Pittsburgh Metro Cru Staff

More thoughts on taking steps of faith

2011-10-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Friends in Pittsburgh Metro Cru,

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited as I look around at what God is doing in our community! There seems to be a thread running through everything we've been doing lately -- taking steps of faith. You may not have been there for each of these events, but to help jog your memory:

At Fall Retreat, Dan Flynn taught us that faith is an action verb
At Cru, Kirstin encouraged us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, of our faith
At our off-site Cru, we launched out in groups to Pitt and CMU to pray and have spiritual conversations with students
At October's Friday Feast, we discussed the need to boldly take the initiative

I am thrilled to see us all trusting God in tangible ways that stretch our faith! It is evident to me that God's Spirit is at work, providing our students, staff, and volunteers with open doors to share the gospel, boldness, clarity, and guidance. How awesome is that?!

And yet, great beginnings in faith steps aren't always sustained. So many factors are at work against our making a kingdom impact (we're in a spiritual war, after all)-- the enemy's temptations and obstacles, fatigue, worldly distractions, etc. We can't give up! As a community, we don't just want to experiment with steps of faith, or take a few steps of faith. We want to cultivate lifestyles of taking steps of faith.

I was thinking about this recently as I was reading from 2 Timothy. What an appropriate letter for all of you in our Cru community! Paul is near the end of his life, and in this final letter he officially passes the torch to his young disciple Timothy. The letter encourages and guides him to step up in his faith and impact the world.

This passage specifically stood out to me:

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. (2 Tim 2:1-3)

I've bolded and italicized above what I think are three key principles to sustaining a lifestyle of faith:

     1. Our strength comes not from ourselves, but from God's grace (2:1)
     2. Our most sustainable strategy is spiritual multiplication (2:2)
     3. Our focus needs to be on eternal, not worldly, things (2:3)

Maybe the meanings and applications of these principles are obvious; I'm not sure. So I'll explain them relatively briefly:

1. In any situation where we might take a step of faith, we can either trust in our own knowledge, abilities, eloquence, etc., or we can trust that God is good, that He'll help us, and that He loves us passionately no matter what happens in our step of faith. Having the latter perspective allows God to strengthen us through His grace.

2. If I single-handedly try to reach every student in Pittsburgh with the gospel, I won't get very far before I "burn out" and give up. But if instead I invest in a few guys and train them to share their faith and to each invest in a few more guys, pretty soon every male student is within reach of the gospel.

3. Roman soldiers didn't mess around with the latest town gossip or attempt to get the best deal on the newest wool blanket. They had a commanding officer whose opinion meant everything to them. Likewise, we -- who are Christ's soldiers in a spiritual war -- shouldn't be concerned with Sex and the City or optional internships when there is a mission at hand.

I hope this section of God's word will be as helpful for you as it has been for me in thinking about how to sustain a lifestyle of faith. Like I said waaaay up there at the top of the article, I've been blown away by how faithful you have all been in taking steps of faith. Well done! I pray that God will help us continue to trust Him as we step forward in faith...

...so that someday every student in Pittsburgh will know someone who truly follows Jesus.

Jon

Evidence That "Impossible" Is Possible

2010-10-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

If you were at our Metro Cru meeting last week, you heard me speak about Calling and God's will. I briefly mentioned that, in Scripture, the phrase "will of God" has one of two meanings - the two sides of God's will. One is His sovereign will - His absolute authority over everything that has happened or ever will happen. Nothing occurs without God willing it to occur. Nothing surprises Him, nothing is random. The other side is His moral will - His stated commands and desires for how we are to live. While God's sovereign will cannot be thwarted, His moral will can. We can disobey and reject His instruction, and we do it all the time.

I mentioned in my talk that this is a gigantic paradox, but didn't give any more time to it. I will here.

A paradox happens when you have 2 truths that appear opposed to one another, giving the appearance that they naturally contradict one another, yet are somehow true. The Christian faith is full of paradoxes - Jesus was fully God and fully man, believers are chosen by God for salvation yet it's something we freely enter into by faith, etc. This paradox of God's sovereign and moral will can be stated this way (phrases borrowed from the book Just Do Something, by Kevin DeYoung):

a) God decrees everything that comes to pass.

b) We are responsible and fully accountable for sinful actions.

Naturally this leads to the question of, "is the disobedience of God's moral will (sin) planned by God within His sovereign will?" In other words, is God responsible somehow for human sin - does He will it to happen? The answer to that is, of course, no. God is not the author of sin (James 1:13 - God cannot be tempted by evil; Dt 32:4 - God does no wrong, He's upright and just; Matthew 5:48 - God is perfect). Nor does God tempt us to sin - again, from James 1:13, "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone."

So, somehow, God's sovereign will includes all human sin - disobedient, rebellious actions that are directly contrary to God's will. In some way these fall under the rule of God's sovereignty. They don't surprise Him, nor do they affect His sovereign control of all things. And no matter how hard we try, we'll never understand how this is possible. Theologian Wayne Grudem, in his book Christian Beliefs, says: "The exact relationship between his will and evil is not something he has chosen to completely reveal to us. Therefore, we must take comfort in the fact that 'the secret things belong to the LORD our God. (Deut 29:29)'"

This might seem hard to accept. And of course it would, it's paradoxical! But I submit that you've already accepted it, no matter what intellectual barriers come up in your mind.

I've been going through a book called A Discipleship Journey, by David Buehring. The section I'm in goes through the ways, works, attributes, and character of God - defining who He is as revealed in Scripture, and pointing out the places in Scripture where these things are declared. This morning I read the section on God's Providence, and was pointed to Acts 2:23-24:

"This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

The crucifixion of Jesus is the ultimate example of the paradox of God's will in action. Jesus was the perfectly righteous Son of God, innocent by all accounts. Yet "wicked men", as it says in the verse, crucified Him. These men weren't robotically doing the actions that led to Jesus crucifixion - they were wicked, they hated Jesus, accused Him, and actively sought to kill Him. Their wickedness was their own and they bore the blame for their actions. Throughout the Gospels, it's evident that the men opposed to Jesus were acting in sin - Jesus rebukes them and calls them to reject their ways. Matthew 23 is a great example. And in Luke 23:34, Jesus says "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" about the men casting lots for his garments. The ask for forgiveness indicates culpability for their actions.

BUT, Acts 2:23-24 says that all this happened "by God's set purpose and foreknowledge." The ESV says "definite plan and foreknowledge of God." In fact, so definite was this plan that the entirety of human redemption hinged on it. It was set beforehand as the means of God redeeming us - by sending His Son to die as payment for all the sins of man. It was not random, it was sovereignly purposed.

So we see in action confirmation that the paradox is true. God was fully sovereign over the crucifixion of His Son, yet it was carried out through acts of rebellion and wickedness, acts which the men who performed them were fully responsible for. They were crucifying Jesus, and by doing so were unknowingly making possible their own redemption, though they did it with wickedness and sin.

This impossibility is indeed possible; in fact, our faith depends on it being so. Just some food for thought as we ponder this paradox - one we may never fully grasp, at least not this side of Heaven. But just because we won't understand it doesn't mean we can't believe it.

--Jason

Something to Chew On

2010-09-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Our staff team listened to a great sermon this afternoon, by Tim Keller, pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. I thought it would be good to share with you - it deals with God's will, calling, and the issue of free will aligning with God's sovereignty. These topics are relevant to everyone, but especially so for college students who face decisions of major, career, even potential spouse. I hope it is encouraging and thought provoking for you - Dr. Keller does a fantastic job delving into these things, and in his intellectually satisfying style, weaves the timeless truths of the Gospel into them.

You can find it here. It's about 40 minutes long, so be sure to give yourself the time to listen to all of it!

--Jason

Lies We Believe About Evangelism

2010-09-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

The following is a excerpt from a book that I've been co-authoring with Roger Hershey - our very own Fall Retreat speaker. We spent most of the summer working on a book we're calling The Finishers - a book aimed at showing your generation that it indeed could be the one that sees the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) completed, and examining the convictions and perspectives you need to embrace to help be a part of it. I have no idea when it will be published - we have a few more chapters to write, and then the publishing process could take quite some time. You can pray that it will be sooner than later, though - we're excited about what we have to share! In the meantime, I'll probably periodically post little snippets from the book, especially when I can't think of anything else to write on here.

I should mention that most of the book - including this section - is taken directly from talks and teaching given by Roger Hershey. He's a fantastic speaker and teacher of the Word, and you'll love him at Fall Retreat! (In fact, go here to register!) So when you see "I" in this case consider it Hersh's voice.

I thought this would be a good section to post - it deals with 6 lies we tend to believe about evangelism. Six areas where we make excuses about not taking the initiative to share your faith. The working title of the chapter is "Go" - an examination of why we need to be intentional about taking the initiative go to to people with the Gospel. I encourage you to examine your own heart and see which of these lies you might be believing, and ask God to develop in you the courage and conviction to go to people with the Gospel - be it your friends, strangers, whomever!

____

What shapes our thinking about evangelism? Is it the Bible, or is it culture, our own emotions, past negative experiences, or the misguided influence of others? Because sharing our faith requires a step out of our comfort zone, it’s often the hardest spiritual discipline to put into practice, and the one most easily affected by lies that creep into our minds and hearts. You may not even be aware of some of the lies you’ve been believing.

In order to make sure it’s Scripture that influences our convictions regarding evangelism, we’re going to address some of the biggest lies out there - lies that could prevent your generation from being to go-ers who finish the Great Commission.

>>Lie #1: My reputation is more important

You probably wouldn’t actually think, “My reputation is more important than this person’s eternal salvation,” but that’s essentially what we believe when we avoid sharing our faith for fear of what the other person might think. Giving in to fear of rejection or seeking the approval of others ultimately means I’m caring more about myself than the non-believer.

Penn Jillette, of the magic and comedy duo Penn & Teller, once said this:

"If you believe that there’s a Heaven and Hell, and that people could be going to Hell...and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward...how much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?"

He said these words in one of his “Penn Says” video blog entries, after recalling a situation in which a man who’d been at one of his shows approached him to compliment his show and present him with a New Testament. Instead of taking offense to the gift, Penn was touched by the man’s kindness and boldness in approaching him. Penn astutely reasons that to truly believe that there are people in grave danger of Hell but not go out of your way to tell them how they can escape it is akin to hating that person. Love for that person and concern over their eternal state, as well as the depth of belief in that truth, ought to move you to act, regardless of reputation or potential social awkwardness. Now the thing that makes Penn’s words so arresting is the fact that he’s an outspoken atheist. He’s not speaking as a Christian trying to guilt other Christians into evangelism; he’s simply observing an inconsistency between the stated belief of Christians and their actions.

The antidote to this inconsistency is to identify that this is what’s going on in my heart, then replace that lie with the truth that apart from Christ this person is heading toward eternal destruction and horror. To be Christlike, I ought to be willing to sacrifice my potential reputation for their sake.

>>Lie #2: People aren’t really lost without Christ

This lie is becoming more and more prevalent as postmodern thought - which espouses, among other things, that all truth is relative, all roads lead to God, and the highest value we can have is tolerance - seeps its way into Christianity. An emotional dissonance rises within us, because the truth that Jesus is the only way people can be saved seems so narrow and intolerant. More and more, evangelical Christians seem ignorant and out of touch, and we can find ourselves searching for ways to wiggle out of the “only way” doctrine to maintain relevance and a good face.

Add to this the fact that some Christian scholars are downplaying or even denying the exclusive claims of Christ, manipulating Scripture toward pluralism. They’ve let cultural norms determine their interpretation. But it’s difficult to read John 14:6 another way: “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (emphasis mine) These words of the Lord Himself, coupled with many other verses throughout the Bible show definitively that people are indeed lost without Christ. The Bible leaves no option for pluralism.

Even if we have a firm Biblical grasp on the exclusivity of Christ, this lie can work its way in when we come face to face with non-Christians. The shrinking of the world has caused your generation to be exposed to more people from different religious backgrounds than any before it. You live, work, and go to school with Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and others. These people often seem more devoted to their faith than we are, and we can subtly believe that God will grant them forgiveness and eternal life because of their devotion - it’s just misplaced, that’s all. Surely God will overlook this and see their heart, right?

Believing this lie will undercut urgency, and ultimately produce a generation of passive Christians who have no passion to go - whether across the street or around the world.

>>Lie #3: The way I live my life is enough

A famous and often-used quote is “Preach the Gospel; if necessary, use words,” attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Now I have no grievance against St. Francis, and I understand the heart behind this quote - an encouragement to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. But it’s been taken severely out of context. Christians will use it as an excuse not to open their mouths and share the message of the Gospel, thinking that their acts of service or good deeds are enough. I see 2 major issues with this dangerous thought.

One, it’s simply not true. The Gospel requires words! Romans 10:14 says, “How are they to believe in him of whom they’ve never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Good deeds must be accompanied by the good news. Let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that service means evangelism. It can be a great door-opener for evangelism, but unless we share the Gospel it’s just service.

Two, it presumes that we’re living our lives in such a radically different way that non-believers will automatically notice, and be compelled to ask us why. 1 Peter 3:15 is the verse most often quoted about this: “...always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you... .” But this verse is in the context of suffering for the sake of righteousness - being persecuted or avoiding retaliation when wronged - it’s doesn’t mean “people will ask you why you’re so nice, so you better be ready to tell them it’s Jesus!”

Unfortunately, our lives really aren’t all that different than the average non-Christian. We struggle with sin, we wrong people, we fail. And in our desire to be culturally relevant, we try as hard as we can not to appear different - we listen to the same music, watch the same movies, wear the same clothes, and hold to the same values. None of which are overtly wrong, by the way, except when we sacrifice biblical morals and values for cultural ones. If we’re going to take the stance that we’ll wait for non-believers to notice significant differences in the way we live, we’d better be prepared to actually live lives of radical holiness - something we’re called to do but rarely actually follow through with.

>>Lie #4: Evangelism is only for those spiritually gifted in it

Just as those who don’t have the spiritual gift of teaching will at times teach, and those who don’t have the spiritual gift of mercy still show it, those who don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism still are to share their faith. Those who are gifted in evangelism may naturally be more effective, but Scripture is clear that the whole body of Christ is responsible to be engaged in sharing their faith.

>>Lie #5: No one is interested in the Gospel anymore

This is another effect of postmodernism. Because tolerance is such a buzzword, and the cultural value is to let people believe whatever seems right to them, we can begin to believe that people just aren’t interested. They’re content where they’re at and don’t want to be bothered.

I’ve found that this simply isn’t true. As I’ve chatted with people, I’ve found that people are actually very interested in spiritual things. It does seem that people in American culture are farther away from Christ, in general, than in past generations, but this has nothing to do with interest. The fact that people invest so much in a search for satisfaction - be it through worldly pleasure or the hundreds of spiritual roads people travel - shows that a hunger is there. It simply means that more of the vital work of sowing and laying a foundation for the Gospel is necessary.

Even if it’s true that 8 or 9 out of 10 people in your sphere of influence are unreceptive to the Gospel, those 1 or 2 others are still there. We can trust the Lord to lead us to the receptive, ready hearts while seeking to sow into the lives of the others. But if we believe that no one wants to hear, we’ll be passive and never initiate.

>>Lie #6: I have to build a good relationship first

A common thought we have is that we have to wait to breach the topic of spiritual things until we’ve developed a more solid friendship. We view it as an intimate subject that requires trust be built before opening that door. The danger in thinking this way is that we put ourselves in a position of always finding excuses. There will always be a greater level of depth a relationship can go to, and how are we to know when is the exact right time for spirituality to become part of the conversation? And the longer we wait, the more awkward it becomes, and we’re far less likely to bring the topic up. There will always be some reason not to.

As we’re getting to know someone, if we don’t share with them about our relationship with Jesus - the most central and important thing about us - we’re actually not being true to ourselves. We’re neglecting to reveal the most important part of our lives, and as a result we build a surface-level relationship, not a deep one. Now, we may discern it best to slowly work our way to the Gospel over many conversations once someone knows we’re a Christian, but we must throw out the myth that this is an absolute essential.

These lies are authored by the Enemy, who would love nothing more than to prevent us from telling others about the life they could find in Jesus. Satan wants to keep people in his kingdom, and he’ll use every lie in the book to ensure that happens. We must be aware of the lies so we can reject them and be people who actively, boldly, and lovingly initiate Gospel conversations, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

--Jason

A Hummingbird Declares the Glory of God

2010-09-02T07:31:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting at Starbucks at the Waterfront, and there's a huge tropical-looking plant dominating the plot of flowers in front of the store, filling the window I'm facing. As I sat and gazed out the window, my eyes caught sight of a hummingbird darting from flower to flower, moving the way hummingbirds do - quick, choppy bursts of movement followed by a brief split second of hovering. They're amazing to watch.

Watching this particular hummingbird got me thinking. How does it do that? The movements of such a small bird are so perfectly timed, requiring such precision and speed, it's astounding. Think of the greatest aircraft humanity has ever created. None compare to the swiftness and coordination of a hummingbird, who can accelerate with the quickness and raw power of a fighter jet, maneuver with the control and preciseness of an air-race machine, hover in place with the stability of the most advanced helicopter, and stop on a dime like no aircraft ever conceived. The fact that this tiny creature can be darting through the air at full speed, then suddenly halt as though it required no effort at all, is awe-inspiring. And it performs this series of movements nearly every second.

I read on Wikipedia that some hummingbirds flap their wings at a rate of up to 90 beats per second! The human eye can't even process all that movement. And their physical structure allows them to both hover and move in bursts of rapid speed, and even fly backwards. All this occurs naturally, without the bird even thinking about it, with the movements generating from the tiniest twitches of miniscule muscles and tendons. For the hummingbird, it's as natural as breathing.

Nature and witnessing the wonder of God's creation is one of the things that connects me to God most. This morning, it was the movements of a hummingbird that brought me to wonder. God's design in creation is so advanced, so perfect, so unimaginably brilliant! His glory is declared through the movements of a hummingbird doing what it was created to do. "Praise the LORD...creeping things and flying birds!" (Psalm 148:7, 10)

Romans 1:19-20 says, "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." God's glory is on display all around us - stop today and let yourself wonder and get caught up in it!

