Love Them So They Can Love Others

Mary is a Sophomore at Georgetown University studying Nursing and Health Studies. She enjoys running, being around any body of water, and spending time with her one-eyed dog Myrna (preferably all in the same day.)

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“To love another person is to see the face of God” –Victor Hugo

My high school stressed the achievement of community service hours in only a small number of nonprofits around the community, as if to say that giving back to one’s community was only valued in certain locations with certain signatures. 

Coming to DC, however, completely changed my views on the matter.

When studying began to overwhelm any of my spare time and volunteering every Saturday became a thing of the past, I looked for fulfillment elsewhere. 

Soon, I realized two things. First, giving back didn’t have to occur during an allotted time in an allotted place. Second, my giving back benefitted me as much as it benefitted those who I helped. 

Christ came to Earth and served people, and, as we all call ourselves “Christians,” we should be doing the same. There is no book on how to serve, where to serve, or when to serve- rather, just go out and do.

Guiding someone as they parallel park or helping somebody carry their bike up a flight of stairs can not only make their day, but yours as well. Even if only for a few minutes at a time, stopping our lives to help others can remind us once again of our purpose here on earth: to spread the love of God.

“Even if only for a few minutes at a time, stopping our lives to help others can remind us once again of our purpose here on earth: to spread the love of God.”

I don’t know if you are familiar with the “Pay it Forward” videos (I think they’re actually ads for an insurance company?); they’re very simple yet extremely powerful.

One person does a small good deed for another, and the other person gives back elsewhere. Giving back is contagious, and if you start the chain, the whole city benefits.

Not only are so many individuals helped, but these people also benefit by helping others. 

Jesus renewed the chain of kindness that started with the creation of man, and it’s continued two thousand years later. However, it’s up to us to preserve his legacy. 

In ‘God’s Promises for You’, Max Lucado talks about his time visiting a cathedral marking the supposed birthplace of Jesus. He says that behind the altar is a small cavern with a star embedded on the floor that recognizes the birth of Jesus. However, to enter the cavern, one must stoop, for the door is low.

“You can see the world standing tall, but to witness the savior, you have to get on your knees.” Serve others, give back, and you will see the light of God.

Advice To My Younger Self

Kevin came on staff at American University Chi Alpha in 2012 after graduating with a Bachelor's of Science in Business. He is the director of Chi Alpha International  and also disciples student leaders. In his free time he likes to cheer on his Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins. He also has an impeccable bowling form.

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Dear Pre-Staff Kevin,

I wish I could say that I’ve lived a life without regret. That every decision I’ve made has been beneficial for me and that I never spend time reflecting and wishing that I had done things differently.

But sadly I cannot say that. You know how they say that mistakes are moments of learning? Well that is very true.

Without these mistakes I would’ve never become the man I am now. I truly believe like it says in the book of John, that God will “prune every branch that does bear fruit.”

These mistakes have been God’s pruning process for me so that I might bear even more fruit. But I don’t think these lessons were simply meant for me to withhold for myself, I’ve been blessed with these lessons so that I can share them with others.

So follow along carefully, learn these lessons without making the mistakes I made.

1. Don’t Compartmentalize People in Your Life

You should not be the judge on whether one group of friends will get along with another group. And I fully understand what your reservations are.

You’re scared that your non-Christian friends will think that your christian friends are lame and boring. Or you somehow think that you can minister to your non-Christian friends better as an individual than as a community.

Let go of your pride and doubt. You will come to realize that the best form of ministry is when people are grafted into your faith community and come to realize the genuine joy they can experience being with people who love God.

2. Be Quick to Apologize

I once heard a quote, “Do you want to make a point or do you want to make a relationship?”

The quote was more about the social issues that the church chooses to engage in, but it is very relevant in our daily relationships. How often have you refused to apologize for something you don’t think you are at fault for?

How many relationships have you let peter out because of unaddressed resentment? As I look back on all the friends I no longer speak to, it saddens me to think that those friendships were lost over very trivial matters.

3. Love Intensely

Loving hurts. Love comes at a price. In loving someone deeply you make yourself vulnerable. And in that vulnerability the betrayal, disappointment and deception of others hurt exponentially worse.

“And so you calculate just the right amount of love to give someone so that when they leave or hurt you, the pain will be manageable. Don’t do that. Love well and love frequently no matter how short a person’s stay in your life is. ”

So you guard yourself a little, you love a little less, because then the pain wouldn't be so bad. Sometimes your friends don’t even do anything to maliciously hurt you, instead they just graduate and move on with their lives, but that hurts even more!

And so you calculate just the right amount of love to give someone so that when they leave or hurt you, the pain will be manageable.

Don’t do that. Love well and love frequently no matter how short a person’s stay in your life is. Trust that the Lord will give you the strength to keep pouring out love, because He will. Even if it doesn’t make sense to love somebody, even if it hurts you more to love them, choose to love them all the more. It is amazing what the Holy Spirit will enable you to do.

As you can tell there are some similarities between all three lessons. The danger of pride, the need to love well, the importance of relationships. As I am preparing to leave this university for the last time, I do not remember my accomplishments as a Kogod student, nor as a Chi Alpha staff member. I do not remember my first sermon nor my last small group.

I remember Emily. I remember Joey. I remember XY. Shriyan. Josh. Kevin. Steve. Nick. Paul. Jared. Dylan. Natalie. Sarah. Blane. Hannah. Becca. Phoebe. Liz. Nati. Chris. Allyson. Reina. Katie. Javier. Jackson. Jacob. Sam. Ian. Marcus. Jesse. Tyler. Jake. Taylor. Lauren. Chris. Laura. Tim. Mike.

Don’t miss them because you're busy with school. A life without relationships is not a life at all.

Your Future Self,

Kevin

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.