USA
(STM/MNN) — Centuries ago, the hearth
was the place where the family congregated for light, warmth and food. It has come to represent the status of a
man's home, family and health.
Evangelist
Sammy Tippit says for a man, these are the most valuable items he possesses.
Not only does he need to protect them, but also to nurture them so that he can
experience the quality of life that God intended.
That
revelation came about after Tippit's brush with a deadly illness in 2007. "When I was diagnosed with cancer four
years ago, God sent a great spiritual renewal to my heart. In an amazing
manner, He also renewed my home and restored my health."
As
he followed after God, Tippit discovered that an extraordinary renewal took
place in his home. During this process, God taught him incredible lessons about
family life, resulting in his book, Praying for Your Family, which has been a source of
Bible study for many throughout America and in several nations. However, the most
important part of this renewal is what God did in Tippit's heart as He
strengthened and deepened Tippit's relationship with the Living God.
It was then that a message became clear, and Tippit says he needed to share what he'd learned with
others. "My desire has been to help
men find who they are in Christ and
have a personal renewal. That revival, then, must go from the heart into the
home, and then ultimately, it must [be demonstrated] with the way a man takes care
of himself and his body."
Enter: "The Burning Bush." The unusual name for the conference was
born out of Tippit's personal experiences. As he faced prostate cancer, he began a study on the life of
Moses and saw some parallels. "Moses met God at the burning bush, and the trajectory of his life
was different from that point on. I came up with the name, 'The Burning
Bush' — a place where men could encounter
God. And the trajectory of their lives, their hearts, their
families, and their own health
would be changed from that point on."
The first conference took place last month in San Antonio, Texas. Tippit conducted five sessions about
renewing a man's heart, home, and health. Video presentations were made by
best-selling author Jerry Jenkins, Medical journalist Dr. Walt Larimore, and
head coach for New Orleans Hornets, Monty Williams. Jenkins spoke about the
principles from his book, Hedges. Dr. Larimore spoke about the three foundations
of a healthy lifestyle: exercise, nutrition, and rest. Coach Williams shared
his journey of developing a heart for God.
Leaders from one church had been praying about starting a men's
ministry. The conference "came at a perfect time" for them. It gave
them a place to start.
The next conference will be held in Boca Raton, Florida, on January 28,
2012. Others are being planned. Rather than a big marketing campaign, Tippit says it's
been word of mouth spreading the enthusiasm
so far. "That's the way I want it
to spread: people's lives are being touched, and God is doing a work
in their lives. And as a result, they're saying, 'Come to our community. Come to our city. Come to our state and do this.'"
With such a direct approach, there's bound to be opposition
eventually. Tippit asks for prayer "that
God would just anoint it. Pray that we would be in the places that He wants us
to be in, that the men's lives that need this message would hear it, and that
God would do all that He wants among these men."
For
those who can't attend in person, the conference will be available online.
The online option has
several possibilities.
- For people who want to go through
the conference in the privacy of their homes. - For people who have gone through
the conference but desire to bring a friend through the conference in a
discipleship/mentoring relationship. - For men's groups who have gone
through the conference, but have other men who missed the conference. They
can do it online. - For churches that don't have the opportunity
to have a local conference. They can bring their men through it.
To access Burning Bush Online:
- – Order a Burning Bush
packet by phone: 210-492-7501,
or by e-mail: [email protected] - – Go to: burningbushconference.com
and enter your username and password (obtained at the live conference or
from inside the Burning Bush packet). - – Go through the conference online.
