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2011-03-28T16:57:00.001-07:00

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The Dominican Republic Spring Break: Celebration in Brokenness

2010-04-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I--along with 23 others--embarked on a short-term mission trip to the Dominican Republic, a country located on a small island in the Caribbean. We went down there with an organization called Children of the Nations, a non-profit group that sponsors children in third-world countries. Our mission: to spread the love of Jesus in the most tangible ways possible. The outcome: changed hearts and a deeper understanding of who God is.

We participated in several service projects during the 10 days we were down there. Most of our mornings were spent laying concrete floors, painting a school, and baking bread for Haitian earthquake victims. In addition to these service projects, we spent our afternoons doing relational ministry with the I Love Baseball Foundation. Using baseball as platform, we were able to connect and build relationships with the Dominicans through this commonly loved sport. Although the Dominican baseball players far outweighed us in expertise, we had a blast and were able to learn a lot from them.

Having now returned from our trip, it will be impossible to forget all that we experienced--from the haunting smell of poverty to the joyful sound of children laughing; all of it remains deeply ingrained in our senses. Pain and joy. Suffering and happiness. Weakness and strength. We witnessed it all. As I continue to reflect on this paradox of realities, I am reminded of a particular experience we had on our trip. This experience took place when we attended a Dominican church for the first time.

During our first full day in the DR, we were invited to attend "Buenos Nuevos Iglesia" (Good News Church). The service was definitely more charismatic than anything I had ever experienced back here in the US, and there was something about the energy in the room that morning that struck me. As I stood there among the Dominican Christians--exhausted from dancing for an hour straight and sweating profusely in 90 degree temperatures--I came to this sudden realization: These people were happy. Genuinely happy. And because of their happiness, they were celebrating. The entire church service (all three hours of it) was a sweet and joyful celebration.

Why were these Dominican Christians so happy? Instead of blaming God for their poverty-stricken conditions, they were actually giving thanks to Him. But why? And that's when it hit me: Christianity is the only religion I can think of that offers something worth celebrating. That's why the Bible has so much imagery about parties and wedding banquets. That's why the Bible talks about heaven as being an endless celebration of praise and worship. As Christians, we truly have something incredible to celebrate. We celebrate Jesus, the one who died for us, rose again, and now sits in glory. Our debt is paid and we are free. We don't need to earn anything from God; instead it's freely given. It's almost too good to be true. That's why Christians can't help but celebrate--it's really our only proper response to grace.

It doesn't matter if one is rich, poor, well-fed or hungry. This is good news for everyone. The Dominicans Christians we interacted with seemed to grasp this concept full well. In the midst of poverty and brokenness, they still had something to celebrate. Needless to say, it was an honor for us to come together as the body of Christ and celebrate with them.

Overall, our trip to the Dominican Republic was heart-breaking, rejuvenating, and inspiring. Not only did we get to know a lot of Dominicans, but we also got to know each other really well. By the end of the trip our team of 24 had truly become a family. Thanks be to God for such an amazing trip! Our hearts are forever changed.

See the video of our trip.

Written by Tracy Spohn

South Central L.A.

2010-04-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break I had the chance to road trip down to South Los Angeles with 22 students. L.A. is such a fascinating culture where the poorest of the poor and the richest of rich live merely blocks away. The streets are lined with vendors and stores selling the next must-have jewelry, perfumes, and designer jeans. The amount of stuff for sale is unimaginable, with such a focus on material goods.

With this abundance of "stuff," is an even greater abundance of need. People are walking the streets jobless, hungry, homeless, and even just in need of a good friend to trust. Loneliness is often what influences many to join some of the most violent gangs in L.A. At the end of the day, many of these people just want to belong… to be part of something bigger. The funny thing about this is ultimately this is something we all crave: authentic community.

Whether we are wandering the streets or road tripping in a van, we all want to belong and to find a place where we feel comfortable and loved for who we are. We were created to be together…not alone.

By the end of the trip our group from L.A. had formed this type of community. Various service projects such as the food bank and the after-school kid’s program really bonded our team together. We walked away not just a group of people but a family. Throughout the trip we also shared life stories where we were able to see how diverse our families and backgrounds were. Many of us had grown up in different places with different families and yet similar themes of struggle and acceptance seemed to emerge in all of out stories. Even as we talked and heard stories of homeless people on the street, we were able to see that though our experiences may be different, our needs are the same.

Overall, I walked away being reminded that the kingdom of God is not designed for one type of person. The kingdom of God is inclusive where diversity is seen as a beautiful asset. God took the same delight in creating me as he did the homeless person on the street. We were all chosen and designed to be part of God’s kingdom.

Written by Becca Suess

New Orleans::HOPE

2010-04-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

This past spring break, I had the privilege of joining 13 other women from The Inn in New Orleans, Louisiana, for a week-long service trip. This trip was the third time in the last two years that The Inn has traveled to "NOLA" with a group of all women. Just like the previous two trips, we saw God working in mighty ways in just a week's time.

