Hello friends below you should find our update letter for October 2010.
Archive for the ‘Scripture’ Category
October 2010 Update
Posted 05 Oct 2010 — by nick
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Family, Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Running, Scripture, Spirituality
The Land Between
Posted 24 Aug 2010 — by nick
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Family, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
As I type today, I’m reminded that it’s just been 2 short weeks since I started my regular trips to the Chicago suburbs. Yet in just two weeks a rhythm has started, there is a flow of my week and time seems to pass quickly now. I miss being in Champaign, especially this week as classes get started at U of I and I-Life gets moving again. There are stories almost daily of new friendships being formed as our students, leaders and staff step into the dorms and initiate with other students.
Life-long friendships, mutual discipleship, Christ-centered relationships – all forming as the faithful pick up the phone or send a text message.
“Hey, this is Nick M. from Illini Life Christian Fellowship. Hoping to see you at the Fall Preview tonight @ Illini Union 8:00PM”
Faithfulness for me this year looks a little different. I’m not on campus meeting new students this fall – the first time in 9 years. For me faithfulness looks like dialing the phone for the 50th time this week, to see if I can connect with another person in an effort to share about my work as a campus missionary.
I miss campus, I miss my wife, I miss my friends and my own bed; but this is good. It’s The Land Between.
Just as Israel had the desert to cross between Egypt and the Promised land, so a missionary has support raising between the initial calling and released to assignment. It’s The Land Between where God chisels away at the rough edges, softens the hardened heart and strengthens His call. The Land Between is where God speaks softly and quietly, reminding of His goodness and provision.
In The Land Between I have the choice to embrace and trust a God who I know is good or run to quick fixes to numb the pain of rejection, boredom of idleness, and loneliness of isolation. If the story of Israel teaches me anything, I’ll take God over the quick fixes, they just leads to wandering for longer.
The Secret Powers of Time
Posted 13 Jul 2010 — by nick
Category Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality, Technology, Videos
Category Friends, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality, Technology, Videos
This video has inspired a lot of dialogue between several close friends and colleagues in ministry. We’re asking questions of one another like “How do we change to meet this culture?” “Should we change to meet it?” “Are we called to stretch them out of a short attention span?”
Throughout my years of working with college-aged folks it’s become apparent that in order for me to get someone’s attention I need to be communicating in the medium they do. This is essential for the initial phase of getting to know someone but quickly dissipates as a relationship is formed.
I don’t think college-aged folks are hurting as far as relational interaction anymore today than they were 5 years ago. But the question this video raises for me is how do we get to a relational interaction? How do we move from strangers in the Starbucks to sanctified students of Christ?
I believe we continue adapting the way we communicate at SNG (our Saturday night large group gathering where we teach on topics relevant to college-aged folks), we hold their attention with story and interaction – bringing to life the Gospel in all it’s richness. We adapt the way we interact and exchange small talk and build our friendships. And in Home Fellowship (our community groups focused on sharing our lives together) and discipleship times we work to stretch their patience and teach them to be nourished spiritually apart from fast food and microwave spirituality. We teach them to slow down, we teach them to listen for a God who whispers in the silence.
I’ll end with an example that I think illustrates my point well. Several years ago the Home Fellowship I was apart of didn’t have any students willing or able to lead a dorm based outreach group, so I went back into the dorms to lead at 25 years old – noticeably out of place. As my fellow “old people” and I called through our list of students interested in attending we hardly reached anyone. Noticing that most were cell phones we decided to try texting to reach each person, in many cases we received immediate responses.
We adapted our communication medium and style to that of the natives and it was more fruitful. Several of those text messages resulted in friendships, none of which remained in a discipleing over text message medium, but rather patience-stretching one-on-one times. At our weekly times I watched as the semester progressed and they started to put away their cell phones and not answer text messages while we discussed. Still initiating a meeting or a ride to service was always best done over text message – their native language.
The last thought or question I have would be, do we sacrifice The Gospel, truth about sanctification, etc by adapting the WAY we communicate these truths? IE putting it in movable type for a printing press to be read by individuals instead of handwritten and orated to the people.
I’m sure readers familiar with Marshall McLuhan will have much to say on this topic.
New Nooma – 022 Tomato
In an attempt to stir the remaining embers of this blog, I thought I’d share the newest Nooma with you. Tomato is free on facebook until Wednesday November 13th at noon, your opportunity is slipping away, check it out now while you have a chance.
(click on the video to watch it on Facebook)“Jesus invites us to die so that we can have life, Jesus invites us to lose our life so we can find it.” (paraphrased from Mathew 16:24-26 among other Jesus teachings)
These truths stopped me mid-sip of my morning coffee – truth I know, a reminder I needed. My idle state of life, living for myself and propping up the image I’ve constructed, dropped for a moment and the words of Jesus sank in. Today I choose to live as a Christ follower and die to myself, allowing me to forgive freely and love abundantly, to have life.
