Seniors 2016: Jon Kim

"Men of Cru, the women around you are your SISTERS. Guide them, protect them, love on them as you would your own blood sisters..... We want to see our sisters flourish, to become absolute beasts for the Lord!"

I sat down with Jon Kim this past fall and I could tell something was different.  Over the summer Jon had ridden his bicycle all the way across America.  There is no doubt it takes real fortitude to make it on that kind of adventure, but it was obvious that the journey had cultivated much more than physical strength.  Jon was different down to the soul!  

I’ve always known Jon to be faithful, funny and talented.  He’s smart and easy to get along with. From the moment he transferred into Cornell University as a sophomore he was a dedicated part of Cru. He is notorious in my book for showing up to the Community Group in College Town when literally no one else did! From day one, he was definitively "all in" as a servant leader in our Ministry.  But he came into his senior year with a whole new level of confidence and tenacity.  Jon came back more deliberate, assertive and diligent than he was before.

Jon and his girlfriend Jocelyn Lee

I remember asking Jon "Dude, what sermons or podcasts or audio books were you listening to while you rode your bike all summer?" His maturity was obvious and evident. Jon grew over that summer in a way that I have likened to "taking spiritual steroids!" I wanted his reading list so I could pass it along to other guys!

John came back to campus this fall with a renewed vision to help other people grow and thrive at Cornell; especially men.  Last year Jon was a big part of the Cayuga Heights Volunteer Fire Department -a testament to his adventurous spirit.   This year he decreased his involvement specifically so that he could spend more time helping and mentoring younger students.  Jon helps to lead one of our Community Groups.  These groups of 8-14 students get together each week to eat, study the Bible and talk about life.  Cru’s Community Groups help facilitate spiritual, emotional and social health. We believe these gatherings are very important, especially at a place like Cornell where the academic rigor and competitive environment tend to isolate and separate people.  Along with his friends Grant and Josh,  Jon helps other men to grow in their faith and understanding of God’s design for life.   

During his "senior share" he had some powerful words to share with his classmates. Jon talked about "growing up" and becoming a "man" of God as opposed to a "boy."

Making reference to 1 Corinthians 13:11 where Paul says, 'When I became a man, I gave up childish ways', Jon began by confessing the ways that 'boyish immaturity' and a general refusal to "grow up" and take responsibility had seriously caused other people pain. Throughout his life, self centeredness had facilitated sin that had hurt family and friends. Rooted in the gospel, Jon boldly recognized his faults. He continued; "My story of brokenness is also a story of redemption. I stand here because of God’s redeeming love. He has torn me from my old ways, he has taught me and re-taught me and continues to teach me how to put off my boyish ways and to put on the armor of God. To stand and fight. And we cannot fight on our own."

From there he proceeded to give tremendous exhortation talking about men as spiritual leaders and fathers. A father is responsible for setting the spiritual climate in his family, and for showing sacrificial love to his wife. He said "Where a father and husband and brother shirks his duties, brokenness and weakness follow. When a man is missing from his home, the family is at half strength. Now, (even if we aren't married with kids) we as men do have a family right now, and they are all around us: it’s the church. Jesus looks around at his disciples and followers in Mark 4:33 and says, “Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” In 1 Timothy 5:2, there are instructions for the church: “do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as SISTERS in all purity.”

"Men of Cru, the women around you are your SISTERS. Guide them, protect them, love on them as you would your own blood sisters..... We want to see our sisters flourish, to become absolute beasts for the Lord!"

Jon continued saying, "Another way to develop manhood: Go and WORK. Work for the good of the church. In Genesis Ch. 2, after God creates man, it says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to WORK IT and TAKE CARE OF IT.” Men, you are designed to WORK, to be FRUITFUL, PRODUCTIVE, in a way that PLEASES THE LORD. Men, whatever they are in charge of, they must do it to the best of their ability for the glory of God. Men, you will set the spiritual climate in your homes when you have a wife and children. You also will set the spiritual climate in this family at Cru. Get involved. Get tired. Influential preacher Charles Spurgeon says, “A perfect man is a working man.” That was our design in the first place! We as men need to rise to the occasion!"

