Campus Crusade for Christ's Chicago Summer Project 2011
DAY 7
First off I apologize for not posting yesterday...but I really didn't have anything to report. I do want to say that I had a great conversation with my 'home-discipler' Royce. We talked about some of my hard heart issues and we cried together and prayed together. I have been struggling with sin and feeling distant from God. I felt I had been putting myself on the selfish throne of my heart. Moreover, like a fool--not unlike the Israelites of the Old Testament, I had traded the glory of God for self-indulgence and for the approval of others. I already struggle to feel loved, excepted, listened to, and wanted. The evil one had used those insecurities to entice me to seek the things of this world: respect, approval, etc in a selfish, sinful way. It left me drained and empty, and paranoid. As I confessed these things out I was reminded of the Israelites and of the words of Jesus...how when we run from God, He disciplines us...but He seeks us and welcomes us back with open arms. I could feel the power of the confession, of the welcoming arms of Christ. What I would say to come away with is this: you can never run too far...Christ will welcome you with open arms.
So today was special because it was mine and my action group's first day on campus doing ministry. We went to the prestigious University of Chicago. The old architecture is picturesque. The gargoyles and angel statues watch over you as you navigate the winding halls--which inspire imaginations and I'm sure have been captured on film. The ivy climbs the stone walls and the pressure rises as we step onto the dark ivy-league campus. The wind pushed and the rain fell, but we pushed on in the spirit of Christ.
We did surveys and engaged in spiritual conversations with students and even staff. The conversation with the staff was difficult: UoC boasts 83+ Nobel Laureates and an overwhelming percentage of grad students. The conversations went well however. The objective was to get to the gospel but also to gauge the campus and learn even more about the demographics (which have already been researched--but with the ever-changing campus--it is important to keep a feel on things. Also, it helps US to take responsibility to learn it ourselves).
We got to discuss God, the bible, and Christ with an Oxford-trained math teacher, a math student, a linguistics student, and 3 med graduates. We conveyed the gospel to the med students and conversed on the nature of God and the validity of the bible with a French Linguistics student.
Once we got back to the campus we had another weekly meeting. Bacho lead a teaching on the first 10 verses of Galatians. A teaching that brought me to tears. Never leave your post. Gospel: evangellion, was a political term which referred to the new way of life under a new ruler. The good news. Paul adapts it to refer to the good news of salvation through Christ. Does the Gospel mean enough to you to devote EVERY part of your life to. It was for John and Betty Stamm...the family Bacho talked about that was killed for their faith. Will it convert, change, shape, and permeate your life as it did the Apostle Paul's....who lived for the Gospel of Christ. Doulos!! To become a slave of Christ....will we be enslaved by the things of the world or enslaved to the glory and love of Christ who's burden and yoke is light.
In Christ, for Christ,
Christopher
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