I believe that in my last post I began with a little "ode" to the "extraordiarily beautiful November day." Today, though I am sitting in the same chair and listening to similar music, the weather has shifted dramatically.
Rain. Ugh.
But that just comes with the territory. The reason we have such beautiful summers here is because of all the rain the rest of the year.
Today is the first day of the last week of fall term at OSU. Basically this week involves a lot of celebrating what God has done in the few months since school started. Bible Studies usually have some kind of party. Awake will be Christmas themed. And our leaders gathered last night for a delicious meal together. No work, just spending time with each other and enjoying each others' company and fellowship.
One way that I have seen God at work, aside from all the ways I have mentioned previously on this blog, is how he has moved our fellowship back to prayer. About a year and a half ago, we started a daily prayer meeting every morning. This lasted for a while but eventually fizzled out.
We decided that we wanted to pray again and started a weekly prayer meeting on sunday nights. It has been encouraging to see students step up and lead it each week. One freshman in my Bible Study is super excited about prayer and regularly invites his friends from his dorm to come. I think it is a highlight for him each week.
I have also seen prayer grow in our Bible Study. One of the best things to come out of "The God Experiment" was that students learned to pray with and for each other. The first week we did prayer, it was really awkward. By the fourth week, it was normal and something we looked forward to at the end of our study. It is really fun praying with students about how they want to learn to be obedient to God in the normal, day in and day out-ness of their lives. I think that is a prayer God really loves to answer.
Looking Ahead
I think that next term is going to be very challenging for us but also very rewarding. I am planning on doing a lot of training on evangelism and discipleship. The leaders will be encouraged to pick one or two students from their Bible Study and disciple them through evangelism. Imagine an older leader taking a freshman along with him or her and hanging out with non-believers so that they can share Jesus with them. I think that is a recipe for good times and good growth. Pray for us as we try this out.
Also, please pray for Urbana 09, which is less than a month away! We have 11 students going to the conference and I long for God to speak loud and clear to each of them. Four students are enrolled in a special student leadership track focused on how to bring Urbana back to the campus. Two of those students are in my Bible Study and I can't wait to see what they come up with.
I will most certainly be writing a post-Urbana blog with some interviews from students who attended and I might just do some updates from the actual conference. You can watch much of the conference from the website above.
Reflection
We often think that we have to have our lives together before we can be used by God in any sort of meaningful way. How many times have we disqualified ourselves from being involved in building and advancing the Kingdom because we didn't know enough or we weren't good enough?
I have long held the belief that we enter in to ministry first and then God uses that to reveal to us the places we need to grow and begins to heal us in the midst of loving others.
I am seeing this play out in my life and the lives of my student leaders. Many are wrestling through the struggles that come with being a leader. They are questioning whether or not they are any good at it.
I happen to think that they are doing a great job and are growing a lot. They are not perfect leaders by any stretch of the imagination, but they are trying and learning and growing. That is all I ask.
I can see that my next step as their leader is to help them process through the things that God is bringing up for them and help them continue to press on in the midst of their own shortcomings. They need to be made aware of God's grace and love for them and his continual invitation to them.
A disciple is simply a learner. The fundamental thing a disciple does is learn. Are they learning? Yep.
How about you? Are you taking yourself out of the game because you don't know enough? Well, ask yourself how much Peter knew about Jesus when he began following him? How much did the woman at the well know when she invited her whole town to come check out Jesus? Not much in either case. But they were willing to try and learn and grow.
Maybe that is what Jesus wants from us.
Try and Learn and Grow.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Fall Conference 09: Vital Faith, and "The God Experiment."
Hello there!
I am sitting in one of my favorite chairs in one of my favorite rooms listening to one of my favorite bands on an extraordinarily beautiful November afternoon. Life is good and God is good. Though I am a bit thirsty, I'll be right back. Ok, now that I have my water, I can share with you about last weekend's Fall Conference.
This year, we took almost 40 students down to Eugene, OR to join up with all the other Oregon InterVarsity fellowships for a weekend of worship, great teaching, and making new friends. As always, God moved powerfully among the students there and we had a great time.
Our speaker was Doug Schaupp. He is InterVarsity's west coast growth coach and has been working with the staff in Oregon for a few months. he is one of my new favorite people. He spoke out of John 1-4, the same scripture that will be used for this year's Urbana conference. He taught about how Jesus begins "chain reactions of Grace" in our lives. He invites us to come and see what he is doing and then we invite others to come and see what he is doing as well.
He shared great stories of his time in college of how he saw Jesus radically change people's lives. Students seemed to really connect with the stories. I was actually moved to tears by one of them.
I was really excited to see our students invite their friends (and family) who did not know Jesus to the conference. One student, Drew, actually responded to a call to put his trust in Jesus. It was so exciting to see someone respond to Jesus for the first time like that. Here is Drew's story in his own words:
"So I guess I should start with a little background about myself. My dad had a bad experience with religion, so he didn't like to discuss it. His dad was an atheist. My mom believed in God, but wasn't religious, most of the women on her side of the family were Christian, and then both my uncles were Wiccan. So I grew up in a very mixed spiritual environment. For almost my entire life I'd been completely unsure as to whether there was a higher power of any kind, and then in high school I started to lean toward it a little more, but never gave it much thought.
And then on I believe the third day of Connect Week, Andrea and Kelly come and knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to hang out. So we started hanging out and about a week or so later they were telling me about this "Awake" thing. I was unsure at first, but then I thought "you know, it'll be fun. Yeah, I'll go." So I went and beforehand I don't know whether it was that I just focused on it more, or if it's what people around me emphasized or what, but I had always associated Christianity with the whole, sin and hellfire side of things. And that night I experienced the complete opposite, and I loved it. I mean I was on the verge of tears I was so happy. And so then I started going to all the bible studies and Awakes, really wanting to look into it.
