Hi, hello, greetings, cheers!
Life consists of...rhythms. Wake up. Brush teeth. Put on clothes. Drive somewhere. Do stuff. Drive back. Take off clothes. Brush teeth. Go to sleep. For many of us...these rhythms are important because, in a way, they enable us to do the things we need to do in order to get going on with life. These rhythms, for a lot of us, are mindless...monotonous...routine. But, as soon as this rhythm is messed up or shaken, we immediately notice and do everything in place to get back on our rhythms.
Campus ministry has a rhythm to it. It has a certain routine and cadence about it. I used to think that campus ministry was unique in its rhythm, but, it really isn't. Much of life is rhythmic and, one would say that this rhythm is even instilled in creation through the seasons, calendar, and even the rotation of the earth. Here's a question: can something seemingly predictable still be sacred and holy?
This question was on my mind because...going into winter camp if I'm being honest, it felt like another event - another activity - another thing to do. Now, winter camp is arguably our most anticipated and exciting event of the year, as it should be, but, for some reason, it didn't have the excitement that it had in previous years for me.
Don't get me wrong, winter camp was awesome! Our students arrived safely, the sessions were awesome, the free-time was well spent, the walk & talks were great, but, still, I sensed that something was different.
I had several students inform me that camp was life-changing, God spoke a particular message to them, and that they are ready to come back to campus and impact the people around them. Half-way through the weekend I was struck with this realization: even though it feels like we may be going through another rhythm, or going through the motions of an event, or even sensing the predictability of life...God is still at work.
We're often tempted to take credit when it is beneficial, assign blame when it isn't, remember our successes while dismissing our failures. When this gets old we may have moments of boredom or confusion. I think that maybe I went into camp with pride and arrogance expecting it to be awesome because of how good I am. But, camp is always only good because of how good God is.
As the Psalmist reminds us:
"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." (Psalm 127:1) // I pray that we would be aware of the rhythms that we are in and that we would stay present in them. They are not mindless and they are not pointless. God is working in them!
Enjoy the pictures, my friends:
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| Our Richland FOCUS ministry! These students have been such a blessing in my life and I love that I get to see them pursue Christ with each other! |
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| One of my favorite students in our Richland ministry is Jacob. (see student with Saxophone) He is an extremely talented Saxophone player and I LOVED getting to see him play it (even if it was towards the back of the room). Jacob is great! |
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| We had our first Thursday Night Thunder of the year and it went great! Thankful for each and every one of these students. |
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| All of our FOCUS Campuses! Thank you so much for making this winter camp a success! |
Thank you so much for your support and for believing in our mission to make disciples on God's college campuses :) I'm blown away that I get to have such an awesome team supporting me as we build his kingdom here on earth! :)
Your brother & campus missionary,
Sirak
