Talks
Megan’s Standard Talks
“The Case for Life”
(30mins – 1hr) Learn to make and defend a winsome and compelling case for the pro-life view that will stand in the marketplace of ideas. Megan’s training will teach an audience to establish the humanity of the unborn with scientific reasons, and to ground the value of every human being philosophically. She seamlessly weaves her pro-life message with the Gospel, which encourages even those who disagree with her view at the outset. Megan has the ability to tailor this talk to any particular audience.
“Six Bad Ways that People Argue for Abortion”
Megan. (45mins – 1hr) See the truth of the pro-life view shine by coming at it from the other side — the ways abortion advocates argue for abortion — and learn practical ways to respond.
“Just Human”
Megan. In a culture that reduces values to “just a,” to be “just human” doesn’t cut it, and the effects have been devastating. Learn how today’s culture answers the question, “What does it mean to be human?” And see how the Christian worldview shines when it tells us that to be “just human” is more than enough.
“Bioethics: An Overview”
Megan. A general biblical approach to ethics at the fringes of life (and in between) as bioethics and related technologies continue to rapidly advance.
“Beauty: The Art of War”
Megan. We live in a culture that thinks it is obsessed with beauty, but beauty has been brushed aside as unimportant, something that is only “in the eye of the beholder.” As a result, we actually live in a culture that is starving for it. Megan demonstrates that beauty is not only real but vital. Learn how beauty has been defined, the effects that it has, and how it awakens longing within us. Explore beauty as it relates to God, to art, and to us; and leave knowing that every beautiful contribution you make is an act of defiance against brokenness and death.
“The Bankruptcy of Moral Relativism”
Megan. Relativism will probably be the biggest confronter of these students as they leave home/church/school. Any claim to truth, especially truth religious or moral in nature is categorized as a preference by our world. Students need to be able to recognize and combat this and make sure they haven’t relativized their own thoughts in regards to their Christian Convictions.
“Lessons from Babylon”
Megan. Learning from Daniel and his friends in Babylon on how to engage our own culture effectively on some of today’s key issues.
“Preparing Christian Students for College Challenges”
Megan. What commonalities exist for those students who not only navigate young adulthood well, but thrive? Learn the intellectual challenges most prevalent on college campuses, how the Christian worldview shines in response, and which practices help the most.
“Does What We Think About Marriage ‘Ring’ True?”
Megan. (45mins – 1hr) A natural law approach to the question, “Is marriage real like gravity?” that locates marriage, the triad of father, mother, child[ren], as an essential part of the world we live in, and demonstrates its benefits to society through historical, sociological, and anthropological evidences.
“The Great ‘Divorces’ “
Megan (45mins – 1 hr) (NOTE: Given in conjunction with Does What We Think About Marriage ‘Ring’ True?) If marriage is a part of reality, why has our definition of it shifted? A look at how the sexual revolution ‘divorced’ relationships between sex, marriage, and procreation, and what effects it has had on the air we breathe when it comes to those areas now.
“Marriage & Sexuality”
Megan. (45mins – 1 hr) A shortened combination of the above two talks “Does What We Think About Marriage ‘Ring’ True?” And “The Great Divorces”
Megan and Tripp Almon’s Standard Talks
“Tactics”
Tripp and/or Megan. How to discuss your Christian convictions. This can be an intro talk of a short length or a course that can be up to 6 hours in length. We discuss the best approaches to having productive and grace-filled discussions about Christianity in any setting. This course is directly modeled after the book Tactics, How to discuss your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl.
“Dating Discussion”
Megan and Tripp. (30mins – as long as needed) — Megan and Tripp. Student directed Q&A/discussion on the topic of dating. Normally it starts with sharing our story followed by group Q&A. If time (another 30mins minimum) and circumstances allow, then we add on an option of breaking up into guys and girls for questions – Megan and I switch between the two groups. This takes more than 45mins for sure, but the students always love it. The difference here would be that your students wouldn’t know us at all. Summit students have already had some exposure to us.
“The Resurrection: A B.E.A.R. of an Argument”
Megan or Tripp. According to Paul, Christianity hinges on the Resurrection of Jesus. If he didn’t rise from the dead, our faith is in vain. If he did…it changes everything. Learn to argue for the validity of the Resurrection of Christ using the minimal facts that even the toughest critics of Christianity accept as historically accurate.
Tripp Almon’s Standard Talks
“Atheist (or Deconstructed Christian) Role play”
Tripp (45min – 1hr) The purpose of this talk is to give Christian students experience conversing with people who don’t believe like they do, demonstrate they aren’t as prepared as they think they are, and encourage them to pay attention as their primary teachers seek to prepare them to engage the world that is in opposition to Christianity. This talk works very well towards the beginning of the year in a worldview/apologetics/bible type class or in a youth group setting. This talk does create a need for follow up. There needs to be a teacher in place or additional time for me to unpack some of the ideas I throw at them.