And through the course of doing so, and going to Fall Conference last weekend, I realized something. Whenever I describe my family to someone, the first word that comes to mind is "blessed." And throughout my life, there have been situations where I can?t imagine that anyone could really be just that lucky. Like one of my best friends I met in third grade and he turned out to be like a brother to me, and even though he moved to Louisiana just a couple of years later, whenever he would come back for the summer, it would be as if we had never parted. And I've met several people like that, that I know will be in my life for the rest of my days, and I can?t imagine it being anything other than the work of God to bring those people into my life. I'm just so glad that Kelly and Andrea knocked on my door that day, and started me on the ?come and see path, or wouldn't have made the realization I did."
Drew is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with Jesus, but God is so clearly speaking to him and moving him closer. Praise God that Andrea and Kelly invited him! Pray for Drew.
Pray also for Duy. Duy is An's brother. An is a girl who gave her life to Jesus over the summer. Her brother started asking questions about God and she invited him to come to the conference. He decided to come and had a lot of fun. He said he didn't really experience the presence of God, but he really enjoyed the worship. An said he was singing and listening to the songs long after the conference was over. Worship was a big was that An began to become interested in God so there is hope for her brother!
The God Experiment
We recently began a new four-week series in our Bible Studies. It is called "The God Experiment" and was created by people (including myself) in the northwest as an experimental evangelistic tool. Each week we study a way that we think God might be able to help us grow. These four things are Curiosity, Authenticity, Compassion, and Trust.
It felt like the right thing to do after Fall conference. Students would be excited to reach out to their friends and invite them into the experiment. When we evaluated the first week last night, we found that we had a total of 71 students participating, with about 12 people who are either not Christians or unsure Christians participating. The Bible Study in Sackett hall had a record breaking (in my time at OSU) 28 people show up! WHAT!?!?!? I remember having large groups that weren't that big! Praise God for people who are excited about growing in their faith!
A Reflection: Where Curiosity Can Lead Us
Week One of the God Experiment is "Curiosity." Jesus intentionally piques people's curiosity and wants them to learn to ask good questions. Take a look at Mark 4:1-20 for a good example of this.
I have realized that this year I have experienced a form of curiosity. I call it "defenseless correction." This year, more than any other year, I have found myself in conversations where people are calling me out on mistakes I am making or ways I am falling short of commitments I have made or when I am rubbing people the wrong way or when I am just straight-up wrong.
I have been learning how to just listen to the people as they tell me what they think and not put up any defenses. My gut reaction is to justify myself or rationalize their complaint away. I tried this in one of the early conversations I had this year and the person absolutely refused to buy it. During the course of that conversation, I realized that they actually had a valid point and that I was, in fact, in the wrong. The ball was now in my court to do something about it.
Since then, I have learned to be open to people when they call me on stuff. And you know what? I have grown a lot because of it. I am learning to accept correction from my friends and my life is richer because of it. I am becoming curious about the ways I need to grow and I am seeing that my friends often have great ideas about how I can do it.
Like this weekend when I was playing a game with 20 other people. I explained the game to everyone and we started playing. A few people began to question my version of how to play the game. I was convinced that my way was right. The conversation got a little heated and I suggested that we look at the instructions to settle the matter once and for all. I read them and felt my face get very red. They were totally right and I was totally wrong . . . in front of 20 people. I, as gracefully as I could, said that they were right and we began playing with the new, real rules.
It is not easy to do, but so worth it. Let people speak into your life. Be curious an open to what they have to say. Your life and faith will be richer because of it.
I am sitting in one of my favorite chairs in one of my favorite rooms listening to one of my favorite bands on an extraordinarily beautiful November afternoon. Life is good and God is good. Though I am a bit thirsty, I'll be right back. Ok, now that I have my water, I can share with you about last weekend's Fall Conference.
This year, we took almost 40 students down to Eugene, OR to join up with all the other Oregon InterVarsity fellowships for a weekend of worship, great teaching, and making new friends. As always, God moved powerfully among the students there and we had a great time.
Our speaker was Doug Schaupp. He is InterVarsity's west coast growth coach and has been working with the staff in Oregon for a few months. he is one of my new favorite people. He spoke out of John 1-4, the same scripture that will be used for this year's Urbana conference. He taught about how Jesus begins "chain reactions of Grace" in our lives. He invites us to come and see what he is doing and then we invite others to come and see what he is doing as well.
He shared great stories of his time in college of how he saw Jesus radically change people's lives. Students seemed to really connect with the stories. I was actually moved to tears by one of them.
I was really excited to see our students invite their friends (and family) who did not know Jesus to the conference. One student, Drew, actually responded to a call to put his trust in Jesus. It was so exciting to see someone respond to Jesus for the first time like that. Here is Drew's story in his own words:
"So I guess I should start with a little background about myself. My dad had a bad experience with religion, so he didn't like to discuss it. His dad was an atheist. My mom believed in God, but wasn't religious, most of the women on her side of the family were Christian, and then both my uncles were Wiccan. So I grew up in a very mixed spiritual environment. For almost my entire life I'd been completely unsure as to whether there was a higher power of any kind, and then in high school I started to lean toward it a little more, but never gave it much thought.
And then on I believe the third day of Connect Week, Andrea and Kelly come and knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to hang out. So we started hanging out and about a week or so later they were telling me about this "Awake" thing. I was unsure at first, but then I thought "you know, it'll be fun. Yeah, I'll go." So I went and beforehand I don't know whether it was that I just focused on it more, or if it's what people around me emphasized or what, but I had always associated Christianity with the whole, sin and hellfire side of things. And that night I experienced the complete opposite, and I loved it. I mean I was on the verge of tears I was so happy. And so then I started going to all the bible studies and Awakes, really wanting to look into it.
