From start to finish, this year’s conference was a blessing to our staff and, from the feedback we’ve received, it was also one to all those in attendance. Our ultimate goal, however, is to be a blessing to our King.
This year we set out with the specific intent to deal with the “Strategic Trends” that would be affecting all of our lives in the not-too-distant future. With that goal in mind, we led off the conference with Amir Tsarfati and David Hocking. Both Amir and David talked about the state of Israel and the challenges facing her. David also emphasized the Biblical importance of the modern state of Israel and his session is a great apologetic on the subject.
On Saturday morning, our dear friend “THE PREACHER” Steve Berger took us through the terrifying journey of the church of Ephesus as they lost their “first love” in less than 40 years. Steve’s message was a wooing from God to bring us back to the heart of our own “first love” with the Trinity. We had over a hundred people come forward to ask for forgiveness and to beg God to fill them anew with the power of the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing work of the Lord.
As we continue to see the world monetary systems crack and crumble under a mountain of bad debt and illiquidity, most of us have found ourselves wondering if we will have to dramatically change our lifestyles.
So we brought in an expert—Harvard MBA and Crown Financial speaker, Kevin Dodge. Kevin’s session took us back to the basics of how God looks at money and asked the question of whether or not we really trust HIM.
As many of you know, we have been adding new faculty to the Institute; our newest addition was also a speaker at this year’s conference. Bill Cloud, an expert on ancient Hebrew roots, showed us how we can decipher much of the Hebrew language just by understanding the word pictures the letters originally formed. Check out www.studycenter.com to get more information on when Bill’s classes are starting.
Koinonia Institute Executive Director Dan Stolebarger challenged us to examine our lives in light of the callings and purposes of God. His session was a real wake-up call to a lot of people.
Chuck followed by updating us on the state of affairs in the United States. The data that is available to us through some of our inside connections put the finishing touches on a picture of the future that is not very comfortable.
However, comfort is not the goal of an effective minister of the Gospel, and Chuck reminded us that this world is not our home. We must look to our Father at all times and trust in Him alone. Most of us have not had to exercise that trust, as many of our Christian brothers and sisters do on a daily basis—they don’t know where their next meal is coming from; or, if they will even live long enough to have a next meal. This is a perspective we should never lose sight of.
After a brief but boisterous ceremony to present KI Bronze Medallions and other awards, John Loeffler spoke. John has been working with us on our radio broadcasts for over 10 years. His mission was to take us out of the cultural perspective that has numbed us to sleep and instead see the culture for what it truly is—a system designed to thwart the purposes of God.
Lastly, if you’ve never heard Walid Shoebat speak, you’re missing out. He has a dynamic style that will entertain you, but at the same time his unique background as a former Muslim terrorist gives him a level of depth and perspective like no other.
If you couldn’t make it this time, we look forward to seeing you at the next Strategic Perspectives conference. For those of you who were with us, my deepest thanks for making this event a great success!
The full conference DVDs and audioCDs will soon be available.
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