End of Year 1: A look back and lessons learned

2010-2011 Christian Challenge Slideshow

A look back on the past school year and a final word from the people being sent out from Christian Challenge.

Neat November

Neat November

November has yielded much fruit both for me and for students whom I serve with. What I’ve been learning the past month is that blessings most often are preceded or accompanied by challenges. However, in the midst of the challenge and despite difficulties, once the challenge has been persevered through blessing follows. We started November off with our monthly Evangelistic outreach “Faith Forum.” The topic for the forum that week was Christian=Hypocrite? Answering the question, why is it that Christians don’t act like Jesus or follow his teachings? The preceding week we went on campus to set up our table. We had intended to go out and ask students a couple of questions regarding the topic to try and prep the campus for the topic and to generate conversations that could form the foundation for relationships with people and also serve as an invitation to come to the Faith Forum. When we got out to the mall we discovered that we had been moved out of our spot to a location close to the administration building. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because there was a group of open air preachers that set up shop across from us. One of them was holding a gigantic banner that said, “Jesus said, if you love me why don’t you obey me?” We couldn’t have planned this out any better. The first few people that got up to preach were very polarizing and weren’t presenting a very good view of Christians. They insulted everyone that walked by and even mocked us as we were set up across from them. However, a good thing that came from the open air preachers was the crowd it generated. The crowd that stopped by to hear the preachers hurl insults at them were ready to get on camera and put their two cents in about what they thought. We started each interview with, “What is the first word that comes to your mind when you think Christian?” The second question we asked was, “Do you think Christian=Hypocrite?” These two questions tied into prepping and advertising for the “Faith Forum,” but more importantly it allowed us to discover a little more of these individuals stories. The questions revealed their attitudes towards Christians and religion. It also opened up the opportunity to talk more about their religious experience. I had the opportunity to share with the gospel with 8 people in the span of 3 hours. This experience produced mixed results. On one hand I was very excited to have found a new way to interact with students on campus and do evangelism. On the other hand I had sharp dose of reality through the responses of the students. Each one I talked to had questions that I answered and followed up with a question of my own stemming from scripture as a response to their question. After talking to each one and presenting them with the answer to their questions through scripture each one turned away. None of them were ready to respond to God’s Word. Moreover, I was sorely reminded how enslaved so many people at our campus are having been entangled and bound up in the lies of the enemy. This experience has caused me to take a fresh new look at how I see the people that make up the University of Arizona and take heed:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12

The “Faith Forum” itself went very well in terms of creating dialogue between Christians about their experiences in the past of getting burned by fellow Christians. For several students I believe the dialogue made them reevaluate their own lives in and ask themselves if they were truly following after the example and teachings of Jesus Christ or if they were a hypocritical life. Here are some of the highlights from that night:

In my small group bible studies and one on one session’s things have really started shifting, placing more responsibility on the students. The 3 small group leaders I meet with have grown leaps and bounds in their confidence to study God’s Word and discern God’s Word. They have also grown in their ability to teach and facilitate discussion through scripture. It is encouraging to not have to push as much or carry discussion because now they are actually examining scripture and evaluating the things they hear or see on the basis of God’s Word. Another encouraging development has been seeing the students I disciple looking to teach what they have been taught. Going from the mindset of,” I need stuff just for me” to, “I’m learning stuff to teach others and that it is important to pass these things on.” I do hope that these young men will be faithful stewards of the discipleship relationships God has entrusted them with. Please pray that a culture and attitude of discipleship will grow in the men’s ministry at Christian Challenge. Pray that the men don’t just teach people to be leaders or teachers, but that they also teach them how to be teachers of teachers and leaders. I know that to develop this type of cultural dynamic God must be working in the hearts of the leaders of this ministry to faithfully live out the command of Jesus to make disciples and pass on the vision of disciple-making.

My Seminary classes have been stressful but fruitful. I am continually being given opportunities to apply what I learn in class to the ministry God has placed me in. This past month I had the opportunity to work with a student I’ve been acquainted with from my church but had never worked with one on one. He approached me after the young adults service at my church asking if he could talk to me. It was then that I discovered that he has been in a county diversion program for an assault charge against his sister. I also learned about a learning disability and depression issue both of which he was supposed to be on medication for. It took a very long time to flush out some of the issues he was trying to communicate, but eventually it came down to identifying his anger towards his family especially his sister. I had the opportunity to use the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy model I had just learned in my Pastoral Counseling class. And once we identified his anger and the irrational belief he had about his arrest and punishment we read through Ephesians 4 and discussed some of the underlying issues he had and what God’s Word had to say about it. I then challenged him to commit to reading Ephesians 4 and praying through the passage every until he would see his sister. I also challenged him to call both his sister and mother. I was greatly encouraged Sunday (November 28) because the student told me he talked to his family and spent Thanksgiving with his family for the first time in 3 years. He also reported that he was in good fellowship again with his sister. This was also doubly encouraging because the Sunday he first approached me the sermon that morning addressed the issue of forgiveness and on the 28^th the one of the passages preached out of was Ephesians 4. He thanked me for challenging him to love his family and pray through Ephesians 4. That in itself was encouraging but what was more encouraging was seeing how God was already at work and I feel blessed to have been a part of God’s restorative process.

