Several hundred men from St. Philip’s, churches across the state, and as far away as Kenya attended the Christian Men’s Conference at Camp St. Christopher February 21-23. I was blessed to be among them. The theme of this year’s conference was “The Father’s Blessing,” and the goal was for the weekend to be “a time of blessing for all men, young and old, in order that all men may thus be transformed and more fully equipped to build God’s kingdom, man to man.” Anglican Chaplain to the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel Rob Sturdy, looking like an apostle with his full beard and long, bushy hair, brought a passionate and well researched message over four sessions. Rob talked about the cultural view of masculinity being precarious: hard to earn and easy to lose versus the biblical view of masculinity being a gift from God. He talked about God being present, proud, and pleased with his son, Jesus, when he was baptized by John and how this blessing is extended to each of us just because we belong to him.
