We Do Awkward Things

Often times when talking about the way that Cru staff like us go about raising their funds -whether we are talking to student leaders, people at church or even some of those who actually support our ministry, people will say something like: “It seems really awkward to ask people for money.”   Implicit is a sort of “I’m glad I don’t have to do that” and sometimes there is a general “You shouldn’t do that either.” sort of vibe.

In response, we can talk about the Biblical precedent for missionary fundraising or cast vision for the amazing way that “ministry partner development”  enables more people to actively engage in Great Commission work. We can rightfully highlight the way that the work of fundraising builds faith and even galvanizes  conviction in the heart of the missionary. We can explain that what people give is ultimately an offering to God -it’s supposed to engender true worship and God-dependency.  But with all that, I have no qualms admitting: It is awkward!

It’s awkward -uncomfortable, odd, sometimes even humiliating to initiate a conversation with someone and ask them to give money.  But when you get down to it, most of our job is awkward. Raising funds to work on campus is just the beginning!

After we get done with that we spend time sitting down with random strangers in dining halls; we strike up a conversation and trust God to help us talk about spiritual things.  (In Asia, we didn’t even have the necessary meal card so for every meal we had to ask a stranger to swipe their ID just to get us some food so that we could then sit down at the tables and make new friends.)   We set up tables in high traffic locations and invite students to fill out spiritual interest surveys or interact with deep spiritual topics. During the afternoons and evenings we sit in rooms and open the Bible prompting people to talk about their shortcomings, weaknesses, sins and need for God -in short, we host awkward conversations.  We plant ourselves in residence halls -believe me, as I get older, this is only getting more awkward! We hang out in fraternity houses. We set up tents and signs, we send emails and facebook messages where we identify ourselves with Christ and ask people to interact about God. We do awkward things.

One of the main reasons I believe in Cru’s ministry partner development model is that it prepares people for the awkwardness of ministry.  A person willing to endure the awkwardness of support raising will probably be ok stepping out on campus. Doing evangelism in our culture is awkward. Asking somebody who is having a hard time if you can pray for them can be awkward. And yes, raising funds the way that we do is awkward; it's not only awkward, but that's part of it.

As we proceed in ministry I can only ask that Jesus give us the courage and humility to press into the awkward space.     

Seniors 2016: James Palmer

"Close your eyes and imagine what it would be like to be at the forefront of the next great awakening as God sweeps through not only the U.S. but Europe and all over the world!" -James Palmer

Today I woke up early and I was listening to a sermon about Prayer.  My summer schedule has included a lot of "early to bed and early to rise" and I've been wanting to grow in passion for early morning prayer.  That got me thinking about my bro James Palmer.  James helped lead a prayer meeting called 'Kindle' that met 6 days a week all throughout the school year last year.   Every morning at 7:30am, James got up and gathered with a small core of guys and girls to pray and intercede for the campus.  Together they engaged in the spiritual battle asking God to work powerfully in and through the lives of the Christians on campus.  They prayed for those who don't know Christ that they would be open to the gospel.  They prayed for revival and healing and spiritual transformation.  

As I was typically driving my kids to school during that time slot, I never made it to Kindle.  But I am thankful for James and the Kindle crew!   I am thankful for all the ways they participated in the mission and I am personally thankful for James' example; his faithfulness inspires me even today.  

James is from Ithaca;  he grew up here and attended Ithaca High School. I met him just a few days into his freshman year at Cornell almost 4 years ago.  We were playing Glow in the Dark Ultimate Frisbee and James was doing really good!  

When you meet James Palmer, he will probably strike you as a kind, mild-mannered guy with a chill disposition.  He's considerate and articulate and smart.  If you met him in class you would enjoy his company.  He's kind of mellow in certain ways, but at the same time, there's a powerful intensity about him! 

James was committed to evangelism in many different forms!  During the fall, he decided to try out a little open air preaching in the middle of campus.  

Throughout his time at Cornell James set an example of radical faith.  His dedication to missions is truly remarkable.  The summer after his freshman year he joined Larry and Van-Kim Lin on a summer project to one of my favorite countries in South East Asia.  During his sophomore year I got to serve with him in Haiti over Spring Break.  I loved hanging out in our room with the guys talking and praying each night.  This last March he and I were together out in Baltimore.   

