What Do You Think of Me? Why Do I Care?

This is the title of the book we are using for the only official RUF small group this semester (more on that shortly). Ladies and Gentlemen, you should read this book! There might be a small percentage of people in this world who do not struggle with thinking excessively about what other people think of them, but (especially in the USA) it is a small percentage indeed. PLUS, it's not that long, and there are big spaces between the paragraphs which the author, Ed Welch, cleverly inserted to make you pause and hopefully encourage you to ponder what was just said.

Ben (my co-intern, who is leading the study) and I were thrilled to welcome 16 people to the first meeting! Hooray!!!

A thought about celebrating large numbers: I was hesitant to express excitement over how many people have been showing interest in RUF this year because I have heard all my life that it's not about "numbers, nickels, and noise."But did that mean it was by extension wrong to BE excited about the high attendance even if I wasn't broadcasting it? I don't think so, and I don't think it's wrong to share my exuberance either. We are excited that we have the chance to impact so many students and that our community is able to spread and diversify! If it were to shrink we might consider what we need to change in the way of musical style, outreach methods, location, etc. What we will not change to gain numbers or for any other reason is our dependence and emphasis on the absolute truth and power of Scripture in every aspect of our ministry. Anything else is worth changing to bring God's Word to our students.

Speaking of numbers, over 100 people showed up for our second Large Group meeting, and many of them were new faces, praise the Lord! Chad preached from Acts 2:1-12, when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples at Pentecost, and they miraculously preached the Gospel in the languages of all the people there! I loved the parallel Chad drew between God speaking creation into being, announcing through angels that Christ was born, and proclaiming the Gospel through the disciples in languages that they didn't know before. Each time, God acted in an unforgettable way to make clear to His people that their God is present for them! The coming of the Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of God's people was every bit as much His presence with them as Jesus walking with the disciples in the flesh, and God wanted to make sure they knew it! I also love how this speaks personally to the disciples, who were missing Jesus and feeling abandoned by Him, but at the same time makes it clear to the non-Jews listening that they were to be included in His kingdom because the message was in their own languages! Ah me, the things you pick up when you look at a passage of Scripture for the 50th time :)

I said I would explain the reason for having only one official RUF small group this semester. It is due largely to our Servant Team, which is simply spectacular! Chad, Ben, and I realized (after much discussion and consideration) that small groups naturally exist among our students without our help! The whole point of them is to have small groups of people (hence the name) growing in relationship together, which is what they are doing! Our hope is to have students love one another personally (Hmmm...sounds familiar...second greatest commandment, maybe?), so instead of trying to invent topics to draw people together, we are encouraging the friend-groups that already exist on their own to be intentionally outward-focused. This way, the older students welcome in the new ones instead of becoming exclusive and cliquish, which would only damage our community. And so far it's working splendidly!

Please be praying for me as I strive to love these students well, and praise Him for continually teaching me about the extent of the influence of His love for me on my life!