Why Both?

CHI ALPHA AND A LOCAL CHURCH

Written By Alexis Faubel

Picture this: It’s your freshman year, you were flagged down by a bunch of Christians tabling a couple of days ago, and long story short - you’re leaving your first Chi Alpha Large Group service and are feeling pretty good about it. The announcements, the worship, the sermon and prayer touched on familiar, yet brand-new notions of Church.

As you're heading out the door, one of the upperclassmen comes over to see you off and says “It’s so great that you made it Chi Alpha tonight! So I’ll see you at church on Sunday?” You stop, confused because you’re currently leaving what you thought was a pretty great church service… sp why go to both?

It may seem like an extra commitment right now, but I can promise that the regular practice of engaging with a local faith community outside of your Chi Alpha, will serve you for years to come. What I’ve learned is what I hope you will take away as well - both communities are necessary during this time of our lives.

On the college ministry side, I can’t imagine my faith growing as deep, my lasting friendships being as strong, or my college experience as fulfilling as it was, without a full immersion into my Chi Alpha community. Being able to text friends to grab dinner at the cafeteria, planning movie nights in dorms, or heading to the library to study together after Small Group or Large Group Service is something I could never find from a local church alone. Being able to learn, grow, and build friendships with my peers who were experiencing the same things on our campus was an irreplaceable part of my life. And I suspect some of you feel the same way.. so why pursue more than that?

The truth is, college and Chi Alpha are great, but everyone eventually graduates, and then that Chi Alpha experience will no longer exist for you (even if you join Xa staff). But you know what will still exist? The local church.

It is the local church that exists before, during, and after your college experience. It is the local church where intergenerational relationships can truly thrive, and an opportunity to become engaged in the community arrives. And then ultimately, a home is built to settle into post-grad life that will make all the difference when you transition from one big season to the other.

I was grateful for the church family that I was able to establish while I was still a student. This family that helped me as I graduated, started my first job, and moved around the city to start my professional career. And while my experience was great, it didn’t come without a cost. Consistent investment and attendance are what built up my relationships, and it wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it. I watched many of my friends who didn’t have strong bonds with the local church struggle greatly when they realized that their campus ministry experience doesn’t translate outside of campus. This is a harsh reality, but one that I hope all of you will take as a bit of wisdom when deciding where to invest in college.

Ultimately, both are worth it. Both provide community, relationships, and joy. Both are where Jesus resides. So why wouldn’t you want a double blessing?

Sabbath Vs. Self-Care

Written By Alexis Faubel

One thing we talk about often in DC Chi Alpha, is the importance of rest. For a ministry placed in one of the busiest cities in the world, with students who are high-achieving and striving for success, rest is usually a thing most desired, but also comes in last place in their minds. So, we talk about rest, and sabbath, and taking care of our holistic selves often.

Sabbath is a term that until Chi Alpha, I only associated with Sundays - the day that you go to church and try to rest, and not do homework. Turns out that’s a pretty good practice in college too. Chi Alpha introduced me to the active type of rest found on a sabbath day (ideally, though a half-day or a couple of hours blocked off can also be allocated).

I learned that a sabbath should be used to spend extended time with God, without distractions. This can be a flexible time made up of a longer quiet time, nature walks, worship, and/or journaling. I’ve used this time to go deep in prayer and wrestling with many things life has brought my way. Sabbath is a practice that forces us to make time to spend with our Creator, and tend to the parts of ourselves that we may not address otherwise.

This is where self-care comes in. While caring for ourselves can be achieved in many different ways, I think it is separate from a sabbath. I often practice self-care in my sabbath by napping, watching a movie, reading a favorite book, cooking something good, or taking a bath. And while all of those things are good ways to care for our body and minds, I think the difference is that sabbath is an intentional resting and abiding that can happen with or without self-care practices.

Both sabbath, and self-care, are important concepts to think about and to practice. I encourage you to spend some time this week being more intentional about both of them. Then maybe spend some time reflecting in a journal, or to a friend, about what you got out of a day spent with Jesus (including all of the naps you may have taken too!).

Recommended Reading

Devotionals / Theology/ Christian Life

Written By Alexis Faubel

As I spent most of my formative year being homeschooled, reading was by far my favorite pastime. As I got older, schoolwork took over during the academic year, but I loved catching up on my reading by devouring as much fiction as I could over the summers. However, like most folks who attend college, almost every desire to read ANYTHING was completely drained by the numerous titles I had to complete for all of my classes, every semester, of all four years of school.

Since graduating, though, I have found a new rhythm of reading, and I can say that it has brought a lot of joy, and a way to continue educating myself after graduating. I like to spend my time between fiction and nonfiction, but in the past year or so, I have found myself picking up Christian books - books about Christianity, how to live a Christian life, topics to look at with a Christian lens, etc. 

I have found that these books have guided me into a deeper understanding of my faith and where it intersects with the world around me. I hope that this list, specifically curated for deep dives in theology, supplemental reading for devotional time, and to help live out our walks with Christ, are as big of a blessing to you as they have been for me!

