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| Saturday, June 21, 2008 |
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The Gentle Strength of Unity
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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AU celebrates gentle strength of unity through story and song
By Dan Harman
 From the opening by the 250-voice choir, leading an excited assembly in "Worship the King," to the concluding "How Great Thou Art," the Friday evening launch of the North American Convention was a celebration to be remembered.
Anderson University president James L. Edwards began it: “From the beginnings of our movement, we have done things together, and this ‘camp meeting’ is another reminder that our unity with Jesus brings a quiet, powerful impact to our life together.”
Four impressive representatives shared glimpses how this gentle power has molded their lives. Ann Smith opened her heart with incidents from her life with her late husband, Nathan. “He had faith in everyone, even when someone took advantage of him.” Her summary as she looked back: “Breaking down walls [of mistrust] helps bring unity,” in the lives of people and movements.
Mort Crim, popular media communicator, poured out stories showing that “massive ego is no match for the gentle, quiet strength Christ can bring to lives.” His tribute to his pastor-father illustrated the spiritual power one life can produce. His conclusion: “Life is not measured by length, but by depth.”
Between the stories, Jay Rouse led the choir and highly responsive assembly in songs of praise. Former Colts football star Ben Uteht added an impressive dimension to the service as he shared his personal Christian testimony and sang two songs of his own composition.
Lauren Dungy-Poythress, Indianapolis physician and sister of Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy quietly reminded us that God’s whisper is more powerful than the world’s shout.
Bill Gaither, songwriter extraordinaire, modestly commented on the touching words of the previous speakers and summarized what must have been the congregation’s feeling, “This has been a sweet, sweet evening.” As Bill closed, the choir received a standing ovation after singing Gloria Gaither’s latest song, "I Then Shall Live."
A version of this article appears in the Sunday, June 22, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (3.80 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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