Me with James and Gaelle down in the gorge. 

It is no exaggeration to say that James Palmer maximized his senior year.  He lead the Kindle meeting and also worked as a Resident Assistant in one of the freshman dorms.  James also helped me to lead a Community Group this year!   Each week we hung out on Tuesday nights with 10 - 14 freshman guys to eat together, share life and dig into the scriptures.  James' contagious passion and knowledge of the Word were definitely a blessing to the guys!   James set a high bar and encouraged the men to live sold out lives for Christ.  

During his "Senior Share" James exhorted his classmates to really trust God for Greater things.
James had everybody close their eyes and imagine various things like telling close friends about Jesus, talking to strangers about the gospel and traveling to new places to spread the gospel.  He had everybody picture in their minds people being healed from physical illness and spiritual oppression.  James said "close your eyes and imagine what it would be like to be at the forefront of the next great awakening as God sweeps through not only the U.S. but Europe and all over the world!" James ended with the Apostle Paul's words from Ephesians chapter 3

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.


I'm really grateful for all the ministry I got to do over the years with James!

While we were out in the DC/Baltimore area for our Spring Break mission, James proposed to his girlfriend Gaelle!  

  

New Interns for Next Year!

As we look towards next year we are extremely encouraged by the number of interns that will hopefully be serving with us here at Cornell!  Each of us is laboring to raise our funds this summer, but if all goes well there will be 7 of us (including Stephanie and I) working as a team here on campus next fall.  I'd like to introduce our three newest interns so that you can be praying for them asap! We've got three new interns and two returners; all of whom are Cornell alum.

Sam Rabkin

Sam graduated with a degree in Engineering Physics.  By faith he turned down at least one lucrative job offer with IBM in order to stay here with us for a year ministering to college students.  Sam became a follower of Jesus while he was a student.  The community of Cru was instrumental in enabling Sam to understand the gospel and his desire is to help others experience that same blessing.  

Sam is an incredibly loving guy who is known for serving and helping others.  As a student leader he was instrumental in (consistently) mobilizing our movement to help serve the homeless in our city.

 On campus he was on the Taekwondo team where he not only excelled athletically, but he also facilitated an incredible community group where both Christians and others were able to explore the Bible and the Christian worldview.

Sam has an incredible heart for kids and last year he and I got to serve together in Haiti.  Although engineering internships are important for career prospects, Sam spent a couple of his summer's serving kids in both the U.S. and Bolivia.

Kelechi Umoga

Kelechi Umoga is an inspirational man!  Specifically because our ministry here is so international, I am really excited to have a team member who is from Africa; Kelechi hails from Nigeria.  Kelechi is a man of conviction and faith and sticking around to intern with Cru is just one more demonstration of that.  Usually, when a student comes from another country to study in the States, it is so that they can get on sort of "fast track" to success, wealth and even power.  Slowing that momentum down in order to humbly ask others for financial support  so that you can hang out on campus talking about Jesus and hosting Bible studies is not normal!  And in fact, according to common opinion*, it's considered stupid!  When people ask Kelechi why he is doing this, the tone tends towards concern, confusion and even pity.  It's a "what happened?   Or "where is your focus?  Did something happen to you?  Don't you remember what's really important?"  haha!  The answer to all of  those questions is Jesus!    Kelechi has a powerful and personal relationship with God and that certainly affects everything!

As an international student it's scary to even attempt the fund raising endeavor because he doesn't have as many relationships here in the states!  I'm grateful for Kelechi's courage!  

He's not afraid to walk a different path even if it seems completely "out of the box."

Kelechi and Sam are actually really good friends and so it's going to be awesome to have them both on campus for another year.

I wrote a blog post on Kelechi back in January.  Link to it here. 

Anna Thompson

I often tell prospective students that THE BEST REASON to come to school at Cornell is to be a part of the awesome things God is doing here on campus.  Anna whole-heartedly agrees!  She first plugged in with us when she was attending the local community college in our area.  After getting her associates and working for a couple of years in another city she felt lead to pursue more education  -specifically at Cornell.  One of the driving motivations for her applying to come here was the chance to spend  more time serving and being  involved with our ministry!  

