Enter New Phase.

Yesterday was my first day as an RA back at Moody (RA stands for Resident Assistant). Been busy the past two weeks with RA training and preparation for new and returning students, leadership meetings, conflict resolution programs, etc. It will be fun and challenging to be the RA of a new floor. I’m looking forward to this new phase of my life.

This summer has been great. I would be overstating if I said it was phenomenal, but it was far better than any other summer I’ve had. I think. Here’s my review (I’ll indent it to make it look more official):

Antioch church has some really amazing qualities to it. The staff and leadership have expressed great interest in exploring, examining, exposing, and encouraging the divine design inherent in each of us as bearers of the image of God. That is a great goal to strive toward, since it makes God supremely valuable in valuing and trusting the purpose of his created design. I’ve always thought this to be idealistic, but it’s been so good to see it actually in practice. It will be great to see how this continues to play itself out as the church grows.

The internship is both fun and hard work, and the church is young, so there is lots to do. If you aren’t doing anything, just ask, and you’ll have plenty to work on. Meetings are short and sweet: this is awesome. For everyone. I don’t know if anyone really likes meetings, and so when we are able to maximize our time by sticking to the allotted time frame and meeting schedule. Things moved quickly. Meeting times and events were communicated clearly and continued to be communicated clearly throughout the course of the internship.

Mentorship was great. I had Matt Smith as my mentor. He has been heavily involved with an organization called World Relief NEXT and in addition to pastoring at Paradox, was also leading the Solitude internship for those interns as well. Matt’s been a great guy to bounce ideas off of and it’s been rich to hear his heart and take in his teaching. We went through the book In The Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen – the same author he used when mentoring the Solitude interns (a book ironically called Reaching Out). I’ve greatly enjoyed our time together and enjoyed learning from him, beginning to understand the value of slowing down and being still and being alone with the God of the universe. I catch myself sometimes in groups of students or other RA’s actually just wanting to leave and get away and be alone. It’s relaxing. It’s refreshing.

The other interns were all fantastic. At first, there was a complaint that a lot of the Moody students tended to hang out with each other for the most part. This tendency is normal. But I think it broke down soon after that, and we all meshed pretty well with everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them all, working with them, hearing what they’ve been doing this summer, and spending time hiking or climbing or swimming with them all. As much as this summer’s been a great solitude experience, it’s been a great relational one as well.

The teaching and worship on Sunday mornings are great as well. Ken is a thorough thinker and carries his audience’s attention well. He allows them to follow his train of thought, and rarely loses them. He isn’t expositional and doesn’t necessarily speak straight from Scripture, but he does give a great deal of Scripture-informed thought. It is interesting and engaging to think through and beyond what Scripture says to what it means for us in our lives and in the lives of other believers throughout Christianity. I value many of the things he’s said over this summer, and have appreciated the opportunity to listen to his heart.

A potential hazard I foresee (and perhaps the only hazard, and maybe hazard is too strong a word) that would be wisely avoided would a path toward a somewhat-elitist value system. This summer I was stoked and excited for this internship largely because I was looking forward to a staff that would not only pour into me, but get to know me well enough to know what my natural strengths and weaknesses are, and how to make the most of those. Now I am good at a good number of things, but what am I great at? Am I great at anything? Some of the interns were specifically sought out and asked and encouraged again and again to come back to Antioch. They were extremely talented individuals. Others wanted to come back and offered, and were gladly accepted, but only a few were sought out. It’s been my journey over the last several weeks to cultivate in my own heart a readiness to celebrate the blessings that fall into the hands of others as if they had fallen into my own. It is good to do this. I don’t want jealousy to arise in me. I want to celebrate with them that something truly good has happened to them and they have found a place where their gifts and abilities are recognized, valued, encouraged, and challenged. And it is an unbelievably unrealistic expectation to think that everyone belongs there. But it would serve them well, and serve the body well, to see a staff or individual who intentionally seeks to draw out of people talents that don’t shine as brilliantly, and to value them just as much. There are fantastic individuals who have beautiful talents and abilities who have no idea they have them, or have had no one who has recognized those in them. And so naturally, they don’t make the best of those talents.

