Arrived in Knoxville at approximately 4:30 and checked
into the hotel. We then proceeded to the Thompson Boling
Arena at the University of Tennessee where we spent
the necessary $180 to become guests of ATI and the UT.
Dr. Jon Morgan spoke next on becoming an effective
church instead of a successful one. He compared and
contrasted the two types of church in many ways. For
instance, a successful church pays for full-page ads
in newspapers. An effective church makes front-page
news with their generosity and assistance to the
community. The successful church tries to keep all the
salt (the "members") in the salt-shaker (the church
building). When they get too much salt to fit in the
shaker, they build a bigger shaker, instead of sending
out members to be salt to the community. The effective
church works to show Christ's love to the community by
helping in times of trouble, such as floods or other
natural disasters, or accidents such as apartment
buildings burning down. Anyway, I found his thoughts
and experiences very interesting.
The next day we lounged around a bit in the morning.
Met a couple people that I knew through the day and
then in the evening we heard Joni Eareckson Tada speak
about how the neglect by the church of people with
special needs was the "comely" parts of the body
shunning the more important, but less comely, parts
of the body. About how she, after 35 years of being
incapacitated wakes up some mornings and says to the
Lord, "I just want to go home..." But instead,
He gives her strength for that day and she shares her
story, her inspiration, her energy and her love with
more people.
The last thing of interest (that I will tell to you,
the general public) was the "3000 member choir."
(Photos to follow.) I estimated 2600-2700, but at any
rate, it was a lot of modestly-dressed, perfectly-
behaved children singing very well for such a large
choir.
I was impressed throughout by the excellent demeanor
and happy spirit of nearly all the children. There was
a little crowd of about ten who sat up at the top of
the arena and listened to their cd players and chatted
during the speakers. I couldn't help but think of them
all as little Brians. :-) Other than that, the children
were marvelously content, cheerful, and well-behaved.
Should I have children, I only ask that they turn out
half that well.
David Barton is my idea of captivating (esp. in the conveniently concocted Separation of Church & State argument), Joni I have followed since childhood, and Doug Phillips (whom you didn't mention but other sources testify to having likewise spoke) gave the obligatory exhortation at my "graduation ceremony." A boatload of thought-churners—I am glad to see you are the note-taking type (and you should be). But what did you make of the over-all program? Did you find people, for the most part, automated "Gothardites" who eat, sleep, and snub in navy and white? (My unsolicited opinion: I personally believe in human fallibility [Bill Gothard is not the Protestant Pope] and the fact that controversy is often spread blindly. Baggage aside...having known [though short-lived] firsthand the pros and cons, I conclude ATI to be a family-oriented program which promotes essential biblical principals. Was the decision mine [and the curriculum less problematic], I would gladly remain a penguin. And *sigh* my trendy sisters would absolutely expire.) The 3000 member choir—cramped, I recall, almost to the point of lap-sitting; but nothing short of amazing. A "sea of voices," to borrow a verbal sketch, and to be in its belly...! That experience will hardly be replicated until heaven; and to think, by then "O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go" with the ultimate in surround sound *g* will have been no comparison.
Posted by: han at June 10, 2003 01:39 PMI mentioned only those speakers that I heard and, err...I didn't take notes. Not sure what prompted that idea. I was long ago taught not to take notes at such an event.
I thought I summarized my view of the "overall program" at the end of my entry. Hrrm... Insufficient? My opinion on the whole, "ATI's a cult!" accusation is that no cult leader I've ever heard off would take his seat so often and turn the podium over to people entirely outside his organization. The cult leaders I've known of never care to relinquish control of their organization.
What did you find to be problematic about the curriculum?
For the record... your trendy sisters would probably be happier. At least, eventually. :-)
Posted by: walt at June 10, 2003 01:48 PMI didn't take notes. Not sure what prompted that idea.
You've a better memory than I credited you for. My whopping bad.
What did you find to be problematic about the curriculum?
When one (i.e. my mother) efforts to teach a swarm of children in multiple grades, and my father is unable to assist (where directed), the ATI curriculum proves too time-consuming. Oddly enough, the families of most girls I encountered at EXCEL used the Bible courses and supplemented remaining classes with your run-of-the-mill homeschool material, BJU, Alpha Omega, FAR, etc.
And how is the program "insufficient"? (I don't follow well, do I...) Your reasoning will probably reflect our own, but NM if you'd rather not elaborate. Just curious as to other impressions...
Posted by: han at June 10, 2003 03:40 PMGah me, it was not the program you labeled "insufficient," but your initial "opinion on the whole"...correct? (Did I mention I'm on the waiting list for a brain transplant?)
Posted by: han at June 10, 2003 03:43 PMQuite a mental leap you took to reach that conclusion. Amazingly enough, it (your second interpretation) is indeed correct. I was asking if my tale was insufficient in detail.
What else would you like to know? :-)
Since I don't really know what you're asking, I'll just say that my parents are currently favoring that that curriculum for little grand-daughter Lauren.
Posted by: walt at June 10, 2003 10:12 PMOh, and I learned not to take notes when I signed up for a Nikon class and the instructor suggested that paying really close attention to understanding the concepts and ideas that he presented would be a lot more useful, even if we only remembered 1/10th of what he related than taking careful notes of the whole class and remembering nothing.
I was really interested in what the speakers had to say, so I paid close attention.
Posted by: walt at June 10, 2003 10:14 PM