Battle of the desk

"When I was working in collegiate ministry, I very bright student, Sue, came to me. She told me that she was an agnostic but that her best friend, Larry, had become a Christian. He talked to her a lot about his faith and did not neglect her after his conversion. Instead, he brought her to his campus Christian getherings and introduced her to his new Christian friends. He made her feel comfortable and a part of his very different Christian world. He answered as best he could her many intellectual questions about his faith. And most importantly, he loved her.
"I've seen what faith in Christ has done for Larry," she told me. "I see the love these Christians have for each other and for me. I've seen what Jesus is like in the Gospels and a lot of my questions have been answered. But I still don't believe. I'd like to find God, but I'm plagued with doubts. Please don't ask me to pray to receive Christ; it'd be dishonest. What should I do?"
I suggested what I mentioned above, read the Scriptures and look for an opportunity to put it into practice. She gulped and said, 'THat's radical. But I'll do it."
So she began having what she called her "pagan devotions." And the Christians around her prayed that God woud speak to her in the Scriptures and give her ocncrete situations in which she could obey. Several months later she said she wanted to talk to me. Here is Sue's story:
One day I read in the Bible, 'If someone steals your coat, don't let him have only that, but offer your cloak as well.' For whatever reason, that verse hit me between the eyes. So I said to the four walls, "Listen, walls - or God, if you're there - I'm going to do what this verse says, if the opportunity arises today. I want to remind you that I'm trying to do things your way in order to find out if you exist and if Jesus really is who he says. Amen."
The day went by and I forgot the verse. Then I headed to the library to continue working on my senior thesis. Just as I sat down at my designated thesis desk, this guy comes up and starts yelling at me. He told me the school hadn't given him his thesis desk, so he was going to take mine (Everyone knows how important your thesis desk is for your work. Thes chool only gives you one.) I started elling back, and pretty soon we caused quite a ruckus. But it was when he glared at me and said, "look. I'm stealing it from you whether you like it or not,' that it suddenly hit me.
I just looked and him and moaned, "ohhhhh no. NO. I can't believe it.' and to myself I thought, "Look, God, if you're there, I do want to know if Jesus is God. But isn't there some other way of finding out besides obeying the verse? I mean, couldn't I tithe or get baptized or give up something else? But don't take my thesis desk! I mean, with my luck, I'll give up the desk and then discover that you don't exist.'
But I couldn't escape the fact that I had read that verse the very same day someone tried to rob me. Before, I had always been amused to see how Jesus aimed for whatever was controlling the person in his conversation with people in the Bible. But now it didn't feel so funny. I took a deep breath, tried not to swear and said, "ok, let me think about it."
He looked bewildered. But just at that moment the librarian came up. She said she'd heard the conversation and was angered by his behavior. But he immediately began swearing at her and intimidated her so much that she told us we had to see his thesis adviser. So we trotted over to his adviser's office. It was clear to me by now that this guy carried around a lot of rage and was probably a troubled person. The more the guy ranted and raved, the more agitated the advisor became. Finally the adviser said, "Well, what does Sue think we should do?"
All this time I kept thinking about what I'd seen in these past several months. I'd seen Larry's life changed. I'd seen something beautiful in this Christian fellowship, something so real I could almost touch it. Even though I was not a Christian, I had been loved by these people. And I'd seen Jesus in the Bible. I felt so drawn to him. I realized that, even without a thesis desk, somehow I still had more than this poor, pathetic guy. I told the adviser that he could have the desk, and the meeting was over.
When we walked out the door, this guy grabbed my arm and asked me why in the world I let him have it. I told him he would I had flipped out, but I was trying to discover if Jesus was really who he claimed to be. In order to know if Jesus was really the way to God, I was attempting to obey the things he told us to do. 'So I've been reading the Gospels. And today I read that if somebody tried to rip me off, I was supposed to let them - and even throw in something extra to boot." All I could see were the whites of his eyes. "So I'm going to give you the desk, but don't press your luck about something extra."
Then he asked, "Why in the world would Jesus say such a crazy thing?"
Then I said, "Hey, if there's one thing I've learned from reading about Jesus and meeting these Christians, it's that Jesus wants to give us a whole lot more than a thesis desk if we'd let him. I think the basic idea is that it's knowing Jesus that makes us rich, not owning possessions. So that thesis desk is yours."
Becky, as I said those words, I just simply knew it was all true. I knew it from the inside out. I kinda felt like God was saying, "Well done. That's the way I want my children to behave." "

Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Salt Shaker & into the World; Evangelism as a way of life. Pages 89-91

Excellent video!!!

