The Creation Mega Conference - Part Two
by Tim Chaffey
I just returned home from the week-long Mega Conference held at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. In an earlier article I shared some thoughts from the first half of the conference. In this article I would like to reflect on the entire conference.
The most impressive feature of the entire conference was the attitude of the various speakers. I spoke to about eighty percent of them and found them to be very humble men of God. It was readily apparent that these men and women were dedicated to the authority of God's Word and were in this ministry primarily to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
My favorite session of the entire conference was Dr. John Whitcomb's talk on Monday night. Dr. Whitcomb spoke on the impact of The Genesis Flood, the groundbreaking book he co-authored with Dr. Henry Morris. This book sparked the modern creation movement and has had a tremendous impact on millions of people, either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, this book is responsible for the Mega Conference itself, as well as ministries such as the Institute for Creation Research, Answers in Genesis, and even Midwest Apologetics. Dr. Whitcomb received a very moving standing ovation before and after his talk. He also read a letter from his good friend, Dr. Morris, who was unable to attend the conference. What a joy it would have been to see these two godly men share the stage at this conference.
Bill Jack, from Worldview Academy, spoke twice on Thursday. As always, Mr. Jack was entertaining, informative, and right on target. I have had the pleasure of meeting him on three occasions now and am always impressed with his humble attitude and strong desire to see the lost come to Christ. In fact, during one of his sessions, one person did commit their life to Christ. Praise God for this commitment since this is ultimately why apologists defend the faith.
Answers in Genesis also had an opportunity to introduce their newest speaker, Dr. Georgia Purdom. Dr. Purdom is probably the first female speaker in this area. Her talk centered on the shortcomings of the Intelligent Design movement - a topic we have critiqued in the article Intelligent Design? Yes! Intelligent Defense? Not really! Dr. Purdom's comments strengthened our conviction in this area and added some additional insights.
This was the third major conference Answers in Genesis has hosted in the United States. I attended the two previous conferences held near Cincinnati, OH (2001, 2003) and believe the Mega Conference was far better. For the first time, they had basic and advanced talks simultaneously so that one could choose which topic would be of greater benefit to him/her. I have heard many of the speakers before and thought a few of them were (in the past) were quite dry and boring. However, this time around I noticed that they had become much better public speakers and were much easier to listen to. I am looking forward to ordering the DVD set of this conference when it becomes available in a couple of months.
On the way home, we had an opportunity to tour the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, OH. This was my second trip there and I am more excited than ever before to see it open in the spring of 2007. This museum will be an amazing witness to God's Word and will be one of the greatest teaching tools this world has ever seen. During the conference, the museum received a one million dollar matching gift (that's right one MILLION - 1,000,000) from a supporter. During the next few months, every donation given to the museum will essentially be doubled by this person's generous gift. I pray that God will lead others to join in supporting this vital ministry.
(07/25/05)