Hello, friends!
Last Thursday we had our Monthly Area Staff Meeting, which is a time for all the staff in Missouri to come together and get a little collaborative business done. This meeting was special because it was the first meeting since the Missouri staff team and the Missouri International Student Ministry team decided to merge into one staff team. (We are currently working on a name. The front-runner is MO Fast MO Furious.)
Thursday was the beginning of something new but it was also the end of an era. It was Thursday that we officially said goodbye to longtime friend and co-worker, Jean Morales.
Jean was blessed with 2 beautiful twin boys a few months ago and after a time of discernment and prayer, decided that her calling in this season of her life was to being a mother. Thus, after 10 years of being on staff with InterVarsity, Jean is stepping down and moving to a new exciting stage of life.
When I first met Jean I was a freshman and she was an intern at WashU ACF. The next year, I stepped into leadership with ACF and she was my staff. During my time as a student, we actually fought a lot. I have no problem saying it was almost certainly my fault; I was a prideful young buck who was certain that he knew how to do ministry the "right way." I'm glad that Jean showed me the grace that she did and didn't kick me off the team.
Since then, I have been honored to call Jean not just my staff, but also my supervisor for a year as well as my friend. She has grown me as a staff as well as a man of God. She encouraged my gifts when I was doubting them and wasn't afraid to challenge me to grow. I am sure that I wouldn't be the staff I am today if it wasn't for her guidance and leadership.
So, my dear friend, this one is for you. Thank you for 10 years of faithful service. I am honored to have walked alongside you for the past 6+. Blessings on you as you enter this new and exciting stage of life. Blessings on your family as you and Cris raise Caleb and Theo.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Large Group Evangelism!
Hello, friends!
Wednesday, well I guess last Wednesday, was our first Large Group of the semester, which also made it the first Large Group of 2014! Exciting, right?!
Over the break, Megan and I went to our Regional Staff Conference where the focus was on evangelism. (This is different from the National Staff Conference that we went to in January) There, we were pushed to consider if we were dreaming too small in terms of evangelism. I was particularly pressed to come to terms with what I can only describe as a fight for control. Evangelism is a tough thing because it requires complete reliance on God. It's much easier to do things that you can directly affect. Still, I felt the call to make evangelism a more explicit part of our Large Group strategy.
So, on Wednesday we gave it a shot. Instead of doing a traditional message, we broke students up into small groups and our leaders shared the Gospel, asking our friends for decisions. At the end of the night, I made a call to see if anyone had made a decision.
Ultimately, no one made a decision on Wednesday night but that's ok. Like I said, who comes to Jesus really isn't about us. All we can do is continue to share Christ's love with every Asian and Asian American on campus and pray that the Holy Spirit will do his thing.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Wednesday, well I guess last Wednesday, was our first Large Group of the semester, which also made it the first Large Group of 2014! Exciting, right?!
Over the break, Megan and I went to our Regional Staff Conference where the focus was on evangelism. (This is different from the National Staff Conference that we went to in January) There, we were pushed to consider if we were dreaming too small in terms of evangelism. I was particularly pressed to come to terms with what I can only describe as a fight for control. Evangelism is a tough thing because it requires complete reliance on God. It's much easier to do things that you can directly affect. Still, I felt the call to make evangelism a more explicit part of our Large Group strategy.
So, on Wednesday we gave it a shot. Instead of doing a traditional message, we broke students up into small groups and our leaders shared the Gospel, asking our friends for decisions. At the end of the night, I made a call to see if anyone had made a decision.
Ultimately, no one made a decision on Wednesday night but that's ok. Like I said, who comes to Jesus really isn't about us. All we can do is continue to share Christ's love with every Asian and Asian American on campus and pray that the Holy Spirit will do his thing.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Ohana Means Family...
Hello, friends!
Two weekends ago, over MLK Jr. Day Weekend, I had the pleasure of staffing Ohana, the Central Region's first ever Asian Student Conference. 80 students from all over the region joined us as we learned about our role as children, God's role as the perfect father, and what true family in the kingdom of God means. It was a transformative time for more than a few students and I'm so happy that I was able to be a part of it.
Our process started over a year ago when our (now Associate Area Director) co-worker Will took on the task of directing the conference. Our goal was simple. We wanted to unite the Asian American students from all over the region. Looking at our Regional numbers, you could see that Asian American students were actually the second highest population of students represented. We had more Asian American students a part of InterVarsity in the Central Region than African American students or Latino students, and possibly more than those 2 groups combined. But, if you looked closer at the numbers, what you saw was that most of those students were concentrated in the 2 ACF's at Mizzou and WashU. Once you took those two chapters out of the equation, suddenly those numbers don't look so hot. So, we figured that a great way to build momentum would be to hold a conference where we invite Asian American students from all over the region.