Desiring God Q&A Panel - Loving Our Muslim Neighbors from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

This is a very interesting video we watched for class. I tried copying the embed code and pasting it here, so... hopefully you can see it. Or you can go to http://www.jdgreear.com/my_weblog/2010/10/loving-our-muslim-neighbors.html and see it there. It talks specifically about ministering to Muslims, but a lot of what they talk about is very helpful just in examining our own faith as we work it out with fear and trembling, as well as ministry in general to unbelievers :-)
Enjoy!

Clash of the paradigms

It's weird, because as a Misisons Major at a Bible College, I'm reading almost more than I can stomach regarding different missiological approaches towards the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, when confronted with one of the people I read about in these books and actually hearing how their lack of faith manifests itself, I never ceased to be amazed and at the same time somewhat appalled.
What brought about this opening statement is the confuddlement I have been grappling with since befriending two lovely Turkish ladies who are also Muslim. One seems a little more open to the Gospel than the other, but both have asked me and my friend to explain the Bible to them so that they can understand it correctly. (yeah. No weighty responsibility contained in that commission at ALL!) And both times we've met and conversed I've been hit with the overwhelming realization at how complex and bizarre the Christian worldview is when perceived by non-believers. Its so simple once you get it, but when you haven't gotten it yet, its just weird.
A prime example is when we were answering some questions regarding Isa, the Islamic name for Jesus. They believe in Jesus, they love Jesus. They respect Him and actually Mohammed wrote some very touching things about Him in the Qur'an. They even believe that He was born of the virgin Mary, and that it was God who put Him in her womb.
However, He is NOT God nor the Son of God, because how can God have a son, and clearly God is ONE not two.
There's differences of opinions regarding sin and depravity amongst Muslims, but the one lady has informed me emphatically and repeatedly that Adam's sin in no way effects her. Her sins are her OWN, not Adams, thank you very much.
And the Law is simple to fulfill. If we don't fulfill the Law, that is our own business. Sin stems from abuse of sexual instincts or rejection of God.
I always start to get a headache by the end of my conversations with them because its such a paradigm shift.
There was one point in the conversation where we were trying to explain the Atonement in response to some very pertinent questions she had.
"Wait. You think that JESUS died for OUR sins?!?!" she exclaimed once we overcame the language barrier.
"Well... yes..." my friend and I answered, not entirely sure where the amazement stemmed from.
"No. Wait. God gave US the law to fulfill. Its there, its clear. And if we CHOOSE not to obey it, then He pays for it Himself? That doesn't make any SENSE!"

Or today, for class I had to visit a 'center of cultural or alternative worship.' Blech. I was raised in a Christian environment my whole life, and I've had this type of assignment before where I have to go to some other established meeting place of non-truth-religion. I always leave with a headache.
My mom explained it to me once this way: How do Federal Agents know when they come across a counterfeit bill that it is fake? Do they study the various methods and means by which false currency is made? No. Not at all. Do you know what they do? They study the real thing to such detail that they immediately recognize when a single splotch of ink is out of place. (okay maybe slight exaggeration there, but you get the idea)
I guess the same thing is coming through in this case: having been raised a Christian and fallen in love with Jesus Christ and wanting the propagation of His Kingdom to be my life's work, its appalling and offensive when I see His name slandered.
The Iranian gentleman who led the meeting today was a man overflowing with friendliness and hospitality. A sweetheart if ever I met one, although still possessing a very faint aura of creepiness that always accompanies a leader of any cult.
I have to give a group presentation on the Baha'i faith for class, and I asked the gentleman if we could possibly interview him later on this semester and even video tape the interview as well as photograph the center.
"Listen, listen. Let me explain myself to you. I want you to see me as your friend. Obviously there must be time and trust that will be established through friendship, but consider this community center yours and all you need available to you."
(Don't worry, I'm not going to enter there without my burly classmate accompanying me again.)
I was touched by his seeming sincerity but wondered how far I could push his commitment of compliance. With all the wacky events that have happened in my life the last few years, I've learned to take such offers with a tad bit of cynicism, even when they come from Christians; and especially when they come from non-believers.
However, his charisma was endearing. But I couldn't help but have a strong feeling of offense rise when he began explaining that Jesus Christ was just another manifestation/man possessed by god, just like Bahu-u-llah.
"NO! That is NOT true!" my inner-self screamed. "JESUS is the ONLY Way, Truth, and Life, and there is no other way by which you can be saved, friend!"

