Intentional Partnership Tuesday...

Hello, friends!

Here's hoping you had a lovely Thanksgiving full of food, fun, family, and football. Oh, and if you got some shopping in there too, more power to you. =0). We are back from a wonderful week in SoDak visiting with Meg's side of the family.

Friends, have you noticed that the "days" surrounding Thanksgiving have become more numerous in past years? First it was Thanksgiving Day, which makes sense. After that, it's Black Friday. After Black Friday comes Small Business Saturday. I don't think there's anything for Sunday but Cyber Monday comes next. Then we end up here, on Giving Tuesday.

Look, I am all for good marketing and I totally get it. Black Friday is about getting a good deal for your Christmas gifts. American Express wants people to shop locally so they created Small Business Saturday. The online retailers decided to get in on the action for Cyber Monday. Then the non-profit sector hopped on the train for Giving Tuesday. It's the end of the year and folk are looking to maximize their charitable contributions so it makes total sense.

The thing for me is this: my new role next year is going to be a Regional Coordinator focused on Ministry Partnership Development. A big part of my job is going to changing the culture of Ministry Partnership Development in our Region so we can avoid the trap of thinking of it as a chore or something we need to do in order to get on campus but rather as an act of worship, a part of our ministry, and mutual blessing to us as well as our partners. I'm not sure how Giving Tuesday fits into that culture change.

What I really want to see is Intentional Partnership Tuesday. For ministry partners, I don't want your inbox to be flooded with emails asking you to give today, only for you to forget where you gave because there were so many requests. For staff, I don't want us to get into the habit of relying on marketing to bring in money when what we should really desire is the opportunity to cast vision and partner with those we know to bring the Gospel to every corner of the campus. I want our partnerships to be relational and worshipful, not just transactional.

So, here is my proposal:
- IF YOU ARE A MINISTRY PARTNER: If you choose to give to a particular cause or ministry, would you also prayerfully consider partnering with that cause or ministry beyond today? Maybe it means becoming a monthly donor. Maybe it means volunteering. Maybe it means telling your friends about where you're giving so you can give too. The key is to see if there are ways that your giving can turn into tangible partnership.
- IF YOU ARE STAFF: Pray for your ministry partners as you send out your emails. Make sure you have a plan for follow up if folk do choose to give. Write thank you notes and make sure they get Christmas cards. Be sure to add new partners to your address book so you don't forget the wonderful gift they've committed to you. Let's make sure we're caring for our partners well.

If you feel so inclined and would like to partner with the work that Meg and I are doing with InterVarsity, perhaps I could direct your attention to the Mid-Missouri Scholarship fund. Each Year, this fund helps send dozens of students to various InterVarsity conferences at reduced cost, allowing them to enjoy all that God has for them without having to worry about the finances. We have a plethora of conferences in the Spring while we are on Sabbatical, for White, Black, Asian American, LatinX, and international students, as well as conferences in Anaheim for students who want to plant new ministries and for students who want to be missionaries in the Greek system on their campus. We'd love for you to consider partnering with us through the scholarship fund. I promise we'll follow up well. =0).

CLICK HERE TO PARTNER    

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Big News from the Leongs!!!

Hello, friends!

For your viewing pleasure, please watch the video below. If you'd rather read the text, it's below the video.

Have an excellent day!

Go (North) west, young family! 

When Adam first moved to Columbia in 2007, the best piece of advice he got from a veteran staff was that if he wanted to be successful in a new place, he needed to completely adopt his new town as his own. Adam bought into that idea and for the past 10+ years, Columbia has been home. It has been a home full of great joy, great pain, great triumphs, and great trials, but it has been home nonetheless.

After spending our first year of marriage in St. Louis, we moved to CoMO and here we've found a church home and community, started a family, and seen God do amazing things in the lives of college students here in Mid-Missouri. God has been really good to us here but after much prayer and discernment, we have decided that in 2018, we will be moving to Omaha, Nebraska. The thought of leaving is hard but we are expectant for what God has for us for this new season of life.

What's Next?

We aren't totally sure of the details yet but there are a few things that we do know. We know we'll be moving to Omaha sometime in early 2018. We know that we will still be working for InterVarsity but in slightly different capacities than what we are doing now. We know that Megan will continue to influence the International Student Ministry in our Region and that Adam will be working with Ministry Partnership Development for our Region. We know that we are thankful that we will be closer to Meg's side of the family in South Dakota.

What now?

For now, there are still a lot of details to cover. We are in the process of buying a house in Omaha and getting ready to move. We are finishing up our ministry responsibilities here in CoMO and beginning the hand-off of tasks to the staff who will be taking over. We are also preparing to take a Sabbatical in the first part of 2018, so we can focus on moving and getting established in our new community. 

Until Then?

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for a big transition. Saying goodbye, not just to ministry but also to community will be hard. While we are excited about what God has for us for the future, we still want to stay fully present where we are.

Have an excellent day!

~The Leongs

The Updates are Coming, The Updates are Coming!!!

Hello, friends!

Happy November to you all! As the calendar and the leaves turn, we are one day closer to one of the greatest of all the Fall traditions. It's more satisfying than Thanksgiving dinner. It's more fun than the Macy's parade. It's more impactful than a day of college football... That's right, Meg and I are getting ready to send our end of the year update and partnership ask. Get excited!!! =0).

Friends, if you're reading this blog, you probably already get our updates by email and/or by mail. Thank you so much for being a part of the team and for all of your love, support, and partnership. But maybe you've moved recently and have to update your address? Maybe you have a friend or two who you think would be blessed by learning more about the work that we do with InterVarsity. Maybe you'd like to get some snail mail this holiday season THAT MAY OR MAY NOT INCLUDE A PHOTO OF OUR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. If that's you, please take a second to fill out the form below.

As, always, have an excellent day!

~Adam

Happy Reformation Day!!!

Hello, friends!

Today, all over the United States, children (and adults) are getting dressed up in costumes, candy is being distributed, ghosts, goblins, vampires, superheros, and the like. There will be parties and there will be fun... That's right, it's Reformation Day!

500 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg Church in Germany, sparking what would be known as the Protestant Reformation and a split from the Catholic Church. Regardless of what you think of, Protestantism, Catholicism, Reformed Theology, Arminianism, or Christianity in general, it's hard to argue with the fact that the Reformation was kind of a big deal and that those 95 theses changed the world in a profound way.

Martin Luther is an interesting guy. If you read biographies about him, you can see a man who was deeply dedicated to God and someone who dearly loved the Church. At the same time, he had some very anti-Semitic writings and ideas that should not be tolerated. I suppose, just like all of us, he was a flawed man. I doubt that Luther knew what he was started when he nailed his theses to that door. My guess is that he was just looking for change to a power system that was exploiting the poor and disadvantaged. In many ways, I can see parallels Luther's plight and what is happening today in the United States.

I am decidedly not Reformed in my theology but I can appreciated Reformed Theology for what it does and how it sees the world and salvation. On the main points of the Gospel, the Reformed and I do not disagree. I believe we are broken people who live in a broken world and are powerless to fix either of those things by our own actions. I believe in the power of God's grace (undeserved favor) that changes our hearts and draws us to Himself. This kind of faith is very freeing.

So, friends, as you celebrate your Reformation Day by passing out candy, dressing up, and going to parties, remember this. Jesus loves you and wants you to know that. You don't have to "fix" yourself. Let God do the heavy lifting and be free.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

PS: If you're reading this and aren't a follower of Jesus but are interested in learning more, you should totally message me! I'd love to talk more. =0).

Where Are My Writing Utensils?!

Hello, friends!

When I started planting at Lincoln, one of the positive externalities of driving down to Jefferson City every week was that I got to carpool with my neighbor and friend Bob because he works down there too. The problem was that Bob needs to be at work by 8 (it used to be 7:30) so we have to leave CoMO by 7:15 to make it there on time. This isn't a problem from a waking up standpoint (most days) but for a campus missionary, there isn't a ton to do at 8 in the morning when it seems like you're the only one on campus. The system that I've worked out is that I drop off my friend, park on campus, and put the prayer box in front of the cafeteria before walking downtown to do work at a local coffee shop.

