Someone Knew Me in Less Than 15 Minutes

My mom, dad, and myself pull up outside of Letts Hall of American University with the back of our rented car filled with suitcases, Ikea bedding, and Rubbermaid tubs. We park. We get out. Then, out of nowhere, strangers with matching T-shirts suddenly start asking us if we wanted help moving in. Seeing as my dad was the only source of muscle, we all quickly agreed. Anyways, I run inside, find my room, and show these random people who said they were with Chi Alpha (a fraternity maybe?) where to take my stuff. As I was helping my helpers, a volunteer started asking me really specific questions, starting with the ones below (paraphrased since my memory isn’t great):

Written by Haley Holtzscher (Facebook)

KP: Are you from Tulsa, OK perchance?
Me:…Yes. Why?
KP: I don’t suppose you know of a church called Believer’s Church, do ya?
Me:…Yes. I’ve gone there since I was 2. *laughter*
KP: Do you know someone named Anna Saah?
Me: Whoa, yeah! How do you know her? She was one of my youth leaders!
KP: So your name’s Haley, right? Anna mentioned you while we were in Ibiza.
Me: It is indeed. How did you know? This is so weird! So about this Chi Alpha thing…

I had been on campus for less than 15 minutes and already someone knew me. Kera Package (KP in the conversation above) had no way of knowing where I was from since we had taken off all identifying tags from my luggage and tubs and I hadn’t actually introduced myself since I’d been caught up in trying to get into my first dorm room. To this day I have no idea how Kera knew, out of hundreds of students she must have helped, that I was the girl Anna had talked about. After helping me move in, Kera invited me to some AU Chi Alpha (also known as AUXA) events later that week. I said yes immediately. If my youth leader from back home was friends with this random person, then I knew I could trust her suggestions. 

So that was my entry into the AUXA world. Yeah, I flaked out on going to a few of the events I had committed to but I also knew that I had an accountability buddy who wouldn’t let me continue to make excuses. 

I showed up at AU with finding a church/faith community as one of the last things on my mind so imagine my surprise when I had joined Chi Alpha by the end of my first day on campus. Sometimes all it takes is helping a stranger move some boxes into their new home to create a solid foundation for their college experience. This foundation wasn’t what I wanted, but it must have been something that I needed or else Kera wouldn’t have found me so quickly. 

Keeping People the Focus of Ministry

Ministry is about less.  Somehow in a year I’ve turned ministry into processes, into the execution of my skills, into delightful experiences.  None of that is wrong.  Without my talents and methods I would be useless.  But ministry is not about these additives.  Ministry is about people.

 Written by Nick Holmstedt

   Facebook | | Twitter

It seems so obvious.  I have found this truth multiple times.  Then I bury it beneath the rubble of my profound methodology, my ingenious hypotheses, my selfless preoccupation with myself.  Each time I turn around and so “Oh yeah, I need to be ministering TO others.”  A friend recently reminded me that “We are filled up to be poured out.”  As I have been staring my future down I wonder why I commit to that admittedly daunting path of ministry. 

And then I re-engage in community.  My processes crack against the spirit of my friends and family and the fault-line is real discipleship.  Ministry is the meeting of people and process and God the molten lava that underlies and causes that powerful unity. 

How can we live focusing primarily on people?  How do we avoid wrapping ourselves in methods at the sake of relationship?

I’m no expert, but I’ve found a few mental checks keep me lined up with God’s will here:

1)      Keep people on your mind and be praying for them.  It’s easy to focus on the next task, your objective.  Write down names on post-it notes and every time you see that note, pray for the person.  When you hop on Facebook, choose the top two or three people and say a 5-second prayer.

2)      Keep in touch with people.  It’s easy to forget people are primary when our interactions are limited.  Reach out and let someone share a story.  Do it as often as you can- which might be different for you than me. 

People’s worth will lead you to engagement in and of itself- just give people an opportunity to renew your hearts over and over again.

Staying Christian While Being in Ministry

I have found that one of the hardest things about being in ministry (for me now for over two decades) is maintaining my faith.  Yes, I just said that.

The ministry is a wonderful calling—an adventure in walking with Christ that’s a little off the beaten path compared to most vocations.  In being called to full time ministry I have been invited to walk a path similar to the path Jesus walked—dependent on God through His people for my salary, called to serve and lead this fabulous, messy group of people called the Church. 

Written by Stefa Chappell

Facebook | | Twitter

Ministry is not unique in having intense pressures.  What makes ministry unique is that it is so intricately bound with our faith.  If I did not love God, why would I be in ministry?  But the pressures, criticism, unending workload, typically lower pay and higher expectations can have an adverse effect on a person’s spiritual life.  Outside of a daily, protected time with Jesus, there are a few things I have found to help me keep my faith in Jesus central to my life as I endeavor to serve in this wonderful ministry. 

Take intentional time away from the ministry to be reminded that you are first and foremost a child of God.