Understand, for many of our chapters, the number of Asian American students in 1-5. How great would it be for them to all come together and see that the have something to bring to their campuses in terms of reaching the Asian American student populations? It's at least worth a shot, right?
Well, Ohana has come and gone and I can say that it was a rousing success. We had 80 students from 4 different campuses come in and everyone had a great time. Most of the students came from WashU and Mizzou ACF's, which was expected, but we also had a contingent from SLU as well as a number of Hawaiian students from Creighton. Our speaker was Greg Jao, National Field Director for InterVarsity in the Northeast and he totally nailed it. He talked about our ethnic identities as a good thing as well as dealing with a LOT of family issues. When all was said and done, 35 of the 80 students made decisions to recommit their lives to Jesus, including 2 Mizzou students!
I'm not sure when our next Ohana will be. We have to take a lot into consideration, including a whole bunch of calendars and such. What I can say though is that when we do have it, I hope the Spirit moves as much as he did at this one.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Two weekends ago, over MLK Jr. Day Weekend, I had the pleasure of staffing Ohana, the Central Region's first ever Asian Student Conference. 80 students from all over the region joined us as we learned about our role as children, God's role as the perfect father, and what true family in the kingdom of God means. It was a transformative time for more than a few students and I'm so happy that I was able to be a part of it.
Our process started over a year ago when our (now Associate Area Director) co-worker Will took on the task of directing the conference. Our goal was simple. We wanted to unite the Asian American students from all over the region. Looking at our Regional numbers, you could see that Asian American students were actually the second highest population of students represented. We had more Asian American students a part of InterVarsity in the Central Region than African American students or Latino students, and possibly more than those 2 groups combined. But, if you looked closer at the numbers, what you saw was that most of those students were concentrated in the 2 ACF's at Mizzou and WashU. Once you took those two chapters out of the equation, suddenly those numbers don't look so hot. So, we figured that a great way to build momentum would be to hold a conference where we invite Asian American students from all over the region.
Understand, for many of our chapters, the number of Asian American students in 1-5. How great would it be for them to all come together and see that the have something to bring to their campuses in terms of reaching the Asian American student populations? It's at least worth a shot, right?
Well, Ohana has come and gone and I can say that it was a rousing success. We had 80 students from 4 different campuses come in and everyone had a great time. Most of the students came from WashU and Mizzou ACF's, which was expected, but we also had a contingent from SLU as well as a number of Hawaiian students from Creighton. Our speaker was Greg Jao, National Field Director for InterVarsity in the Northeast and he totally nailed it. He talked about our ethnic identities as a good thing as well as dealing with a LOT of family issues. When all was said and done, 35 of the 80 students made decisions to recommit their lives to Jesus, including 2 Mizzou students!
I'm not sure when our next Ohana will be. We have to take a lot into consideration, including a whole bunch of calendars and such. What I can say though is that when we do have it, I hope the Spirit moves as much as he did at this one.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Here's to 29!!!
Hello, friends!
Ok, so my birthday was 2 weeks ago. That doesn't mean I can't still write about it, yeah? =0).
I actually had the pleasure of spending my birthday up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, visiting my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their new baby boy, who they had on January 10. It was great spending time with family and being able to help out a little bit around the house. Meg was a demon in the kitchen, making freezer meals and such. I was able to help by assisting my brother-in-law in building a shelf in his garage. Friends, let me tell you, there is nothing like doing construction in -15 degree weather to make you appreciate the indoors.
Every year, around my birthday, I like to make the next year, "The Year of (insert thing here)." My friend Sherami started me on that tradition a while back and I liked it enough to make it my own. Last year was the year of discipline, when I focused on getting my life in order and living a life of discipline. The year before that it was the year of Go Big or Go Home, which worked out pretty well, considering that I got engaged and married. The question was what I was going to do for this year.
This year is going to be the year of "Joy." As I was reflecting on the past year, one thing I noticed is that I didn't quite have as much joy as I had in previous years. Between the constant commute between Columbia and St. Louis, the eventual move to St. Louis and all the home renovations that followed, the added responsibility of supervising multiple staff, and the adjustment to the married life, I'd found myself focusing more on the task that had to be done as opposed to finding joy in the life that God had given me. Being that I am already a super task oriented person, this was an even bigger problem.