For the most part, this system has worked out really well. Since I've been doing proxe stations outside, I haven't had a ton of time to see folk in the caf. Still, every week I go collect the prayer requests in the box and it's always full. Students put in the normal college stuff for prayer. Some students want God to bless their studies. Others need help with finances. Other still have family who are sick or are in tough relationships. It's always a joy to see a box full of prayer requests and to be able to pray for the campus in more specific ways during our bible study.

HOWEVER, there is one part of the prayer box that I really don't like... I wish folk would stop stealing my writing utensils.

Pens, pencils, or whatever, when I drop off the prayer box at 8 in the morning, I usually put out 3-4 writing utensils. The prayer box isn't big enough for 3 to 4 people to put prayer requests in at the same time. It's just, I know that folk are going to take the writing utensils so I have to put extras there.

Look, I get it. Students need stuff to write with. I'm sure that at least part of the time, it's just a matter of students forgetting to put back whatever they were using. I'm not mad at the students. I'm not going to hunt down anyone and make them return my pens. I just wish they didn't always get taken.

It may seem silly but I have a theory. I think that folk take my pens because they rationalize that there are other pens so folk can still write prayer requests. No one wants to be the guy or gal who keeps other folk from writing prayer requests, so I can always count on one pen being there.

So, here's my plan to test my theory. Next week, I'm going to put out 8 pens and see how many of them are left at the end of the day. The week after that, I'm going to put out only 1 pen and see if it gets taken or is left. If in either case, exactly 1 pen is left over, I know that my theory is right.

These are the things that I think about sometimes... =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Finding Ways to Keep Moving...

Hello, friends!

A while back, I got a fitness tracker that does all sorts of fancy stuff. It takes my heart rate, it tells me how far I've run. It counts steps and calories burned. It tells me to breathe and has a timer so I know when Ezra's done with his timeout. The feature that I find most interesting is that my fitness tracker makes sure that I get in at least 250 steps every hour from 8am to 8pm every day. Y'all know that I'm super competitive, so there's not quite as satisfying as knowing that I nailed all 12 hours and nothing quite as heartbreaking as seeing that I missed a few hours on any given day.

What does this have to do with ministry? Well, as I'm writing this, I'm sitting in a coffee shop. If I wasn't at a coffee shop, I'd be sitting at home typing. One of the things I've noticed about this job is that as I've gotten higher and higher up in InterVarsity and my job descriptions have changed from doing mostly field work to doing more supervision and development, I don't move as much as I used to move.

Back when I was planting ACF, I could easily walk miles upon miles in any given day without even thinking about it. I'd bike to campus then have one meeting with a student in the Student Center before meeting another student at Memorial Union. I might decide to take some students on a prayer walk around campus then walk back to my bike so I could get home in time to get ready for that evening's activities. When evening came, especially for Large Group, I would spend the entire night on my feet, checking in on student leaders, connecting with students, and generally staying busy. I didn't have my fitness tracker back then but I'll bet that it would have been working pretty hard.

Now? More days than not are spent in front of a computer. There are emails to write. There are video meetings to be had. There are trainings to be planned. It's all good and important work. It's also much more sentient.

So, I've had to find ways to keep moving. I have a timer that goes off every 25 minutes so I can take a 5 minute walk. I make it a point to set up as many phone conversations as possible so I can walk back and forth while I'm in a meeting. With one of my supervisees, I make it a point for all of our meetings to have at least some element of walking and talking. The little things add up.

I'm going to say that the results have been positive. Knowing that I have 25 minutes to do something before I "have" to go take a walk and break my concentration keeps me working hard. I haven't exactly shed a bunch of pounds but I'm also not putting on a ton of weight. My legs are a little tired at the end of the day but at least I'm active. The next step? Treadmill desk. =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Riding Solo and riding stronger...

Hello, friends!

If there are ever any questions about who is stronger between Meg and me, let these past few days next few days be a reminder that Meg is definitely the stronger of the two of us.

Our story begins last week when Ezra came home with a stomach bug. We aren't sure where he caught it but our guess is that it's from daycare. Well, since our boy Ezra is great at sharing, he decided that he wanted to share his newfound illness with his family! First, he gave it to his sister. Then, they shared it together with Meg. Finally, I was the last on the list to get this generous gift. All you have to do is look at how Meg and handled our illnesses. What does Meg do while she's sick? The same things she always does. She cooked delicious meals. She hung out with the kids. She did some cleaning and generally made sure that our house didn't fall apart. Of course, I wasn't a completely negligent parent/husband so I was there too, helping out, and especially changing all the poop diapers when the smell got to strong. The important thing to note is that Meg's taking care of us didn't change at all. She still even managed to meet with folk and get some work done.

Now, and Tuesday, when I was sick, that's a different story entirely. What did I do? I slept. I got up for a little bit to change a diaper and play with the kids but for the most part, I slept. Why? Because I was sick and I'm not as strong as my wife. =0). Me being sick meant her parenting solo for the most part. Her being sick? That was business as usual.

Fast forward to these next few days. This weekend, I'll be heading to Baltimore to visit a campus I'm coaching and attend a wedding of a roommate from college (congrats, Vic!). Meg will be riding solo from Friday evening through Monday morning. That means 3 bedtimes, at least 2 baths for Ezra, more than a handful of meals, a trip to church, and at least 2 naps. What's going to change because I'm not around? Nothing. Because my wife is super strong and a total boss.

HOWEVER, today, Meg and Thaliea are in Lawrence, KS doing a staff visit. That means that Ezra and I are riding solo for the evening. He took a bath last night and he's been at daycare all day today so pretty much my job riding solo requires me picking him up from daycare, feeding him, and getting him ready for bed. Do you know what's going to change from the normal routine? Allow me to illustrate...

This is not a home cooked meal. This is not at our house. This is not part of the normal routine. Why? Because I am weak, or at least weaker than my wife.

Mind you, I know that I'm totally falling into a stereotype about fathers vs. mothers. I'm well aware that not every dad is like this. I also am capable of cooking for, cleaning up after, and generally keeping my son and daughter alive and well. It's just so much easier to do it this way... because I'm weak.

So, if you have a moment, please be praying for my family this weekend. I'll be away so please pray an extra dose of strength for my extra strong wife. Pray that the kids will eat well, nap well, and not miss their Daddy too much.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

29 Lives Changed...

Hello, friends!

We are back from Fall Conference and International Fall Retreat! To say that we Jesus was there would be an understatement for sure. Between the two conferences, we say 27 students recommit their lives to Jesus and 2 students make first time decisions! Praise the LORD!

This was a different conference/retreat for Meg and me in a number of ways. First of all, this was the first time in a while that we were staffing two different conferences simultaneously. The past few years, we've found that our international students needed something a little bit different than what a traditional Fall Conference could offer. This year, Meg and our other ISM focused staff put together the Fall Retreat, which looked like tons of fun. The meal times and rec times were the same but our content and structure were very different. I'd say it was a smashing success!

Another big difference this year was for me. The past 3 years I served as the Fall Conference director. My job was to do a little bit of everything. I worked with my team to make sure that we had seminars, free time, hospitality, worship, and the speaker all set up and ready to go. I led the staff meetings, checked in on registration, and made sure that all of our logistics were set. This year, I led a seminar... and that was all. I also checked in on my Lincoln students and took care of some family stuff (more on that in a second) but overall, it was a pretty chill weekend. I'm not sure which one I like better, being in the thick of everything vs. having a slower pace, but it definitely was different.

One last big difference was having Thaliea with us. Ezra stayed at my aunt's place over the weekend but Thaliea came with us. She was SUPER popular (because, of course!) and it felt like Meg and I did a good job of coordinating our schedules such that we could both be fully present while also making sure we were watching her. Thaliea and I went on a number of walks around the camp ground and had more than our fair share of smile contests. I changed diapers and rocked her to sleep. It was pretty great.