God has definitely been at work in my life speaking to me regularly through His Word and His people. What I need to start working on is readily applying the truth of God’s Word to my life. Several times I have found myself relating the truth of God’s Word to the people whom I serve but often times don’t recognize how true God’s Word is for my life until someone I talk to speaks back the things God’s been saying to me. I am truly blessed to have teaching pastors (Randy Mullinax and Rob Gaschler) unflinchingly present the truth of God’s Word. God is always confirming what He reveals to me in my own study through the messages shared at First Southern. I am constantly faced with how I fail to apply God’s word in my own life through the director of Christian Challenge (Julie Evans) and my accountability partners. I also grateful to have a spiritual mentor (Jason Caywood) who is always encouraging me to persevere in the faith and patiently wait on the Lord.

The idea of waiting on the Lord has taken on a lot of significance to me in recent weeks. The past few weeks we have been studying prayer in our evening Breakaway Worship Service. I didn’t recognize how much of what God was saying was for me personally and not just for the people I work with until last Sunday. In my quiet time I read through Psalm 27 and nothing in it really struck me as preparation for the week to come. I noticed that a lot of lyrics from popular songs had been taken from the passage. The morning service was about God’s tough love. About how God disciplines and teaches His children. The discipline is always for our benefit. Then later that night the passage preached out of was Psalm 27. It was in that instant that the things I had read and heard earlier that day and in the week came together for me. I actually audibly expressed my shock during the service. What struck me then that night was the need to wait on the Lord. I recognized that in one area of my life (a possible relationship with a woman) that I needed to wait for the purpose of personal growth and timing. I thought that God had directed this passage to me for that sole purpose. Oh how wrong I was! Another passage that has come up several times in various readings and conversations is Proverbs 4:23. I didn’t make the connection between seeing and hearing this passage to what it had to do with my life until this past weekend. I lived out the passage and at the end of it came to verse 14:

“Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes wait for the Lord.”

This passage has rung true for me in every area of my life and I was confronted with the contradiction of my life in not waiting on the Lord. I didn’t remain strong and take courage waiting on the strength of the Lord. I tried doing things in my own strength living according to my own reasoning and knowledge. I didn’t trust God and wait on Him. God has really challenged me to be persistent and patient in prayer and not move without Him, because frankly I’m unable to make good decisions. I don’t have the strength to make good decisions or to keep myself away from things that will harm me.

So please pray that will be confident in the Sovereignty and goodness of God. That I will wait on Him and rely on Him knowing that I am unable to live without Him.

The Pursuit-“Personal Transformation” 11/02/10

This is a manuscript of our upcoming large group meeting

Welcome (1min)

We are glad that you have come to Challenge. We will be doing things a little different tonight. We will be continuing with our series the Pursuit and tonight our topic is Personal transformation. My name is Tim and this is Leondra. Tonight, we will take a journey of worship together through some songs and God’s Word and see what they all have to say about Personal Transformation.

I. Recap of past weeks:(2min)

a. Explored God pursuing us w/ Julie and how he seeks out the lost

b. Pursuing God’s Word w/ Suraj-discovering the transforming power of God’s Word and how it has the ability to cut deep into our souls to change our lives

c. With Katy and our summer missionaries we discovered God’s love for us in His heart for the nations.

d. With Alex we saw God as story teller and how He desires for us to be a part of His story

e. Then we learned how God is an integral part of shaping our own stories.

II. Worship and Proclamation through Music(1min)

a. One way that we express our story is through music. When we sing songs we don’t just put words to notes. Songs carry emotion a passion that comes from inside. So tonight when we sing these songs I ask you to really think about the words we are singing. Don’t let the story pass you by, get caught up in it. Become a part of it.

III. Our Great God

IV. For the Glory of it All

Our Great God Loves Us(6 min)

V. God, the creator of the universe. Existed before time began. He is here for us. God loves us. He loved us before we ever were.

VI. John 15:16 You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

VII. 1 John 4:9-10 God showed us how much He loved us by sending us into the World so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love, it is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

a. He longs for us to go to Him in times of need.

VIII. 1 Peter 5:7 Turn all your anxiety over to God, because He cares for you.

a. God loves us so much that even while we were in opposition towards God He gave his life for us. We who have done devastating things to one another, lying, cheating, gossiping. We who have even at times done things we know to be harmful to ourselves. When we didn't even love ourselves God did.

IX. Romans 5:8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinner.

b. God loves us. He wants to give us the best. He wants us to want the best for ourselves. He loved us so much and cares for us so much that He came to show us that there was a better way of living. He wanted to show us that He has a plan for us.

