Eager Apollos

While I was brushing my teeth the other day I was struck by, what I am assuming was, the Holy Spirit. I was given the inspiration to sit in the library and put up a sign indicating that I will pray with people if they desire some prayer.

It is finals week and the library is filled with students that are cramming for finals, frantically typing papers or groups bickering over their last project. When you look around the fishbowl you see exhaustion on the faces of these study groups occasionally interrupted by moments of levity that get them through the next half hour or so.

Look at the computer screens and you see words racing across a virtual page or power point presentations full of data and graphs. Look at the faces of the typists you see that hope that the next word will be their last.

Between all night study sessions, quad-shot lattes, and Red Bull, Sabbath is the farthest thing from the minds of these students. It is in this context that I hope to offer a moment of rest.

I started late last night and had one taker. A student walked up to me and asked if the sign was mine. I was expecting to pray for all the reasons I just listed above, but I was in for a surprise. The student wasn’t concerned with finals or papers or anything of that nature, but he was worried about his mother.

He made his concerns known and we took a minute and offered up a prayer for her as well as for him. After, we had a brief discussion about each other’s backgrounds and then he jumped back into the fray.

I hung around until about 11pm. I had no other takers and spent my time reading, studying, typing or praying for those around me.

I am trying to spend a couple hours everyday this week in the library. We shall see what God has in store.

A small group of CA students, Matt, and I got away this last weekend to Vantage.

The theme that the leadership chose for the retreat was “Cultivating a Lifestyle of Worship.” Both Matt and I spoke and there was good discussion amongst the group on the topic.

In the evenings we watched a couple of movies. The most popular movie was Ink. The group really enjoyed it and they say that everyone one should see it. After the movie we played board games and generally hung out.

During the days we had a variety of activities planned, walks, discussion sessions, worship, and, of course, frisbee.

A good time was had by all, and we appreciate Brian giving us a place to lay our heads.

These are the slides that I made for a presentation I did on the Image of God. Libby got a kick out of them and other people who weren’t present wanted to see them, so I am posting them.

I spoke about my past bouts with cynicism and how the doctrine of the Image of God shifted my thinking for the better.

The fonts didn’t transfer but this is what it looked like through out the lesson.

I was worried that the second grade story time aesthetic would come off as condescending, but everyone responded well.

Enjoy the glimpse into the randomness that is our weekly CA meeting.

For the past quarter and a half, every Friday I have meandered on to campus, cracked my bible and read aloud a passage of scripture to a few students. Lectio Divina is a practice involving reading of scripture, meditation, contemplation, and prayer. It’s the practice of listening to scripture and exploring what God is trying to speak into our lives.

To start, a few students and myself find a quiet room in the SURC. I write an outline of the process on the white board, along with some meditation questions. I select a short passage (like a psalm or proverb) and then we begin.

I read aloud the passage and the student listen, some read along and some let the passage wash over them. After the first reading the students are asked to recall a word, phrase or idea that stood out to them. Then they have time to reflect on why that idea struck them. Occasionally I ask them to write that word up on the white board.

I read the passage again and the students are asked to reflect on how this passage touches their lives or the lives of others in their sphere of influence. A time of reflection follows.

I read the passage a third time and the students are asked to ponder what God wants them to do or be in light of this passage. After that final reflection time, there is a period of personal prayer time, followed by a communal closing prayer.

The students that have experience Lectio Divina have enjoyed it. They say its a good time of quiet reflection at the end of a hectic week.

Friday Potlucks get odd sometimes. Above you see a picture of me desperately trying to knit. Heather brought her needles and yarn and she used those tools to put me in my place. I hope she didn’t have to redue the whole thing.

The Potluck before the knitting debacle I brought Quelf a board game. A board game more affectionately known as “embarrassment in a box.” This game is like Cranium on steroids and is know for its ability to turn any party to a bucket of laughs instantaneously (at the expense of every player). Above is Brian trying to muscle through one of the absurd tasks given unto him by the not-so-benevolent cards.

I was recently given a Chaplains Kit by my Reserve unit. I don’t know when I will be able to use it but its future use is a certainty. Everything you see breaks down and fits into the two small packs. There are other tools in the packs but they are practical things like book lights and containers for the elements.