She told me; “Cru was truly instrumental in my life  – it made a huge difference while I was a local community college student and [was again when I transferred back!]  Because of the way that God used Cru in my life, when people ask me how I came to Cornell, I have a natural avenue to tell them about God and invite them to Cru. 

Anna and her brother doing the "Tough Mudder" adventure race!

Believe me, God has been using Anna to make a huge difference in the lives as others as well!   She's very social and extremely friendly and it seems every single week she has the chance to talk with somebody about her faith and how the gospel brings life and joy.  

Anna has a lot of energy and it's going to be good to have her spending time with younger students; mentoring and helping them to walk by faith.  She has an adventurous spirit and I know that our female leaders age gonna be so blessed! 

Nick Biebel will be returning as an intern.  His new wife Ronkui will also be here of course! 

Mercy Gbenjo is also going be here serving as part time field staff! 

* depending who you are talking to it is very common to hear negative perspective towards the idea of graduates raising funds and serving for a year in ministry.  Why?  Many think it poses too great a risk to one's career advancement opportunities.    Even some Christian parents consider the Cru intern option a foolish decision that can have an adverse affect on a person's educational or professional and economic future.  This despite the fact that every single one of our former interns has in fact gone on to pursue/obtain a graduate degree and/or a job.  

Ben Hutton M-Div (Westminster)
John Sullivan M-Div  (Westminster)
Edgar Lei  Currently in Med School at Tufts
Charlene Chan  Currently in Med School at Loyola
Larry Lin (interned in D.C.) Currently in Seminary pursuing M-Div at Southern 
William Poon  Currently in business in NYC  Still has plans to pursue an MBA

Seniors: Katie & Anna Johnson

It is so fun when siblings get to attend Cornell together!  

Katie and Anna Johnson are twin sisters who served faithfully in our ministry here at Cornell.  Right up til the last minute Katie was on campus helping me to interview and equip next year's Community group leaders.  Her dedication to shepherding and encouraging the younger women in our ministry was just awesome!  The Johnson twins are both literature buffs and Katie studied English here at Cornell.  She is hoping to teach high school in California while Anna is pursuing a job with the International Justice Mission.

 In her Senior exhortation Katie introduced us to a painting by the Belgian surrealist painter named René Magritte, called the Treachery of Images.  It's a painting of a pipe and underneath it it says "This is not a pipe."  The sentiment is simple and yet extremely profound.  

   
It says “this is not a pipe,” because it’s not a pipe; it’s just a painting of a pipe.  It is an image of a pipe and although it can provoke us to think about a pipe, in the end it cannot do what a pipe does.  A person would be foolish to live as though the image is all that there is!   Katie explained:  In the same way, much of what we see is only a representation of God, not itself god.  We are materialist and sensual beings who think that what we perceive with sight and touch in the physical world is what is most real.  But Romans 8:25 says that we hope for what is not seen, because we already have what we can see, and someday that will go away.  The world will fade away, but God is eternal.  C.S. Lewis said going to Heaven will be “the real wakening; the dream is ended, the morning is beginning.”   It is so easy to live our life consuming and consumed with all kinds of "images" and idols.  

Katie at one of our women's times

Katie is very good at helping others to see Christ through our favorite heroes from the past or from fiction.  They can function as echoes of the real Hero, like the drawing representing the real pipe.  She pointed out that Jean Valjean’s (Les Miserables) generosity to the poor reflects how gracious God is to us; Captain America’s purity reflects how Jesus lived the perfect life for us; Mulan is fearless in the same way that Jesus courageously came down from his throne in Heaven for us; Sydney Carton laid down his life as nobly for Charles Darnay as Jesus did for us. (A Tale of two cities.)  I know that many high schoolers will be blessed to have Katie as a teacher!  

Anna running Cross Country 

Throughout her time here at Cornell, Anna was involved with the on-campus chapter of the International Justice Mission (IJM).  IJM is an incredible organization that works primarily to end human trafficking and rescue modern day slaves.  IJM is a Christian non-profit that expends a lot of energy working to restore rule of law, protect the vulnerable and thwart oppression all around the world!   Anna's heart beats for the poor and those in need. While she was a student, Anna was constantly working to help Cornellians become more aware of important issues in our world.  Whether Anna ends up working full time with IJM or not, we know that she will continue to mobilize others to fight for enduring peace.  

