Wanted: 'Dangerous' young men
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 2, 2007
DETROIT — It may be a new twist, but speaker Jim Beckman will be asking high-school aged men at the Put Out Into The Deep men's conference to be dangerous.
"My challenge, ultimately, will be 'Are you making a positive impact on this world? Are you positively dangerous? Are you dangerous to the Kingdom of Evil?'" says Beckman, executive director of the Impact Center, a Colorado-based organization through which he's helped minister to and evangelize teens for more than 20 years.
Organizers of the men's conference this year have set a goal of bringing 400 high-school and early college-aged men into the conference, to foster men's fellowship across generations.
Beckman will be speaking at a breakout session, "Living Dangerously," for the young men.
His point will be that the men have a challenge – they can impact the world in a good way or in a bad way. And while culture tries to beat down the moral courage in their spirits, they can't let it.
"In some ways, young men have been deceived," Beckman said. "The young men may not, because of the ways the culture has emasculated the male gender, have the kind of courageous spirit and perseverance that is going to be necessary to build the kingdom here on Earth. … The message is particularly poignant to (young men) because they need to have the challenge to rise up and renew their thinking."
Paco Gavrilides, organizer of the men's conference, adds that the fellowship of the conference itself should benefit the next generation of male Christian leaders.
"Seeing that they can confidently and freely witness to their faith is both a source of encouragement and strength to them," Gavrilides says. "We believe the young men are the men who can take the message of Christ and bring into society the life-giving truth of the Christian message."
Related Links:
Men's Fellowship
5th Annual Conference for Men
Youth Breakout Session
Conference Tickets Online
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