Jubilee 2009

I spent my weekend at Jubilee. This was the fifth time I've been there, and it was also the best. The line up of speakers was amazing. Just a few of my favorites were Andy Crouch, Gabe Lyons, and the folks from *culture is not optional.

Bill Strickland also spoke. Play the clip below for a taste of what he had to say.



Mr. Strickland built a training center in a bad neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It's a shining example of the Jubilee vision, that the good news be shared with all people. The following scripture comes to mind: "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." ~Colosians 3:17 If we're doing things in the name of Jesus, then we'll do them excellently Like the folks at the Bidwell Training Center.

Here is a link to a longer YouTube video about Mr. Strickland's training center. It's well worth your time.

This was the message of Jubilee. We also heard from other people who are in the midst of projects to bring God's Kingdom to Earth. Thanks for your support and encouragement that enables me to undertake a similar project, albeit a small one, bringing God's Kingdom into the lives of students at OWU.

Theology: Ideas about God that change the way you live

I heard this definition last week, and it keeps running through my mind. The question I ask myself again and again is "Do I only give students new ideas about God, or do I truly guide them to change the way they live?"

College students are inundated with new ideas every day, so its not enough for me to add Christian ideas into the mix. I need to show them that another way of life is possible and challenge them to change. I have two big events planned this spring to do just that: The Jubilee Conference and Spring Break Wilderness Treks.

Jubilee is the CCO's biggest event of the year. More than two thousand college students will converge in Pittsburgh to worship, learn, and network with other Christian students. Together we will explore this year's conference theme: "Every square inch belongs to God." Students will hear dynamic speakers and participate in interactive workshops explaining how God cares about all of life, including how they study and what careers they choose to pursue.

Presenters at the conference include: Andy Crouch, a new favorite author of mine and Daniel Sepulveda, punter for the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. These are just two speakers in a brilliant line up of more than forty Christian professionals and leaders.

Spring Break Wilderness Treks are outdoor adventure experiences to all parts of the country. This year's trips are:
"Climb Well, Live Well" Rock climbing at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Arkansas
"Sun, Wind, Tide" Coastal canoing in the Florida Everglades
"Searching for Self" Backpacking on Cumberland Island, Georgia
"Where am I storing up treasure?" Backpacking in Big South Fork National Recreation
Area, Tenessee

Each team is captained by OWU student leaders working with a CCO staffer to create a safe and fun trek that gives students an opportunity to not only hear new ideas about God, but to change the way they live.

Each trek focuses on one aspect of lfe, demonstrating how to approach it differently, and challenging students to do so. My team (Arkansas) will focus on ways to measure success. The message I want to convey to students is this: Even though we often measure our success and self worth solely on our performance, God measures us by a different standard. According to him our worth comes from being his children, created in his image.

In addition to offering this idea about God, we have activities and reflections planned to make this abstract concept tangible and give students practical steps they can take to make it real in their lives.

"God will provide" is an idea that changed the way I lived when I became a campus minister - and he had provided. Your generous hearts are the tools he uses to supply me with a salary and also with encouragement, especially when I need it most. Thank You!

Creature of Habit

Two weeks into the new year, I've managed to keep 3 of my 4 resolutions so far. Snow and OWU's gym being closed for break conspired to make it difficult for me to run last week, but I'm back at it this week.

The other difficulty I'm having with all of these resolutions is that they are making me change my routine. Bread baking makes me plan ahead. Running forces me to carve 45 minutes to an hour out of my day. Hardest of all though, has been taking part in a group exploration of spiritual disciplines. We're focusing on a different one each month, and January's is meditation. This has required me to spend - or try to spend - 15 to 30 minutes a day sitting in silence with God.

This is really hard for me to do. The first challenge is just to set aside a period of time to do it. I've only even gotten that far about half of the days that I've wanted to. Then there is the actual meditation. It's hard to sit for even 5 minutes without my thoughts wondering all over the place. I'll keep at it though.

I was surprised to discover how attached I am to my routine and how hard it has been to make these changes. I'm hoping that I will soon settle in to a new routine, one that makes it easier for me to do all of these new things I'm striving for.

What about you and your routines? Do they make it easier or harder for you to do the things you really want to be about? Any ideas on breaking out of old routines and developing new ones?

