X Close Menu

News

Men’s Conference: Building God’s Kingdom

News--Men's Conference

Pictured L-R: Bryant Bair, Bob Kunes, Richard Moore, Rodney Andrews, and Gregg Lancaster

Several hundred men from St. Philip’s, churches across the state, and as far away as Kenya attended the Christian Men’s Conference at Camp St. Christopher February 21-23. I was blessed to be among them. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Father’s Blessing,” and the goal was for the weekend to be “a time of blessing for all men, young and old, in order that all men may thus be transformed and more fully equipped to build God’s kingdom, man to man.” Anglican Chaplain to the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel Rob Sturdy, looking like an apostle with his full beard and long, bushy hair, brought a passionate and well researched message over four sessions. Rob talked about the cultural view of masculinity being precarious: hard to earn and easy to lose versus the biblical view of masculinity being a gift from God. He talked about God being present, proud, and pleased with his son, Jesus, when he was baptized by John and how this blessing is extended to each of us just because we belong to him.

Worship time during the conference was led by the very talented Todd Fields. One of the attendees stated that he was deeply impacted when he first attended the Christian Men’s Conference several years ago because he had never heard this many men singing praise music, and he has been coming back every year since. Equally as moving were the testimonies that were shared about how the conference has personally impacted past attendees’ lives. We heard from a Christian from Pakistan who is now living in exile, a pastor from Kenya who is hoping to spread this type of conference to Africa, men that have struggled with their relationship with their earthly father, and a number of young men who have suffered from abuse and addiction. I found the conference to be a very moving experience that is difficult to put into words. I would encourage all men from our congregation to consider going to the conference next year. I am sure that you will not be disappointed that you went.

Listen online! Recordings of this year’s conference are available at christianmensconference.com.