Jon definitely worked hard this year! As one of the main leaders of our music ministry he helped coordinate the numerous musicians ensuring that we had a group ready to play each week. (He also plays drums!)  Jon’s role required him to both organize logistics and take care of people.  He helped manage everything from scheduling to transporting of sound equipment to organizing the volunteer musicians and helping everybody to grow theologically.    

Jon is related to two of my other favorite people, David and Hannah Kim!! 

I am very impressed and very grateful for the way that Jon stayed so involved throughout his time here at Cornell.  Many seniors can tend to “fade out” but Jon is a man of endurance and character.  Week in and week out, he was walking alongside his friends and serving his fellow Cornell students in and through the ministry of Cru.

Seniors 2016: Josh Tai

Driving in the car the other day, one of my boys asked me; "is Josh really gonna try out for the Duke Basketball team?" I said "He should!"  

Josh is headed to Duke next fall to pursue a degree in nursing. And he is really good at Basketball!! But probably not:)

I first got to hang out with Josh while we were doing construction work on the Court Street House; a home that we were remodeling to house homeless men.  Josh is one of those guys that you could always call for help. Whatever the initiative, whatever the outreach, whatever the venue, Josh is a guy you could count on to show up and serve! I will definitely miss his faithful presence next year!  

I got to hang out and serve with Josh over Spring Break out in Baltimore.

I learned early on not to regard Josh Tai's introversion as a lack of passion or spirit! People might not immediately describe Josh as "outgoing" and yet I have observed him "going out" faithfully engaging others with the love of Jesus. I remember getting to know Josh during his freshman year. Specifically because he is such a quiet guy, I had not expected him to do such an incredible job gathering others, engaging his friends and striving help people to encounter Christ.   I literally marveled at the way he was always inviting friends to come check out Cru and the Christian community.

Josh with his bro's Grant and Jon

One thing I appreciate about Josh is his teachability.  As a mentor to Josh, I had the chance over the years to provide him with constructive feedback.  Josh is humble and receives input with humility and grace.   He also possesses a veritable resilience.  When something doesn’t work out according to the plan, Josh may be disappointed, but you can count on him to press on and find other options. Two summers ago he didn’t end up getting any of the internships that he had hoped for. Rather than mope about it, he signed up for a Cru summer project in Wildwood, New Jersey.  There he was able to grow in his faith, improve his leadership skills and bless the International student community out there. 

  I was really glad he went out to Wildwood! He's one of the few Cornellians who has joined us out there on that incredible Summer Mission!

Here is Josh speaking at one of the backyard parties in Wildwood.  

Josh's love for Christ and the mission has also compelled him to be a part of Cru's work in South Africa. Last spring Josh went to South Africa to serve with the Mamalodi Initiative.  (The Mamalodi initiative is a model of effective, sustainable, Christian humanitarian aid.  Students from Cornell and Harvard spend time tutoring underprivileged teens so that they can pass the matriculation exams that stand between them and a quality education. )  In just a few days, he will return there for the Summer Mission.

During his "Senior Share" Josh talked about our identity as connected and derived from our names. He talked about the names that people call us and the names we call ourselves and the names that God calls us. Throughout his life, words like "ugly, worthless, pushover, loner, and boring have served to discourage him. Josh talked about the powerful ways that words affect our lives and the importance of believing God's words of truth over the satan's lies. In Christ, we are "loved, children of God, chosen, saints, soldiers and friends of Jesus."

We Bought a House!

Ever since we arrived in Ithaca back in 2008 we have rented homes.....4 of them to be exact!  And we've lived in some really great places -specifically the house right next to campus.  When Cornell decided to sell that house, we were really, really bummed!  For a whole slew of reasons, we did not think it was the best decision to purchase that house, and so we had to move.  That began the journey that ended us up here - over a year later, with a house purchased on Ellis Hollow Road.