X. Jeremiah 29:11-14 For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you, says the Lord, I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and bring you home again to your own land.

a. God isn't making this hard for us He is making a declaration that He wants to help us. He wants us to walk through life with Him. He is telling us that He knows that at times we fail. He knows that we grow tired and weary but He is strong. He has paid the price for sins. He wants to lead us out of the kingdom of dark and into the kingdom of light. He wants us to become a new creation. A creation that is not prey to our old vices. He wants us to know that through His power we can be made new.

XI. Glory Revealed (3:34) or Because of Your Love

XII. Completely Done (5:15)

(Half hour mark)

God's Gift of Freedom (10min)

a. God has given us a gift. This is a gift that is only found in relationship with Jesus Christ. In this relationship with Jesus through the sacrifice He has made on our behalf we find healing, hope, peace. In Christ we have freedom.

XIII. 1 Peter 2:24 He personally carried away our sins in His own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by His wounds.

XIV. Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

XV. Colossians 3:1-10 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ who is your real life is revealed, to the whole world, you will share in all His

glory. So put to death, the sinful earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things. You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature in you.

a. If you have a relationship with Jesus, you said that you recognized that you in yourself were incapable of living a good life. You admitted that you in yourself don't have the strength to make the decisions and persevere through tough times. You said that you don't have all the answers. When you said that, you also said that Jesus is all. You confessed that Jesus has the answers. You said that Jesus has the strength to make you new. You said that you are no longer held captive by your old destructive nature and now by the power of Christ working in your life you have been made free.

b. The moment we were freed from captivity we allied ourselves with Christ and made our old nature and the spiritual forces of darkness our enemy. We are at war.

XVI. Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

XVII. 1 Peter 5:8 Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.

a. We are in the middle of a pitched battle and our enemy is great...but Our God is Greater(Might to Save)

XVIII. Mighty to Save or Our God

Suffering has a Purpose (10min)

a. We have God on our side. Jesus, our mighty warrior. Our Savior. We should seek to follow in the footsteps of He who is mighty to save.

XIX. 1 Peter 4:1 So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had and be ready to suffer, too. For if you are willing to suffer for Christ, you have decided to stop sinning.

XX. 1 Peter 4: 12 Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.

a. If we are followers of Christ we need to reframe the way we think about suffering. We should not be surprised that we encounter trials. We should expect them to come. Enduring through suffering as a Christian is a necessary process of rebirth.

XXI. Matthew 24:8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

XXII. James 5:11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord's plan finally ended in good, for He is full of tenderness and mercy.

XXIII. 2 Corinthians 5:17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life is begun!

a. Before Christ you were dead. When Christ came he breathed life into you. Returning to the old life we had before Christ is like a new born baby trying to crawl back into the womb. We are choosing not to live when we return to our old ways. When we return to our old ways we choose death.

XXIV. John 10:10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.

a. God loves you and has good plans for you. But if you choose to walk separate from God you will never experience the joy and fullness of life God wants to give you.

XXV. Galatians 6:8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

XXVI. Joshua 24:15 But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family we will serve the Lord.

XXVII. Challenge(3min)

a. So now we've heard all these things seen what God's Word has to say about personal transformation. God says that His Word is living and active able to pierce into our soul and Spirit. He also says that His Word has purpose and it will accomplish its purpose wherever He sends it. Tonight you are faced with a decision. Today whom will you serve? Will you serve your harmful desires that lead to destruction? Or will you choose to serve the Lord?

b. Are you ready to change? Are you ready to be transformed? True and lasting change only occurs in a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to experience freedom and fullness in life then you must be in relationship with Him. If you want healing from the hurts of this life and want peace that transcends all understanding you must surrender control of your life to the will of God.

c. What things in your life are keeping you from living life with Christ? What is keeping you from true transformation? God's Word says He's given everything we need to overcome the World! He's given Himself.

XXVIII. Time of Response(2min)

*(Music starts)

a. In the next couple of moments we want you to have the opportunity to respond to God's invitation to live life with Him. As you came in each of you received a piece of paper, if you don't have one there is some paper on the sides and pens. As the next few songs are played take this time to reflect on the things that are in your life that you need to lay at the foot of the cross. There are some glass jars at the base of the cross for you to symbolically cast your burdens aside. Surrender it to Jesus.

b. Take this time to reflect and respond. If you need to talk to someone or would like someone to pray with you our ministry team and staff are on the sides ready for you.

XXIV. Take My Life(5:04)

XXV. Everyday(4:41)

Total Time: 70 min

October’s Obtestations

Wow! It’s already the end of October! The month barely began and it’s already over! October has been a month of great growth marked by obstacles and trials both in the ministry and personally. The weeks are flying by so fast that its getting hard to keep track of everything that’s going on!

I kicked off the first weekend of October attending my monthly Battle Assembly for the Army Reserve and was relieved to find out that I wouldn’t have to take the Physical Training test that weekend. The first weekend of October also marked the beginning of a new era at First Southern Baptist Church as they welcomed senior pastor Randy Mullinax and family.

