Hello, friends!
With the end of the year approaching, it is time for one of my favorite annual traditions, Regional Staff Conference.
For those who are unfamiliar with the inner workings of InterVarsity, every chapter (ACF, BCM, etc.) is on a campus (in our case, Mizzou). Every campus is part of an Area (ours is Missouri). The Missouri Area (or the A-Team) is part of the Central Region, made up of all areas, and by extension, all campuses, and chapters, in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. We share a regional vision and work together to accomplish goals that our Regional Leadership Team (RLT) sets out for us. Once a year, at the end of the first semester, we come together to refocus on our vision, share stories from our chapters, and play a lot of Settlers of Catan.
I love being a part of the Central Region. I have known many of these folk and worked with them for a number of years. We have ministered to one another, worked to serve students together, and had tons of fun on a number of different occassions. Regional Staff Conference is always a joy because it lets me reconnect in person not only with co-workers, but with friends. There is something reassuring about talking with people who can relate exactly to your situation because they are in the same line of work and experience similar things.
Every year each of us have different roles for Regionals. Some lead worship. Others do some teaching. Still others are in charge of games. Different folk fill different roles every year. However, there is one role that has been assigned to me that probably will retire with me. My job is to write the Welcome to Regionals Song Parody.
Apparently, one of my gifts is writing song parodies. I don't have many original thoughts, but if you give me a melody, I can promote a conference or wish someone goodbye with the best of them. I have done everything from Green Day to Jason Mraz to Bruno Mars. If it has a good beat and enough lyrics, we can make it work.
Over the years things have gotten fancier. It used to be just me and my guitar. Thankfully, now I don't even need to play because my good friend (and staff at Saint Louis University) Kale, who is a much better musician than I am, lays down some pretty amazing riffs. I come up with the words, Kale comes up with the guitar licks, and we rock the house.
Here's the problem though. Regionals is in under a week and I still haven't written the welcome song. I have a few ideas, but nothing is jumping out at me like it usually does. I don't know why inspiration has been so hard to come by, but I need some, and quick.
This may not be the deepest post you read all year, but the prayer request is real. I pride myself on my ability to entertain the good people of the Central Region. Prayers for inspiration would be much appreciated. =0).
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Here come the finish line!
Hello, friends!
I hope that you are all having a stellar start to December. 2011 certainly has flown by, hasn't it?! With finals starting this week, this marks the end of the semester for both ACF and BCM. There is always a temptation to coast during this time and focus on next semester. However, a lot can happen in one week. For example, here is my "to do" list for these last 5 days:
- Plan our final ACF Large Group
- Plan our final BCM Bible Study
- Meet with each potential ACF leader
- Make invitations to MOmentum, InterVarsity's evangelism training for the Missouri Area
- Plan a goodbye party for one of my BCM students who is going to be transferring
- Try to reconcile with another black Christian group over some misunderstandings
- Mail out ACF Christmas cards
So, you can see, the week is packed! A few prayer requests:
- Please pray for our leadership selection process. Pray for good wisdom and discernment here.
- Pray for the reconciliation between BCM and the other group. The last thing we need is disunity in the community.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
I hope that you are all having a stellar start to December. 2011 certainly has flown by, hasn't it?! With finals starting this week, this marks the end of the semester for both ACF and BCM. There is always a temptation to coast during this time and focus on next semester. However, a lot can happen in one week. For example, here is my "to do" list for these last 5 days:
- Plan our final ACF Large Group
- Plan our final BCM Bible Study
- Meet with each potential ACF leader
- Make invitations to MOmentum, InterVarsity's evangelism training for the Missouri Area
- Plan a goodbye party for one of my BCM students who is going to be transferring
- Try to reconcile with another black Christian group over some misunderstandings
- Mail out ACF Christmas cards
So, you can see, the week is packed! A few prayer requests:
- Please pray for our leadership selection process. Pray for good wisdom and discernment here.
- Pray for the reconciliation between BCM and the other group. The last thing we need is disunity in the community.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
National Spotlight...