--Jason

Significant Insignificant Moments

2010-08-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

My freshman year of college began sometime late in the last century, which shows my age even more then the widening bald spot on top of my head. As most new freshmen do, I trekked over to the school's basketball arena for the freshman convocation. After a boring wave of speakers, we were finally allowed to exit, free to roam the free events and grab all the goodies and free food we could want for the rest of the evening. Upon exiting the Bryce Jordan Center (Penn State's arena), me and the 2 friends I was with noticed a stage set up across the street - a free concert. Cool, we thought...maybe we'll check it out later. Few people wandered into the field that had been roped off for the concert, and, also like most freshmen, we simply went where the majority of the crowd was headed. Very sheep-like.

We ended up back at East Halls, the 70's-style dorm mega-complex nearly all PSU freshmen call home. At times it felt like the Dharma Initiative barracks, minus the baby blue vans, gender-neutral jumpsuits, and horrifying monster lurking behind the sonic fence. The campus had lots of random events set up in Dharmaville, but after meandering our way around we found ourselves bored and looking for something else. The concert!, we remembered, and decided to trek back over. By the time we arrived the music had stopped, the stage was being torn down, and the tables around the periphery were surrounded by people packing up boxes of giveaway items, flyers, and contact cards.

We must have looked the part of ungainly freshmen - wide-eyed and zit-faced - and before we were even there 2 minutes a tall, friendly-looking upperclassman greeted us. His name was Brooks. In our eyes he was a heroic figure. A junior condescending to converse with 3 lowly freshmen! This would never happen in high school! We probably talked to Brooks for less than 5 minutes, but for the rest of that school year he was, for us, the face of Campus Crusade for Christ. The concert was a Crusade-sponsored event, and we may have ended up as the last group of freshmen to fill out a contact card before they were all boxed away. Brooks, being the hero he was, made sure we got them.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the 5 minutes I spent at that already-finished concert would change the course of my life forever. The contact card I filled out ended up in the hands of another upperclassman, who called and invited me to a Bible study and to Prime Time (what Cru meetings were called in the olden days). He also paid my friend Justin, who was with me that night, a visit, and shared the Gospel. Justin and I got involved in the Bible study and started attending Prime Time - keeping our eyes peeled for our new hero Brooks, of course - and both of us would receive Christ within a year and a half. New life sprung in our dead hearts. And now, 12 years later, I'm on staff with Crusade, serving God full-time amongst college students. It all started with a 5 minute interaction with a guy we only talked to once or twice more in our entire college career, and with the scribbling of a name and phone number on a contact card.

Why do I tell you this story? For 2 reasons. First, these first 2 weeks of college are full of these moments I like to call significant insignificant moments. A flyer or card is handed to someone. An awkward introduction is made at a campus-sponsored event. A canned conversation (Where are you from? What's your major? What dorm are you in?) happens in the dining hall. Often we have no idea how eternally significant these brief interactions can be. I came to Christ as a direct result of one. And as we go out on campus this week - handing out thousands of flyers, inviting passers-by to a BBQ, telling people on our dorm floor about Cru, standing at a table asking students to stop by and fill out a survey - we'll have thousands of them. Thousands of insignificant little interactions that could have great eternal significance.

I hope the thought of that inspires you to force yourself through the awkwardness and anxiety of initiating with strangers. Every interaction could change someone's life entirely. And that's why we press forward, publicizing, inviting, introducing, even when it seems that we've done in enough already. You never know who you may talk to next. Could it be an atheist who becomes a bold witness for Christ? Could it be a future pastor? Missionary? Could it be a person who's deeply hurting and looking for a place to find hope?

Let's be expectant, faithful people, knowing that God is using even our briefest interactions for great purpose and for His glory.

Secondly, I want to encourage and challenge you with the thought that you will become the face of Cru to those you meet. For me, Brooks was a larger-than-life figure. He was Cru. In hindsight I knew nothing about him - whether he was a leader, just marginally involved, or if he flaked out and fell off the deep end soon after our little conversation. But since he was the first person I met, he was the first thing I thought of when I thought of Cru.

It's a bit sobering to think that you could be another person's Brooks. As soon as you tell a freshman about Cru, they'll think of you every time they think of it. More importantly, since Cru is a movement dedicated to sharing Jesus with the campus, they'll link Cru with Jesus, and subsequently link you with Jesus. Wow. No pressure, huh!

To me, this is great motivation to be a positive face. To walk in righteousness and godly conduct. To be edifying and encouraging in my speech. To act in love. To be mindful of the image I project and the substance behind it. The bond between holiness and evangelism is a tight one.

So, all you faces of Cru who read this, I encourage you to live in a way that honors God, take steps of faith and initiative to make conversations with freshmen, and pray that God uses you in some significant insignificant moments this week, even if you aren't even aware of it.

--Jason

The Masses Descend on Pittsburgh

2010-08-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

This afternoon our staff team took a prayer drive through Oakland (we were planning on parking and walking but that proved impossible) - slowly meandering down Forbes, around to Fifth, and over the hill where Pitt's upper campus rests. The air was crisp and fall-like, students were everywhere, parents in tow, activity everywhere. It was terrifically exciting, and hard not to throw the car into park and jump into the chaos.

Thousands of students are arriving as we speak, embarking on a new season in their lives - full of possibility, promise, and discovery, one which will set the course of their lives. Each student has a story behind him, each person is uniquely loved and sought by God. It's awesome to think of the possibilities behind each - leaders in education, business, government; future missionaries who will take the Gospel to far-off lands; future decision-makers who will set the world agenda.

As these throngs arrive, I'm itching to get on campus and meet students. To hand out flyers and Cru cards, to make friends, to share the Gospel. I'm also burdened to pray. Each of these students is an eternal being, an immortal if you will, who will end up in one of two eternal destinations: Heaven or Hell. In Cru, our heart is to make the Gospel known to every one of them, giving them multiple relevant opportunities to respond to Jesus and come to know Him. It's an impossible task, and we must start by desperately seeking God. As you get ready to come to campus yourself, or as you have arrived and are surrounded by the din of a thousand students moving in, take some time to ask God to overwhelm you with the need. Ask Him to drive you to prayer, and take time to do it. It's an eternal investment that won't return void.

Matthew 9:36 describes this reaction that Jesus had when He witnessed huge masses of people: "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Ask God to give you the same heart.

Directly after this, we see Jesus' response: "Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."" (Matthew 9:37-38) What Jesus saw was a plentiful harvest, throngs of people hungry for a Savior, broken and hurting. He saw potential. He saw future worshippers. And He invites His disciples to pray that laborers would go into those fields and reap the crop of believers.

Not only are we to pray for laborers to come, we are those laborers in this harvest field. We who know Jesus are called to make Him known, and He's placed us in this place at this time to harvest for Him.

Our regional director compared these first 2 weeks of the semester as our tax season, our March Madness. To throw more analogies at you, it's our playoffs, our bowl game, our Fall harvest time. This is the time where students will make decisions that will determine their next 4 years, and by reciprocation their whole lives. This is the time to get into the crowds, to initiate, to make friends, to start spiritual conversations, to invite people to a spiritual community that could change their lives. This is the time to get in the game.

Over the next 2 weeks we'll have countless opportunities to influence the eternities of hundreds. Look for more encouragement and insight here, and if you haven't yet, follow us on twitter (@pghmetrocru) to keep in the know on what's going on. Let's run hard and get in the game together! May God bless and use us!

--Jason

Ready or Not, Here It Comes!

2010-07-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the Fall Semester is less than a month away. For some that might be cause for mourning, for others rejoicing. Maybe you've had a horrible summer and can't wait to get back to Pittsburgh. Maybe you've had the best summer of your life and your connection with God has never been stronger, and you don't want it to end.

Whatever this summer has held for you, let me encourage you to begin to turn your focus to the Fall. In just a few short weeks the highways of Pittsburgh will be flooded with minivans full of freshmen, parents, and unnecessary dorm room supplies, all converging on a new semester and a new stage of life. At Cru, we look at this as THE most important time of the year. The decisions a freshman makes within the first 2 weeks of school - friends he'll hang with, clubs he'll join, coffee shop he'll frequent (Caribou or Dunkin', what'll it be?!) - will likely shape the rest of his college career. It's imperative that we do all we can to introduce these thousands of freshmen to Christ, and to help believers get plugged into a place where they can grow, thrive, and have an eternal impact. Everything we do over the first few weeks of school will be geared toward those things.

We have a lot of exciting things coming up, and as you prepare to come back to school let me encourage you to do some spiritual preparation as well. The first few weeks will be busy, crazy, and full of initiative taking. It can be draining as well.

No matter what type of summer you've had spiritually - crappy or fantastic - decide to let the past be the past and let this day be the start of something new. Take some time to pray - for yourself and your walk with God, for the throngs of students converging on Pittsburgh, for God to show up and really MOVE in our midst. Take some time to rest in Him - spend time reading and meditating on the Word, take a half day spiritual retreat, ask Him to fill you to overflowing. Take some time to daydream and envision what He might do this year. Take some time to connect with your friends now, over facebook, email, skype, phone, whatever, so you won't get so distracted by re-connecting that you'll forget to make vital new connections.

The Bible teaches the concept of Sabbath and of resting in the Lord. Often these times of rest become a sort of spiritual fuel that can power you through a season of busyness and chaos. Let the next few weeks be full of this Sabbath-rest, and ask God to use it to empower you for the important, chaotic, and exhausting service of the start of the year. Come back well rested and ready to go!

Praying for you,

Jason

Spiritual Truth at the World Cup

2010-06-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

Like most of the nation right now, I’m fully immersed in World Cup fever. It’s hard not to be after the breathless affair the Americans had yesterday against Algeria.

I’ve watched replay after replay, pondered the goal’s historic significance, and reveled in what a glorious sporting moment it was. Last night, after seeing it for about the thirtieth time, I recognized that Landon Donovan’s last-minute goal is actually quite a thought-provoking spiritual parallel. One that’s not in any way an original idea - C.S. Lewis (of Chronic(what)cles of Narnia fame) and Philip Yancey (another well-known Christian author) both have written about it, and the fact I’ve recently read their words is why I made the connection.

A precise sequence of events had to transpire in order to make that goal as dramatic and exhilarating as it was. Algeria’s keeper fumbles an easy shot, allowing Slovenia to win and capture 3 points. England’s keeper also fumbles away an easy shot, giving the U.S. a fighting chance at advancing. England plays lackluster soccer, leading to a 0-0 draw with underdogs Algeria. The famous phantom foul that disallows the game-winning American goal against Slovenia. The two devastating early goals in that game. Even in this most recent game, the disallowed goal on an unjust offside call in the first half, followed by a maddening succession of near misses. If just one of those things goes a different way, there is no tension or drama left in the dying minutes of yesterdays game, no outburst of sheer joy upon the game winner. The group standings would have been different, meaning the U.S. need of a goal would have been eliminated. Every one of those events, and every other along the path to the final minutes against Algeria contributed to produce that moment. Some of those moments were grossly unjust (I’m looking at you, Coulibaly), and downright agonizing. The phantom calls. The near misses. But Donovan’s strike changed all that; in a sense it redeemed it all. All the prior events - especially the injustices, failures, and pain - were now able to be viewed through a completely different lens, and in fact they made that redemptive event so poignant and powerful. Viewing the past 3 games through what happened in the 91st minute yesterday makes all those heartaches and agonies worth it.

Our lives are full of painful, agonizing, unjust, even mundane and random events that often seem to lack connection or meaning. We face injustices, we make epic failures, we get broken and hurt. But the right redemptive event can change all that, and in fact make them all, in some way, worth it.

As a follower of Jesus - based on His death and resurrection, and the freedom and new life it purchased for me and all those who believe in Him - I believe that redemptive event has happened, and it is available for all humanity. It happened in the terrible moments of Jesus’ death and the glorious moments of His resurrection. I believe that I will, upon death, enter into a glorious new life - one filled with an eternal perfect union with my Creator and Savior, in a place of unspeakable joy and beauty, free from pain and heartache. And I believe that when I get there, all the injustices and failures of my life will be fully seen through the lens of Jesus’ redemption, and that kaleidoscope of events will be painted by it. I’ll be able to look back through that lens and say, somehow, “It was all worth it.”

Landon Donovan’s goal changed the agonies of the group stage for the U.S. from terrible heartaches to tremendously exciting developments on the pathway to glory. Jesus’ redemptive work changes the pains, failures, sins, and injustices of life from sufferings and heartaches to tremendously exciting developments on our pathway to Glory.

Often we ask the question, “why do suffering and evil exist?” It’s an uncomfortable question with no real satisfying answer. But life sometimes produces an event or moment that allows us to glimpse a bit of deeper truth beneath the surface. I think Donovan’s memorable goal can serve as a parallel to this deeper, spiritual reality. Suffering exists, we don’t really know why, but redemption certainly transforms those sufferings into sweetness. And somehow it will all be made worth it.

--Jason

Easter musings

2010-04-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Holidays are always a little weird for me. I mean, how should I spiritually celebrate them? I often feel pressured to act really spiritual on or around a day like Easter, lest I should defile the day with some careless sin. Or else I try to conjure up an emotional experience, thinking that spiritual holidays should naturally line up with spiritual "mountaintop experiences."

But I think (and the cash value of this is literally less than 2 cents) the important thing to do at a holiday is to slow down and connect with God, in an attitude of thanksgiving. Whatever it is that the particular holiday commemorates, ponder that thing. So on Easter, or around Easter, take time to ponder Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, the love that caused Him to do it, and the power that made it possible. If you can also incorporate other people into this process through fellowship, encouragement, and conversation, then all the better.

In the spirit, then, of meditating on these things, I offer up one cool thought. At the end of a long conversation with His disciples near the end of his life, Jesus said these words:

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will find tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Jesus here offers His friends two great pillars of strength during life's chaos -- His words and the miraculous, triumphant outcome of His life, death and resurrection. By remembering what the Lord had said to them and realizing the wondrous victory He had accomplished, they could persevere through any trial they might suffer.

But what was this victory over? What was it in the world that Jesus declared He had "overcome"? I'm so pleased with the process of answering this question, that I leave it to you to answer. I will reword it, and add a corollary question:

1. When Jesus said, "I have overcome the world," what thing(s) does he mean that he has overcome?
2. Paul says "we are more than conquerors through [Christ] who loved us." Conquerors of what?

I will give you one answer, just to get you started and to celebrate Easter with you. He overcame, and we now conquer through Him... Death!

Here are some verses that explain and/or celebrate Christ's victory over death and our privelege of overcoming death through Him:

We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.
Romans 6:9

For since death came through a man, so also the resurrection from the dead comes from a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive... He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:21-26

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying which is written will come true:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
1 Corinthians 15:54-55

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who was and is and is to come, the Almighty... I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."
Revelation 1:8,18

He is risen!

Jon

Cru Fast Sharing Board

2010-03-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone...as we fast together this week, let's make this space a place where we can share comments on how we see God working, post prayers and prayer requests, and give encouragement. Please post a comment and use it to write out a prayer, send a note of encouragement or thanksgiving to God, and share what God is doing through the week. Let's keep a visible list of what God is up to!

--Jason

Ok, let's all fast together... but how??

2010-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

By now hopefully you've heard that across the entire Pittsburgh metro we'll be fasting March 24-31. If you haven't heard this, I recommend leaving this blog entry immediately and reading Jason's last two blogs about what fasting is and what fasting isn't. In fact, go read them right now either way.

Ok, so maybe we all understand the motivations for fasting and some pitfalls to avoid. Perhaps we're all motivated to join together as a community in humility to seek the Lord through fasting. How in the world are we going to do it?

Each person is uniquely different in their habits, ways of connecting to God, schedule, medical history, etc., so by far the most effective way to do this community fast is for each person to choose shis own plan for that week. (Have you heard of the word "shis" before? It was a noble effort by grammarians to create a gender-neutral possessive pronoun that was less bulky than "his or her," but obviously it was a colossal failure. I still like to use it from time to time.)

Here are some main options for your fast:

Food fasts

During any food fast, you will experience physical hunger. You should allow this hunger to motivate you to hunger after God, realizing that your need for Him far exceeds even your need for physical food. An added bonus is the extra time it frees up to act on that spiritual hunger and spend time with God.

1. Total food fast

I know very little about this one, and I don't recommend it. I think it entails just drinking water for a week, and maybe some broth, with perhaps some vitamin supplements. If you feel led to fast in this way, please consult someone who has done it and/or a nutrition major.

2. One meal per day

For this fast, you abstain from one meal each day. During that time, you spend time with God, meditate on His Word, etc.

3. Daniel fast ("no meats or sweets")

Daniel rejected the king's choice food and wine, opting instead for a diet of vegetables and water (see Daniel 1:8-20). Similarly, someone on a Daniel fast sticks to things like vegetables and fruit, eliminating meats, desserts, cola, etc.

4. Sun-up to Sun-down

This fast entails abstaining from food during the period the sun is visible in the sky. In terms of meals, this would mean fasting from breakfast and lunch and having a relatively late dinner. This gives you the aforementioned benefits of a food fast for the better part of the day, while still allowing you to receive nourishment and not die of starvation.

Other types of fasting

For medical reasons, plenty of people can't readily participate in food fasts. But there are other types of fasts out there; if you can't food fast, or if you think one of these other fasts would be more effective for you, feel free to explore these options.

1. Media fasts

a. magazines
b. internet
- facebook
- lostpedia
c. TV
d. movies
e. secular music

In a media fast, one abstains from any or all of the above (and/or anything I've forgotten to mention). I think the best way to choose a media fast is to think about which of these media sources wastes the most of your time and/or pulls you in a direction away from God. Fast from everything on the list that qualifies as one of those two things (time-waster or negative influence).

The greatness of this fast is that it can free up tons of time to spend with the Lord, and possibly begin a process of permanently removing negative spiritual influences from your life (inappropriate movies/music, etc.).

I'm personally going to do a media fast for our community fast. I'm going to do my best to do a full media fast and abstain from everything listed above.

2. Customized personal fast

Along the same lines as the strategy for choosing a media fast above, you can create a personalized fast that makes sense for your life right now. Maybe you need to fast from a person, a book, a particular website, a hobby... you would know this better than I would. The same guidelines would apply for choosing your fast -- what wastes my time, and what pulls me away from God? Whatever you come up with, fast from it.