Going into the trip, I didn't quite know what to expect. Even though I knew what I was getting myself into, each of these trips is so different. God works in different ways even though the location stays the same: the work is different every time, the leadership changes, the women aren't the same, and many other factors make each trip unique. I knew not to expect anything of the trip and to allow the Lord to work in whatever way He desired, but it was hard to keep from worrying that this trip wouldn't disappoint because the last two had been so life-changing (and fun!). Also, as a student at UW (not a UMin staff member), it was a new and exciting experience for me to lead a mission trip. I had all sorts of anxieties and worries about what it would be like to be "in charge" of 13 women who I consider great friends and leaders in their own right.

God completely stepped in and worked in incredible ways to eradicate these fears of mine and the struggles that other girls were facing. While serving in New Orleans, my team and I came alongside Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Project Homecoming to rebuild houses for the elderly, uninsured, under-insured, and disabled residents of New Orleans whose homes were damaged by Hurricanes (most notably, Katrina and Rita). PDA and Project Homecoming are both relief organizations that use volunteer labor to rebuild homes affected by disasters; the latter organization is based in New Orleans and was started by the Presbytery of South Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

Ten out of the 14 girls worked for Miss Lita Bennett, a St. Bernard Parish resident whose house was entirely submerged during the Katrina-induced flooding. She currently lives in a FEMA trailer (as many residents still do) in her front yard. I can't imagine what it must be like to wake up in your front yard each morning, see your unfinished house, and be reminded of the destruction and tragedy you faced. My teammates and I got to work tiling Miss Lita's bedrooms, priming, painting and texturing her walls, all while singing and dancing and having way too much fun. We worked with an awesome Americorps volunteer and a great construction assistant who put up with our noise and laughed along with us. Miss Lita was so charmed by our singing that she gave us a big bag of Mardi Gras beads at the end of the week. It's amazing how someone with so little is so quick to give back.

The rest of the team worked for Miss Lori Broussard on a house in Gentilly. They did a lot of finishing work, including tiling and painting. They were the second-to-last team to work on Miss Lori's house, as it was scheduled to be completed the following week. The small, tight-knit group made a lasting relationship with their construction assistants Christina and Faith, and enjoyed having intentional conversations while putting the finishing touches on Miss Lori's home.

But we didn't spend the whole time working! We also got a chance to explore New Orleans, including the French Quarter, Lower Ninth Ward, the Garden District, and the Tulane Univ. area. If you traveled to NOLA and just visited the nicer areas of town, you might never know that Hurricane came through; the nicer areas weren't affected as badly by "the storm" (as NOLA residents call it). It was pretty eye-opening to see enormous mansions in the Garden District contrasted with dilapidated homes in the lower ninth.

All of that work and sightseeing was exhausting, but it was incredibly energizing to spend each evening hearing the life stories of all our teammates. Jesus has healed and transformed each one of our lives in such unique ways, and I realized how much all of us on the trip needed the therapeutic sharing to release guilt, shame and fears that have plagued us. Some of our teammates are in incredibly dark places in their current seasons of life, and it brought so much hope for them to be open and honest with such a loving, accepting community of women - women who have been through those times and can offer wisdom and encouragement. There's a reason why we take these women-only trips: some of the girls had never shared with a single soul the struggles they are facing, and needed the love and support of our group to begin the healing process. In that way, God revealed that no matter how much fun or life-changing a trip can be, none of that matters when all He wants to do is rebuild lives or heal brokenness.

I think it's safe to say that the highlight for the whole team was spending our last night at Donna's Jazz Club in the French Quarter. We invited Miss Lita and a few of our fellow construction assistants to join us for a night of live jazz music and dancing. After a week of having paint in our hair and tile grout in our nails, it was such a fun time to get dressed up and celebrate a week of healing, rebuilding, hope and joy.

Written by Emily Eggers

Jamaica Lovin'

2010-04-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago most of the UMin Staff had the incredible opportunity to go all over the world on different break missions. Missions have a special place in my heart as God has used them countless times in the past few years to challenge me, teach me, and open my eyes further and further to the greatness of his Kingdom.

This particular spring break I went with Becky Riggers and a team of 17 students down to the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean to work with Global Soccer Ministries. Going into the trip, I was excited about all of the things that we would be doing down there, primarily being our work at an orphanage and playing several soccer games with local teams. For me, looking forward to the trip was more about all of the things that we were planning to do and the ways in which I saw that we could serve. But, as the week went on, God showed me that the trip was such a greater blessing than merely the things that we were doing there.

Now, this isn’t to say that we didn’t do some really cool things. Working at Mustard Seed, the orphanage that we served at for the first four days, was incredible. We did a variety of things there, whether it was painting or construction or hanging out with kids with disabilities. It was a great picture of what real, true service was like. Looking at the caregivers that spend time with the disabled children every day was incredibly humbling, and working with the kids myself was a great eye-opener to see how difficult that really can be.

Playing soccer in Jamaica also proved to be a great source of joy for our team. We brought down both a men’'s and a women'’s team, filled out a bit with a few Jamaican’s because we were a little short on players. Fortunately, we held our own in these games against the Jamaican’s, because going into the trip we all had a lot of fear that we were just going to be annihilated by them. But, even more so than the playing, it was incredible to see at the end of the game how our play had actually earned the respect of many of the Jamaican players. This then gave us the opportunity to share about our love for soccer and our love for Jesus. After all this was done, we simply put our arms around each other and prayed, which was a truly incredible experience.

