Men’s and Women’s Panel at BWC
After Ben Burns gave a riveting, frank and earthy talk about sex in the main session at BWC; I had the opportunity to be part of a men’s panel. The men’s panel answered questions from a room full of male students while the women’s panel answered questions from a room full of women.
Then after an hour, we switched.
It was scary.
The Men's Panel
What made it so terrifying was the pain and confusion embedded in the questions. It was clear that many students had been badly burned by poor sexual choices. It was clear that many students were confused about how to understand their desires, there experiences (some of tragic abuse) or their relationships with others. Looking into the face of this pain and confusion, and trying to answer it, was very difficult.
However, the hardest part of being on the panel was having such a short time to address questions of enormous significance. The best part of the panel was the honesty and transparency of the questions and the answers. At the very least we had the opportunity to recognize that deep issues of sexuality and life are appropriate to bring into the light of healthy community. Healthy Christians talk transparently about the deepest issues of life.
We tend to believe three lies:
- I’m the only one who is dealing with this.
- I can never change.
- Not even God can forgive me.
All three of these lies were exposed and refuted by Ben’s talk and the panels. I have been praying ever since for the students here at BWC and on campuses everywhere, that they would experience the grace and truth of Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the deepest areas of their lives.
