former director of the Straus Institute for Conflict Resolution in Malibu, Ca., and Jerry Strader, director of the Center for Conflict Resolution in Abilene, Texas, presented a two-lesson series on conflict management in the church, titled “What Keeps You Up at Night? Dealing with Difficult Moments.”
Another popular session was Prentice Meador’s three-lesson series on the life of C.S. Lewis. Lewis’ works are experiencing a revival these days in the wake of The Chronicles of Narnia movie release earlier this year.
Meador, senior minister of Prestoncrest Church of Christ in Texas who was invited to Oxford University to lecture on Lewis, noted how the author is similar to the apostle Paul in several ways, including having his own “thorn in the flesh,” a deformity of his thumbs; a later-in-life conversion experience; and a shared vision of inclusive Christianity.
Other activities popular with attendees included “The Tower Room,” a one-act play for the whole family; “The Most,” an Academy Award-nominated movie short, and fireworks on the Allen Arena Mall on July 7.
Rhonda Lowry, the First Lady of Lipscomb, hosted a sold-out high tea at Longview Mansion; and Randy Harris, from Abilene, Texas, conducted a sold-out Spiritual Renewal Seminar for two days at the mansion.