But, for me the greatest way in which I saw God moving on this trip was in the lives of the students that we brought down. In the weeks leading up to the trip, I was getting very excited about how amazing all the students going on the trip seemed to be. I would constantly be telling guys to get stoked about the trip, because the people we were going through were simply amazing!

Well, God certainly surprised even me with how incredible everyone was! Throughout the week we all got a chance to share our story with each other, guys sharing with the guys and girls with the girls. This was an incredible opportunity for us to open up to each other, to be vulnerable, and to share with the rest of the team all of the ways in which God has been working in our lives. This, in itself, led to a great sense of genuine interest throughout the team, and it was even more incredible to see how everyone sought each other out on a daily basis as well. It was incredible to see how no two people seemed to sit next to each other on the bus twice in a row, and how all of the people genuinely wanted to get to know the rest of the team and to really hear their story. The community that we built on this trip was unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I am starting to see more and more clearly that it is simply because it was centered around a love of Jesus and a love for service.

The amazing thing that God showed me on this trip was what a blessing Christian community really is, and how I often take it for granted. I saw a lot of students on this trip see that blessing of community for the first time, and I also got a chance to see how much of an impact it made in their life. I remember on the final night one of the students talking about how she knew most of the Jamaica team after one week better than she knew most of her good friends from college simply blew me away. In that moment, I started to realize how incredible it truly is to be in Christian community. We are made for community and we are called to community, and this trip showed me even more clearly how much of a blessing it really is!

Written by Cris Tietsort

Disputable Matters Reference List

2010-03-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology
By Paul Eddy & Gregory Boyd

The Moral Vision of the New Testament
By Richard B Hays

Faith Seeking Understanding
By Daniel Migliore

Theology: the Basics
By Alister McGrath

Mere Morality: What God Expects from Ordinary People
By Lewis B. Smedes

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
John Piper, et al.

What Must I Do?

2010-03-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

A great Bible preacher I admire and respect once said, "It's not hard to be saved--unless you want to be God." He's right. Salvation in the Christian sense is very simplistic--not much is required on our part. God freely gives it, and all we really have to do is receive it. Salvation isn't earned, it's given--not because of our works, but because of God's grace.

So why does this concept of "being saved" still cause us to stir? After putting our faith in Jesus Christ and receiving salvation (as promised in Romans 10:9), we inevitably come back to these questions: Am I really saved? How can I know? What more must I do?"

My core group is currently reading through the gospel of Mark. In preparing for our study this week I came across the story of the rich young man. If you're at all familiar with this story, you know it's the one where Jesus explains the impossibility of camels traveling through the eyes of needles.

The story starts off with a man asking Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Notice his words, "What must I do?" Right off the bat this man makes himself the center of the equation. Read how their conversation unfolds in Mark 10:19-21:

Jesus: "You know the commandments. 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother."
Rich young man: "Teacher, all these I have kept since I was a boy."
Jesus: "One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Notice how Jesus never directly answers the man's initial question of "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" From the way this question is phrased, Jesus can already discern the condition of the man's heart. "What must I do?" is the man's inquiry. And Jesus responds as if to say, "You? What do you have to do? Well, what do you think you have to do?" To test the man's faith, Jesus proceeds to list off the 10 commandments. Thinking he's on the right track to salvation, the man responds confidently, "I've checked everything off the list! I must be in!" His pride, however, is quickly shattered.

"One thing you lack," Jesus says firmly, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor." And the man was devastated.

What was Jesus getting at here? Does this story teach us that we can only be saved if we give away all our money and possessions? Surely not, or else Jesus would have taught this more explicitly to all his followers. Instead, the command to sell everything is specifically directed at the rich young man. As such, what can we extract from this story?

The thing that most astonishes me about Jesus in this passage is his ability to tactfully list off the 10 commandments, while purposefully leaving out the very first commandment of "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). In doing this, Jesus is testing the man's faith and trying his heart. In essence Jesus is saying, "I know you have kept most of the commandments, but what about the most important commandment? Have you put your faith in me? Do you trust me? Do you love me?"

If we aren't willing to worship God, then obeying his commandments will be a futile endeavor--such was the dilemma of the rich man. Although he was faultless in regards to obeying the law, he chose to put his faith in something other than God. Instead, he worshiped his wealth. He worshiped his reputation. And he ultimately worshiped himself. His friends probably described him as hard working, powerful, and self-sufficient. He was so caught up in himself that he didn't see his need for God. In essence, he had become his own god.

And here is the irony: Being saved can either be the easiest thing in the world or the hardest thing in the world--depending on the view you have of yourself. For the person who wants to be Lord over their own life, it will be the hardest thing. For the person who is willing to give up their lordship, it will be the easiest thing.

It's not hard to be saved--unless you want to be self-sufficient. It's not hard to be saved--unless you want to be in control. It's not hard to be saved--unless you want to be God.

Written by Tracy Spohn

2010-02-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

For our staff meeting this week, we looked at the second section of Henri Nouwen's (not pronounced as "Onry Nooven," like a fellow intern once thought), In the Name of Jesus. As I read through this section, a couple of things really stuck out to me in the way I approach ministry and my relationship with God.

