Leader Profile: Lucas Raley

When Lucas Raley picked up a double headed ax and instigated a game of "chop the burning catapult" with Jake Haddock, I knew he and I were gonna be great friends!  During our Men's retreat we had a "trebuchet build off" where I had teams of guys construct primitive catapults which we used to launch pumpkins.  Calibrating a trebuchet is quite challenging and in the end none of them launched very well.  But, they burned just fine!  Since they were made from scrap fence and pallet wood we heaved them into the fire once it got dark.  That was cool enough, but it got even cooler when Lucas and the fella's decided to deconstruct it while it was catching on fire!  What a riot!  

We talk about junior Lucas Raley a lot in my family.  Not only is he an incredible student leader who happens to be dating one of our staff interns, but he's a hero to my kids!  From Jack on down to Junie, Lucas is one of our favorite people in the world.   Lucas' fun-loving, gung-ho spirit is inspirational, helpful and contagious!  Because he was here working in Ithaca this summer we got to spend a lot of time together.

Lucas plays on the Cornell football team, but he's struggled with a back injury for the past two years.  Commenting on his back pain, Lucas said "Originally, I thought it was just going to be a few months of taking it easy and it would be recovered, but God had some other plans."  Lucas had hoped to be starting all last year during his sophomore year, but it just wasn't working out!  That was frustrating, and yet it gave Lucas the opportunity and the space to grow in his walk with Jesus.

  Lucas said that when he came to Cornell, he "had been completely wrapped up in the belief that being a starter on the team was what it was all about."  He said; "Having played in several games during freshman year behind a player that had graduated, I was convinced that it was my time to shine. But, what God aggressively informed me of is that it was not, nor will it ever be MY time to shine. However, it is always HIS time to shine."  Having his own plans and dreams disrupted enabled Lucas to recognize and rest in God's plan instead.  

"No longer having my Friday nights occupied with football, I had decided to try out this “Cru” thing that I had heard about from a few people.  So my friend Cole and I decided that we would check it out. That first Friday that we went, about three weeks into the year, we showed up and were immediately welcomed by tons of people that we had never met.  The gospel band played that night which was amazing, and then we heard a solid message. The next week we went back and then heard the announcement for the fall retreat which happened to be on a weekend that we had a Friday night game, giving me the opportunity to go after the game and spend the weekend at the retreat."

 Although we had met before, I remember clearly last fall when Lucas walked up to me with his friend Cole and said "we want to go to the Fall Getaway!"  Lucas came up to our Seneca Lake retreat and he's been a huge part of our ministry ever since.  Although it was a bummer to be injured, God redeemed the time tremendously and we've all been able to benefit.

Lucas Raley is all in.  Starting with that Fall Retreat he's been a faithful and passionate part of Cru.  This summer we got to spend some good time working at the Second Wind cottages together each Saturday.  We also got to cook every Wednesday night for our Summer fellowship.  This semester Lucas is helping to lead a Community Group.  More football guys are being given the chance to connect with Christ and walk on mission like he is.  

It's hard for me to express how grateful I am for him.  He's a faithful man of God, an incredible student leader and a beloved role model to our kids!  Lucas is a blessing to his fellow Cornell students and to our family.

Foreign Policy and Missions

As we continue through this crazy election season, I want to encourage Christians to be thinking (and then voting*) about how this or that administration will affect the proclamation of the gospel to the nations.

When I was in college I had the chance to "smuggle" some Bibles into a foreign country.  Although carrying Christian literature was constitutionally legal in that country at that time, the anti-Christian religio/political situation was such that you pretty much had to sneak them in.  Ten of us folded a total of 250 thin-line Bibles into our clothing in our backpacks.  We hid the books in such a way that a superficial inspection of our bags would leave them undetected.  We traveled into the country in pairs and proceeded through the various baggage checks and customs stations without making any noticeable contact with our group -in case one of us got caught, we didn't want all the other's to be compromised as well.

