Tyler

Last year, during my senior year of college, I was working in the dining hall when this guy walked up to the coffee dispenser and proceeded to fill up his own mug. My job in this dining hall was to maintain the beverage station and one of my duties was to prevent people from using "outside containers" - this was a big violation.

So I stroll over to this guy, as I had to countless other people. "Hey man, we're not supposed to let you use your own mugs when you come in here." "Oh", he said, looking at me and finishing off one more pump, "Sorry about that." Everybody finishes one more pump. "No problem," I said, "Just remember for next time, please."

The next day, he came in again and got some more coffee - this time using our mugs. He made a point to tell me, not sarcastically (I don't think) but just so I knew I guess. He usually sat at the bar which was close to my station. We ended up introducing ourselves. His name is Tyler. From then on, I would say hi to him when he came in and would occasionally talk with him a few minutes at a time whenever I got the chance.

One day, we were talking about our majors - his being psychology and mine religious studies. "I would really like to talk with you about that sometime." he told me.

Occasions like that are really quite rare. I was blown away.

We planned to get coffee over the weekend. As I waited for him, I was nervous because I didn't really know what he was looking for or what questions he would throw at me. Was I prepared to walk him through salvation if I needed to? Was I ready?

Despite these questions, I really was more excited than nervous. And we had a great conversation. Tyler is a very genuine guy. An introvert, he does a lot of internal processing, but he is one of the kindest guys I know. We hung out a few times over the past year and now, whenever I visit, we will hug each other and really want to know how the other is doing. He would not call himself Christian, but isn't entirely opposed to the idea. He is a very deep thinker and has an open mind about a lot of things.

The last time I visited Columbia, Tyler and I got together for lunch. After catching up, our conversation went, as it always does, to a deeper level. "What are you searching for in life, Tyler?" I asked him at one point. He told me that occasionally he will experience moments of peace where everything seems to fit together, everything seems to be in alignment. He told me that he wants more of these peaceful moments.

"I guess that you get a lot of these peaceful moments from your religion, right?" he asked. "Yes" I told him. I shared a bit about the idea of hope that we have in our faith for a better world to come. I mentioned that God is about the restoration of all things to their original and wonderful form and that I could definitely relate with moments where everything just seems to "fit".

Tyler told me that he thinks everyone has to have some level of spirituality in their lives or else they are missing out. I am very grateful to have his friendship. Friendships like his are at the core of what I desire about ministry. Each conversation goes a little deeper, a little further. I don't have an agenda with Tyler but I want him to experience the God I know on the deepest and most intimate levels and I want to share with him about it, and love him like a brother. I believe God is working in Tyler's heart and that our friendship was orchestrated from above.

There are hundreds of other students like Tyler seeking for something. Because of your prayers and giving in the future, I hope to have the opportunity to develop friendships with more and more students and to share the hope and salvation found in Christ to as many as I can.

Godly Men

Recently, our women at The Rock had a retreat, entitled “Enough”, which I wrote about briefly in my last prayer letter. About 65 young women showed up for the retreat, including some who no longer live in Columbia but were a part of The Rock in the past. I’ve heard a lot of good things that came from the weekend, including several people saying that it was something the church has needed to do for a long time.

Praise God for such a wonderful beginning to a women’s ministry! Now that we have some older women (two on staff, one support raising and the other being my wonderful fiancée) who are passionate about that sort of thing, the younger women of our church will be blessed in a whole new way.

Having the success of the women’s retreat on my mind along with reading Tender Warrior by Stu Weber, my mind is reeling. Many of you have heard me talk about my desire to come alongside the men in our church and help them develop integrity so that they may have a great impact in the lives around them for Jesus Christ. Here’s a thought:

“The calling of every man is to offer stability to a world full of chaos.”

Stu Weber, Tender Warrior

Our generation has a reputation of growing up in broken homes. I, myself, am lucky to have an amazing father who is both strong, compassionate and has a heart for knowing the Lord. He’s been an excellent, confident and humble leader my whole life. He has helped me learn what it means to become a man. Unfortunately, there are a lot of boys on the MU campus who should be young men by now. I, of course, am not looking to be a father figure (I’ll leave that up to our pastors – they have the gray hair!) but I desire very much to come alongside and help guide them to become men of God.

Weber talks about men having four different roles: king, warrior, mentor and friend. He fills his book with biblical examples like David, Caleb, Jesus and Job. Topics like following through with commitments, enduring hard times, provision for a family, being a faithful husband and father, and the importance of relationships between men fill his pages. I am convicted in many ways and stimulated in others because it speaks directly to one of my heart’s greatest callings.