The first chapter of the section talks about the reasons we do things and it is appropriately titled "The Temptation to be Spectacular." Nouwen talks about how he has lived his life as a tight rope artist walking on a high, thin cable from tower to tower waiting for the applause of the spectators when he has not fallen off and broken his leg. I thought of this and how often I do things as an intern looking for applause from the staff at UMin or from peers for what I have done in ministry. I thought about the need I have to feel validated by the people around me instead of from the God whom I say I work for. The thing is that I really do the things I do for God, BUT I am so easily distracted by the feeling I get when people on this earth tell me "good job" or "you are doing such great things for God's Kingdom." There are times I have made it across the tight rope, and there are times I have fallen - fallen hard! Those times included pretty much the entire first quarter as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to be doing as a UMin intern. And, as I tried to walk across the line, I would fall, and everyone saw it. I had no Core Group, then I had one and I didn't follow up with them...the list goes on. Jesus was also tempted to be spectacular, to cross the tight rope, too. In Matthew 4:6 Jesus is tempted by the devil, to do things that would receive praise for being a stunt man. Jesus wanted people to listen to Him because of the truth of His words and actions. What are the times when you act as a tight rope artist? How have you fallen off the line?

-Posted by Brian Petermeyer, UMin intern

Resources for Romans Series

2010-01-15T12:28:00.001-08:00

Some resources you might want to check out for further studies on Romans:

Resources and Bibliography:

Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book. The perfect guide for getting a handle on the basic themes of Romans. This tool is especially helpful if you are going to sit down and read straight through the letter on your own.

Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans. This is more information that you want, but Moo covers every argument on every issue throughout Romans. His comments on the structure of the letter were particularly insightful and consequently influenced the structure of this series. Originally recommended to me by George Hinman.

Earl Palmer, Salvation by Surprise. In my opinion, this is Earl’s best; Complete with diagrams this is might actually be the most clearly systematic of the commentaries that I worked with. Earl follows the structure of Paul’s argument very closely and helps readers understand each section as the argument progresses.

Tom (N.T.) Wright, Paul for Everyone: Romans (One and Two). Accessible commentary where N.T. Wright essentially gives “kids sermons” on the different themes throughout Romans. A very helpful resource when you are trying to figure out what not to say or cover. Wright has gone on to write some of the most provocative stuff on Romans in decades, most of it pretty heady.

N.T. Wright, Justification. Wright’s exploration of Paul’s theology of justification through Galatians and Romans. He takes a covenantal approach to justification in response to John Piper’s recent book challenging Wright.

John Piper, The Future of Justification, a Response to N.T. Wright. A justification understanding through the lens of the Reformers, directly challenging the theology of justification of N.T. Wright.

Paul Achtemeier, Romans (Interpretation Commentary). Achtemeier does an excellent job of clarifying the issues for the average reader, but offers an in-depth account that addresses all of the issues that Paul is unpacking in Romans.

Amazed

2009-12-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

I once heard of a young boy who was told that Jesus once said that you could say to a mountain, “Move from here to there!” and it would move. With faith, this little boy told a mountain to move. Years later, Mount St. Helens erupted! “Did I cause that?!” he wondered in his childlike faith.

When I hear about having a faith that can move mountains, I immediately want it and yet, at the same time, am aware that what I do have is mountains of unbelief and doubt within me. My doubt is not solely about moving mountains. My doubt is also not confined to some of what I would call the big questions of the Christian faith: Does God exist? Did Jesus really did die for my sins and rise three days later? These are important questions, but my doubts tend to run much more along the lines of: “Is God really in my midst and does He even like me? Can God really redeem me and make me new, even in those broken areas that don’t seem to ever be healed? Are God’s promises really for me? Can God really use me? Is God really using me… Or is this all in vain?”

A couple months ago someone pointed out one word spoken by Jesus about faith that I have not been able to shake. They have captivated my attention and given me great encouragement in the area of faith.

One place this word is seen is in Luke 7, where a Centurion asked Jesus to give the word to heal his servant. Here is Jesus’ response: “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.”

The second place this word is seen is in Mark 6, when Jesus visits his hometown people take offense at him there. In response, Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Amazed. I am amazed that Jesus, the Son of God, can be amazed. But there it is, Jesus was amazed by two things: faith and the lack of faith.

I am convinced that Jesus, at times, is amazed by my faith and that He is also sometimes amazed by my lack of faith. I flip back and forth between the two. I am rarely 100% full of faith, nor 100% lacking faith. I’m usually somewhere in between the two.

What has resonated deep in my soul and has become the prayer on my lips and in my mind, is one I have copied, verbatim, from another character in the Bible. This time it’s from a man who is nameless, known only as, “the boy’s father.” His son needed help, so he came to Jesus. The father said to Jesus, “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." “If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

In the midst of the pendulum of faith and doubt that I swing upon, my earnest prayer has become, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" In this, I can be honest about my lack of faith and doubt, and at the same time ask for help in becoming one who might amaze Jesus with the presence of faith.

