A gorgeous Ozark mountaintop sunrise.
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Morning Worship |
We always offer an Alumni Track for returning students; seven of the twenty sessions are designated for Alumni only. These smaller, more intimate lecture and discussion times allow us to go deeper than the plenary sessions with the new students. This year, we only have two alumni, Alan Eller and KC Vetter. Since the second video projector we brought has some kind of problem, we are just showing our PowerPoint Presentations on our laptops. Ray Bohlin shows Alan and KC pictures from his and Sue's research trip to the Galapagos Islands, in an Alumni session called "Creation, Species, Darwin and the Galapagos Islands." (You can see a lot of the same pictures on our Web site here.) |
Ray Bohlin teaches what is one of the favorite sessions for those interested in science and the creation/evolution issue: "Origins of the Universe and Life." For those NOT as interested in science, it can be a mind-boggling display of God's hugeness and power in creating the immensity of the universe and the tiny intricacy of life on the molecular level. Everyone learns some of the plentiful evidence for Intelligent Design. |
A typical mealtime event: discussions started in the lectures continue over lunch or dinner. Greg Grooms might be talking about western civilization. . . or Auburn University football. |
Some of our stellar students. Starting at the right and moving clockwise: Julie Jackson, Sarah Veres, Riley Von Edwins, Nikki Canalichio, Britney Bearden, John Burris, Zach Wright. |
Stuart Torrence brought a boomerang from Australia with him and there was an impromptu "boomerang session" after lunch. The boomerang never did the same thing twice, and it never EVER came back to the person who threw it. Here, Rick Wade tries his hand at it. |
On Monday, we had divided the students into four reading groups, each one to meet with a different Probe teacher the following day. Each speaker had chosen a reading from a non-Christian perspective that we would read critically and then discuss to help the students learn critical thinking skills. In introducing the readings, we asked them to first read an article from the Probe Web site called "Tuning Up Your Baloney Detector" that helps identify poor arguments and fallacious thinking. We also gave them four powerful questions to use in dealing with people (including authorities such as professors) and texts: 1. What do you mean by that? (Clarify the terms and words used.) 2. Where do you get your information? 3. How do you know that? 4. What if you're wrong? Each group rotates through all four of the teachers as the week progresses. This group is meeting with Greg Grooms to discuss a short story by Woody Allen called "Mr. Big." |
Sue Bohlin's reading was an essay promoting gay marriage and attempting to tear down the arguments against it. |
The discussion on Sue's chosen reading corresponded well with her lecture "Understanding Homosexuality," which is enhanced by years of involvement in a ministry that helps people deal with unwanted homosexuality. |
The Ozark conference center is located on the top of a mountain. The original two buildings were well-spaced private homes that were eventually purchased, along with hundreds of acres of land, for the conference center. Other buildings were eventually built, with lots of space between them, providing lots of opportunity for walking off all the wonderful food we get here! |
One of the favorite sessions is always "Guys Are From Mars, Girls Are From Venus," where Ray and Sue Bohlin examine the differences between guys and girls. By this point in the schedule, the students are grateful for a lecture that doesn't stretch their brain a whole lot and that makes them laugh! |