I have said for years now, that if I ever did end up buying a house in Ithaca, I would want it to be on Ellis Hollow Road.  I love this location because it is close to campus and yet out in the forest at the same time!  The space behind most of the houses to hang out, play, hike and even hunt deer is amazing!  

The house was owned by a wonderful family for over 50 years.  They actually built this house and raised 8 kids in it.  There was a lot of old school wall paper inside though, so we've been ripping it off this week and doing a little painting.  

One of the funner parts of actually owning the house is that you get to choose paint colors!  

The house has 4 bedrooms, but my main concern was garage space!  Haha.  This house does have some pretty good garage going on, which is really great!  

And, we are tearing down a small wall to make the living room more "open" as they say:)

"Born Again:" A testimony of "R"

Note: For some students, placing their faith in Christ means tremendous amounts of family strife and even persecution.   "R" is a student in our ministry who has an amazing story.  Because she is still in the process of communicating to her family about her new life in God, I will not be printing her name.  

"R" wears new jewelry now because she is a Christian and all of her old jewelry was Hindu.  She had images and pieces that had all been consecrated and dedicated to false Hindu "gods". She discarded all of her idols and packed her jewelry in a box on April 29th, as she put her faith in Jesus Christ!   Her Community Group leaders, Anna and Margaret went to the store and bought her some new necklaces.  

I love R's story because in it we can see God's grace working through many different people all throughout the school year.  

It all started last summer, when our own Rachel Chuang sent R a facebook message. We love sending welcome messages to incoming students to let them know that the Body of Christ is alive and active on campus.  R was Hindu, and so she wasn't immediately sure what to think of Rachel's hospitality.  But she said: "Rachel is such a sweet person and we connected and messaged each other over the summer."  When R arrived on Campus Rachel invited her to check out Cru.  God also connected R with another Christian girl who is part of a different fellowship.  It's pretty clear that God had plans for R this year!

I met R back in February when she got invited to our winter retreat.  We sat around the table in a small group and studied the book of Jonah.  I didn't know where R was at spiritually, but I could tell she was really interested in the scriptures!  When she was getting dropped off that evening, she said to me "Thank you."  And then, even though it was the first time that I had ever talked to her she said "I'm not a Christian.  I'm just checking it all out."  I said "That's awesome!  I'm glad you came out this weekend!"  R has always been very open and willing to talk about what she is thinking.

After the Winter Retreat, R began to attend Anna Thompson and Margaret Gao's Cru Community Group on Tuesday nights.   Each week they would hang out, eat together and study the Bible.  R relished the chance to ask questions and engage with other women about the truths of the gospel.  The group meeting on Tuesday April 26 was considerably significant in R's life.  She regards the study that night as the "catalyst" for enabling her to surrender fully and joyfully to Christ.

She recalls, "On that day, we read a portion of Mark’s Gospel regarding how Jesus healed a man who was tormented by the demons known as Legion."   Anna talked about the reality of spiritual warfare and the discussion that night focused on Jesus' supremacy over demonic forces.   R said "The lesson that Anna taught us was that God is all powerful and mighty and demons are nothing compared to God. It was comforting, but I was still afraid. Because that discussion gave me an insight into what I was dealing with since I was a little girl."

She continued, "Ever since I was a little girl, whenever I went to bed, I would feel this oppression. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. It felt like some kind of force or pressure was pushing down on me throughout the entire length of my body. It was a heavy, uncomfortable atmosphere. I was always afraid. I always went to bed in fear. And that CG meeting made me realize that what I was facing with was most likely a demonic oppression."

