Casper Conference Was Everything People

Expected - And Then Some!

Contacts:           Tex Reardon                                 Doug Hovelson            

                          Ruth Graham & Friends              Big Thunder                   

                          651-261-1964                                612-722-5501                 

                          treardonjr@comcast.net           dhovelson@bigthunderpr.com

              Spring was keeping a low profile in Casper, WY as Ruth Graham & Friends rolled into town for the April 24-25 Get Growing conference. Snow was in the forecast, and snow it did both Friday night and Saturday. Undeterred, more than 545 people streamed into Highland Park Community Church throughout the two days. Some came out of curiosity, or to hear Ruth Graham speak. Others because they hoped to find answers to questions they had about dealing with the variety of specific life controlling issues covered by the conference’s workshops. Some were there for themselves, some because they wanted to help others.

              No matter why they came, almost everyone seemed to say that the conference proved to be much more beneficial – and enjoyable – than they could ever have imagined.

              Many people did not quite know what to expect from the Ruth Graham conference, beyond the fact that they knew that Ruth would be speaking.

              By the conference’s end, people were singing the praises not only of Ruth but of all involved.

              “I had no idea coming into this how powerful this conference would be,” said Scott, a Casper resident and Highland Church member. “We just thought we were coming to hear Ruth Graham, the daughter of Billy Graham, speak.”

              As it turned out, Scott said he found “real growth and real healing” through the conference. “The depth and maturity of all the speakers was amazing,” he said.

              A chance to hear Jason Catron perform in person was the initial draw for Gary and his wife, who traveled from Colorado on their anniversary weekend to attend. “This conference addresses all the issues that we don’t have in other conferences,” he said.

              Giving people a chance to learn about – and talk about – issues that are not ordinarily discussed in a church setting – or any setting, for that matter. That’s the real key to the success of the conference.

              People absolutely have to have a safe place to talk about the issues that are dealt with in the conference, as Ruth continually asserts. And it’s not just the people who are personally struggling with life-controlling issues. Everyone in the church needs to have a better understanding of these issues, not only to help themselves, but to help others in their lives – and to understand the larger consequences to society.

A Sanctuary For Healing In Casper

              “Every act of denial takes us one step further from the cross,” Ruth said in her Saturday afternoon plenary talk.

              No one would argue that Highland Park Community Church is in denial about the need to address life-controlling issues. The church has a thriving Celebrate Recovery® program that reaches far into the greater Casper community. (The regular Friday night CR meeting, with hundreds in attendance, was taking place elsewhere in the church as the RGF conference got going in the main sanctuary.)

              But Highland Park was not content to rest on its CR laurels (CR is a small group recovery ministry founded by Saddleback Church). Believing that there was more work to be done in the church – and in the community – to help alleviate the suffering brought on by life-controlling issues, the church decided to sponsor the RGF conference.

“We felt we would attract different people from those who attend Celebrate Recovery with the Ruth Graham conference,” said Highland Park Small Groups Pastor Tami Rudkin. “We also wanted to do a conference that was for the larger community.”

              The educational approach employed by the Ruth Graham conference was well-suited to reaching out to the community, Tami said. “The subject matter of the Get Growing conference is for everyone, not just for people with those specific problems. It’s also for people who want to be more informed about them,” she said.

              It’s worth noting that on Saturday, Tami estimated that as many as 50 people from the Friday night Celebrate Recovery meeting were in attendance for the Get Growing conference.

              “The Get Growing conference is really good,” Tami added. “We will definitely consider doing it again at the church.”

New Workshop Topics Unveiled

              New topics were rolled out by three of the speakers at the Casper conference.

              New to the conference was Aleta Nichols’ workshop on “Addictions and Family Dynamics,” a natural outgrowth of – and complement to – her ongoing workshop on “Life Controlling Behavior – Addictions.”

              Kim Ketola added the “Mother (Other) – Loss of a Child” workshop to go with her existing “Life Redeemed – Healing & Hope after Abortion” one.