So, with another Fall Conference in the books, it's time for the rest of the semester. Praise Jesus for the lives that were changed this weekend. Would you please pray with us that we will be able to follow up well with those students who made decisions, and that God will continue to work in their lives moving forward.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

More Fall Conference and Fall Retreat Prayers Needed!

Hello, friends!

As you’re reading this, Megan and I are getting ready for Fall Conference and Fall Retreat! Every year, InterVarsity students from all over Missouri gather together for a time of fun, community, and hopefully finding Jesus. This year, international students will have a special track dedicated especially to them, which is exciting for us (especially Megan). =0).

Friends, we need your prayers, now more than ever. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Fall Conference during my 10+ years on staff (and 4 years as a student), it’s that the Holy Spirit moves in really powerful ways during our time together but the Enemy does his best to make moves as well. I have seen students meet Jesus in a really powerful way at Fall Conference. I’ve also seen all sorts of crazy things happen that keep students from being fully engaged, from car problems, to illness, to spiritual oppression. We need as many people as possible interceding on our behalf, praying protection over the students (and staff) and asking the Spirit to move in really powerful ways.

Below is a link where you can sign up to pray for Fall Conference and Fall Retreat for an hour over the course of the weekend. My hope is that we’ll be able to have every spot filled and that the entire conference will be coated in prayer. If you have an hour to spare this weekend, would you please consider signing up for a spot?

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Sign up here to pray for us! 

Praying for Fall Conference and Fall Retreat...

Hello, friends!

Thank you so much for your partnership on our prayer intercessor teams for past conferences. It really makes so much of a difference for the students and for us as staff when you pray with us. We appreciate the insights that God gives you as you listen on our behalf - it helps us get fresh perspective and confirmation as to how God is at work.

Would you be willing to partner again with us this Sept. 29th to Oct. 1? We have an international fall retreat and a fall conference running simultaneously for students in Missouri, and we are praying for 25% of the students who come to be non-believers. We know that there will be much resistance from the Enemy, and are looking for a team of prayer partners who can commit to praying through at least one of the hours that we will be at the camp. Would you consider joining with us again? If so, you can enter your information here.

Feel free to invite anyone else you know who might also be interested in praying with us!

Also, if you'd like to gift a scholarship to a student to help pay for the costs of attending either of these great conferences, you can use this link here.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

The joys of not having to work...

Hello, friends!

I like to tell the staff I supervise that one of the really unique parts of our job is that we are actively trying to make ourselves obsolete. If we've done our jobs correctly, students are the ones taking ownership of the chapter and we serve more as support staff than the leaders of everything. In reality, this is much easier said than done but every now and then we get little glimpses of how that could actually look.

Hey Day is Columbia College's student activity fair. For 90 minutes, most of Columbia College's 850 residential students walk through the gym while literally dozens of organizations, student groups, banks, etc. give away free gear and try to drum up interest. With free food, music playing, and constant movement, it is beautiful chaos.

Columbia College's InterVarsity chapter is currently in "replant" mode, which means we are working on reestablishing ourselves as a student org and getting some structure going. We currently have 2 students actively involved so I figured that Hey Day would be a great way for us to reintroduce ourselves to the campus. However, with only 2 students, one of whom is a Freshman I just met a few weeks ago, I figured that I'd be doing most of the heavy lifting for Hey Day.

There's nothing quite as satisfying as being proved wrong for the kingdom. =0).

When I got there, I was the first one of our crew there and I didn't know if/when our students would arrive. Meg said she had a free hour and I figured it couldn't hurt to have a second person to table with me, especially someone who is a great gatherer like Megan. But, before she got there, our students showed up and then they got to work.

Friends, it was so much fun seeing these two students greeting their classmates, casting vision for InterVarsity, inviting them to our bible study, and getting contact information. They were absolutely crushing it. In fact, they were doing such a good job that by the time Meg arrived, she saw that everything was under control and left right away because she saw she wasn't needed. I actually got a little bored because before I could even say hi to any students, these two had already greeted them, invited them over to the table, and started talking. I'm never going to complain about that kind of boredom.

As you're reading this, we will have finished up our first CCIV bible study of the year. I don't know how many of the 25+ students we met will be there but I'm excited nonetheless to know that whoever comes will have come because of a student invitation.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Wayback Wednesday...

Hello, friends!

This is my 11th year with InterVarsity. During that time I've held a number of different roles and positions. My current role is Associate Area Director for Missouri and I'm also the Director of the Asian American Ministries Pilot Project. What that means is that I spend more of my time supervising staff than I do hanging out with students. Still, I'm not totally out of the game because I'm planting chapters and Lincoln University and Columbia College, as well as staffing the Nurses Christian Fellowship chapter at Mizzou. What this means is that on occasion, you get really long days like the one I had yesterday. Let's break it down, shall we?

6am - Get up to get ready for the day. This included a morning run for reasons that will become apparent later.
7:15am - Load up the car for the day.
7:30am - Meet with one of the staff I supervise to help her prep for a sermon she's preaching at her church on Sunday.
9am - Head to the local brewery to pick up the ROOT BEER keg for an event we're going to have on campus at Lincoln. (Gotta run in the morning to eat ice cream in the afternoon!)
9:30am - Go to the grocery story to get the dry ice and ice cream for the Lincoln event.
9:45am - Drive to Lincoln in Jefferson City, about 30 miles south of CoMO.
10:15am - Stop at a gas station to get a bag of ice because I forgot I need to keep the keg cold.
10:30am - Set up shop on campus, getting ready to give away root beer floats and do Gospel presentations,
10:50am - The first wave of students come and we start giving away floats and the Gospel.
12:30pm - We see the Lincoln kitchen staff start to set up by our spot because apparently there's a pep rally for Lincoln's first night game on Saturday.
1:15pm - We decide to pack up an hour early so as to not interfere with the pep rally.
2:00pm - I grab some lunch before bible study at 3.
2:50pm - I get stuck in traffic on my way back to campus.
3:15pm - I get to our bible study space and no one is there... whoops.
3:45pm - Pick up a few things for Megan and go to the grocery store to get more ice cream since we still have half a keg left.
5pm - Go home to see my wife and kids.
6pm - Pack up the car to deliver food that Meg cooked, as well as the keg and ice cream to ACF's first large group. I'll be staying to help out our intern who runs ACF.
6:45pm - Realize I forgot the projector and head home to grab it.
9pm - Large Group ends and cleanup begins.
9:30pm - Head to the local brewery to drop off the (now empty) keg.
10:00pm - Head to the grocery story (open 24 hours!) to return the unopened ice cream we didn't use.
10:30pm - Head home and get ready for bed.

Friends, I haven't thrown down a day like that in years. Literally, years. One the one hand, it was absolutely exhausting. On the other hand, it was fun to see that I've still got a few gallons left in the tank. I certainly won't be expecting to this every week but it was nice to know I still could. Sometimes the good LORD smiles on you and gives you an extra dose of energy. Thanks, Jesus.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Empowering Students...

Hello, friends!

Below are two photos. See if you can spot something significant:

Did you see students at Lincoln University engaging with the Gospel? That's significant, but not what I was going for.

Do you see lots of great conversations happening around how Jesus gives us hope in the midst of a broken world? Again, that's there too, but not what I'm after.

Do you see Black and White students being challenged to think about how to be bringers of justice, peace, and healing on their campus? That's definitely in there... but not quite what I want you to see.

I suppose, I should give you a hint. What do you NOT see? Or rather, WHO do you not see? If you answered, "Adam," you're absolutely right!

There's something beautiful about being able to take a photo of students doing evangelism because there are enough students doing evangelism that every student who comes by is covered. Think about that.

InterVarsity's vision is to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed. I have a hard time believe that anything could better depict that vision than seeing students publicly telling their friends about Jesus on campus. I've been doing Proxe stations on the campus for Lincoln for about 2 years now. Usually, it's just me and a local pastor friend at it, week after week. I've had a number of great conversations, led some folk to Jesus, and generally been received positively on campus. Still, there's something so beautiful about NOT having to be the one to carry the burden, but to see students taking the lead.