The next day, R met up with a Christian friend to talk more about Jesus and her experience of Spiritual warfare.  She said "Our conversation made me realize that in other religions, there are entities such as demons, who portray themselves as gods or goddesses and these are the things that other people in those religions are giving their love, devotion, and life to. Hinduism is heavily, heavily embedded with idol worship and many 'gods/goddesses'—now I call them entities. I was brought up in this environment of idol worship, performing rituals, having those rituals done to me. Although I wasn’t religious, I still respected and prayed to those entities and consequently made attachments to those things. I basically gave reasons for whatever demon/entity that has been oppressing me to stay attached to me. I also realized that this oppression became more pronounced once I started College, which translates to when I started getting involved in Cru. I started to feel more things that I don’t remember feeling such as fingers stroking my head. It now makes sense because when I first joined Cru, I was starting to learn about the Truth, about Jesus Christ, our one and only God…and this thing does not want to let me go."

The next few days were filled with gospel conversations, a whole lot of prayer and an intense spiritual and emotional journey.  At times R felt very oppressed and scared, but in and through prayer things began to shift!  On April 29th at about 1:00 am, R sat in her room with a friend named Sharon.  She took off her Hindu Jewelry and took her idols and bhagavad gita (Hindu guidebook) off of their shelves and proceeded to pray to Christ.  She repented of any and all idol worship and surrendered to Jesus.

The next night, she came out to our Friday night Large group meeting.  Every time someone would ask her how she was doing, she would excitedly answer, "I've been born again!"  It was awesome. At our last Leadership Meeting of the year, we had R share her story! It was an amazing time of celebration as we looked back on the year through R's testimony. The story of God's faithfulness and grace was and is an encouragement to our faith.

Please pray for R as she continues to grow in Christ. Her witness is already very passionate and overt. This summer, she plans to continue to read the scriptures along with a couple of other books like Tim Keller's Reason For God.

Senior 2016: Jon Iavarone

During the opening days of the fall semester, we typically spend an afternoon playing the game we call "Big Red Ball."  It's a chance for us to spend time on North Campus and have some fun as we meet new students settling into Cornell.  We are always praying for "divine appointments"; opportunities to meet people who are spiritually open and curious.  Four years ago I was standing on the sidelines when a freshman kid named Jon Iavarone came riding by on his bicycle.   I invited him to play with us, but as he was on his way somewhere, he decided not to get in the game.  We ended up watching and talking for 10 minutes or so.

Jon grew up on Long Island where his family has owned a couple of local grocery stores for many many years.  Jon and I hit it off right away for at least a couple of reasons: #1 he was riding a bike!  Most people walk across the vast sprawling campus of Cornell, but some of us have an indelible appreciation for the wheel!  #2 Jon was a "hotelie", he was studying in Cornell's famed School of Hotel Administration.  Although I didn't attend Cornell as a student, if I did, I would want to get the hotel degree -it is definitively my favorite major here.*   Jon was looking for a particular building where he needed to drop something off, and since he was new to campus I jumped on my bike and helped him get where he needed to be.

I am so thankful for that providential meet up that day.  Over the years Jon and I have grown to be great friends.  Jon connects well with others, he's very friendly and also very generous.  Like most Cornell students he is driven and ambitious, but not in a way that's neurotic!  Jon likes to live life, he loves to fish and eat and spend time with people.  One of my favorite memories is the time time Jon came over to my house in the morning, we went to the store and bought these huge steaks, and then we grilled 'em for breakfast!  

Although Jon grew up with a Catholic background, when he came to college he wasn't really looking for a spiritual community.  Like most students, seeking and connecting with girls was a way higher priority than seeking and relating with God!  On his own, he wasn't going to come looking for a group of Jesus-loving students to study the Bible with.   He wasn't trying to find any Friday night worship meetings or mission trips or small groups!  He probably wouldn't have even stopped at our Cru table at an event like "clubfest".  When I met Jon Iavarone 4 years ago in front of Dickson Hall he was a really cool guy, but he was not a guy that was planning on growing in the gospel during his time at Cornell.  Thankfully, God had other plans.  

