2006.08 Refreshed in Orlando

Knowledge is one thing, but using it for God’s glory is another. I can’t wait to see what God will do with the new structure I have learned about over the summer. It seems that God has done a lot this summer. Let me share some of it with you.

The first part of the summer took us to Florida. I was able to refresh my thoughts with classes to help me understand truths of the Bible and how to effectively communicate them. The greatest truth I learned was to identify our fallen condition (sin tendency) in passages of Scripture and in pointing out our sinfulness exposes our need for Christ. The professors were great at teaching truths from scripture and applying it to ministry as many of them have several years of ministry experience.

One encouraging event that happened over the summer was with one of the students that I highlighted in our last prayer letter-Scott. He was a sophomore and was going on a summer project to Lake Tahoe. He called me in the middle of the summer and was very thankful for the time I had spent with him and teaching him to share his faith. From what He told me, his perspective on sharing the Gospel had changed from being an inconvenience, to sharing something of significance. It was amazing to hear the excitement in his voice of how he continued to share the Gospel with people and to love others. Praise God that His message is so relevant despite this world’s pessimism toward Him. Several times this summer people asked me what I enjoy about what I do. I often thought of Scott and replied that I get to invest my life into men who need direction in their lives. Whether I am helping them with a small issue or leading them to Christ, it is all worth while. I also think about Terence, who was also highlighted in our last letter. He was a senior last year and won’t be back this year, but there are so many things that I am reminded of. The way he talked. The deep questions he had about how Christian culture ran things. I always enjoyed his deep thinking. It will be a tough challenge to know who or how many people I should invest my time in, but I pray that God would guide me and lead me to those who not only want to grow up to be leaders, but who want to live their lives for Christ.

This summer was a great time to be refreshed and to have new focus for this year. I pray that God would carry us though this year trusting in Him for His purposes and not our own. I praise God that He alone can accomplish life change in these students, not just some new strategy or new way of doing things. I praise the Lord that He will continue to do His work in our lives and on the UO campus.

2006.06 reflections

I contacted a student, named Andrew, during the fall term, who filled out a survey about his thoughts on spirituality. He was a typical freshman, trying to figure out life and wanting to know what role God might have in his life. As we talked more he revealed his homosexual lifestyle. He wanted to know if he could stay homosexual and be a Christian at the same time. I told him that it was clear that the God of the Bible was against this sin, but it was no different than any other sin (i.e. gossip, drunkenness, stealing). It didn’t seem to matter what I reasoned, Andrew had a counter for everything. Our conversation turned into more of a discourse on the difficulty of being gay in our society and how he felt it was unfair. He thanked me for our discussion and appreciated me sharing my thoughts with him.

After that meeting, I pondered a lot different words I could have said or how I could have challenged his thinking more. My heart just prayed for Andrew to desire God more than he loves his lifestyle. I tried to get together with him several times throughout the year but every attempt failed. I would run into him on campus but each instance was only a brief “hello” in passing. He never seemed to have time.

I still think of Andrew every once in awhile, and today I ran into him again. Today was different. He said he wanted to talk because he had been thinking about God a lot lately. He asked the same question- if he could still be a homosexual and be a Christian. He had some of the same arguments of why God should allow him to keep his lifestyle. I told him Christ’s words, "Whoever saves his life in this life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." We talked a lot more, but it seemed that Andrew still wasn’t willing to give up his lifestyle for Christ.

I share this story with you because it encourages me. I know it is not one of conversion, but of a struggle for someone whom God dearly loves. I was not expecting to see Andrew again this term, let alone have an in-depth conversation with him. God reminded me that He is still working on this campus and is pursuing students, even students that I have given up on. God is pursuing Andrew’s heart greatly. I believe that is why he wants to be able to reconcile his lifestyle with one filled with Christ. Please pray for this man to experience the full love and acceptance of God. That he would be used by God to reach out to the gay/lesbian community. Pray that Andrew would desire God more than what he can find in his present lifestyle.