And through the course of doing so, and going to Fall Conference last weekend, I realized something. Whenever I describe my family to someone, the first word that comes to mind is "blessed." And throughout my life, there have been situations where I can?t imagine that anyone could really be just that lucky. Like one of my best friends I met in third grade and he turned out to be like a brother to me, and even though he moved to Louisiana just a couple of years later, whenever he would come back for the summer, it would be as if we had never parted. And I've met several people like that, that I know will be in my life for the rest of my days, and I can?t imagine it being anything other than the work of God to bring those people into my life. I'm just so glad that Kelly and Andrea knocked on my door that day, and started me on the ?come and see path, or wouldn't have made the realization I did."
Drew is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with Jesus, but God is so clearly speaking to him and moving him closer. Praise God that Andrea and Kelly invited him! Pray for Drew.
Pray also for Duy. Duy is An's brother. An is a girl who gave her life to Jesus over the summer. Her brother started asking questions about God and she invited him to come to the conference. He decided to come and had a lot of fun. He said he didn't really experience the presence of God, but he really enjoyed the worship. An said he was singing and listening to the songs long after the conference was over. Worship was a big was that An began to become interested in God so there is hope for her brother!
The God Experiment
We recently began a new four-week series in our Bible Studies. It is called "The God Experiment" and was created by people (including myself) in the northwest as an experimental evangelistic tool. Each week we study a way that we think God might be able to help us grow. These four things are Curiosity, Authenticity, Compassion, and Trust.
It felt like the right thing to do after Fall conference. Students would be excited to reach out to their friends and invite them into the experiment. When we evaluated the first week last night, we found that we had a total of 71 students participating, with about 12 people who are either not Christians or unsure Christians participating. The Bible Study in Sackett hall had a record breaking (in my time at OSU) 28 people show up! WHAT!?!?!? I remember having large groups that weren't that big! Praise God for people who are excited about growing in their faith!
A Reflection: Where Curiosity Can Lead Us
Week One of the God Experiment is "Curiosity." Jesus intentionally piques people's curiosity and wants them to learn to ask good questions. Take a look at Mark 4:1-20 for a good example of this.
I have realized that this year I have experienced a form of curiosity. I call it "defenseless correction." This year, more than any other year, I have found myself in conversations where people are calling me out on mistakes I am making or ways I am falling short of commitments I have made or when I am rubbing people the wrong way or when I am just straight-up wrong.
I have been learning how to just listen to the people as they tell me what they think and not put up any defenses. My gut reaction is to justify myself or rationalize their complaint away. I tried this in one of the early conversations I had this year and the person absolutely refused to buy it. During the course of that conversation, I realized that they actually had a valid point and that I was, in fact, in the wrong. The ball was now in my court to do something about it.
Since then, I have learned to be open to people when they call me on stuff. And you know what? I have grown a lot because of it. I am learning to accept correction from my friends and my life is richer because of it. I am becoming curious about the ways I need to grow and I am seeing that my friends often have great ideas about how I can do it.
Like this weekend when I was playing a game with 20 other people. I explained the game to everyone and we started playing. A few people began to question my version of how to play the game. I was convinced that my way was right. The conversation got a little heated and I suggested that we look at the instructions to settle the matter once and for all. I read them and felt my face get very red. They were totally right and I was totally wrong . . . in front of 20 people. I, as gracefully as I could, said that they were right and we began playing with the new, real rules.
It is not easy to do, but so worth it. Let people speak into your life. Be curious an open to what they have to say. Your life and faith will be richer because of it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
First Week Awesomeness and a Reflection
Ok! So I said I would write about what our first week on campus was like. Long story short, it was fantastic. It was easily the most encouraging and fun first week we have had.
This year we have five Bible studies that meet on different nights of the week in different dorms on campus. As I checked in with the leaders afterward, it sounded like they were all having a great time looking at Scripture together. I know that my Bible Study was the most talkative one I have ever had. I also had a new student share an observation about Peter that just blew my mind. I told him that and I hope it was encouraging to him. I love that at our Bible Studies we learn from each other and even I can learn something from a new freshman. In total, I think we had around 60-70 people at our Bible Studies last week. That is 60-70 people who had a chance to interact with Jesus for themselves. Good times!
Our large group, called "Awake," was equally great. We were in a room at the student memorial union that could hold 60 people. Our goal was to have 100 people there and to be a fire hazard. Well, the official count I heard was that we had 81 people there. The room was PACKED! There is no way we could have had 100 people in there. And we were a fire hazzard too. Hooray! I could see the excitement on the faces of the leaders as they watched people just stream into the room. I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures of it. I just got so wrapped up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tonight and post them.
I gave a message about how when we respond to invitations from Jesus, our lives can profoundly change. I invited people to stand if they wanted to commit to living their lives to see the Kingdom of God come on campus. About 3/4 of the room stood up. I also invited people to become followers of Jesus for the first time. A couple of people stood up and as we talked to them, it became clear that they were deciding to get serious about following Jesus for themselves, not because they grew up that way. Praise God!
Great things are happening here. I am so encouraged and excited about what I am seeing. The students feel the same way. Continue to pray for us as we figure out how to keep the momentum going and help people follow-through on their commitments. What might we see as people begin to do this?
Here are some pictures of how we advertised for "Awake." It started to rain on us. Haha!
A Reflection
So I thought I would share a little reflection with you. I got a lot of great feedback from the last one so here is another.
Tonight at "Awake" I am going to talk about how when we experience something good, we tell people. If we read a good book, we are not shy about recommending it to other people. I have seen some movies 6 times because I wanted other people to experience it. I love telling people about stuff I like. Sometimes I do it multiple times in the same day. People have told me "Ben, you already told me that." many, many times.