Friends, this is why we do what we do. This is it right here. We want InterVarsity students to follow Jesus into mission on campus. We want them to be willing to be bold about their faith. We want them to be willing to take risks and to put themselves out there because the Gospel is worth it. The photos above are why we do what we do. Here's to a great semester of more.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Being a Mom in Ministry

Hello, friends!

Before we get to our special guest blogger, I wanted to make a note about the events of Charlottesville this past weekend.

White Supremacy, racism, and hate based on ethnicity suck. They suck hard. As a Christian, I cannot condemn the actions of those who were a part of the Unite the Right rally strongly enough. Their ideology is not of Jesus. It is of the devil and we as the Church need to make sure that we are actively fighting against these ideologies in our communities and even within our own walls. Through God's grace, I believe we can do it but it starts with a recognition that White Supremacy embeds itself in very subtle ways in society. We need to repent if we want to begin healing.

Now, on to the good stuff. My dear wife, Megan, asked if she could write a blog post about being a mom in ministry. Below are some of her thoughts. Enjoy!

Before I had Ezra, I never would have imagined that I would start working part-time. It was much to my surprise that after a few months back to work, I knew that I desired more time with Ezra. This was conflicting though because I love what I do for work! It was then that I began to think more about what it means to have a dual calling - to be a Mom and to be in ministry. Now after having my second child and coming off of maternity leave, I begin to ponder anew what this whole dual calling means.

I started thinking of this again as the end of my 12 week maternity leave drew near a little over two weeks ago.  I began to feel sad about going back to work and needed the Lord to speak to me. He said "It's ok to feel sad because I have called you to be a Mom. But, I have also called you to this ministry." In the past week and a half I have had to remind myself of this over and over again.

Here are some thoughts that have come to me as I begin to navigate again, being a Mom in ministry with two kids.

I have limits....
Who knew, right?!? There is just not enough of me to go around! Before kids I still had limits, but didn't acknowledge them or give space for them. I would put in 60 hours without blinking an eye. I now need to say no to things, not just for my own sanity, but for the wellbeing of my family. That is hard because ministry involves people. Saying no to people is hard and often misunderstood as not caring about them anymore.

I am not perfect....
As much as I want to be, I am not perfect. Often I feel like I am not giving enough to my kids, husband, students and staff. This is hard for me because I love serving God through ministering to staff and students and I love serving God through being with my family. I have made a lot of mistakes as I have navigated this season. As much as I can, I have tried to involve family in ministry. Students love it, and Ezra does too. But at the same time, it isn't always best for the conversation for me to be distracted by a very active toddler. Another area where I have failed a lot in the past two years is consistently connecting with Jesus. Early on with Ezra I knew things would have to change in my rhythm of connecting with the Lord. I used to spend an hour in the morning praying and reading scripture. That wasn't working with a baby so I had to learn how to connect with the Lord throughout the day when able. Some days I go the day without actively doing this. Other days I notice the Lord's presence in my interactions with the kids. These days especially with a toddler. He throws tantrums sometimes for not getting his way... how often do I do that with God? Those sorts of thing have helped me relate to God in a different way as a parent.

I need people....
I was on maternity leave with Ezra during the Fall which is our biggest season of outreach on campus. This was extremely difficult for me to trust God and others to grow the ministry on campus. It was a total faith builder for me to see that the Lord was at work in powerful ways WITHOUT me being present! That year we saw an increase of leadership in students.

In summary... God has no limits, He is perfect, He never fails. Being a Mom in ministry points me to my utter need and dependence upon God to move and draw both those that I serve as well as my family to himself.  I am grateful that I can include my kids in a lot of the ministry. They get to grow up with people from around the world and see us as we share God's love with others. What a gift!

Have an excellent day!

~Adam (and Megan)

Three Years Ago...

Hello, friends!

I remember it like it was yesterday. Megan and I were just about to go to bed and she was checking the news on her phone like she used to do. I was reading up on the Cardinals (they had lost to the Orioles 10-3 that day) when she turned to me and said, "There was a shooting in St. Louis."

My first reaction was, "OK. Those happen all the time," but before I could say a word, she continued. "It looks like there are protests." In an instant, everything was different.

A lot has happened, a lot has changed, and a lot has stayed the same since August 9, 2014, when Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson and his body was left on the street for 4.5 hours. The #BlackLivesMatter movement began with the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin but for me, it really started with Ferguson. During the protests, Police used the parking lot of the Target just a mile up the street from Meg and my first apartment as a staging ground. I lived in St. Louis. I love St. Louis. St. Louis was my first home away from home.

When Ferguson went down, a lot of things happened for me. I got in a lot of arguments, face to face, through email, and via social media, about things like systemic racism, White privilege, and social justice. I've made a whole host of mistakes and hurt a lot of people very close to me. I've had to repent many times for things that I learned later were culturally insensitive. I've been hurt and had to extend forgiveness. People have questioned my leadership, my commitment to the Gospel, and threatened to pull their support for the work that I do with InterVarsity.

But it hasn't been bad. I've also had amazing conversations with amazing people who have opened my eyes to a lot of things. I've developed my ethnic identity in an intentional way that I hadn't done before. I went to my first protest. I was able to minister to Black Students at Mizzou in a real tangible way. I've deepened my friendship with some folk in beautiful ways. I've seen changes around me too, in people, in structures, and in systems. I've been blessed to be able to help in implementing some of those changes. It's been a hard, beautiful thing.

One of the questions that I've been asked a lot in the past 3 years as I've gotten more and more involved in issues of race and justice is, "what does this have to do with the work I'm doing on campus?" The answer is that it has everything to do with the work that I'm doing on campus. Black students needs to know that Jesus sees them, even in the midst of injustice and pain. Asian and LatinX students need to know that Jesus is calling them to fight for justice and that this isn't a "black and white" issue. White students need to know that God created them with a culture, an ethnicity, and have put them in a place of privilege and power in the US at this time to affect real change in the world. International Students need to know that the same Jesus who can heal brokenness in the US can also heal brokenness in their home countries.

Things are progressing, I really believe that, but the work is not finished. The deaths of Sandra Bland, Freddy Gray, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, and other unarmed Black men and women since Ferguson are to be mourned and remembered. Unintentionally or not, many systems of power put in place in the US are disproportionately harming people of color. There are still conversations to be had. There are still changes to be made. There is still work to be done.

So, I'm going to keep at it. Whether it be for the next 3 years, the next 30 years, or until the day I breathe my last, I will continue to follow Jesus into the hard conversations, the mourning of lost life, and the empowerment of students. I've learned so much from men and women like Howie Meloch, Michelle Higgins, Jon Nelson, Chioma Chukwu, and my dear wife, Megan. I'll continue to learn from them and others, to repent, and to forgive. I'll continue to pursue the Gospel and continue to believe that social justice and racial reconciliation and integral parts and fruit of that pursuit. I will continue to pray and I will continue to engage. Won't you join me?

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Summer Biking...

Hello, friends!

When Meg and I got married, there were a number of changes to both of our lives. For me, gone were the days of bachelor life. I started eating better, the house had a sense of style, and I was going to bed earlier. For the most part, I'd say every change in my life because of Megan has been a positive one.

One change that has been a little harder to adjust to is that I'm biking less. Well, maybe that's not true. It's that I'm biking in fewer environments. When I was young(er), single, and generally without responsibilities, I'd bike whenever I wanted to get around. It didn't matter if it was dark, raining, or even snowing; I would just change my speed and my route, and be on my way. However, Megan would rather I not be a reckless knucklehead and leave Ezra and Thaliea without a father, so I've stopped biking in the wet and in the dark.

Don't get me wrong, these are definitely intelligent changes and all said and done, I know they're the right call. What I've noticed though is that in the almost 5 years that we've been married (and the 2+ years that we've been parents), I've adopted the mentality that if it's dry, I'm biking. For the most part, during the summer, it's pretty dry. It's also RIDICULOUSLY hot...

