MONTREAT, N.C. — They talked about sacrificial love. They talked about the outrageous generosity of God. And they talked about the great adventure of passionate involvement.

The 2009 College Conference at Montreat Conference Center included renowned keynote speakers such as Tony Campolo and Rep. John Lewis. Beginning January 2, the stage of Montreat’s Anderson Auditorium was brought to life through the colorful experiences and powerful stories of these speakers.

Almost 1,000 college students spent a part of their semester breaks at the conference, listening to the stories and engaging with the speakers through question-and-answer sessions.

Throughout the weekend event, the students were encouraged to ask questions and to get involved.

Campolo kicked off the conference with a provocative address, challenging students to earn the authority and the right to be heard through acts of love rather than through acts of power. “If loving sacrifice creates authority, then you can understand why Jesus has the authority because he made the ultimate sacrifice of power.”

The professor emeritus of Eastern University and author of more than 30 books told the story of a city council meeting in his hometown of Philadelphia, where officials were facing harsh opposition to the building of some halfway houses. The opposition from the community was so great that the council had just moved to cancel the project, when Mother Teresa walked into the room. She spoke on behalf of those who would live in the homes. Without any further complaints from those gathered, the council changed its mind.

No one said a word, Campolo pointed out, because Mother Teresa spoke with authority. “She earned it on the streets of Calcutta.”

Two days later, conferees and community members gathered to hear the story of a man who had earned his authority on the streets and in the jails of the American South.

John Lewis has represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 20 years. But before he was elected, he poured himself into the Civil Rights Movement in order for everyone to have the right to vote.

Growing up, Lewis had always been told that racial segregation was the way of the world and that he should do his best to stay out of trouble. After he met Martin Luther King Jr., he became involved in acts of civil disobedience. The first time he was arrested, he recalled, “I felt liberated. I felt like I had crossed over.

“I found a way to get in the way, to get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Lewis told the students not to be discouraged if others tell them they are too young to make a difference.

“I want to say to you that there comes a time when you must not be afraid to speak up, to speak out, and to be guided by your faith and by the dictates of your conscience. … There comes a time when you have to say enough is enough — that you’ve been called by a higher power to speak truth to power.”

Lisa Dougan and Jenny Mavity, representatives from the Invisible Children movement who spoke on the second day of the conference, are recent college graduates who have found passion and engaged in just such an issue.

Invisible Children is a nonprofit organization begun by the efforts of three young filmmakers who stumbled into a world of despair in northern Uganda. The filmmakers found a war that wasn’t mentioned on the news, and a phenomenon that broke their hearts: thousands of children who walked many miles each night to sleep in the city center so that they might not be abducted by rebel soldiers.

The documentary turned into a movement, and now Dougan and Mavity each manage four routes of a large national tour to raise awareness and funds for the project.

Mavity explained what drives her involvement.

“We’re responding to something that has moved us and touched us and a call that we feel to become involved in the bigger story. Right now that focus is on northern Uganda, but by no means is that the only place that needs God …

“Do something. Just do something, whatever issue or whatever location that is. … Get involved using you time, your talents and your treasure toward that end.”

Dougan shared some of her faith story with the students, focusing on the ways dependence on God leads to a noticeable outpouring of love.

“When we live lives that demand explanation, then people are going to ask. We point them to the vine. We give an answer for the hope that we have, and people will be drawn to Christ.” She added, “I think part of how we can help America is to invite America into the adventure of compassion.”

During the 1960s, Lewis lived that adventure. He was arrested and beaten on many occasions. He lost friends and colleagues through hateful violence. He woke up in the hospital after “Bloody Sunday,” when police put a brutal stop to the first march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. But he never hated his attackers.

“I couldn’t hate,” Lewis said to those gathered in the auditorium. “I couldn’t dislike the person. I might dislike the person’s actions. I might dislike the person’s words. But if someone is beating me, I see that person as a fellow human being. And if you start hating, reacting in anger, it tends to lure you, and it leads to debasing.”

He encouraged his audience to embrace the hope of a changed America and to remember that the whole nation is in this place together.

“We all live in the same house, just maybe our foremothers and our forefathers all came to this great land in different ships.

“We’re all in the same boat now.”

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