Anna and Katie lived in a house with 8 other women leaders in Cru.  I called it "the girl house" but they called it Alpha Omega house.

From Parties to Evangelism

When it comes to communicating the gospel to people who don’t know Christ personally, there is general agreement that the best way to do this is in the context of relationship/friendship.   By and large most people in America -both Christians and non-Christians are decently averse to other modes of evangelism like street preaching, door to door, or random contact etc.   Although I don’t think any of those is unbiblical, I do think that these days it is most effective to communicate the gospel in conversations with people who you know and care about.  We should try and do that as often as possible!

But this doesn’t mean we should only talk about Jesus with the people we already have relationship with.   Certainly not.  Compelled by the love of Christ and commissioned to help the whole world  know and follow HIM, we must endeavor to reach out to others.  Living on mission with Jesus means meeting and connecting with more people.  We must strive to communicate God’s love and grace powerfully and effectively.  

Especially because all ministry is essentially an act of hospitality, one of the best ways to reach out to others involves hosting some form of hospitable gathering.   Here people can be exposed to the grace of God and experience fellowship in community.  This might look like a neighborhood cook-out, a party, maybe an open-mic style event, a bonfire or even something like an informal group of friends going out for burritos or bubble tea!   Whatever it is, it’s a venue for those who know Christ to spend some time mixing it up and building relationships with others who don’t know Christ.  

Below are three basic tips to help you be missional at a simple fellowship/party type of event.  

MAKE CONTACT:  

It is absolutely critical for those who know Christ to introduce themselves and welcome and talk to the people who are new!  This might seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how many fellowship/party events I’ve been to where all of the Christians are standing around talking only to other Christians while the non-Christians are out in another circle talking to each other!  MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!  What is happening?  Jesus’ words about  the wrongness of lighting a lamp and putting it under a bushel would apply here!  You need to extend your hand and meet people!  

There is nothing more missionally ineffective than a bunch of Christians hanging out NOT talking to those who do not know Jesus!  

MAKE A CONNECTION:  

Shaking hands and saying “welcome” is just the first step.   Again, because the idea is “relational evangelism” there needs to be a relationship!   Moving beyond simple greetings, take the time to  pursue conversation.  Think about where you are sitting.  Are you physically positioned in a place where you can connect with new people?   Sure someone needs to make sure that the napkins are stocked and that the ice bowl is full, but are you spending all of your time tending to logistics while ignoring the people?  Calm down Martha!  Take a load off, make yourself available, talk and chat it up.  Get to know things about the other person, and try to find those things that you might have in common.  

What we are doing here is actually caring about people.  The old saying: “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is applicable here.  Not talking to others essentially communicates; “I don’t really care much about you at all.”  

MAKE A PLAN: 
When you are at a large group cook out or dance or coffee shop or whatever kind of event, there is a good chance you are NOT going to be able to share the gospel right there and then.  Hopefully, as you cover ground in conversation, you’ll be able to at least broach the topic of spiritual things in some way.  And as you share a little bit about your life hopefully you’ll get the chance to at least mention the name of Jesus.  But in the crowded environment, you won’t always have the opportunity to really dig in and “talk theology” -especially if you haven’t known the person for more than 5 minutes.  So, you need to make a plan to meet up some other time.  How will you foster the relationship going forward?   It may involve inviting the person to something, or it might mean you going to something they invite you to!  Let’s say for example you learned that your new friend plays a lot of basketball at some gym or playground.  You could offer to meet up there and play some hoops.  Maybe your new friend has a booth at the farmer’s market.  You could make an appointment to go visit them there some Saturday morning.    Now the specifics of the situation might make this more or less conducive, but at the very least you should always try and exchange some sort of contact info. 

Even if you don’t sketch out a plan together, you as the missional-minded ambassador for Jesus Christ should be thinking of a plan!

Our Housing Stuff

Our housing situation has recently become unfortunately complicated!