*************************

The fast will officially begin (3/24) and end (3/31) at Cru. I'm excited to hear what you guys will be fasting from! If you have any questions about fasting, please ask anyone on the staff team or Rob Yon, who gave a great talk about fasting a couple nights ago at Cru.

I'm excited to see what God will do as we seek Him together.

Jon

What Fasting Isn't

2010-03-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote a bit about our upcoming fast and gave a brief biblical overview of fasting (if you haven't read it yet, please read that first - just scroll down or search the archive on the sidebar). I want to continue that today by talking about what fasting isn't. Knowing what it isn't can help us engage better in what fasting is.

I closed the last post by pointing to Isaiah 58, the chapter labeled "True Fasting" in many Bibles. In it, God calls Israel out on their empty fasting - they were simply doing a ritual and it had no effect on their hearts. This was evidenced in their actions - fighting, exploitation, etc. They were fasting as a duty or ritual, disconnecting it from their hearts and actions and expecting God to hear them based on the fact that they were performing this outward action.

So the first thing fasting is not is this: Fasting is not empty ritual. It's not simply an action we perform. Fasting is an act of humility and a proclamation of dependence on God. Isaiah 58 indicates that this humbling of ourselves should be accompanied with an examination of our attitudes and actions, and repentance (a turning from evil and sin). The Israelites in Isaiah 58 seemed eager for God to come near them (v. 2), but their actions showed otherwise. They failed to acknowledge their brokenness and rebellion. So their fasting was pointless. In his book "Fasting", Jentezen Franklin says this: "You should enter a fast seriously, having repented of any known sins."

Fasting is also not a demonstration of our own super-spirituality. If our mindset as we fast is along the lines of, "Look how spiritual I am because I'm abstaining from food for a whole week! God will surely see and bless me!", we've got it all wrong. That's pride, not humility. Jesus addresses this attitude in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. The Pharisee comes before God boasting of his "accomplishments" - saying that he's "not like other men" like the tax collector next to him, that he fasts twice a week and tithes. But the tax collector approaches God humbly, asking for mercy, confessing that he's a sinner. He's the one who leaves justified. We can't use fasting as a way to show God how great we are. That's just ridiculous.

There's a danger or not only approaching God this way, but people as well. Jesus says in Matthew 6:16-18, "when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others...when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (italics mine) Beware of these subtle inclinations of our hearts, and take them captive, turning them over to the Lord and receiving His grace.

Fasting is not a means of simply getting what we want. Sometimes when we fast, we may fast "for something" - for revival, for the healing of a loved one, etc. But there is a subtle danger hidden here. We can begin to view God as a vending machine and fasting as a stack of quarters. If we feed the machine enough quarters, we'll get the snack we want. God is not Santa Claus. And we shouldn't approach Him that way. When we fast and pray, we do so expectantly, but ultimately God brings the results in His will and timing. So we can't fast with the thought that we're filling the right formula that God will honor. That's essentially what Israel was doing in Isaiah 58 - performing a ritual or formula and expecting God to honor it. But that's not the way God operates - He sees the heart, not our outward actions.

Fasting is not dieting. On a longer fast you might lose weight, but this is clearly not the reason to do it!

Fasting is not simply abstaining from something. That's just self-starvation. When we fast, we don't just not eat or not watch TV or not do whatever. We intentionally abstain from those things so that we can seek God and hunger after Him. We use the time we'd normally eat or watch TV or surf the web to seek God, to pray, read, worship, etc. Often these longings for whatever we're fasting from can give us sensitivity to our deeper longing for God. In a mysterious way, when we fast we become very sensitive to God and are often able to engage Him and hear Him more strongly. And we can take the hunger pangs - for food or for whatever we're fasting from - and use them as reminders of our hunger for God and reminders to seek Him. Whenever I fast, I try to pray whenever I feel that pain of hunger in my gut. And often it subsides too!

These are a few of the things that fasting is not - I'm sure given time we could come up with more. So as we enter this fast together, let these be reminders of how not to fast.

And again, let me challenge you to join in fasting next week. Go before the Lord and ask how He might have you engage in it, if at all. Soon Jon will post on this blog about various types of fasting. Read over it and invite God to show you how you might take part. We want to seek God together for personal transformation and revival, and for revival and awakening on our campuses. We need Him desperately. Please join us in seeking Him and hungering after Him together, as a body of believers!

--Jason

Cru Community Fast

2010-03-11T13:00:00.001-08:00

Last week on this blog Jon brought to your attention the discipline of fasting and mentioned that we'd be engaging in a Pittsburgh Metro Cru community fast later in March. I'm here to let you know more information, cast some vision, educate on what fasting is and isn't, and challenge you to pray about how you can join in our communal fast.

First, the details. On March 24 at Cru we're going to have a night of prayer to kick off a week-long fast, culminating at the March 31 Cru. We're not yet sure how we'll break the fast together that night, but we'll do it. For those from campuses outside the city who don't come to the Pittsburgh Metro Cru weekly meeting, we'll leave the ball in your court. You can join us in that same time period (Wednesday to Wednesday), use your own weekly meeting times as start and end points, or choose another time period around that week.

I know at least a few of you read the words "week-long fast" and react with alarm: "what? a week without eating? is that even possible?" In fact, if that's not your initial reaction I'd be surprised. But before you follow that train of thought and pass it off as impossible and something you're not going to do, please read on. What we're not doing is forcing people to not eat (we're not forcing anyone to fast at all - it's purely voluntary as the Spirit leads you), and we're not dictating exactly how you engage in that fast. There are lots of ways to do that, and we'll touch on that in a later post.

The Vision

The staff team has been praying and thinking about the needs of Cru, and we've felt that it would be appropriate to call the students involved with Cru to a week-long fast. We desperately desire to see God move in a powerful way to transform the lives of every student involved with Cru, individually and personally, and to see revival on our campuses. In that light, we want to challenge our students, volunteers, and supporters to join together in fasting, in whatever way God may lead, from March 24-31 - fasting and praying for God to move in our hearts and lives, revive and deepen our faith, and move through us and by His Spirit in profound and powerful ways on our campuses. We will pray and trust God to produce the results that He wills.

Our mission is to turn lost students into Christ-centered laborers. And our scope is every student on every campus in the Pittsburgh area. That's well over 100,000 students. Those goals are pretty audacious if you think about it. To communicate the Gospel to every one of those students, and to see every believer involved with Cru sent from college into a lifetime of personal ministry, is honestly impossible for us. It's a bit like gathering a group of 7-year old kids and challenging the Pittsburgh Steelers to a full-pad game of tackle football. We need help. Lots of it. Going about it with minimal prayer and dependence on God is simply not an option.

So if our vision is God-sized and impossible for us to humanly accomplish, it's imperative on us to desperately seek God to do it. We need Him to work on our own hearts, breaking down pride, allowing us to deeply experience transforming grace, and empowering us to be His laborers. We need Him to bring our hearts to total dependence on Him, not just for our mission but for our entire lives. And we need Him to tear down the walls that are keeping people from knowing Him, to awaken the hearts that are dead. In short, we need revival. Personal, corporate, total revival.

And the vision for this isn't just about Crusade's mission. It's ultimately about Jesus. He's the chief end of our lives - to glorify Him, to know and enjoy Him. So we're inviting you to fast first as a way to hunger for Him and invite Him to transform you deeply and radically. To draw nearer to Him and know Him more. A side-effect is the accomplishment of the mission of turning lost students into Christ-centered laborers and whole campus revival. All that starts in our individual hearts. (hey, that rhymes!)

What Fasting Is

There is a ton that could be written here, and I'm not the one qualified to write it! But I'll do my best.

We'll go to the Bible to see what fasting is. In 2 Chronicles 7, Solomon finishes the dedication of the temple, and God appears to him at night and says this: "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:13-14) This doesn't mention fasting specifically, but highlights the call of God for us to humble ourselves, turn from sin, and pray and seek God's face. He promises to answer with forgiveness and healing.

Fasting is an exercise in humility. We abstain, traditionally from food, in a way of crying out to God that we need and desire Him more than the physical needs of this world. John Piper says, "One way to present ourselves before God humbly is to demonstrate to him by fasting that we acknowledge our overwhelming love for physical pleasure."(1) Instead of continually running to our physical needs and wants for satisfaction and life, we in a sense say to God, "I need You more than I need food." We humble ourselves and express our utter dependence on Him, for life, grace, salvation, etc. There is something about abstaining from food (or in some cases, other things we depend on), that tunes our hearts to God in this way. Our hearts become uncluttered and more deeply sensitive to God.(2) It is humbling to turn in dependence on Him, both in a physical sense as we need His sustaining in a time when we could be very weak, and in a spiritual sense as we cry out to Him.

Fasting is also a means of seeking God. When we fast we don't simply not eat. That's self-starvation. We take the time we'd normally use to feed ourselves and instead use it to feed on God, to seek His face. This can be through prayer, reading Scripture, etc. Certainly prayer is a huge focus. Fasting and prayer are deeply intertwined in the Bible: Nehemiah 1:3-4, Acts 13:2-3, Jonah 3, Daniel 9:3, Ezra 8:21-23, to name just a few passages. Fasting and prayer are companions of sorts. Fasting can help bring focus, urgency, and power to our prayers. We almost begin to feel them, or cry out to God in response to the physical hunger we feel. As I mentioned above, there is something powerful that happens when we fast and our senses are tuned to hear and connect with God on a deeper level.

Fasting is also a way of repentance. We see this in the Bible on multiple occasions. In Jonah 3 (linked above), when Jonah delivers God's message to the Ninevites, they respond by declaring a great fast. The king removes his royal robes, dons sackcloth (a show of brokenness and repentance), and decrees to the city that no one - even animals(!) - was to eat, that they were all to fast and call on God urgently for His mercy. Their response to conviction was repentance in fasting and urgent prayer.

There are other Biblical examples too. In Esther 4, the Jewish people are on the verge of destruction, and Esther is about to risk her life to approach the king and ask that he revoke the royal order that the Jews be annihilated. Before going in to the king, she asks the people to fast for her for 3 days. The fast is proclaimed as a means to cry out to God for Him to move in a miraculous and supernatural way. It's a fast with a specific focus. Sometimes you might hear someone say "I'm fasting for X or Y". Same idea.

Also, in Matthew 6:16, as well as 9:15, Jesus uses the phrases "when you fast...", and "they will fast", indicating that this is to be a regular Christian practice. Yet it's often neglected. In Matthew 6, Jesus also starts statements with the phrases "when you give...", and "when you pray...", so fasting is grouped in with giving and praying as regular Christian disciplines. Fasting is the one most often neglected, probably because it's often most difficult, specifically in the instant gratification culture we live in.

And lastly - and I'll end the post with this thought and leave the rest for later posts - we turn to an interesting chapter on fasting, Isaiah 58. Please check it out before finishing this.

Done? Good. God, through Isaiah, is speaking against the sort of fasting that was often done in that time - a superficial ritual that was merely an external exercise. There was no humility, repentance, or depth connected to it. If there were, their actions would have changed. Verse 3 says, "...on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers." Their actions showed that their hearts weren't engaged, they were simply performing an outward duty. Then God goes on to explain true fasting:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

For Israel, God was calling them to repentance and change instead of mere ritual. For them to turn from their wicked ways of oppression and injustice; to stop them and to act in mercy instead. Then, He says in v.9-10:

you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

God doesn't desire empty ritual. So our fasting cannot simply be an empty ritual (more on that in the next post). So as we enter our fast in a few weeks, we should examine ourselves and ask God to reveal areas where we are practicing injustice, cruelty, oppression, rivalry, malice, grudges, fighting, etc. We don't merely want to fast in an outward action, we want to repent of our sin and act in justice and mercy.

I'm going to close this post here. Please be thinking and praying about this fast. We earnestly desire for God to move in our midst - transforming our lives and the campuses around us. And who knows how He may answer us as we cry out to Him? Nothing may happen - yet, at least - or we may see God move in ways we could not believe. But I challenge you to cry out to Him and join in this fast together.

And, please, if you have any questions or thoughts, please either post them here or ask one of the staff - we'd be glad to help.

--Jason

Resources:

(1) A Call to Fast for Humility and Power, article, John Piper

(2) Fasting, Jentezen Franklin

(3) A Hunger for God, John Piper

Fasting together

2010-03-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

As you read through the Bible, you will surely come across many references to the practice called "fasting." Most actual occurences of fasting in the Bible (I've just read all of them, so trust me) are communal and happen when Israel is in a desperate state of shambles or the early church leaders gather together to make important decisions or steps in their ministry.

Fasting is a discipline that is rarely discussed, and there may be some misconceptions looming out there about it. So later this month, we'll be talking about it at greater length, answering some important questions (what is fasting? what isn't it? should we do it? why? how can we appropriately practice it?) and even joining together across the whole Pittsburgh metro in an exciting fast as a community!

Stay tuned for more information!

Jon

An Evangelism Resource

2010-03-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

Many of you know that we recently finished a 4 week series on evangelism at Cru, but about half of the students involved with Cru in Pittsburgh don't regularly attend the weekly Cru meetings. If only someone would invent teleportation to remedy that problem...

Since about half of you who would be reading this didn't receive the sweet content delivered at Cru, we wanted to point out a few resources that you could use as a substitute. And, unlike most of what Hollywood foists on us right now, in our case the substitute may surpass the original!

Please accept my sincere encouragement (nay - challenge!) to listen to at least one of these talks. It'll take a half hour - download it and throw it on your iPod, then listen on the bus or as you work out. Beats listening to Owl City over and over again. Even if you were able to be at Cru for the whole Go! series, I encourage you to have a listen to these as well. Repetition is the best friend of theology, I say.

- Last week's sermon from North Way, by Gary Poole. It's not loaded at last check, but should be soon. An excellent intro and motivation for relational evangelism.

- And 3 John Piper sermons that Jon found:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/7/639_Ready_to_Move_with_the_Gospel_of_Peace/

This is based on Ephesians 6:10-20 and talks about evangelism in the context of spiritual warfare and the gospel's power.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/7/640_Christs_Purpose_in_Evangelism/

This looks at Paul's story in Acts 26, focuses in God's sovereignty in our lives and evangelism, and gives some of God's purposes for evangelism.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/7/2723_Im_Sending_You_to_Open_Their_Eyes/

This talk, based on the beginning of the awesome chapter 2 Cor 4, emphasizes the need for rebirth and gives 10 encouragements/tips for being a part of the process of God giving someone new birth through "gospel telling."

Enjoy!

--Jason

God: sovereign and good

2010-02-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

A terrible earthquake happened in Haiti.

How do we respond to this event? I don't mean in action, such as giving money to a relief effort (which we should all do), I mean what do we think of this tragedy? Why might God allow this to happen? Is it possible that He even caused it to happen? Is He so wrathful that every once in a while He kills a bunch of people? Has there been a shift in the power balance that has allowed an evil force, perhaps the devil, to cause unchecked damage in the world and the lives of its residents?

These types of questions are natural. But I think we tend to avoid difficult questions. I know I've personally been pretty callous about the earthquake; I've given some money, but have I prayed often for the victims? Have I allowed myself to ask some of the questions above and wrestle with the possible answers?

I just finished reading the story of Joseph, and I think it can shed a little light on God's presence in the midst of suffering. I'm not pretending it will do more than that -- this blog post won't give you all the answers. But it might be able to shed a little light.

Forget what you know about the end of Joseph's story and try to imagine that his story is happening to you:

All your siblings (if you're in a small family or an only child, perhaps imagine the group of your 5-10 closest friends) become insanely jealous of you. They're so fed up with you, they decide to kill you. Yes, your closest friends and family have decided to murder you.

At the last moment, one of them convinces the rest to have mercy on you and just leave you for dead instead. Wow, thanks a lot for that change of heart. But then one of them has a greedy thought and realizes if they sell you to a nearby caravan of slavetraders, they can actually make a little profit from this endeavor. Classic "two birds with one stone" moment. And so, you become a slave to a band of foreign travelers.

How do you think you'd be responding to this as it happened? What would your emotions be? Your attitude toward this group of "friends"? Your theology? Take a couple minutes and try to ponder what your responses would be.

What amazing faith Joseph had! God blessed him and raised him to a pretty powerful position, as far as slaves go. Then his master's wife tries to seduce him; here's Joseph's response: "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

God had allowed Joseph to be hated by his family, be left for dead in a pit, and be sold into slavery. And yet, when tempted to commit adultery, Joseph refused because it would be sin against God.

Well, Joseph's story only gets better. He is framed for the adultery anyway, and is found guilty without a trial. He is immediately thrown into jail to serve an indefinite sentence. Surely it is time to conclude that God has turned His back, or never existed, right?

Not for Joseph. When two of Pharaoh's servants are thrown in jail and are troubled by strange dreams, Joseph offers, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." When he's asked about the interpretations years later, he again gives all the credit to God.

I won't tell you the rest of Joseph's story, except in the briefest possible summary: he interprets a dream for Pharaoh, predicts a long famine, rises to second in command of all of Egypt, then saves Egypt and the surrounding lands from the famine.

Rather than dwell on the story, I'd like to explore how Joseph could be so faithful during tragedy after tragedy in his life! What was it about his faith that allowed him to conclude, over and over again, that God does still exist, that He hasn't turned His back, He is still in control?

I think we start to see the answer at the very end of his story in Genesis. The brothers (still scheming, trying to trick him into forgiving them for their terrible misdeeds) have just asked for his forgiveness, and here is Joseph's crucial reply:

"You meant [selling me into slavery] for evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be left alive [after the 7-year famine]."

So all along Joseph knew that -- even when terrible things were happening to him -- God had a plan; Joseph didn't know what the plan was during the events, but afterward was able to see the divine purpose to his sufferings. Notice that Joseph's perspective isn't one of "despite the fact that you did this to me, God used me to accomplish good"; no, it's radically different from that. His perspective is that "the very thing you did to me, though it stemmed from evil in your heart, is what God had previously planned to use to save many lives." So Joseph was able to be full of faith even in the hardest circumstances, because he knew that God is good and that He is powerful and wise enough to use terrible, wicked things to bring about His purposes.

It's sort of mind-blowing. Joseph was able to say that before he was even born, God had ordained that he would be sold into slavery, thrown in jail, and ultimately save thousands of lives (including Jacob's family and, therefore, the entire future people of Israel).

