Amanda Jones
Our annual January conference has become integral to the Trinity Forum Academy. This exciting event brings together a group of Christians to critically engage a timely topic. This year’s conference focused on the life of William Wilberforce, the man who dedicated his life’s work to the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain.
The conference began on Friday evening with a talk given by Micheal Flaherty, the president of Walden Media. Micheal showed clips from Amazing Grace and spoke about the concept of integrity in the film industry. He shared about the personal journey that led him to found Walden Media and reminded us that true dedication to a cause, like the abolition of slavery or the reformation of the film industry, may require a lifetime.
Doug Holladay opened up Saturday by tracing Wilberforce’s life, highlighting politics as the vehicle that Wilberforce used to accomplish his goal. Doug exhorted us to be equally creative with our gifts, insisting that Christians do not have to work in the mission field or in youth ministry to be doing God’s will. Although some are called to these noble roles, others should consider politics, business, academia, and so on. Doug encouraged Christians, and specifically young Christians, to find a niche and dedicate a lifetime to its reformation. Doug also emphasized that such work cannot be done alone. Using the Clapham Circle as an example, Doug outlined the importance of finding a group for accountability and for support in living out your faith.
Saturday afternoon we heard from Jeff Hunt, part of the recently developed Clapham Group, on the ways they are promoting knowledge of Wilberforce’s life and contributions. Paul McCusker from Focus on the Family followed Jeff, highlighting their new radio dramas on the lives of William Wilberforce, John Newton, and Olaudah Equiano in the years leading up to the events Amazing Grace treats. Chuck Stetson spoke on the upcoming Wilberforce documentary, The Better Hour.
The diversity of the talks spurred lively conversation among our eighty-five guests. Each of the presenters emphasized that it may take a lifetime to implement true change, and each of our speakers exemplified dedication to change and to the cause of Christ.
As a staff member of the Academy, I was most rewarded by watching the activity leading up to the weekend. The Fellows poured countless hours into cleaning, planning, praying, and coordinating a successful event. These were memorable times of bonding as a community, but they also contained moments of stress, frustration, and anxiety. Although the Fellows are a young group that is just forming, they are not dissimilar from the Clapham Circle. The Conference provided one of their first group ventures, and the Lord blessed them with success and a more tightly-knit community.
Perhaps one of the most notable moments of the weekend was when the Fellows and a few other conference attendees gathered around Kimberly Smith and laid hands on her, lifting her up in fervent prayer before she departed for two months in Sudan. The power of Christ and his commission for justice was tangible.
Many thanks to those of you who were present—you played a large part in a successful weekend! For those who weren’t, we hope to have you as our guests next year.
Amanda is Assistant Director for Development and Communications at the Trinity Forum Academy.
0 Responses • Staff, Mon 19 Mar 2007
For what else are servants of God, but minstrels, whose work it is to lift up people's hearts and move them to spiritual gladness?
Francis of Assisi