Posted by Emily Vancil

Past, Present, Future Faith

2009-12-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

My own experience of faith and doubt is not one that I find to be that uncommon. As I look back over the years of my life it could not be more obvious that God has constantly been at work. I am thankful for the way that He has used my experiences and even my struggles in the Fiji fraternity during my college days to help me better understand how to relate to and minister to the guys in the house now. I never would have made it through 2 tough years working college Young Life down in Alabama if I wouldn’t have learned how to persevere through tough times while playing football here at the UW. The people God has used in my life have been obvious as I can pinpoint conversations and invitations given to me that guided me to the place I am in now. I have complete faith as I look into my past that God has guided my steps, even the times I have doubted what was going on.

As I look down the road in the future I am confident in the hope that I have in Christ Jesus. I do have faith in where he is leading me and that he is in control in my life and that when I look back in 15 years I will be even more confident that he has been at work than I am right now.

But where I get stuck often, is how often I question if God is at work in my life right now. And when I can’t see it or feel it, it is hard to know if it is real. Now this mostly comes at times where I don’t want God to actually be God, I want him to respond to my personal desires, but I still I get wrapped up in wondering what it looks like to experience God’s love in the present. “If he loved me, would this have happened?” I often ask thinking I know best for myself. And if I have faith in the past, and hope in the future, why don’t I always know how to experience that love in the present? What does that love look like? How do I know that it is here and active and present when I don’t feel it?

As God spoke into the silence over 2000 years to awaken the world that he is ever present on this earth, what came out of it was a tangible expression of his love. First in the Christmas story, soon followed by the Easter story. And the way that I experience that love in the present, is by the faith I have that when Jesus paid the price on the cross so many years ago, he did so out of a love for me that I can’t even fathom. And I absolutely believe that if Jesus Christ would have died just for me, and if I was the only one saved that day, that he would do it all again, just for me.

It doesn’t answer every question I have, but it does help to understand what love really is.

Posted by Mike McEvoy

The Tension

2009-11-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

I often hear people talk about how we need to hold things in tension when it comes to faith. I don't think I have ever understood that better than on July 4, 2008. That day, I was in Corinth, Greece. It was not any of Paul's words to the Corinthians that moved me to deeper understanding of Truth, but a jump at the Corinth Canal. I was not expecting to bungee jump that day, but something inside me told me it was an experience I just couldn't pass up. Something else inside me, though, kept reminding me that something could definitely go wrong when you're jumping off of a bridge 150 feet above the water. What I was holding in tension was my faith in the rope and the people who understood the rope versus my doubts that everything would go well and I would return home unharmed. How did I test that? I jumped.

This is not an analogy where the rope is a metaphor for God. God is much more reliable than a bungee cord. But, because I was afraid that the jump could lead to death or injury, I was doubtful and I was forced to hold doubt and faith in tension. I can't, however, stand on the edge forever, endlessly weighing which side of my brain I trusted more.

When I experience deep pain or witness extreme injustice, I certainly find myself doubting a faithful God. There was a time when I would recognize that doubt and determine that I must not have enough faith. Now, though, I understand that true faith does not come without doubt. If I think I have faith without doubt, then I don't have faith at all - I have certainty. But we are called to faith, and ultimately, that faith must lead us to "jump." Trust me, it would have been a lot easier to take the plunge in Corinth from a place of certainty, but it was weighing all the doubts in my mind that made it a leap of faith.

Posted by Becky Riggers

Faith and Law: Reasonable Doubt

2009-10-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

A lawyer friend of mine recently shared with me the instructions a jury is given prior to a trial:

A reasonable doubt is a doubt that exists and may arise from the evidence or lack of evidence. It is such a doubt as would exist in the mind of a reasonable person after fully, fairly, and carefully considering all of the evidence or lack of evidence. If, from such consideration, you have an abiding belief in the truth of the charge, you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.

How does being satisfied beyond reasonable doubt translate to faith? This same friend, who is a prosecuting attorney, talked about reasonable doubt being like a puzzle. She gave the example of a puzzle with a lot of pieces and some of those pieces are missing. She invited me to think of a puzzle that is a picture of a barn. If, without looking at the picture on the box, you can tell it’s a barn, even if there a pieces missing, you probably have enough evidence to make a decision. She pushed back on her own analogy by acknowledging that pieces missing here and there are a lot different than if an entire section of the puzzle is missing, wherein the whole picture is compromised and it is difficult to determine the bigger picture. Bottom line: in the legal realm as it is with faith, certainty is not always attainable, nor is it the ultimate goal. Rather, seeing past circumstantial evidence and seeing the big picture (abiding belief in the truth) is the goal.

When we consider God’s covenant and steady relationship with Israel do we count it as evidence of God’s love? When we think of the grand positives of the Mosaic law do we count it as evidence of God’s love? When we consider the life, death and resurrection of Jesus do we count it as evidence of God’s love? While at times in our faith there are pieces missing and pieces that don’t seem to fit, can we see the big picture of a loving God that seeks unfiltered relationship with God’s creation?

It brings to mind Paul’s words in one of the most beloved chapters of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13: “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

There are enough pieces to sustain my faith that God’s love for me is real. While I long to see and know the fullness of the picture of grace, compassion and love of God found in Jesus, I can see enough of the picture to give me great hope.

Expectation = Doubt

2009-10-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

When it comes to questions about faith and doubt, the one that always arises for me is “why?” Not, “Why does God work in the way that God does,” but “Why do we have such a tendency to doubt that God is at work, and will be at work to carry through.?”