Hello, friends!
Every month, InterVarsity highlights different staff and campuses around the nation to let people know what is going on in the ministry. I have the honor of being spotlighted for the month of December. If you go to InterVarsity's homepage sometime in the next few days but it is already on the staff website so I thought I would share it with you all to give you a "sneak peek."
Sometimes in the midst of chaos there occurs a moment of clarity when the big picture comes into focus. Such a moment happened to Adam Leong in his junior year at Washington University in St. Louis.
Adam was a leader in the InterVarsity chapter and had been invited to consider a staff internship with InterVarsity after graduation. As he considered his decision he faced some resistance from his family. Then on Easter morning the campus was shocked by the sudden death of a freshman student.
Into Focus
Adam spent the whole day counseling and praying with students and wondering what else he could do. “In a moment of clarity I heard God say to me, ‘This is what I want you to do. I want you to serve college students. This is what I’ve called you into.’”
After graduation Adam was assigned to the University of Missouri in Columbia, becoming InterVarsity’s first undergraduate staff on the Mizzou campus in about 20 years. The campus is well-served by almost three dozen different ministries. But there are still groups of students on campus who need to hear the gospel.
“My mentality is to say, ‘Where is the gospel not; let’s go there,’” he said. Adam has planted an Asian Christian Fellowship chapter and is now developing a Black Campus Ministries chapter.
McEvangelism
His experience with InterVarsity has stirred up Adam’s interest in evangelism. “Evangelism is at the core of who Jesus is,” he said. “Through InterVarsity I realized God’s heart is for everyone to know Him.” Adam enjoys meeting with students in fast food restaurants and sharing the gospel with them.
Being a Christian student on a secular campus, surrounded by non-Christian friends, is not easy. Adam notes that Christian students look at the weekend in a totally different way than their non-Christian friends.
“There’s this tension,” he said. “The Christian student feels like, ‘I want to be in their world because I want to connect with them, but this makes me so uncomfortable and what they’re doing breaks my heart.’ They don’t enjoy holding their friends hair back so they can puke into the toilet because they had too much to drink. That’s not fun for them; but at the same time they know that they need to be there.”
Ready for More
Adam is glad to have students who are willing to share the gospel with their fellow students. But campus ministry is so much more than that. Sometimes the bigger picture of campus ministry comes into focus for only one student a year. But this year is different.
“Seeing six to eight students catch the vision, identify themselves with Asian Christian Fellowship, embrace the mission fully, and make a commitment that they were going to pursue it together is memorable,” he said. “When that happens, I can see the light go on. Then I believe God is going to do big things.”
Posted and last modified on: Nov 30, 2011
Thanks so much for being a part of the wonderful work of changing lives for the Kingdom at Mizzou!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Every month, InterVarsity highlights different staff and campuses around the nation to let people know what is going on in the ministry. I have the honor of being spotlighted for the month of December. If you go to InterVarsity's homepage sometime in the next few days but it is already on the staff website so I thought I would share it with you all to give you a "sneak peek."
The Big Picture in Focus
Sometimes in the midst of chaos there occurs a moment of clarity when the big picture comes into focus. Such a moment happened to Adam Leong in his junior year at Washington University in St. Louis.Adam was a leader in the InterVarsity chapter and had been invited to consider a staff internship with InterVarsity after graduation. As he considered his decision he faced some resistance from his family. Then on Easter morning the campus was shocked by the sudden death of a freshman student.
Into Focus
Adam spent the whole day counseling and praying with students and wondering what else he could do. “In a moment of clarity I heard God say to me, ‘This is what I want you to do. I want you to serve college students. This is what I’ve called you into.’”
After graduation Adam was assigned to the University of Missouri in Columbia, becoming InterVarsity’s first undergraduate staff on the Mizzou campus in about 20 years. The campus is well-served by almost three dozen different ministries. But there are still groups of students on campus who need to hear the gospel.