The beginning of October also marked the beginning of a new phase with the men God has entrusted to the small groups I lead. The past two months have been focused on teaching my men how to read the bible. Teaching them to read scripture holistically analyzing passages of scripture in the context that it is written and seeking to understand the message the author was communicating to the original audience. Then teaching them how to extract the timeless truths of scripture and apply the Word of God to their lives. I closed out the last two months with a basic summary of what we had been learning the past two months in a document entitled, “Creating Dynamic Small Group Bible Studies.” The document goes into more depth about the thematic approach to studying scripture. I used some of the principles I’ve learned from various classes in my undergraduate as well as a few seminars on bible teaching. However most of the information that I gave out was from Dr. Bob Utley’s free bible commentary. The document also contained a description of the improvement rubric for the “Small Group Leadership Evaluations.” After the first several weeks of demonstrating how to facilitate small group bible study discussion I gave the students the opportunity to practice leading. They would complete a “Self Evaluation” and give “Peer Evaluations” to two other members of the small group. Later in my one on one time with each student we would review the evaluations in the context of the notes I took as I observed their leading.

The next few weeks we start a new cycle and I am demonstrating as well as teaching the students how to use the inductive bible study method. I’ve demonstrated how to use inductive bible study for personal study using a template worksheet I’ve created. Soon I hope to show how this more intensive form of bible study aids in the facilitation of small group discussion. It is a little difficult doing all this simply because I’m creating, teaching and demonstrating on the fly. However, I do believe that future semester will become progressively easier in terms of pace and availability of resources.

In addition to teaching the men in my small groups to have confidence in God’s Word through intensive study of scripture, I have also been attempting to systemize the approach I’ve taken in coaching/developing the young men I meet with. A few of the young men I meet with have already taken the initiative to seek out and begin the process of discipleship. Naturally, many questions arise regarding what to do or how to help someone. At present I’ve been during my one on one time attempting to answer each individual question that comes up allow each young leader to lead in the way that best fits their personality. However, since the beginning of the month I have been more conscientious of how I coach/develop/counsel these young men looking for common patterns in both the dynamics of the meeting and questions that come up. I hope to finish preparing a document for distribution to leaders I am mentoring now as a form of future reference in their discipleship relationships.

Many of the people that I talk to are also serving as leaders or desire to be leaders in ministry or other organizations. Two relationships I have with students from Priority College Ministry (FSBC) in particular led to the creation of a more generic leadership document. This document also contains self and peer evaluations for specific leadership events. There is a detailed description of each of the categories of evaluation and a brief overview of what it means to be a leader. I have not used these materials with students outside of Priority College Ministry, however, before completing the current draft, I sent out the material to fellow ministry workers and some have begun to use the evaluation tools in developing their leaders. Alex, the other college intern at Christian Challenge, asked if he could use the material with the ministry team at Christian Challenge which of prompted my urgent completion of a description of the evaluation criteria.

Aside from all that stuff, things have been very hectic in the lives of our students as they are in the midst of midterm exams. There have also been many financial, healths, and relational issues the students have been persevering through. So please keep them in your prayers. I could not ask for a better first semester experience in terms of the types of students I get to interact with. There seems to be cohesion among the students I believe to be borne out of a clear sense of identity as a ministry. Seeing and hearing all the students gathering at the Christian Challenge building doing life together is both encouraging and distracting. But Praise God!!! This has all been a little nostalgic for me and in some ways an answered prayer. If you knew me from before then you’d be aware that I during my undergraduate I was heavily involved with the Asian American Student Affairs (APASA) Office and all the Asian clubs that fell under it. There was a great sense of community and family there that I wished was a part of some of the campus ministries I participated in. APASA was also characterized by a lot of community service projects and just fun activities. The thing that was depressing about my association with APASA was that although many of these people were my friends and wonderful people none of them were believers. APASA was a group of people doing great things but only with an eye on the immediate. Doing things with a lack of perception on the eternal So hearing from students how they feel like Challenge is a home away from home and family is a blessing. It is a blessing to be a part of a group of people that is seeking to know God more intimately and proclaim His glory throughout our community.

God has also opened a door back into APASA for me through some former students at the Tae Kwon Do studio I assisted at. Some of the students that used to attend tae kwon do as junior high and high school students are now students at the UofA. Two of them approached me through my brother and asked me if I could train them and get them into shape so they could go back to Tae Kwon Do. I didn’t really have much expectation for ministry in this request but the first day they came two more students from APASA came with them. All of them are unbelievers, however here they are coming to Christian Challenge. Please be in prayer for these students. Hopefully they will continue to want to come both for the Tae Kwon Do training but more importantly for the relationships they can build with the believing students of Christian Challenge.