So why are we so shy to share when Jesus does something in our lives?
I gave our leaders a heads-up that I would be talking about this and I wanted to know if there were people who would want to share about how God is at work in their lives.
No one volunteered.
I had to invite people to share and some begrudgingly accepted the invitation. I asked some of them to write out their stories ahead of time. As I read and heard their stories, over and over again I would notice how fantastic they were. The student who was just a straight up jerk to people in high school. Since he started saying yes to Jesus he has become one of the most friendly and welcoming people I know. He prays to be able to love people well. That is amazing.
Another girl who really did not like Christians in High School. She thought they were hypocritical, rude, and judgmental. She discovered that Jesus was not like them and decided to follow him. Now, she is able to welcome people who feel like she did. She says she always has people who are not Christians around her because they feel comfortable around her. She is able to show them what Jesus is really like. That is a beautiful story.
Just today I met with a student who had really been trying to figure his faith out. He really wasn't, and I would say, still isn't, sure what he believes. But over the summer, he was at a party and in one moment, he knew God was speaking to him and he knew that his life was meant to be more than it is. Now he wants to get serious about figuring out what he thinks about Jesus and God.
Why do we not want to tell people these things? These are encouraging and beautiful stories. People will be blessed when they hear them. I have invited them and several others to share tonight. My hope is that people will connect and realize that Jesus really is at work all over the place. Maybe they will start to believe that Jesus could do something in them.
So my encouragement to you is to share your story. Tell about what God has done for you. Tell about what he is doing.
Because 2,000 years ago some people started telling others.
We are here because . . .
Somebody
told somebody.
This year we have five Bible studies that meet on different nights of the week in different dorms on campus. As I checked in with the leaders afterward, it sounded like they were all having a great time looking at Scripture together. I know that my Bible Study was the most talkative one I have ever had. I also had a new student share an observation about Peter that just blew my mind. I told him that and I hope it was encouraging to him. I love that at our Bible Studies we learn from each other and even I can learn something from a new freshman. In total, I think we had around 60-70 people at our Bible Studies last week. That is 60-70 people who had a chance to interact with Jesus for themselves. Good times!
Our large group, called "Awake," was equally great. We were in a room at the student memorial union that could hold 60 people. Our goal was to have 100 people there and to be a fire hazard. Well, the official count I heard was that we had 81 people there. The room was PACKED! There is no way we could have had 100 people in there. And we were a fire hazzard too. Hooray! I could see the excitement on the faces of the leaders as they watched people just stream into the room. I am kicking myself for not taking any pictures of it. I just got so wrapped up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tonight and post them.
I gave a message about how when we respond to invitations from Jesus, our lives can profoundly change. I invited people to stand if they wanted to commit to living their lives to see the Kingdom of God come on campus. About 3/4 of the room stood up. I also invited people to become followers of Jesus for the first time. A couple of people stood up and as we talked to them, it became clear that they were deciding to get serious about following Jesus for themselves, not because they grew up that way. Praise God!
Great things are happening here. I am so encouraged and excited about what I am seeing. The students feel the same way. Continue to pray for us as we figure out how to keep the momentum going and help people follow-through on their commitments. What might we see as people begin to do this?
Here are some pictures of how we advertised for "Awake." It started to rain on us. Haha!
A Reflection
So I thought I would share a little reflection with you. I got a lot of great feedback from the last one so here is another.
Tonight at "Awake" I am going to talk about how when we experience something good, we tell people. If we read a good book, we are not shy about recommending it to other people. I have seen some movies 6 times because I wanted other people to experience it. I love telling people about stuff I like. Sometimes I do it multiple times in the same day. People have told me "Ben, you already told me that." many, many times.
So why are we so shy to share when Jesus does something in our lives?
I gave our leaders a heads-up that I would be talking about this and I wanted to know if there were people who would want to share about how God is at work in their lives.
No one volunteered.
I had to invite people to share and some begrudgingly accepted the invitation. I asked some of them to write out their stories ahead of time. As I read and heard their stories, over and over again I would notice how fantastic they were. The student who was just a straight up jerk to people in high school. Since he started saying yes to Jesus he has become one of the most friendly and welcoming people I know. He prays to be able to love people well. That is amazing.
Another girl who really did not like Christians in High School. She thought they were hypocritical, rude, and judgmental. She discovered that Jesus was not like them and decided to follow him. Now, she is able to welcome people who feel like she did. She says she always has people who are not Christians around her because they feel comfortable around her. She is able to show them what Jesus is really like. That is a beautiful story.
Just today I met with a student who had really been trying to figure his faith out. He really wasn't, and I would say, still isn't, sure what he believes. But over the summer, he was at a party and in one moment, he knew God was speaking to him and he knew that his life was meant to be more than it is. Now he wants to get serious about figuring out what he thinks about Jesus and God.
Why do we not want to tell people these things? These are encouraging and beautiful stories. People will be blessed when they hear them. I have invited them and several others to share tonight. My hope is that people will connect and realize that Jesus really is at work all over the place. Maybe they will start to believe that Jesus could do something in them.
So my encouragement to you is to share your story. Tell about what God has done for you. Tell about what he is doing.
Because 2,000 years ago some people started telling others.
We are here because . . .
Somebody
told somebody.
Monday, September 28, 2009
It's Going to Be a Good Year
Today is the first day of classes for the 09-010 school year. Thousands of new freshmen have moved in to the dorms and everyone involved in InterVarsity is doing their best to meet them and invite them into what we are doing.
I will be honest with you here, I think this has been our best first week ever. There are around 20 IV students who all understand the value of outreach and invitation. I periodically check in with the leaders in the dorms to see how they are doing and find that they are making friends, playing games, and inviting people to be a part of the Bible Studies they are leading. They are meeting TONS of interested people. I think this is going to be a good year.
