By Daniel Cadiz
Staff Writer
Best-selling author Eric Metaxas introduced his new book, “7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness” during a simulcast broadcast live Sept. 17 in Rudd Auditorium
.On Tuesday Sept. 17, Bryan hosted a live simulcast from Rudd Auditorium of a question and answer session with Eric Metaxas on his new book “7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness.”
The simulcast was broadcast from Watermark Church in Dallas, Texas. Around 100 people attended, some Bryan College students, but a lot of members of the community as well.
The Benedict Trio opened the night with an assortment of folk compositions created by each of the members as well as some well known songs.
To introduce the simulcast, Ben Norquist, director of Faith and Missions, talked for a moment about Bryan College’s focus on fighting human trafficking trafficking focus and introduced two students, junior Maddie Mondell and senior Amanda Torres, to speak on their trip to Cambodia as a part of Bryan’s human trafficking initiative.
The pastor of Watermark Church, Todd Wagner, introduced Eric Metaxas and invited him out for an interview. The session took place as a special event at “The Porch”, which is usually a weekly gathering for twenty or thirty somethings at Watermark Church.
The interview was lighthearted and riddled with humorous banter as Metaxas and Wagner went over the subject of the book.
They tackled some key issues like how men are being characterized as unhealthily competitive in traits deemed as masculine and how our culture is slowly getting rid of the influence Christianity had on motivating great men in history. The book itself is set up to be a representation of what it is to be a man of God. The seven men in the book, George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II and Chuck Colson, are all prime examples of strong men of God based on their humble sacrifices, according to Metaxas.
The issues that Metaxas addressed ranged from the definition of manhood in the eyes of God to the real definition of the separation of church and state. For more information visit breakpoint.org, which is an extension of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and manhattandecleration.org, which is a website dedicated to the preservation and protection of ideals such as the sanctity of life, the dignity of marriage and freedom of religion.
Metaxas and Wagner endorsed both websites throughout the simulcast as great resources for the Christian who wants to learn more about what is going on around the world through a Christian worldview.
Through collaboration with the community churches Calvary Chapel Chattanooga and Stuart Heights Baptist Church the event opened up to more than just Bryan students, but the community as a whole, said Eric McEachron, assistant director of Faith and Mission.
The Spiritual Formation team decided to hold a preliminary event. They brought in the Benedict Trio and decided to follow up with an informational session about Bryan’s fight against human trafficking. The Benedict Trio is comprised of Bryan College senior David Benedict on the mandolin and alumni Michael Moore and Kristen Underwood on the guitar and fiddle, respectively.
Corrine Livesay, director of special projects for Bryan, originally proposed the simulcast idea to Spiritual Formation.
This is not the first simulcast event for Bryan College. In 2012 Bryan college hosted a simulcast of evangelist and author Beth Moore.
Livesay also contacted local La-Z-Boy Vice President Harold “Bimbo” McCawley, a graduate of Bryan’s Aspire degree-completion program and a student of hers. She asked him to join Chattanooga’s Stuart Heights Baptist and Calvary Chapel in sponsoring the event.
When asked if Metaxas did well in introducing his book, Livesay, who has read the book, said that he did a good job without giving away everything. She recommended the book highly, not only to young men, but for anyone.
Aaron Pendergrass, a freshman Christian Ministry major with a Pastoral Option enjoyed the Eric Metaxas Simulcast and intends to read Metaxas’ book. When asked what he thought of Metaxas, he said the Metaxas came across as a “genuine author,” addressing the issues that directly relate to us today.
“I greatly appreciated his perspective on greatness…he really intends to inspire complacent men to be great in their humility through God,” sophomore Naomi Baskin said.
