By Sherrie Norris
Beth Moore’s two-day visit to Boone during her 2018 Living Proof Live tour brought a sell-out crowd to the George M. Holmes Convocation Center March 9-10; with many of the 8,500 attendees said their lives were greatly impacted by the event.
As one of the country’s most respected and well-loved Bible teachers, motivational speakers and best-selling authors, Moore is known for delivering energetic and inspirational messages of hope and healing to her audiences everywhere she goes. Her focus is always on the scripture that God lays on her heart for each individual Living Proof Live event, with no two the same.
Moore is described by the Nashville-based Lifeway headquarters as “a woman of purpose, preparation, prayer and passion . . . apparent in everything she does, from her involvement at Bayou City Church to speaking to the thousands of women who attend her conferences each year.”
Celebrating 20 years of leading Living Proof Live events across the country and beyond, Moore and her team packed the house in Boone with mostly women, some who came from as far away as Pennsylvania and Texas. Long lines began forming at the arena entrances several hours before the conference began each day, with traffic backed up in every direction as personal vehicles and church buses made their way to Boone.
It was Moore’s second public appearance in Boone, and somewhat reminiscent of her visit In 2008 visit during the ministry’s 10 year anniversary.
While she is no stranger to millions of people, Moore’s warm welcome to the High Country was certainly influenced by Boone’s native son Travis Cottrell, who has served as her team’s praise and worship leader from the beginning.
Cottrell, an award winning singer/songwriter and author told his audience on Friday that he loves coming home again, and that he tells people everywhere that Boone is where God gets his mail.
In addition to ministering with Moore to millions of people in all 50 states and several other countries, Cottrell, a husband and father of three, also serves as the worship pastor at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn. He has recorded several solo projects, one of which received a coveted Dove award.
While Moore said her privilege as serving women at Living Proof Live in 2018 was “indescribable,” she also said it was her “unspeakable joy and honor” to do so with Cottrell, as well as her worship team, the band and the event team.
“I have said so many times that I signed up 20 years ago for a seminar, but what I got was a son,” she said. “Travis is as dear to me as any son I could have raised under my own roof. He and Angela and their children are like flesh and blood to me. That need not be a big deal to you, but here’s the part that should be: I still believe Travis Cottrell when he leads. I know the man. I know his character. I see him off stage. I’ve watched him under every conceivable circumstance. He’s legit. Christ is everything to him. Everything to our team.”
Moore said it was “God’s idea” to bring them to Boone, but it was also the location that topped their lists of personal preference for 2018 conferences.
“If Travis loves Boone, then I love Boone, and let me tell you, Travis loves Boone.”
She spoke also of knowing and loving his family as if they were her own, and called out to his father, sisters and brothers by name from the stage, welcoming them to the event.
Cottrell’s niece, Casey Gragg, worship leader at The Rock in Boone, did an amazing job pulling it all together, and was also recognized and thanked for her amazing job as city coordinator.
Gragg was quick to say, however, that she could not have done it without LifeWay’s guidance, training and assistance, as well as many volunteers and a leadership team of passionate, creative and energetic women from different backgrounds, churches and denominations, which included: Betsy Bolick Kelly Augustine, Tiffany Christian, Pangshua Riley, Allison Idol, Emily Greene and Janet Belden.
“It was awesome to see this all come together,” said Gragg. “There is nothing that I could have done on my own to stand in this role, but it’s all about everything that God has provided. It’s just amazing to think about, realizing that you are not equipped to do something, then the Lord almost pushes you out of your comfort zone, equips you and gives you everything you need – including the people to work with you, all to accomplish his purpose.”
It was such a joy and an honor, Gragg added, to see a movement like that come to Boone — and to know it was a life-changing event for many of the women who came.
“We wanted women to experience Beth’s powerful biblical teaching and leave with a renewed sense of calling, purpose and love for Christ,” said Gragg, who added that the conference also encouraged, challenged and changed individuals through prayer, scripture, humor, music and more.
In her opening statement on Friday evening, Moore admonished her audience: “Jesus is going to mess with us,” indicating that the Bible study she had planned was capable of completely transforming minds. “It is my hope that you leave here with a new mind set, a different perspective than what you came with.”
Renewing the mind and body — and loving God with your whole heart, mind and soul— was the central theme of the weekend studies, with Moore providing insight into various scriptures throughout the Bible as a basis for her teaching.
Moore’s analogies and humor helped express her major points of study, as did a science lesson or two, including that in our three-pound brain, we have 100 billion neurons that can make 100 trillion connections — and while science is able to measure the brain, scientists cannot even begin to estimate the mind.
“The brain and the mind, while connected, are not the same,” she said.
It is through repentance and total dependence upon God that our minds can be renewed, Moore shared, even after years of destructive thoughts and actions, it is in the power of the spirit of God, that we can be set free.
To learn more about Beth Moore, visit www.lproof.org.
Photos by Ken Ketchie from Friday night event
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