Mustard Seed
As I was doing some planning for this year, I realized that this group of students was something special. I had this feeling that they were the ones who were going to really going to kick this fellowship up to the next level. I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed to be as successful as possible this year.
So a few days before new students arrived, we had a retreat. The retreat was called “Mustard Seed.” It is a reminder that though we start the year kind of small, God can make us grow into something big and beautiful.
The retreat was held in beautiful, exotic Corvallis. Yep. That way we were close to campus and were able to go pray and take care of any details that needed to be done.
I thought there were two stand-out moments of the retreat: The Invitation Web and sharing our stories of transformation. The web was a way for us to reflect on how we got involved with InterVarsity. As each person shared, I wrote their name on the board with a line connecting them to the person who invited them. As we watched it grow, we began to see how important invitations are and how persistent we need to be with them. Some of the people who are now very involved did so only after being invited for a term or two. I loved watching that truth sink in.
We also had an opportunity to share the ways in which God has been transforming us. I originally intended this to be a short time, but it ended up going for over an hour and people were sharing deeply about how God was changing them. Some people continued to pray for each other long after we were done. I was struck at how powerful it was for us to share our stories with each other. I hope that this year brings us many more stories to share.
New Student Outreach
In what can only be described as one of the best last minute ideas we have ever had, we decided to set up an information table at the freshmen convocation. The school filters all the frosh through this one area of campus and we thought it would be a good idea to be there and meet them.
I have never been a huge fan of tables, so I was expecting maybe a few people to be interested. Kit thought it would be a good idea to give away free Swedish Fish. New Freshmen + Swedish fish = an explosive combination. We had over 50 people sign up who were interested in getting involved.
50 People. We have never had 50 people sign up for anything.
This table was the most successful outreach we have ever done.
And the students followed up with the people who signed up within 24 hours. It was awesome to watch.
Like I said, I think this is going to be a good year and I am excited to share with you about what happens.
Next week I will tell you how our first large, group called “Awake,” went. Just so you know, we are praying for 100 people to show up. I will be giving an invitation for people to become followers of Jesus there and I would love prayers for the Spirit to be speaking through me and for people’s hearts to be open to Jesus.
I will also be sharing some more reflections due to the large amount of positive feeback I got from the last post.
Thanks for all your prayers and support! Have a wonderful week!
Oh yeah, remember that 40-foot banana split we made last year? Well, we decided to do it again but twice as long. Here is a picture.
I will be honest with you here, I think this has been our best first week ever. There are around 20 IV students who all understand the value of outreach and invitation. I periodically check in with the leaders in the dorms to see how they are doing and find that they are making friends, playing games, and inviting people to be a part of the Bible Studies they are leading. They are meeting TONS of interested people. I think this is going to be a good year.
Mustard Seed
As I was doing some planning for this year, I realized that this group of students was something special. I had this feeling that they were the ones who were going to really going to kick this fellowship up to the next level. I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed to be as successful as possible this year.
So a few days before new students arrived, we had a retreat. The retreat was called “Mustard Seed.” It is a reminder that though we start the year kind of small, God can make us grow into something big and beautiful.
The retreat was held in beautiful, exotic Corvallis. Yep. That way we were close to campus and were able to go pray and take care of any details that needed to be done.
I thought there were two stand-out moments of the retreat: The Invitation Web and sharing our stories of transformation. The web was a way for us to reflect on how we got involved with InterVarsity. As each person shared, I wrote their name on the board with a line connecting them to the person who invited them. As we watched it grow, we began to see how important invitations are and how persistent we need to be with them. Some of the people who are now very involved did so only after being invited for a term or two. I loved watching that truth sink in.
We also had an opportunity to share the ways in which God has been transforming us. I originally intended this to be a short time, but it ended up going for over an hour and people were sharing deeply about how God was changing them. Some people continued to pray for each other long after we were done. I was struck at how powerful it was for us to share our stories with each other. I hope that this year brings us many more stories to share.
New Student Outreach
In what can only be described as one of the best last minute ideas we have ever had, we decided to set up an information table at the freshmen convocation. The school filters all the frosh through this one area of campus and we thought it would be a good idea to be there and meet them.
I have never been a huge fan of tables, so I was expecting maybe a few people to be interested. Kit thought it would be a good idea to give away free Swedish Fish. New Freshmen + Swedish fish = an explosive combination. We had over 50 people sign up who were interested in getting involved.
50 People. We have never had 50 people sign up for anything.
This table was the most successful outreach we have ever done.
And the students followed up with the people who signed up within 24 hours. It was awesome to watch.
Like I said, I think this is going to be a good year and I am excited to share with you about what happens.
Next week I will tell you how our first large, group called “Awake,” went. Just so you know, we are praying for 100 people to show up. I will be giving an invitation for people to become followers of Jesus there and I would love prayers for the Spirit to be speaking through me and for people’s hearts to be open to Jesus.
I will also be sharing some more reflections due to the large amount of positive feeback I got from the last post.
Thanks for all your prayers and support! Have a wonderful week!
Oh yeah, remember that 40-foot banana split we made last year? Well, we decided to do it again but twice as long. Here is a picture.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Personal Reflection
I was thinking the other day (trouble!) that I spend most of the space on this blog talking about how things in the fellowship are going. And that is fine because I think you all want to know those things. But I rarely share about how I am doing. So before the craziness of the new school year starts, I thought I would share a bit about my own spiritual journey.
I feel like this past year has been a big one for me. I have learned a lot from successes, failures, wonderful people who have leadership roles in my life, and books I have been reading. I think my understanding of God is growing and getting bigger. That is always a good thing. I am just trying to figure out what to do with it. It is one thing to learn something new or deeper about God, but it is another to live it. As I look at my life, I have found many places where what I believe about God internally has not quite matched up with what I believe about him externally. I believe that following Jesus is the best way to live. So why don't I invite more people into that? I believe that Jesus has made peace with the world and with me. So why do I keep looking to other things to find peace or acceptance?