Maybe it’s just my heart to seek out the margins in every group of people, but I hope in the future to see not a wider or broader investment in interns, but a deeper investment. Not more interns, but maybe fewer. I love Antioch, and I love everyone there. They are awesome and perhaps one of the closest body of believers to what I hope will be the church I work with or attend for much of my life. And so, as with anything and everything, change is progress, and I hope that both change and progress continue to be a part of the growth process of Antioch church and its internship program. Corporations and organizations and churches – as with any system – are brutally attacked and criticized by so many, and I pray my voice would not be counted among them. Instead, I hope it would be an encouraging, sanctifying, empowering and trustworthy assessment that can be used for the growth and beauty of the body of Christ.

More to come on thinking over the summer, thank-you’s, and other great ways all of you can continue to journey with me throughout this semester and this year if you so desire.

LOVE WINS.

Ben, the youth pastor I work with here in Chicago, just gave the youth group his last official lesson with them.  It was a really sad night.  It’s been so hard for the students.  And that means a lot.  Ben has been an incredible example of what it means to develop deep, rich relationships with the people God has placed in his life, to be an instrument used by God to change the ‘religious stereotype’.  He loves all of the students, and they adore him.

We were reading from 1 Corinthians 13 and from there, Ben encouraged us – pleaded with us – to love God and love people.  I can be trained and skilled in communication, I can prepare the best lesson plans and the best messages and teach from the passages that people love to hear, I can have the best musicians and songs picked for worship, and I can have the best youth room and resources and everything at my fingertips; but let me make this clear: it means nothing if you haven’t shown them you love them.  The students listen to Ben not because he is an excellent communicator; he is an excellent communicator because he has built an unbelievable foundation of love in each relationship in the youth group.

I wish you could meet him.  You would know what I mean.

I’m going to carry what he has taught in his life for the rest of mine.  To love people – wherever they are, whoever they are – is the heart of God, because that’s how he loved us.  This is my heart in ministry.  This is my heart in Oregon.  I am going out to meet people where they are, just as they are, and I want to love them in every way possible, because love wins.  There is no more powerful force in the world.

Ben’s legacy in the lives of his students has been effective, lasting, powerful, meaningful, transforming, healing, and filled with hope because his entire ministry, his life, his call was grounded in love.  Love wins. Love wins. Love wins.

SUMMER, BOOKS, AND A BABY!

Today is Monday – first day that I feel like I should be in classes, but am not.  Sort of.

I arrived at the apartment of a friend, Nick Gerig, who is housing me until I leave for Oregon, which is really generous of him.  Today, I’m off to get some contact solution after I realized that the bottle I had wasn’t filled with solution at all, but water.  I had used an old contact solution bottle to fill my iron at school, and forgot that it was water.  My eyes weren’t so happy to discover this.  Also, heading out to Walgreens to get some food for the next two weeks.

The apartment is a good five miles from downtown (keep in mind I have no means of travel) so it gives me time and space to work ahead.  I have books that need to be read for RA training in the fall, books that need to be read for my Youth Ministry Major, lesson plans, Bible studies, exegesis that needs to be done.  Hopefully I can get some of it done a little ahead of time.  That would be great.  That’s why I say “sort of.”

Last night was youth group at Winnetka Bible Church.  It’s sad thinking about how some of the students are seniors and won’t be coming back in the fall.  Next Sunday night is my last night until fall that I’ll be with them.  I’m praying for them and trusting that God will be with them as they transition out of high school into college, wherever that may be.  I hope they keep in touch.  I want to be intentional about keeping in touch with them.

On another note, a huge congratulations to the youth pastor and his wife, Ben & Audi – they just had their first baby!  His name is Atticus Cai Willey, born May 15 at 9:12AM.  Got to see him yesterday; he’s a stud.  Congrats to the new mom and dad!

Congrats to you, Ben and Audi!  Here’s the story: www.addenduming.blogspot.com

In closing, please continue to pray for this internship – I’m really excited, but I also know that with every change of pace, environment, group of people comes a new set of challenges.  Pray that I’m faithful to learning, that I am constantly – almost involuntarily – thinking what is Jesus teaching me here and now? I’m going to take the train down to the library later to print & send more support letters.  The train costs so much now without the U-Pass!  Need to keep my travels to a bare minimum while I’m here, or find a bicycle that I can borrow.  With that, have a wonderful day!