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