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Getting Away with God
‘Face’ Camp
It’s church camp season! Country Lake Christian Retreat in Louisville, Kentucky, offers traditional overnight camp plus “motocross,” homeschool, and disability-oriented camping experiences for kids during the next few months. However, Country Lake created one of its most distinctive programs for adults, and schedules it throughout the year.
CLCR, a ministry of Southeast Christian Church (also in Louisville), began the “Faces of Christ” retreat 12 years ago. Hundreds of men and women have experienced life change and spiritual renewal through their participation.
“This is a highly intense experience,” says Ross Brodfuehrer, community groups staff member. “We tell the group, ‘We have you for 67 hours—how many times do you intentionally get away with God for that long?’”
These hours—beginning Thursday evenings and ending Sunday afternoons—include worship and teaching, time alone for reflection, and special experiences to help people relate to Christ in new ways.
“I know that sounds vague, but it’s almost like telling someone about a movie and not wanting to spoil the plot,” Brodfuehrer says. “The purpose of every moment is helping participants understand their own belief systems (which may or may not be in line with God’s revealed truth) by giving them tools to look inside, and then helping them see new ‘faces of Christ.’ The retreat is a cocoon of grace for this to happen.”
Country Lake will hold four more Faces of Christ retreats in 2008; for details visit www.southeastchristian.org/countrylake.
Tech School
This fall, Abilene (Texas) Christian University will be the first university in the nation to provide an iPhone or an iPod touch to each incoming freshman. Students will use the media devices to receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, check meal and account balances, and even find directions to professors’ offices. ACU has already created more than 15 Web applications for the new technology.
The school involved students and faculty in evaluating these new options before committing to the initiative. Faculty/staff research teams tested the devices in classroom and social settings, produced several research projects, and blogged and wrote white papers about their findings.
They also incorporate new media in other ways. ACU is one of the only Christian schools currently providing free lectures and other programs through “iTunes U,” and staff members recently created Connected, a short film capturing ACU’s vision for technology on its campus.
ACU was one of the first universities to use mobile devices as learning tools in its graduate distance education programs. “Expanding to undergraduate, residential students is a natural progression for us,” says Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
www.acu.edu/connecte
Net Work
In other higher education news, Lincoln (Illinois) Christian College and Seminary’s new “Church Leader Network” shares articles, downloads, and other resources for church leaders. LCC’s Church Development Office created the new Web site, which includes sections on “disciple-making churches,” new churches and church planting, turnaround churches, rural churches, and more. Pages devoted to natural church development explore this research and its application to the local church, and the site offers links to helpful books, congregational assessment tools, and LCC&S faculty with expertise to share.
Visit the site at www.churchleader.net.
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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