These are questions that can only be answered as I try to live out what I believe. I know that Jesus is inviting me into deeper things. Oh that I would trust him and follow. He wants to give me life and that is where I will find it.
One of the ways I have decided to try to grow this year is in the area of risk. I have realized that I have a card in my back pocket. This card says "the easy way out" on it. I play that card frequently when I am not sure what to do. I will be in the dorms and I don't really know what to do, so I play the card and decide to go home. I know that I wanted to talk to a student about something in their lives, but it could get a little uncomfortable. I play the card and never move the conversation past discussing the latest U2 album.
This year, I want to rip that card up. I will choose the riskier option. As a result, I think my life might get a little more uncomfortable and awkward at times, but I also think I will see God move in ways I have never seen before. I will ask the hard question. I will stay in the dorms for another hour. I will make that one extra invitation. Pray for me as I try to do this.
It is clear to me that Jesus is inviting me into this. And I want to respond to his invitation. I have been doing a little thinking lately on the subject of invitation. Here is a little story:
I had something that really defined my experience in High School. Some people played sports. Some people took AP classes. I sang in choir. I spent every free moment I could in the choir room singing with my friends. I loved making music with other people. I loved creating something beautiful every day.
But I almost never did it.
When I was in junior high, I thought that singing in choir was only for people who had no idea how uncool they were. I heckled my friends who were in it. But I did like to sing and play guitar oddly enough. The High School choir teacher got word of that and sent me a letter inviting me to be a par of the choir. I said no. He sent me another letter. I again said no.
Then he called me to talk about it. I told him I was interested in other things and was probably not going to do choir. This was his reply: "ok, I am going on vacation for two weeks. When I come back, you can let me know your final answer." I thought I already had but whatever. Two weeks later he called me back and asked what if I wanted to join choir.
And for some crazy reason, I said, "Yes."
I really don't know why. Maybe it was just to get him to stop bothering me. So to stop someone from bothering me, I joined his class. Great Idea Ben!
But as it turned out, I loved it. I fell in love with music and learning to sing and the people I met and the places I was able to go because of it. It changed my life. It set my life in a totally different direction. I went to college to study music because of that. I am on IV staff because I responded to that invitation.
I am so thankful that he kept inviting me. He invited me four times. I said "no" three times. But the fourth time, I said "yes." And it changed my life.
If responding to an invitation from a choir teacher can do that, what can responding to an invitation from Jesus do?
May I always say "yes" to Jesus.
May you always say "yes" to Jesus.
May we always say "yes" to Jesus.
I feel like this past year has been a big one for me. I have learned a lot from successes, failures, wonderful people who have leadership roles in my life, and books I have been reading. I think my understanding of God is growing and getting bigger. That is always a good thing. I am just trying to figure out what to do with it. It is one thing to learn something new or deeper about God, but it is another to live it. As I look at my life, I have found many places where what I believe about God internally has not quite matched up with what I believe about him externally. I believe that following Jesus is the best way to live. So why don't I invite more people into that? I believe that Jesus has made peace with the world and with me. So why do I keep looking to other things to find peace or acceptance?
These are questions that can only be answered as I try to live out what I believe. I know that Jesus is inviting me into deeper things. Oh that I would trust him and follow. He wants to give me life and that is where I will find it.
One of the ways I have decided to try to grow this year is in the area of risk. I have realized that I have a card in my back pocket. This card says "the easy way out" on it. I play that card frequently when I am not sure what to do. I will be in the dorms and I don't really know what to do, so I play the card and decide to go home. I know that I wanted to talk to a student about something in their lives, but it could get a little uncomfortable. I play the card and never move the conversation past discussing the latest U2 album.
This year, I want to rip that card up. I will choose the riskier option. As a result, I think my life might get a little more uncomfortable and awkward at times, but I also think I will see God move in ways I have never seen before. I will ask the hard question. I will stay in the dorms for another hour. I will make that one extra invitation. Pray for me as I try to do this.
It is clear to me that Jesus is inviting me into this. And I want to respond to his invitation. I have been doing a little thinking lately on the subject of invitation. Here is a little story:
I had something that really defined my experience in High School. Some people played sports. Some people took AP classes. I sang in choir. I spent every free moment I could in the choir room singing with my friends. I loved making music with other people. I loved creating something beautiful every day.
But I almost never did it.
When I was in junior high, I thought that singing in choir was only for people who had no idea how uncool they were. I heckled my friends who were in it. But I did like to sing and play guitar oddly enough. The High School choir teacher got word of that and sent me a letter inviting me to be a par of the choir. I said no. He sent me another letter. I again said no.
Then he called me to talk about it. I told him I was interested in other things and was probably not going to do choir. This was his reply: "ok, I am going on vacation for two weeks. When I come back, you can let me know your final answer." I thought I already had but whatever. Two weeks later he called me back and asked what if I wanted to join choir.
And for some crazy reason, I said, "Yes."
I really don't know why. Maybe it was just to get him to stop bothering me. So to stop someone from bothering me, I joined his class. Great Idea Ben!
But as it turned out, I loved it. I fell in love with music and learning to sing and the people I met and the places I was able to go because of it. It changed my life. It set my life in a totally different direction. I went to college to study music because of that. I am on IV staff because I responded to that invitation.
I am so thankful that he kept inviting me. He invited me four times. I said "no" three times. But the fourth time, I said "yes." And it changed my life.
If responding to an invitation from a choir teacher can do that, what can responding to an invitation from Jesus do?
May I always say "yes" to Jesus.
