100 Reasons I Love Chi Alpha

Bonnie graduated from Georgetown in 2013 and is the Director for Chi Alpha. She is passionate about having fun and coming up with creative ways of doing ministry here at Georgetown. Bonnie is extremely adventurous and can often be found taking students on bike rides to other states or trying to convince them to do the Tough Mudder.

Twitter || Facebook || Email

Confession time: I initially forgot I signed up for this blog, so when I saw the title my first thought was “Past Bonnie, why did you commit to 100 different reasons that you love Chi Alpha?”

I mean, I love Chi Alpha. But 100 reasons why is a lot. And despite this thoughtful and heartfelt introduction, I still have 450 words to use up. And then I remembered what I was thinking when I signed up for this blog topic. 

It’s less about 100 reasons I love Chi Alpha and more about 100 people that make Chi Alpha worth loving. Listing out all 100 people currently involved with reasons why they make Chi Alpha great may get a bit embarrassing and creepy.

So I will refrain from doing that. And instead share a bit about these 100-ish people that make Chi Alpha what it is. And by 100, I mean 4. Because I’m on a deadline. But you get the idea. 

Forewarning- I did not ask these people in advance if I could talk about them. So if you are reading this, my bad. 

Chris

When we wrote our book On Common Grounds (available on amazon.com), Chris got to write the chapter on legacy.  Chris, in addition to being one of the people there when I stopped by the welcome table my freshman year, was also one of the reasons I stayed in Chi Alpha. 

“As a freshman brand new to the city, I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to find a church. Chris did something no one else did. He told me about the church he went to, but then offered to walk with me so I didn’t have to go alone.”

As a freshman brand new to the city, I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to find a church. Chris did something no one else did. He told me about the church he went to, but then offered to walk with me so I didn’t have to go alone. Chris wrote the chapter on legacy because that is what he left here. And even though he wouldn’t recognize any of the students still in Chi Alpha (all his peeps have graduated) new people keep coming because of the foundation he left. 

Sandra

A lot of pastors have the opportunity to baptized people, but rarely do they have the privilege of baptizing the same person twice.

Sandra was my first solo baptism and the ocean was being a bit unpredictable and long story short she may not have made it all the way under water the first attempt. And after a brief theological debate in my head and the comment “you had one job” verbalized, all parties involved decided we may as well attempt again just to be on the safe side. 

Sandra’s like my little sister and I would like to use this public platform to call her out on leaving for an entire semester to study abroad in South America. Lame Sandra. Lame. 

Okay, not really that lame. I’m just masking my pain. 

James

So we have this saying in Chi Alpha: give a year and pray about a lifetime. Sometimes rephrased as give a year and hope for the best. James is someone who modeled that well.

He was the first guy to graduate from Georgetown and do the Chi Alpha internship. And he showed people that even if vocational ministry isn’t for you, there is immense value in investing a year of your life into the community that poured into you.

I believe that while James was the first, he will definitely not be the last. 

So I know I went from 100 reasons down to 4 which is now 3, which is the amount of persons in the trinity, so I think this is a good place to wrap this blog up and call it a day. 

But if you ever come and visit (Wednesdays at 8pm), I assure you I can point out the other 97 reasons to you.

What I've Learned This Year By Leading A Ministry

Blane has served on staff at Chi Alpha at American University for several years and became the Campus Director in the Fall of 2014. He and his wife Hannah currently have a six-month-old whom they affectionately call their "handful of joy". His name is Jeremiah and he's pretty much the cutest.

Twitter || Facebook || Email || Website

It’s so hard to summarize this past year in a two-hour conversation at Baked and Wired, let alone a blog post. But I’ll try! As many of you may know, I was asked to step into the role of Director at Chi Alpha at American University in August and then, just a few months later, my wife Hannah and I welcomed our son into the world! 

To say that change was the only constant seems like a gross understatement. In fact, if you looked at my life this week and compared it to my life a year ago, very few things are similar. 

We live in a new apartment, our family has grown, my role has changed, Hannah has a new job at a new company and now I find myself in conversations with other dads about things other than sports and Halo, such as car seats, baby carriers and babysitters. 

I thought I’d divide my (brief) thoughts into three categories: what I’m learning about God, what I’m learning about others and what I’m learning about myself. 

WHAT I’M LEARNING ABOUT GOD

In this season, I’m learning (finally!) that God doesn’t want me to exhaust myself for anything  other than Himself. And when we read about his burden being light and his yoke being easy in Matthew 11:30, that means that he desires my delight. It’s said in a different way, but with the same principle in the verse about obedience- that it is greater than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).

At a recent conference, I heard a missionary being asked how she defined success doing missions work in a closed country, in which there was less than 1% Christian. She said, I ask myself, “Did I abide with Jesus today?”

That stuck with me, especially as I’ve began to process the two dozen or so sermons, the leader’s meetings, the countless coffee one-on-ones and all the circumstances that we worked to navigate well. That, yes, it’s important but the utmost importance is the time I spent with Jesus. Everything else can and should flow from that. 

WHAT I’M LEARNING ABOUT OTHERS

“But I guess the biggest thing I’m learning is that when God puts you somewhere, it doesn’t mean you’ll be fully ready to excel with ease in that position, but that he is shaping you as a person with that position for his glory.”

I’m reminded that others don’t think about the same things I do, or if they do, they don’t think about them in the same way. But true friends are willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and lean into your perspective, if not to learn- then perhaps even nobler- to simply help you feel heard.

I think it was Louie Giglio who bluntly told me and about 1,000 other high school students a long time ago that none of us are the center of anyone’s universe but our own, and that it probably shouldn’t even be that way! 