              Not to be outdone, Dr. Linda Mintle unveiled “Making Relationships Work” to go along with her “Making Peace with your Thighs” workshop.

              Tal Prince doubled down as well, adding “Pornography & Safeguarding the Home,” as the opposing bookend to his existing “The Pornography Plague” workshop.

              Rounding out the roster of speakers and workshops were Jacqueline Skog, with “Peace & Safety in Your Heart & Home – Domestic Abuse,” Rev. Steve Wiese with both “Telling Yourself the Truth about Anger” and “The Illusion of Control,” Don Miles, on “Understanding Depression,” and of course Ruth Graham with “Home Alone.”

              Dr. Jimmy Ray Lee spoke on “Lessons Learned” in a Saturday afternoon plenary session. He also took part in another new addition to the conference, a humorous skit that preceded Ruth’s final talk on Saturday. Jimmy Ray’s role in the skit was entirely off-stage. He played the part of God. His role – with his deep, sonorous Southern voice, the role was perfect for Jimmy Ray -- was to quiz a man who had come onto the stage (played by Steve Wiese) to talk about what he had learned so far from the conference. The man, while willing to admit he had some issues, was skirting taking full responsibility for his thoughts and actions. God was pleased to intercede in his thoughts at every step, gently but firmly keeping him from wriggling off the hook of commitment. It was a relaxing, and thought-provoking, way of providing a break between the intensity of the day’s workshops and Ruth’s closing comments on the need for forgiveness.

Huntley Brown, Jason Catron Enthrall With Their Music

              Music was also more prominently featured in the Casper conference – much to the delight of the attendees.

              Both Huntley Brown and Jason Catron (accompanied on piano by Greg Cooley), were given more stage time for this conference. Their performances drew what a music reviewer would call “raves” from the audience, including standing ovations. Standing ovations! “Awesome” as more than one attendee commented afterwards.

              And the innovations just kept coming in Casper. For the first time, on-site child care was available for conference attendees. It was a big hit, serving 30 kids on Friday night and 35 kids on Saturday.

              Linda Mintle might have had the most fun with being in Wyoming. She had run a contest on her Facebook page prior to the conference. The question was, what do you call someone who is from Wyoming? No one got it right – most people said, “People from Wyoming.” It was only in Wyoming that Linda was informed that the right answer was “Wyomingite.” (Note: even some people actually from Wyoming weren’t sure.) She shared that information with the audience on Friday night.

              Steve Wiese got a big laugh on Friday night when he said the Minnesota Vikings football team had announced it was moving to the Philippines and would henceforth be called the “Manila Folders.” (Thankfully Steve didn’t crack wise about the local NFL favorites, the Denver Broncos.)

              Tex Reardon’s opening remarks on Friday night called attention to the symbolic significance of the rose blossom imagery that is the conference trademark. “There was debate over the use of the rose as an image for the Ruth Graham conferences,” said Tex, who is executive director of RGF. “Some people thought a rose would not have a strong appeal for men, for example, as it would for women. And we believe the conference is of equal value to both men and women,” he said.

              A rose is more than just a pretty flower, Tex said. “Look closely and the first thing you see in the imagery is the stem of the rose, with it thorns,” he said. “Those thorns remind us of the life-controlling issues that all of us face at one time or another. And the rose flower is a symbol of how we can blossom in the Kingdom.”

              News media coverage of the conference was excellent. Both the daily Casper Star Tribune and the weekly Casper Journal ran major advance stories. Christian radio station KUYO also aired segments of a lengthy interview with Ruth several times during the week leading up to the conference. On Saturday, KCWY-TV, the local NBC affiliate, showed up to cover the conference. Reporter Jackie Morlock interviewed Ruth, Tami Rudkin and others at the conference and taped some of the plenary session with Jimmy Ray. The station aired the full report during the 10 o’clock news that evening.

              The usual pre-conference dinner for Ruth Graham & Friends, held in a church conference room, featured exceptionally delicious Italian cuisine provided free of charge by The Cottage, a local restaurant.

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