Hello, friends!
Yesterday was an interesting day at Lincoln and definitely in a good way! Allow me a few minutes of your time to share. =0).
At Lincoln this semester, I've been alternating between doing proxe stations on campus and spending time in the cafeteria and doing bible studies with students. This week, it was a cafeteria week. I'm really glad that was the case.
When I walked into the Student Center, I noticed that it was way more crowded than normal. I usually get there around 11:30 or so, right before a big lunch rush comes in so it's not hard to find a seat. This week though, you could tell that the caf was a little more full than usual. There were also students with name tags greeting everyone who walked through the door, welcoming them to "Mix It Up Day."
One of the things that's I've noticed this year is that Lincoln has made a concerted effort to build school spirit amongst the student body. There are always some things going on but this semester it seems like it's been a little bit more. I just figured this was another one of those things where the student government was trying to build a party atmosphere or something. I was actually wrong on that one.
Here's the deal. It turns out that Mix It Up Day was being hosted by two of the professors in the education department. They wanted to get students to explore and learn about other cultures, so instead of class, their students were supposed to go into the caf and "mix it up," by sitting with people who they didn't know and eating lunch with them. As a campus missionary, I wholly support this endeavor. =0).
Besides the students who I normally see, I got to meet 3 new students at Lincoln. The first two students I met were L and J. There was "sushi" (and I use the term loosely...) on the menu, which meant there were chopsticks in the caf. I taught them how to use them and we talked about their lives and their programs. (NOTE: J picked up using chopsticks much faster than L did, but he eventually got the hang of it.)
The third gal I met was R, and that was a really fun conversation. It turns out that her step father is a Chinese man who grew up in Korea and she spent a month teaching English in Korea this past summer. It was fun talking with her about culture and such. That conversation eventually led to talking about what I do, which led to me sharing the Gospel with her and challenging her to recommit her life to Jesus. She even joined us for our afternoon Bible Study!
You never really know what kind of relationship you are going to have with a school when you step on campus. Sometimes the administration doesn't really know or care that you're there (like at Mizzou). Other times, the administration couldn't be happier to have you there and do whatever they can to make sure you're in the know (like at Columbia College). Other times, the administration is actively hostile towards you. Lincoln has been a little more in that third camp, especially since I started doing the proxe stations. Still, they may not have known it, but by letting their professors do something out of the box they helped me "mix it up" yesterday, and that may even lead to new life on campus!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Coming Home, ACF Style...
Hello, friends!
When I moved out to Columbia in 2007, it was with a very specific purpose in mind. I was sent to plant an Asian American InterVarsity chapter with hopes of it being one of many chapters in Mid-Missouri. ACF was officially started in the fall of 2007 and we were officially recognized as a student group in October of 2008. For 8 years, Mizzou ACF was my primary chapter. It was my baby and it will always have a special place in my heart.
Over the past 2 years, as I've moved onto other things, I've been less and less involved in the day to day operations of ACF. It's been fine. Danny now and Matti before him have done an incredible job of taking care of the fellowship. Honestly, it'd been a long time since I'd visited a Wednesday night Large Group...
Until last night...
Finally, the Rock has come back to ACF... (shout out to all the fellow WWE fans who got that one). =0).
With Danny up in Iowa for a training, I was invited to come speak for the group. They are going through a series right now on emotions and I was given the topic of "doubt." One of the leaders made Chinese breakfast as the meal, I spoke, and all in all it was a good time. A few observations:
- I love seeing people I don't recognize. One of my favorite things when I visit various churches that I've attended is seeing all the faces that I don't recognize. There are always new people who have started attending since the last time I was there, and oftentimes, they are leading or serving in some capacity. When I walked through the doors and saw all the new faces, it warmed my heart.
- I still love preaching. On the way home yesterday, I realized that it had been a really long time since I'd done any preaching. The last time was probably when I was back in California at my home church. Since I've been planting so much these past few years, I haven't had a big enough group to do any preaching. It felt good to spend time studying the word and putting together an outline, then executing. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed it.
- Some things never change. The faces are different. I was talking with a student who I remember as a Freshman but is a Senior now. We were talking about how much the group has changed over the years. But it really hasn't. It's still about food. It's still a place where people be silly and a little bit awkward. There's still musical worship. Some students eat up the teaching and others struggle to stay awake. The faces are different but the community was definitely familiar.
Friends, it felt good to go home again. As I was leaving, I was thinking about how much fun I had and how I wouldn't mind stopping by more often. Then, I was reminded by God that I'm exactly where I need to be right now. I'm enjoying being at Lincoln. I'm loving putting my baby boy to sleep and hanging out with my wife. I'm content and challenged in my roles. It was good to visit home but it was also good to remember that home now is different, and that's OK.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
When I moved out to Columbia in 2007, it was with a very specific purpose in mind. I was sent to plant an Asian American InterVarsity chapter with hopes of it being one of many chapters in Mid-Missouri. ACF was officially started in the fall of 2007 and we were officially recognized as a student group in October of 2008. For 8 years, Mizzou ACF was my primary chapter. It was my baby and it will always have a special place in my heart.
Over the past 2 years, as I've moved onto other things, I've been less and less involved in the day to day operations of ACF. It's been fine. Danny now and Matti before him have done an incredible job of taking care of the fellowship. Honestly, it'd been a long time since I'd visited a Wednesday night Large Group...
Until last night...
Finally, the Rock has come back to ACF... (shout out to all the fellow WWE fans who got that one). =0).
With Danny up in Iowa for a training, I was invited to come speak for the group. They are going through a series right now on emotions and I was given the topic of "doubt." One of the leaders made Chinese breakfast as the meal, I spoke, and all in all it was a good time. A few observations:
- I love seeing people I don't recognize. One of my favorite things when I visit various churches that I've attended is seeing all the faces that I don't recognize. There are always new people who have started attending since the last time I was there, and oftentimes, they are leading or serving in some capacity. When I walked through the doors and saw all the new faces, it warmed my heart.
- I still love preaching. On the way home yesterday, I realized that it had been a really long time since I'd done any preaching. The last time was probably when I was back in California at my home church. Since I've been planting so much these past few years, I haven't had a big enough group to do any preaching. It felt good to spend time studying the word and putting together an outline, then executing. I'd forgotten how much I'd missed it.
- Some things never change. The faces are different. I was talking with a student who I remember as a Freshman but is a Senior now. We were talking about how much the group has changed over the years. But it really hasn't. It's still about food. It's still a place where people be silly and a little bit awkward. There's still musical worship. Some students eat up the teaching and others struggle to stay awake. The faces are different but the community was definitely familiar.
Friends, it felt good to go home again. As I was leaving, I was thinking about how much fun I had and how I wouldn't mind stopping by more often. Then, I was reminded by God that I'm exactly where I need to be right now. I'm enjoying being at Lincoln. I'm loving putting my baby boy to sleep and hanging out with my wife. I'm content and challenged in my roles. It was good to visit home but it was also good to remember that home now is different, and that's OK.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
New Life at Lincoln!
Hello, friends!
I'm still working on finishing up everything from Fall Conference so there will be a blog post recapping that coming in the next week or so. Until then, I wanted to share this story with y'all that I wanted to share last week but I moved it back a week because of Fall Conference. Enjoy!
To give some context, one of the things that we do in InterVarsity is a "proxe station." These are interactive Gospel displays that are eye catching and artistic in a way that draws in students. The basic model of the proxe is 4 steps:
- Invite students to make a statement about the world
- Invite students to then make a statement about their personal worlds
- Share with them a bible passage that speaks to the conversations you've been having already
- Present the Gospel using the "4 circles" diagram and ask them to make a decision (you can see the 4 circles Gospel presentation here).
Yesterday I did the Hope Proxe at Lincoln. I've been doing proxes at Lincoln for the past year or so which has been fun but a little frustrating. Most of the students who come through identify themselves as in Circle 4 (working towards change in the world) but in conversation, they're probably more like Circle 1 (their world is great with no problems) folk.
However, just in this past month I've already met more "Circle 2" (their world is broken) folk than ever. It's been really exciting.
D came up to the proxe and asked what it was. We walked through the proxe and talked a little. He's a freshman who just moved to Mid-MO a little while back to live with his dad. He said his mom is a Christian, his dad is an atheist and he's not really religious but if he had to choose something, he'd probably choose being a Christian since that was how he was brought up.
We made it to the 4 circles diagram and as I explained it to him, he got really excited about circles 3 and 4. He said, "this makes total sense!" I asked him where he identified himself and he said Circle 2 but that Circles 3 and 4 sounded really great. I invited him to make a decision right then to follow Jesus and he said "yes!" We prayed, chatted a little more, and he went on his way, a new believer. We're going to be doing the Deeply Rooted book starting next week.
This is the first conversion at Lincoln University through InterVarsity. Praise Jesus for his faithfulness!
I'm still working on finishing up everything from Fall Conference so there will be a blog post recapping that coming in the next week or so. Until then, I wanted to share this story with y'all that I wanted to share last week but I moved it back a week because of Fall Conference. Enjoy!
To give some context, one of the things that we do in InterVarsity is a "proxe station." These are interactive Gospel displays that are eye catching and artistic in a way that draws in students. The basic model of the proxe is 4 steps:
- Invite students to make a statement about the world
- Invite students to then make a statement about their personal worlds
- Share with them a bible passage that speaks to the conversations you've been having already
- Present the Gospel using the "4 circles" diagram and ask them to make a decision (you can see the 4 circles Gospel presentation here).
Yesterday I did the Hope Proxe at Lincoln. I've been doing proxes at Lincoln for the past year or so which has been fun but a little frustrating. Most of the students who come through identify themselves as in Circle 4 (working towards change in the world) but in conversation, they're probably more like Circle 1 (their world is great with no problems) folk.
However, just in this past month I've already met more "Circle 2" (their world is broken) folk than ever. It's been really exciting.
D came up to the proxe and asked what it was. We walked through the proxe and talked a little. He's a freshman who just moved to Mid-MO a little while back to live with his dad. He said his mom is a Christian, his dad is an atheist and he's not really religious but if he had to choose something, he'd probably choose being a Christian since that was how he was brought up.
We made it to the 4 circles diagram and as I explained it to him, he got really excited about circles 3 and 4. He said, "this makes total sense!" I asked him where he identified himself and he said Circle 2 but that Circles 3 and 4 sounded really great. I invited him to make a decision right then to follow Jesus and he said "yes!" We prayed, chatted a little more, and he went on his way, a new believer. We're going to be doing the Deeply Rooted book starting next week.
This is the first conversion at Lincoln University through InterVarsity. Praise Jesus for his faithfulness!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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