McBrockster retreat

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." mark 4.26-32

it has been a few days since we have returned from the retreat and for the first time this week, i do not have meetings all afternoon so i thought i would update the old blog.
this weekend was a great experience, especially for a first time event partnering with students from the inter-varsity group at brock university. we packed out the camp, had great food, and were challenged by two parables about the Kingdom of God from the gospel of Mark. the part which stood out to me so greatly was the phrase "though he does not know how." in my experience, it has become painfully obvious that i do not know how the Kingdom moves forward. sometimes this is reassuring because then the responsibility to make it grow does not lie on me. other times, however, there are places i want to see it grow but can't do a darn thing about it.

i have enjoyed over the past few days, connecting with students as they wrestle with this concept that despite their best efforts, Kingdom growth outside of themselves is not in their control. participating with God in it requires great patience and trust and when we see the growth happen we can experience the joy of the seeds becoming ripe.

one week summary.

we are now one week into the winter semester and there have been many great moments so far to share with you all. i am hoping to get a newsletter out this week, but here is something for you to read in the meantime.

we had a great welcome back party saturday night with a good turn out. it also served as a going away party for one of our students who is leaving in a week to study in Jerusalem for 6 months. it is a great opportunity for her but she will be greatly missed by our community.
yesterday we had a workshop for our student leaders about investing in others. we were blessed to have student leaders from Korean Christian Fellowship (KCF) join with us in a day of scripture study and discussion. i think being able to talk about how to invest in people will serve us well through this semester, as we have been building relationships with newer students that are just waiting to get deeper.

my favourite moment of the workshop came at the very end when students broke into groups to pray for one another and many groups prayed "Korean style," where everyone prays at the same time. since KCF has come under the care of Inter-Varsity, we have been trying to build a stronger connection with their students and that moment just served as a sign that it is moving forward.

this coming weekend is our retreat, which we are hosting along with Brock University. (partnership seems to be an ongoing theme this semester...) i am excited about the weekend because we have some great ideas for the teaching times and it is always just nice to get away for a while.

i also would like to witness to the fact that God is really good (and sneaky) about answering prayer. there have been many times (and will be many more times) so far this semester that i have just not felt able to do this ministry, either out of not understanding where to go next or not feeling capable of what is required for it but each time, in and through prayer, the Spirit has worked over-time to set things straight.
can i get an amen?

2008. year of the rat.

happy new year everyone.

there are still 3 days left before students return to classes and i have started to prepare for all that is coming up this semester. after our reflection times with students at the end of exams, there seems to be an excitement and energy for God to be on the move this semester. last semester, our bible studies were the place where all the action was happening and i am excited to see what will continue to happen as students gather around the Word and live it out on campus. our student leadership team has decided to join the different small groups to continue investing in their fellow students and motivate people into action. although this is a very new structure for our community, it seems to be a move of great wisdom and has potential for great transformation.

just a quick summary of some things coming up this semester...
in january we will be joining students from Brock University for a winter retreat and our staff team will be working together to teach about different aspects of the Kingdom of God. at MAC we will also be joining up with other Christian clubs on campus for Christ @ MAC week, a week of unity in worship, prayer, evangelism and fun.
february means reading week and a time to catch up on all the reading and studying that has piled up in the first half of the semester.
by march, we will have chosen our leaders for the coming school year. the end of the semester will involve a lot of transition and vision casting as we prepare for the next steps of this ministry.
april, of course, means exams but will also be a time of preparation for city/script, a week long intensive study of the gospel according to mark that will happen the first week of may. it is my hope that we will have at least 10 students join us this year, as it is always a time of significant transformation as the Spirit changes hearts through scripture study.

please be praying for us as we begin this semester. there are many things that our leaders desire to see happen this semester and i know it will require great courage and faith to participate in this mission. pray that God will help us believe in moments of unbelief and that the Spirit will just work powerfully on our campus.