Several years agoI took a six-month sabbatical—I was burned out and too young to be that way.  For much of my sabbatical I traveled and stayed with dear friends who just loved me.  Without question, the most valuable thing that the Lord did deep inside me was to remind me that I am first and foremost His daughter.  I don’t think you need to take a sabbatical to learn that lesson (although I think more ministers would be healthier and more fruitful if they did!), but it must be learned.  I was called into relationship with God before I was called to ministry.  I was called to relationship with God before the earth was founded.  That’s got to mean something. 

Have friends outside of the ministry.

My friends are lawyers, image consultants and nurses—they own their own businesses and work at places like NASA and somewhere that has to do with Defense (which I may or may not be allowed to know about). :)  As I interact with my friends we don’t talk much about what’s going on in my job (insert Selah here!).  We talk more about our relationship with God than my To Do list.  I am not the leader in our friendship.  I am a follower of Christ.

Remember that God really doesn’t need you.

The simple fact is that God can do this work without me.  Yes, He wants me to be involved (which is why He asked) and He wants to partner with us mere mortals to see His Kingdom come to earth (and He always will), but He really doesn’t need me to make sure it all happens.  When I keep this in mind I can’t help but respond with gratitude for being a part of this work.  There are times when I literally say to God, “Thanks for thinking of me.”  Gratitude nurtures a healthy relationship with God (or with anyone, really), and that’s a great way to stay Christian in the ministry!

Building a Discipleship Culture

Jesus was a master teacher and in creating our own culture of discipleship, we'd be wrong to stray too far from his example.  He invited those who would follow Him into a pattern of transformation. Dallas Willard in Renovation of the Heart describe His 3 basic steps: vision, intention and means.  

Jesus shares the vision of the kingdom through the parables.  They’re in a sense the doorway for a new way of thinking about God and the world.  That's great, but by itself a doorway serves only a decorative purpose. It does nothing unless it’s used. That’s where the intention comes in.  

 Written by Mike Godzwa

 Facebook | | Twitter 

Intention is catalyzed when our will responds to the vision presented. Jesus shares a parable, a teaching, performs a miracle and presents a picture of the world first century Israelites were unfamiliar with, but at the same time were captivated by.  There were those who chose to just relate their experience with others. “Do you remember the time when Jesus healed that guy who was born blind--that was amazing!”  There were those who stood on the sidelines keeping track of the rules.  “Yeah he may have been healed, but it was done on the wrong day.  Jesus is a phony.”  Then there were those who knew Jesus’ actions and teachings were pointing to something more.  As Jesus spoke, they recognized the seed of truth and responded to the stirring that was in their hearts.  They were the ones who pushed through the crowd, who dropped their nets, who asked the questions.  That’s intention at work. They weren’t satisfied to sit on the sidelines and criticize or capture a memory--they wanted to be changed.  

Then Jesus presented the means: “Follow me.” And that’s what they did, literally. They gave up their old way of life and followed Jesus around, absorbing his teaching, discussing the details of the kingdom and helping to bring it about through their direct action.  Little by the little that action, coupled with the means changed everything about them.

That same process is available to us. Jesus' teachings are compelling, but they're not meant for just inspiration, they're meant to produce action. As you allow your intention to respond to Jesus' vision you begin to put his words into practice. Where there's a step of obedience to take, you make it. Where there's a habit to implement, you start it. Little by little the kingdom grows in us in both our understanding and our action.  

When we do this as individuals, we grow to be more like Jesus.  When we share this pattern with others, it develops a culture of discipleship that can deeply impact the society around you.  

From Forgetting to Remembering

          Emily Packer

          Facebook 

Though I’d like to deny it, I forget about God’s love more often in my life than I remember it. Lucky for me, when I do remember, I’m amazed all over again. It’s kind of like learning to play an instrument in elementary school, having a terrible middle school band teacher, then picking that instrument up again in college. You can talk all you want about how you played an instrument (because we all know music makes us smarter, right?), but bragging about the past is never as satisfying as busting that baby out in worship and showing people you play. Likewise, loving God can become an instrument you claim to play but never practice. It’s even worse when you remember the feeling of playing, and settle for the memory of it. You’ve still got bragging rights though, right??? Of course! But that memory becomes a barrier to the upfront-in-your-face kind of love available to you everyday. In fact, right now.

Sometimes, when I feel God’s love “slipping” from my reach, I’ll think of a time He really came through for me. With this thoughtful plan of mine I construct the perfect way for God’s love to only become real when I want it to. Unfortunately, the hard truth is God’s love is said to be constant and consistent, and so even as I write this post He is proving my plan defective by showing me His love. Will I think back on this moment whenever I feel God’s love waning? Probably not, because my mind will be searching for that one time at beach retreat when we all sang “Oceans” while slowly and figuratively walking into the ocean (not kidding, true story). However, I do have hope that one day, as I sit in my office chair or on an airplane seat or regrettably watching Transformers 5, I will feel the same gratitude for God’s love as I do in the middle of small group on a beach in North Carolina. After all, it’s as simple as ditching my faulty plan and realizing it was unnecessary all along.