Exercises unto Godliness

"Exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise profits little—but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." ~ 1 Timothy 4:7, 8

I'm starting the new year in a way I've never done before - with new year's resolutions. Here they are:

1) Study and practice one spiritual discipline each month with a small group. One thing I've already learned is that spiritual disciplines are practice. I've never understood the idea of spiritual disciplines very well until now. They are practice. Just like lifting weights is practice for football players, "exercises unto strength" if you will, the disciplines are "exercises unto godliness. They are practice for real life situations when we need to take a stand in our faith, either by taking action or by resisting the temptation to act wrongly. As Dallas Willard puts it "If you want to do what Jesus did you have to do what Jesus did," meaning if you want to do what Jesus did in the moments when all eyes were on him, then you have to do what he did in the days and weeks when no eyes were on him.

January's discipline is meditation. Find out more about this year of Blogging the Disciplines.

This resolution is an umbrella over all the others. As I list them I'll explain how they fit in.

2) Julia and I plan to bake all of our own bread this year rather than buying it from the grocery store. This is part of a larger effort we are making to eat more healthy, local, and unprocessed foods. Aided by our new bread machine, we are off to a good start. Bread baking is a way to practice the discipline of frugality. That is sacrificing something non-essential - store bought bread - in order to free resources - money - for a better use - giving to ministry or saving. (Remember disciplines are practice; what's important is that we learn to make choices based on how we can best put our resources as God's disposal rather than on convenience, comfort, or cost.)

3) Run at least 5 days a week. I'm doing this primarily to maintain fitness. The discipline is "overcoming laziness." I just invented the name, and I doubt you'll find it on any conventional list of spiritual disciplines. The spiritual value of running regularly in good or bad weather, on days I feel like doing it, and on days I'd rather stay in bed, is that it will prepare me to make the extra effort, to "go the second mile" rather than take the easy way out.

4) Update this blog at least twice a month. Check back every few weeks to see if I'm successful at this one, cultivating the discipline of fellowship.

Lamppost Farm Retreat

All semester long students rush around in perpetual flurries of activity. Now during finals week, the storm of bustle is at its peak. Everyone on campus races from one thing to the next, doing two, three, or even five things at the same time. Over the week long Thanksgiving break I offered students an alternative to this existence, a more connected way of life.

Lamppost Farm, an organic farm and retreat center near Youngstown, Ohio, is run by two former CCO staffers, Steve and Mel Montgomery. I took five students there for a long weekend retreat. We had a chance to slow down, work on the farm, play with Steve and Mel’s four kids, and most of all, spend time together without any pressure to rush off to something else.

We talked about how we each affect the people and things around us. We made an effort to be fully present in each moment, following Jesus’ example. Jesus always focused on the present. Luke’s gospel tells us that even in the middle of a huge crowd, on his way to heal a dying girl, Jesus stopped to talk with a woman who needed his attention, a woman he could care for only if he paused from his task.

How often do we do something as urgent as saving a life? Yet it’s so easy for us to rush through everything, only focused on what we have to do. We can instead, take the opportunities we have every day to positively affect our family, friends, classmates, and co-workers. This is part of the lifestyle Jesus modeled for us, and it’s the way we should live.

From making cheese to pressing apple cider to butchering turkeys, we participated in the preparation of our food more intensively than most of us had ever done before, and when we sat down to eat, everyone was fully present. No one was checking email, writing a paper, or watching tv (all more common experiences for these students than sitting down to a meal with friends to eat and talk).

The last activity of the retreat was for students to write a list of actions they could take in their lives to be more focused on the present and on the positive influence they can have on the people and circumstances they encounter everyday.

Two the items on my list were: 1) Turn off my cell phone more frequently, so a phone call won’t distract me from the people I’m with, and 2) Cook dinner with my wife at least twice a week as one way for us to have some time together to unwind from the day and make a delicious meal to enjoy.

If you were to make your own list of actions you could take to be more in touch with those around you, what would you write? This retreat was only possible because of your generous giving and prayer. My students and I appreciate the vital role you play in this ministry at Ohio Wesleyan University! Thank you!

The week before Thanksgiving is a bad time to be a turkey, as this one is about to discover.

But it became part of a delicious feast. Here is the recipe for one of the other dishes we enjoyed.

Dilly Mashed Potatoes

5 large potatoes (chopped)

5 large carrots (thinly sliced)

Boil together until soft. Drain, mash, and set aside.

2 Tbsp butter

¹/₄ cup chopped onion

1¹/₂ Tbsp fresh Dill (chopped; or 1 tsp dried)

Melt butter in skillet & lightly sauté onion and dill. Add to potatoes.

¹/₂ cup plain yogurt or sour cream

¹/₂ tsp salt

¹/₄ tsp pepper

Stir into potatoes. Mix well and transfer to 2¹/₂ quart casserole dish.

Optional: Sprinkle ¹/₂ cup shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Bake uncovered at 350^O for 30 minutes