A Taste of S.A.L.T. - Personal Relationships

Written by Ron Han

This year's Prime Retreat was all about trying to develop deeper personal relationships - with each other, and of course, with God. Leading up to retreat, I often said that it was the desire of SALT to emphasize personal relationships this year. However, in retrospect, I don't think that was quite accurate. What I should have said is that the emphasis at retreat was a reflection of what the whole Prime Ministry seems to desire.

Here's something I've heard countless times in the last few months - "The Prime Ministry has a lot of momentum right now." I think that's an amazing statement. But I have to wonder where that momentum is taking us, and how we can best harness that momentum to do work for The Kingdom. In The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer offers a simple, yet powerful answer to the question of how we can best serve God and his church - "Acquaint thyself with God."

As with all substantive relationships, a relationship with God isn't something that begins on a Friday night and ends two days later. My personal prayer is that the Prime Retreat was a catalyst not the culmination. There was such honest sharing, desperate prayer and passionate worship at retreat, but I hope we didn't leave all that behind at Arrowhead Lutheran Camp. Instead, I hope it was just the beginning of a process that will allow us to embrace a deeper relationship with the Lord. If we can do that, then I really believe that the momentum of the Prime Ministry can put us in a position to do amazing things in His name.

As Pastor Stephen Chong would say, "Can I get a hallelujah!?"

Ron

2009 Resolved Conference

I was talking with Diane Cho the other day, and she told me that she is attending the Resolved Conference again this year. It's definitely worth exploring and attending. Here's the link to the conference. I asked Diane to write her thoughts about the conference from last year. And she writes ...

"Resolved gets its name from a list of 70 resolutions that Jonathan Edwards, one of the most influential theologians in America, wrote at the young age of 19. From this list, Pastor Rick Holland of Grace Community Church organized this conference for college students and young adults. The very first Resolved was held in 2005 with sermons based on Edwards' list of resolutions. Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Resolved with sermons based on Edwards' resolutions about Heaven and Hell. This year, the theme of Resolved is Sin, no doubt based on Edwards' resolutions about sin.

The conference had an amazing line-up of speakers, including Rick Holland, John MacArthur, Randy Alcorn (the author of "Heaven"), Steve Lawson, CJ Mahaney, and John Piper. I was so encouraged by the honesty of each of the speakers, and their dedication to delivering the full truth of the Word of God. Each sermon on Heaven left me yearning to go there, and each sermon on Hell not only scared me with the truth, but had me looking toward Christ and the hope that I have in Him.
This year, I can't wait to see how God will reveal Himself to me through this conference. I'm am expectant of what I will learn, how much I will grow, and how much more I will be reminded of the Gospel."