After crossing the border we traveled into a city and convened at a restaurant.  At the Restaurant we sat at a table and stealthily transferred all the Bibles from our 10 individual bags into 2 bags under the table cloths. Two guys then boarded a train and traveled deeper into the country to deliver the Bible's to an underground church somewhere and the rest of us occupied ourselves with some sight-seeing for the day.  Especially for a college student, the whole experience was a blast; we felt like missionary James Bonds or something!

The experience was profoundly inspiring in a few different ways.  Not only was it strengthening of our faith and confidence in Christ, but I also took away a significant lesson related to international relations and the accessibility of the gospel.

If any customs officials or police would have found the stash of Bibles in our bags or caught us transferring the goods etc. the consequences for us as American's would probably have been pretty minimal.  This country had (and has) a good relationship with the U.S. and pretty much out of respect they would most likely have confiscated the Bibles and then refused to let us across the border, sending us back the way we came.  Possibly we would have been detained for a few hours for questioning.  Although it was possible that there could have been more dire consequences, that was pretty unlikely at that time.

A local resident or even a citizen of another country might not have been so blessed; they could have been subjected to a more harsh punishment.  But simply because we were from the U.S. we had less to worry about.  Our countries relationship with this foreign nation was so positive and they were so fundamentally appreciative of the United States,  that we as American's would have been given extra mercy for transgressing a serious social norm.

On the way out of that country I had another experience that was interesting.  We were actually leaving on a boat/Ferry and at the port station there were the various different security checkpoints.  If I remember correctly, there were 3 different checkpoints that we had to pass through.   The lines were held up and the boat departure time was drawing nigh.  We weren't sure we were going to make it!  But then, while in line at the last checkpoint, a border guard stood up and held up a Blue U.S. passport and shouted "American's" and began waving his hand in a gesture for any American's to pass on through.  The line was full of international travelers with passports from many different places and we were able to walk right by them to the front of the line and pass expediently through the last checkpoint with virtually no handling.   We simply held up our passport and the guard directed us to the boat!  We were literally given special treatment because we were from the U.S.!

I remember thanking God for such a successful adventure while marveling at the irony of the situation.   And I also remember thinking this: "Wow! Blue American Passport's are very powerful!"  To quote 'uncle Ben' "with great power comes great responsibility"   I remember thinking about how useful American citizenship was for enabling the spread of the gospel!  I remember being grateful and even proud that America had such rapport!  Because of America's role in the world, we were able -as American college students to carry scriptures to people who needed them with incredible expedience and a considerably limited risk to boot!   I remember thinking that this was really cool!

America's role and reputation in the world were actually helpful for the cause of Christ!  Having an American passport was a powerful and precious gift!  I didn't personally earn it, but for the sake of the Gospel, I wanted to steward it well and help other American's to do the same!  And I felt there was an urgency -even as I rejoiced, I remember thinking that such privilege probably wouldn't last forever!   Even then, I speculated that a day would come when our blue passport would gain us nothing positive at a foreign border!

In September of 2002 I was in Spain standing outside one of the University buildings handing out a mini-magazine talking about the events of 9/11 and explaining the gospel.  Most people were respectful, a few were engaging and another few shouted belligerently at us, ridiculing us for being American's.   On that day, in that country, our U.S. citizenship was NOT actually helping us to make the gospel accessible!

I have many concerns about the candidates running for president and the effects their administrations would have on our lives and the world we live in, but one primary grid that I can't not filter things through is what I'll call the "missionary grid."   I look at potential candidates and ask questions like "if this person were president, how would that help or hurt the forth-going of the gospel in the world.   In particular, I ask; "will this person as president make it easier for American's to travel abroad serving as gospel-proclaiming ambassadors for Jesus, or harder?"

Jesus' command (known as the Great Commission) to us in Matthew 28:18-20 factors into pretty much all of my big life decisions, as I actually think it should for every follower of Christ.  I know that the president is not the "pastor in chief", and yet, I think committed Christians should be thinking very much about the spread of the gospel to the nations and how a presidential administration will either impede that or enable it.   There are many important issues in the world, but the ultimate answer and hope for the world is found in the good news of Jesus Christ.