“Bible, Is it God’s Word? “
Tripp. (45min – 1hr) Is the Bible a book by men about God or is it a book to men by God. (special revelation) I make a cumulative case giving interactive examples of evidence that demonstrates that is most reasonable to conclude that God is the author. We talk about proof, general vs special revelation, 6 evidences to make the case. If there is enough time we talk about transmission of the Biblical text to demonstrate what we have now is what was originally written down.
“If God, Why Evil? “
Tripp. (30mins – 1hr) This talk addresses the argument that since evil exists then a God who is all powerful and all good does not exist. We interactively deal with this argument on an intellectual level by addressing a typically proposed syllogism. We finish by talking about how to deal with individuals who are making this claim. Often what sounds like an intellectual objection is often an emotional one. The attempt will be to deal with this issue at a head (intellectual), heart (relational), hands (practical) level.
“Does God Exist? “
Tripp. (30mins – 1hr) Making a reasonable case for the existence of God from philosophical and scientific reflection. A basic cosmological argument discovered through class discussion.
“Snake on a Pole”
Tripp. (20-45mins) The purpose of this talk is to encourage students in the Gospel and to increase their desire to read the Bible more deeply. We will go on an adventure in learning by looking at the most popular verse in the Bible (John 3:16) to see that there is much more there to be understood if we look at the context. There is much more depth to what we’ve seen at a surface level for so long. This talk is also easily formulated for a sermon.
“Decision making & God’s Will”
Tripp. (1hr) The purpose would be to encourage students who have many life decisions ahead of them by taking look at how to make Godly decisions. Short version: God cares much more about who you are than what you do. What you do flows from who you are (who God has made you to be). The common, yet fairly new paradigm, of having to discover or decipher God’s decisions he’s already made for you before you can move forward is often misleading, misguided, and constrictive. The Biblical method is liberating, and a much more personal experience (correctly defined) with God.
“Jesus, the Only Way?”
Tripp. (50mins – 1 hr) The culture has some responses and questions regarding the Christian claim that the person and work of Jesus is the only means of salvation. “That is narrow-minded.” “Christians are so arrogant.” “All religions are basically the same.” “What about those who’ve never heard of Jesus?” “Are you telling me people go to hell just because they don’t believe in Jesus?” In this session we will explore this exclusive claim of Christianity, discuss these objections, and more.
“The War Out There”
Tripp (30min – 1hr) This talk is an attempt to enlighten and motivate students and parents to be aware and prepared for the battle going on in the unseen realm of ideas and to make sure they are prepared to survive and thrive when they leave their familiar Christian bubble (family, church, school) and step foot into the secular realm.
“Introduction to Worldview”
Tripp. (30min – 1hr) In a culture that is full of ideas coming at us from every direction in can be hard to know which way is up let alone make a stand for one’s Christian convictions. This talk explores what a worldview is, the importance of having one that lines up with reality, and how to spot false ones. The audience will be encouraged to move forward in this seemingly daunting task by learning to look for patterns of ideas that will allow them to begin advancing the Christian worldview in their own lives as well as the culture around them. This talk works great as a stand alone or can be used as a set up to a series of talks that delve further into specific and opposing worldviews.
“5 Worldview talks”
Tripp. 45-85mins each. These could be given as stand alone talks or in succession following the Intro to Worldview talk. The aim would be to help equip students to recognize worldview promoted in the culture and to know how to respond and engage with them in a winsome manner. • Christian • Secular • Marxist • Post Modern • New Spiritual
“Gospel – What it is and What it Ain’t.”
Tripp. (30mins – 1hr)The Good News is a proclamation about the Kingdom that is already & not yet that should be understood at the individual level in propositional form and at the world level in story form – either one or the other by itself is destructive. The Gospel has two equal and opposite enemies (legalism & relativism) and we must make sure we keep it “between the ditches.” This interactive/discussion oriented talk aims to help students understand the grace of God and help them to communicate the Gospel in a clear way that allows deeper understanding of our part in God’s story.
“Generosity & Giving”
Tripp. What does the Bible have to say about generosity and giving? There is a lot of baggage Christians have from bad teaching or guilt driven calls to be generous. What does Jesus think of this? What does Biblical history have to say about Tithe? How does the Bible encourage us to be generous in light of the Gospel?
“The Trinity”
Tripp. The doctrine of the Trinity can be quite confusing – some would even say illogical. How do we make sense of this important doctrine and what implications does it have on who we are, the God we serve, and our relationships?
“What hills should we die on? (discussion)”
Tripp. (45 mins – 1 hr) Sometimes we get caught up trying to defend the beliefs that aren’t worth fighting over. How do we distinguish between essential, closed-handed, and open-handed issues? This is an interactive/discussion oriented talk that will help develop critical thinking skills when it comes to the importance of “Christian” beliefs so we can be more effective in conversations.
“What About Evolution?”
Tripp (30-45mins) An introduction to thinking well about evolution and Intelligent Design. As it turns out the General Theory of Evolution is more Philosophical than Scientific. In this talk we wills see that macro-evolution depends on two pillars that don’t hold up – 1. Life from non-life 2. Change from simple to complex organisms. Finally, we will quickly examine there lines of positive evidence that macro-evolution is not true and that intelligent design is a more reasonable conclusion.