Recently, I was reading Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald, and he partially blames this tendency to doubt God’s promises on our expectations. And not just normal human expectations, but the expectations that we have in America because of the fact that we were born and raised in America. In reference to God’s promises to answer our prayers, he writes:

We live in a society that is reasonably organized. Put a letter in the box, and it usually ends up where you want it to go. Order an item on the Internet, and it usually comes to you in the right size, color, and model. Ask someone to provide you a service, and it is reasonable to expect that it will work out that way. In other words, we are used to results in response to our arrangements. That is why prayer can be discouraging for some of us. How can we predict the result? We are tempted to abandon prayer as a viable exercise and to try getting the results ourselves.

This observation resonated with me when it comes to the doubts that I have about the promises of God. My expectations are based solely on what I have come to expect in this human world, and I tend to place God in that box. When I don’t see the results I desire, I doubt that God will follow through, or has already followed through as the case can sometimes be.

This reminds me of experiences in other countries, where the values and expectations of the culture are completely different from my own. When standing in a queue isn’t the standard mode of operation, but rather people sort of mob toward whatever it is they are waiting for, I have stood there flabbergasted (and irritated) that this is the way things work. Of course, my culture knows the “right way” to make things work!

Isn’t that how we approach our faith in God and God’s promises? One wonders if the limitations we place on God are causing our own faith to remain stagnant and narrow. What would happen if we could remove our human tendencies to expect God to fit into the culture that we come from, and instead, allow God to blow our expectations out of the water?

Posted by Janie Stuart

Reflecting on Reflecting

2009-09-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the fall speaking series at the INN, I’ve started reading a book from Daniel Taylor called The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian and the Risk of Commitment. It’s caused me to reflect on reflecting.

It seems that we are all asking questions of identity. Who am I? It’s the question that college students ask and a question that I continue to ask as I anticipate creeping up on the time that is traditional for a mid-life crisis. Taylor says, “Reflectiveness is a character trait deeply rooted in what one essentially is. It helps define one’s fundamental experience of reality. The life of a reflective person is more likely to be interesting, less likely to be serene; more likely to be contemplative, less likely to be active; more likely to be marked by the pursuit of answers, less by finding them. The result is a high potential for creativity, curiosity, and discovery but also for paralyzing ambivalence, alienation, and melancholy.”

Psalm 119 encourages us to mediate on the Lord’s Precepts and the Lord’s exhortation to consider the lilies of the field (Mt. 6:28). This encouragement is an invitation into the tension of the reality we live in. Reflection is a risk/reward endeavor. It leads us into the mystery of questions that can and never will be answered. When we get consumed with getting the right answer, we miss the pursuit of the question. For good reason: the pursuit of answers is difficult because it is filled with tension.

But the Christian faith invites us to consider the tension of seeing opposites: the first being last (Mt. 19:30), the physical and spiritual (Gen. 1), dying to live (Luke 14:27). Part of the journey as people seeking union with Jesus is thoughtfully pursuing these answers, not just getting the answer in a well-packaged sermon. We meditate, reflect, struggle, doubt, question, discuss, wonder and celebrate this pursuit individually and in community. We struggle because we are seeking to reimagine who we are as Children of God and seeking to discover more of the mystery of God. On this journey, we get the sense that God is bigger and more loving than we thought.

So this fall I invite the community around University Ministries to reflect. I challenge you to engage the tension present in your faith and think for yourself as we seek a bigger expereince with the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

What about Kissing during dating? Is it okay to passionately kiss someone you’re dating?

2009-08-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

If we were living during the time of the early church, we would see a lot more kissing go on. It was part of the standard greeting between people that were in community. I think it is appropriate to express physical affection while you are dating. The physical aspect of attraction is one part of attraction alongside emotion, spiritual and intellectual. I certinaly don’t hear any kissing embargo in the Bible.

That said, kissing or any of the physical aspects of relatoinship need to line up with the emotional, intellectual and spritual aspects as well. Not that these four components will always be totally equal, but they need to be close. For example, if you are making out with someone but cannot have any sort of intelligent conversation where one person is actually listening and interested in the other, then back off the physical.

One popular conservative critique of kissing is that it works much like a gateway drug. That is to say, it’s called first base for a reason and it’s never the goal to stay at first base. However, I tend to think that we are capable of being able to exercise self disipline in this manner, but we do so understanding that self-discipline is difficult. We are animals, yes, but we’re people capable of moving beyond mere instinct.

Ultimately, I think I would encourage young couples to talk more about what they expect physically including naming the boundaries that each wants to honor in a dating relationship. If you talk about your physicaI relationship with other people, but not with the person you’re dating, perhaps an indication that things are off emotionally and/or otherwise. I think talking more about expectations in the phyiscal aspect of relationship allows for a freedom that’s appropriate proactively, instead of getting carried away in any given moment on the couch.

So, go ahead and kiss, show affection to this person that you are getting know on several different levels, but be okay with the single in the courting stage of a relationship, instead of swinging for the fences. And be sure that physical aspect of your relationship is one that you are dialoguing about and that is going at an equal pace with the rest of your relationship.

How can I stop looking at porn? Sex is tough but porn can be harder to get away from. Any advice?

