By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
One new session for this year’s Summit will include three featured guest speakers of national and international acclaim.Brian McLaren, J. Matthew Sleeth and Sam Solomon will discuss issues ranging from environmentalism to radical Islam.
“Maybe the more exciting change is the featured guest slot,” said Brady Bryce, director of ministry events. “It perfectly lines up with the academic calendar.”
Each lecture will start at 3 p.m. in Moody Coliseum and last 45 minutes. Students can earn three Chapel credits for attending each lecture.
McLaren will speak Monday. He is an acclaimed author and church planter and has appeared on broadcasts including Larry King Live and Nightline. In Time magazine’s Feb. 7, 2005, issue, McLaren was recognized as one of the “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” He has written more than 10 books and is a leader in the “emerging church movement.” In Monday’s lecture, he will discuss how to reach Christians for Christ.
“It sounds kind of strange,” Bryce said. “A lot of us assume that we’ve already been reached for Christ. But what about our perspectives of Jesus aren’t quite realistic and what needs to change?”
The Graduate School of Theology, the Youth and Family Ministry program and the Adams Center for Learning helped bring McLaren to campus.
The Adams Center, along with the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Biology, also worked to invite Sleeth to speak.
Sleeth, a former emergency room physician, is an environmental activist. His book, Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action, was a finalist for a 2008 Christianity Today Book Award.In Tuesday’s lecture, he will discuss his journey in changing his family’s lifestyle by reducing their fossil fuel and electricity use by more than two-thirds.
“They did a simple energy audit of their home,” Bryce said. “And they realized they were living a very materialistic life. He’s going to tell his story on how that became a Christian issue for him.”
In Wednesday’s lecture, Solomon, a former Muslim terrorist trainer, will speak about his experiences in an al-Qaida-like terrorist cell and his conversion to Christianity. He is now a lawyer in the United Kingdom and advises Parliament. The Honors College and Adams Center helped bring him to ACU.
“It’s a pretty stunning story,” Bryce said.
He said he is excited about the featured guest lectures and about bringing diverse speakers to Summit.
“That’s what I’m really pushing for is the bringing together of different people,” Bryce said. “I think this event is going to help achieve that in a small way.”
