It Begins
Have
you ever wondered what the beginning of the Fall semester feels like
for an RUF campus minister? Well... let me give you a visual!
Really exciting... a little scary... I find myself wondering exactly how I got myself into this situation...
Yet I am not at all sorry that I did.
When you have the privilege of associating with college students on a regular basis, you certainly find yourself doing some things that you might not have dreamed of otherwise
(like jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet, thanks Nick).
And you also find yourself having some conversations that you might not otherwise. Conversations about life, relationships, sin and the gospel. Some of those discussions are wonderful, and others feel more like you're hurtling at 120 mph toward an unforgiving landing zone and you find yourself hoping you can slow the descent down a little.
But the intensity of the circumstances provide excellent opportunities to view things from a different perspective. Sometimes this high altitude big picture is considered peacefully, like right after the ripcord is pulled and things slow down. The rush of wind stops and everything gets quite and calm. At other times focus must be gained during free-fall. In either case these perspectives are not reproduced without a certain level of stress and strain. A situation that is regularly encountered in college life.
This is one of the things I love about campus ministry. The pressure and relative craziness of it all allows me many opportunities to enter into students' lives and to help them consider their current circumstances from an alternate vantage point.
Student ministry affords many occasions for applying the wonderful news of the gospel to the trying situations encountered in everyday life. And that's something that is a huge blessing to me!
It is a beautiful thing to see the gospel of Jesus Christ... the good news of what he accomplished in history... actually affect the way individual students react to specific circumstances. It is awesome to see the gospel truly change hearts and not just behavior.
Let me give you another visual. This is how I hope the the next few months end up going...
Mid semester...
Pray for soft landings.
Steve
Really exciting... a little scary... I find myself wondering exactly how I got myself into this situation...
Yet I am not at all sorry that I did.
When you have the privilege of associating with college students on a regular basis, you certainly find yourself doing some things that you might not have dreamed of otherwise
(like jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet, thanks Nick).
And you also find yourself having some conversations that you might not otherwise. Conversations about life, relationships, sin and the gospel. Some of those discussions are wonderful, and others feel more like you're hurtling at 120 mph toward an unforgiving landing zone and you find yourself hoping you can slow the descent down a little.
But the intensity of the circumstances provide excellent opportunities to view things from a different perspective. Sometimes this high altitude big picture is considered peacefully, like right after the ripcord is pulled and things slow down. The rush of wind stops and everything gets quite and calm. At other times focus must be gained during free-fall. In either case these perspectives are not reproduced without a certain level of stress and strain. A situation that is regularly encountered in college life.
This is one of the things I love about campus ministry. The pressure and relative craziness of it all allows me many opportunities to enter into students' lives and to help them consider their current circumstances from an alternate vantage point.
Student ministry affords many occasions for applying the wonderful news of the gospel to the trying situations encountered in everyday life. And that's something that is a huge blessing to me!
It is a beautiful thing to see the gospel of Jesus Christ... the good news of what he accomplished in history... actually affect the way individual students react to specific circumstances. It is awesome to see the gospel truly change hearts and not just behavior.
Let me give you another visual. This is how I hope the the next few months end up going...
Mid semester...
And by December 18...
At times it certainly feels a bit out of control, but man do I love it! Pray for soft landings.
Steve
Comments
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Zacharias Graves September 4, 2009
Interesting thoughts. Soli Deo Gloria!