4 years ago we moved into this house right next to campus.  Cornell University actually owns this house (166 Pleasant Grove Rd.)  and we rent it via a third part management company.  

 We love being close to campus for a lot of reasons.  The whole endeavor of our ministry here at Cornell is to make the good news of Jesus Christ as accessible as possible.  

Ever since my first international mission trip in the summer of 1997, I have been convinced that the best way to connect  people with God's gracious love is to go and live among them. God originated this idea; walking with Adam in the garden, dwelling with the Israelite's in the tabernacle and then sending Jesus to earth as the ultimate missionary. Jesus lived as a man, with men in order to reconcile men to himself. He came to earth and gave his life so that we could have a personal relationship with him forever. And he has invited us to participate with him in this same mission.

This house has served us very well in our ministry here; it has enabled us to live very close to the students we minister to and with.   But it seems now we must live somewhere else!  Please pray for us as we look for another house that will serve our family and our ministry like this one has.  

If this stuff is interesting to you, you can read on.  

"Calving Season"

There's really nothing quite like the beginning of the fall semester!  It's a time of year that is truly special and unique.  

    

Most people have never seen the 7 part documentary called "The Last American Cowboy."  It's about 3 different Montana cattle ranches and the families that own/run them.  It's thoroughly interesting to see how all three ranches really do things a little bit differently based on their size and resources. 

I reference that movie often at the beginning of the year as I'm coaching our student leaders because  I compare the beginning of the school year to "calving season."  Calving season on a cattle ranch is an extremely important, extremely busy,  and unique time of year.  It's an "all hands on deck" season where the normal rhythms of life are disrupted by the critical work of delivering  the baby calves.  The whole years work and the  financial future of the ranch is dependent upon live, healthy cows, so the key is to see as many calves "hit the ground" safe and ready to thrive.   Everybody is "on call" and life looks different during calving season.  

Normally the cowboys and ranch hands don't stay up all night -but during calving season, that's not rare. The work is exhausting, and although normally the hands don't sleep in the barn -during calving season they might.  The workers are on a round the clock schedule and where on a normal day, no one would ever have to sleep in the truck -during calving season they will!  Everything is different during calving season and the "routine" or lack thereof is informed by the mission during this special time of year. 

And that's how it is during the beginning of the fall semester on campus.  Diligence is the name of the game, especially at a place like Cornell.  Together with our student leaders we labor in ways and at a pace that is unlike any other time of year.   We spend more money on food -both as we host kick-off events, but also as we spend time eating in the north campus dining facilities with new students.   I eat fewer meals with my family during this time of year, and our student leaders also eat less at home.  We stay up later -attending glow in the dark dance parties, hosting late night sports events and planning for the next days activities.  We get up early, to spend time in prayer, we're sending tons of emails, texts and facebook messages to new students who are interested in getting connected to the body of Christ.  We spend hours standing at tables in all sorts of strategic places on campus welcoming people, handing out information packs and inviting people to our small groups.   The first few weeks are different, they are definitively more hectic and they require more energy than usual.  

A campus ministers life looks very different during the first month and a half of school the same way a cattle ranchers does during calving season.  You simply cannot treat that time of year the same as any other.  The pace slows down around October, but right now, we're still in the midst of our "calving season."  

"Right In Our Own Back Yard!"

Two of our kids were downstairs riding skateboards and the rest of us were in our apartment when after a quick rap on the door, a girl from China walks right into our house with a confident "hello."  It's 9:15 in the morning, and  even though we have never met, she's standing in our entry way, exclaiming at the cuteness of Juniper and wandering down the hallway to the living room! 

"Hello!"  I greet her back.  We all introduced ourselves and began to talk about apartments for rent in the area.  I ended up walking around the neighborhood and helping her and her friends find some living accommodations for the summer.

It's not that that was a daily occurrence by any means, but I tell you that story to highlight just how involved we are with the international student population in Wildwood!  The students are everywhere -even walking right into our living room!  

So often it's merely sentiment to say "there are people from all over the world right in our back yard." But on the Wildwood Summer Project, it's actual fact!   Throughout the week and with increasing frequency we and our students hang out in the backyard of the project house talking with new friends from all over the world.