2009-07-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Response to texted question on dating from May 12.

Tough one. If I had a nice tidy answer to this one, I’d be a millionaire.

In terms of the questions that were texted to us in our series at the INN, it seems that no one was seeking to justify porn as a good thing or even neutral. There seems to be a common understanding of the twistedness of porn (btw…that’s what the Greek word means, “twisted”), at least by the folks that attend the INN. Given that, let me see if I might offer some life-giving advice.

First, to the degree that it is possible, I encourage you to take captive the thought by the power that is found simply in the name of Jesus. Per a book by Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker, I would encourage you to call upon the power of the resurrection when you discover the overwhelming desire toward porn, masturbation and premarital sex by simply saying a prayer that may sound like, “In the name of Jesus, I take captive that thought.” If we desire to overcome a draw toward porn and the like, I believe we must believe that God is with us and wants to be with us and has the power to help us in that struggle.

Second, and similar, remembering that you are forgiven and that this sin (or any other) does not have to define you. The grace of God does. God gets the final and decisive word on our identity and that is a word of grace, mercy and love. Too often, I see people get bogged down in the shame of the struggle of pornography and it paralyzes them in their ability to interact in other relationships, in ministry, in faith and simply life in general. Don’t let the enemy have this victory. We don’t surrender to our sickness, we celebrate our healer.

Now, I know that those first two may sound kind of trite, but, because this is such a complex issue, it is a place to start that opens us to the reality of God’s grace in our lives.

Third, bring it into the light. Confess to a community. The more we can keep this from being our dirty little secret, the better the opportunity to experience Christ’s power in the struggle. The longer this stays in the dark, the more potential there is for one to be convinced that this is not a problem. I’m very confident in saying that when you confess with a person or group that you trust, that loves you, you will most likely hear, “you are not alone.” Allow your community to support you. This brings honesty to the equation: to yourself and to your community. Most likely, your community will be blessed (and perhaps relieved) by that honesty.

Fourth, create a plan. Often going “cold turkey” from porn doesn’t work. One strategy is that you seek to corral it and put boundaries around it. I might sound like a bit of a heretic here, but I’m confident of what I’m pointing to. Here is what I’m getting at: If you are looking at porn every day and seeking to stop, why don’t you pick one day in the next week that you don’t look at porn. Then maybe the next week do two days. You get the direction I’m headed. The idea is to eliminate it completely from your life. Here’s the catch: I think this plan only works if you are sharing this with community. People need to support you and hold you accountable in it. Make a pact with your small group. Agree to call each other when you are tempted. Commit to praying for each other as you engage the struggle.

Finally, take extreme measures. Get a filter on your computer (see XXXchurch.com for resources) or eliminate it all together. Jesus exaggerates this point in the Sermon on the Mount when he asks listeners to consider their right hand. “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.” (Mt. 5:30) Whatever it is that is leading us away from Christ, we should seek to purge and remove. This is at the heart of Christian spirituality, dying to ourselves and seeking union with the living, loving, gracious God that is eager to be with us in Jesus Christ.

How do you renew purity and become right with God after giving your virginity away?

2009-06-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

Great question. Because we live in such a sexually-charged culture, there is this perception that one is permanently marked as “impure” after having sex for the first time. While the dynamics may be different it seems that as a culture we have not come much further than Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Victorian Classic, The Scarlet Letter. Particularly within the church, we are even further behind in how we talk about sex and purity. I hope this can change.

Becoming right with God is an endless and exhausting endeavor. In fact, I’ve never met anyone that can get right with God whether they have had sex or not. It’s a bit bewildering why our churches don’t make a bigger deal about lying, cheating, stealing or stewarding our money, but churchgoers often hop on this bandwagon of ultra-condemnation io someone who has sex before they are married. The reality is that sin makes it impossible to be right with God, regardless of what the sin is. On our own we cannot become pure or get right with God. That’s the bad news. The Good News is that the story of the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a story about a God that welcomes his children back over and over again. We discover a God that gets down on his knees and washes the feet of the ones he loves. We do not make ourselves right with God; it is Jesus, his life, sacrifice and glorious resurrection that make us right with God. Our job is to trust and believe that such love is genuinely for us. Even those of us that have made mistakes sexually.

God is dying (and in fact has died!) to free you of the guilt and shame that so often comes along with such sin. The church is in need of repenting for perpetuating such guilt and shame. When we believe that we are loved, forgiven and purified by a God who seeks relationship with us, we begin to change. Our decision to follow Christ might be a one-time deal, but the whole idea of transformation and purification is an ongoing process. Scripture tells us of a woman caught in adultery that Jesus does not condemn. He does however encourage her to start anew and sin no more. In the story you get the idea that Jesus’ great hope for this woman is that she would never find herself in that position again -- a position driven by guilt, judgment and condemnation.

In Christ we are a new creation, only by the work that Jesus has accomplished. Our job is to simply believe that it is a love for us that we are to share with others. That is what purifies us.

If I've had anal sex, am I still a virgin? How far can I go and still call myself a virgin?

2009-05-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Response to texted question on dating from May 12
What is virginity? How far can I go and still remain as one that can honestly say, “I’m a virgin.” This is a popular concern among students who are seeking to be faithful to their Christian beliefs.