*Yesterday I went to the DMV to get my address changed.  While filling out the forms I also changed my political party affiliation to "none".  I'm planning not to vote in the presidential election in November.  

Steak & Bacon......Kale & Quinoa

The vision for Cru at Cornell is that we would be a ministry of small groups.  This means that we regard our Community Groups as our primary vehicle for both discipleship and evangelism.  Among ministries and churches there are different philosophies and methodological approaches, but we believe gospel-centered missional small groups are they way to go.  Cru at Cornell has experienced consistent growth over the past 8 years primarily by raising up and developing small group leaders who help groups of people to discover and follow Christ.

This year, we have over 20 Community Groups in Cru.  A few of our groups took the time to take "group pics" when we were out at our Fall Getaway last month.  I love these pictures because they are portraits of "how we roll" here in Ithaca.

Often when we are promoting our "CG's" I'll say something like this:  "Community Groups are our main course here with Cru.  We used to say they were our 'bread and butter' but then we thought; who eats bread and butter as a main course?  Maybe we should be more gloriously specific!  Now we think of CG's as our 'steak and bacon'!  And if you're a vegetarian and that isn't calling your name -let me describe them as our 'kale and quinoa'!  Either way, we want you to partake!"  

Most of our groups are single gender groups, but we do have a couple of co-ed ones as well.  

I actually believe that it is fundamentally impossible for a student to thrive spiritually apart from a small group. Even going to church every Sunday will not be enough for a student.  A church service isn't nearly personal enough!  People must be united in dynamic fellowship with others who will help them to believe the gospel and walk closely with Christ in order to grow and experience the joy of knowing God.  

F.A.T. Volunteer

F.A.T. stands for Faithful, Available, and Teachable.  Dan Seo is definitely FAT!

The truth is, Dan Seo wasn't planning on staying at Cornell for a whole semester after he finished school, but thankfully God was!  Dan rocked out his Electrical/Computer Engineering degree in just 3 1/2 years and was dutifully applying for jobs throughout the fall of '13 but nothing panned out!  Dan had seriously considered staying at Cornell and volunteering alongside our interns, but in the end he and his family had decided it would be best if he went straight into engineering.  BUT, surprisingly, he just wasn't getting the offers!  The situation was actually very stressful.  Dan is certainly capable and qualified, but the discouragement compounded each time he would do an interview and fill out an application only to be passed over.  And not only was Dan himself getting unnerved, but his father and mother were increasingly distressed which put a lot of pressure on him. When January of 2014 arrived, Dan decided that -without another job available, he would hang out in Ithaca for the semester, and spend time serving our ministry with his free time.  

Dan was able to have a God-centered perspective on it all.  Relaying his experience to our movement he said; "I ended up without a job and I like to think that it was by God’s grace that I didn’t get a job [last semester]."  It's been a faith challenge for sure, but those of us who have been involved can affirm that Dan has fought hard to believe truth in the face of adversity. (In fact, at the time of this writing, Dan is still applying for jobs, and is even now trusting God even with the future so uncertain and out of his control.)

As a student Dan was a real servant leader who was a big part of leading Community Groups in Collegetown.  Dan also acted as the functional "secretary" of our ministry, helping to ensure that notes were taken at every one of our leadership meetings and typing up 'minutes.'  He would typically post the minutes right after the meeting thereby enabling anyone who was unable to attend to "catch up" on all the stories and business that had been covered.  Numerous leaders benefited from that contribution!  Doing that, also enables us as staff to look back on over 2 years of leadership meetings to keep track of what we have covered in the past and help us be more effective going forward.  As a volunteer, Dan was able to keep doing those things and even more.  

Dan's friends would tell you that he is truly one of the most disciplined and organized people they have ever met.  I knew that his strengths would be a wonderful compliment to our staff team.  Explaining his experience working with us he said  "I don’t think J, Will, or Mercy will take offense when I say they are not logistical/administrative masters or necessarily detail driven. They just weren't made to be people sitting in front of a computer screen typing all day....or to discuss logistics for hours on end.  Instead they... communicate, direction set, build relationships with people, teach and lead.   But me, with my personality and disposition, I’m an organizer!  I like figuring out logistics, planning and thinking about the details."