“My mentality is to say, ‘Where is the gospel not; let’s go there,’” he said. Adam has planted an Asian Christian Fellowship chapter and is now developing a Black Campus Ministries chapter.
McEvangelism
His experience with InterVarsity has stirred up Adam’s interest in evangelism. “Evangelism is at the core of who Jesus is,” he said. “Through InterVarsity I realized God’s heart is for everyone to know Him.” Adam enjoys meeting with students in fast food restaurants and sharing the gospel with them.
Being a Christian student on a secular campus, surrounded by non-Christian friends, is not easy. Adam notes that Christian students look at the weekend in a totally different way than their non-Christian friends.
“There’s this tension,” he said. “The Christian student feels like, ‘I want to be in their world because I want to connect with them, but this makes me so uncomfortable and what they’re doing breaks my heart.’ They don’t enjoy holding their friends hair back so they can puke into the toilet because they had too much to drink. That’s not fun for them; but at the same time they know that they need to be there.”
Ready for More
Adam is glad to have students who are willing to share the gospel with their fellow students. But campus ministry is so much more than that. Sometimes the bigger picture of campus ministry comes into focus for only one student a year. But this year is different.
“Seeing six to eight students catch the vision, identify themselves with Asian Christian Fellowship, embrace the mission fully, and make a commitment that they were going to pursue it together is memorable,” he said. “When that happens, I can see the light go on. Then I believe God is going to do big things.”
Posted and last modified on: Nov 30, 2011
Thanks so much for being a part of the wonderful work of changing lives for the Kingdom at Mizzou!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Crazy Uncle Adam Presents...
This is my niece, Vienna (with her mama). She is the most beautiful little girl in the whole entire world. If anyone would like to dispute this fact, I will gladly fight you. =0).
Vienna Lin Chuang was born on November 18, 2011, coming in at a whopping 8 pounds. I spent my Thanksgiving in Hartford hanging out with Vienna and her parents (my sister T and brother-in-law Zeus).
This really doesn't have anything to do with ministry. I just really wanted to show of my niece.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Blessings on You and All of Your Ilk!
Hello, friends!
You guys know I work for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, which has chapters all across the United States. I am part of the Missouri Area (startling, I know...) which is pretty much St. Louis and Mizzou. One of the schools in the Missouri Area, or A-Team as we like to call ourselves, is Saint Louis University, or SLU. Their staff is one Kale Uzzle. (@kaleuzzle for all you Twitter folk out there).
There are a number of things that I appreciate about Kale. For a long time he and I were the only single men on the A-Team, which led to a certain amount of bonding. He is a big baseball fan, which makes for fun conversations. He is also ridiculously witty and we share a similar style of humor. As anyone on the A-Team can tell you, we can take a ridiculous conversation WAY too far, acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Well executed deadpan is a beautiful thing and Charlamagne (my nickname for Kale) is one of the best.
Another one of the things that I appreciate about Kale is that he is a really good worship leader. Not only is he gifted musically, but he knows how to lead well and he really enjoys leading too. I always take the opportunity to play on Kale's team whenever I can because it is tons of fun. We play well together and with him leading, I don't have to worry about anything but the drum (or the bass) in front of me.
I was thinking about this because last night I led worship for ACF Large Group for the first time in quite some time. Paula, our Worship Leader has been doing an excellent job, but we felt like she needed a week off. It's good to get some rest in, y'know? So, I decided to strap on the old guitar and give it a whirl, just like old time.
Many of you know that I actually used to be a worship leader, all the way through college. In fact, even my first year or two here at Mizzou I led worship for ACF. Back then, I loved picking sets, running rehearsals, and all the things that come with the job. I'm not sure what happened, but somewhere along the way I lost my knack for leading worship. My skill with the guitar has waned. I have much more trouble picking sets than I used to. The truth is that something that used to give me much joy now is more of a burden than anything else.