This brings me to my last request. As I mentioned earlier several of the students in our ministry have been facing adversity in various forms. Several students have been attending our small groups and large group meetings that openly share that they are not Christians. Christian students have been expressing a desire to change. To be freed from whatever…there is a common thread of people desiring to be transformed. People that want the power to change. The past semester we have been going through a series at Christian Challenge called the Pursuit. The whole series climaxes November 2, 2010 @ 7pm. The topic for the night is personal transformation. All the things that we’ve talked about so far have led the students to a point where they have to decide if they will choose to pursue relationship with Jesus or not. I especially crave your prayers for this night as the responsibility of presenting this topic has fallen to me. So ya’ll know I can use a lot of prayer for wisdom, integrity, humility, and tact. In all seriousness I really desire prayer for myself and for the students involved in helping to put this night together. Also for all the students coming that are sitting on the tip of the iceberg. I know God has a plan and a purpose for the lives of these students and that in spite of me still speaks to the hearts of the people that come. Please pray that this is a night born out of scripture, flows with scripture, and that the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ pours forth from the lives that are changed by the power of His Holy Word.

Ministry Habits

As I reviewed some of what I've said in my last post and talking to some people about what I'm doing right now, I realize that I appear to be in dire trouble. It appears that the current lifestyle I'm living will lead to ministry burnout. I do recognize that currently I'm making myself too available to the students. Despite the fact that at this time I am single and have no family of my own to take care of I'm setting precedent for unhealthy habits. Although, I am allowing students an inordinate amount of access to me, I'm doing so in the hopes that I will not have to spend as much time with them later.

I'm really trying to lay a ground work for the spring semester and the future. My hope is that by spending as much time as I am now mentoring and teaching the students in my care, that they will use their memories of time spent with me and the lessons they've learned to develop future leaders. My hope is that this Spring the current leaders will begin aggressively training future leaders and spending time with younger people because I've done it with them.

I will never teach or ask someone to do something that I have not done or am willing to do myself. I will not expect someone to do something without me having demonstrated it first. I firmly believe in leading and teaching by example. I firmly believe in pushing myself and setting the standard so that those I teach will see that with a teachable attitude and faithfulness God enables us to do much.

I also recognize that my time here is short and I want to make the most of every opportunity. I try to live each day in view of eternity. I do my best to live each day in view of my obituary. That being said I know that the current pace of life I have is not realistically sustainable for more than this semester so please be in prayer for the young people I'm working with to grab hold of the vision and take ownership of the ministry they are a part of. Pray that a culture of discipleship, teachability, and leadership is cultivated in the ministry of Christian Challenge and Priority College Ministry.

In regard to leadership, specifically the kind of servant leadership displayed by our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the greatest obstacles of college students and Christians is to be people of substance. Not just people that say they are Christ followers, but people who by their actions show they live a life yielded to Jesus. Our leaders need to be people that are consistent in what they say and what they do. Many people have a disconnect between what they say they want to be and who they are. They aren't even aware of the discrepancy between their speech and actions. Pray that God would confront them with their speech that they become people whose word means something. That our leaders would not be people whose word is empty and hollow but full of life giving substance found in the Living Word.

The biggest challenge I find with those whom I work with is a challenge I struggle with daily. And it's simply to be authentic. To be consistent. So that what I say and teach becomes more than speech, it becomes action. So that when I say that we should pray, we pray. Not when I'm at home or in my car alone. All the things that I say and teach need to be shown. They need to be immediate. If those I'm leading never see me do any of what I say. And if they don't see me do it immediately, they will not begin to establish these spiritual habits and disciplines. They will not understand the urgency of applying habits to their lives now. So please pray that I am consistently demonstrating all that I say to my students setting a model for them to follow.

Stupendous September

This past month has gone by so fast! I'm amazed at how fast time flies by. I feel busier than ever but blessed to be in ministry. Even though the beginning of the month started with a holiday, I barely noticed the break. I'm still trying to get a handle on how to work with the students. I'm meeting weekly with 7 young men(Christian Challenge) and for the past month been trying to iron out what type of mentoring relationship I have with each one. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to practice spiritual coaching, spiritual directorship, discipleship, and mentoring. However I do feel overwhelmed at times! Thank goodness for gmail and all of the electronic tools at my disposal. For many of the students I work with the main area of growth is in time management and organization. As you probably know, poor time management and goal setting negatively affects the academic, social and spiritual portions of life. So I've been teaching varying methods of organization and time management techniques. I've also been teaching goal setting and intentional living(finally all that Leadership and Psychology training is paying off!).

I have also been meeting bi-weekly with student officers(Priority) and encouraging them as they seek to build identity and community within their college ministry through authentic fellowship facilitated by social events. It has been a blessing continuing to work with them and seeing how God has been building their character and seeing their commitment to one another. Before I began meeting with them I made a covenant stating my commitment to them and asked that they also enter into covenant with me. It's been a gradual process but I'm glad to see the change God is doing in their lives and how God is beginning to bring them out of their shells to reach out to people(they are naturally shy).

More recently I've been asked by a student to teach him how to do apologetics. I was a little reluctant to start because I had intended to use the one on one time with the student for something else. However, I agreed that I would use the one on one time with the student to do apologetics training. I had the chance to go back through all of the FCA material from high school, the Truth Project and How Now Shall We Live.