Especially as we organized and orchestrated the logistics and finances of our 3 spring break trips, Dan and his spreadsheets enabled us to send students to New York City, Guatamala City and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. And because he didn't have any coursework on his plate, Dan was able to be very available to fill in holes and help with almost anything at all! And it certainly wasn't all business! We enjoyed his company and appreciated his friendship.

I will say that for my part, I was extremely grateful that Dan was able to stay with us!  And I know that the rest of our staff team loved it as well! He certainly finished his time here at Cornell in a way that was definitively non-traditional, but it was so, so helpful.  (In fact, I truly hope that others will follow his example and do the same in years to come!)  Sharing at our last weekly meeting, in his matter of fact way,  he encouraged others to consider staying as an intern or volunteer staff. 

"I wouldn’t ever want people that serve as a volunteer staff, much less intern, to have not thought this over. [Going to] work immediately, taking a vacation, a celebratory trip somewhere fun, or just bumming around and relaxing (after graduation).....none of those are the wrong choice to make.

But I do believe there might be a better choice. Like a lot of thing Cru advocates, Fall Getaways, Summer Projects to name a couple, it may not always, in every situation be the best move, like when you need to be studying or working at a job, but like a lot of thing Cru advocates, staying and serving is something you will not regret doing. For me, it's been a blessing and helpful in my walk, and I hope that makes staying a bit more appealing."

Read RADICAL

I wanted to take a moment to endorse and recommend David Platt’s Radical.  

I started reading it a couple of weeks ago, and took it fairly slow in order to really digest and meditate on the Christ exalting truths that Platt unpacked. 

Platt’s books (and sermons, I hear) are loeaded with scripture and quite convicting as well as inspiring.   The book moves quickly as he addresses the call of discipleship in a direct, convincing and applicable way.  At the end of the book, he lays out a one year “Radical Experiment” with 5 ways to really pursue God and live for him.  

I guess in some ways, you could read the back cover of the book and get the main point!  I could summarize it in less than a sentence: 

God is amazing, His mission is glorious, Jesus our savior is worth your whole life!!

It's similar to most good Christian books in that way -including other best sellers like Crazy Love by Francis Chan.   But don’t settle with synopsis.  It’s worthy to read thru this whole book and really internalize the things that he’s talking about. 

He also has another one that I think is made for small groups called Radical Together, but, I haven't read that one....

A friend of mine,  Mike Morgan once asked me: "is there any book you've read that you didn't think was "great?"   I like to imagine that I pick my books pretty carefully  -and I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to finish everything you start.  (because some things should have never been started in the first place!)   Thus, I would say,  I haven't read too many books all the way thru that I didn't at least appreciate.  If a book is lame, I just stop reading it once I get the main point.   But, for insight and credibility sake, here are 

some that I don't think are great!  

Velvet Elvis  by Rob Bell.  Creatively written of course, and not boring, just not actually as illuminating as the author supposes it to be.  A book full of great questions, but lacking on clarifying answers.   This book rants and raises some great issues throughout, but in the end I felt like I was standing on sand instead of a solid rock. 

Servolution  by Dino Rizzo  A great concept; Basically, it's about serving like Christ.  Amen!  And I think Dino’s church must be doing some awesome ministry! There's nothing heretical in this book that I saw, but it was just not engaging!  I'm not sure why!  So, I didn't finish it.   I am sure some people find it inspiring;  that was the author's point, but I thought it was poorly written. 

Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical by Shane Claiborne  I actually enjoyed reading most of this book.  (i didn't finish it.)  I think I'd enjoy hanging out with Shane if I got to meet him, and I support the things he does in Philly and beyond.  But, his theology is kind of weak, and he uncritically weaves too many worldly political ideas (mostly liberal ones) into his books.  Tim Keller's Generous Justice is a way more worthy read.  And Keller allows the Gospel to critique both liberal and conservative ideals that aren't biblical.  

