(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Well, that wraps up the series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron conference. I hope this series was helpful – both as a quick review for those who attended the conference, and as an overview for those who were not there.

I got the idea of blogging the conference from Tim Challies who has blogged on a number of conferences at his site. (Tim is a braver man than I, and he even “liveblogs” some of the conferences while they are still going on!) If you enjoyed this series on the Iron Sharpens Iron Conference, I encourage you to check out Tim’s summaries of the various conferences he has attended. Here are the links:

• Desiring God Conference 2006
• Desiring God Conference 2005
• Ligonier Conference 2007
• Resolved 2007
• Shepherd’s Conference 2007
• Shepherd’s Conference 2006
• Together for the Gospel 2006
• WorshipGod06 Conference

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here are some interesting statistics that were scattered throughout the 2007 Conference Program:

Two are Better than One – So Some Believe
Did you know that more fathers than mothers believe that two parents are more effective at raising children than one parent alone? Forty-four percent of mothers believe one parent is sufficient while only 25% of fathers hold that belief.
– ChildTrends, Washington DC June 6, 2006

The Explosion of Internet Pornography
    2.5 billion daily pornographic emails (8% of all emails)
    1.5 billion daily pornographic downloads (35% of all downloads)
    68 million daily pornographic search engine requests (25% of all requests)
– Pornography Statistics 2003. Family Safe Media. www.familysafemedia.com, 2003

Dads Make a Difference
Mother attends church regularly. Father does not attend church at all.
    2% of their children will end up attending church regularly
    37% of their children will end up attending church irregularly
    60% of their children will end up not attending at all

Father attends church regularly. Mother does not attend church at all.
    44% of their children will end up attending church regularly
    22% of their children will end up attending church irregularly
    34% of their children will end up not attending at all
– Center for Christ and Culture, Dallas, TX June 2006

Oops – What Happened?
Christians can be generous – but does it depend on the year? The percentage of U.S. born-again adults who tithed was 12 percent in 2000, 14% in 2001, and 6% in 2002.
– George Barna, to Generous Giving, Chattanooga, Tenn., June 12, 2004)

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here is a brief summary of Bob Lepine’s keynote address at the conference.

The theme of Bob’s address was “Don’t Quit!” Bob began his address by telling us about Troy, a soldier who was killed in active duty while serving in Afghanistan. Troy was part of the Night Stalkers, a group of elite Special Operations Soldiers of the United States.

Bob recited for us the Night Stalker Creed, which speaks in bold and defiant terms of the Night Stalker’s complete dedication and loyalty to his country and his team. The Creed ends with these words: Night Stalkers Don’t Quit! “The Lord knows the way I take, and when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10)

(more…)

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here is a brief summary of Hugh Ross’ afternoon seminar called “Creation as Science.”

Hugh spoke about the testable creation model that he and the people at Reasons To Believe have been working on developing. He explained the Anthropic Principle – how everything in the universe tends toward man, toward making life possible on earth and sustaining it. He described the fine-tuning of the universe and how human life on earth can only exist within finely-tuned parameters. Forty years ago astronomers could only identify a few of these characteristics, but by the year 2001 they had identified more than 150 finely-tuned characteristics necessary for life. These findings reduce the odds that any given planet in the universe would possess the necessary conditions to support intelligent physical life to less than one in 10¹⁷³.

(more…)

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here is a brief summary of George Sarris’ morning seminar called “Impacting the Culture – Changing the World.”

George shared one of the best presentations I have heard on wisely interacting with non-believers within the culture in order to make a difference for Christ. He shared from Proverbs 21:22 how God wants believers to impact the culture with the truth of God’s Word rather than retreat in a defensive posture.

(more…)

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here is a brief summary of Tony Evans’ keynote address at the conference.

Tony shared from Acts 13:36 – “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.”

Tony spoke about the lack of purpose in many men’s lives. He compared their lives to the TV sitcom Seinfeld – plotless programming for plotless people. He said that many times our lives are like a Sunday afternoon drive. You’re not really going anywhere, so you just want to go back home.

(more…)

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

I had a great time at the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on Saturday. I went with eight other men from the church. We carpooled down together and tailgated it for lunch.

Three thousand men attended this conference, which is impressive for New England. The two keynote speakers were Tony Evans, pastor and founder of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas; and Bob Lepine, co-host of the daily radio program, FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey. Tony spoke in the morning, and Bob spoke in the afternoon.

There were also two blocks of time in between where you could choose from a variety of seminars. In the morning I heard George Sarris speak on Impacting the Culture – Changing the World. In the afternoon I heard Hugh Ross speak on Creation as Science.

All four speakers were excellent. Starting tomorrow I will be posting summaries of the four presentations that I heard. First up will be Tony Evans’ keynote address from Acts 13:36.

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

I am off to the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT for the day. I have been looking forward to this conference, not only for the speakers and the excitement of a large gathering, but also just for spending time with some of the men from my church.

I got a kick out of the following promotional materials for the conference:

Who attends Iron Sharpens Iron?

• Emerging Men (age 13-19)
• Pioneering Men (age 20-29)
• Full Throttle Men (age 30-55)
• Seasoned Men (age 55+)

Watch out! According to this listing, I am a Full Throttle Man. The promotional brochure describes me like this: “Full Throttle Men: These are the men who are the producers and providers. They are the warriors and are fully engaged in everything they do.”

Well, this fully engaged producer provider warrior is off to the conference and done blogging for the week. See you Monday morning!