Some Encouragement

I asked one of the Thrive leaders if I could share this email they got. Last January, they handed out slips with encouraging Scripture and Thrive's contact info.

Hi, I just want to share some encouragement with you guys!

One day last year, someone handed me a little pink flyer on campus and I thought, "great, another one for the recycling bin." I folded it up and stuck it in my backpack's pocket with intentions of throwing it away.

After class, I glanced down at the crinkled paper as I was looking for the nearest trash can. In bold print, I read, "Blessed is the one who preserves under trial because, after having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that The Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12). It took everything I had not to break down crying right there on campus.

I saved that little pink piece of paper and it has honestly saved my life on more than one occasion. Those small words of encouragement reminded me of the bigger picture in life and what really matters, and who I owe it all to. Just now I looked at who made the little flyer, and I wanted to say THANK YOU, and to let y'all know that you ARE making a difference in the lives of others.

Keep up the good work! Thanks & gig 'em.

Breakthroughs

I think a lot of students actually experienced breakthroughs at Breakthrough this weekend. Praise God! About 450 students attended, plus some alumni and special guests. And us staff.

We did manuscript studies over Acts 11:19-30; 12:25-13:3 and Acts 14:8-28. God calls us to cross ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries. The disciples fast and pray a lot. And Paul encourages them, saying, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" after being stoned, then traveling back to the same cities he faced opposition in. Not the pep talk you'd want to hear, right?

Jovin Adjeitey, IV International Student Ministry staff at University of Houston, preached from Acts 16:11-36 on freedom and 17:16-34 on mission. Saturday, she asked students if they were like Lydia, the slave girl, or the jailer. All needed freedom in Jesus. On Sunday, she called students to follow the God of mission to share the gospel wherever they were at, starting on campus.

I don't have final numbers; several students decided to follow Jesus for the first time, and some more recommitted to Jesus, including two Aggie IVers! Students wrote what was holding them in chains on sticks, then broke them in half.

I was impressed with the students who came to the Small Group Leader 201 workshop I led. They eagerly shared observations on Acts 17:1-9 and quickly came up with great potential observation, interpretation, and application questions. I'm excited for them to raise the "missional temperature" in their Small Groups.

I spent chapter time with Renew at SFA, celebrating (twice the students from last year and now an official chapter!) and helping them apply what we learned. I saw Thrive and AgIV at Bible studies, meals, and the party, where we danced and played Mafia. Here's me with J and T, the two Thrivers who came. Pray as they take risks to share the gospel and be real in a strong nominal Christian culture.

And a little treat for you, here's the welcome video we made for students. You can spot me in the very back. We work hard to contextualize our ministry. At least, that's what I tell myself.

Hezekiah and Much Needed Help

During our Area Team Meetings last week, we studied the story of Hezekiah from 2 Kings 18-19. Our big takeaway - we need to pray! Hezekiah turns to God quickly in the face of danger. He could have gotten frustrated at God; he had brought the nation of Israel back to God after his forefathers had built altars to other gods and had turned away from the real God. Why was he still facing destruction and slavery by the Assyrians? But he turned to God, and even asked God to save them so that all nations would know that He was the only true God. Even when we're getting terrifying reports, we need to choose prayer over fear and making our own plans.

I prepared a "Retreat of Silence" or ROS for our time Tuesday. It's a chance to hear from God during several hours of intentional silence. You can read the Bible or another book, enjoy nature, confess, praise, ask God to provide. Or just listen.

I was in a spiritually hard place since Urbana, and I think it was coming before then. I've had moments of peace and even revelation. But when I returned home, in the midst of everyday life, lots of lies, fears, and anger rushed back in.

During the ROS, after lots of struggling, God brought me to a place where I knelt and confessed my sin. I realized I knew those thoughts and feelings were lies, and I needed to think about the truth. That was some much needed help for my soul.

Between our time with Hezekiah and the ROS, I left in a much better place. I'm still living in unhealthy patterns, but I've recognized the changes God is making in my life, ways he's strengthening and disciplining me and bringing some transformation.

We can feel hopeless toward change this time of year. Resolutions are all but forgotten. I hope you find space for prayer, reflection, and truth!

Crash Dummies

Saturday, I led a Small Group Leader "Crash Course." The 13 of us, including all 4 Thrive SGLs, dug into Jesus encountering Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. I helped them improve their observation skills.

Have you ever noticed the repetition of the word "today" in v. 5 and 9? It links Jesus and salvation. Or "sinner" in v. 7 and "he too is a son of Abraham" in v. 9 signaling that Jesus is restoring Zacchaeus not only spiritually, but also to his flesh and blood community? Or that this story coming right after Jesus heals a blind man in Jericho may tell us that Zacchaeus was spiritually blind, and this was what healing looked like for him? Jesus responded to Zacchaeus' genuine spiritual interest (so desperate he climbed a tree!) and showed the Father's love for the lost. And Zacchaeus truly was lost - a chief tax collector, defrauding his community - but also truly repentant, going above and beyond what the Old Testament called him to repay. It's so cool what good observation can reveal!

I basically cribbed all that from The Bible Study Handbook by Lindsay Olesberg. I just finished. I can't recommend it enough as a solid guide to communal inductive Bible study. The first section covers what you will hopefully receive from Bible study. The second covers how to observe, interpret, and apply. I appreciated the observation chart. The third goes through lots of practical advice, from research tools to prayer to imagination to identifying genre and structure.

We talked about pacing and group dynamics. Then we finished by brainstorming how to grow our Small Groups in prayer, mission, and community - because being a Small Group Leader isn't just about studying the Bible well!

I hope to refine the training so I can offer it again next year to students who can't make it to our SGL track at our end-of-year conference. After my prep, I think I might want to change what I teach at the SGL track, too.