I've always had the opinion that religious radicals need to take a deep breath, smell some flowers, and stop taking life so seriously. But I had never had my beliefs so repeatedly and blatantly thrown in my face. And the funny thing is, this isn't in an antagonistic sort of way at all; its in a gentle, friendly way by people who seem genuinely concerned for my welfare.

So I'm not mad at them by any means, just struck with the profound tragedy of the reality of hell.
While headaches and fatigue always accompany such engagements with pagans, I haven't regretted an encounter so far. In fact I wonder why more Christians don't brave the headaches and circles under their eyes. I wonder why we are not more passionately pouring over Scripture to make sure our response is true and holy and correct in the eyes of God; not just in theology but in methodology.
C'mon, Christians. There are lots of people out there who need Jesus. Go find some of them! Its actually easier than you might think; the main point is for them to see the sincerity and authenticity of our faith. And if our faith is real, then that shouldn't be hard at all, right? ;-)

Update

Thought I'd just kill two birds with one stone and get my blog updated as well as my 'college life newsletter' sent out for this.... time frame. ;-D Have lamed out as far as updating people regularly via email. Woops. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading about the crazy adventures we have in Bible College. Hehehe.

Dear Friends,

Well, the Semester is about over. Sorry for my lame-ing out on "ya'll" as far as this newsletter goes. My apologies.

Today we went "surveying" for a class and also to help out the church my pastor goes to. It was pretty interesting, going to "inner city" Louisville. Micah, Kristi and I were on a team and walked down a street that was surrounded by about three to five bars. Woot. I have done door-to-door stuff for as long as I can remember. Selling Girl Scout cookies or some sort of pocket-change/fundraiser catalog thingy, collecting canned foods for the local food pantry, etc. was all part of the normal growing up activities in Eastern New Mexico and Ohio. Micah's parents are missionaries in South America, so he was pretty cool with whatever as well. Poor Kristi, however, is from a good homeschooling family from Minnesota where one simply DOES NOT DO THIS. One does NOT go into rough-er neighborhoods and one does NOT knock on doors unless selling something or one is Jehovah's witness or Mormon. She wasn't wierd about it, just extreemely nervous as only her sweet-hearted self can be. And she had just gotten over the flu, which didn't help anything.
We started off by her saying something about how the weather was perfect for someone who had just gotten over the flu, and Micah took off his huge neon-yellow coat and put it on her while she argued with me about putting it on. It was rather reminicent of me trying to boss my younger sister Kendra and reason her into doing something she was determined NOT to do. Kristi humphed almost exactly like Kendra does and good naturedly snarled, "oh you big sister you!" At the end of the day she was glad she listened to me as we all got chilled and damp and she would most definately have gotten sick again if she hadn't taken the jacket (I restrained from telling her "I told-you-so" when I was with her, so that's why I did it here. Forgive me for bragging over my sagacity and wisdom ) Kristi has eight younger brothers and sisters so wasn't used to being 'big-sistered'.