I was hanging out one night talking with a guy named Alex from Romania along with a couple of other guys including a guy I'll call "G" from China.  We were talking about original sin and I was explaining the Adam and Eve story which was actually brand new to "G."   Alex, had grown up around the Eastern Orthodox tradition, so he was at least familiar with the narrative.  As we talked about the effects of the fall in the world and in our lives Alex exclaimed grievously "Awww Adam!  Why did you eat that F****** apple!?"  (I think he speaks for all of us.)  As we went on, I was explaining that Jesus is the only one who has ever lived a perfect and sinless life.  So that the gospel was not confused as being simply another moralistic tale, I told some other stories from the Bible, explaining that all of the characters in the Bible are actually sinful, fallen human beings, and only the God in the flesh, Jesus can save us.  As I told different stories, I dialed em up using BibleGateway on my iPhone.

It was a great conversation and everyone was really engaged.  "G" said, "I am really interested in the Bible right now!"  I explained that he could read the whole thing online in his own language!  He said, "yah, but how long would that take?"  I said "Probably a couple of months."  He said  "Don't they have a movie or something?"  I said "well, actually...yah.  They kind of do!  Just this past year the History Channel made a movie!"  I said "I'll buy it and how bout next Thursday we can start watching it!"

Here's what's cool.  "G" actually went home and downloaded the full miniseries on his computer!  But then, someone stole his laptop!!  NOOOOOO!  But he came out on Thursday, and towards the end of our International Cafe, we set up a screen right in the driveway and about 10-15 of us watched the first episode of the Bible movie.  

There were guys literally getting their first exposure to the Biblical narrative!  And they were into it!

  

Brian Green is NOT Normal!

Senior Brian Green is very unusual.  The things that he does are not normal; they are not typical, they are supernatural.

James 5:16 says “confess your sins to each other and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”  Brian does that.  A couple of months ago, he felt prompted to pick up the phone and call his dad specifically to confess some sin.  He had talked with his parents about many trials and temptations, but he decided it would be a good idea to call his dad and really let him in; to tell him ‘the whole story’ related to a specific issue in his life.   

John Owen once said: “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you”   Brian Green is a man who steps out with boldness and exposes sin to the light; where it dies!   Normal people don't confess their sins to their friends. They don't open up to their community group. Normal people don't call their dad and confess sin to their family!  Brian Green is not normal.

Brian can only do this stuff because he really loves Jesus!   He got involved in Cru during his freshman year.  Edgar Lei and I were leading a freshman small group and he came out very early on.  Brian would say that although he had a Christian background, college is where he really came to understand what it means to live in relationship with Christ.

Brian can be very outgoing and funny.  He cracks people up when he speaks in various accents –imitating people from around the world.  Brian is very dependable and smart, but I am certain that when people think of Brian the first thing that comes to their mind is his gracious, compassionate nature.   The way that he treats others is so kind and so helpful that they immediately feel loved. 

When he’s part of a small group, Brian has a real gift of helping others to be more authentic.  He leads others to a place of vulnerability.   He does this by sharing openly about his life and about his sin in a way that helps others to actually feel the safety and warmth of God’s grace. His openness enables others to connect with the truth of the gospel in a way that is quite remarkable.   Brian has grown a lot during college and that has a lot to do with his humility.  He is unassuming when he has a question; he's honest about what he knows or what he doesn't know.

 In our ministry, we talk about the Good News of Jesus Christ transforming Cornell.  We really believe that when the love of Christ is impacting every student, this place will be better!   We are striving to proclaim the gospel and make disciples who live out their faith in a way that really changes and blesses the world!  So how does that look on the ground? 

Recently, Brian brought truth and grace into his engineering project work group.  There was a bunch of “drama” in his group and they had become marked by relational tension, back-biting, and gossip.  Working together was miserable and it was all basically fueled by competition and selfish ambition.   The group was not performing as well as they could have been, but rather than pulling together and encouraging one another, everybody got irritated and started blame-shifting!  Nothing new under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

In a normal group, that would probably just continue until the end of the year.  But as I’ve mentioned already; Brian Green is not normal.  For Brian the idea of bringing sin into the light is not a theory; it has become a life habit.  So one day, he decided to bless his group in a way that only a Jesus follower could.   