I hope to have a men’s retreat in the future when I return to The Rock. I hope to lead a weekly small group with three or four other guys, where we talk about life’s struggles and where God is leading us. I hope to develop deep bonds with young men at The Rock and encourage them to become spiritual leaders in their classroom, their families, their communities and their churches. Our world needs stable men in a world of chaos.

Who do I serve?

Last night, while on the phone, I was convicted in the way I have been presenting my story to potential supporters. I am employed by Great Commission Ministries and my current job responsibilities are to build up a ministry team of people who give financially to and pray for GCM. All financial gifts that I raise go into a specific account that I am responsible for. Out of that money given my insurance is paid, some ministry expenses are taken care of and I am given a set salary. Once the account has a certain amount of money coming in each month, then I will be released to assignment at the University of Missouri where I will serve with The Rock Church.

I like GCM. I love the people who serve with GCM as campus, urban and foreign missionaries as well as those who serve in the headquarters and handle all things administrative for running a missionary organization. But though I am employed by GCM and I serve with GCM, they are not whom I serve. I serve the Lord first and foremost and it is his gospel, his kingdom and his message that I want to proclaim with my life and with my vocation - not GCM's.

Now, it is my calling from God that I serve vocationally as a missionary to the University of Missouri. In my four years as a student, I fell in love with my community at The Rock and developed a deep compassion for my friends and other students I didn't even know. I knew since eighth grade that God wanted me to serve in vocational ministry. It was during college that God spoke to my heart, telling me that these were the people he was preparing me to serve.

He brought me to The Rock for a reason. He opened the door of becoming employed with GCM as part of his plan for my life. It is not everyone's path to follow. GCM is not the best or only way to serve the kingdom of God - it is simply one way. So it is with a humble heart that I am thankful for those with GCM who desire to enable, equip and mobilize missionaries like myself to serve where God has called us. They are a blessing to me and I am, to a degree, a GCM representative, but they are not my king. My allegiance relies solely as an ambassador for Christ and my purpose is to be a vessel for him to change in the lives of those around me. The students of the University hold a special place in my heart and that is why he has lead me to serve in a college ministry like The Rock.

If that has not been clear to those of you I have met and shared with, then please accept my deepest apologies. I serve along side GCM with gladness but I answer only to God. He guides my path and this is the one he has chosen for me. I embrace his desire to bring those alongside me who will pray for me, The Rock and will give financially in order for me to serve the campus full-time as a missionary.

So thank you for giving, for praying or for prayerfully considering giving to GCM on my behalf. I am humbled and grateful that God desires to build up a team of supporters who I can minister to and who minister to me in my journey of serving as a college missionary. May God bless you in your faithfulness in responding to what he has put on your hearts. And thank you from the bottom of mine.

And I Thought "Journey" Was Just a Cool Title

There is so much that I don't even know where to begin unpacking. Each day is a learning experience. Every time I have met with someone to share about the ministry, I come out of the conversation with a different perspective. This process is shaping me in ways I did not expect - and I have always tried to be prepared for the unexpected.

I have flaws

I'll begin with the honest reflection I have been doing lately. The way I reflect on my character weaknesses is often a stumbling block in itself. I have always held myself to a high standard and I have always enacted harsh mental rebuking on myself whenever I falter. I make a mountain out of a molehill, to resurrect an old cliche I remember. So to be led by God to expose a couple of these wounds is something I'm not usually excited to do because of the fear of my own rebuking.

And many of you thought I was such a nice guy. I usually am, but I guess we can all be our own worst critic. Oops, there goes another cliche. So here are a couple areas God is working on.

Discipline

With college, I had a structure to keep me accountable. If I didn't feel like turning a paper in when it was due, there would be serious consequences. If I slept in through too many classes or didn't go into work, someone would usually notice eventually or it would show up on my grades. Basically, managing my schedule was a different story than it is today. Now, my schedule is my own and I have to create structure out of very little. I'm learning what my big distractions are and I'm learning that the Satan's secret weapon is that very distraction. The easiest way to get us out of the game is to get us to forget about the game. What game? I'm just some kid trying to get money so he can hang out with college students and be a good influence.

If that is my attitude then I will never get back to campus. I have to realistically understand that there is a spiritual battle going on here. There is much more at stake than whether students have a good group of friends here. If our gospel has amounted to just "a good message" then we lose our urgency, and our motivation and discipline is soon to follow.

So he is showing me a lot about the importance of maintaining that attitude - understanding that meeting with people is about furthering the kingdom. This is not just a good thing, but the path that my God has chosen for me to take. It is of uttermost importance and my daily actions and efforts absolutely must reflect that.

