Vision Forum Ministries Events for 2011
November 22, 2010
Read about Vision Forum Ministries’ key 2010 projects and events. Also make sure to view the Lessons from 2010 and Vision for 2011 Full Ministry Report, and consider making a donation to the ongoing work of Vision Forum Ministries.
Charting Manhood in a Lost World: Vision Forum Takes Fathers and Sons into the Amazon
When Ernest Shackleton recruited his men for the Antarctic, he encouraged them to join him on a “hazardous journey.” Our mission into the heart of the Peruvian and Brazilian rainforest may not be as perilous as the journey of Shackleton, but it is a mission of discovery as some members of our team meet with indigenous tribes which not too long ago were still practicing headhunting and cannibalism. One part father-and-son adventure, one part scientific investigation, and one part Gospel mission, the 2011 Amazon Expedition will take men deep into Amazonia. Approximately one hundred years after Teddy Roosevelt took his son Kermit on a voyage of discovery down the Amazon, our father and son teams will: (a) experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to muck through the Amazon like a man, with men, on a manly adventure; (b) learn about the great battles with environmental pantheism from the epicenter of the fight; (c) investigate mysteries of the ancient world; and (d) observe exotic and strange creatures, evaluating them from a distinctively Creationist perspective. Make sure to subscribe to our field reports!
Status: Please pray for our team, for their safety and for their mission. Regretfully, the trip is closed and we are not able to accommodate any more guests. Vision Forum will be making an announcement in the month of December about how you can get video reports and stories sent to you from our team on the ground in the Amazon.
Inaugurating a Creative New Strategy for Helping Our Sons Prepare for Manhood and Marriage: The Life Preparation and Manhood Bootcamp
Is our discipleship model producing young men that are masculine, visionary, articulate, entrepreneurial, and really prepared for marriage? Why are their so many young ladies who are ready to wed, but fewer young men? It is clear that huge strides have been made, but after generations of fatherlessness in America, we have a lot of catch-up to do for our young men, and the purpose of this bootcamp is to help us jump-start the process. This one to two week course will provide young men with a framework for how to dress, speak, talk, and walk like a man. It will offer them a healthy vision to model excellence as a potential suitor, and provide them with clear, biblical guidelines on what they need to accomplish before pursuing a woman’s hand in marriage. The bootcamp will test their skills at entrepreneurship, communication, and more, even as they will be required to demonstrate a level of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical intensity. Stay tuned for more information on our Life Preparation and Manhood Bootcamp.
Status: Please pray for the Vision Forum Ministries team as we spend the next few months preparing to build out this exciting new event. We anticipate that The Life Preparation and Manhood Bootcamp will take place in the second half of 2011. There will be a fee and participants will need to apply for acceptance. Stay tuned in Spring of 2011 for more details.
Sharing a Final Goodbye with Our World War II Fathers: Join Us for a Special Tribute from Normandy
In 2005, Vision Forum Ministries took the families of America on a multi-generational mission to honor their World-War II fathers as we traveled with The League of Grateful Sons to the Island of Iwo Jima. The result of this mission was that thousands of families made the effort to seek out, interview, record, and honor those fathers who fought during the Second World War. In our view, 2011 represents the last realistic opportunity to link the children of the 21st century with the heroic fathers of 20th century. That is why in May of next year we will travel to Normandy for a very special series of tours and events designed to give fathers and sons a special platform to honor the World War II fathers in their lives, both living and dead. Some of you will be able to join us personally on this special journey of honor—part of the 2011 History of Christianity and Western Civilization Faith and Freedom Tour. But others who cannot be there in person can follow our tour and track the events, blow by blow, through our special video tour. Families with fathers who fought in the Second World War will also have an opportunity to have their fathers honored as part of a special ceremony from the beaches of Normandy.
Status: Stay tuned in early 2011 for announcements about the 2011 European Faith and Freedom Tour, and our Normandy Tribute.
Reforming Food and the Family
When it comes to food, people tend to be indifferent or obsessively absolutist. The former think that anything goes, and the latter sometimes appear to hold the latest food study in higher esteem than the doctrines of Paul. Both are wrong. How do we draw from the thousands of Scripture verses that address food, culture, dominion, health and more, and build a coherent, rationale theology of eating? And what about mealtime and the life of the Christian family? Our generation must not only seek wisdom concerning the role of food in our lives, but we must address the ethics of food production as well. What ethical standards should govern the bio-engineering of plants and animals? How do we bring a sound, biblical worldview to the sometimes outrageous and sometimes legitimate challenges of the anti-Christian Green Movement? Should the State manipulate, regulate, or control the food industry? We certainly don’t have all the answers, but we do believe that the biblical grid is available to begin the necessary task of working through the tough questions. Food and the family—this is the topic we will address through our Reforming Food and the Family conference. Details of this future conference to be announced in 2011.
Status: Expect an announcement in Spring of 2011 about the dates and details of our Reforming Food and the Family conference. We are planning for more than 2500 to be in attendance. The location of the event will be San Antonio, Texas. If you are a vendor who is interested in reserving space, contact Kturley@visionforum.com. The conference will be a large event that will address numerous theological, ethical and practical issues of food and the family. This is a family event, but there will also be special tracks for ladies, and opportunities for hands-on and interactive instruction.