P4C23 – A Good Year

Passion: a much used word. One can be passionate about work, play, personal improvement. One can be inwardly passionate, quietly passionate, or wrecklessly passionate. But whatever one may be, when it comes to a passion for Christ, one must not be mindlessly passionate.

This was the backdrop and guiding idea as we approached Passion4Christ Summit 2023. Our focus was “thinking”; thinking Biblically and intentionally.

But of course Passion4Christ is not merely a time of brainy, mind-bending activity. It is a time of activity; activity that is meant to give a break from the usual things of life, to build friendships and forge new ones, to have fun, and to enjoy good food. We did all of these in an intentional and intense way Of course we could not have done any of these things without a committed, industrious, volunteer staff: talk about intense and intentional. They always come through with hard work and enthusiasm. That’s one reason why we enjoy such good food. It’s also why we enjoy the annual P4C volleyball experience, culminating in the Saturday night championship. In fact, they are a big reason why we enjoy P4C!

Then there is the theme dinner Kentucky Derby style, which requires, much planning, preparation, and implementation. Just use your imagination, and you can picture an event of thoughtful, intentional, and energyexpending work and play. Combine that with the enthusiasm and dress of the attendees, and it makes for a delightful evening.

All of these things, however, were important but peripheral to our purpose; to stir in each attendee and ourselves a genuine passion for Christ. And the emphasis this year was on a thoughtful or “thinking” passion for our Lord and Savior. On Wednesday evening, Charles opened with a challenge to be thinking Christians, and Daniel followed with a warning against mindless Christianity. On Friday, Micah encouraged the men in a breakout session to be focused, disciplined, and to have unmuddled thinking. Pam met with the women, and reminded them of the importance of perspective. Koodos to Brad McClean for being our guest speaker and calling us to intentional thinking, Pursuing the Mind of God, and Developing a Biblical World View. Brad is the busy Pastor of First Baptist Church of New Braunfels, TX. He not only interrupted his already full schedule to come but took seriously the opportunity to Biblically sound and challenging expository messages. He also happens to be Micah and MeChelle’s Pastor. We closed with a message on the importance of thinking beyond ourselves, of looking and thinking Godward, of thinking big thoughts of God.

P4C comes and goes quickly. Hellos and goodbyes blend as we watch new and old friends leave, tear down and head home. Every year we thank and glorify our great God for His blessing on the event. This year is no exception. May He give lasting fruit in all our lives, and may the next generation have more and more of a passion for Christ.

Charles Cavanaugh