WHAT I’M LEARNING ABOUT MYSELF

I’m learning that I am in need of the Gospel, friends, laughter, longer devotional times and exercise. I feel, in some ways, completely changed by my experiences, both the highlights and the struggles this year - but in other ways, I feel exactly the same (except with a slightly longer beard). 

I was recently asked if I felt I had hit my stride, and I can’t say that I have. But I do feel, amidst the chaos of trying to raise a family in the city and engage in the oft-slow work of  disciple-making in a fast-paced society, that I am where God wants me to be.

Now, that doesn't mean I don’t worry or feel insecure or inadequate, I only feel all of those things by breakfast! But I guess the biggest thing I’m learning is that when God puts you somewhere, it doesn’t mean you’ll be fully ready to excel with ease in that position, but that he is shaping you as a person with that position for his glory.

Are Millennials Really Doomed?

Natalie leads the worship and missions departments at AU Chi Alpha and is passionate about taking students deeper in their relationship and love for Jesus.  She loves writing music, John Steinbeck, good coffee, and her family.

Twitter || Facebook || Email

When I visited home a few weeks ago, I went to see the second Avengers movie with my family.  On the way home, my mom said she had a hard time tracking with all the movements on the screen.  

There were so many colors and actions and moving parts, and her mind didn’t work fast enough to keep up.  She’s a middle school teacher, and she said all her students absolutely loved the movie.  They loved the different story lines and humor and heroes and villains and actions.  

They came to school raving about the film.  My mom, however, couldn’t understand how someone could think up such plots or twists or stories. She mentioned that it was a generational thing.  Born in the 60s, my mom wasn’t surrounded by technology or movies with the amount of CGI we have now.  

There were no movies like Avengers back then.  Her students, however, grew up learning technology quickly. Their minds work differently and have an entire world full of information and creativity at their fingertips that their parents just never had access to.  

I hear the negatives in this. With technology and social media and the internet, Millennials are perhaps the most connected generation, but also the most disconnected.

“This generation longs for change in a world where change needs to happen. And they’re willing to put the work into it to see it happen.”

 When everything is in the palm of their hands, where is the need for relationships?  Where is the need for real life interactions?  With everything moving so fast, can we stop to understand the beauty of a waterfall or the joy of watching a young child swinging at the playground?  If we’re always plugged in, will we ever be able to enjoy the laughter of a friend or go beyond communicating a payment at a cash register?  This is a concern for my generation, and I think it’s valid.  

However, I think there are always two sides to each coin. Millennials might seem disconnected, but they are longing for connection. They’re longing for relationship and to just be known.  

This is a generation that’s tired of seeing past generations of problems and hardships and unrest.  They’re a group of young adults who long for peace in the world.  They want to see change and find the answers to their parents’ problems.  They want to find long-term answers to the issues of development in developing countries and poverty in American urban centers.

This generation longs for change in a world where change needs to happen.  And they’re willing to put the work into it to see it happen. I think we’re dealing with one of the most creative generations.  One of the most innovative generations.  One that’s not afraid to push boundaries and try to create new things.  And I think Millennials have the chance to have the greatest impact on the world and on the people around them. What if those things came together?  Community and innovation, relationship and creativity.  What if they used their minds to find creative and new solutions to end world hunger?  Or to invent new and effective medicine that no one has ever thought about yet?  Can you imagine the impact they’d have? 

So no, I don’t think millennials are doomed.  In fact, I think they can bring the greatest change yet if we let them.

Indie Music: A Definition & Spotify Playlist

alternative.jpg

The following post is part of a series called Summer Worship Ideas put together by Natalie Hill and Kevin Kusunoki. You can access other posts in this series via this link. 

The broad genre of independent and alternative music isn't really tied down to a specific sound or style.  It's more known for its inventive use of instruments and sounds that other genres don't often use and unique, poetic ways of writing lyrics.  These sounds could range from bluegrass to electronic, but what makes them unique is that they're innovative.  This playlist consists of a range of styles, with songs from bands who care about the creativity of the sound of their tunes just as much as their lyrics.

We're Ready to Reach the City

Cones & Chi Alpha || Welcome Weeks at American University || Fall 2013

Cones & Chi Alpha || Welcome Weeks at American University || Fall 2013

Last night, our Indiegogo Campaign for Reach the City ended and we saw an incredible surge of generosity during the past 48 hours. I speak for the entire DC Chi Alpha team when saying this — thank you. For those that gave, asked others to join them in giving and helped promote our content during the past two weeks, we are extremely grateful. 

Written by Blane YoungFacebook || Twitter

Written by Blane Young

Facebook || Twitter

We raised $6,706 with just over $2,000 coming in during the previous two days. It seemed like everyone rallied around this, from current students to long-term supporters of Chi Alpha Missionaries. Although we didn't meet our goal of $10,000, we all consider this a major success. 

For those wondering, this was a flexible funding campaign (unlike Kickstarter projects) where we'll still receive the money we raised even though we didn't meet our entire goal. 

And it gets better. 

Yesterday, I received a call that Centerpointe Church at Fair Oaks in Fairfax, VA would be sending a check for $500 to help DC Chi Alpha in our Welcome Weeks Programs and that Cornerstone Church in Bowie, MD would be sending us a check for $2,000. 

Thus, we'll have a total of $9,206 to enable us to connect with hundreds of incoming freshmen in just a few weeks! Last year, we raised just around $8,000 and so, this is a record-breaking year. 

It couldn't have happened without you. 

As we use these funds to connect people into our Christ-centered communities on campus, I'm eager to share stories of students who were directly impacted by your generosity. 

One of my favorite things about the start of the academic year is that we aren't just inviting students to attend our events, but in a year or two, these are the students that are going to be leading our ministry and welcoming others just as they were welcomed.