As I began to prepare to teach apologetics, the bad taste I had left over from doing that stuff in high school washed away as I began to view apologetics training through the lens of evangelism training. In times past when I've seen or done apologetics the tendency is to stay in rational and knowledge based arguments and never move conversation to a place where the unbeliever I'm talking to is forced to face Jesus the ultimate source of truth and make a decision about what they think about Him. When I had this recognition of how apologetics could and should be used as a bridge to bring someone face to Jesus my attitude toward this type of training changed from disdain to joy. Through the practice of apologetics I gain confidence in what I believe. I learn how to articulate my beliefs in a way that is easily communicable to others. Most importantly I learn how to use various topics as a common ground bridge to lead someone to discussion about Jesus.

In addition to the one on one and group discipleship meetings I'm also blessed with 3 small group bible studies. It is very interesting to see how God has formed each of the groups as the personalities in each group are very distinctive. It's cool to see how God brought people together that have similar stories and are going through the same things together to act as shield bearers for one another. It's also interesting to see how each group is studying something that pertains and speaks into the life circumstances of each of the groups. Monday(Ninja Cow's) is studying the book of Mark. Wednesday(Holy Rollers) is studying the book of John focusing on the "I am" statements. And Friday(Nerf Herders) are studying Galatians, 1 & 2 Peter. The first few meetings I have been teaching and facilitating discussion. However, this coming month we are beginning a rotation in each of the small groups and each member will have the opportunity to prepare study and facilitate discussion. I'm very excited to see them begin as many of them have never had the opportunity to teach much less ever been shown how to really do bible study. Each person will get the chance to prepare and go over some question they have with me. Then after they have presented receive two peer evaluations, complete a self-evaluation and meet with me to do a final evaluation. Once everyone has gone through I will teach again using a different method of bible study and the cycle begins again! So, Lord willing by the end of the semester each of the students will be exposed to a few methods of study and good resources so that they can rightly and maturely study and interpret the Bible for themselves. What I'm hoping is that after this semester we will have a few men that are especially gifted in teaching motivated to lead small group bible studies themselves for the Spring Semester! So please be in prayer for these young men!

I was very encouraged this past week meeting with some of the men student leaders as they began to report to me that they were on the prowl for new leaders among our freshmen and sophomores. They were asking how they might be mentoring and preparing them to be future leaders at Challenge. At first I was shocked when I heard them ask me this. I guess I forgot the whole idea of self replacement. At Challenge we currently have a lot of staff available to do training and a great ministry team. So the usual mantra of, " Look for the people God is placing in your life that are teachable and gifted to lead and teach. Then bring them along side of you and train them to replace you." This saying was something I completely forgot about simply because things have been going so well and the need for future leaders hasn't been as urgent as it has been in the past.

Thank you for your prayers for our Fall Retreat! We had a good turn out for the camp. God is doing a great work in the lives of our students. We had a lot of last minute additions from people that weren't initially sure if they could or even wanted to go. However, each of those students that went and were on the fence have come back and shared how blessed they were from getting the chance to go. One particular encouraging story of God working in the life of a student is one I met while on the U of A mall manning the Christian Challenge table. This freshman girl came up to the table and was so excited to see someone from a Christian group she could talk to( this 2 days before we left for the retreat). I told her a little about our ministry and some local churches she could get involved in. As an afterthought I mentioned the Fall Retreat even though we'd just met, she didn't know anyone from either Christian Challenge or Priority and it cost $55 dollars. The crazy thing is she said she wanted to go! She even invited her roommate to go! So we were very blessed to have this young woman come fellowship with us at the Fall Retreat. Please be in prayer for her as she seeks to be obedient to the Lord in finding a local church to fellowship with and a small group bible study to grow in her knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The topic that our camp speaker spoke about was evangelism and as I mentioned earlier there are several ways this topic is continuing to find itself emerge in both my life and the lives of our students. This coming Tuesday, we are having our first "Faith Forum." This is a open seeker oriented event that addresses various topics in the hopes of creating dialogue between believers and non-believers that lead to relationships that continue after the event so that our students may continue to be light in the lives of lost students. The topic for this first event is, "Is there purpose behind suffering?" Please be in prayer for our students and our discussion facilitator David Gainey.

As for me seminary is a lot more work than I originally anticipated :) However, it has been a blessing to make the connections I have with the professors and fellow students. They have been an enduring source of encouragement and wisdom. I had the opportunity to shadow my professor for Pastoral Counseling at his Chaplain position at University Medical Center. One of the things that struck me as I watched was how intentional he was about using the opportunities he has through the stories of patients and his family to share the gospel. So God's definitely telling me to be more intentional in the area of evangelism. Please pray that I stay refreshed. That as I am pouring out into the lives of others that I'm filling my own life with good stuff. That I don't contaminate the students I work with and fill them with hollow empty words I try to find in myself rather than the life giving water that is found in Jesus Christ pouring into me and overflowing into the people God has placed in my life.

