JACKSON, Tenn. — April 12, 2018 — Cary Summers, president of the Museum of the Bible, shared his experience of opening one of the most successful recent museums at the Faith in the Marketplace Luncheon at 51社区 April 12.
Summers oversaw the design, programming and building of the 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. The museum opened fewer than six months ago on November 17, 2017, but Summers said it has already grown beyond his expectations.
鈥淵ou cannot out-guess God,鈥� Summers said. 鈥淎s long as you鈥檙e doing things that are glorifying him, it鈥檚 not a clich茅, he will do something amazing with it 鈥� way more than we ever could.鈥�
Summers had a long and successful business career before joining the Museum of the Bible, beginning as general manager for Abercrombie and Fitch when it was a sporting goods company and later becoming vice president for retail, catalog and wholesale for Bass Pro Shops. He was most recently president and CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment/Silver Dollar City Corp., the sixth-largest theme park and attraction operator in the world.
鈥淵ou are never too old for God to use you,鈥� Summers said. 鈥淭here are 100 testimonies to that. I鈥檓 one of them.鈥�
He said the success of the Museum of the Bible can only be attributed to God. He said the museum鈥檚 only mission is to invite people to engage with the Bible, and that simple mission has opened doors into Jewish, Muslim and secular communities as well as Christian ones.
鈥淲e let people see the book that shapes history,鈥� Summers said.
He said research shows that manuscript-based museums are the worst-attended museums, but the Museum of the Bible is poised to pass 2 million visitors in its first year. He said while the museum has a massive collection of manuscripts, it also has many different kinds of interactive exhibits that tell stories of how the Bible has influenced the world.
鈥淧eople are more interested in the story than they are about the items,鈥� he said.
Jason Garrett, dean of Union鈥檚 McAfee School of Business, said the museum serves a unique purpose that will have an impact on society for years to come.
鈥淭he heart of it is loving people and loving the Bible and letting Christ speak through the Bible,鈥� Garrett said. 鈥淔or that, it鈥檚 truly a commendable and applaudable effort.鈥�
He said the Faith in the Marketplace luncheon is designed to allow business people, pastors, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, teachers, lawyers and service providers to reflect on how to face challenges in serving Christ and society.