As someone who does commuter biking (that is, biking to get places, not just for pleasure), there are certain supplies that I always make sure I have. I'll always have my helmet, my quick tire change kid, my keys to lock up my bike, and my water because no matter the weather, hydration is a good idea. However, during SUMMER biking, we add a change of clothes and a pack of baby wipes to the list of essentials. There's nothing quite like biking around town all day going from meeting to meeting, then showing up to your last meeting looking like you just got out of the pool. However, a quick shirt change, a quick face wash with a baby wipe, and a few deep breaths, and no one is the wiser. Well, who am I kidding, they probably know. =0).

Is there a moral to this story? Almost certainly not. It was more just an observation that I'm much more willing to bike in the heat now than in my youth because I want to take every opportunity I can to hit the road. Who knows when it'll get wet or dark.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Wedding Time!!!

Hello, friends!

It's about a week after the fact, and I would have posted this last week had it not been Ezra's Birthday, but congrats to my brother Phuzz and his new bride Ann as they got married last week! This was actually the first wedding since my own where I was a part of the bridal party and a LOT has changed since then. Here are a few thoughts in multimedia form...

Being Best Man is hard work! It's one thing to attend a wedding. It's another thing to be a part of the wedding as a scripture reader or something like that. Even being a groomsmen is it's own beast. This was my first (and probably only) time being a best man and it was tough! There was the bachelor party to plan (good times had by all). There was the best man speech to write (not bad, overall). There was making sure I don't lose the rings and hand them over at the right time (nailed it). Making things especially tough on the bachelor party front was the fact that I was in Missouri while everything would be happening in California. All in all though, it was a ton of fun and I was glad to do something for my brother.


Family runs deep! To the right is a photo of my sibs and me with our new sister/wife Ann. She's great and I'm super excited for her to be a part of the family. It's a pretty big family too. Family took up about 1/2 of the groom's side during the ceremony, which was pretty funny to see from the front. It was even funnier when you consider some of the loud personalities that are a part of my family. I've been doing reunions like this for what seems like my entire life. Either it's a wedding, a funeral, or a significant birthday. Either way, I know that when you get the various factions of the Ling family (My grandmother's maiden name) and throw in a few Lo's (Mama's maiden name), you're going to have a pretty loud and fun time.

Family weddings are getting harder! I don't mean this in a personal or relational sense. I mean it purely logistically. You know what you aren't seeing here? You aren't seeing a photo of Meg, Ezra, Thaliea, and me. Do you know why? Because I'm not sure we took one? Why not? Because there was no time to do it. Between me running around doing Best Man stuff, Ezra running around like a crazy person (or a 2 year old), Thaliea needing to eat pretty often, and Meg trying to keep track of everyone (what an all-star!), frivolous things like family photos were low on the priority list. =0). Thankfully, family was a huge help. Multiple cousins were there to keep Ezra from running into traffic. Countless aunts and uncles were ready to hold Thaliea during the reception. It was a family affair for sure.


My son my actually be a dancing machine! According to the schedule, I wasn't actually supposed to give my Best Man speech until 8:30, which was about 30 minutes past Ezra's bedtime. I told Phuzz there's a chance I'd have to say my thing then jet right away to help put him to bed. At around 8:15, Meg and I decided that he was doing OK so we'd let Ezra stay up for the dance party. That was either the best or worst decision we made of the night. =0). As you can see from the video, the boy would not stop moving the entire dance party. He was clapping, jumping, spinning, and running the entire time. You can see me have to cut the video short because I have to chase him a bit. Needless to say,  he slept well that night.

So, congrats to my brother Phuzz, his new bride Ann, and to the Leong family for a new addition. My little sister is officially on the clock... =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Happy Birthday, Ezra!

Hello, friends!

Greetings from beautiful Southern California! I'm here with the fam not just because my brother got married on Sunday (congrats, Phuzz!) but also because we wanted to celebrate Ezra's birthday in California with lots of family. =0).

We had us a mighty fine Elmo themed party for him yesterday and he really enjoyed playing with the water balloons. As my gift, here's the birthday song I wrote for him. =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

What a Year of Firsts!!!

Hello, friends!

InterVarsity's year runs from July 1 to June 30, meaning that by the time you read this, it will officially be the 2017-2018 school year!

Sorry for the late update but I wanted to post our year end letter. It was a great year of new things this year and God was definitely good.

Have an excellent day!

~The Leongs

So long, dear friend...

Hello, friends!

In the summer of 2014, Megan and I led a group of students to Cambodia for a Global Project with InterVarsity. We took 7 students with us for a month long trip, spending most of our time in Phnom Penh. Our mission was simple: offer as much help as we could to SONOKO, the growing IFES movement that had only just been planted just a few years prior. We went and our lives were changed forever.

My official role on the team was to take care of the finances and make sure that we were following all of the risk management rules as a team so no one got into any serious trouble. My unofficial role was to encourage Chamroeun, the soon to be lead staff, as he ventured forward into leadership. I spent as much time as I could with Chamroeun, encouraging him to take risks and congratulating him on risks well taken. Even though it was a short trip, the growth I saw in him was exponential.

Here's one of my favorite stories: On one of our first days on one of the campuses, the National University of Management (NUM), we knew that we needed permission from the administration to be on campus since we weren't students or staff. On some campuses, no one is allowed who isn't affiliated with the university. We wanted to make sure that we were doing things in a way that respected and honored the university. Chamroeun says, "wait right here," and walks right into the administrative building. He comes out 2 minutes later and says, "OK, let's do it." That began 2 weeks of English Club at NUM, where we met over 100 students and the staff team made a number of connections.

During one of our breaks on that first day, I was talking with Chamroeun and he said, "you know, I've never done that before." I said, "Done what?" He said that he'd never asked an administrator for permission to be on campus before. He was scared but he knew he had to lead so he did it. I was so proud of him.

That's the thing about Chamroeun. He was always willing to take risks for the kingdom. He was always smiling. I mean ALWAYS. Meg and I used to joke that the SONOKO staff application must be just to smile for the camera because every one of the staff had such a great smile. Chamroeun's may have been the best of them all. He was so full of joy and so willing to take risks. He was an understated leader but a leader nonetheless. In my month with him, he never yelled or really raised his voice but he led with a quiet dignity that was unmistakable. He was a constant learner and he was a great friend.

A few days ago, Chamroeun was with his brother and another staff when he slipped on the rocks, fell into a waterfall, and didn't come up until hours later. He wasn't quite 30 yet.

You don't prepare yourself for something like that. There's no way to hear that kind of news. My mind immediately swirled with question after question: How is the team doing? What does this mean for the ministry? How are his girlfriend and his brother doing? How about Steph, our coworker who had been training him for all these years? How can I help from here? Why did this happen? In the end, all I can do is cry out to God and lament.

Chamroeun, you will be missed. You will be missed as a leader of students and staff. You will be missed as a brother, both spiritually and biologically. You will be missed as a friend.

~Adam

Rest in peace Chamroeun (Center, to the right of Meg)

The 2020 Summit in Photos...

Hello, friends!

My apologies for not posting anything last week. I was actually out of town. Ironically enough, WHY I was out of town is the exact reason for this post!

Where was I? I was in beautiful Salt Lake City for staff meetings. At the behest of my wife, I actually took photos this time, so I thought it would be fun for me to tell you about my trip in photo instead of just word. Here we go!

This is the Regional Leadership Team. The first part of my trip was meeting with these fine folk to set the direction for our Region (IV work in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) for this next season. Many of these folk have been mentors to me during various parts of my staff career and all of them are great friends. It was a pleasure to study the word with them, to pray with them, to connect with them, and to have fun with them as we visioned for how to best lead our staff and our students toward Jesus

The other reason I was there was to celebrate with our entire staff team, including a few students, the completion of our Regional 2020 vision and to begin the process of discerning our 2025 vision. In 2008, we launched our 2020 vision, hoping to see 500 missional small groups, 50 chapters, and 1 overseas student movement established. By God's grace, we finished 3 years early! During this time, we celebrated our outgoing Regional Director (standing), welcomed in our new Regional Director, celebrated what God has done, and started looking at what God may be calling us into for this next season. It was a beautiful time of seeing staff, students, volunteers, and faculty in our Region come together with a single purpose.