Patience

Honestly, the way that God is teaching me patience is by having me drive around in Springfield traffic seven days a week. In Columbia, I got away with a bike for two years because of proximity to campus. But driving in traffic and keeping my cool is a definite patience test in which I have failed more than a few times. Working with a computer on which I am now pretty dependent that is a few years old is another test. Seeing the Tigers lose to Oklahoma State and Texas requires patience. Communicating with Aimee while she's been in Honduras has been challenging. My own transitioning into the support raising journey requires that I am patient with myself. Every day I am learning this trait.

Patience and self-control are difficult to learn at the same time. Yet, these are just two areas God is helping me to grow in lately. I am so grateful for the meals, the cups of coffee, the times in your homes, even the 30-minute short conversations I have had with all of you. Thank you for your support, your encouragement, your wisdom, your questions, challenges and prayers. I know now more than ever that this is going to be quite the journey but that this is all part of the process.

And what a ride it's been so far.

Motivation

In most of my appointments, I spend a considerable amount of time expressing what motivates me to take on the path that God has put on my life. Sometimes I do not get to express fully what I see as a great need on the college campuses today. Most of the churches whom GCM serves are campus churches, including The Rock, so let me share some of the reasons why I see such a need for what I am doing.

Critical Window of Time

During the college years, most people decide (either knowingly or unknowingly) what sort of lifestyle decisions they want to make. Myself included, students embrace the college scene on their own (usually) for the first time. They are bombarded with thousand of messages telling them what is important, who they should be, what they should look like, what they should give their lives to and what they should do with their foundation. We live in a world that has an increasingly negative attitude and skepticism toward Christianity. In a time where students themselves are deciding what to do with faith in an America that is shifting toward a more pluralistic society, it is crucial to introduce students to the love and truth of Christ and to build the moral foundation before they step out into their next phase in life.

Baggage

Bottom line, students tend to have a lot of issues (emotional, spiritual and even physical) that they carry around with them below the surface. It is my strong desire to help drag those out to the surface where they can be dealt with in a loving, God-honoring way. Many students question their identity, who they are, why they are important, what their purpose is, and they need to be asking those questions. We want to help them discover God's abundant grace and acceptance of who they are, and then to help them find out God's purpose for them and become who they are meant to be. Whether they need someone to talk to, a teaching to speak to their hearts, counseling we can direct them to or just someone who believes in them, that is what we are about.

Spiritual Growth

God's love and truth are what I cling to very strongly. Our country, whether we want to face it or not, is losing it's grip on moral foundations and absolute truth. Spirituality may be an interest of people, but the importance of discipline, reverence, commitment and integrity are losing the standing they once had. If God's Word is not taught, then we have failed in what we are trying to do. In their next step, students will face even greater struggles than the ones they find in college. As an Eagle Scout, I have seen the importance of the qualities I mentioned above and, as the leaders of tomorrow, we hope to instill those in students. Now, while moral character is a high emphasis, we also must look to evangelism (sharing faith with others) when talking about spiritual growth. Scripture says that "faith without deeds is dead" but also to "be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have." So learning how to share our faith in an effective way is also paramount.

Love

The Barna Group, conducted a three-year study of nonbelievers' perceptions of Christianity today. The top three answers: judgmental, antihomosexual, hypocritical. We, as a church, need to relearn love. Paul writes, "If I have the gift of prophesy...and faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." With a growingly negative reputation, I find it crucial for us to represent Christ to these students in a way that demonstrates love in all we do.

Leaders of Tomorrow

To a great extent, the students in universities and college today are tomorrow's leaders. We call ourselves Great Commission Ministies because we have a very strong call to make disciples of these students who will, quite literally, be going to all nations pursuing all sorts of careers after graduation. We want to instill the importance, not only of surrenduring our lives, our careers and passions to God and let him lead those, but also the importance of how we live every day. The way we treat people, especially those who we don't have anything to gain from, what happens behind closed doors, the way we respond to the world's massive problems - are all incredibly relevant to our faith. We want to train people to be leaders in their respective fields while representing Christ in a beautiful way. We want them to get plugged into churches wherever they go and to continue to see the urgency of the gospel.

Authentic Faith

Finally, as you can see, we are not interested primarily in getting people to come to our weekly service. Instead, we care more about our purpose statement of "Making fully devoted followers of Christ out of college students." It's essential to who we are. We want students to see what it means to live as a Christian in today's world and to continually strive to be more like Christ each day. We live in a broken world and people need to experience a loving, authentic, driven community. We want to see life change and to glorify God. Christ is the hope of the world and we want to live like we believe that.