Sign Ups will begin when school starts and the cost will be $50.  Spots are limited so sign up ASAP in the campus ministry office or at Collide.

For those who might not know, about three months ago I took a job as the associate preaching minister at The Hills church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas.  So at the end of May we said many tear filled goodbyes to family, friends and our ministry at Pepperdine and we headed east.  Well, after a very difficult and literal “40 days in the desert” we decided to go back to Pepperdine and return as campus minister. “So what exactly happened?” you might be asking yourself.  Great question.  And although I can’t say with absolute certainty, here’s what I have come up with.       

For those who knew me, you knew that I absolutely loved my previous (now my current) job as the campus minister at Pepperdine. I was really torn up at the thought of accepting the position at the The Hills and moving on to something else. Yet, people continually told me what an amazing preacher I was and that they saw me as the pulpit minister of a “big church” one day. Combine that with the opportunity to go learn from/under a preacher I respect more than any other, Rick Atchley, and it just seemed to be the logical and best step for us.  Although we felt like we wanted to do campus ministry for several more years and had just begun several really cool new initiatives at Pepperdine, we felt this door was too good to not walk through and I was afraid it wouldn’t come around again (first mistake). Anyway, we prayed and talked it over, and although I never received an absolute clear, audible sign from God, we took the chance and moved to Texas.

But to be honest with you, things didn’t feel right from the first moment I stepped foot in that place. Nothing negative or bad ever happened, in fact quite the opposite. We absolutely loved the church and the people in that place (quilting ladies, you will always have a special place in my heart) and the church responded so favorably to my preaching.  But, no matter how hard I tried or prayed about it, my heart and passion for ministry and preaching began dwindling by the day and I realized very quickly that I was not in the right place. As I sat in my office at The Hills, I could not get excited about or pour myself into the ministry or people there, but instead only thought about our new “house groups” at Pepperdine, our incoming intern team, the new freshmen class that would be coming in the Fall, the guys I was personally mentoring, etc.  I longed to be back in that place and utilize/capitalize on the momentum, credibility and spirit that had begun to take shape there.  Although some of my angst was probably due to bring homesick and/or culture shock, I firmly believe it was a clear affirmation of my call to minister at Pepperdine.  I’m not sure someone can be “outside” the will of God, but in all honesty if felt as if I had stepped outside of God’s call on my life, and what I experienced felt eerily similar to what the psalmist describes as “the heavy hand of God”.  Some will ask why God didn’t make all of this clear before we left (or before we bought a house in Texas) and I honestly wish that I knew the answer to that question too.

Looking back, I feel like God did hint at it several times (two of my closest friends told me not to make the move to pulpit ministry yet) but I’m afraid my pride, selfish ambition and human “wisdom” blinded me to that (second mistake). I’m also beginning to see that God needed to teach me a lot about myself, ministry and calling; that he needed to purge me and purify me of certain things, and maybe he needed to use those 40 days and this entire process to do just that. 

Well, to make a short story a little longer, after about a month of feeling totally out of place and out of tune, I decided to reach out to University Church of Christ to see what they thought. What a blessing it was to hear that they wanted me back. They were getting close to finding/hiring my replacement, but felt like my talents (and my new found perspective) were a perfect match. It humbles and honors me to know they stood by me and fought for me.

As I have found out through all of this, sometimes following God and discerning his will isn’t so easy to do.  I expect there will be a very mixed reaction to my return.  Some will think that I am crazy and foolish, and they would be right. Some would say I did a poor job discerning God’s will and made a lot of mistakes, and they too would be right. But hopefully people will understand that walking by faith is, by definition, a risk, scary and uncertain. God allows us to make decisions and sometimes those decisions don’t work out too well (ask Adam, Abraham, David or Paul).

 I am learning that God wants me to know and trust him. Not work for him, not speak on his behalf, not define myself as a preacher or a minister, but to simply know and trust him. As a Christian I desperately want to know what his voice sounds like and what his face looks like, and although this has been incredibly stressful & embarrassing, I think I’m beginning to hear and see a little more clearly.

So back to those words.  Reckless. Wasteful. Irresponsible. Illogical. Absurd.  Yes, they describe me as I ripped my family away from a place they loved and moved across the country, only to do it all over again 40 days later.  But, I think those words pretty adequately describe grace as well.  Whether it’s the parable of the workers or the prodigal son or the pearl of great price, grace doesn’t make any sense at all.  It isn’t a neat equation or a logical thing.  God’s love and kindness and mercy towards us defies logic and dumbfounds the best of us.  People keep saying how “awkward” this is or what a “unique” thing Pepperdine is doing here.  But, as Christians, as those who serve a God who pursues us and waits for us and comes running to us, it really isn’t all that weird or awkward or unique.  When we stumble, God is there.  When we walk away, God is there.  When we close our eyes or turn our backs, God is there.  That is the story of all of Scripture – no matter what we do, or where we go, or how badly we mess up, God is there – ready, willing and anxious to take us back and shape us more into his image.

Grace is an underserved second chance (and third, fourth, fifth, etc.).  Grace is exactly what I received through all of this but more importantly, that is exactly what all of us have received through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. My deepest apologies to people like Rick, Neil, Karl, and Linda. Thanks to people like Eric, Rick, Rich, Ken and again, the quilting ladies. I hope and pray that somehow the master craftsman can use these crazy 40 days to make something beautiful.

We meet Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm in AMB 220 (the Ahmanson Music Building behind Smothers Theater).