Of course, there was also great fun to be had. Did you know there are In-N-Out's in Salt Lake City?!?! It blew... my... mind... There were 40 or so of us together so we were actually staying in a mansion on a hill just outside of Salt Lake City. Behind our hill were two more hills. The taller of the two had a flag (really a rugby jersey attached to a PVC pipe) on top of it. One morning, I trekked up the hill with our Associate Regional Director (and supervisor many times over) to the flag. It was a great hike and even better conversation as we talked about ministry and life in the midst of transition. There were other great conversations had throughout the week too. It is always a joy to connect with fellow staff. We've been in the trenches together. We get it. I'm now one of the "old staff" but so long as there are fellow old staff with me, we'll be OK.

This is one of the flowers I saw on my hike up to the flag. I took the photo because the flower was a really great shade of purple (although you can't really see it in the photo) and that reminded me of Meg, who was not in Salt Lake City. Meg is still on maternity leave so she was given a choice as to whether or not to attend. With Thaliea being only a month old and Ezra having swim lessons and such, as well as being a little boy who never stops, we thought it would be better for all parties concerned for me to go solo. Meg was a total trooper and handled being a single parent with great skill. It was hard missing my family for that many days. Staying fully present and in the moment was easy enough when we were doing business but during the down times, I definitely missed them. I'm glad to be back.

Finally, if you squint really hard, you can see a Bison. That's not just any bison. That's a Wyoming bison! One of my life long goals is to drive in all 50 states. When I heard we were going to Salt Lake City, I got really excited, not only because of the Summit but because I could potentially knock 3 more states off my list! Wyoming and Idaho are both roughly 90 miles from Salt Lake City. The plan was to use the free time on one of the days to do a loop and hopefully knock some more states off my list. We were actually too far south to get both Idaho and Wyoming so I decided to Wyoming would be it. 2 other staff joined me and we made the trip to Bear River State Park in Evanston, WY, just across the border. There, we saw a bison, took a selfie, and made the trip back, just in time for the next session to start.

All said and done, it was a great trip. I loved the visioning. I loved the community. I loved the adventures. I'm not sure what the next vision will hold for the Central Region. Only God knows where we'll be or what we'll be doing in 2025. What I can say is that this Summit was a great reminder of why I love my job so much.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Onward to a Summer of MPD!

Hello, friends!

It's been a while since I've posted, mostly because I've been hanging out with my awesome new daughter. Here's a photo in case you wanted to see one (or even if you didn't... I can't help myself!)

Being a dad of two is great. The hardest part has been going back to work... which is where I was these past few days.

Y'all know me. You know that one of my favorite things to do in staff life is "Ministry Partnership Development" aka, fundraising. There's something beautiful to me about casting vision for people and giving them the opportunity to join in on the work that God is doing on college campuses. Over the years, I've developed myself into an MPD trainer of sorts and a few days ago I had the pleasure of leading our Regional Staff team (staff from Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas) in some training. It was hard being away from the family but thankfully Meg's parents are in town and it was a short training so I got to put Ezra to bed last night. =0).

Oftentimes, people like to ask me what work I do during the summer or if I get the "summers off." Any teacher will tell you that just because students aren't in session, that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. There are preparations to be made, plans to be hatched, and MPD is a big part of the summer for most staff. This training was designed for us to come together as a Region and "jump start" our summer MPD. It was a joy to lead these co-laborers as we dreamed together, learned together, and worked together.

The InterVarsity fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, meaning we are right in the thick of our final MPD push for the year. Our goal every year is to finish "in the black" meaning our donations match our expenses. I've been blessed to say that every year that I've been on staff, I've finished "in the black." This year it's looking like our entire Mid-MO team will be finishing "in the black" too. Praise Jesus!

Still, the finances aren't the only reason that I want everyone to give. It's about the partnership. It's about being a part of what God is doing on college campuses across the United States. It's about saying, "I believe in the work that's being done and I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is."

Friends, below are two links to giving. The first one is a link to Meg and my account. Any donations here will go towards making sure that students in Mid-Missouri have a chance to hear the Gospel. If you're someone who believes in that mission and wants to see it go, I'd ask you to prayerfully consider clicking that link and making a year end donation.

But, there's a second link. This is for folk who say, "you know what, the vision is fine, it's great, but I just want to help folk. You said you're good on cash this year so who can I help?" If that's you'd I would ask you to prayerfully consider giving to my brothers and sisters in the Nebraska Area. They have a goal of raising $50,000 this month. I believe that they can do it, and I'd to invite you to join me in making it happen.

Partner with Mid-MO

Partner with Nebraska

Have an excellent day!

Penny Peddling... The Next Generation!

Hello, friends!

If you are new to this blog, you may not know that back in the day, I had another blog to go alongside this one, called Penny Peddling. I had purchased a bike and wanted to see how long it would take me to "make back" the money I spent on it via not having to pay for gas or parking. A few years, a few stolen bikes, and one kid later, I did eventually end up "in the black" but decided to retire that blog for the sake of time. I still ride and it's still awesome, I just don't write about it.

Honestly, I have no intention of starting the blog up again but what IS really exciting to me is that earlier this week, as part of a father-son outing, Ezra and I got matching bike helmets. Here's the photo.

Don't we look great?! In the summer of 2015, Ezra was first born, so of course I wasn't going to take him riding with me yet. In 2016, he wasn't quite one yet, so his neck control wasn't the greatest. He was still crawling and could just barely take a step or two.

THIS year though, Ezra is as rough and tumble as they come. He's nearly 2 and can run and jump with the best of them (so long as jumping doesn't require having both feet leave the ground at the same time). With Baby #2 on the way, I figured it'd be a good idea to get him a helmet so we can go riding when Meg needs a break. I'll be doing the heavy lifting (or pedaling) and he'll be riding in the trailer. 

We bought the helmets (it was his choice to have the yellow ones) and on Monday he went for his first trailer ride. I was concentrating on the road but Meg said that he had a mesmerized look on his face. He was definitely a fan.

My hope is that Ezra will become as big of a fan of biking as I am. I love the efficiency of the bicycle and the feeling of the wind on my face as I'm riding. I love being able to travel where cars can't tread. I love not having to pay for parking downtown. Here's hoping that Ezra and I can enjoy some of those joys together. 

So, if you're around CoMO this summer and you see a father and son in matching bike helmets, there's a good chance that it's Ezra and me. Make sure to wave... and give us plenty of space. =0). 

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Final Preparations!!!

Hello, friends!

Any day now, Meg and I will welcome our second child into the world. Meg's due date isn't until Star Wars Day (May 4) but we have a feeling our daughter will be coming early. Because of that, we are in full on nesting mode, trying to get everything ready before she arrives and everything gets all sorts of crazy.

Honestly, I needed until the turn of the calendar to April before it really felt like this birth thing was going to happen. When Meg was pregnant with Ezra, someone told me that women feel like mothers as soon as they find out they are pregnant. Men, on the other hand, don't feel like fathers until they actually see and hold their babies. I know that was mostly true with Ezra. I knew in my head that I was a father before he was born but it didn't really hit me until after he was actually out and in my arms. Because of this phenomenon, I'm a little late to the nesting game. Meg has been preparing for months; I'm not getting around to my part. It's led to a few reflections.

Like I've said in a previous post, Meg and I definitely nest differently. When she came up with the list of things that need to be done before our daughter is born, I didn't understand why a lot of the things were on the list. Once explained, they made a lot of sense though. In my mind, I said, "we have enough money to pay for the birth, the bills are paid so we won't have to worry about having the utilities shut off, and we're going to be recycling the birth plan we used for Ezra. We have plenty of clothes and we'll be buying diapers soon. We're ready for this baby!" How very wrong I was. =0).

Can I also say that nesting for your second kid is WAY harder than nesting for your first? You'd think in some ways it was easier. You already have some sense of what you need to get and you already have a lot of it from the last kid. But there was one thing I hadn't taken into account... Ezra.