Proximity is key

I want to ask you to pray for us this week as we work to raise some new financial support.

This summer we are going to be moving to a different house -a house that is very close to campus.  It is literally only about 200 meters from North Campus.  As we work to put the gospel within arms reach of every student we see a lot of benefit in living close to the students.  Back when we served in Nebraska we lived 2 blocks from the student Union building.  It was awesome for our family and our students to be so near to the school.

Proximity is a key ingredient in everything we do.  We are constantly coaching our students on how to be present on the campus both physically and emotionally so that they can engage their friends and classmates with the Gospel.  Jesus came close in order to reveal himself and demonstrate his love to mankind; thru his humility and sacrifice he made a way for us to be reconciled to God.  As Christ's ambassadors, we must get close to people in order to serve as he did and point people to him.

Living close to campus has many advantages.  First, it will enable us to host students at our home more easily.  Jesus did so much of his ministry while eating meals with people -we want to do the same.  Hospitality is one extremely effective way to serve others and demonstrate God's grace.  Living close to campus will enable Stephanie to meet with more women leaders.  Just this week, as things were coming to a close, we were trying to organize our schedules to be able to catch up with many students before they leave for the summer.  It is hard to coordinate taking care of our kids and meeting up with some of the girls.  But when we live right next to campus,  Stephanie will be able to meet with them at our house even while our kids take naps!

The university is our mission field and living within walking is going to be amazing.   But the financial cost is high.  Living near to campus costs more money and so we need more faith-filled partners to help make this happen.

The semester has been busy and we are heading out to our summer project next Monday, but in the short meantime we are working to raise $1,000 in new monthly support.  That's a lot of money to raise in one week, so we are praying for 10 new partners who will give $100 per month.  Right now, two people have stepped forward to join our support team, so we only need 8 more!

Please pray for 8 more people to join our support team this week!

Following Jesus

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Throughout the Bible, we see Jesus beckoning people, inviting people and exhorting people to follow him. While Jesus was on earth, people were given the chance to actually follow him by walking beside him as he travelled and by physically migrating with him to those houses, mountain tops and beaches where he was spending time teaching and performing miracles. They could see him and hear his voice clearly. They could walk down the road with him, eat with him, or go fishing with him! To follow Jesus meant you would hang out with him, learn his teachings and do life with him. There were times during Jesus’ earthly ministry when he was virtually a celebrity and tons of people were flocking to where he was. There were other instances when he was regarded much more negatively and only those closest to him were by his side; though even they struggled to ‘follow him’ during those darkest hours.

Those men and women who followed Jesus were called his “disciples”, a word that literally means “follower, student, pupil and associate.” The call of Christ is to trust him and to imitate him by living like him and doing those things that he commands.

The word Christian actually means “little Christ” and was first used as an insult to describe believers in the early days of the Church who were following Jesus with their lives. They understood the call and were motivated by gratitude and worship in light of who Jesus is and what he had done for them. They understood what Jesus’ disciple John meant when he said “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Today, Jesus is not physically present on earth, but he reins in the hearts and lives of his disciples spiritually by the power of his Holy Spirit. Though absent in the flesh, Christ continues to call men and women to follow him.

Following Jesus means putting our trust or our faith in him. The truth is, everybody has faith in something or someone, and everyone is following somebody. Jesus’ call to follow him, is an exhortation to abandon our allegiances to inferior philosophies, lifestyles, and gods and to surrender all to him. He is king of the universe, and his call is a call to freedom, life and joy!

Jesus calls his followers to walk the road he walked, so this path of freedom and joy also involves suffering. Many times we can forget this aspect of discipleship, but it is critical that we understand it if we are to rightly follow Jesus.

Just before Jesus left the earth, he reminded his disciples that he would never leave them and that in fact he would always be with them. He has left us with his Word –the Bible so we can know him. He has given us prayer so that we can communicate with him, and he has given us each other so that we might follow him together –unified and filled with his spirit, we are His body.

(this post also available at www.cornellcru.com)