Now, do we always have the blessing of, after our hardships, knowing why God planned for us to suffer? Sadly, no. Do our problems usually result in a grand gesture of heroism? Almost never. But we can take heart that, even if we'll never learn His plan in this lifetime, God has planned our tragedies beforehand to bring about our eternal good.

"We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Jon

Our Constant Thirsting

2010-02-15T06:53:00.000-08:00

John 7:37-39 (ESV)

³⁷On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" ³⁹Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This is probably a fairly familiar passage, but it's one of those that are always worth many looks. A few weeks ago I read this, and was confronted by the fact that "rivers of living water" flowing from my heart does not often describe my walk with God. Does it for you?

I can't say exactly what that would be, but I think I'd know it if I were experiencing it. And I know that there are times in my life when I do. But those often seem few and far between. Some of the things that I have experienced, or picture experiencing when I read the phrase "rivers of living water" are deep, unexplainable joy and peace, contentment in spite of any circumstance, zeal and passion to make Jesus known, a burden for the lost and for prayer, the security and love of a tangible, deep connection with God, conviction over my sin and brokenness. Now, I don't want to make you think that our walk is based on feelings or emotions - these are fleeting and it can be dangerous to base our connection with God on them. There are seasons when they are strong, and seasons when we feel dry or "in the wilderness", so to speak, but our standing before God doesn't change. Our relationship with Him is eternally secure in Christ, because of His finished work on the cross and the free gift of salvation He gives when we come to Him and believe. What this passage indicates though, is that as we run to Christ to have our thirsts satisfied, we will experience these "rivers of living water" produced by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus calls us to come to Him and drink when we thirst. I wrote this in my journal as I pondered this passage:

"I certainly thirst, but so often go to find water in empty or polluted places. Being a metaphor for our spiritual thirst - my thirsts are for significance, affirmation, assurance, rest, peace, joy, satisfaction, righteousness, confidence, courage, truth, knowledge. Everything I do is in some way tied to my thirsting for these things."

Maybe your thirsts are similar, maybe they are for other things. But we all thirst, and we all seek to quench those thirsts constantly. I try to be funny so people will laugh and I'll feel significant. I have quiet times and pray so I'll feel righteous before God. I do things I'm good at so I can brag about it and have affirmation about myself. Almost every action we do or motivation we have is tied to some thirst we have at our core. How often do we seek to have these thirsts quenched in places that won't ultimately quench them?

Sure, some of the things we do may give us a quick relief from thirst, but it always returns. When people laugh at me or notice something I do well, I feel good about it and a bit of that significance or affirmation I crave is felt, but it doesn't last. My heart just craves more of it. It's like drinking soda (pop) - it might quench our thirst at first but it somewhat dehydrates us and we soon just want more and more of it, when pure water is going to give us a more lasting relief from that thirst.

Jesus gives Himself as the answer - the only answer - to those deep thirsts in our heart. He alone can satisfy our deepest needs. He may sometimes use those things we run to to find thirst, like people affirming us for example, but when we skip over Him and run straight to them our thirst isn't ultimately met. We need to go to Him and allow Him to quench our thirst in whatever way He will.

Our hearts come with a natural thirst that we feel every day. Jesus is given as the perfect provision of that thirst. He frees us from sin, bestows on us righteousness, declares us significant and perfect, affirms us as His child, provides for our needs - both physical and spiritual, calls us to significant, eternally valuable work, leads us to life-giving community, strengthens us in our weakness, gives us courage to face our giants, gently and persistently transforms us into His likeness, gives rest for our souls, uses us to influence others toward Him, heals our deepest hurts, teaches us truth through His Word, brings us joy and peace that are impossible without Him, meets with us when we are alone, guides us when we need direction, and is constantly with us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. I've been so blessed to experience many of these things firsthand, and I'd bet that you have too if you've come to know and follow Him. Yet our hearts still run naturally and subtly to other things before Him! How fickle our hearts are - like the line in 'Come Thou Fount' - "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love". This just indicates that we constantly need Him, not just at the moment of our salvation. God knows this, and His Spirit is provision for that moment-by-moment need.

We need to continue to remind ourselves of this need, surround ourselves with people who will encourage us to run to Jesus, and redirect and train our hearts to go to Jesus to quench our thirsts. Otherwise they won't be met. I wrote this in my journal as well:

"And so where do I go? I don't think it's about eliminating external distractions - my heart will find something to be distracted by no matter what, even using good things like prayer. Discipline is needed, but carefully tied to and guarded by a continual reminder of the truth and of why the discipline is being pursued, lest discipline becomes duty or legalism. Hiding this Scripture in my heart will help, as a reminder of the ultimate provision - Jesus - for my need, and as an antidote to a legalistic mentality.

This is our continued struggle, to run to Jesus instead of the great many other things before us. It's just as real and difficult now as when we first came to Christ. Thankfully, Jesus promises to help, and given His Spirit as provision, as conviction, as counselor, as guide, and Jesus will Shepherd us beside quiet waters and restore our soul."

As I meditated on these things, I also realized how easy it can be to fall into the mentality that Jesus is the means to and end. That He's the means to giving us what we really need or want - those being significance or satisfaction or even salvation. We do have those thirsts and needs, but Jesus IS the end, not just a means for us to get them. Notice that Jesus doesn't say "come to me and I'll give you what you really need", He says "come to me and drink", and as a result these rivers of living water will start to flow. He's what our hearts really want, not the means to get there. HE is our significance, our confidence, our satisfaction. It's so easy to think along the lines of "I have Jesus so I can have salvation and eternal life". But in reality we are given eternal life and salvation so we can have Jesus. In John 17:3 Jesus defines eternal life as a relationship with God. He is who we all need. He is the end we are running after. And so all we do - things in our personal walk like spiritual disciplines, church, Cru, etc. - we do so to get more of Jesus. Not to get more satisfaction or significance or righteousness. Same with ministry - everything we do, we do so that the thirsty hearts of people on campus all around us can have Jesus. HE is the end. Everything we do ought to be solely about Him, glorifying Him and bringing ourselves, our friends, the lost souls on campus to Him, for He is all they need. He's the sole focus of our lives and our ministry.

So to bring this cross-country flight in for a landing, let me encourage you to be honest and identify what your thirsts are, and where you are running to have them met. Then confess that and repent of it before God - when we run to other things it's a form of idolatry - and ask Him to meet those needs, and continually guide you to run to Him and not those other things. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you. And continue to examine your heart and where it's running moment-by-moment, to point it back to Jesus. Let Him be the sole focus of your life and ministry.

For more on this topic, find a copy of the "Satisfied" booklet. Ask me or another staff for it, or find an online version here. And if you're really curious, this article can help too.

Stay thirsty my friends,

Jason

Haiti Relief

2010-01-20T18:58:00.001-08:00

Campus Crusade has launched a "Haiti Response" site to help staff and students brainstorm, collaborate, and decide on ways to respond to the tragedy as a ministry. I encourage you to check it out and begin to talk as a movement about what your response, if any, might be, as well as how to mobilize the campus toward an appropriate, compassionate, Christ-centered response.

www.uscmhaitirelief.org

Also, you can follow the response on twitter (@uscmhaiti) for updates, ideas, and events.

--Jason

Haiti and Suffering

2010-01-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

It has been horrifying to watch the images streaming in from Haiti these past few days - sights and reports that are shocking, unsettling, and unspeakably tragic. It may be the worst natural disaster and aftermath I've seen. And in spite of the good news that trickles through - stories of rescue, of millions of dollars of aid pledged, of the reuniting of families, of the survivors banding together in prayer and the singing of psalms - it's easily lost amid the overwhelming force and scope of the tragedy. Seeing these images and hearing these stories shakes you to the core, and leaves you with a myriad of questions. Questions about why this happened in one of the least prepared and stable places in the world, about why so many are suffering so greatly, about why God might allow such tragedy to take place. These questions are natural in the aftermath of such a horrific situation, and point to one of the thorniest and most difficult theological issues to understand: why a good God would allow such suffering.

It's a question every believer in Christ reckons with at one time or another. The death of a loved one. A series of trying circumstances or devastating events. A natural disaster on the scale of the one we're witnessing in Haiti. This issue has certainly been on my mind the past 2 days, and it's an uncomfortable question to wrestle with. In fact, the reason it's such a difficult issue is because so little is revealed to us about it - we probably know less that one percent of all there is to know about it. There simply isn't a good or complete answer for it. But we do have a significant amount of truth to fall back on, truth that we can take to heart and rest in, truth that gives us more than enough confidence in God's goodness and compassion to move forward in faith in Him in the midst of the most unspeakable evil or tragedy.

I want to point out some of those truths in this space. I need to examine them myself to bring grounding to my faith, and I hope they can give some hope to you and help solidify the foundation of your belief in Jesus in the midst of suffering and pain - whether it be while watching the horrible scenes in Haiti or while enduring suffering that's closer to your heart.

Truth #1: Suffering Produces Growth

At my church, North Way Oakland, last week, Pastor Doug Melder quoted Donald Miller's latest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In it, Miller cites how in stories the characters change through conflict and hardship. Their character development is centered around the difficulties and sufferings they face. Think of your favorite movie or TV show - every one of them involves characters who face trying or devastating situations: plane crashes on strange and otherworldly islands, relational turmoil, the agonizing choice of whether to save a spouse or a child. All these events are mechanisms for character development and transformation. The writers of these stories model this from real life. The Bible unveils this process numerous times:

Romans 5:3-5

³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Hebrews 12:7, 10-11

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

And so on. If we did not face hardship or suffering, we wouldn't grow or change. And God loves us so much that He's not willing to allow us not to grow or change. He wants to shape us into the people we were meant to be, the people He designed us to be.

Truth #2: Suffering is used by God for good

This is directly tied to the first truth. Romans 8:28, an oft-quoted verse, says this: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." All things - bad or good. There are tangible examples of this - both in Scripture and in our own lives as well. The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis is the most often used example. Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt, where he lives for years in various trials and hardships. Yet through it all, Joseph ended up in a position of power in Egypt, and helped prepare the nation for a coming famine, saving thousands, including the brothers who sold him to slavery. At the end, Joseph says this to his brothers: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Genesis 50:20) I know a friend and former student involved with Cru who suffered a terrible accident that left him nearly totally blind and with significant physical setbacks, and he thanked God for the experience because for him, it was a wake-up call. He'd been living arrogantly and neglecting God, and said that God used the accident to draw my friend back to Himself. His faith was stronger, and his maturity much deeper, because of his suffering.

C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Sadly, often the only thing that will wake us up to our own sin condition or to our brokenness is pain and suffering. In those cases, God certainly means for that pain to produce much good.

Tim Keller, in The Reason for God, expands on this truth a bit more, and sums it up with this thought: "With time and perspective most of us can see good reasons for at least some of the tragedy and pain that occurs in life. Why couldn't it be possible that, from God's vantage point, there are good reasons for all of them?"

To bring this back to the situation in Haiti, I hate to speculate during a time like this, but one possible outcome of this tragedy is that Haiti is rebuilt as a nation that will be much stronger and more stable than ever. Prior to a few days ago, it was largely ignored and overlooked, the poorest nation in the Americas, and now hundreds of nations and relief agencies are pledging and sending aid in an array of forms: food, water, medicine, money for infrastructure and shelter, etc. The world's eyes are on Haiti, and hopefully will continue to be. What may happen is that the country is rebuilt with newer, better infrastructure and a renewed government, and the aid and support of the world will lead to a stronger Haiti. We can only hope.

Truth #3 Our Vision is Limited by Time

To go back to the quote I just cited from Tim Keller, God's vantage point is vastly different from ours. God is eternal and sees beginning and end. We don't have that luxury, our sight is limited and even over the course of a lifetime, we only see a small sliver of all there is to see. Therefore, we can trust Scripture and our experience that bear out the truth that God is infinitely good and wise, and trust in His plans and purposes. It's arrogant of us to think we can judge whether God is justified in allowing certain sufferings when our sight is so limited.

Truth #4 The Suffering of Jesus

In The Reason for God, Tim Keller brings forward a truth that I'd never considered before - explaining why the suffering undergone by Jesus was far greater, infinitely greater in fact, than any suffering we could undergo. The reason lies not in the physical agony Jesus went through at the cross (which was undeniably great), but in the spiritual agony He bore. Keller says that to understand just how deep Jesus' suffering was in His passion and death, we need first to look at the beginning of the Gospels, where Jesus relationship with the Father is described. John 1:1-18 describes Jesus as eternally with the Father, in perfect relationship, acting in Creation, at the Father's side. With no sin or imperfection, this was an infinitely perfect relationship. Then, when Jesus died, one of the last phrases He uttered was "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). He is crying out in pain, experiencing the depths of separation from the Father. The infinitely perfect relationship is severed. Imagine the depth of pain and anguish Jesus felt. You've perhaps felt the deep agony of a close relationship severed; how much greater the agony of Jesus, whose relationship with the Father is eternal and full of infinite love. Keller says, "Jesus's sufferings would have been eternally unbearable." Yet Jesus willingly faced this suffering on our behalf, voluntarily experiencing the separation from God that we rightly deserved. This is the great substitution in the Gospel, Jesus taking our place, trading our pain and deserved eternal death and crediting us with His perfect and infinite righteousness. It's breathtaking and true.

And because Jesus went through such suffering, and came through on the other side with the resurrection, the defeating of death, He's therefore fully capable of understanding our suffering and carrying us through it. He experienced all that we could ever experience, and more. To sound like a broken record and quote Tim Keller again, he puts it this way: "If we again ask the question: 'Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?' and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we now know what the answer isn't. It can't be that he doesn't love us. It can't be that he is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on himself."

Then Keller takes the point one step further and brings up the fact that in the resurrection we don't just have a consolation for all our losses and pains, but a "restoration of the life you always wanted". Somehow, when the heavens and earth are renewed, what we experience will be greater because of our suffering, as though our pain and suffering serve to magnify and amplify the greatness of our renewed, reborn, eternal life. Keller quotes C.S. Lewis: "They say of some temporal suffering, 'No future bliss can make up for it', not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory."

I have no idea how much of those truths speak specifically to the situation in Haiti, or to any particular instance of suffering. But they are truths we can hold to that provide hope and truth when we are despairing and doubting.

I encourage you to check out The Reason for God, chapter 2, by Tim Keller, as it's obviously been my primary source for this post. Another good resource for insight into this topic is C.S. Lewis's book The Problem of Pain, which I've yet to do more than skim but is on my list of things to read soon.

And, as the church is called to offer hope and help in these times of crisis, I encourage you to consider giving to help the Haitian people. Certainly pray, we can all do that, but consider making a donation to help those still struggling to find food, water, and shelter. Campus Crusade has a ministry called the Global Aid Network that provides humanitarian aid paired with the message of the Gospel. Click the link, and information about giving to help Haiti is front and center. And if you haven't joined yet, check out the Help Haiti facebook event for more info on ways to give.

--Jason

A Christmas Miracle!

2009-12-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

^{John 1:1-18

1}In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

¹⁵John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " ¹⁶From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

This is not the typical passage read at Christmas, but gives part of the backstory that makes Christmas, the birth of the Messiah into our world, so amazing. I've just started to read John, and haven't made it past this passage quite yet! I thought it would be cool to post a few thoughts here, to help you meditate on and celebrate Christmas.

In this passage, John builds a framework for the rest of his book, laying out a clear picture of who Jesus is that he'll continue to expand on throughout the Gospel. I labeled 12 things (though there may be more, or less, depending on your interpretation and reading of things) that John says about Jesus - all building the argument that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and God Himself.

1. Jesus is the Word of God (v.1)

Not meaning the Bible, but the "divine self-expression" (phrase used by D.A. Carson in his commentary on John). God discloses Himself (He speaks) in the person of Jesus Christ. According to Carson's commentary, in the Old Testament, the Word of God brought creation, revelation, and salvation. All these things are true of Jesus - He created (v.3) and re-created (the idea of us being "born again"), He reveals God (v. 18), and He saves (v.12).

2. Jesus is God (v. 1, 18)

John clearly states that Jesus is God, that He and the Father are one.

3. Jesus exists eternally (v.1-2)

It says that "in the beginning was the Word" - in other words, Jesus was present when time began, when our world began. He has no beginning and no end, He's eternal. There has been no time, and will be no time, when Jesus didn't exist. He always was, and is.

4. Jesus is the Creator (v. 3, 10)

"Without Him was not any thing made that was made" - He created the substance of the universe - every particle of matter, anti-matter, every atom and molecule, everything. While man can build and create things, we have to have something to work with. Jesus created everything out of nothing.

5. Jesus holds life in Himself (v. 4, 12, 16)

He is the giver of life. John says that "this life was the light of men" - the life that He held in Himself was given to us. First in creation, He made us and put life into us; and also at salvation, He is the giver of new life in Him.

6. Jesus is the true light (v. 5, 9)

He isn't just any light, but the true light. He shines in the darkness and is victorious over it. There are not equally powerful forces of good and evil in the world, Jesus is infinitely more powerful than any force of evil, and has been and will be victorious over it all. We need not fear evil or darkness when Jesus is with us. Light always overcomes darkness, darkness cannot envelop light.

7. Jesus is the way of salvation (v. 12-13)

He gave the right for us to become children of God, we did not earn it. He provides salvation through Himself.

8. Jesus came to the world and dwelt among us (v. 10, 14)

This is called the "Incarnation" - God becoming a man. It's amazing, and almost impossible to conceive, considering the fact that He created the world. It's like an author writing himself into a story. Only an author's story only exists in imagination and on paper. God's creation is real and physical, and He physically entered into it in the person of Jesus. He slipped in quietly, under cover of night, and the world, though created by Him, did not recognize Him. Amazing that people would not recognize their Creator when He was present with them! Yet many didn't, and still don't. How often I fail to recognize Him too, even though I'm graciously saved by Him and He lives in me.

9. Jesus reveals the Father (v. 14, 18)

He makes God known, and enables us to know Him.

10. Jesus is full of grace and truth (v. 14, 16-17)

Grace: unmerited favor, a gift (yet not without cost - He Himself was the cost!)

