Author to give 'living proof' talk

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

•	Beth Moore "Not Believing the Enemy" seminar, part of the Hawaiian Islands Ministries' annual conference 10:30 a.m. today Hawai'i Convention Center $35 at the door 988-9777 or himonline.org

Beth Moore, author of seven guides for Bible studies and a well-regarded inspirational speaker, was having fun talking Bible trivia and bantering back and forth on Bible terminology.

"You've got me swimming in that," she told her daughter.

After all, Moore doesn't have a divinity degree. Sure, she got a degree from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but didn't study theology at the time. Back then, she thought about becoming a lawyer and later a politician, like her grandfather.

Wouldn't a formal theology degree now just reinforce what she'd heard all along from those teachers and mentors who helped her become such a popular Bible study teacher?

"Don't do it," her daughter told her.

Moore's ability to study the Bible as a layperson proves that knowledge is available to any seeker, Melissa told her mom, whose Bible study classes at First Baptist Church in Houston can draw thousands.

Under Living Proof Ministries, Moore has created a range of materials, including workbooks, video studies and devotionals. "My target audience is women," said the creator of Woman-to-Woman Christian events, who also serves on the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The mile-a-minute, twang-talking Moore is in town to address attendees of Hawaiian Islands Ministries' annual conference, which wraps up today.

Her talk, "Not Believing the Enemy," will focus on how to tell the difference between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. She's already given Friday's plenary address, "Freedom From Captivity," and last night gave a session on "Believing God."

For a few minutes before the conference started, Moore sat in a dark room at the Hawai'i Convention Center talking about what started her on her journey to help others interpret the Bible, in an often revelatory way.

Devotees of Moore remark that she's often very open about herself in her materials, sharing her own struggles with depression and crises of faith.

She got the call for vocational Christian service at age 18, but it took her a while to answer.

"I didn't follow (God) well or consistently," Moore said. "I had a difficult background of a childhood victimization and trauma, and unfortunately, I opted out of much of my adolescent and childhood years. I wish I could say I was faithful to God. What I can say is, he was faithful to me."

She doesn't give specifics about her trauma, though she has talked in press accounts about being abused as a child by someone outside her immediate family.

"I try to remain general, because I don't think graphics do anything but tend to glorify graphics," she said. "... I also want everyone to be able to relate. I believe what I've told and what I shared is what God intended for me to."

And her own faith journey had its missteps: "There is so much that I have not told," she said. "If they had any idea what the rest of the story was, they'd know I really haven't told very much. It may seem like a lot to them, but I will say there are times I have walked off of a (speakers') platform and burst into tears. In some way, it's a sacrifice, in other ways, it's been my total freedom. ...

"I can confidently tell anybody in any audience, 'You have never outsinned me.' There's a freedom in that. I believe if (God) can redeem me, he can redeem anyone."