It was not easy, but with trademark gentleness buttressed with Spirit empowered conviction Brian spoke into the messiness of his group.  Before they started their homework he said: “Hey guys, I think we should talk about our group here.”  You could have cut the awkward silence with a chainsaw!   He proceeded then, to verbalize that which everybody already knew was true –that there was a lot of tension in their group.  And then he uncovered the sinful root.  He did this by confessing his own faults.  He talked about his own frustration and then apologized for the ways in which he himself had been blaming and condescending towards others –both overtly and in his heart.  He asked for forgiveness.  Then he asked if anyone else wanted to express their feelings.  People were reluctant to open up as boldly, but in the end, the air was clear.  The fire of gossip had been doused.   The group was better!  

That study group stopped being so horrible because of Brian’s faith in Jesus.  He brought redemptive blessing to that work team.  And in short, it was because he understood that God loves him unconditionally that he was able to risk looking like an idiot and being ostracized by his team-mates for making things more awkward!  Additionally, it was by resting in the grace of God and understanding His  power that he was able to be courageous and not shrink back from what needed to be done.    Knowing the compassion of God enabled him to proceed with hopefulness that God would use his actions to make his group better.  Understanding God’s passion for loving reconciliation gave him a vision for how much better his group could be! 

Brian would be the first to tell you that what he did was scary!  But I’ve seen Brian move through his fear with faith many times!   He’s been a strong and stable leadership presence in Cru at Cornell for almost 4 years now.  He’s helped lead small groups and gone on numerous short term mission trips!

We will definitely miss him when he rolls, but I know that Clark Construction will be blessed to have him.  As Christ’s love pours thru him, they will be blessed. 

Brian was with me in Haiti over Spring Break.  He’s actually served with Cru on three separate trips to Haiti –including a Summer Project.  

Funding the Mission

Campus minister Tim Casteel hosts a fantastic blog on Leading in Ministry.  

I've benefitted from a number of his posts, especially the one titled Money To Fund the Mission.  In it Tim points out how critical finances are to the mission of moving the Gospel forward.  

During the spring of 2012, every single Cru staff member in the northeast region had to take 5 whole weeks off of campus to work on raising financial support.  The sad reality is that almost all of us are under-supported and struggling at some level.        Both our personal support accounts and our campus accounts are low. And without adequate finances to live, eat and minister staff must pull back from time on campus, meeting up with people  and spend time looking for new financial partners.   

In Tim's article, he references a Mark Driscoll video where he describes THE game changer in the history of Mars Hill (Seattle).  

He says there was " a single thing that took them from 40 people to 800. A turning point that made the difference between their church shutting down and being the global influence that it is today through the Acts29 Network and Mark Driscoll’s teaching.

It wasn’t hiring a key staff. Putting on a big outreach. Giving a great sermon. Getting a new website. Him yelling at a bunch of men (that was a different video).

It was money.

A gift from a generous couple – a $200,000 gift that was 100x greater than any gift they’d ever received."

I recommend reading Tim's article where he includes insights from both Bill Hybels and R.C. Sproul.  

He concludes: 

"As ministry leaders we spend countless hours thinking through how to reach more people with the gospel. We plan ways to raise up new leaders. Get excited about new books/ideas that could be gamechangers. Dream of new websites that will singlehandedly reach the campus with the gospel. But we rarely think of money. 

I just wonder what would change if our ministries and staff were abundantly funded. Imagine what God could do."

That's our goal!  Stephanie and I are in a place where we actually need to raise $1300 in new monthly support.  Even as we take seminary classes in Colorado this summer, we are working to raise money.  God has raised up three fantastic interns for next fall; Will Poon, Mercy Gbenjo, and Kelsey Karys.  But if we don't get adequate support, they'll be ministering on campus without us! 

We want to see the Cru ministry at Cornell truly taking the gospel to every student.  We can no longer afford to be barely making it as staff or running on financial fumes as a ministry.  

If you are reading this, and you are a financial supporter of our ministry, I want to thank You!  If you aren't, and you would like to be, please be in touch, or check out this link.