Truth: no falsehood, trustworthy, authoritative, an unmovable anchor, reliable

Contrast that with the law (v. 17). We don't need a list of laws to follow to grow and be changed, we need grace and truth. Jesus is FULL of grace and truth.

11. Jesus is the Son of God (v. 14)

i.e., He is God.

12. He is the Messiah (v. 17)

The Greek word "Christ" means Messiah. John waits until the end of this passage to reveal who he's been talking about: Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The Messiah had been long-awaited and much-anticipated throughout the Old Testament and Jewish history, and now He has been revealed, at long last. He is the hope of all nations, the Anointed One sent from God to save. And He is God Himself. And this is what we celebrate at Christmas - the long-awaited Messiah has come to earth to save people of every nation. Only He came in an unexpected way - as a helpless baby, born in a stable in a small, obscure town, to humble and ordinary parents. Just as when God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper rather than an earthquake or a storm, God revealed Himself through Jesus in a baby rather than a powerful political or military leader.

One of the amazing things about Christmas is that all these things, these dozen things found in this passage in John, are all true of this little baby, laying sweetly in a manger. This child held life in Himself, He was full of grace and truth, existing eternally, God Himself. And he came to save us, for His glory. Astounding.

Merry Christmas!

--Jason

Having a Great Break

2009-12-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

I don’t want to use scare tactics or be overdramatic, but I’m going to say something frightening: for many college students (including me when I was a college student), Christmas break is the worst time of the year for their walk with the Lord. Isn’t that tragic? During the time of the year set aside to commemorate Jesus’ amazing birth, many of us stray the farthest from God we will be all year.

It’s worthwhile to ask why this happens, so that we can make sure this season is one of spiritual fruit and growth. I think the two main reasons are isolation and laziness; thus, we need to make sure we head home for the holidays this year with “Fellowship” and “Diligence” on the top of our wish-lists.

Here are (what I hope are) some practical steps we can take to be diligent and in fellowship with other believers this December:

1. Spend time with God daily.

It sounds so easy. We spend time with God regularly during the schoolyear, so why wouldn’t that naturally carry over to the break? I’ll tell you why: during the schoolyear, we go to Cru every Wednesday, small group once a week, church every Sunday, and spend time with Christians just about every day. If you take away the support system of consistent fellowship, one of the first things to disappear is daily time spent alone with God. So we have to take the initiative and plan to spend time in the Word and prayer every day! If you want some ideas of what to read or pray about during these times, this website should be helpful:

2. Come to RADIATE09

Oh my gosh. If Jon mentions Radiate one more time, we’re all going to beat the crap out of him, right?! Wrong (at least I hope). For all the info on this, just scroll down and read Jason’s most recent blog entry. The only thing I’ll add is this – this is the most practical way for many of us to make sure we have fellowship in our lives over the break. Unless your family does daily devotions (some do), you’re just not going to get this kind of awesome Christian community at home.

3. If you are about to graduate (or transfer) this spring, multiply!

If this spring will be your last semester in school, don’t you want to make the most of it spiritually? One way you can do this is to look for one or two non-seniors that you can “disciple.” If you’ve never done this, just ask me, Jason, Maria, Kirstin, or a student who’s been on a summer project how to do it. The first step will be to approach the one or two students you have in mind and ask if they’d like to meet you on a weekly basis. During this time you can talk about life, teach them from the Bible, do ministry together, and pray! Doesn’t that sound awesome!?

4. Find fellowship during break

So this is obviously the theme of this blog entry. To reiterate the point one final time, if you try to live the Christian life in isolation, you will probably experience failure and disappointment, because the Christian life was meant to be lived in fellowship with others. How can you make fellowship happen if you don’t have an actively Christian family or church at home? I’m not sure, which is probably why my school breaks have been the worst times for me spiritually. But some ideas are: go to church anyway; set up phone dates with your Christian friends; share your faith with your family and friends at home; go to RADIATE09 (last plug, I promise).

Well, I hope this list will help you walk with God while you’re home for Christmas. If you’d like more ideas about how to grow in your faith over the break, please feel free to talk to me. As with any advice you receive in life, this list will help you a lot more if you write down, right this instant, actual ways you are going to implement it. If you just think, “Hmm, interesting, I should do some of that,” well… you probably won’t. I’m just speaking from experience.

Merry Christmas:

The angel said to [the shepherds], "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Jon

RADIATE09

2009-11-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

What are you doing between Christmas and New Year's? Eating leftovers and waiting in line to return ill-fitting shirts and ugly socks? C'mon, you can do better than that! Why not spend the week with 1,000 other college students, worshipping the Lord, being challenged by incredible teaching, and having the time of your life in the Baltimore Inner Harbor?

That's pretty much what RADIATE09 is - the time of your life. You'll grow more in your walk with God in 4 days than maybe the rest of the year combined. And you'll probably have more fun too.

And - exciting news! - if you've never been to RADIATE before and register before December 4, you'll automatically be entered to win one of 2 FREE TRIPS, courtesy of Pittsburgh Metro Cru! The entire conference fee will be covered - all you'll be responsible for is food and travel cost.

Also, for all non-Pitt students: if you register before December 4, you'll go for HALF PRICE! The Pittsburgh Metro team will cover half the conference cost for you (a $110 value). We want you to join us in Baltimore that badly!

Four days in a posh hotel, harborside, in Baltimore, within walking distance of ESPNZone, the National Aquarium, dozens of restaurants, and all the best seafood you'd ever want. Four days of powerful, soul-filling worship. Four days of rich teaching by some of the best speakers you'll hear. Four days of bonding with friends from your campus and others in the Pittsburgh area. Four days of becoming more of who God created you to be. All for half price, possibly even free!? Why wait? Register now at www.radiate09.com.

See you in Baltimore,

Jason

A Call to Pray

2009-10-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not a very good pray-er. There seems to be so many obstacles when it comes to praying. Life seems too busy to carve out time just to pray, and when we do there are often things that vie for our attention - distractions, interruptions, phone calls, urgent tasks, etc. Even the thought of stopping our lives for a few minutes, turning off all our electronics, and just resting in prayer before God is a counter-cultural one. We live in such a wired culture and there always seems to be noise or entertainment around us. It's uncomfortable to go without it. And for me, so many times when I have done the work of stopping, unwiring, and quieting everything in life to focus on God in prayer, I end up falling asleep. It can be frustrating!

My tendency is to try to pray while I do other things, but this rarely works. I just can't do two things at once, because I can't focus. Maybe you have an easier time with this, but it's tough for me. Often I'll pray while walking the dog, which is nice because I enjoy being outside, and usually is non-distracting enough that I can really connect with God. But I've also tried praying while driving, showering, doing dishes, sitting at Caribou Coffee, and even while watching TV. It rarely goes beyond a surface level, and most often lasts about 20 seconds before my mind wanders somewhere. Yet I still persist in thinking I can have good times in prayer while doing these things. Persistence is good, but at a certain point you just have to make changes.

Why is prayer so difficult? Why is it so often the first thing to slip in our walk with God? I actually think it's a clue to how vital it is. The reality is that we live in a war zone. There is a spiritual war going on around us, largely unseen but very real, and our hearts are at the center of it. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Satan is warring against God, and by reciprocation against us, who have aligned ourselves to Him through Christ. If Satan can attack our hearts and turn them against God, he has won a victory in this spiritual war. Maybe the reason our prayer life is the first to slip is because Satan knows how strategic and vital it is, and he throws his efforts to attack there first.

The reality of this spiritual war is something we don't often think about. But to neglect it is dangerous - in ministry we place ourselves deep into the war, as we seek to rescue people from darkness and slavery to sin and the devil, and make Christ known to every student. The forces lined up against us as we do this are impossible for us to overcome. They are, as Paul put it in the above verse, spiritual forces of evil and powers of this dark world. Kind of scary if you think about it. Who are we to think that we, weak humans, can go up against these forces and expect to win? It would be like a 4th grade football team lining up against the Pittsburgh Steelers - they don't have a chance. They need something far greater than themselves - far larger, far stronger, far wiser - on their side if they're going to win. The same is true for us - we need some One far larger, stronger, wiser aligned with us. Thankfully, we have this One - Jesus. The very fact that we see any success in ministry at all is due to Him. He intercedes for us before the Father (Rom 8:34), and God alone draws people to Himself and changes hearts. (John 6:44, John 10:28).

I don't bring up the subject of spiritual warfare to scare you, but to help open your eyes to the larger reality we live in. The other larger reality is that God is all-powerful and sovereign over everything. Nothing happens outside His will. There is no power too strong for Him to overcome, no enemy too difficult for Him to defeat. And we know that He desires all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), and He is active in pursuing them. Our role in ministry is to join Him in this, not to take responsibility on our own, as if we could save people or persuade them to follow Jesus, or cause the lives of believers to be transformed. This is why prayer is so vital. For some reason that I don't fully understand, prayer is a key that unlocks the door, so to speak. God invites us to make our requests known to Him, to come before Him and ask so that we may receive. He's called us to be His ambassadors and sends us to minister, but calls us also to be in constant communication with Him as we do it - we go before Him and ask for Him to work. Prayer is like the communication line in war - we, on the front lines, call for support, guidance, resources, intervention, and help from the Commanding Officer. Why He does it this way I don't know, but He's God and He can do what He wants. And so we must pray. Without it, success and transformation in ministry doesn't happen. God is all-powerful and can bring those results and life change, but often waits for us to pray and ask Him to do it. Again, I don't know exactly why, but our first responsibility in ministry is to pray.

As I write this I realize how much I need to take my own advice, so I'm going to be more intentional about praying. A few ideas I have are to force myself to get up a bit earlier, to spend breaks in my work day in prayer, to fast occasionally, to pray instead of watching something dumb and meaningless on TV at the end of the day. It will take some work, but it's worth it. It's that important.

What can you do? On many of your campuses there are specific times set aside to pray with others. Take advantage of these - praying in agreement together is powerful. Jesus said His presence would be where 2 or 3 are gathered in His Name; I take this to mean something special, powerful, and different from His constant presence with us. If there's not a campus prayer time already, maybe you can be one who starts one.

You can also set aside specific time in leadership meetings, small groups, and random hangout times to pray. And you can work to set aside time personally in prayer too. Remember too, that this is a war we're living in - be strategic with your prayers. Pray for God to work in the hearts of non-believers. Pray for a few specific people you know who don't know Christ, and pray for opportunities to share with them. Pray that God would tear down strongholds keeping people from Him, both non-believers and believers. Pray against the enemy's work to keep people from God.

You can also invite others to pray for your ministry. As a staff team we'll soon be calling dozens of churches just to ask them to pray for us. We send out regular updates asking for our ministry partners to pray for specific things. You can do the same - you all know churches and other believers who would love to pray for you. It can go a long way.

Finally, here's an article with some more thoughts and ideas. And here's a list of the prayer times we know of on campus. If you know of others, post them in a comment.

Cal - Sundays, 8pm, Airport Lounge

Pitt - Mondays @ 1pm, Tuesdays @ 12:30pm, Wednesday @ 11:15am, Thursday @ 12:20pm all at Posvar Hall by Einstein's

--Jason

The Next Cycle

2009-10-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's the first day of October and Fall Retreat starts tomorrow, which means we're at a transition point in the semester. The first 4-6 weeks are all about gathering contacts, meeting new people, sharing the Gospel, and advertising for Cru far and wide on our campuses. For the staff, it's been all about launching and attempting to launch new ministries. Praise God, we've been able to have some point of contact on 14 Pittsburgh area campuses and been able to give out over 7,000 Cru cards!

There's a thing we talk about in Crusade called "Cycles of Momentum" - just a way of looking at the campus ministry year. It's far from biblical truth or anything, but it's a helpful tool in planning when to do what on campus. I think it can help you as student-leaders, or just involved students, too. You can check out an article on the subject here, and I'm going to take a few minutes to describe it briefly and point out what's next, so to speak, for our semester.

If you've been involved in Cru for long enough, you know by heart the adage "Win, Build, Send", or at least you should. In fact, if you don't - why not? It's three words! It's a brief and memorable way to summarize our mission and vision - we want to win students to Christ, build them in their faith, and send them to reach the world. Very Great Commission focused and biblically rooted. You can view the cycles of momentum in the campus ministry year in these broad terms too.

Phase one of the semester - roughly the first 6 weeks - are a sort of "Win" phase. We're focused on interacting with as many students as we can, sharing the Gospel with as many as will hear, following up new contacts and generally focusing on reaching out. The next month or so - October, where we're entering now - is a "Build" phase. Our focus shifts to consolidating these newly involved people and any new believers, helping them plug in by getting more involved in Cru, leading in some way, getting into a small group or discipleship setting. This begins with Fall Retreat, as it's a tremendous way to help new people, especially freshmen, get plugged in. Then the rest of the semester is a "Send" phase, particularly focusing on sending to Radiate. There people can learn about summer project opportunities, grow deeper in their walk with God, and learn more how they can get involved and minister to others on campus. And that builds momentum moving into the spring semester, which opens with another "Win" phase.

This isn't to say we never do evangelism in a Build or Send phase - in actuality October and November are great times to do a larger, more focused outreach, such as the David Williams event coming up on October 14. Part of building is helping someone learn how to share his faith, encouraging them to take a step of faith to invite a friend to an outreach-type event or Cru. Or that we never seek to be building or sending during a win phase, or vice versa. You get the picture. It's just that the general focus of our ministry is on one of those things in a stronger way than on the others.

So, in thinking about these things, I have a few questions for you to consider as you think and pray through and plan the next month of your ministry.

What new people have we connected with, and how can we best help them get more plugged in?
What are the things already established that are natural "building" events or activities?
What is an outreach we can plan for the next month? How can we encourage some of the younger students to be involved in it?
What are the greatest ministry training needs the people involved in Cru have? How can we meet those needs?
What are some ways to help build community among the people involved?
How can we keep the ministry, or give the ministry, outward focus, on evangelism and reaching the campus?

I encourage you as leaders on your campus together to process and pray about these things, and let them help you make some plans for the next month or so. I hope it helps! We're praying for you.

-Jason

Burned out? Time to walk.

2009-09-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Is the beginning of the school year stressful, or what? If you’re involved in Cru, you have not only the normal stressors – a new schedule, moving into a new place, re-entering the world of homework and papers (ugh) – but also you’re called upon to lead a Bible study, go to Cru meetings and events, work a Cru promotion table… where does it end?! Is there any way to survive such a chaotic, busy schedule?

Yes, there is, but the way might be a little counter-intuitive. It’s not by being really talented. It’s not by sucking it up and enduring two miserable weeks only to crash in blissful inactivity for the next month. And it’s not by refusing to serve in the fear of being “burned out.” The way to survive (and I’ll take it a step further – please God) in such exhausting circumstances is to walk in the Spirit.

When it comes to doing ministry, or for that matter living life, there are two major questions we constantly face: “what am I going to do?” and “how (i.e. by whose power) am I going to do it?” If we answer these questions selfishly, we basically doom ourselves to frustration and ultimately burnout. So, the formula for failure is: trying to set our own agendas, or to carry out our plans on our own strength and ability. The alternative, “walking in the Spirit,” means that we’re continually asking God what He would have us do, and then relying on His power to carry out those plans.

What does this look like on the most practical, paint-a-vivid-picture-for-me level? Well, remember back to when you put your faith in Christ for the first time. According to Scripture, at that time the Holy Spirit – God Himself!! – entered your life forever (Romans 8:9, John 7:37-39)! So now we who believe in Christ have this incredible power source inside us; the Holy Spirit dwells in us and offers guidance, teaching, conviction of sin, and comfort, among many other blessings.

So first, we as believers need to recognize that fact and turn over our whole lives to Him. Now surely we surrendered our lives over to God when we first came to know Christ, but like I mentioned earlier, we have the tendency over time to try to take back control. So we need to come to a point of strong resolution: God, I give you all my plans, my future, my gifts, my selfish desires and submit myself to the loving guidance and help of the Holy Spirit within me.

Then second, we need to stay on guard. Once we’ve made that pivotal decision to be filled (i.e. directed and empowered) by the Spirit, we’re still going to be in a raging battle! Paul writes to the Galatians that “the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” So every day (heck, every minute if we can manage it), we need to return to that prayer and mindset of surrender to the Spirit. As you become aware of sins in your life, confess them to Him, thank Him for His forgiveness, and ask for His power and deliverance from your struggles.

And this way of living, my friends, is what we call “walking in the Spirit.” Listen to how incredibly important this discipline is:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…” (Galatians 5:22)

Wow. So, if you want to overcome sin, or if you want to be energized in ministry rather than burned out, now you know God’s solution – He will overcome the sin in you, and He will give you the energy to minister. You just walk in the Spirit.

-- Jon

Welcome!

2009-08-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, school is back in session. As you read this, thousands of students are descending upon the Pittsburgh area, clogging highways, lugging furniture into apartments, dragging bewildered parents through the busy streets of Oakland.

The start of school is a time of newness in a way - it's a new year with new possibilities, a fresh start of sorts. For freshmen, it's the beginning of a whole new life. The freshmen starting their college careers now will be bombarded with a litany of things to remember - campus maps, class locations, freshman events, etc. And they'll be bombarded in a different way - by the pressure to live college life as it's portrayed by the media, a life of drunkenness, partying, bad decisions, rebellion, the last taste of freedom. What the media doesn't show, however, is the emptiness and depression that come as a result of these things. It may be attractive and fun now, but every cause has an effect. Sadly, many find that out the hard way.

The bottom line is that freshmen, as well as all college students, are searching. They're searching for life, for purpose, for meaning. It would appear that those things can be found in alcohol, parties, sex, etc., but what always happens is that those things still leave you longing, and so you keep going back to them, hoping that this time is the time they'll truly satisfy. It's an endless cycle. That's why so many students are really feeling deeply lonely inside, or depressed, or unloved.