Theology:

Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament - Nancy Guthrie

Forgotten God - Francis Chan

The Unvarnished Jesus - Brian Zahnd

The Prodigal God - Tim Keller

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Pentecostal Distinctives: 

Want More? - Tim Enloe 

The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke - Roger Stronstad 

Living in the Spirit: Drawing Us to God, Sending Us to the World - George O. Wood

Missions and Evangelism

Christ of the Indian Road - E. Stanley Jones 

The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church - Alan Hirsch 

Overcoming Your Shadow Mission - John Ortberg 

Master Plan of Evangelism - Robert E. Coleman 

Christian Life:

40 Days of Decrease - Alicia Britt Chole

Organic Discipleship Making - Jessica Lowery and Dennis McCallum 

Breaking Busy - Alli Worthington

The Good Life - Trip Lee

Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human - John Mark Comer

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - Pete Scazerro

Gospel Fluency - Jeff Vanderstelt

Strength to Love - Martin Luther King Jr.

The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence

How to Pick a Church

Church Shopping vs. Church Staying

Written by Alexis Faubel

As a first-year student, all of my new Chi Alpha friends were attending different churches across the city. And while I participated in the classic “church shopping” that often accompanies a new move before I knew it, 6 months had gone by and I still hadn’t settled on a church. 

After visiting several churches, the biggest piece of advice was from my campus director - “Just pick a church. Doesn’t matter which one, just pick one and commit to it.” It was blunt, but he made a point. Besides sharing major theological beliefs (we’ll get to that below), picking a church is truly based on preference - not perfection. 

You will NEVER find all that you want within a church. That doesn’t exist. You will always find something that can be improved upon or doesn’t match your pre-conceived expectations.

Hopefully, that reality brings you some peace in knowing that it comes down to a clear set of necessities, and then ultimately, preference. I say to emphasize the multitude of church options our American context gives us, and as a warning against many Christian’s tendencies to over-spiritualize the church search simply because they don’t prefer one over another. Just because one place worships differently than what you are used to, it does not mean there is a theological hole in their function. 

What should we look for, then?

There are many good things churches can offer. And it is important to weigh the core elements against your core beliefs. 

A couple of questions you could ask are: Do they believe in Jesus as God? Is their foundation on the Bible as the Word of God? Do they believe in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit? What about salvation and baptisms? 

These issues are central to our belief systems and can be helpful in searching for which churches align with our beliefs… but you may also find that every church you were considering falls under that.

From this point, there are a number of factors you can then consider. There can be an emphasis on further convictions or personal boundaries/necessities. Are you looking for a complimentarian or egalitarian congregation? One that is actively anti-racist and inter-generational? Does it include the presence of a nursery or youth group for children? All valid and important distinctions to consider. 

Then, with all of those weighty considerations, I implore you to find a church that loves. That greets, welcomes, embraces, and invests in each person that walks through the doors. A church with people that will help you, and to grow in your faith with. If they make room to invest in you and give you the opportunity to do the same for others, I believe that is the sign of a healthy community that would be an excellent place to get involved in. And remember - don’t just look to be served in your new church, look for opportunities to serve others as well. 

Ultimately, I believe our church search experience in America is a lot simpler than we make it out to be. If you’ve done the work to see if core beliefs and needs hold up to the congregation you have visited, then I encourage you to stay. And if you need to hear it from someone... It’s time to stop shopping. My friend, just pick a church.

Missionary Misconceptions

Written by Alexis Faubel

When the word missionary floats toward me, there have often been ideas and presumptions that I have made about those who carry the role. As I have even experienced these assumptions myself, I thought it would be helpful to really analyze what we may think about missionaries, and uncover the truth about the role that they play in our world:

1. They’re out-of-touch… I have come to find that missionaries are by far some of the most grounded people I know. They often feel the need to be acutely aware of the culture, environment, and context of their mission fields, and, are pretty present because of that.

2. They only talk about Jesus… Our ministries are based on doing life with others. This means that we talk about family, friends, favorite coffee drinks, and anything in between. And while our goal is to talk to others about Jesus, I have found that those conversations start from another topic 95% of the time. 

3. They don’t have personal lives… Although we love our missional communities, a lot of us have friends and other communities that we love to spend time within our free time.

4. They have rose-colored glasses… While this may seem true for the often high-vision and hope-driven missionaries around the world, I have found that appearances often hide the reality that all of us have to count the cost of being a missionary, sometimes even daily. 

5. They’re all poor… While many of us make a lot less than others on average, most of us make enough to live comfortably and sustainably. And believe it or not, that’s the goal!

6. They don’t struggle with doubt… Sharing the gospel is usually a joy, but we question the hard things in life and faith just as much as anyone else. And sometimes, more frequently in our day-to-day conversations with students who are also wrestling with their faith.

7. The role of a missionary is a ‘calling’ for specific people… To this, I would say that most of us didn’t plan to be missionaries and that the call to make disciples of all nations is already there, for all of us - we just have to say yes to it! 

8. We’re the perfect Christians... Are we professional Christians? Yes, are we perfect? No, and we are usually far from it - hopefully, authenticity and story-telling in our lives and ministries shed more light on that reality for others.

9. We don’t value stability or routine... While most of us usually live in a state of flexibility for the sake of the gospel, and the many people we are in a relationship with, this doesn’t mean that we don’t strive for healthy and stable careers and lives within the action!

10.  We always love our jobs… Usually, yes. I always say that I love what I do, but sometimes it isn’t fulfilling, enjoyable or likable. But what I have found is that those seasons are only for a time and that the pros outweigh the cons. The joy that comes in the high moments makes the tough ones worth it for me!