May you always say "yes" to Jesus.
May we always say "yes" to Jesus.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Summer Update
I know, that isn't a very creative title but it sure is accurate and to the point.
Summer is here (in case you didn't know.) and I am currently reflecting on the past year whilst looking forward to the next one. I think I can say with little hesitation that this has been my favorite year at Oregon State. The fellowship is growing, people are choosing to follow Jesus for the first time (more on that later) and we are building momentum for the fall. I have learned a lot and seen the goodness of God this year.
Usually, at the end of the year, a fellowship begins to run out of steam. They coast to the end of the year and stop really doing anything. That did not happen this year. We picked up steam.
New Student Outreach . . . in MAY?!?!
I realized that we needed to work on our invitation skills. So one night at large group, I pulled a surprise on everyone. I told them that that night we were going to practice our invitations. Everyone was to go into the dorms and bring back as many people as possible for a giant banana split. 40 feet of banana split to be exact. They managed to bring back around 80 people, which was pretty good for the middle of mid-terms. It was a blast and they began to think that if they did it at the beginning of the school year, they could get even more people! Yes! Here are some pictures. 
Back to that story about people becoming Christians: So back at our outreach event, Outside-Inside-Out, a girl named An stood up and said she wanted to really figure out this Jesus thing. The two of us met for lunch each week for about six weeks and talked through a lot of her questions. It was a really fun time for me as I began to see the ways God was reaching out to her and the ways she was responding. She is in town for the summer and we hung out last week. I asked her how she was doing with deciding if she wanted to follow Jesus. She said, "oh yeah. I'm in. I totally love God and want to follow him." I was floored. So exciting!! An is an amazing person and I think that many people will come to know the Lord through her. Praise God!!!!
Summit
Right after school got out, I took 16 students up to Portland for our two-week urban plunge called "Summit." It involved a little bit of everything: Prayer, evangelism, service, justice, Bible Study, and 19 people crammed into a 3 bedroom apartment for 2 weeks. Needless to say, God was good to us and people had some amazing experiences with him. Many saw things and did things they never thought would happen to them. I could go on and on about it but there is WAY too much to tell. Here are some pictures.
Looking ahead, Mike and I are working on getting our funding together for next year and planning for the fall. Pray for us. We are really excited to get out there and help introduce people to Jesus. "an evangelism rampage" as Mike puts it. Have a great summer and look for another one of these in the fall. Peace!
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Times They are'a Changin' . . .
. . . but totally in a good healthy way that I think will transform our fellowship. So don't worry, I am not going anywhere. In fact, everything happening at Oregon State, actually everything across the Northwest for that matter, makes me want to stick around for a while.
So what is this change? Well, recently InterVarsity did a bunch of research and experimenting with finding out how small chapters (like ours) and new chapters can grow and see breakthrough. I was not a part of this team but their findings have been made known. I, along with the other staff in Oregon, was given the "Chapter Planting Manual." As I read through it, my eyes were opened to all kinds of new ideas and possibilities. I discovered that much of what our ministry looked like was not entirely appropriate for a fellowship our size. There are certain things that are necessary for a group as big as ours to grow.
So after some reflection, I decided it was time to change things up a bit and try on a few ideas from the manual. So far, so good. One thing that stuck out to me was how small fellowships need to create structures that allow as many students as possible to participate in what the fellowship does. They need to not be just spectators, but people who help put things on. Students need to see how the things they do effect the fellowship. That way, they take ownership of what we are doing and that helps them get more involved and committed.
Armed with this explosive new insight, I changed how our weekly large group looked. Instead of just having worship and a talk, I changed it into a meeting where we all planned an outreach to the campus. I gave people the option of working on taking care of certain aspects of the outreach. To my surprise and delight, almost everyone chose to help out. Two weeks later we put on the event (which I will describe shortly) and it was really great. They all got to participate and see their work contribute to the quality of the event.
Outside-Inside-Out
That was the name of the event we put on. One of our students recently got extremely passionate about fighting human trafficking. (The three students quoted in the article are all InterVarsity students!) She helped put on a week's worth of events and we decided that it would be good to deal with the spiritual aspects of the issue. How does Jesus respond to evil and injustice in the world? How should we respond? We put on a great event and I gave my thoughts on the subject and I invited people to become followers of Jesus. No one was ready to do that yet, but a few people stood up to commit to a few weeks of really trying to figure Jesus out. I look forward to meeting with them. Pray that God reveals himself to them and they decide to give their lives to him!We are going to evaluate our event and see what we learned from it this week. That way, next time we try something, we can do it better and more effectively. I also hope that the students who took part in this will want to commit to being a part of what InterVarsity is doing on campus in the future.
Pray for us as we embark on this new journey. I am very excited about it and so are the students.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement! Have a great spring!
Monday, January 26, 2009
January Happenings
Happy January!
I don’t know why I always want to start by talking about the weather, but after December’s decision to bury the northwest under mounds of snow, January has been a welcome change. It has been beautiful and sunny most days, but the trade off is that is has been SOOOOO cold! I am currently sitting in the sunniest room in my house enjoying the warmth of the sun.
There has been quite a lot going on in our fellowship this term. I am happy to have so much to report to you. At the risk of sounding repetitive, God is doing a lot and I can feel the fellowship moving with Him. Specifically, He is moving us into more intentional evangelism. I am excited to see where this takes us and the lives that will be transformed because of it.
Here is a story from one of our leaders, Crisanne. It is really encouraging.
