This past Saturday, I taught my Knight’s Code Men’s Conference in Rock Hill, SC as a part of my 2017 partnership with the South Carolina Methodist Men. I want to share a quick story from that event.
A friend of mine left at 5:30 a.m. and drove about 3 hours to bring his 19-year-old son to the event. The young man sat there, engaged the entire time, taking notes through several hours of teaching (as did Dad). At the end, the son told me he was going to go home with 3 of my 3SG books and start a group with 2 of his buddies. Why at 19 would he do this? Because the truth hit him straight on in one of the major areas he and his buddies are struggling. He recognized it and reached for it.
When the conference was over, a man walked up to me, took my hand, and with tears in his eyes said, “I’m 80 years old and I want to thank you for speaking the truth to me. I really needed to hear this.”
I found it incredibly intriguing that, while communicated a bit differently, I heard the same response in the same room from a 19-year-old and an 80-year old. The generational differences of 60 years are huge but the need of the heart in the man is the same.
We all know the world is going crazy. We feel the heat being turned up in the culture. Things are changing rapidly and the direction is not good. We feel it. We see it. Daily. Sometimes hourly.
But people are also desperately seeking the truth. Wanting their lives to make sense. Wanting to find a method in the madness. To find a foundation in the fury. A calm in the chaos.
The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them. —Psalm 145:17-19 NLT