So, this year is going to be a year where I focus on joy, particularly the joy that comes from being secure in the Gospel. In spite of all the things that are tugging at my time and all the things that need to get done, I am going to focus instead of the blessings that God has given me and find joy in those things. I have a great job, a wonderful home, and an incredible wife. I should be able to find joy in those things instead of stress in the tasks that come along with those blessings.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Ok, so my birthday was 2 weeks ago. That doesn't mean I can't still write about it, yeah? =0).
I actually had the pleasure of spending my birthday up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, visiting my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and their new baby boy, who they had on January 10. It was great spending time with family and being able to help out a little bit around the house. Meg was a demon in the kitchen, making freezer meals and such. I was able to help by assisting my brother-in-law in building a shelf in his garage. Friends, let me tell you, there is nothing like doing construction in -15 degree weather to make you appreciate the indoors.
Every year, around my birthday, I like to make the next year, "The Year of (insert thing here)." My friend Sherami started me on that tradition a while back and I liked it enough to make it my own. Last year was the year of discipline, when I focused on getting my life in order and living a life of discipline. The year before that it was the year of Go Big or Go Home, which worked out pretty well, considering that I got engaged and married. The question was what I was going to do for this year.
This year is going to be the year of "Joy." As I was reflecting on the past year, one thing I noticed is that I didn't quite have as much joy as I had in previous years. Between the constant commute between Columbia and St. Louis, the eventual move to St. Louis and all the home renovations that followed, the added responsibility of supervising multiple staff, and the adjustment to the married life, I'd found myself focusing more on the task that had to be done as opposed to finding joy in the life that God had given me. Being that I am already a super task oriented person, this was an even bigger problem.
So, this year is going to be a year where I focus on joy, particularly the joy that comes from being secure in the Gospel. In spite of all the things that are tugging at my time and all the things that need to get done, I am going to focus instead of the blessings that God has given me and find joy in those things. I have a great job, a wonderful home, and an incredible wife. I should be able to find joy in those things instead of stress in the tasks that come along with those blessings.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
World Changers Developed...
Hello, friends!
As promised, today is the first post of many that are going to give a more in depth look at the past month since I wasn't posting much. We are going to be doing things chronologically, starting with National Staff Conference, January 6-11.
InterVarsity employs over 1400 staff all over the US, including field staff (like me), folk who work at our various camps, the good people of InterVarsity Press, and the administrators who make everything go. Once every 3 years we come together as a movement to reconnect and revision with one another. In 2008, at my first NSC, we began going through our vision statement, focusing on Students and Faculty transformed, Campuses Renewed, and this year, World Changers Developed. It was a great time to recapture the vision, reconnect with old friends, and think about the future of our movement. Here are a few thoughts about my time there.
- InterVarsity has a lot going for it. It was such a blessing to see staff from all over the country come together and be reminded of what our movement is all about. We heard testimonies from alumni who have changed the world in a number of ways. Some are working in the inner city. Others are working globally. InterVarsity alumni are not just participants in the world; they are agents of change. I loved hearing the stories and being reminded that students are the future world leaders.
- InterVarsity still has a ways to go. No organization is perfect and as much as I love the movement, NSC was a reminder that we are a movement made up of people and that means that we are not perfect. One of the days at NSC was a training day where the entire staff movement learned the same discipleship strategy across the board. The hope was that we would be able to move our discipleship from the "sit down and tell me about your life" side of things to the "let's go do mission together so it can bring up your stuff and make you a better follower of Jesus" side of things. To say that it was met with resistance would be an accurate assessment. At our root, I believe that as people, we don't like change and we definitely don't like it coming from anyone other than us. I was reminded of that fact at NSC.
- Saying goodbye is hard. One of the hard things about working for InterVarsity is that our job appears to be transient by nature. The average tenure of an InterVarsity staff is about 7 years. This staff conference it was sobering to see a number of staff who were going to be leaving soon and not seeing a number of staff who have already left since the last NSC. Since our job is relational more than anything, I think it is harder saying goodbye to coworkers than in other fields. Still, I suppose it is a part of life.
- NSC as a married person is tough too. This was the first NSC where Megan and I were there as a married couple. In 2011 we had just started dating so this was new territory for us. As you get older and more experienced in InterVarsity, you get asked to do more things. As you get asked to do more things, more and more of your time is taken up to do those things. As more and more of your time is taken up to do those things, less and less of your time can be devoted to your wife. I definitely think that I stretched myself out a bit much during NSC. I'll have to remember that for next time.
Ultimately, NSC was a ridiculously good time. I am so thankful to have such a great job, working with such great people, and doing such great work. We'll see you all (or at least most of you) in 2017!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
As promised, today is the first post of many that are going to give a more in depth look at the past month since I wasn't posting much. We are going to be doing things chronologically, starting with National Staff Conference, January 6-11.