Understand, I love my little boy to death. I would do anything for him and spending time with him is always the highlight of my day. Still, that doesn't change the fact that he is exhausting and actually not all that helpful in terms of nesting and getting the house ready for the baby. Instead of just focusing on the tasks at hand, we also have to make sure that the little guy doesn't run into the street or jump off the couch. It makes for some interesting adventures in multi-tasking. There's some stuff we just can't do while he's awake, so we have less time to do stuff too. Of course, he's totally worth it, but it does make things harder.

So, friends, if you have a moment in these next two weeks, please be praying for us as we make these final preparations. We are working on relying on Jesus in the midst of these preparations, while also trying to get as much stuff done as we can. Also, if you live in CoMO and want to watch our kid (or clean our house!) for a few hours, we wouldn't automatically turn you down. =0).

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

The Ladder Theory...

Hello, friends!

I was on campus at Lincoln yesterday, eating with a pastor friend of mine and some students. One of the female students was talking about how there was a guy who was interested in her but she wasn't interested in him. The pastor asked, "did you tell him that you're not interested?" Her reply was, "I told him that being friends is really great." He turned to me and say, "you should tell her about Ladder Theory." From there, I proceeded to share with the students Ladder Theory and subsequently blew their minds. The women at the table looked at me like I had just unlocked the mysteries of the universe. The men at the time shook their heads in kind of sad understanding. It was a pretty beautiful thing.

OK, what is Ladder Theory? I'm glad you asked! In a nutshell, Ladder Theory is a helpful analogy I like to use to show that men and women think about the opposite sex differently from one another. I don't remember if I developed it in high school or college. I don't remember if it was told to me or if I came up with it on my own. If someone knows the answers to these mysteries, please let me know. What I do know is that ladder theory has helped me explain to many a student that men and women are very different creatures when it comes to relationships. Let's dive a little deeper, shall we?

Women have 2 internal ladders when it comes to men (note: I am using hetero-sexual men and women in my explanation for the sake of simplicity). Ladder One is the friend ladder. On this ladder is every guy she knows who she would never consider dating or being in a relationship with. Men can move up and down the friend ladder based on their actions (or lack of action) but the woman will only see them as a better or worse friend. Ladder Two is the potential partner ladder. This is the ladder where she puts the men who could possibly be her partner. Again, men can move up or down this ladder based on their action or inaction but if you're on this ladder, there's always a chance. Women have the full power and authority to move a man from one ladder to the other ladder and to do that as many times as they please. It's their ladder. If a man tries to make the jump from Ladder One to Ladder Two, he falls into the Abyss, where his best case scenario is that he goes back down to the bottom of Ladder One. See Jason Chu's video "DTR" to see this in action.

Men have one ladder. It's the "yeah, I could see it happening" Ladder. Every woman they've ever met is on it.

Conflict and confusion arises because men and women don't know that they are operating with different ladder structures. Men don't know that there is a friend ladder. Women don't know that there isn't. Here's a common scenario: Gal is nice to guy. Guy sees this as evidence of attraction. Guy talks to all his guy friends who confirm this and encourage him to pursue a relationship. Guy goes for it. Gal is blindsided. Awkwardness ensues. Why does this happen? Ladder Theory.

There are a few caveats to make here. The first is that once a man gets married, he may be able to develop a friend ladder. I haven't worked out the mechanics of this quite yet but I do know that once Meg and I got married, the prospect or desire to be with anyone else went away and it won't be coming back ever. I should also note that it's just a theory and that I'm sure anecdotally we all know a guy or gal who has more or fewer ladders than the theory suggests. And, it should also be noted that this theory does not take into account members of the LGBTQ community. I could see some potential nuances and differences but I haven't explored them in great deal. Finally, this is just a fun theory of mine. I have no real scientific evidence to back this up. =0).

Either way, it was fun to share with students one of my crazy little theories. I've found it to be helpful for students. Feel free to take it as your own.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

More Workers for the Harvest

Hello, friends!

Last night, Mid-MO had its first ever Volunteer Recruitment event. Our staff team invited people that we know that love Jesus to partner with us by donating their time and expertise to joining us in the work that we're doing on campus. We had a student testimony, a panel discussion of current volunteers, and tons of great food. As I was reflecting on our whole process today, I had a few thoughts:

The Calendar Matters: We had a fundraising dinner last year and we put it in June, which was too late in the year because we had a lot of people travelling during that season. This year, we decided that if we were going to do something, it needed to be in April. Because of other calendar conflicts, we chose April 1, which happened to be Spring Break in CoMO, meaning a lot more people couldn't make it because of scheduling. We'll definitely have to be more aware of these things in the future.

The Team Matters: I was telling our team this before the event got started, how excited I was that I actually had no intimate knowledge of the fine details of the event besides my own small portion, and that I was totally excited by that. Everyone did a great job on the team and it was great to see us all working together. Even just a few years ago, an event like that would have probably meant me being in charge of every little aspect. Instead, everyone had a role, everyone did their job, and the night went on without a hitch.

The Vision Matters: My job was just to give a 10-15 minute overview of what InterVarsity is and then do the pitch for folk to consider volunteering with us. As I was putting together my piece, I was reminded of how much God has done already in Mid-MO and yet how much He is still planning on doing. I could have gone in a bunch of different directions for the talk; the hard sales pitch, the "we need you desperately" line, the "this is so much fun" train, or something else. Instead, I felt like God was saying to remember that He was the one doing all this, and to tell the people of His great works, inviting them into that process. We'll see how it worked.

If you're someone who is living in CoMO and are interested in maybe being a part of the work that we're doing, even if just for an hour a week, we'd love to talk to you! You can email me here and we can set up a time to connect.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Our volunteer staff panel! Hooray for volunteers!

Giving Away the Word...

Hello, friends!

One of my favorite things to do in ministry is to give away bibles. There's something really fun and spectacular about meeting a student who is interested in reading the Word but doesn't have the Word to read, then being able to fill that need for them. I know that there are tons of Bible reading apps and they are all great; I use one myself. Still, there's something really beautiful about having the Word in your hand and flipping the pages. It makes the reading experience that much more real.

Yesterday, at Lincoln, I was able to give away my Bible. I've been meeting with a student for the past few months, after she became a Christian at Lincoln. It's the Lent season and when we last spoke, she said that she wanted to spend the Lent season hanging out with Jesus more. I checked in with her to see how that was going and she said it was hard over Spring Break because of all the time with family. We then talked about how she connects with Jesus, she talked about how she liked to pray and that was her main form of connection. When I asked her about reading the Bible, she said that it was hard for her because the Bible she had was hard to understand. I'm not sure if she meant because it wasn't a good translation or because it's just a tough read but I asked her if she wanted a Bible. Then, I pulled out my trusty "giveaway" bible and showed her my quick guide on how to spend some time in the Word in just a few minutes.

When I say, "my Bible" what I really mean is my giveaway Bible. This isn't a Bible that I received as a gift for my baptism or that I've had since I was a kid. These are Bibles that I buy especially to giveaway. I always carry one with me when I'm on campus because you never know when the opportunity to arise.

I've learned that while you can't judge a book by its cover, the cover can still matter a lot when giving away Bibles. I like to give away Bibles that look nice, usually imitation leather and small. I have cases of those big paperback bibles that say HOLY BIBLE on the front and the words are the exact same but I've found that when the Bible looks good and is small enough to fit into a backpack, students are much more likely to carry it around and actually read it. I once had a student who, every time he saw me on campus, would come up to me and say, "guess what I have in my backpack." The answer, of course, was the Bible I gave him.

Reading the Word isn't hard to do but can be intimidating at times. When I'm teaching students how to just get into the habit of reading the Word, I teach them two quick methods: the 4 R's and the 3 Q's.

The 4 R's:
- Read: Pick a passage and read it. Using the subheadings found in your bible is a great way to start.
- Repeat: In your own words, summarize what you just read
- Reflect: Think about what questions you had or any thoughts and emotions that came up in you as your read
- Respond: In light of your reflection, how do you want to respond to what you just read?

The 3 Q's:
- What does this passage say about God?
- What does this passage say about me or humanity?
- What is one thing I can do to put this passage into practice?