Due to the schedule I currently have I have not been able to attend my small group bible study with Epic Church. I have also not been able to meet with my spiritual director. I feel a little behind and like I'm constantly packing and preparing for the next trip. Lord willing, October will slow down a little for a couple of weeks so I can be in town to fellowship with friends and be refreshed. Our Senior pastor at First Southern is leaving this Tuesday from Georgia to drive down to Tucson. I am really looking forward to him coming and hopefully having the opportunity to serve and study under him. One other praise! I finally received a check from the Army paying me for May! However, if you would continue to keep me lifted up that I remain steadfast in my faith for God's provision as I am without any source of provision and have been living out of savings. Lord willing, the Army will pay up and back pay for August and September and I will receive some financial assistance from the North American Mission Board and maybe a local church.

Thank you again for your reading this and keeping me in prayer. I hope that you are encouraged in what God is doing at the UofA. I hope to hear from you and what God is doing in your community!

2010 Fall Retreat

This past weekend was the annual Fall Retreat for Christian Challenge and Priority College Ministry. The retreat took place September 17-19 at Southern Pines Baptist Camp. Our camp speaker was David Englehart the Christian Challenge director of New Mexico State University. The topic we covered was preparation for evangelism. The camp was a good time for new and visiting students to meet the student leaders of both ministries as well as the staff. It provided students the opportunity to fellowship with people they normally wouldn't get the chance to talk to. And I know that several students have made new relationships that will serve to encourage Christian fellowship and accountability. Additionally, because of the topic of evangelism I know that some of the students have expressed the desire to hold one another to be more accountable about being aware of opportunities they have to share with others what God is doing in their life.

Here are some of the Fall Retreat Highlights:

Awesome August!!!

Ok, I know the title is corny, but God has really been Awesome this AUGUST!!!! As some of you may know August marks the beginning of the school year at the University of Arizona and it is also the time when things really start picking up for college ministry. During the summer most of our student leaders are either on mission trips or back home. The couple of weeks before school starts is a crucial time of planning, training and praying.

One of the annual events that we have the opportunity to participate in is the Collegiate Conference in Glorieta, New Mexico at the Lifeway Conference Center. This annual retreat is a special time of fellowship with college students collegiate workers from all across the country. We spend a week worshiping together and learning from gifted godly men and women. This year worship was led by Addison Road and our teaching pastors were Mike Satterfield and David Platt. Having the opportunity to dive into God's word with teachers of this caliber is always a blessing. This year I was doubly blessed with the opportunity to attend the Collegiate Workers fellowships and received current information about social trends that are appearing on college campuses. I was also exposed to new discipleship and witnessing resources. One of the tools I'm really excited about is a product put out by Campus Crusade called "Solarium." Solarium is a series of 50 pictures used to conduct a national spiritual survey. The pictures are used to draw people out and engage them in deep personal conversation. We have started using the cards at the Christian Challenge table when we set up out on campus. I can honestly say that I've engaged people in conversation that I normally wouldn't have spent anytime talking to. It helps draw out their personal stories and allows you to share yours. I've also been using the cards in my small group bible studies and it's a wonderful tool that allows people to freely share things about their lives that they would feel awkward talking about otherwise.

After I got back from Glorieta I had the opportunity to attend my student orientation for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. I met many of the professors that I will be having for my seminary courses and met fellow students that I will be going to class with. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to attend courses that will better equip me to do ministry. Moreover, it is a blessing to find mentors and colleagues in the faith that I can turn to for advice and support in ministry. I am only taking two courses this semester, New Testament Survey I and Pastoral Counseling. I've only had one class meeting for each but have already been given the opportunity to apply lessons I've learned in class to ministry. For example, in my first Pastoral Counseling class we learned about the skill of reflective listening in counseling. A half hour after class ended I stopped by the Christian Challenge building and there was a student there that needed someone to talk to. I'll be honest, in times past when this student would talk I kind of zoned out and would interrupt to hasten the student to the point and just tell him solutions. However, because of my new awareness of communication styles and the skill of reflective listening I had the opportunity to listen to the student and start hearing some of the root causes of the issues he has. Had I not taken the time to simply listen, the student would have never been given the opportunity to open up. My seminary classes have also been a humbling experience for me. Many of the other students are older than me and have already been serving in ministry for decades. I feel fortunate to listen to them and learn from their experiences. Whenever the professors ask questions I sit in awe of the wise and insightful responses of the other students. One thing that I think has characterized my experience at seminary thus far is the realization of how much I don't know and how much more room there is for me to grow.

As I mentioned before the first couple of weeks/days prior to the start of school is a crucial time of preparation and planning for the school year. Over the summer I had been attending the Freshman Orientations and Club Expos to try and meet and gather as many student contacts as possible. While staff leaders at Christian Challenge and Priority have been keeping in touch through email and facebook we recognize that the connections students are really looking for are relationships with other students. At both the Christian Challenge and Priority College Ministry leadership orientations we divided all of the student contacts we had and charged our leaders with making contact with their students and personally invite them to our kick off events. The first kick off event was the Priority Welcome BBQ near the Park Student Union and AZSO dorm. This event turned out better than we planned because the dorms were supposed to have had a welcome event with free food. Fortunately for us, they didn't so when the students started walking out looking for the event they found our BBQ. I don't know exactly how many students were around but well over one hundred students participated in our fellowship. This platform event built a pretty solid launch for the rest of our August events such as our Guys/Girls night out, Scavenger Hunt, and Meet First Southern. Already in just the first couple weeks of school we've spotted some new students that God is developing to be future Christian leaders at the university.

Christian Challenge's first event the Fajita Fiesta was equally blessed. If you've read one of the earlier blog entries you may already know how God used the first event to grow us in confidence of His faithfulness and provision. We served fajitas to over 125 students and had the opportunity to invite them to our More to Life groups as well as our Tuesday night fellowships. We've also handed out gift bags to incoming freshmen inviting them to become apart of our fellowship.

One of my biggest fears coming into this semester was not finding any guys to connect with. That I wouldn't have anything of value to offer students. Well God has blessed me with the opportunity to lead two small groups for Christian Challenge. Interestingly enough each group seems to be drawn to one another in a weird way. I've had the opportunity to meet with each of the individual members prior to the start of the small groups and its been interesting to hear how similar their stories are. It's incredible to hear about the personal trials that each young man is going through and how God is burdening them to grow. Another blessing is finding that the separate issues each group is dealing with is something I've dealt with in my own life. So I rejoice in the opportunity to share with the students the mistakes I've made and successes I've had in the season of life they find themselves. It is a humbling and cleansing experience to see how God is using the journey He has led me on to speak into the lives of the young men He's placed in my life.

Closing the end of this month has been the start of many new things and with the new starts comes the hope of what God is presently doing and how that affects what He will do in the future. God has blessed First Southern Baptist Church with a new leader in Randy Mullinax. He and his family are set to move to Tucson and begin serving October 2. Meanwhile, we have have recently started a series called, "Changing your War and Your Wardrobe" during our Breakaway service. The series addresses the topic of spiritual warfare and all of this reminds me of the charge that we believers have to be faithful servants of our Lord. As I recognize that my God is working around me now, He gives me the opportunity to join with Him in His work by being faithful in prayer, exhortation of fellow believers with His Word, and fellowship with His people. So as I end this letter please be in prayer that I along with my fellow laborers in the mission field of the University of Arizona take heed to be found faithful and join in the work God is doing in our community.

Also things you can be in prayer for in the upcoming month will be Christian Challenge and Priority College Ministry's annual Fall Retreat! This is always a time of great relational and spiritual growth for our students setting the tone for the rest of the school year.

If you want to keep up with what's going on check out:

www.christianchallengeuofa.com

www.priorityministry.com

Check out our facebook page and groups too!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=477505621448&oid=4844400259

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=477503946448&oid=4844400259

Fajita Fiesta!

So this past Tuesday was Christian Challenge's big kick off with the annual Fajita Fiesta. It turned out great with over 110 kids in attendance. God is so good and really blessed us. However, 3 hours prior to the start i had some serious reservations about the success of opening night when the hailstorm from no where showed up!

That's right! I said hail! Just 40min before 2:30pm the weather was over 107 degrees! In under an hour the hot arid campus of the University of Arizona turned into a network of islands seperated by fast flowing streams grimy asphalt colored water! There's seriously some places you could probably go kayaking :) (which is something i intend to try!)

This was definitely a memorable experience and a great lesson in the faithfulness of God. After seeing the deluge outside some people would be tempted to just fold and cancel when things seem to be heading toward disaster. We've planned to do things a certain way and dont think its possible for things to go any other way. I think the great temptation I've experienced in my life is to plan so well(or think i have) that sometimes I count out the wisdom and power of God. Rather than trusting in Him I trust in myself and my plan. However, in the past that hasnt always worked out. Several times in the past I've fallen flat on my face in very public ways, which is why I appreciate the director at Christian Challenge who was probably mindful of the Word of the Lord:

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"

Proverbs 16:3

"In his heart a man plans his course , but the Lord determines his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

Now I'm not saying that I can plan anything for anything and as long as I pray and ask God to bless it the thing will get done. I have to recognize that first this is God's show and He just gives me the opportunity to play a part in it. God's show has a purpose and direction to effectively communicate His message. So when it comes to making decisions about activities related to Christian activity and proclaiming the glory of God, I need to keep the focus on the character of God and strive my best to ensure that the way I present is consistent with the nature of God. The activities that take place at event serve to build Christian community and serve as a witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the community of believers.

If I have peace w/ God and have prayerfully submitted my will to His plan according to His purpose for His glory then I have nothing to fear the pressure for me to be "sucessful" in coporeal standards is off. I've committed all that I have to the incoporeal one and He will see His plan to completion.