“Recently, God was gracious to give me the opportunity to see the parable of the lost sheep come alive before my eyes! I was struggling with self-worth and feeling that my attempts at ministry weren't yielding any fruit at the start of this winter term. One night, I was trying to sleep but ended up walking around my dorm. I ran into a non-Christian friend, Valerie, who wanted to hang out. I didn't really want to and told her I was going to try to go to sleep again. However, when I got back to my room, the realization hit me that this could be God's hand trying to draw Valerie to himself! I immediately started praying that God would prepare her heart for the time we spent hanging out, and texted her to come on over. Valerie soon showed up and we decided against watching a movie (praise God!) and started talking instead. We talked about boys but then I decided to take a risk and ask her if she had had a bad experience with religion in the past. To my amazement, that opened up another hour of talking about her frustrations with church, Jesus, faith, Bible studies, and pretty much anything else you could think of. She even asked me why I believed in God, and I got to share with her stories of how I have seen Him heal people. Then Valerie left, and she left saying thank you instead of being mad! I called my friends right away and we gathered to pray until 2 AM for what had just happened! Basically, I see this conversation in two ways. One, God was merciful in redeeming me from my negative thoughts about my use as a student leader in my dorm. Second, he showed me that he is actively involved in seeking his lost sheep. I had thought that Valerie had never given a second thought to God, but, from the way she talked, I saw that she is brimming with questions. I am praying daily for guidance in what to do next, praying and praising the Almighty God!”
Pray for Crisanne as she seeks to reach out to Valerie and pray that God gets hold of Valerie’s heart.
As we have been leaning into evangelism, we have also felt a strong pull to pray more for the people we are reaching out to. This has stirred a desire to learn how to pray more deeply and with more effectiveness. I asked a man at my church, Tom White, to come give us a training time in prayer. Tom travels the world helping pastors in different cities come together to pray. He has a heart to see the church united. This guy has a CRAZY life. I was very excited to have him come and teach us about listening to the Holy Spirit in prayer. 18 students came to learn. I am looking forward to seeing how our prayer lives will deepen as a result. Pray for us as we pray.
On a slightly more somber note, I have realized that I need to put more focus on my fund development this term. I am currently at 59% of my budget. That means that the ministry is not in the best shape financially. I have let fund development take a back seat on my priorities list for too long. As a result, I am taking one day a week to specifically do it, and after our winter conference, I will be taking two weeks off campus to work on it. I am not super excited about this, but my hope is that it will help get us back on track. I need to raise another $1,600 per month to be fully funded. Pray for me as I do this and if you are moved to give to the ministry, there is a link to the left that will take you to the donations website.
God is on the move. We are trying to learn how to move with him. It is a fun, scary, and challenging adventure. Stay tuned!
I don’t know why I always want to start by talking about the weather, but after December’s decision to bury the northwest under mounds of snow, January has been a welcome change. It has been beautiful and sunny most days, but the trade off is that is has been SOOOOO cold! I am currently sitting in the sunniest room in my house enjoying the warmth of the sun.
There has been quite a lot going on in our fellowship this term. I am happy to have so much to report to you. At the risk of sounding repetitive, God is doing a lot and I can feel the fellowship moving with Him. Specifically, He is moving us into more intentional evangelism. I am excited to see where this takes us and the lives that will be transformed because of it.
Here is a story from one of our leaders, Crisanne. It is really encouraging.
“Recently, God was gracious to give me the opportunity to see the parable of the lost sheep come alive before my eyes! I was struggling with self-worth and feeling that my attempts at ministry weren't yielding any fruit at the start of this winter term. One night, I was trying to sleep but ended up walking around my dorm. I ran into a non-Christian friend, Valerie, who wanted to hang out. I didn't really want to and told her I was going to try to go to sleep again. However, when I got back to my room, the realization hit me that this could be God's hand trying to draw Valerie to himself! I immediately started praying that God would prepare her heart for the time we spent hanging out, and texted her to come on over. Valerie soon showed up and we decided against watching a movie (praise God!) and started talking instead. We talked about boys but then I decided to take a risk and ask her if she had had a bad experience with religion in the past. To my amazement, that opened up another hour of talking about her frustrations with church, Jesus, faith, Bible studies, and pretty much anything else you could think of. She even asked me why I believed in God, and I got to share with her stories of how I have seen Him heal people. Then Valerie left, and she left saying thank you instead of being mad! I called my friends right away and we gathered to pray until 2 AM for what had just happened! Basically, I see this conversation in two ways. One, God was merciful in redeeming me from my negative thoughts about my use as a student leader in my dorm. Second, he showed me that he is actively involved in seeking his lost sheep. I had thought that Valerie had never given a second thought to God, but, from the way she talked, I saw that she is brimming with questions. I am praying daily for guidance in what to do next, praying and praising the Almighty God!”
Pray for Crisanne as she seeks to reach out to Valerie and pray that God gets hold of Valerie’s heart.
As we have been leaning into evangelism, we have also felt a strong pull to pray more for the people we are reaching out to. This has stirred a desire to learn how to pray more deeply and with more effectiveness. I asked a man at my church, Tom White, to come give us a training time in prayer. Tom travels the world helping pastors in different cities come together to pray. He has a heart to see the church united. This guy has a CRAZY life. I was very excited to have him come and teach us about listening to the Holy Spirit in prayer. 18 students came to learn. I am looking forward to seeing how our prayer lives will deepen as a result. Pray for us as we pray.
On a slightly more somber note, I have realized that I need to put more focus on my fund development this term. I am currently at 59% of my budget. That means that the ministry is not in the best shape financially. I have let fund development take a back seat on my priorities list for too long. As a result, I am taking one day a week to specifically do it, and after our winter conference, I will be taking two weeks off campus to work on it. I am not super excited about this, but my hope is that it will help get us back on track. I need to raise another $1,600 per month to be fully funded. Pray for me as I do this and if you are moved to give to the ministry, there is a link to the left that will take you to the donations website.
God is on the move. We are trying to learn how to move with him. It is a fun, scary, and challenging adventure. Stay tuned!
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