InterVarsity employs over 1400 staff all over the US, including field staff (like me), folk who work at our various camps, the good people of InterVarsity Press, and the administrators who make everything go. Once every 3 years we come together as a movement to reconnect and revision with one another. In 2008, at my first NSC, we began going through our vision statement, focusing on Students and Faculty transformed, Campuses Renewed, and this year, World Changers Developed. It was a great time to recapture the vision, reconnect with old friends, and think about the future of our movement. Here are a few thoughts about my time there.
- InterVarsity has a lot going for it. It was such a blessing to see staff from all over the country come together and be reminded of what our movement is all about. We heard testimonies from alumni who have changed the world in a number of ways. Some are working in the inner city. Others are working globally. InterVarsity alumni are not just participants in the world; they are agents of change. I loved hearing the stories and being reminded that students are the future world leaders.
- InterVarsity still has a ways to go. No organization is perfect and as much as I love the movement, NSC was a reminder that we are a movement made up of people and that means that we are not perfect. One of the days at NSC was a training day where the entire staff movement learned the same discipleship strategy across the board. The hope was that we would be able to move our discipleship from the "sit down and tell me about your life" side of things to the "let's go do mission together so it can bring up your stuff and make you a better follower of Jesus" side of things. To say that it was met with resistance would be an accurate assessment. At our root, I believe that as people, we don't like change and we definitely don't like it coming from anyone other than us. I was reminded of that fact at NSC.
- Saying goodbye is hard. One of the hard things about working for InterVarsity is that our job appears to be transient by nature. The average tenure of an InterVarsity staff is about 7 years. This staff conference it was sobering to see a number of staff who were going to be leaving soon and not seeing a number of staff who have already left since the last NSC. Since our job is relational more than anything, I think it is harder saying goodbye to coworkers than in other fields. Still, I suppose it is a part of life.
- NSC as a married person is tough too. This was the first NSC where Megan and I were there as a married couple. In 2011 we had just started dating so this was new territory for us. As you get older and more experienced in InterVarsity, you get asked to do more things. As you get asked to do more things, more and more of your time is taken up to do those things. As more and more of your time is taken up to do those things, less and less of your time can be devoted to your wife. I definitely think that I stretched myself out a bit much during NSC. I'll have to remember that for next time.
Ultimately, NSC was a ridiculously good time. I am so thankful to have such a great job, working with such great people, and doing such great work. We'll see you all (or at least most of you) in 2017!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
A Plethora of Posts!
Hello, friends!
Ok, it has been 3 since I last posted, which is simply unacceptable. I have always prided myself and the work that I do with InterVarsity on transparency so it is not cool that I would not keep everyone up to date on everything that has happened in the past few weeks. That is especially true given how crazy the past few weeks have been!
For the next few days, starting Tuesday since Megan and I take Sabbath on Mondays, I am going to be posting daily, so get ready for that. Because I don't want you to be overwhelmed by a super long post, I am going to be publishing only one post a day. In case you want just a quick recap of the month that was, here is our latest prayer update. Enjoy!
Ok, it has been 3 since I last posted, which is simply unacceptable. I have always prided myself and the work that I do with InterVarsity on transparency so it is not cool that I would not keep everyone up to date on everything that has happened in the past few weeks. That is especially true given how crazy the past few weeks have been!
For the next few days, starting Tuesday since Megan and I take Sabbath on Mondays, I am going to be posting daily, so get ready for that. Because I don't want you to be overwhelmed by a super long post, I am going to be publishing only one post a day. In case you want just a quick recap of the month that was, here is our latest prayer update. Enjoy!
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Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Hooray for Resolutions!
Hello, friends!
First, let's get this out of the way. Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2014 kicks 2013's butt in every possible way. =0).
This is right about the time when folk start looking for New Year's resolutions and I am definitely no different. Last week I shared about Meg's resolution, in which I will be joining her, but I thought it'd be a good idea for me to come up with a few of my own.
Last year, I had 3 resolutions. The first was to become ambidextrous, particularly at using chopsticks, writing, and throwing a ball. There was some progress made but not nearly as much as I would have liked in all three of those areas. The second resolution was to pass my friend Chioma in tweets. On January 1, 2013 I was behind about 1200 tweets. Through hard work and a little bit of secrecy, I was able to pass her. =0). I also had my "odd year no soda" resolution that went by pretty successfully.
I am very much a task-oriented person so I take these resolutions very seriously. I've been thinking about these for the past few weeks now and have come up with a bunch of different resolutions I could make. One of the things that I've been learning though is that I don't have as much time as I used to have and that 15 resolutions probably isn't a good idea. So, I've decided to keep things simple and utilize some prayer in deciding where I should be focusing my time and energy in 2014.
