Dr. Billy Curl opened Summit 2011 Sunday with an impassioned lecture emphasizing that God has had enough with believers’ lack of passion to act out their faith.
Curl said the most important thing he wanted listeners to take away from his speech was compassion.
“When people are full of compassion, they learn to accept things that are not like them,” Curl said. “They are able to deal with people whose attitudes, culture, habits and beliefs are different.”
Curl spoke from the biblical passage Isaiah 1:11-17, focusing on the importance for believers to be passionate for fulfilling the role of a Christian.
“God is a god of second chances,” Curl said. “All of us -Â at one time or another -Â have failed. He’s had enough with that stuff. Now he’s telling us to wake up and seek justice.”
ACU chancellor Dr. Royce Money introduced Curl, an elder/minister at Crenshaw Church of Christ in Los Angeles, before large audiences in Moody Coliseum and in live streaming video online. Brady Bryce, director of ministry events, said Money and Curl had a relationship that goes way back.
“It was great to watch Dr. Money welcome his own classmate from nearly 50 years ago to speak,” Bryce said.
Curl entered Abilene in 1962 as the first African-American student at the university. He graduated with a degree in speech pathology and spent ten years as a missionary in Ethiopia. Sunday was his second time as a speaker at Summit.
“His philosophy is if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything,” Money said. “I guarantee you this man stands for something.”
Bryce, overseer of Summit and adjunct professor, said the live streaming was special in that Curl’s church in Los Angeles was able to hear Curl’s address, along with other churches in California and Michigan.
“It’s pretty amazing that so many people were here watching in Moody, but double that and that’s how many online viewers we had from around the country,” Bryce said.
Summit continued from Sunday evening until Wednesday night. Some of the featured events on Wednesday include Max Lucado’s lecture at 3 p.m. and a concert by Mindy Smith at 8:30, both in Moody Coliseum. Summit will stream live at acu.edu/live.