Maybe you've found this blog and that describes you - either you've lived that life and felt that emptiness, or you're a freshman believing the lie that real life and joy is found in that lifestyle. If it does, allow me to offer you an alternative: Jesus. I, and so many of the students involved with Cru, have experienced the reality that a relationship with Jesus does satisfy those deep longings of our heart. That there is a purpose and meaning far greater than the things we so easily run after, and it's found in knowing Him and stepping into His plan of redeeming the world, making things right and rescuing people from the brokenness of all our empty searches and all our bad choices and actions. He died to pay for our wrongs and offer us, freely and without any effort required of us, a place of peace and union with God. My life is certainly not perfect and I still have lots of struggles and longings, but since I came to know Jesus I've been given several wonderful things: forgiveness and freedom from my sins and imperfections, a brand new perspective on life and the world, a hope of a future far greater than I can imagine, acceptance and unconditional love from the One who created me, a community to belong to, and a Friend who helps me deal with the hardships of life, who's always with me, and who is persistently shaping me more and more to His good character. I wouldn't trade it for absolutely anything.

If you're intrigued about Jesus or Christianity, or want to read more about how you can know Him too, please check out EveryPittStudent.com, a site designed to help you explore more about who Jesus is and how you can know Him in a real and personal way. Or check out Pghcru.com and shoot me an email.

Being the beginning of the year, I want to encourage you who are already involved in Cru to make the most of this time. With so many freshmen starting their career and being bombarded with the push to enter the party scene, it's the most vital time of year for us to reach out to them and offer them the life we have in Christ. That's why we have so many events and do so much publicity and have all those tables on campus. We want to meet freshmen, build relationships, tell them about Jesus, and invite them to be involved with Cru. Statistics and experience show that within the first 2 weeks of college, most freshmen have decided what they're going to be involved with and found their core group of friends that will last the rest of their college career. So now is the time to reach out to them. This is a huge element of the Win part of our mission.

So please join in! Take steps of faith, meet new people, invest in the lives of other students. The time you spend now will make a significant eternal investment! Follow us on Twitter (search "pghmetrocru") for updates on what's going on.

See you soon!

-- Jason

Easter Meditations

2009-04-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend marks the most important celebration in the Christian calendar: the remembrance of Jesus death and celebration of His resurrection. Our entire faith rests on this, that Jesus took on death for us, and in paying for sin, gives us new life. Our sole response is faith, to believe in Him and accept His offer. We can't do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all.

I used to get confused as to why the resurrection was such a big deal, reasoning that it was because of the death of Christ that our sin was paid for and that we're saved. The resurrection seemed like almost an afterthought, just a validation of Jesus' claims of deity and ability to pay for sin. It is that, but it is so much more.

I thought I'd take a few moments to share some (emphasis on some - there are many more) of the reasons why the resurrection is so vital to our faith. Without it, our faith wouldn't exist (1 Cor 15:14). My prayer is that you'd have some of these things in mind this Sunday, as we celebrate the greatest victory in all of history, and the most significant day in our year.

1) In the resurrection, Jesus was the first to enter the glorified new life. (1 Cor 15:12-49)

Just as Adam was the first man to enter the life of sin and brokenness, Jesus (the "Second Adam") was the first to enter the glorified perfection that we'll inherit after we die. This isn't to say the Jesus wasn't always perfect, or glorified (He was, and is), but that as a man, Jesus was the "firstfruits", as it says in 1 Cor 15. His resurrected body is a model of the resurrected body that we'll one day have. We'll be raised from the dead with a new, glorified body upon Jesus return and the ushering in of a new Heaven and new earth. I could try to go on, but 1 Corinthians 15 pretty much says it all. Take a moment to read through it.

2) In the resurrection, Jesus defeated spiritual death. (1 Cor 15:50-58)

God gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus. Amazing! Once we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear or worry about spiritual death, separation from God. We can now live at peace with God because our sin is paid for and we have the confident hope of eternity with God.

3) Through the resurrection, Jesus remains alive to this day.

Our God is alive, present, always with us. There is no body in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't live on earth for a time and then die again; He ascended into Heaven, where He remains at the right hand of the Father. Our relationship with Him is real because He's alive and active.

4) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for us to freely approach the Father (John 16:26-27)

In the passage I listed, Jesus says an interesting statement, that He will not ask the Father on our behalf, instead that we will ask God directly in Jesus name. This is significant. Prior to Jesus death and resurrection, people were separated from God and He was unapproachable because of our sin. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Holy of Holies of the temple, shielded off by a thick curtain, and only once a year, one man - the high priest - could enter. And even then it was risky - a certain set of things needed to happen first to ensure his purity, and he entered with a chain tied to his ankle in the chance that he'd die in God's holy presence, and the other priests would have to drag him out of the Holy of Holies by his ankle. When Jesus dies, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), showing that God was now approachable by all, but only through Christ. We, who are in Christ, have our sins paid for, and can now boldly and freely go to God and interact with Him, but we only go to Him in Jesus' name. This is why we pray in Jesus' name, He's the mediator through whom we are able to approach God. He also intercedes for us as He sits at God's right hand.

5) Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His ultimate power and authority over everything. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Think about it - what's the most powerful thing someone could do? What would most demonstrate their authority and power over all things? It would have to be to rise from the dead! What is more final in our world than death? And Jesus defeated it, showing the limitless power of God.

6) Through Jesus' resurrection, He raised us with Him. (Colossians 2:11-14)

Awesome.

7) Through Jesus' resurrection, that very same power dwells in us and works for us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:15-23)

Read and think about what those passages say. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and gives life to us! How crazy is that? How often do we forget that truth, or neglect to tap into that power? And in Ephesians Paul says that the power that God worked in raising Christ from the dead (the greatest power display ever, remember) is for us and working toward us. Wow! This gives us reason to trust God to fight our battles for us, rather than fight them on our own. He's powerful and more than able to fight for us and win. It also gives us a great truth to keep in mind when, later in Ephesians, Paul says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against forces of spiritual darkness. These are intimidating forces, but God's power that was displayed in the resurrection is on our side. We can go to Him and let Him fight Satan and all his schemes for us.

These are just a few of the many, many things we could say about the resurrection. Not to mention all the things that Jesus' death accomplished. We could go on for hours and days and years just proclaiming all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection. As you meditate and reflect on these things this weekend, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Let's praise and exalt Jesus together - He is so, so worthy! Praise Him always and forever for who He is and all He's done!!

--Jason

Prayer

2009-04-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'm sure if I asked you the question "how important is prayer in ministry", the answer you'd give would be "very important". But if I asked you to examine how that is reflected in your ministry, you'd probably end up at the honest conclusion that it isn't. We all know how important prayer is, we can't change people's lives on our campuses and we don't have the wisdom and insight to make all the right decisions on how to minister to others - we desperately need for God to guide us and to do His work. But prayer is something we easily neglect and fail to emphasize. We forget to pray, we find it boring, we'd rather "do" than stop and pray, etc, etc. There are lots of excuses, and at one time or another I've been guilty of them all.

I want to take this time to briefly introduce you to a book that I think every Christian college student should read, called Fireseeds of Spiritual Awakening, by Dan Hayes. You can find it for a few bucks here.

I've read this book twice now, once as a student and again about 2 years ago. Both times it inspired my prayer life and desire to see student-led prayer movements take root. That's why I want to point it to you. Chances are you could list off many reasons why prayer is so vital, but sometimes we need to be reminded of those reasons and inspired at a heart level to actually get down to business and pray.

The book basically chronicles various revivals and awakenings (revival meaning a dramatic transformation of faith in the church; awakening meaning a dramatic outpouring of salvation among the unsaved) throughout the last 300 years or so. It shares story after story of these revivals and examines the consequences surrounding their beginnings. And time after time it's college students or college student aged people who are the sparks, and their persistent prayers that precede these events. It also looks at some biblical revivals, like that of Josiah in 2 Chronicles 33 and 34 (good story, it's worth a look).

What the author finds in his study on revivals and examination of Scripture, is that there are 5 "prerequisites" that are our part in seeing revival happen. God ultimately is the only one who brings revival, it's a move of His Spirit in power and only He can make that happen. But He often waits for faith and obedience to be present among His people before bringing revival. It's a bit of a mystery, how and why He chooses to act in the way He does, but we can play our part by seeking to meet the 5 prerequisites. Then maybe He'll choose to move in an amazing way in our midst. Here's what they are, my comments in italics:

1) God's people must recognize that there is a desperate need for spiritual awakening. Any objective look at culture or your campus would drive that point home - the things people say, do, and believe, and the emptiness and brokenness so many live in, all show the simple truth that people need Jesus desperately.

2) God's people must humble themselves before Him. God is God, and we are not. How often we fail to recognize that fact! We need to see ourselves rightly before Him - broken and deeply sinful and flawed, but dearly loved, forgiven, and empowered because of Christ.

3) God's people must confess their sin and repent. Sin not only hinders our fellowship with God, but also short circuits our effectiveness in ministry. Confession and repentance allow us to experience the forgiveness and freedom we already have in Christ.

4) God's people must continually and earnestly pray. Jesus taught the value of persistent prayer in Luke 11:1-13. We're invited to keep knocking on the door of Heaven until God gives an answer. In prayer we plead for God to intervene, knowing He's the only one who can change lives.

5) God's people must call others to join them to meet these prerequisites. There's something special about people joining together in Jesus' Name; in Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus says, "...if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them".

All these prerequisites are found in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, a passage you've probably heard many times before:

"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

There are some of you who already have a passion for prayer and want to see a prayer movement take off on your campus. Maybe this book can fuel that passion and encourage you in spurring on others. For those who struggle with your prayer life, whether it be with motivation, persistence, consistency, or whatever - maybe this book can give you a jump start. For all of you, I think God can use it to cause you to dream about what He can do on your campus, and spur you to pray expectantly for it to happen. Prayer needs to be the backbone of our ministries, and we as a staff team want to help you develop movements of prayer on your campus. Without it, we won't have more than just fleeting ministry success.

So I strongly encourage you to pick this book up and read it - it's short and you can read it in one or two days, and it's under 10 bucks, definitely worth the cost. Make it a summertime read.

Also - if you read this in time, tonight (Friday) at 8pm, there is an event called "One Cry", a gathering of college students to seek God for forgiveness, revival, and renewal on the college campus. It's held at Times Square Church in NYC, and you can link in via video to join in the event. Click here to sign up, get a password to link to the event, and participate. Gather some friends together and join in the evening! Sorry it's so late in inviting to this event, I just found out about it yesterday!

--Jason

Livin' the Adventure

2009-03-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

Many of you are in the midst of an EveryStudent campus blitz, which has been really fun and going quite well. Thanks for all your prayers, publicity, and time given to promoting the site and making Jesus Name known to your campus through it!

I've been really encouraged to see how you guys have stepped up to make this a great outreach, and I hope you've been encouraged as well. I hope and pray that this gives a glimpse of how energizing and faith-stretching it is when we step out of our comfort zones and give of ourselves to make Jesus known. It just makes you want to continue doing it, and go for bigger things. God is working as we're approaching 1,000 visits to the site and already have seen several students indicate decisions for Christ. Keep praying and pressing on!

You may have been asked about what the site is as you're chalking, hanging up posters, tabling, or just wearing the t-shirts. This is a great opportunity for you to step out and make it known that you're a Christian and face the consequences and opportunities that follow, whether it be an opportunity to share your faith or perhaps even be mocked a bit (comes with the territory, but no biggie - they aren't mocking you). This causes us to rely on Jesus as we go outside our comfort zone. But, as you might have noticed, it's kind of invigorating. There's a rush that comes along with it, a sense of adventure at the prospect that God might use you to draw someone else to Him.

One thing to note - some people have asked "what do I say when people ask what the site is?" Simple - just tell them it's a site designed to be a safe place for students to explore spiritual questions and the issues that we face as college students, sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, a Christian group on campus. And maybe ask if they have any such questions too, you might be able to have a good conversation then and there.

What I want to use this post to do is to encourage you to continue in the adventure of sharing Jesus with others. Ride the momentum of this week and keep taking steps of faith. God calls us, little ol' us, His ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor 5:17-21), and invites us to the adventure. It's epic, it's unpredictable, and it might cost us something, but it's worth it.

Here are some resources to help you on the journey. There are evangelism and outreach ideas, as well as tools and resources you can use to help you communicate your faith well. Keep running the race!

Godsquad.com Evangelism page (there are surveys, strategies, motivation, "how-to's", and other useful stuff here)

Evangelism Toolbox (more of the same, only broader, not just college-related)

LeadershipU (more scholarly, academic approaches)

5 Clicks to Sharing Your Faith (learn how to share your testimony effectively)

Knowing God Personally, Life@Large (online presentations of Crusade's classic tools - for Life@Large, click on the link and find the Life@Large link there, it's a flash presentation)

CampusMinistry.com (CCO's wiki-type page of collaborative campus ministry resources)

Summer Project (shameless plug)

--Jason

Everyone Wants to Change the World

2009-03-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

Many of you attended the Not For Sale event 2 weeks ago at North Way Oakland Church, and one of the resounding messages shared during the evening was: "You can change the world". David Batstone, founder of the Not For Sale movement (a modern anti-slavery movement for those who aren't yet familiar), strongly emphasized the point that college students are vastly undervalued in their abilities, both by themselves and by the world in general. But don't let the world, or your own thoughts for that matter, tell you what you can't do. You CAN change the world - for generations college students have been shaping culture, starting social movements, fueling revolutions, and changing the world - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

Advertising agencies know it - more marketing is targeted at you than any other demographic. President Obama knows it - his campaign was carried on the shoulders of college students. Social movements like Not For Sale and the One Campaign know it - you, college students, right now, can change the world. But how?

Lots of people and organizations will allure you with this vision of "changing the world", but in most cases the change they're talking about is fleeting and temporary at best. We're told that working for Apple or IBM will change the world, but how much will it really? Technology is great, but does it really matter whether people have iPhones or not? They'll be obsolete in 2 years anyway. What about the latest social networking thing - we're told that facebook, twitter, and all these social networking tools "change the world" by changing how we relate to one another. But do they really? Would your life really be that different if you didn't have facebook? In 15 years we'll probably be laughing at how absurd facebook was.

Don't settle for something that will only make a temporary impact. Aim high, seek to really change the world. I think that the highest aim and the way we will make a lasting impact on the world is through the Great Commission, Jesus' command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

Think about it - what will really bring lasting change to the world? No matter what social problem or world dilemma you look at, it's spiritual renewal in Christ that is ultimately the solution. The AIDS crisis in Africa? Spiritual awakening in Christ would decrease the sexual promiscuity and governmental corruption that fuels the crisis. The economy? Spiritual renewal in Christ would bring integrity to business, whereas greed and lack of integrity largely caused the mess we're in. High suicide rates? Jesus would bring hope and meaning to life. World poverty? Spiritual awakening in Christ would produce greater compassion and more generosity in giving, and more people would be prompted to serve those who are the most poor and hurting.

And the spiritual need is the greatest need any person has. I don't say that to diminish the real, urgent physical needs of so many - poverty, slavery, mental health, etc. - but behind all that stands a deeper spiritual need - without Christ a person will spend eternity separate from God, in far greater pain even than that they're in now.

I've become convinced that we - this generation - can be the ones who finish the Great Commission. It's been unfolding for thousands of years since Jesus gave His command, and we're on the brink of seeing it finished. With technology and ability to travel shrinking the globe daily, making disciples of all nations is more attainable now than ever before. Can you imagine being a part of the culmination of Jesus' plan? We can be! What higher goal is there? And not only can we be a part of the finish, we can be a part of changing eternity for thousands, perhaps millions of people around the world, as people from all nations come to Christ. What higher goal is there?

I lay down this vision and challenge because as college students, you really can change the world. You may underestimate what you can do, but the reality is that you are the leaders. Leaders of culture, future leaders in business, government, and the church. You've been blessed and privileged with intelligence, energy, education, and nearly limitless opportunity. You stand in a position that most around the world don't get. And as American Christians involved in a campus ministry, you have more spiritual resources and biblical knowledge than many pastors in the third world. How will you use these gifts that have been entrusted to you?

My challenge to you is to consider what part God would have you play in finishing the Great Commission, in entering into His unfolding plan of redemption of the world. It could be through directly going into full-time ministry, going on the frontlines in taking Jesus to those who've never heard of Him. It could be through involvement in social justice organizations like Not For Sale - offering the hope and redemption of Christ through meeting the incredible physical and social needs of people who would be perhaps the most receptive to Him, and changing the worlds systems to make them more Christlike. It could be through a job in the marketplace - using your financial gain to fund missionary efforts and the spread of the Gospel, and reaching other business leaders for Christ, then sharing the same vision with them.

Whatever the case may be, as you are making your career choices and seeking to discern God's will for the next part of your life, aim for a high calling. Seek to be a part of finishing the Great Commission. Ask God what part He'd have you play, and obey when He leads you. And earnestly consider full-time ministry - it's easy to use "God's called me to the working world" as a cop out. Many are indeed called there, but many are also called into full-time ministry who don't go.

We know from Revelation that the Great Commission will be fulfilled, it's only a matter of time. Revelation 7:9 says, "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...".

Don't waste your life by investing in things too small for you. You are children of the King, and He's called you to be a part of His grand plan to change the world. What is your role?

--Jason

Temple of the Living God

2009-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (ESV)...

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

"I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty."

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

If you've heard these verses before, you've probably heard them in the context of "don't get married to a non-Christian". And that indeed is one application, but not the only one. The language used here is very strong, and Paul uses a series of questions to drive the point home, the answer to each question being "None". Then he comments that we are the temple of the living God, and as such we ought to not yoke ourselves with unbelievers, with wickedness, or with idolatry.

The fifth question in the series, "What agreement has the temple of God with idols?", reminds me of the many times in the Old Testament that Israel mixed idol worship with their worship of the one true God, in their culture and also in the physical temple. 2 Kings 21 is an example - the king Manasseh (possibly the absolute worst king in the history of Judah) built altars to idols and set carved images in the temple. In instances like that it's easy to see what God was so angry - people were worshipping false gods and committing all kinds of indecent acts in the very house He'd set aside for worship of Himself. It makes me angry too.

Now why do I bring this up? First, both here and in other places in the New Testament, it is emphasized that we - the body of believers in Christ - are the new temple of God. Jesus made it possible by His death and resurrection for us to become a dwelling place for Him. And it's clear in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit resides in us (John 14-16, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthains 5:5). So we are the temple, God's dwelling place. And that's astounding.

In Corinth, idolatry was very cut and dry. There were actual temples to false gods in the city, and meals and celebrations dedicated to these idols happened all the time. The believers there apparently participated in such feasts, and Paul is calling them out, telling them to stop. They were mixing idolatry with their faith in Christ, bringing idols into the temple.