I hope God stirs your heart as well.
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Now playing: Enter the Worship Circle – Put in Me
via FoxyTunes
Palm Sunday: Jesus Triumphant Entry
Posted 17 Mar 2008 — by nick
Category coffee, Jesus, Light, Scripture, Spirituality
Category coffee, Jesus, Light, Scripture, Spirituality
“Happy Palm Sunday!”
That’s how Josh Wondra greeted me this morning as I stirred from sleep and trudged to the couch with my coffee.
Palm Sunday, it’s been on my mind all day – thinking about the beginning of Holy Week. About Jesus riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey, his followers laying cloaks and branches before him and singing praises.
They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 19:7-9
I’ve decided, as in years past, to reflect on the Easter Story throughout the week. This time I plan to save the Resurrection accounts until Sunday and focus on the events that transpired the days before the Crucifixion. Today I studied the Jesus Triumphant Entry, tomorrow I’ll look at Matthew’s account of the events.
My hope and prayer for you all: That you’d find time to stop and reflect, meditate on the Easter Story and let God draw your heart more to Him and respond in praise. After all He replied “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.“
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Now playing: Jon Foreman – Learning How to Die
via FoxyTunes
PS: The picture for this post is one claiming to be of the gate at Jerusalem Jesus is said to have entered on the first Palm Sunday.
Dost thou Pisseth Against the Wall?
I usually avoid posting twice in one day since it can tend to cause posts to get lost as the noise floor of your daily input raises. This post will be brief:
I first saw this video on Walk The Razor, one of Noel Heikkinen‘s blogs and then later on Tall Skinny Kiwi. Can you say viral video?
I laugh when I watch this but later I find it just sad.
Thinking about Anger
Lately the subject of anger and forgiveness have had a healthy amount of my brain and heart (in a philosophical sense not as in a “I’ve been angry a lot” sense). Anger examined in my life has quite often proven tied to an idea of entitlement. This concept, entitlement, is a little more foreign to me though. I have long been aware of frustration and anger in situations where something doesn’t go my way or the way I thought it should have – but this I was less aware of.
The thought process sounds like this: “You deserve to be heard or listened too in this group.””You deserve to be respected or understood.””You deserve to be left alone.””You are entitled to this or that.”
Last night anger had it’s death grip around my heart for a bit. I had walked out of a situation where I felt entitled to my voice and thoughts being heard, neither felt true. Enter the strongman Anger to take my heart hostage leaving isolated and lonely.
This morning I read this passage and as it sank in I began to reflect on last night.
“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
Matthew 5:21-22
Something happens to us when we get angry with another person. It feeds self-centeredness, it dehumanizes me as I elevate my feelings/needs/desires above another persons. The anger doesn’t do anything to the other person, only to me.
Freedom from the prison of anger requires I walk back through the tangles of self-centeredness untying the bonding straps of my prison along the way. The agreements I’ve made saying I am entitled to this or that.
Last night I chose to take this journey and return to a state of less self-centered living. The result: reunion and reconcillation and a heart living free again.
Biblical Wisdom About Vegetarianism
Posted 15 Jan 2008 — by nick
Category coffee, Jesus, Scripture, Spirituality
Category coffee, Jesus, Scripture, Spirituality
This morning I consumed my morning cup of Liquid Holy Spirit at the Espresso Royal Cathedral on Goodwin. As it gave new life to my body I turned my attention to my Bible sitting next to me. Thumbing to today’s chapter in Proverbs I read the following:
“A bowl of vegetables with someone you love
is better than steak with someone you hate.”
Proverbs 15:17
So there you have it straight from the Word of the Lord. Come share a bowl of vegetables with me instead of the steak you hate… or I mean with someone you hate 😛
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Now playing: Caedmon’s Call – Trouble
via FoxyTunes
Identity
Posted 14 Nov 2007 — by nick
Category Jesus, Light, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
Category Jesus, Light, Ministry, Scripture, Spirituality
I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of identity in the past weeks – how I define who I am. The question of identity digs deep at my core, dragging up past hurts, wounds and ways I am not quite whole. Resting in who I am, not what I do or have to offer can be quite a challenge. Etched deep into my soul is the idea that I am the hat I wear. I am a Home Fellowship Leader, I am an engineer, I am a missionary.
This is how we talk isn’t it? The backward thing about this: those are things I do, not who I am. They are not my identity and when I’ve made them my identity my world crumbles at the slightest failure or missed opportunity.
We are so much more than what we do or have to offer. As sons and daughters of the Most High King we are beautifully and wonderfully made in His image, we are heirs, and this is not because we are super-spiritual Jesus followers with impressive resumes.
I need to be reminded of my sonship often, if not daily. For far to often I forget and rest on what I do and have to offer as my identity.
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
John 1:10-13
God caught me this morning as I rushed through my morning routine – caught me and slowed me, reminding me that I am His son, to choose that hat today. I needed that.