When people who don’t really know each other and who normally wouldn’t come together, gather under the banner of Jesus, that is a success.

When a group of people meets, and experiences true table fellowship, but more importantly shows genuine concern and love for one another, that is a success.

When inclusion and grace and the priesthood of all believers are present within a community, that is success.

When students find a home, a refuge, a safe place to be who they are, that is a success.

When young people find the community and accountability and strength to become the people God wants them to be, that is a success.  

When two or more gather in Jesus name, and Jesus himself joins them in thier conversation and community, that is a success.

No matter how big or how small; no matter how loud or how quiet; no matter how natural or how awkward, from the vantage point of heaven itself, these house groups are going to be a success – a huge success.  May God’s grace, power and Spirit flow freely within your groups tonight!

SUN 10:15AM          Church Service  (Elkins)

SUN 8:00PM            Student Led Chapel (Staufer Chapel)

WED 7:00PM           Collide  (Elkins)

The Scriptures teach us that each and every person who claims allegiance to Jesus Christ is a priest. So, welcome to the priesthood. No that might sound a little odd to a group of Protestants, but as a Christian it is your right and your responsibility to share and teach and communicate God’s Word and God’s love to others. As a Christian it is your right and your responsibility to carry out important spritual and religious duties. As a Christian it is your right and your responsibility to go before God on behalf of others, and to concern yourself with the spiritualk well being of the people around you. You are a priest. You are not a passive consummer who sits idly back and allows the “paid professionals” and “religious specialists” to carry the load or do all of the work. We are all responsible. We are all in leadership. We are all called to get to work.

Take a quick look at 1 Corinthians 12. In that text you will read that every single person (every single priest) has been given a special and unique measure of God’s Holy Spirit. God has specifically empowered and enabled each and every one of us to carry out our priestly duties in a specific/particular way. If you were with us at Collide recently, you were able to participate in a Spiritual Gifts Assessment. Although not perfect, the assessment does help us to begin thinking and talking about how we are each gifted and how we can use our gifts “for the common good”.

What gifts has God given to you? Does that surprise, scare, confuse you? What does that gift look like in your life and the lives of those around you? How have you been able to use your gift to strengthen the body? As a body, what gifts do we desperately need more of?

Whether you took the assessment or not; whether you feel like God has gifted you with an abundance of gifts or if you are still trying to figure out if you have any gifts, the key to all of this is prayer and discernment. Pray that God would reveal to you how He has manifested the Spirit within you, and then allow the community around you to affirm and challenge and reveal to you (help you to discern) what they see God doing in your life.

Again, welcome to the priesthood. Now let’s get to work – there is a lot to do!

Quick question – what if you were given a completely clean slate when it came to “doing church”?  What if you didn’t have to follow or abide by any traditions or rules or guidelines?  What if you were freed to recreate and shape the time/space where believers come together and seek to strengthen one another?  What would “new wine skins” look like (Mark 2:21-22)

And I’m not asking the question because I hate all things church and want to start a riot.  I’m asking because that is exactly the situation the first believers found themselves in.  Jesus lived, taught, exemplified, died, and was resurrected.   He then leaves a bunch of highly confused and rather unqualified folks to take his place and to continue his ministry.  No rules.  No traditions.  No real guidlines.  No order of worship.  No denominational idiosyncracies.  Just a devotion to and love for Jesus.

And what they decide to do is recorded for us in Acts 2 & Acts 4.  I highly encourage you to read those chapters.  What elements of those early church services stand out to you?  Would you have done the same things?  Which ones do we desperately need to recommit ourselves to?

So, if you had a clean slate, how would you “do church”?

(If you are intrigued by this idea, I highly suggest you check out the following links – http://www.brianmashburn.net/?p=295; & http://www.brianmashburn.net/?p=298)

When did Jesus struggle the most during?  It wasn’t during all of these events, it was earlier that night, in prayer, before any of these things had transpired.  In that time of prayer, we read that Jesus was heavily burdened, scared, and possibly even terrified of what was to come.  Sweat and tears and blood poured from his body that night.  

In response to this, Philip Yancey says the following: “For most of us, prayer serves as a resource to help in a time of testing or conflict.  For Jesus, it was the battle itself.  One the Gethsemane prayers had aligned him with the Father’s will, what happened next was merely the means to fulfill it.  In the words of Haddon Robinson, ‘Had I been there (in the garden with Jesus) I would have worried about the future. “If he is so broken up when all he is doing is praying, what will he do when he faces a real crisis?  Why can’t he approach this ordeal with the same calm confidence of his three sleeping friends?” Yet, when the test came, Jesus walked to the cross with courage, and his three friends fell apart and fell away.’

These words and insights hit me like a ton of bricks. For my entire adult life, and throughout the last 8 years of ministry, I have approaced prayer as preparation for the battle that is to come.  Prayer is that which will give me the strength and wisdom to go out and fight the darkness.  And yet, it appears, that the real battle is fought in prayer.  If I see prayer simply as the pep-talk before the big game, then when I speak or teach or “fight the good fight” as I have understood it, I am simply walking out onto a field, fully prepared to fight, only to see that the battle has been over for quite some time.

Could my life and my ministry lack power and authority, could renewal and passion and a longing for God be missing from the students I work with because I have “fallen asleep the night before” and not devoted myself to the real battle taking place in & through prayer?

Jesus shows us that what we seek to accomplish and bring about in/through our ministries and our Christian lives happens first and foremost (and maybe only) through the discipline and avenue and battle that is prayer.