For us, idolatry isn't as black and white. But it is no less of a struggle. What are the idols you struggle with? For me, the biggest is probably my own pleasure or comfort - I seek to serve and please myself all the time. Some specific things I go overboard with are sports, Lost, Springsteen music, even food. I don't actually bow down to these things, but I do at times give them a place above God in my heart. These aren't bad things in themselves, but I can run after them more passionately than I run after Christ.

Another relevant point to be made is this: in our culture, moral wickedness abounds, and it's so easy for us to lazily give in to compromised moral standards. We watch terrible content in movies and TV, letting sexually explicit images or ideas come into the temple. We download illegally, making excuses as to its morality. We engage in immoral behavior in relationships with the opposite sex.

It's convicting and sobering to come face-to-face with the fact that these things - subtle idolatry or compromised morality - are defiling God's temple in much the same way that Israel set up physical idols in the physical temple. Praise God that He is so gracious to us, because we're full of sin! Seeing the depth of our unrighteousness gives us a deeper appreciation for how gracious God is in redeeming us through Christ. And that's the first application - no matter how wicked we are, God's grace reaches us - He forgives us. How freeing and how wonderful! Praise Him!

The second application is pretty simple - if we're the temple of God, we ought to take seriously the call to holiness and singleminded devotion to Christ. He's the only object of our worship. Seeing the greatness of His grace and the glory of who He is produces in us deep love and passion for Him. For me, I want to keep this Scripture passage in mind and ask God to convict me when I'm straying toward idolizing something as stupid as the newest episode of Lost, to put my focus on Jesus, the king and creator of all things. And I want to be more adamant in the fight against sin. It's so easy to take a lazy approach to holiness - compromising when no one is looking, giving in to little looks or thoughts, justifying questionable behavior. I want to live with integrity in even the small things as well as the big, so as not to defile the temple of the living God. The last verse in this passage says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." Every defilement, even the little ones. Tough, but worth it. God is so good.

What this passage is not leading us to apply is to be legalistic - our motivation is God's grace, not the producing of external righteousness. And it's not leading us to separate from the world to the extent that we put ourselves in a bubble, unable to affect change in culture. We can live set apart from sin and avoid being "unequally yoked" with unbelievers yet still be a part of the culture around us. In fact, that's what Scripture calls us to, and that's what Jesus did. And that's what will enable us to be change agents in culture and be a witness for Christ. Our holiness is a huge part of our evangelism. People are more responsive to our message of redemption and life change in Christ when they actually see that life change in front of them.

Lord, let us live radically holy, set apart lives, fully devoted to Christ, as a part of the culture around us. And use us to lead others to you through it. Help us live as You lived, Jesus, and help us hold fast to Your grace when we stumble. And let us do it together - we, collectively, the church, are the temple of the living God. Thank You - Amen!

--Jason

Summer Project Yo!

2009-02-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

So the Summer Project application deadline is coming up - February 24. The Lord definitely uses SP to work in your life. Imagine it - a summer spent with other christian college students who want to grow in their relationship with Jesus and build deep relationships with YOU! Great interaction with staff from all over the country and huge steps of faith as you engage people in conversation about Jesus. Even if the summer ends up not being all you hoped and dreamed of, the Lord will use it to prepare you for a lifetime of walking with Him. Trust me - I didn't have super-duper-life-changing relationships with the other students on project (I'm sure it's mostly my fault - I was really distracted and didn't understand what it meant to walk in the Spirit) BUT the Lord used it to teach me how to build relationships with others and He taught me skills to do ministry back on campus and how to start walking with Him for the rest of my life. Cru has opportunities for you all over the world! Imagine going to Venezuela or Australia TO DO MINISTRY AND GROW IN YOUR FAITH! What a life-changing experience you'll be able to tell your grandchildren about. NOW is the time - you won't be able to do this after you graduate. And yes, you'll be away from friends and family at home, but honestly, you're able to see them throughout the year, and it's only one summer.

So, will you at least PRAY about going? If the Lord doesn't lead you to, will you financially support other students from your campus to go? Will you think about going with a bunch of awesome people from your campus? Think of it - how going with one or two other friends can deepen your relationships and can help you prepare to come back to campus stronger and more excited to reach out to others together. It's always more fun with more than one!

Undeserving

2009-02-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes God teaches you through strange vessels.

A few weeks ago Maria and I decided to watch the movie version of Rent, more her idea than mine - I generally think musicals are dreadful. But I gave it a shot. And it wasn't half-bad, I actually enjoyed it by the end.

If you've ever seen the show or movie, you know that the story revolves around a group of bohemian artists and their life struggles, including the struggle to pay their rent. Hence the title - clever. These people have some very gritty and very real struggles. There is a gay couple, one of whom is a drag queen slowly dying of AIDS. There is a sort of love triangle between a guy, his ex-girlfriend, and her new female lover. There is an exotic dancer who becomes a drug addict and nearly kills herself by overdose. There is her desired beau, an aspiring musician who can't complete a song and is a former junkie himself. The movie follows a year in their lives and the difficulties and triumphs that transpire.

During the first half of the movie, I found myself having a very hard time caring for the people in the movie. It was easy to be judgmental - they'd essentially dug their own graves by careless, rebellious choices and stupid behavior. They were getting what they deserved - AIDS was a product of sexual promiscuity, drug abuse and overdose a product of bad choices, the trouble with the law and the poverty they lived in was a product of their own rebellion and nonconformity. These were my thoughts and I took a very condescending eye toward them. How very black my heart can be.

Then, somewhere in the middle of the movie, a gripping realization dawned on me. The thought rippled across my brain: I am no different than these people on the inside. My sin is just as great, my rebellion against God just as deep, my brokenness just as real. I've dug my own grave, I'm responsible for the pain and brokenness my sin causes. I may not display it as outwardly, but I am no more deserving of grace or love than anyone, even the most vile looking person. And God looked on me with the deepest love, grace, and compassion, and gave His life for me, and for everyone.

These thoughts convicted me deeply and showed how uncompassionate and uncaring I can be, how pharisaical I often am. In fact, my sin - the hidden sins of pride and judgment - may even be greater, because it's so insidious and easy to conceal. It may not appear this way, but it's possible that those who's sin is more outward and visible have a more whole heart, or at least a heart more receptive to the gracious love of God, while those whose sin is internal and hidden are more unreceptive because of pride and self-righteousness.

The first thing Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount is, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5:3) Poverty in spirit can be described as humility, the recognition that the state of your soul is lowly and needy. Just as the materially poor are more dependent on God for provision, the poor in spirit recognize their dependence on God for grace, mercy, and every need they have. People who live like this more readily accept the grace of God - they aren't reliant on self-righteousness or performance to earn them a place before God, as if any performance or works could. So they inherit the kingdom of heaven by humbly accepting the grace of God offered in Christ.

But people who can hide their sin and who are more outwardly righteous have a tendency to have a proud heart, and are less responsive to grace. They compare and put themselves above others, using outward actions as a measuring stick. They, often subtly or even subconsciously, rely on their works to give them the feeling that God cares for and blesses them. They often appear religious and righteous, but the reality of their soul is that it's just as needy and just as lowly as anyone. How often I fall into this category!

Jesus reserved some of his harshest criticism for people like this - the Pharisees and religious leaders. Matthew 23 is one particularly biting soliloquy given to the proud religious leadership.

The reality is that we are all equally undeserving of God's exceedingly abundant grace and love. Romans 3:10-11, quoting Psalm 14, says, "No one is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God." We have no basis for comparison and judgment based on external righteousness (or unrighteousness) - we have no righteousness through which to compare! But God lavishes His love on us through Jesus, who paid the insurmountable debt owed by our sin and exchanges His perfect righteousness to us. Ephesians 1:3-14 eloquently describes this extravagant love given as a gift of grace.

Sometimes it takes something as strange as the movie version of Rent to hammer this truth deep into our hearts. I'm glad God did that for me. The harder part is living it out daily and continuing to see those old habits break.

And it motivated me too - to reach out to and love people who are easily looked upon as unlovable. These are the types of people Jesus hung out with. He said He came "to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10) He graciously gives us the privilege of joining Him. On the college campus, there are lots of people who are hard to love - social outcasts, goths, geeks, people of a different sexual orientation, etc. Instead of judging or looking down on them, we should realize that we're just as broken, that God loved us and saved us, and love everyone with the same love that was given us by Christ.

Let's do it.

--Jason

An Athiest Shares His Thoughts on Evangelism

2009-01-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

Apologies for not posting last week - things got pretty busy and it got lost in the shuffle.

I was sent this video on YouTube a few weeks back and found it to be very thought provoking and challenging. Most of you have probably heard of the comedy and magic duo Penn and Teller. Penn is the big, long-haired guy who does all the speaking, and Teller is the silent, small sidekick. They're pretty good. Penn apparently does a series of weblog-style videos called "Penn Says", and this is one of them. He is an avowed atheist but has some very interesting and profound things to say about Christians sharing their faith. Watch the video first before reading on - it's about 5 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM

(you'll have to cut and paste - I don't do sophisticated tech things like embedding videos)

Challenging, huh? Here is a proclaimed atheist encouraging us to share our faith, even going so far as to say that if we don't we're showing hate, not love. That if we truly do believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, God's Son who rescues us from tremendous eternal danger, then we have a moral obligation to tell that message to others.

I don't know about you, but that makes me regret missed opportunities and motivates me to be bold in sharing the Gospel. It's easy to make excuses - "they won't receive it well", "I'll lose this friendship", "it'll be awkward and out of place", "they'll think I'm weird" - and I've made just about all of them; but hearing words like these from a person who doesn't at all believe in Jesus causes me to recognize just how important it is to toss excuses aside and open my mouth to speak about Jesus.

In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Taking up our cross and denying ourselves means to be willing to die little deaths and make sacrifices to obey and follow Jesus. It could be risking being laughed at or made fun of, or being looked at differently by friends, or even being persecuted by undergoing physical harm. Are we willing make these risks, to lose part of our lives, even emotionally, to share the Gospel with those who have no idea of the spiritual danger they're in? Or will be stand by silently as they continue headlong into an eternal destination separated from God?

Believe me, it's hard to write those words, because I know I have to live it out, to practice what I preach. I want to, even though at times it will be difficult. But as we do this God gets glory, we grow and are changed, and souls are transferred from death to life. Let's join in it together.

--Jason

Welcome Back!

2009-01-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

It's freezing. Just like it is every January, and you hardy folks have migrated back to your frigid campuses, ready and eager (maybe) to start a new semester. We're glad to have you back.

We're advertising this blog a little more, so some of you have never surfed over here before today. Thanks for stopping by (and stay classy too). We hope this is a place you'll return to often, as we'll have new posts at least once a week. This is a forum we hope to use to communicate vision and direction for Campus Crusade in Pittsburgh - where we're going and what we're doing - and to share ministry tips and help, as well as some things God is teaching us. We hope and pray that God would use the thoughts spilled out here to encourage, challenge, and bless you. Come back often!

And one last note for now. This semester should be an awesome one. As a staff team, the 4 areas we'll be focusing on most are Prayer, Evangelism, Launching, and Funding. In prayer, we hope to see your heart for prayer to expand and to see more of you gathering together regularly to seek God for your campus and our city. In Evangelism, we'll have some exciting outreaches and opportunities for you to gain experience sharing your faith, and take bold steps to have meaningful spiritual conversations with friends. We're praying that this will be the semester that we share the Gospel more than any other! In Launching, we're trusting God and taking the step of faith to launch 7 new ministries on 7 different campuses in the first 7 weeks of the semester. So we'll be driving all over the place, meeting new students, and looking for open doors at these schools: Robert Morris, California U of PA, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Carlow, CCBC, CCAC-Boyce, and Washington & Jefferson. If you have friends at one of those schools, let us know, and by all means please pray that God would open doors there! In Funding - well, don't worry about it, it's boring and it doesn't need to be on your radar. Just know that we hope to raise lots of funds that will enable us to do more evangelism, have high-quality materials, give you some price breaks on conferences and retreats, and go new places in Pittsburgh and on your campus with the Gospel.

Here's to an awesome semester! Adieu til next week...

--Jason

Heaven on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

2008-11-16T20:49:00.001-08:00

Maria and I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight, like we do on many Sundays. You know the part where they shout, "Move that Bus!", the music reaches a crescendo, and we see the family's reaction at seeing their astounding new palace? I think there is a little glimpse of Heaven there.

In John 14:2-3, Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." Like Ty Pennington and his tireless crew, Jesus is preparing for us a place that's beyond what we deserve, and I have a feeling that seeing the greatness of that place will bring us to our knees in awe, wonder, and sheer joy. Some of the reactions when the bus pulls away, revealing the new house, are: falling over in shock and delight, screams and unabashed tears of joy, an endless stream of "thank you so much" profusely expelling itself from the mouths of the overwhelmed family, the family hugging and enjoying the gravity of the moment together. They just can't control their emotions. That's why I love that moment - it's raw and real and powerful. I can't imagine that our reaction to Heaven will be any different, and certainly not any less. The glories of Heaven will floor us far more than seeing a palatial new earthly mansion. We'll fall down in wonder and awe, our emotions will pour forth in a stream of worship and joy, and we'll be overwhelmed by just how much Jesus really has done for us - to pay for our sins and, in total grace, bring us into this glorious place beyond compare.

John Piper says that God's glory and our joy go hand in hand, and I think that our entrance into Heaven will be one of those moments where we really get that concept. We'll be overjoyed to the point of unhindered worship, full of joy, giving Him all glory. And we'll get to share that with our brothers and sisters, our loved ones in Christ, along with other brothers and sisters from all around the world.

"And some say that this world of trouble

Is the only one we'll ever see
But I'm waiting for that morning
When the new world is revealed

When the new world is revealed

Lord, how I want to be there on that morning

When the new world is revealed"

--from "When the Saints Go Marching In", as performed by Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band

I can't wait.

--Jason

A Warning

2008-11-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

This will specifically address students at Pitt, but can also apply to other campuses if this group is on campus or nearby.

I recently learned that the International Church of Christ has established a presence at Pitt. The student group is "Pittsburgh Christian Campus Ministry (PCCM)", and the main church is called the Greater Pittsburgh Church of Christ. This church is a cult and I want to make sure you guys know about it and don't inadvertently get involved, and can talk to anyone you know who might be in contact with the group.

The ICC is a spinoff of the mainline Church of Christ denomination and has some radical and unbiblical teaching, and is known for brainwashing those who get involved. On the surface it appears to be very much like any typical Christian group and it can be easy to be deceived.

Some of the marks of this cult are an overemphasis on baptism, exclusive adherence to their fellowship and church body, and some extreme confession practices that are often used against the members.

The ICC teaches that baptism, and specifically baptism into their church, is a requirement for salvation. They consider themselves Christ's true church, a "remnant" He's raising up, and that all other churches are not a part of Christ's church. So Christians who get involved are led to question their salvation because it's not been as part of the "true church".

They also tend to cut members off from family, other Christian friends, and other churches. This could be subtle and slow, but they tend to pressure people (often using guilt) to not associate with other churches and those not a part of the ICC. This is related to their thought that they're the true church.

They also have a pyramid-scheme type of structure, based on intense one-on-one discipleship. New members are forced into these discipleship relationships, and taught that not obeying their discipler is like not obeying God. Dangerous stuff. Each discipler is in turn discipled by a "more mature" believer, and so on and so forth, on up the chain to the top.

A radical confession of sin is a huge hallmark of the ICC. New members are often coerced into confession of all of their sins, in great detail. Often this information is used against them, sometimes very maliciously, especially if the new member threatens to leave the church or has shown signs of drifting apart from the ICC.

I don't bring this up to scare anyone, just to inform. The ICC and its members are very deceptive and can look like a normal church, and their talk about radical obedience to Christ and radical confession of sin and dying to yourself can sound very biblical. But their practices and their theology are definitely unbiblical. Please take caution if you come in contact with anyone from this group, and warn your friends too. We don't want anyone to be deceived into believing unbiblical things, we want to help people truly follow Jesus - the true Jesus.

The website www.reveal.org gives more information about the ICC - check it out if you feel the need to.

Praying for you to continue following the authentic Jesus...

--Jason

Beautiful Feet

2008-10-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV)

"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

A few things stand out in this passage about Paul's proclamation of the Gospel in Corinth:

He comes in a very ordinary way, not using eloquent language or philosophy or human wisdom
His message was simple, sticking to Jesus and the cross
He was weak and fearful (!) - Paul, probably the greatest missionary of all time, was fearful when it came to take the initiative to share his faith! He doesn't say why exactly he was fearful - it could have been fear of what others would say or think or how he'd be perceived, or fear of rejection, or, more likely, fear of persecution and the threat of harm or death. Maybe a combination of all of those, and a few other factors thrown in too. Regardless, Paul admits his fear and weakness, something that encourages me very much: if Paul feared and felt weak, then my fear and weakness is made more normal and able to be persevered through. I don't have to strive for fearlessness before taking the step to share my faith; instead I can take a step of faith in spite of my fear and weakness, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
He was empowered by the Spirit to share the message, not relying on his own wisdom or persuasion
Their salvation and faith was not a result of human wisdom but of the power of God and the Holy Spirit working. Paul wasn't responsible for the results or their response, so there was no room for pride if they accepted Christ or for self-blame if they didn't.

Observing these things produces a sense of freedom from any pressure to perform. A person's salvation and reception of the message aren't dependent on us, so it doesn't matter how ungainly our words are. We don't have to have all the answers. We can step out in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and trust Him to speak through us and use us. We also see that we don't have to share a complicated message - Paul simply focused on Jesus and the cross. That's where the Gospel lies - God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins, and through faith in Him we can have relationship with Him and eternal life.

Campus Crusade has a definition for successful witnessing:

"Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God."

This passage serves as a root of that definition. Paul took the initiative (I came to you...proclaiming to you the testimony of God) to share Christ (to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified) in the power of the Holy Spirit (demonstration of the Spirit and of power) and left the results to God (your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God).

Let me encourage you to apply this in a few ways:

1. Make it a focus of your life to walk in the power of the Spirit. Here is a great resource that can help you understand this concept better: http://www.godsquad.com/discipleship/satisfied.htm. And pray that the Lord would empower you and use you when you find yourself with an opportunity to share your faith. We want to rely on Him, not ourselves.

