Here I will report on some worthwhile events around Indianapolis, IN. Since I don't go to a lot of events, obviously this will be a very selective list. :-) There are many more worthwhile events that I will not mention. Nonetheless, I want this to be a service for those of you living near our town. For the rest of you, I will try to tell you whom to contact to find out if such an event is going to happen in your city, or if you wish to host such an event.

Part of our family attended the third annual Worldview Weekend held Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28, 1998 at East 91st Street Christian Church on the north side of Indianapolis. (You could probably call them to find out how to be put on their mailing list for next year's Worldview Weekend if you are interested.)

What is a Worldview Weekend? It is a weekend designed to help equip Christian young people to first of all keep, and secondly defend their faith in this increasingly confusing world we live in. Each speaker had a heart for teens. They wanted them to understand the ideas they will be facing in the world, why these ideas are wrong, where they will lead if one adopts them as a way of viewing life, and what answers Christianity has for these ideas.

You may say, "I don't see why we need something like this since for years we've been an active Christian family. Our children have had a sound biblical education, and they know what's right." That's great, but do your children know why they believe, as well as what they believe? Do they know how to hold their own against professors who aim to change their views and actively design arguments against what they've been taught? This happens in both secular schools and liberal Christian schools.

For instance, I went to a Methodist university in southwestern Indiana some 28 years ago, and took a class entitled "Christian Thought." There I learned about what some call higher criticism. My parents and I thought I had a good foundation; however, I wasn't ready for such a strong, determined onslaught against my faith. I folded temporarily - just long enough to really make a mess of my early twenties. This story is multiplied many times over today, says Dr. David Noebel. He gets letters from distraught parents very frequently concerning children who are turning their backs on their faith because of what they heard in college.

Dr. Noebel, who spoke to both young people and us adults, wrote a book called Understanding the Times to help prevent this from happening. In it are chapters covering the major worldviews we are up against today, and how each of those views compares with Christianity in ten interlocking disciplines (including theology, philosophy, biology, sociology, law...). Click here for his website if you want to learn more (just hit the "back" button to come back to this page).

Dr. Jeff Myers, who helped develop the Understanding the Times curriculum out in Colorado, also spoke at these meetings. To learn his views, read his letter when you get done here. He brought along a group of college students who are equipped to share about worldviews through skits and in other ways. (I can't tell you more because I wasn't in the Teen Track. Our son, Micah, really enjoyed it, though.) After hearing Dr. Myers, I am very glad he has moved to our neck of the woods. He is now Assistant Professor of Communication Arts at Bryan College (Dayton, TN), as well as part-time Professor of Communication at Knox Theological Seminary. (This is good news for those of us who are interested in seeing our teens have an opportunity to be trained to be godly leaders, because he has worked to bring Summit Ministry's two week student leadership conference to the midwest.)

I am really thankful to East 91st Street Christian Church for hosting this event every year for the past three years. They have wonderful facilities, and lots of people who labored behind the scenes to make this event a success. I'm already looking forward to hearing about next year's conference. You can be sure I plan to share the information when I get it.

You may have noticed I had this thirteen-week course on the Upcoming Events schedule this summer. It will be coming around again somewhere in town, so I wanted to let you know what it was about. (For more immediate interactive help on this subject, please go to Survivors and Friends online. There are articles and forums about many facets of the subject.)

This was a psycho-educational course that dealt in a godly manner with sexual abuse issues. However, one did not have to be an abuse victim to receive good things from the class. In actuality, though sexual abuse was the topic, it dealt with the effects of living in a fallen world. Bad things can (and often do) happen. This course, based on the book The Wounded Heart by Dan Allender and its accompanying workbook gave a roadmap toward healing for any kind of severe hurts we receive. It speaks of the harmful dynamics that come into play once we've been hurt, and shows how to disarm them with God's help. The goal is to allow God to heal us so we can move from survival to what Christians are supposed to walk in - abundant life.

Though we were all women, we were a mixed group. Our ages varied from early twenties to late sixties and beyond. Some of us had been dealing with abuse issues for some time, others were just beginning to process things, and still others were taking the course so they could support people who are hurting. To make the group a safe place in which to work, we laid some ground rules. The very first one was an agreement to keep what was shared only within the group. This allowed us to examine honestly how we are meeting life today. We began by exploring our coping mechanisms and their effects on our lives.

Then we were invited in this supportive environment to look at the feelings evoked by the abuse or other hurts. - We were constantly encouraged not to force memories, but to let them come as we were ready. All we had to do was be willing for the Holy Spirit to bring them. - Some had no memories at all, but all could definitely identify with the feelings we covered, whether we were abused or not. Some of the feelings (and their effects) that were discussed were shame and guilt, powerlessness, betrayal, and ambivalence. At this stage, we were all invited to look prayerfully at our lives and the harvest such feelings have given us.

We began to examine how coping mechanisms that we started using out of a need to survive have now backfired on us and our families and other loved ones. In other words, we were now beginning to focus on our sin of choosing to close our hearts and to remain in a survival mode now that whatever danger that provoked the response is long past.

It was emphasized repeatedly that the abuse was not the victim's fault - that it never was and never will be. The only thing the victim is responsible for is not allowing healing into his/her life, thus perpetuating the cycle of hurt and pain. What prevents the healing from coming are his/her coping mechanisms. To let them go, however, he/she must wrestle with God, because to a Christian, it seems a total contradiction to say God is love, and yet God allowed me to be betrayed. That thought causes very real, legitimate anger. Until that is dealt with honestly, and until he/she goes through the process of wrestling with God, there will be no permanent peace. We learned that in the process of wrestling with God we are really coming to terms bit by bit with His sovereignty. We are entering into the experience of Job, and we too, if we stick with the process honestly in spite of the pain, will eventually come out with an enlarged view of God. (I know this to be true, for I have experienced such wrestling and its results more than once. To read about one of my experiences, press here.)

The course was presented by Mary K. Adams, a staff member of New Life Clinic (Castleton area - 8060 Knue Rd, Suite 110; Indpls, IN. Phone:(317)570-1642). She uses Dan Allender's material, but sensitively and compassionately also adds what the Lord has taught her.

I would highly recommend anyone who feels "stuck" in his/her growth, sexual abuse victim or no, to consider such a class. More than one person has taken it more than once, gleaning more each time as the Lord moves them from stage to stage of healing. I came out with things to work on and pray about and a better understanding of God, myself and others. I am richer by far for having attended, and am very thankful for the opportunity, even though it didn't always seem like fun at the time.

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