'76 Blog

The CCU Symposium, two days of all-campus lectures and workshops on a topic of urgent concern, held annually in the fall since 2009, addressed "Compassion for the Poor" in this year's sessions on Oct. 11-12. Major speakers included Robert Woodson, Andrew Romanoff, Lawrence Reed, and Paul Cleveland.  CCU alumni working overseas in areas of extreme poverty reported by Skype.  A showing of the documentary film "Waiting for Superman" pointed up the lack of educational opportunity as a critical factor in America's poorest neighborhoods.  A program review is here. CCU President Bill Armstrong, an experienced business executive, longtime evangelist, and former US Senator, opened the Symposium on Tuesday morning with a survey of the human face of poverty around the world - including over a billion people who live on $1 a day- and a review of the biblical commands to help the poor, climaxing with Jesus' promise and warning in Matthew 25. Armstrong closed the Symposium at noon Wednesday with his own personal 10-point commitment for more active engagement with this burning issue.  The points, on which he pledged to report again next Feb. 7, include:  1- Pray regularly myself for the poor 2- Urge others to pray for the poor3- Devote time at weekly CCU Cabinet meeting to prayers for the poor4- Open every CCU class for the next 7 days with prayers for the poor5- Engage CCU more fully with programs of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise6- Place CCU students in CNE Alabama internships7- Engage CCU students with the Mercy Ships ministry8- Form a CCU administration working group on serving the poor9- Double my financial support of charities that serve the poor10- Travel soon to Africa and Latin America to see extreme poverty firsthand