2. Focus your conversations on Jesus. He's the center of our faith and the message of salvation always goes back to Him. Sure, people may have questions about lots of things, and those will often need to be addressed. But we can try to guide the conversation back to Jesus, because we want people to be captivated by Him and they need to know about Him to have salvation!

3. Take the initiative! This could mean taking initiative to talk with a friend or family member, or a complete stranger. We often want until it just "comes up" in conversation. Or to live out our faith in such a way that people notice something - how nice we are, how we deal with pain or hardship, how we spend our time, etc. - and then talk about our faith when they ask about it. But those things might never happen. No matter how exemplary we are, we still have sin and ugliness in our lives, and even if someone notices something attractive in us, Jesus shining through (which we hope they will - I'm not saying that we shouldn't seek to magnify Christ through our actions), that doesn't guarantee they'll bring it up. So we need to be taking the initiative and find ways to start those conversations. We're naturally fearful, but we can trust in the Holy Spirit's empowerment and take those steps of faith, like Paul did.

One tangible way to take the initiative is by simply asking questions. Our culture is so fast paced and technology has taken the place of authentic interaction in so many areas, that when we ask questions and genuinely listen to a person, it's like a breath of fresh air and shows tremendous love. In your everyday interactions with people make it a point to ask questions and see where they lead. Things like, "What was that experience like?" Or "How did that make you feel?" Or "What did you learn from that?" And begin to look for potential doorways to spiritual conversation. There are lots of conversations we have where we're realistically only a few questions away from the Gospel. Conversations about the weekend, movies, hobbies, life experiences, summer plans, and current events are all places where we can ask a few good questions that could lead to much deeper, more meaningful discussion. And you might be able to share the Gospel too. Sweet!

Romans 10:13-15 says, "For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"" Let's be people who have beautiful feet.

- Jason

Holiness and Evangelism

2008-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

"Christians need to be in the world, not of the world."

"Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words."

"We have to be culturally relevant."

We've all probably heard or used one, if not all, of these quotes before. And they're good, true statements. But I think sometimes we take them too far and use them as excuses. Excuses not to take the uncomfortable step to share our faith, or to compromise our moral standards to watch a certain movie or TV show because lots of other people are, or to conform our behavior and speech to that of the people around us. So what is often the result is that we end up not really appearing any different than the rest of the world around us, and the message of life change that we preach is not backed up with evidence in our lives. I've certainly been guilty of these things before.

You may have heard me speak about the book unChristian, by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, and the findings of their research. One of those findings is that people outside the church largely think Christians are hypocritical and judgmental. I want to be a person, and for Cru to be a ministry, that helps to change those perceptions by not making some of the same mistakes the church has made in the past, and seeking fresh, new ways of sharing the Gospel. We want to present a different and more Christlike picture of Christianity, while not altering or compromising the message of the Gospel. This is why I bring up the subject of holiness.

One reason people see us as hypocritical and judgmental is because there is a disconnect between what we say and what we do. Christians say that they are set apart and have a different moral standard, but our actions often fail to show it. Here's some stats from the book:

84 percent of young people outside the church say they know at least one committed Christian, but only 15 percent thought the lifestyles of those Christians were significantly different from the norm (unChristian, pg. 48)
According to countless surveys, born again Christians are just as likely as non-Christians to: gamble, visit a pornographic website, visit a psychic or medium, steal, get drunk, use illegal drugs, lie, take revenge, and talk bad about someone behind their back (unChristian, pg. 47)
Christian adults identify "lifestyle" (being good, not sinning, doing the right thing) as the main priority of their faith (unChristian, pg. 48-49)

Taking those 3 results together, it's easy to see why those outside the church label us "hypocritical". Morality is stated as a priority, but not actually pursued in practice.

I've been reading 2 Kings lately, and a number of times reference is made to the fact that Israel "walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel" (2 Kings 17:8), and "followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them" (2 Kings 17:15). God had called Israel to be set apart and different from the rest of the nations, worshipping Him alone and not engaging in the idolatry and wicked practices of the nations around them. In this way they were to represent Him to those nations. But they consistently failed, entering into idolatry and the very same wickedness and moral failure of the nations around them.

Do you see the parallel? Christians are called to represent Christ to the people around us, living holy, set apart, changed lives. But according to evidence that's not true of the church in general. Just like in Israel, there are some who are living obediently, but apparently most are not. And so our representation of Christ is poor.

That's why the call to holiness is so important. If we are going to effectively reach people and reach culture for Christ, we must be living lives that are indeed different, transformed and set apart. The New Testament repeatedly calls Christ-followers to be set apart, to put off the old self and put on the new. As an example, look at this passage from Colossians:

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:5-14)

Similar passages can be found in Ephesians 4:1-3, Ephesians 5:1-21, Galatians 5:16-26, and Romans 7:14-8:17, to name a few. I strongly encourage you to take a look at these passages and spend some time thinking about them.

I'm not advocating the type of holiness that is just an outward action stuck on the exterior of our lives - that's not authentic life change. Jesus spoke against that very trait of the Pharisees. What we need is real holiness, authentic heart transformation, the kind performed by the Holy Spirit deep down in our hearts. We ought to pray for it and seek it diligently, asking Jesus to remind us of inconsistent areas and places of sin, and praying for the power and discipline to escape those areas. We need to surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - He is the one who sanctifies and changes us. He convicts us of sin so we can confess and repent of it, and He produces the fruit of self-control, love, kindness, goodness, etc. in us. And when those transformations are happening (because we'll never be perfect, our sanctification is ongoing), imagine how much more effective our evangelism will be! Not because we pridefully pat ourselves on the back and say "look how moral and good I am", but demonstrating real work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the deep joy and satisfaction that life change brings.

Without this type of holiness, our hope of being "in the world, but not of the world", or of "preaching the Gospel without using words" will be nullified. I pray that I can only practice what I preach!

Jason

Trust

2008-09-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

1 Kings 17:1-7...

"Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." And the word of the LORD came to him: "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land."

This is one of those passages where God supernaturally provides for His people, and indicates that wherever He may call us to go or whatever He may call us to do, we can trust and follow Him. He's got our back and will provide whatever needs we would have. There are other instances of this throughout Scripture: Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, Abraham leaving a familiar place to go to an unknown one, the Israelites leaving Egypt and venturing into the desert of Sinai, and even later in this chapter - when the brook dries up God directs Elijah to an impoverished widow with basically nothing to offer, for him to find food and shelter there.

When I read this, it struck me that Elijah seemed to easily obey and follow the LORD's command. If I had heard that command, that ravens were going to bring me food, I might easily reject it or rationalize it away: Ravens? That's crazy! Maybe so, but sometimes God works and provides in unpredictable or unlikely ways. A commentary I read says that ravens normally neglect their own young, so a raven would be the least likely provider of nourishment. This is often how God works - declaring His glory by intervening in miraculous ways, showing that it is He who is in control of things.

So Elijah obeyed, and God did just as He said He would. Was there uncertainty in Elijah's heart as he made his way out into the wilderness? I don't know, but I know that in my heart there is often uncertainty when I feel like God is calling me to something, whether it be to talk to a particular person or go to a particular place or enter into a particular area of ministry. Too often I rationalize it away and don't step forward in faith and obedience. So I miss opportunities and chances to see God display His greatness.

Reading this story in Scripture encourages me. If God called Elijah into the desert in a drought and provided him food and water, surely He can give me confidence, boldness, and the words to say when He calls me to step out in faith to initiate a spiritual conversation, or just to introduce myself to someone, seeing where that conversation may lead. If God is calling me to something, I ought to go in full confidence, because He will provide. That's His character. Whom He calls, He equips.

I've seen this firsthand on the rare occasions that I do obey His voice. About a year ago I began to sense that God was calling me to initiate a prayer meeting for the neighborhood we live in, to seek God for His move among the people here. It took awhile for me to follow through (I'm kinda slow when it comes to these sorts of things), but in June we had our first meeting. I had invited some Christians I know in the neighborhood and put a few posters up, and I showed up at the first scheduled time, not knowing if anyone would show up. But I wanted to be obedient and keep going with what I felt God was calling me to, even if no one did come. And at that first meeting, one lady from about 5 streets over came - she had seen a poster and the Holy Spirit had nudged her to check it out. She quickly caught the vision for praying for our neighborhood and began inviting a few friends. Now 3 of us meet every Thursday morning to pray, with more showing up on occasion, and the lady who was there the first day has commented a number of times about changes she senses and sees in the neighborhood. God has used that prayer time and been faithful to provide for what He's called me to, and who knows what more He may do!

Maybe you struggle with the same things. Is there something you sense that God is calling you to, but you have made excuses or rationalized it away? Is there something you know God is leading you to but you're afraid to carry it out? If you feel a nudge of the Holy Spirit, maybe to talk to someone or to step into an area of ministry or whatever it may be, go for it - God can and will provide! If you're unsure what you're sensing is from God, check it with Scripture and godly counsel, and then take the step of faith. If it isn't God, He's more than able to redirect you. If it is from God, watch for how He works! Sometimes the results might not be overly dramatic or visible, but we can trust that God is working and using us when we obey Him in faith. And He's honored by that faith.

-Jason

Intentional Efforts

2008-08-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that all the events we do and Cru meetings we have at the beginning of the year are geared toward gathering Christians and getting them plugged in. This is part of it, but we can't neglect the thousands of non-Christians starting their college career, entering a new phase of life, looking for friendship and a place to fit in. Many will seek that place in the party scene, but what hope, joy, and transformation there is in store for those who connect to the body of Christ!

Community is powerful, and our community can be the main influence God uses to bring someone into relationship with Himself. Gathering Christians into this community is important, and helps them continue growing in their faith and being built up to reach others, but connecting with non-believers is just as important.

So let's commit to doing 2 things as we start the year and do all kinds of random events:

1.) Let's not assume that everyone who shows up to Cru or to one of our events is a Christian.

2.) Let's make an intentional effort to meet new people, get to know them, love them, and in whatever way is relevant, point them to Christ.

We don't need to be overt in forcing the Gospel into every conversation, but what we can do is take genuine interest in people (not making them a ministry project), find out what their background is, and lovingly show them Jesus. It will be easy to spend all our time catching up with friends, asking how everyone's summer was, and enjoying being back together. But we'd miss out on so much if we left it at that. I want to be specifically focused on finding and connecting with the new people who come around, and I hope you'll join me.

- Jason

The Beginning...

2008-08-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

The first 2 weeks of school are absolutely crucial for incoming freshmen. Research shows that it is during this time that students create their social life for the coming year and often for the next four. It's become the cultural norm that the party scene is the social scene - it's what's portrayed in movies and other media, and even on the news as what "college life" is. So thousands of Christians who were involved in church or youth group through high school bury their faith in the closet and run into the party lifestyle, many thinking that it's just what everyone does. And lots of non-Christians students dive into the party life too, even though many (most? all?) are dissatisfied with their choices and empty inside.

So where does that leave us, people involved with Cru? It means that the first 2 weeks back are the time for ministry, the most important 2 weeks of the year. We have the opportunity to help Christians find true meaning and purpose for their college years, and help non-Christians see that there is a meaning beyond the emptiness of the party scene. This is why we have so many events through the first 2 weeks - we're seeking to connect with as many people as we can.

What we offer Christians is an opportunity to be a part of an authentic community of believers, growing together and impacting the lives of other students for eternity; a college career full of meaning and growth. Some of the freshmen we meet may become missionaries, Christian leaders in government or business, or someone who influences thousands in some way for Christ. Connecting with a body of believers at the start of college is a huge step in whatever path God may have for them.

What we offer non-believers is an opportunity to escape the empty, depressing, dissatisfying life of partying, broken relationships, and addiction. We offer them hope for their souls, forgiveness, and eternal life.

Our influence and opportunity is huge! It's corny, I know, but that quote from Gladiator, "What we do in life echoes in eternity", comes to my mind when I think about this stuff. And it's true.

So, my encouragement to you as you get ready to come back to school is this: be ready. Spend some time with God, ask Him to fill you up and prepare you to be used by Him on the frontlines of the first 2 weeks. Pray for the freshman coming to school. Dream big and think about what an amazing impact you can have in people's lives. And when you get to school, make the most of those 2 weeks. Meet people, love them, build friendships with them. People on your floor, in your classes, in the cafeteria, wherever. Invite people to come with you to Cru stuff. And take opportunities to tell them about the hope you have in Jesus. I'm convinced that if people see the quality of the relationships we have in the body of Christ, they'll desire more, and God will use it to draw them to Jesus. Isn't it cool that we can be a part of it?!

I'm excited, and getting prepared. How 'bout you?

Can't wait for school to start,

Jason

Spokes

2008-07-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

There are 9 colleges within a 9 mile radius of Oakland, plus a slew of business institutes, career schools and other specialty schools, with a total of nearly 100,000 students. One-hundred thousand! All of these students live, study, and work in and around Oakland and downtown Pittsburgh, and many of them have no idea what it truly means to follow Jesus. Cru is in a unique position to directly impact the lives of these students, and each of you who are involved in Cru have daily opportunity to influence hundreds of these students toward Christ.

Students are the future. Many of the world's revolutions in government and politics have come through students. Nearly all of the significant spiritual revivals in the church in the past 500 years have come through students or college-aged people. Students will lead, govern, run business, and shape culture for the next generation. What will we do as a ministry to influence these students toward Christ? What will YOU do as a student to influence your peers toward Him? These are significant questions, and your answers will determine the depth of the eternal impact of your college career.

As a ministry, we're seeking to set ourselves up in a position where we can relevantly impact as many students as possible in the Pittsburgh area for Christ. In the city, the direction we're going is to build a centralized place where students from campuses all over Pittsburgh can be a part of a vibrant, healthy community, connect to life-changing discipleship, and be equipped and trained to have a personal ministry on their campus. The weekly Cru meeting is developing into that, and we will be intentional this year about making Cru a multi-campus gathering. We hope that Cru will become the hub of the wheel, so to speak, with spokes reaching out from there to every campus of the city. These spokes are students taking the Gospel to the people they spend every day with - the people you sit next to in class, work out with at the gym, work with on projects. We hope to plant some sort of ministry - small groups, book discussions, even ping-pong or X-box clubs - on every campus in Pittsburgh. We just need people to take the initiative to do it; you're the spokes on the wheel.

For schools outside of the city, we're seeking to do the same thing - build healthy communities and plant ministries of some sort where students can connect to a life-giving community and learn about Jesus in relevant ways.

So to start the year, we're going to publicize Cru all over the city, to campuses and places where students hang out, to let people know that we're here, we're a fun place to be with good, loving people, and we're a safe place to explore faith and encounter Jesus. You can help - invite your friends from schools near and far, use facebook, tell people you live with and go to class with. Begin to meet people from the very beginning of the year, build friendships, and make yourself available for Jesus to use you in those friendships to point people to Him. It won't always be easy, but it will be exciting, it will be fun, and God can and will use you. Be ready, it's going to be a great year.

--Jason

Where we're going...

2008-06-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brand spanking new staff blog! We hope that this will be a quick and easy way to communicate information and vision about Cru in the Pittsburgh Metro Area.

I want to take a minute to share our basic vision and leadership structure with you. This specifically applies to Pitt students. Other students, you're off the hook from reading this. Enjoy the rest of your day!

First off, a huge thanks to all of you who participated in the planning meeting at the end of the Spring semester. We were hoping that meeting would set up the events of the first 2 weeks of the Fall, and we have some great stuff on the calendar. I think the start of this year will be quite significant in reaching students for Christ and seeing Cru continue to grow. There seemed to be some confusion about that meeting - I think it had the impression of a general planning meeting for the whole year, when we intended it to be a time to map out the first 2 weeks. I'm really sorry for any frustration that arose for that - we didn't mean to blow off suggestions for the ministry as a whole. We as staff and as a servant team desperately want your input and help in leading! Cru is a student-led ministry and we need you, the students, to step in and offer leadership. We want to provide every opportunity we can in helping you do that.

That being said, I want to outline our general leadership structure for Pitt Cru. This was put in place as a way to expand leadership beyond servant team and give as many people as possible the opportunity to lead. Right now, we have 3 leadership teams that will do the planning and execution of all the events in Cru. These are the Win, Build, and Send teams. As we grow, we'll likely expand to more teams that each have more of a specific focus.

WIN TEAM

The Win team covers evangelism and campus outreach, as well as community and social events. Any events or plans related to those areas - survey times, everypittstudent.com stuff, evangelism training, weekend socials, after Cru events, etc. - are led by the Win Team. There is constantly something they're planning, and it's a great team to be on if you're motivated by big tasks and compassion for people. We decided to put community and social stuff on that team because the most effective way to reach people for Christ is through relationships and community. The Win team is led by Alyssa and Rachele.

BUILD TEAM

The Build team covers the weekly meeting (Cru) and anything related to discipleship and growth (Bible studies, discipleship, mens/womens times). There are LOTS of places to get involved and lead on this team - they've got a lot to cover. If you've got a heart to see people grow and make steps in their faith, this is a good team to join. The Build team is led by Heather and Tim.

SEND TEAM

The Send team covers prayer and "sending" - conferences and retreats, summer projects, equipping and motivating graduating seniors to minister for a lifetime. They handle conference recruiting and registration, rides, finances - all the behind the scenes stuff that gets people to RADIATE or Big Break, etc. If you love details and spreadsheets, this is where you want to be. They also have the huge responsibility of mobilizing prayer for the movement. We consider prayer part of "sending" because it's through prayer that we're sent forward as a laborer for Christ. The Send team is led by Julia and Rob.

The team leaders make up the Servant Team, whose responsibility it is to maintain the direction and vision of who we are and where we're going as a movement, to look ahead to what will be happening in the months and semesters ahead, maintain communication between the 3 teams and map out the semester calendar, and provide a mature spiritual example for people to follow.

So...we would LOVE for anyone who wants to help lead to join one (or more if you'd so desire) of these 3 leadership teams. These are the places where you can make your suggestions, ideas, and heart known and help make Cru an effective and growing ministry that is making a deep impact on the campus for Christ. Talk to the team leaders to get involved more, and please help lead!!

--Jason