The cup has a partition that can be inserted so the bread can be placed in the cup along with the wine. The cup unscrews as well as does the cross. Everything is subdued so as to not reflect light, so snipers don’t notice the congregation and want to take a shot.

You can see my bible from my basic training days. I also have a soldiers field service book with hymns and creeds in it for easy reference.

Receiving this kit was a huge encouragement. Being stuck in the process of becoming a chaplain, a process that has dragged on for a few years now, can grade on me. This made the future reality of God’s call and promise feel a little bit closer.

Sometimes, ministry is the bane of my existence. Paper work, rigorous study, detailed planning; these aren’t the things that one signs on for when getting into ministry. They are good and necessary activities, vital to the work, but are still activities that grades on a person over time. But in the midst of the mundane, the one activity that never gets old and is always a breath of fresh air is the one-on-one meeting.

For the first quarter I was still getting to know students. The students were still getting used to me. The cadets were unsure of who I was and I didn’t have many contacts out side of the ROTC program. Now that I have been here a while, people recognize me and I am able to see if they are interested in meeting one-on-one.

The conversations are as unique as the students. Sometimes, students just want to vent their frustration with being overwhelmed with life. Occasionally, students are looking to shed light on deep theological mysteries and sometimes we just hang out and shoot the breeze.

This is the work of discipleship. Helping students move one more step in the right direction. Continuing to water the planet that God is growing.

This is just a photo of last Friday night’s potluck. This is the second one we had this quarter. We canceled last week due to Missions Connexion, but we are back to business as usual. This is the event that I look forward to all week long.

Matt and I are currently engaged in an ambitious project. Last quarter we decided that we were going to preach through the Book of Romans. We understood that there was no way we could do an exhaustive look into the text, the number of meetings in the next two quarters simply isn’t enough time. So instead we are attempting to cover Romans via the themes and arguments that Paul is using.

We looked at a couple of outlines of Romans and came up with a series of twelve themes that were going to cover. We have already covered the historical context of Romans which touch on the beginning of the first chapter of the book (1:1-13) and the end of the book (15:14-16:27).

The next topic is going to be the universal sinfulness of humanity which covers the majority of the first three chapters. We are going to have to skim of the details, but we will touch on both of Paul’s arguments as to why both Gentiles and Jews are sinful and why this means that all have fallen short of the glory of God.

We are hoping this method will leave students with a better understanding of what Romans says as a whole. We feel that this will better serve them when they revisit Romans on their own.

Last Thursday I was invited to go on a ruck march with the ROTC Battalion. So I threw as many theology books as I could fit into my assault pack and walked up and down the formation talking to soldiers.

The soldiers are generally quiet to practice being in a tactical environment, but I did manage to have a few conversation with a couple of cadets.

I got to know some new cadets and check in with ones I already knew. I learned about their majors and what they wanted to do in the Army once they were in which is pretty basic conversation. But a couple interactions explored marriages and one cadet told me about a shattered dream of hers.

This is the Cadet First Sergeant. He spent the two hours running up and down the formation trying to keep his platoon together, making sure no one was left behind.

None of the prior pictures have any body marching in them, but just so you know this final picture is proof that we were indeed marching.

Once a year people from all over the state (and even further) descend on the small town of Ellensburg to watch the rodeo. The pace and tone of the town is completely different during these five days. Parking is impossible. Restaurants and bars are packed. Main St reached the congestion that I thought was only possible on I-5 during rush hour (it took me 18 minutes to drive 1.4 miles).

I spoke to a woman that had come all the way from Arizona to see the rodeo. Apparently it is ranked in the top 25 rodeo’s in the nation. Every other part of the year you wouldn’t know that Ellensburg is a destination spot, but stand anywhere in the town and the roar or the echo of the announcer’s voice will tell you otherwise.

Campus Ambassador’s has a relationship with a local church and as long as we participate in their Mexican food booth we get a portion of the pie. These funds go toward ministry expenses, such as books for poor college students that want to participate in our small groups or scholarships for fall retreats.

