Pursuing purity and endurance: Convocation addresses common faith struggles

American television personality and author, Madi Prewett Troutt, took the Convocation stage Sept. 18 and spoke on the importance of biblical purity while Olympic gold medalist Cole Hocker gave his testimony during the Sept. 20 Convocation service.

Troutt started her message by discussing the purpose and power of purity. She began with a personal story and then showed how that story related to Scripture.

“I actually think that the purity that Scripture talks about, and the purity that Jesus continues to refer to, is so much more than physical,” Troutt said. “It’s so much more than abstinence.”

Troutt answered the questions surrounding the definition of purity and described why it is crucial to walk in purity.

“Purity is a posture of the heart,” Troutt said. “For so many of us, when we hear the word ‘purity,’ it has this negative connotation, … but there’s actually another way we can see that purity is a gift. That purity is not just a fleeing from something, but a pursuit of something.”

Troutt addressed that purity is not just physical, but also about the heart.

“I think purity culture – oftentimes – focuses on rules, the dos, the don’ts, and rarely the purity of the heart,” Troutt said.  “And we focus so much on reputation instead of revelation; it’s so much more about us understanding who God is and what he calls us to.”

Sydney Smith, a sophomore at Liberty University, appreciated Troutt’s message.

“The speaker really touched me when she said that Satan wants to destroy us and take our purity,” Smith said.

To conclude, Troutt said it is not enough to identify an issue; it has to be dealt with in order to pursue holiness.

Hocker – an American long-distance runner of the 1500 meters – visited Liberty on Friday to give a testimony about his recent victory at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Hocker was a gold medalist with an Olympic record of 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds. As everyone in Convocation watched the footage of  his Olympic triumph, he spoke about how — as a child — he participated in several sports.

“As I’ve gotten older and moved through my career, I’ve been blessed with these opportunities,” Hocker said. “Being able to run in Oregon was really my dream. When I got there, I wanted to run professionally for Nike and represent the United States at the Olympics.”

Hocker expressed that the support from his team, as well as the Lord’s guidance, are what helped him to be successful during the race at the 2024 Summer Olympics.  He also acknowledged that, as soon as he crossed the finish line, he reflected on how he would see himself reach the destination.

“After that, the opportunities pretty much came flooding in,” Hocker said. “I never really dreamed about this part; I dreamed about the athletic part and all the glory with running.”                     

Once Hocker stepped into the final lap at the Olympics, he could feel that the medal was within his reach as he was heading towards the finish line.

“With every gap that opened up, I took advantage of it,” Hocker said. “I stopped thinking about what it is, who I’m racing against, and it just became instinct.”

Hocker said that his discipline is what drives him to continue running the good race.

“Motivation wavers and goes up and down,” Hocker said. “It’s the discipline that goes towards this consistency and build.”

In closing, Hocker confessed that he is still figuring out what to do with his platform.

“I would encourage everyone to give something a hundred percent,” Hocker said. “If you can limit it down to a year, two years or a month, just give 100 percent on something. You
don’t know what doors will open up, or what opportunities it will lead to.”                       

Junior Kenzie Yowell, said she enjoyed the video of Josh Rutledge, the vice president of spiritual development, racing against Hocker. Yowell was also inspired by Hocker’s story.

“I felt very strongly about Cole’s message on endurance,” Yowell said. “As Christians, this is something we tend to struggle with, and it was amazing to hear someone like Cole talk about it.”

Amaro-Millán is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.