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
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