Which is why I appreciate Kale, Paula, Andrew (volunteer staff/roommate/worship leader), and everyone of that worship leader ilk. It's something special to see folk lead out of the Spirit and bring the rest of the fellowship to a place of worship. It is a gift that I no longer posses, but one that I am happy to give up, knowing that there are folk like these fine individuals whom God has blessed in this way.
A few points of prayer:
- It's almost Thanksgiving week! Please be praying for students as they travel all over the country.
- We are starting our leadership selection process. Please pray for good wisdom and discernment as we move forward with next semester.
- Personally, I am going to be an uncle soon! My sister T is going to be induced tomorrow which means I should have a niece by Saturday at the latest. Praise Jesus!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
You guys know I work for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, which has chapters all across the United States. I am part of the Missouri Area (startling, I know...) which is pretty much St. Louis and Mizzou. One of the schools in the Missouri Area, or A-Team as we like to call ourselves, is Saint Louis University, or SLU. Their staff is one Kale Uzzle. (@kaleuzzle for all you Twitter folk out there).
There are a number of things that I appreciate about Kale. For a long time he and I were the only single men on the A-Team, which led to a certain amount of bonding. He is a big baseball fan, which makes for fun conversations. He is also ridiculously witty and we share a similar style of humor. As anyone on the A-Team can tell you, we can take a ridiculous conversation WAY too far, acting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Well executed deadpan is a beautiful thing and Charlamagne (my nickname for Kale) is one of the best.
Another one of the things that I appreciate about Kale is that he is a really good worship leader. Not only is he gifted musically, but he knows how to lead well and he really enjoys leading too. I always take the opportunity to play on Kale's team whenever I can because it is tons of fun. We play well together and with him leading, I don't have to worry about anything but the drum (or the bass) in front of me.
I was thinking about this because last night I led worship for ACF Large Group for the first time in quite some time. Paula, our Worship Leader has been doing an excellent job, but we felt like she needed a week off. It's good to get some rest in, y'know? So, I decided to strap on the old guitar and give it a whirl, just like old time.
Many of you know that I actually used to be a worship leader, all the way through college. In fact, even my first year or two here at Mizzou I led worship for ACF. Back then, I loved picking sets, running rehearsals, and all the things that come with the job. I'm not sure what happened, but somewhere along the way I lost my knack for leading worship. My skill with the guitar has waned. I have much more trouble picking sets than I used to. The truth is that something that used to give me much joy now is more of a burden than anything else.
Which is why I appreciate Kale, Paula, Andrew (volunteer staff/roommate/worship leader), and everyone of that worship leader ilk. It's something special to see folk lead out of the Spirit and bring the rest of the fellowship to a place of worship. It is a gift that I no longer posses, but one that I am happy to give up, knowing that there are folk like these fine individuals whom God has blessed in this way.
A few points of prayer:
- It's almost Thanksgiving week! Please be praying for students as they travel all over the country.
- We are starting our leadership selection process. Please pray for good wisdom and discernment as we move forward with next semester.
- Personally, I am going to be an uncle soon! My sister T is going to be induced tomorrow which means I should have a niece by Saturday at the latest. Praise Jesus!
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Bipolar Tabling
Hello, friends!
Here is a post about a great up-and-down day I had yesterday with BCM. Enjoy reading!
Bipolar Tabling
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Here is a post about a great up-and-down day I had yesterday with BCM. Enjoy reading!
Bipolar Tabling
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Busted Lips and Broken Hearts...
Hello, friends!
Here's a post for ACF. I hope you enjoy it!
Busted Lips and Broken Hearts...
Also, please be praying for BCM tomorrow (Monday). We are going to be doing spiritual surveys on campus. Pray that God will bring about divine appointments and that our current BCM students will be inspired to share their stories with black community on campus.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
Here's a post for ACF. I hope you enjoy it!
Busted Lips and Broken Hearts...
Also, please be praying for BCM tomorrow (Monday). We are going to be doing spiritual surveys on campus. Pray that God will bring about divine appointments and that our current BCM students will be inspired to share their stories with black community on campus.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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