We then drove to our assigned street. The first house reminded me very much of a Gypsy house, as the living room was about the same size, smelled almost the same way, and had almost the same decor. It was very messy with a new TV blaring in the corner and stuff tossed hither and thither in no apparent order. Every surface was covered in clutter and the windows were covered in plastic wrap or cheap plastic sheets serving as glass. The lady we talked with looked like she was still in her teens but had a very cute golden haired two year old running around.
We asked her what she thought the community struggled with, what problems it had, what she thought Jesus would do if He were to go to that neighborhood to fix it, what she would look for in a church were she to go to one, what the local church could do to help the community.
She wasn't really sure on any of the answers, but she said she guessed they could help the gangs to stop shooting people as there was a lot of shooting going on in that neighborhood.
We didn't write the survey, so it was a little akward when we said, "what are the needs of this community" and then said "what do you think Jesus would do to fix the problems?" We got the same reaction from just about everyone. Their eyebrows raised, they sort of blinked, gupled, thought for a minute, then said, "Well, I don't know exactly. Fix the problems I guess."

The main problems voiced were bad housing (which we agreed with), bad drug problem (which we didn't see blatant evidence of, but thought very likely) too much shooting (which we thankfully had no experience with while we were there) and programs for children that parents could participate in and learn how to interact with their children were needed.
I thought it was interesting they all said they really wanted programs to teach their kids and to teach them how to teach their kids.
They all also said that the reason the local churches weren't being attended was due to laziness on the community's part. They didn't think the church was too much to blame, they were just too lazy to get up and go on Sunday morning.
There was one point where two guys in a pickup truck slowed down and stopped the truck at the corner and checked us out for about five minutes. I was knocking on a door when Kristi said rather nervously,
"We're being watched."
"Yup." Micah said and knocked on the door again. "Welcome to Portland!" He said. Portland is the name of a road that runs through that community. Portland is also the by-word for 'inner city, disfunctional' for this part of the world.
But they eventually drove away and didn't say or do anything.

In all it was a good experience, I think the church got some good feed back, and the community was made aware of the fact that there is a church in the area that is trying to start ministries. There were a few points where I was like,
"Oooooohkaaaaay... Lord, protect us!" Nothing blatantly dangerous, just the guys watching us which made Kristi and me nervous.

In other news, the Church planting praxis that I'm a part of has officially decided that we are going to target the Bosnian-Herzegovnian and Ukrainian people groups that are by the church I'm becoming a member of. There are over 300 Bosnians in the area and over 100 Ukranians. We found out that the church used to have an English as a Second Language program/ministry a while ago, but since it has ended the church has recieved a lot of calls about when they are going to start it up again. So David, one of the two other guys on my team, has thought about becoming a certified ESL teacher over the summer and re-opening the program. Jordan, the other guy, wants to integrate ESL and a sports ministry. Bosnians are usually either Muslim or Orthodox, so apparently I will be taking charge of teaching and interacting with the women. David is engaged, so when his fiance-soon-to-be-wife moves here, she'll be working with me. We want to do some sort of women's fellowship, as we know a lot of the women are stay at home moms and don't get out much due to lifestyle and language/culture barriers. So if you could please be praying for the doors to open for that, we'd really appreciate it!

Academically, classes are going well. I'm taking Intro to Psychology, Ancient and Near Eastern History, Cross-cultural Evangelism, Spiritual Warfare, and English Comp 2. I'm loving all of them except for English - which is at 8 in the morning, and is soooo basic but I can't test out of it - and Psychology, as the professor and I have had rather different experiences with Psych in the Christian and Secular world. But that's okay, we've talked during and after class and have agreed to disagree. Although there have been a few times when I think I've bitten my tongue so bad it's almost bled. :-D

Alrighty well speaking of PSych class I have to go read for that class. :-S
And I need to make potatoe soup, because I and a few other girls have officially decided that we do n't care HOW much better our cafeteria is compared to other schools, WE WANT REAL, HOMECOOKED FOOD!!! That does NOT include fried chicken!

According to Kentuckians, Fried Chicken is a food group. I like fried chicken, just not EVERY SINGLE PICKING MEAL!!!!

*ahem*

Anyway, I hope your spring is going well!
God bless you all!