The easy answer to this question is simply that a virgin in one who has never had sexual intercourse. But I would argue sex is sex: oral sex, anal sex, mutual masturbation, and the like. We’ve made this question incredibly difficult. Thus, I think the best way to respond to this question is to take a page from Jesus’ playbook and change the question.

I really do believe that in asking a question about virginity or any manifestation of the question, “how far is too far,” misses the point. In asking the question, we articulate a solid value, but are addressing it the wrong way. Embedded in this question is a value on purity or, dare I say, righteousness, to which followers of Jesus are undoubtedly called in Holy Scripture.
Instead of asking the question that is essentially, “How far can I go and still be righteous, pure, or in God’s will?” we need to reframe the question to be, “How, as a sheep gone astray, can I get close to the shepherd?”

In the pasture of our lives, we too often walk around near the fence trying to find a distance from the Good Shepherd, but still be in the green pastures. I get that we are curious about what is on the other side of the fence. I, likewise, wonder why it is that we are not more curious about the Good Shepherd that is standing there watching us and bidding us come. Why are we more curious about the other side of the boundary than we are with the God of the Universe? I think what the Shepherd has for us is far spectacular relative to the other side of the fence.

Pursuing union with God and the faith of Jesus is the point of living out the Christian faith. Frankly, we should be less concerned about discovering virginity boundaries, and be more resolved to pursue union with Christ. I’m convinced that when one commits to that pursuit, purity is sure to follow.

What would you say are qualifications for dating? Surely not all dating is good…

2009-05-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

Response to texted question on dating from May 12
I would agree, not all dating is good. But I very much believe that dating, even dating that doesn’t end in marriage can be good.

More than anything else, I think the primary qualification for dating is probably simple fascination. What do you do when you meet someone that captures your attention and grabs your interest? Personally, I think there needs to be little more than that to go on a date with someone. A date does not necessarily mean dating, but it is the important first step in understanding that dating is primarily about discovery. It is a partial process in discovering the image of God in someone else and image of God in ourselves. I would encourage someone who is fascinated with another person to pursue them instead of merely fantasizing about them. Go ask them out and pursue them for the purposes of getting to know them. In the process you may get to know more about yourself. This is a lot less selfish than going home and making them the object of your lust while you fantasize.

This may sound like really good news to the “serial first dater.” While the approach to dating should be fun and exciting, IT CAN NOT BE RECKLESS. You should not be reckless with your own heart or the heart of someone else. There is a risk in dating and romance and it needs to be approached with an eye on the feelings of the other, not merely one’s own desires or lusts.
One of the ways that we can accomplish this attentiveness to others feelings is to stay present. Women can get ahead of themselves by thinking about the colors of the wedding on the first day. Men often wonder what she looks like naked. If we can stay in the moment of remembering that this is about getting to know somebody as they are right now, rather than what they might be (or what I want them to be) later, we have a much better shot at staying present.

Like the question stated, not all dating is good. If someone knows that a relationship is going nowhere, they should probably not initiate it any further than it needs to go. If you find out there is a deal breaker (i.e. you are a Christian and the other person is a non-Christian), don’t linger in romance any longer. Too often, people approach relationships with someone they come to adore thinking that they can change them. If you find yourself in a relationship thinking that someone needs to change in order for the relationship to continue, you should excuse yourself from that relationship.

While the Bible is silent on dating we can take some cues in our dating behavior by listening to the story of a relational God who has given us the example of considering others first and departing from our own selfish desires; that is, laying down our lives for others. While the primary way that we can know the love of God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ, there are many ways that relationship can play out. Prayer, meditation, the study of scripture, community, to name a few and to demonstrate that the relationship is complex and dating is initiating and exploring the first aspects of the complexities of relationship. Also, we have to push being unselfish, loving others before we love ourselves.

Ultimately, we cannot look for dating to be what completes us or gives us a sense of wholeness. The journey of the Christian faith is seeking unity with Christ. Let's seek to allow even our romantic impulses to guide us in seeking a deeper intimacy in relationship with Jesus. RC

Welcome!

2009-05-19T15:05:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Inn's blog. The Inn is the large-group service of University Ministries, a college ministry of University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. This space will be used to answer questions, clarify sermons, announce opportunities, and more. In the near future, we will be bringing you answers to some of the questions that weren't answered at the Q&A time done by Mike & Shari Gaffney as part of our relationship series. In the meantime, we thought we would start this off by sharing the mission statement of University Ministries:

To the Glory of God…

Our purpose is to "Go and make disciples of all nations," beginning with college-age individuals and young adults in the greater Seattle area. We aspire to:

Introduce them to Jesus Christ and urge them to commit their lives to Him as Savior and Lord
Help them develop an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ

We prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up by:

Teaching and equipping them to better understand and communicate their faith.
Helping them experience Christian community and intimate, honest relationships with each other.
Beginning the process of helping them discover and use their spiritual and leadership gifts.
Providing opportunities and a vision for a life of mission in their communities and around the world.

As part of God’s call to us, we seek to understand the various needs of college-age individuals and young adults and to creatively minister to those needs. Our desire is that their faith established today will stand firm tomorrow.

Our Theme: "Pursuing Real Life in Jesus Christ”