Usually, being able to break down reading the Bible into quick bites and a system helps students get over their fear of reading the Bible. It's always great when they come back to me later and talk about what they're reading and the questions they have. In fact, after giving this student my Bible yesterday, we did 2 mini Bible studies where I showed her the 4 R's and 3 Q's and she responded to it really well.

Friends, if you're interested in helping me buy some new Bibles to give away, I'd love to partner with you in this endeavor. Because I get nicer looking Bibles, the prices range from $15-$20. If you're like to help me buy more Bibles for students, you can click the link here, and donate!

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

So long, Auntie Serena...

Hello, friends!

A few days ago, Auntie Serena Lam passed away. Most of you don't know Auntie Serena and to be honest, when I look back, I'm not sure that I knew her super well either. I don't know how old she was when she died. I remember her and Uncle Paul being in the jewelry business but I would be wrong about that one. I was informed, but not intimately so, about her health issues. It'd been months since I last spoke to her in person.

Still, when I heard that Auntie Serena had passed, I felt a deep sense of loss and a need to really mourn. I'm not a really emotional guy, so this struck me as odd. What was it about Auntie Serena? As I spent some time reflecting, I realized that Auntie Serena played a subtle but important role in many of the most important developments of my life. Through those times, she actually revealed to me a lot more about who she was than I realized at the time.

I don't remember the exact date, so I can't tell you if it was before or after Uncle Paul (Auntie Serena's husband) died, but at some point, Auntie Serena gave me his old golf clubs. It was a small gesture and maybe she just wanted them out of the house but it was a big deal to me. They were old clubs but they were a matching set and they were MY clubs. I don't use them anymore but it was having my own set of matching clubs that got me a little more interested in golf, to the point that up until Ezra was born, it was a very regular part of my week.

Auntie Serena's house was always open and was always the place for the after party. When my dad and Auntie Serena were both on staff for the church youth group, every beach party was followed by an after party and Auntie Serena's. It wasn't just those parties though. There were many other youth group sleepovers and pool parties and things of that nature that happened at Auntie Serena's. I don't think I pulled my FIRST all-nighter at Auntie Serena's but I know there were more than a few. I had my first significant conversation with my first girlfriend at Auntie Serena's. I made connections with some of my friends that last to this day. Auntie Serena's house will always be a place of hospitality and good memories.

When I first started my journey with InterVarsity, I had to raise what felt like an impossible amount of money. In my second year, I moved from an internship to being full-time staff and that number DOUBLED. I was confident that the money could be raised but also knew that it was going to take a lot of work. When I switched to full-time, Auntie Serena was one of my very first "no-ask" donors. I just looked at my account and there was a donation. It showed up the month after that too. And it was there the month after that. For the past 9 years, Auntie Serena has been a financial ministry partner. We never had an appointment. She just started giving.

But it wasn't just giving. She was also an advocate for me on the church mission committee. Whenever I came back to report on the things that God was doing in Missouri, I knew that I could count on her smiling and supportive face being there. I knew that I was always going to have an advocate and someone who loved and supported me in the room.

What does this say about Auntie Serena? It says that she was someone who was kind, generous, loving, giving, and serving. I don't know anyone who ever had a bad thing to say about her. She lived her life with grace, poise, and love. She will be surely missed.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

Zero's and One's...

Hello, friends!

Oftentimes, when I talking with other staff, I joke about how students only see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the work that we do. They think that all we do is hang out with them, buy them food, talk about Jesus, and be on our way. It must be the easiest job in the world. I know that when I first came on staff, I was astonished at how much "other" work there was to the gig. There were the reports to write, the travel to various meetings, the ministry partner development, and dealing with rejection on a pretty consistent basis.

For the past few semesters, I have been working at Lincoln using our proxe stations. I've shared various stories about students becoming engaged with the Gospel through these interactive Gospel displays. I've seen students make decisions to follow Jesus. I've had really good conversations with students as they've wrestled with the question of whether or not Jesus is real. I've had the opportunity to share the Gospel with as many as 6 students all at the same time because a single friend group came by to see our display. I've seen students make strides in leadership because they lead their friends through the proxe. Overall, it's been a really fruitful experience.

But, not lately.

The past 2 weeks, as I've set up my proxe, as I've waited for the in between class rush to make their way to the cafeteria, I've had evangelistic conversations with exactly 0 and 1 person during the time that I've been out there. I'm not sure if I need to switch up my displays or if folk are just tired of seeing me out there but it's been an odd experience. Questions and displays that just a few months ago gathered entire groups of students all at once now are passed by without so much as a second though. The conversation I did have was a good one but for the effort that goes into setting up and tearing down (not to mention dealing with the wind), I'm wondering if it's actually worth it.

When I was an undergrad, I was told by a mentor of mine that I would make a really good engineer because of the way that my mind worked. Some of my best friends are engineers and I certainly can appreciate the beauty of engineering in all of its forms. I don't know much, but from what my computer science friends have told me (and from watching lots of Futurama), I know about binary code. Binary code is just a bunch of 0's and 1's, that, when strung together, make up letters, words, phrases, and commands. The joke is that there are 10 kinds of people in the world; those who can read binary and those who can't. (10 being the binary code for the number 2).

As I've reflected on the past few weeks at Lincoln, my thoughts went to binary code. The idea that all these 0's and 1's can come together to create something great has appeal. I'd like to believe that when you take all the rejections and the low fruit moments in ministry and string them together, God is still doing something. I may not be able to see it now but there is a story being written. In the moment, it feels just like a 0 or a 1 but I have to have faith that something down the road is going to make sense.

If I'm honest, I had to get myself hyped up to even set up the proxe yesterday. I had a feeling that it was going to be a 0/1 kind of day. I turned out to be right but that's OK. I'm going to trust that all these 0's and 1's are going to turn into a really great story once all is said and done.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

36 Hours in Maryland...

Hello, friends!

I'm writing this to you from beautiful Columbia, MO but I've only been back here for about 24 hours or so. The past few days were a whirlwind as I traveled to College Park, MD, to visit one of the staff who I'm coaching as part of my new role as Asian American Ministries Pilot Project Director. While I was there, I got to visit the campus (beautiful!), meet with the staff who is on the ground (gifted!), and do a quick training for the students who he is working with as part of the project (motivated!). It was a quick trip but one that was definitely worth it. Allow me to break down the timeline for you.

December 31: Buy tickets for Maryland visit set for the first weekend in February
January 28: Cancel tickets when it comes to light that the women are in the middle of sorority rush season and won't be able to meet
February 10: Begin trying to setup a new date for a visit
February 23: Come to the conclusion that the only date that's going to work is February 28. Proceed to purchase tickets, rental car, and hotel
February 27:
- 6am: Drive from CoMO to StL to catch my flight
- 4pm: Arrive in MD and get myself situated
- 9:30pm: Meet with the staff to go through the training I'll be leading
February 28:
- 11am: Ohana staff video conference
- 12pm: Prayer walking around the Maryland campus
- 3pm: Training prep
- 6pm: Meet the staff and his family for dinner
- 7:30pm: Pick up student number 1
- 8:30pm: Student 2 arrives and we do the training
- 10pm: Training finishes and we take folk hime
- 11pm: Debrief with the staff
March 1:
- 12:30am: Arrive back at the hotel, finish up a few things and pack before heading to the airport
- 3am: Arrive at the airport and take an hour nap before security opens
- 5:50am: Fly back to StL
- 9:15am: Arrive back in StL and drive to Jefferson City to staff at Lincoln
- 11:30am: Arrive at Lincoln and do my staff stuff there
- 4pm: Drive home from Jeff City
- 4:30pm: Back Home

That, my friends, is a ridiculous kind of trip but boy was it fun. There was something really beautiful about how quickly the trip came together and all the pieces worked. Of course, it would have been nice if the tickets had already been purchased so that part wasn't fun but the logistics of everything was the plan was put into motion was pretty great and more evidence that God is pretty great too.

Fortunately, this was my only visit for the year so I don't have to worry about doing something crazy like that again anytime soon. I'm also so thankful for Meg and her being OK watching Ezra for a few days without me so I could go on this trip. It was definitely good to go but certainly better to be back.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam