Hello, friends!
I hope that you are all having an absolutely wonderful Sunday. Here in Mizzou land it is Spring Break, which means that it's time for City Lights. This year will mark my first as a staff that I will not be joining Mizzou students in Saint Louis as they learn about God's heart for the poor and what He has to say about justice in the world.
Originally, when the semester started, I decided that if I couldn't get any of my BCM students to attend City Lights, I would not go, instead using the time to rest up a bit and vision for the rest of the semester. A little bit later, after talking to some BCM students, I decided that getting them to both Catalyst and City Lights was probably going to be a stretch, and that Catalyst was the higher priority. So, I made the decision that I would not be joining the 19 ACF students, including 11 internationals and at least 9 non-Christians on the City Lights trip. In fact, I was very much looking forward to not having to wake up at 5:30 every morning and leading work projects. =0).
The students arrived yesterday, and since I was already in Saint Louis, I figured I would greet them as they registered then be on my way before the tour of Saint Louis started and the project began in earnest. That was my first mistake.
When I arrived at the City Lights campus, I remembered how much I loved the City Lights project. I walked through the dorms, visited the kitchen, and peeked into the chapel. I was flooded with memories of late night conversations, huge epiphanies, and students encountering Jesus, some for the first time. Some students had already arrived and it was like second nature to me to start directing them as they moved from registration to the dorms to the first session. In many ways, it was like coming home.
So, here I am wondering what I am going to do with myself. I have a ton of stuff to do this week, including a number of different meeting with some of my BCM students. I am also going to get a little rest and do that visioning I originally planned to do. It will be a full week and I certainly think that I made the right decision. Still, there will probably be times this week when I am reminded of what the students at City Lights are doing right now and how much I miss the project.
Prayer Points:
- Please keep the City Lights students in your prayers. We have international students, Americans, Christians, and non-Christians. Pray that God will move in each of them in a really powerful way this week.
- Also, please pray for me as I vision for BCM this week. Pray that God will give me a really clear sense of what to do and where to focus my time for the home stretch.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Jesus in Public and other lessons...
Hello, friends!
I just got finished with our Tuesday afternoon BCM bible study. It was probably the most fun I had with bible study in quite some time.
Normally it is just Edward and I who do bible studies together on Tuesday afternoons. Sometimes Shawn will join us. Sometimes Shamari will too. Edwin comes every once in a while, which is always nice. Today, when I texted everyone to remind them about Bible Study, I got responses from Shamari, Shawn, and Edward, so I knew they were going to be there. I didn't expect the others though.
When we started it was Shawn, Shamari and myself. Then Shamari saw Jeremy pass by and asked him to join us. He was more than happy to. Edward came in a bit and we got started with James 1. As we were discussing the passage EJ, Candice, Pierre, and one guy whose name I didn't even catch stopped by to say hello. When they saw that we were doing Bible Study they were a little embarrassed, but we asked them to join us and they were more than happy to! Our Bible Study that started with 3 finished with 8, which is a pretty solid effort, wouldn't you say?
This is a lesson that I know I knew, but it is always nice to be reminded that following Jesus in public can have some great consequences. When we follow Jesus in private, we miss the opportunity to have others join us. I won't go so far as to say that we need to do everything in public. Jesus talks about the hypocrisy of doing things in public so that you can be seen and commended by others. I see what we are doing as giving folk an opportunity to follow Jesus in community that they may not know they had. Hopefully our focus is on bringing folk into the kingdom, not having folk tell us how great we are.
Another lesson that was reiterated to me was how good my BCM students are at invitation. It didn't take more than a few seconds for folk to invite and see people they knew. That can absolutely be a huge blessing to the kingdom if we are able to use this power of invitation to invite folk to follow Jesus more and more.
Finally, I was reminded today that many folk in the black community have extensive church background. The passages that we go over usually are nothing new to them and they have opinions on what the verses mean. The harder part is getting students to apply what they are learning to their lives in a real way. Many of them have spent so much time reading the Word that I am afraid that the Word has lost some of its power for them. That is a scary proposition.
Prayer points:
- Please be praying for more Core students in both ACF and BCM. Right now we have a lot of students who we know and who have some connection to the ministries, but few who are committed and serving members.
- Spring Break is just a few days away. may students have midterms this week. Please be praying for peace for them as they prepare and study.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I just got finished with our Tuesday afternoon BCM bible study. It was probably the most fun I had with bible study in quite some time.
Normally it is just Edward and I who do bible studies together on Tuesday afternoons. Sometimes Shawn will join us. Sometimes Shamari will too. Edwin comes every once in a while, which is always nice. Today, when I texted everyone to remind them about Bible Study, I got responses from Shamari, Shawn, and Edward, so I knew they were going to be there. I didn't expect the others though.
When we started it was Shawn, Shamari and myself. Then Shamari saw Jeremy pass by and asked him to join us. He was more than happy to. Edward came in a bit and we got started with James 1. As we were discussing the passage EJ, Candice, Pierre, and one guy whose name I didn't even catch stopped by to say hello. When they saw that we were doing Bible Study they were a little embarrassed, but we asked them to join us and they were more than happy to! Our Bible Study that started with 3 finished with 8, which is a pretty solid effort, wouldn't you say?
This is a lesson that I know I knew, but it is always nice to be reminded that following Jesus in public can have some great consequences. When we follow Jesus in private, we miss the opportunity to have others join us. I won't go so far as to say that we need to do everything in public. Jesus talks about the hypocrisy of doing things in public so that you can be seen and commended by others. I see what we are doing as giving folk an opportunity to follow Jesus in community that they may not know they had. Hopefully our focus is on bringing folk into the kingdom, not having folk tell us how great we are.
Another lesson that was reiterated to me was how good my BCM students are at invitation. It didn't take more than a few seconds for folk to invite and see people they knew. That can absolutely be a huge blessing to the kingdom if we are able to use this power of invitation to invite folk to follow Jesus more and more.
Finally, I was reminded today that many folk in the black community have extensive church background. The passages that we go over usually are nothing new to them and they have opinions on what the verses mean. The harder part is getting students to apply what they are learning to their lives in a real way. Many of them have spent so much time reading the Word that I am afraid that the Word has lost some of its power for them. That is a scary proposition.
Prayer points:
- Please be praying for more Core students in both ACF and BCM. Right now we have a lot of students who we know and who have some connection to the ministries, but few who are committed and serving members.
- Spring Break is just a few days away. may students have midterms this week. Please be praying for peace for them as they prepare and study.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 18, 2012
What a Ride!
Hello, friends!
I just got back from Saint Louis where we had another round of MOmentum, our area wide evangelism training. This month our focus was on being able to identify where are friends are in their walk with Jesus and develop steps to help walk with them toward Jesus. Our friends from the Missouri International Student Ministries (MO-ISM) came and did the training and the preaching, doing a wonderful job. They absolutely connected with the students and I know that many of the issues they addressed were concerns of the students.
But, that wasn't the best part of the day. The best part of the day was the car trip I just took back with the students.
How great is it to have missional students who love Jesus and who want to see their friends walk closer to Jesus. Not only that, but these students also want to learn how to lead their friends in being leaders as well. I spent 2 hours talking with the students about how to better reach their friends and how to gather students around the vision. They couldn't see it, but on the whole trip back I had a huge smile on my face.
This is why I do what I do. Part of InterVarsity's vision is to see students tranformed and world changers developed. It is such a blessing to see God work in students and see that vision start to come to reality.
Prayer Points:
- Just one week until City Lights! Please be praying for our students as they get ready for an amazing Spring Break.
- On Wednesday at Large Group, Tim and Andrew will be teaching. This will be Tim's first time teaching in front of the group. Please be praying for them as they prepare for the teaching.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I just got back from Saint Louis where we had another round of MOmentum, our area wide evangelism training. This month our focus was on being able to identify where are friends are in their walk with Jesus and develop steps to help walk with them toward Jesus. Our friends from the Missouri International Student Ministries (MO-ISM) came and did the training and the preaching, doing a wonderful job. They absolutely connected with the students and I know that many of the issues they addressed were concerns of the students.
But, that wasn't the best part of the day. The best part of the day was the car trip I just took back with the students.
How great is it to have missional students who love Jesus and who want to see their friends walk closer to Jesus. Not only that, but these students also want to learn how to lead their friends in being leaders as well. I spent 2 hours talking with the students about how to better reach their friends and how to gather students around the vision. They couldn't see it, but on the whole trip back I had a huge smile on my face.
This is why I do what I do. Part of InterVarsity's vision is to see students tranformed and world changers developed. It is such a blessing to see God work in students and see that vision start to come to reality.
Prayer Points:
- Just one week until City Lights! Please be praying for our students as they get ready for an amazing Spring Break.
- On Wednesday at Large Group, Tim and Andrew will be teaching. This will be Tim's first time teaching in front of the group. Please be praying for them as they prepare for the teaching.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Red Cups, Rootbeer and the Gospel...
Hello, friends!
Last night, was a Large Group. Beter than that, it was an outreach. Better than THAT, it was an outreach with students doing the evangelism. Imma go ahead and call that the trifecta.
In ACF we don't have a ton of traditions, but one that we started a few years back is our St. Patrick's Day Root Beer Kegger. There is a great microbrew in town that makes a pretty spectacular rootbeer, so we usually order up a pony keg, but some ice cream for floats, have dinner, and talk about the Christian worldview on drinking and partying. It is usually one of our best attended Large Groups, and this year was no different.
But, this year we decided to switch things up a bit. InterVarsity does a number of really great things, and one of them is called a proxe startion. A proxe is pretty much an artistic conversation starter that lead people through a Gospel presentation. This past summer, InterVarsity launched the Red Cup campaign, which asks students to answer the question, "What are you thirsty for?" Will and I figured this was a great way to tie evangelism into Large Group. Why not take students through the Proxe and see what happens?!
The prep actually started a few weeks ago at our leaders meeting. ACF and BCM students were introduced to the display and we practiced going through it together. It was cool to see the conversations that were happening, just in our little group. The students led really well and were actually pretty excited about it.
Fast forward to last night, and things went just about as well as they could have gone. The ACF leaders (and one BCM leader) all led multiple students through the proxe. As I was walking around and eavesdropping on conversations (an essential staff skill), I could hear that people were really interacting with the display and having good conversation that went beyond the surface.
Overall, last night was a huge blessing. No one (that I know of) made a decision to follow Jesus, but if nothing else, they got a clearer picture of what the Gospel is actually about. Also, it was great to see our leaders step out into evangelism in a way that was accessible and not awkard. Praise Jesus for creative ways of spreading His Truth!
Prayer Points:
- Just 10 more days until City Lights! Please be praying for our group as they prepare themselves for the trip of a lifetime.
- BCM momentum is starting to move, but with more movement comes more resistance. Please be praying for me as I navigate these issues and try to bring students to a greater understanding of what Jesus wants to do on campus.
- It is March, which means it is migraine season! I am hoping that the less than stellar February means a better than average March. Please be praying for protection.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Last night, was a Large Group. Beter than that, it was an outreach. Better than THAT, it was an outreach with students doing the evangelism. Imma go ahead and call that the trifecta.
In ACF we don't have a ton of traditions, but one that we started a few years back is our St. Patrick's Day Root Beer Kegger. There is a great microbrew in town that makes a pretty spectacular rootbeer, so we usually order up a pony keg, but some ice cream for floats, have dinner, and talk about the Christian worldview on drinking and partying. It is usually one of our best attended Large Groups, and this year was no different.
But, this year we decided to switch things up a bit. InterVarsity does a number of really great things, and one of them is called a proxe startion. A proxe is pretty much an artistic conversation starter that lead people through a Gospel presentation. This past summer, InterVarsity launched the Red Cup campaign, which asks students to answer the question, "What are you thirsty for?" Will and I figured this was a great way to tie evangelism into Large Group. Why not take students through the Proxe and see what happens?!
The prep actually started a few weeks ago at our leaders meeting. ACF and BCM students were introduced to the display and we practiced going through it together. It was cool to see the conversations that were happening, just in our little group. The students led really well and were actually pretty excited about it.
Fast forward to last night, and things went just about as well as they could have gone. The ACF leaders (and one BCM leader) all led multiple students through the proxe. As I was walking around and eavesdropping on conversations (an essential staff skill), I could hear that people were really interacting with the display and having good conversation that went beyond the surface.
Overall, last night was a huge blessing. No one (that I know of) made a decision to follow Jesus, but if nothing else, they got a clearer picture of what the Gospel is actually about. Also, it was great to see our leaders step out into evangelism in a way that was accessible and not awkard. Praise Jesus for creative ways of spreading His Truth!
Prayer Points:
- Just 10 more days until City Lights! Please be praying for our group as they prepare themselves for the trip of a lifetime.
- BCM momentum is starting to move, but with more movement comes more resistance. Please be praying for me as I navigate these issues and try to bring students to a greater understanding of what Jesus wants to do on campus.
- It is March, which means it is migraine season! I am hoping that the less than stellar February means a better than average March. Please be praying for protection.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Give Each Thing the Love it Deserves...
Hello, friends!
I am not sure where I first heard the phrase "give each thing the love it deserves." It could have been a word I heard from Jesus or from a sermon. Either way, it is something that has stuck with me since when I first heard it and been a theme for me this year.
Working with two different fellowships is hard work. I now have two sets of students with two different sets of needs as far as how to grow them in missionality. There are two strategies and two cultures that need to be taken into account. As I talked about a few days ago I still have a lot of learning to do in this area. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to give each thing the love that it deserves. When I am with ACF students, I need to give them my full attention because that is the love that they deserve. With BCM students, it is the same way.
At church on Sunday the pastor talked a little bit about faithfulness. He talked about how quitting is not an option when it comes to following Jesus. Faithfulness is sticking with things even when they get tough. I understand where he was going with what he was saying, but I think that actually only half the picture was given.
Faithfulness is about giving each thing the love (time, energy, etc.) that it deserves. Following Jesus deserves all of you, so it only makes sense to give all of myself to following Jesus. BUT, there are some things that actually don't deserve any of your love (or time, energy, etc.). I'm not even necessarily talking about sin issues. There are tons of things that may be GOOD, but they aren't where God is calling you. Thus, they are not deserving of your love (or time, energy, etc.).
This is what discernment is at its core, isn't it? It is listening to God to find out from among the good things, what is the BEST thing for you, given your season of life and where He wants to see you grow. One of the things that I have noticed about students today, both in ACF and BCM, is that they are overworked and stressed. Difficult courses are certainly a part of that, but I believe that much of it is because of a lack of discernment. Students are joining more clubs than ever and instead of dropping the non-essentials when things get difficult, they turn to other things to try and cope with the stress.
Of course, I am guilty of this as much as the next person. Even as this has been my mantra for the past few months, I have trouble giving each thing the love that it deserves. Part of this comes from being very task oriented and seeing everything as a task to be completed. Part of this is my competitive nature, wanting to do things as quickly as possible. Part of this is just straight sin. But, whatever the case, it is an area where I want to model well for my students.
Prayer points:
- Wednesday is going to be a combined ACF/BCM outreach event. Please pray that students will come and be able to interact with Jesus.
- Spring Break is right around the corner! Please be praying for the 18 students and 1 staff that will be attending City Lights this year. Our group includes 15 first timers, 10 international students, and at least 6 non-Christians!
- I hurt my knee running this morning... bummer.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I am not sure where I first heard the phrase "give each thing the love it deserves." It could have been a word I heard from Jesus or from a sermon. Either way, it is something that has stuck with me since when I first heard it and been a theme for me this year.
Working with two different fellowships is hard work. I now have two sets of students with two different sets of needs as far as how to grow them in missionality. There are two strategies and two cultures that need to be taken into account. As I talked about a few days ago I still have a lot of learning to do in this area. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to give each thing the love that it deserves. When I am with ACF students, I need to give them my full attention because that is the love that they deserve. With BCM students, it is the same way.
At church on Sunday the pastor talked a little bit about faithfulness. He talked about how quitting is not an option when it comes to following Jesus. Faithfulness is sticking with things even when they get tough. I understand where he was going with what he was saying, but I think that actually only half the picture was given.
Faithfulness is about giving each thing the love (time, energy, etc.) that it deserves. Following Jesus deserves all of you, so it only makes sense to give all of myself to following Jesus. BUT, there are some things that actually don't deserve any of your love (or time, energy, etc.). I'm not even necessarily talking about sin issues. There are tons of things that may be GOOD, but they aren't where God is calling you. Thus, they are not deserving of your love (or time, energy, etc.).
This is what discernment is at its core, isn't it? It is listening to God to find out from among the good things, what is the BEST thing for you, given your season of life and where He wants to see you grow. One of the things that I have noticed about students today, both in ACF and BCM, is that they are overworked and stressed. Difficult courses are certainly a part of that, but I believe that much of it is because of a lack of discernment. Students are joining more clubs than ever and instead of dropping the non-essentials when things get difficult, they turn to other things to try and cope with the stress.
Of course, I am guilty of this as much as the next person. Even as this has been my mantra for the past few months, I have trouble giving each thing the love that it deserves. Part of this comes from being very task oriented and seeing everything as a task to be completed. Part of this is my competitive nature, wanting to do things as quickly as possible. Part of this is just straight sin. But, whatever the case, it is an area where I want to model well for my students.
Prayer points:
- Wednesday is going to be a combined ACF/BCM outreach event. Please pray that students will come and be able to interact with Jesus.
- Spring Break is right around the corner! Please be praying for the 18 students and 1 staff that will be attending City Lights this year. Our group includes 15 first timers, 10 international students, and at least 6 non-Christians!
- I hurt my knee running this morning... bummer.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thoughts on Multi-Ethnicity...
Hello, friends!
Well, after a few days in sunny California at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference (MESC), I have returned to beautiful (albeit rainy) Missouri. It was quite a week of learning and processing for me.
There were two big thoughts that I had during MESC that will definitely require some more thought. The first was in regards to contextualizing the Gospel. Ken Fong from Evergreen Baptist Church spoke to us about the importance of making sure that we are contextualizing the Gospel for those who we are sharing it with. He likened the Gospel to finding a pair of jeans that fits. Every pair of jeans is made of denim, just like the core of the Gospel is the same. But, jeans are made in different sizes and different styles. As I try to reach out to Asian Americans, Asian Internationals, and Black students, it is crucial that I be able to translate lordship, discipleship, salvation, and grace to the culture and style of the students I meet. I think I was convicted that I have been trying going to my default of the Asian American flavor and I need to think more about translation.
My second thought was in regards to ethnic general vs. ethnic specific ministries. For as long as I have been alive, I have been a part of ethnic specific ministries. I attended a Chinese church, was part of an Asian Christian Fellowship during my undergrad, and have staffed an ACF as well as a BCM. I believe in the mission of ethnic specific ministry and I believe that is a biblical model. What I did not realize until this week was that my love for ethnic specific ministry has actually led to an antagonistic view toward ethnic general ministry. The truth is that instead of seeing things as a competition (ethnic general vs. ethnic specific) I need to see things as two sides of the same team, like offense and defense when playing football. BOTH ethnic general and ethnic specific chapters are good, biblical, and important to the movement.
So, that was my week. There is still a ton of processing left to do, including me trying to figure out how to bring all this back to campus. It should be a fun rest of the semester.
Prayer Points:
- Spring Break is just a few weeks away! Please pray for our students as they prepare for a potentially life-changing experience.
- We have entered mid-term season and students are starting to feel the stress. Please pray for peace, focus, and good rest for the students. Burnout is not our friend.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Well, after a few days in sunny California at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference (MESC), I have returned to beautiful (albeit rainy) Missouri. It was quite a week of learning and processing for me.
There were two big thoughts that I had during MESC that will definitely require some more thought. The first was in regards to contextualizing the Gospel. Ken Fong from Evergreen Baptist Church spoke to us about the importance of making sure that we are contextualizing the Gospel for those who we are sharing it with. He likened the Gospel to finding a pair of jeans that fits. Every pair of jeans is made of denim, just like the core of the Gospel is the same. But, jeans are made in different sizes and different styles. As I try to reach out to Asian Americans, Asian Internationals, and Black students, it is crucial that I be able to translate lordship, discipleship, salvation, and grace to the culture and style of the students I meet. I think I was convicted that I have been trying going to my default of the Asian American flavor and I need to think more about translation.
My second thought was in regards to ethnic general vs. ethnic specific ministries. For as long as I have been alive, I have been a part of ethnic specific ministries. I attended a Chinese church, was part of an Asian Christian Fellowship during my undergrad, and have staffed an ACF as well as a BCM. I believe in the mission of ethnic specific ministry and I believe that is a biblical model. What I did not realize until this week was that my love for ethnic specific ministry has actually led to an antagonistic view toward ethnic general ministry. The truth is that instead of seeing things as a competition (ethnic general vs. ethnic specific) I need to see things as two sides of the same team, like offense and defense when playing football. BOTH ethnic general and ethnic specific chapters are good, biblical, and important to the movement.
So, that was my week. There is still a ton of processing left to do, including me trying to figure out how to bring all this back to campus. It should be a fun rest of the semester.
Prayer Points:
- Spring Break is just a few weeks away! Please pray for our students as they prepare for a potentially life-changing experience.
- We have entered mid-term season and students are starting to feel the stress. Please pray for peace, focus, and good rest for the students. Burnout is not our friend.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Multi-Ethnicity, Woot!!!
Hello, friends!
Greetings from California! I am currently in beautiful Long Beach, CA at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference. It promises to be a great 4 days of learning, connecting, and fellowshipping with other staff from around the country.
One thing that I really appreciate about InterVarsity is its commitment to multi-ethnicity in all of its facets. I was talking to one of my non-Christian friends last night at dinner and he asked me what MESC was all about. I told hem that it was an opportunity to learn more about how God views multi-ethnicity. He then asked me what God DOES think about multi-ethnicity. IV is by no means perfect, but I think that their view on multi-ethnicity is spot on.
IV believes that God created us different for a reason. There is reason to celebrate that I am Asian American, just like there is reason to celebrate being African American, Latino American, White, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, and every other ethnicity that you can think of. Our God is not a god who makes mistakes, so living in a multi-ethnic world is not a mistake.
At the same time, there has to be reconciliation that comes through Jesus. It is not enough for us to recognize and celebrate our differences. We also have to work toward making sure that our differences do not keep us from coming together in the name of Jesus to heal the world in a real way. I am proud to be a Chinese American from Southern California who follows Jesus with a flavor of my background, culture, and upbringing. But, it would be wrong for me to not try and understand how other people worship Jesus or think that my way is the only right way. The only way that the "Big C" Church can change the world in a real way is if we are willing to work together and follow Jesus exactly like we know how.
So please pray for me this week, as well as all the other staff here. Pray that we will come together in a spirit of unity and understanding, able to celebrate our differences as well as our similarities.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Greetings from California! I am currently in beautiful Long Beach, CA at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference. It promises to be a great 4 days of learning, connecting, and fellowshipping with other staff from around the country.
One thing that I really appreciate about InterVarsity is its commitment to multi-ethnicity in all of its facets. I was talking to one of my non-Christian friends last night at dinner and he asked me what MESC was all about. I told hem that it was an opportunity to learn more about how God views multi-ethnicity. He then asked me what God DOES think about multi-ethnicity. IV is by no means perfect, but I think that their view on multi-ethnicity is spot on.
IV believes that God created us different for a reason. There is reason to celebrate that I am Asian American, just like there is reason to celebrate being African American, Latino American, White, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, and every other ethnicity that you can think of. Our God is not a god who makes mistakes, so living in a multi-ethnic world is not a mistake.
At the same time, there has to be reconciliation that comes through Jesus. It is not enough for us to recognize and celebrate our differences. We also have to work toward making sure that our differences do not keep us from coming together in the name of Jesus to heal the world in a real way. I am proud to be a Chinese American from Southern California who follows Jesus with a flavor of my background, culture, and upbringing. But, it would be wrong for me to not try and understand how other people worship Jesus or think that my way is the only right way. The only way that the "Big C" Church can change the world in a real way is if we are willing to work together and follow Jesus exactly like we know how.
So please pray for me this week, as well as all the other staff here. Pray that we will come together in a spirit of unity and understanding, able to celebrate our differences as well as our similarities.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Growing, growing, growing...
Hello, friends!
Yesterday I had a meeting with my supervisor to talk about my future with InterVarsity. One part of that conversation was centered around ways that I need to grow as a staff in order to reach my full potential and for my fellowships to reach their full potentials. It wasn't the most fun I have ever had in a conversation, but it certainly was necessary.
Much like with all things, there are good and bad consequences to being who you are. For me, I have a huge amount of self confidence. One the one hand, that is a good thing because confidence is a great characteristic to have as a leader. It is much easier to follow someone who is confident in their abilities than someone who isn't. On the other hand, sometimes I am blind to my areas of weakness and areas where I need to grow. I also have a tendency to not take criticism well and get a little defensive.
So there is a bit of a balance to be had. On the one hand, I am a good staff worker. On the other hand, I can be a better staff worker.
The question is why I should bother improving. My supervisor and I both agree that if I wanted to just coast on my current abilities, things could SURVIVE. ACF and BCM could move along and not fold as chapters. But what fun is that? What good does that do the kingdom? Wouldn't I be selling my students and Mizzou short by doing that?
Pursuing growth is a hard process. I would love to be in a place where I could just sit in my strengths for a bit and not worry about my weaknesses. But the payoffs are totally worth it. By going through the tough stuff now, I set myself up for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. Isn't that all a guy can ask for?
One thing that was helpful about the conversation I had yesterday was the idea of using my strengths to work on my weaknesses. That will be definitely something to be thinking about. My normal mode is to compartmentalize my life so I think of working on my weaknesses as a separate entity. But why I can't I have a little bit of fun and use my strengths as well?
Prayer points:
- This week I will be in California at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference. It will be a great time to connect with other minority staff and hear about InterVarsity's commitment to multi-ethnicity. Please pray that it will be a fruitful time for the other staff and me.
- With both Will and me being gone at MESC, that means that Large Group will be left to the student leaders. Please pray for Barbara, Paula, Jordan, and the rest of the leaders as they lead. Pray for the logistics of Large Group as well.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Yesterday I had a meeting with my supervisor to talk about my future with InterVarsity. One part of that conversation was centered around ways that I need to grow as a staff in order to reach my full potential and for my fellowships to reach their full potentials. It wasn't the most fun I have ever had in a conversation, but it certainly was necessary.
Much like with all things, there are good and bad consequences to being who you are. For me, I have a huge amount of self confidence. One the one hand, that is a good thing because confidence is a great characteristic to have as a leader. It is much easier to follow someone who is confident in their abilities than someone who isn't. On the other hand, sometimes I am blind to my areas of weakness and areas where I need to grow. I also have a tendency to not take criticism well and get a little defensive.
So there is a bit of a balance to be had. On the one hand, I am a good staff worker. On the other hand, I can be a better staff worker.
The question is why I should bother improving. My supervisor and I both agree that if I wanted to just coast on my current abilities, things could SURVIVE. ACF and BCM could move along and not fold as chapters. But what fun is that? What good does that do the kingdom? Wouldn't I be selling my students and Mizzou short by doing that?
Pursuing growth is a hard process. I would love to be in a place where I could just sit in my strengths for a bit and not worry about my weaknesses. But the payoffs are totally worth it. By going through the tough stuff now, I set myself up for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. Isn't that all a guy can ask for?
One thing that was helpful about the conversation I had yesterday was the idea of using my strengths to work on my weaknesses. That will be definitely something to be thinking about. My normal mode is to compartmentalize my life so I think of working on my weaknesses as a separate entity. But why I can't I have a little bit of fun and use my strengths as well?
Prayer points:
- This week I will be in California at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference. It will be a great time to connect with other minority staff and hear about InterVarsity's commitment to multi-ethnicity. Please pray that it will be a fruitful time for the other staff and me.
- With both Will and me being gone at MESC, that means that Large Group will be left to the student leaders. Please pray for Barbara, Paula, Jordan, and the rest of the leaders as they lead. Pray for the logistics of Large Group as well.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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