In addition to fund raising, this event was a good way for me to meet people in the community. I spoke with a bunch of people that helped out at the booth and before we were completely slammed with food orders I got to know each of them at least a little. I conversed with some of the youth that were there to raise money for their youth group. I also spoke with some adults volunteering to aid their church. Some expressed their excitement that Matt (my boss) finally had  some help on campus. They spoke of their opinions of how great Matt’s ministry was and how unique that he dealt with the more “intellectual” or “tougher” crowd.

They also spoke to the side of Matt’s ministry that is sometimes under appreciated. Matt and Susi (his wife) have eight kids who’s ages range from twenty four to four years old. I heard a few comments that Matt’s ministry wouldn’t be the same without his family. I believe this to be true. I have seen these kids grow up over the past couple of years and it is amazing to see how they have taken on the world and their faith in a way only Matt and Susi could raise them to do. Matt has stories about the impact that his family has had on former students and how his interactions with his children have changed the way that students look at family, parenting, and even God.

Between fund raising and good conversation I realized how lucky I am to be involved in this ministry. I hope I will have a unique impact on campus and I hope that I quickly fall in the unique niche that God has carved out for me here.

As of June 11, 2009 I am a Campus Intern with Campus Ambassadors. My appointment to the position comes with the pleasure of planning for the fall and the character-building burden of raising support for the ministry.

I have to be fully funded by the time I step foot on campus which sets the priority on fundraising, but in between sending letters, making calls and meeting with potential donors I do day dream about what I am hoping to do come the beginning of fall quarter.

One hope for the future is to have some presence within the R.O.T.C. battalion on campus. I would like to do physical training (PT) with the unit on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. I have been training on my own in preparation for this opportunity. These future officers tend to be 18-22 and I am not in that age bracket anymore, meaning I am going to have to work harder to keep up. I am sure that even with all my hard work I will be getting a big dose of humility when it comes time to run with this group of soldiers.

I am also hoping that I will be able to train with them during their Lab time on Thursday afternoons. This is a time where they run through battle drills and go on road marches so that these students have some hands on experience prior to going to their summer course where they are evaluated for their leadership potential.

If R.O.T.C. cadets show an interest I want to host a leadership study out of a book called Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender. Allender’s book focuses on leadership as having to do with character and also finding the unique way you lead. I think that the future leaders of the U.S. Army would benefit from reading it. I hope they take me up on offer.

My involvement with the R.O.T.C. unit will depend primarily on the Commander’s approval of my attending these functions, so pray that I put the effort in to prepare myself and for the battalions openness to my presence.

Aside from R.O.T.C., I am planning a program that integrates the arts and the Bible in a way that injects drama into the Biblical text and helps Christians learn to read the world through a Christian lens. An example would be to watch a movie like Scent of a Woman and compare it with the stoning of Stephen in Acts 6-7. Or using Salvador Dali’s painting The Persistence of Memory and compare it to Ecclesiastes 1:2-15.

The general idea being that you take a piece of art (i.e. painting, sculpture,poem, music, film clip) and compare and contrast it with a loosely relevant Biblical text. The students would then have the opportunity to journal about what they experienced, the ideas they tied together and how their viewing of the movie, poem, or what have you, influenced their reading of the text or vice versa. After the journaling time, there would bean opportunity for the students to share what they wrote, either in open mic fashion or maybe I would take submissions and present them the following meeting.

This is going to be quite the experiment. I think that this experience will help students deepen their reading of the Bible and also help them to see how reading the Bible shapes the way we as Christians view the world. I think I will try the experiment every other week for a few months and see if it is accomplishing the goals I am setting for it.

In addition to R.O.T.C. and the experiment I will be doing the weekly meeting, small group bible studies and one-on-one meetings. We will still do the Cave each Friday and the book table on Tuesday. I may even teacha class with Matt (my supervisor). The possibilities are only limited by my time and student interest and I am hoping to have an abundance of both.

In the mean time it is back to sending letters and making calls. My dreaming time is done for the day. Please pray for the ministry of Campus Ambassadors at Central Washington University and that I am fully funded by the time freshmen start moving on campus.