Less than six weeks remain until the Selma-Dallas County Men’s Conference, and at a Thursday meeting of the Steering Committee, reports from its members indicated that &uot;all is well and all is well.&uot;

The three-day event opens on the evening of Feb. 19 and continues through 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, with its theme: MEN, Making Everyday New.

At this point, total ticket sales number 1,444, according to Raymond Waller of Greater St. Paul’s Church, one of the the conference’s 32 sponsors, ecumenical in denomination and diversity, with many local churches included.

Steering committee chair Wayne May presented the completed agenda for the conference, which is offering three outstanding and nationally known pastors/religious leaders as leaders of the events. Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor to the more than 6,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas. Evans has served as chaplain for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys

and NBA’s Dallas Mavericks andbroadcasts daily over 500 stations nationwide and 40 countries worldwide. In addition, he is the founder and president of the Urban Alternative.

* Dr. Evans will

speak at the Community Worship Service Thursday evening, Feb. 19, at the Julius and Mary Jenkins Center in Concordia College. There is no registration cost for this 6-9 p.m. event, which is Family Night.

* Friday

morning, Feb. 20, the Centre for Commerce is sponsoring the Leadership Breakfast at the Carl Morgan Convention Center. Tickets are available for $7 each at the Centre for Commerce, 912 Selma Ave. Dr. Evans is also the speaker for this segment of the conference.

* From noon until 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, the Ministers Luncheon will be held at the St. James Hotel, with Evans again speaking. There is no charge for pastors to attend. For information, call 877-4400 or 875-1382.

* The Selma-Dallas County Men’s Conference opens officially

on Friday at 6:30 p.m, lasting until 10 p.m. at the Jenkins Center at Concordia. Registration cost is $10 for both days. There will be two sessions; Dr. Steve Farrar is the first presenter and Dr. Evans the second.

Farrar’s Men’s Spiritual Leadership Conferences are held nationalwide and are designed to &uot;equip men in personal character and holiness who are thus qualified to lead the family, the Church and the nation in time of acute moral and spiritual crisis.&uot; He is the author of several books that focus on training men to become spiritual leaders in all aspects of their lives.

As founder of Men’s Leadership ministries, he surveyed more than a 1,000 across the nation, questioning them about marriages, careers, children and ethics. This research became the basis for his conferences.

The Men’s Conference Closing is scheduled from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Jenkins Center at Concordia. Its two sessions are a continuation of the conference, with Dr. Farrar the first presenter and the Rev. Chette Williams the closing presenter.

Williams currently serves as the Auburn University football team chaplain. He returned to Auburn when head coach Tommy Tuberville was looking for a spiritual coordinator. Williams is a former three-year letterman for the Auburn team from 1982-1984. He is also campus director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as well as the state director for urban ministries for the FCA.

Men’s Conference Musical entertainment will be provided by Anthony Evans Jr.

In addition to discussing the agenda for the conference, the committee learned from Dr. May that a parent and a teacher from each school is being sought to recruit male students to attend. Tickets for these 11th and 12th graders are being donated by groups and individuals. May said, &uot;These young guys need it (the conference), they need it right now.&uot;

The Selma Times-Journal is publishing a tabloid publicizing the conference events. &uot;The tickets,&uot; May says, &uot;are promoting themselves, but we need ads to focus on the leadership breakfast and the ministers conference.&uot;

Already, he added, calls are coming in from other states.

Steering committee members are: the Rev. J.C. Summers, Greater St. Paul’s Church; the Rev. Dr. F.D. Reese, Ebenezer Baptist Church; the Rev. Tom Stacey, Selma Baptist Association; James Perkins, Ebenezer Baptist; the Rev. James Spicer, Freedom Baptist; the Rev. Lee Tate, First Baptiat; Raymond Waller, Greater St. Paul’s; and the Rev. Dr. C.A. Lett, who was absent due to illness, of Calvary Missionary Baptist.

Carol Bolen is chairing the committee obtaining prayer support volunteers.

The Steering Committee plans one more meeting with representatives from each sponsor before the conference, May says.

Goals of the Men’s Conference are:

* To teach husbands and fathers and those who want to be, to lead their families financially, emotionally and spiritually;

* To educate and inform Christian men that they have a responsibility to protect their families in a nation that is becoming increasingly hostile to those who bear the name of Christ;

* To encourage men to develop a counter-attack to protect their families from the enemy;

* To strengthen the body of Christ. Christian men are the sleeping giants of the evangelical church;

* To strategically reach men who can affect change, to lead their families to be stronger in the church and the nation;

*To motivate men to concentrate on other areas of marriage and family life as well.