Jon (middle) with Sean Salmon and Will Poon

Jon started coming out to our Large Group meeting on Friday nights, he got plugged into a small group and then during spring break, Jon went on  Cru's Big Break Trip!  At Big Break, students hear awesome Bible teaching, they get trained in how to share their faith effectively and they spend every afternoon engaging others with the good news of Jesus.  That trip was huge for Jon! That week living in community on mission was very helpful for Jon's understanding and experience of the gospel.  

Last year Jon was out in England at the London School of Economics.  To finish out his senior year, I asked Jon to be a part of the freshman Community Group that I was leading.   Jon was a servant leader all the way through this year and his faithfulness was a real blessing to the younger guys!  We had an awesome year meeting up every week with a phenomenal group of dudes.   

Jon is headed to the Bay area to work with a small company in Real Estate Investment.  My prayer is that God will use Jon in San Fran just as he has out here in Ithaca.

Jon and I cooked the Fajita's for our Men's time. 

*(I take credit for convincing a number of students to change their major to Hotel Admin.) 

Grant and Michelle: Marriage over Money

Grant Hoffecker and Michelle Ji are engaged to be married on June 11th.

Both Grant and Michelle have been very involved in Cru since they were freshman. (Grant actually put his faith in Jesus during his freshman year.)  They started dating at the end of that year and got engaged last spring.  God has used them to lead Community Groups, and mentor younger students throughout their time here at Cornell.  Michelle is a part of our Yellowstone Summer Project tradition; she went on that mission trip back in 2013.  Since that time she has helped others to catch a vision for summer missions with Cru!

Michelle is a pretty quiet and reserved person generally, but ever since her freshman year she has been able to express herself and bless others by playing guitar.  Whether she was playing a comedic ballad with some of the other ladies or helping accompany our praise band, her talent's were enjoyed by others.  Grant is known for his sincerity and  helpful spirit.   Grant is a guy who loves his friends family well.  During the past couple of years he would bring his Dad out to our February retreat which was really cool.

Last Spring's Engagement was an incredible celebration for friends and family!

As a couple, Grant and Michelle have set a great example.  Starting out as friends, they moved into their dating adventure with a zeal to keep Christ at the center.   With the help of friends, they have fought hard at every turn to seek God and walk in ways that glorify him.  This past fall they navigated a  pretty significant challenge in a way that encourages the heck out of me!

Grant interned at Linkedin last summer and when they offered to give him a full time job after graduation, he gladly accepted it.  After they honeymoon, Grant and Michelle will start their new life together in San Francisco. Then, during the fall, Michelle was offered a job with Apple in the Bay Area.  What a great opportunity!  Apple is a cool company, the pay was good and the location was right on!  Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly!  But when the details of the job were revealed, things got messy.  The job that Michelle was offered would require her to travel to Asia for about 30% of the year.  Almost every month she would be gone for days and days at a time.

Michelle and Grant began to pray and deliberate.  Yes, working for Apple was a "good career move."  Yes, the pay was good.  But what about those really important things besides career and money?  Was this a good job for marriage health?  Is the nature of this job worth sacrificing so much relational time for?  Was it a good idea to have a job that required a husband and wife to be separated for almost a third of the year?  Would it be wise to have that kind of a job during the first year of marriage while trying to establish a strong healthy foundation for the future?

Grant and Michelle are driven by a vision to have a strong Jesus-centered marriage; a marriage where they love each other well and a marriage that can be used by God to bless others.  Grant and Michelle want to help each other to flourish as disciples of Christ and they hope that as a couple they can help others to see and understand the gospel.  Having that kind of marriage is actually quite difficult!  It takes a great deal of faith fueled hard work!

Many people thought that Michelle should take the job.  Most Cornell students in her position would definitely have taken the job!   There is no doubt it would have been good for their financial future.  The truth is, they could be more "rich" if Michelle said yes to Apple!  But the reality is that life is about more than just money or a career!   Grant and Michelle made a decision that would better serve their relational future: Michelle turned down the job!