My thought process went along 3 different lines. The first was "What didn't I accomplish in 2013?" This pretty much would have been me recycling my ambidextrous resolutions but only focusing on those. As I thought about it more, I decided that being able to throw a ball as well with my left hand as my right probably isn't going improve my life a ton so that went by the wayside.
Another train of thought was the idea of "What do I want to do before I turn 30?" All the resolutions here had the number 30 attached to them. Read 30 books. Swim a mile in under 30 minutes. Jump 30 inches (thus being able to dunk). Average working out 30 hours per week. Lose 30 pounds. These weren't bad, and I may end up still doing some of these, but it still didn't feel quite right.
Prayer is an amazing thing, isn't it? As I was praying a few days ago about these resolutions, the word that kept popping into my head was "water." I thought and prayed about it more but I couldn't quite shake it. So, I decided that this year, my resolutions are going to be about water.
- I resolve to swim a mile in under 30 minutes. For some folk this may seem like an easy goal but I always say that we Leongs are not a sea-faring people. My hope is that by focusing on swimming, it'll lead to better triathlon times and overall health.
- I resolve to drink 64 ounces (2.5 water bottles) of water a day. Drinking water is good for you, isn't it? Megan is always saying that I don't drink enough water. We'll see if she's right. =0).
- I resolve to be thinking more evangelistically, bringing the living water of the Gospel to those around me. I didn't want to have a metric for this one. Saying, I resolve to bring 3 people to Jesus, seemed a little heretical. Still, my hope is that I will look for more opportunities to shore the Gospel with those I encounter, especially my neighbors. Here's hoping for some great fruit!
So, there's that! We'll see how this goes but my hope is that these water resolutions will lead me to being a better man and follower of Jesus.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
First, let's get this out of the way. Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2014 kicks 2013's butt in every possible way. =0).
This is right about the time when folk start looking for New Year's resolutions and I am definitely no different. Last week I shared about Meg's resolution, in which I will be joining her, but I thought it'd be a good idea for me to come up with a few of my own.
Last year, I had 3 resolutions. The first was to become ambidextrous, particularly at using chopsticks, writing, and throwing a ball. There was some progress made but not nearly as much as I would have liked in all three of those areas. The second resolution was to pass my friend Chioma in tweets. On January 1, 2013 I was behind about 1200 tweets. Through hard work and a little bit of secrecy, I was able to pass her. =0). I also had my "odd year no soda" resolution that went by pretty successfully.
I am very much a task-oriented person so I take these resolutions very seriously. I've been thinking about these for the past few weeks now and have come up with a bunch of different resolutions I could make. One of the things that I've been learning though is that I don't have as much time as I used to have and that 15 resolutions probably isn't a good idea. So, I've decided to keep things simple and utilize some prayer in deciding where I should be focusing my time and energy in 2014.
My thought process went along 3 different lines. The first was "What didn't I accomplish in 2013?" This pretty much would have been me recycling my ambidextrous resolutions but only focusing on those. As I thought about it more, I decided that being able to throw a ball as well with my left hand as my right probably isn't going improve my life a ton so that went by the wayside.
Another train of thought was the idea of "What do I want to do before I turn 30?" All the resolutions here had the number 30 attached to them. Read 30 books. Swim a mile in under 30 minutes. Jump 30 inches (thus being able to dunk). Average working out 30 hours per week. Lose 30 pounds. These weren't bad, and I may end up still doing some of these, but it still didn't feel quite right.
Prayer is an amazing thing, isn't it? As I was praying a few days ago about these resolutions, the word that kept popping into my head was "water." I thought and prayed about it more but I couldn't quite shake it. So, I decided that this year, my resolutions are going to be about water.
- I resolve to swim a mile in under 30 minutes. For some folk this may seem like an easy goal but I always say that we Leongs are not a sea-faring people. My hope is that by focusing on swimming, it'll lead to better triathlon times and overall health.
- I resolve to drink 64 ounces (2.5 water bottles) of water a day. Drinking water is good for you, isn't it? Megan is always saying that I don't drink enough water. We'll see if she's right. =0).
- I resolve to be thinking more evangelistically, bringing the living water of the Gospel to those around me. I didn't want to have a metric for this one. Saying, I resolve to bring 3 people to Jesus, seemed a little heretical. Still, my hope is that I will look for more opportunities to shore the Gospel with those I encounter, especially my neighbors. Here's hoping for some great fruit!
So, there's that! We'll see how this goes but my hope is that these water resolutions will lead me to being a better man and follower of Jesus.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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