The decision to not take the job at Apple was not easy.    It was -and continues to be scary to have said "no" to such a reputable job.  Although Michelle has applied for some other jobs, nothing has panned out yet, and the waiting has been extremely nerve wracking!!  It's easy to wonder whether or not they made the "right" decision.

I personally think they made a great decision!   I love their faith and conviction!  Grant and Michelle want to have a marriage that is healthy and strong in love. They want to be a couple who together, live out the stuff Paul was talking about in Ephesians chapter 5;  Paul explained that marriage is ultimately about Christ and the Church.  A God-centered marriage gives the world a picture of the good news that Jesus Christ loves his people with an awesome and magnificent love!    In order to cultivate that kind of marriage, you've got to be together!   Many people are all too willing to sacrifice relational flourishing for financial gains; they literally prioritize money over marriage.  But Grant and Michelle chose otherwise.

Grant and Michelle are trusting God with their future.  I'm certain God will provide a job for Michelle, and looking back, there will be no regrets!

February Retreat.  Grant's dad, Grant and Joshua Tai out at the Tenwood Lodge.  

Kainos Community

We believe that God created ethnic diversity and that he loves it.  Jesus Christ makes it possible for people who are really different from one another to come together and experience amazing fellowship!  For the Glory of God, Cru at Cornell is a distinctively multi-ethnic community.   

Pastor (and author) Bryan Lorritts has been a huge influenced me tremendously on this topic of multi-ethnic Churches.  His message at Wheaton College titled "The Multiethnic Church as the Cure to Ferguson, Charleston and Beyond" is amazing!  

Although world history is full of division, warfare, oppression and a whole lot of racial tension, we believe there is a better way.  Things are not as they should be; God did not create mankind to devour and destroy each other!  But our disregard for God and his perfect ways, (what the Bible calls "sin") is the reason everything in the world and in our lives is so messed up!  

Sin creates animosity between man and God and also between people.  Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again in order to defeat sin and make the way for people to be reconciled back to God.  Jesus' victory over sin also enables mankind to enjoy communion with one another.   The gospel bonds people together like nothing else can.  

In Ephesians chapter 2 Paul is explaining the amazing community that God's grace makes possible.  He says that Christ's sacrifice on the cross actually "Killed the hostility" that existed between Jews and Gentiles.  Being brought together in Christ, people from different backgrounds and cultures were able to experience profound unity!   

In verse 15 Paul says that God  "created, in himself, one new man in place of the two..."  The greek word for new in that verse, is the word Kainos.  Kainos is the word used to describe something that's never been seen before; Kainos implies something that is unprecedented and revolutionary!  God's grace breaks into our racially fractured world and brings a new and beautiful peace.  Through Jesus we can have access to the Father through the Spirit. 

One of the things that makes Cornell so special are the cultural and ethnic demographics.  It’s amazing!   Cornell has people from every U.S. state, students from a wide array of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and students that are literally from countries all around the world.  Even still, the natural tendency of people is to "silo" themselves into cultural and sub-cultural enclaves. Generally speaking, most people hang out and share life only with people who are very much like themselves; they are not truly experiencing the blessing of cross-cultural interaction. Sadly, even among Christians in the Church this has historically been the case. As a ministry, we strive for something different! We actively embrace the glorious opportunity to live out the kind of intercultural "togetherness" that is completely out of the ordinary.

God loves the world and is at work re-connecting a diverse collection of people to himself. In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John gets a vision of heaven where he sees, gathered around the throne of almighty God, a unified family of Christ exalting worshipers. He sees a gathering of people from "every nation, tribe, people and language." When someone comes to one of our Friday night meetings we want them get a glimpse of heaven! We want our inter-cultural fellowship to be an overt display of the power that the gospel has to bless and unite all kinds of people! In and through every part of our ministry, we want the peace making, transformational power of God's grace to be tangible and active on this campus! Being a part of Cru means coming together and sharing life with people who are different. It means uniting in worship and in mission so that "all the families of the earth will be blessed."

(Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:11-22, Revelation 7:9, Genesis 12:3)