Thoughts from "Leaders That Last"

Over the next few days, I want to share several key thoughts from a book I recently spent time at the suggestion of a student at AU.  Whenever a student recommends a book, several thoughts go through my mind, but at this recommendation, I immediately ordered the book and read through it this past weekend.  The book is "Leaders That Last" by Dave Kraft.  Kraft has incredible wisdom to share and I just want to unpack a couple of thoughts in a couple different blog posts.

Right out the gate, Kraft shares a prayer of his that stirred my soul - he writes, "Make me a person who leaves footprints in people's lives.  I don't want to be a person who comes and goes with no lasting impact. Because of contact with me, may people never be the same again.  May I be a person who intentionally and lasting influences others" (p. 41).

This prayer resonated with me and it is in fact the prayer of my heart.  When God called me into the ministry, I was in between my Sophomore and Junior year at UGA and I had no idea what that meant or what it looked like.  Naturally, I connected it with those I knew best who were in ministry and at that time one of my mentors was a traveling worship leader and so I was around him and traveling evangelists or itinerant preachers.  To make a long story short, I went to seminary thinking, I am going to be a traveling evangelist, even though I hadn't preached but a handful of times and I really didn't know what it meant.  Over time and through FUGE camps, God really began to change my heart (not that all itinerant evangelists need a change of heart) - He called me to college ministry and really making disciples in the college context.  This meant living life with college students and investing in them for the short amount of time we have.

As I wake each day, I pray that God would continue to stir in me the passion to make disciples as Jesus calls us to, and that my life would not be about numbers or about status or about job positions, but that it would truly be about leaving footprints in people's lives and seeing LIFE CHANGE.  See, the thing about the life change is that in my flesh there is no power to change anyone's life.  But CHRIST in me, can change anyone's life and that is my job to intentionally show Christ and allow Christ to live His life through me so that people are changed.  As we do this, disciples multiply and in people's lives we see lasting influence.  This is what Paul writes about in 2 Cor. 3 - Christ through him has impacted the Corinthians and changed their lives!  This is our mission and the ministry to which we are all called.  As a leader of college students, it then also becomes my duty to seek leaders who are dissatisfied with the status quo and watch God radically change their lives as well!  To GOD be the glory!

Prayer

The last few days have been intense, interesting, and simply exhausting.  Last Thursday night at BCM, we continued our study through the book of Colossians, and it was a joy to study and teach about the ministry God entrusted to Paul and how he prayed so earnestly for people he never even met yet people who he loved dearly.  He had heard about them and he cared for them, so he petitioned God on their behalf even in the midst of his struggles.  

On Friday morning, a member of our campus community became very ill and over the course of the weekend, his condition deteriorated.  Today he lays in the hospital and no one knows what to do.  What the students have been doing, however, is praying.  Saturday evening, a group of students invited me to a time of prayer in the student's dorm room and they petitioned God on the student's behalf.  They cried out for healing, but the most important and most consistent prayer was for God's glory in the entire situation.  Students recited Scripture and prayed that God would heal, that God would comfort the family, and they prayed that God would receive glory.  I was floored to hear such prayers, yet I was so encouraged by their faith in Jesus.

On Sunday evening, we had a larger gathering to pray for the student.  Student after student prayed and talked to the God of this universe and petitioned that He might heal this ill student.  Again, I was amazed at the prayers of these students crying out to God and begging for Him to move.  Yet the agreement in faith was:  HE IS MIGHTY TO HEAL, but HIS WILL NOT OURS.  In the midst of brokenness, sadness, and sickness, students honestly crying out to their creator - God do what you want - we want you to heal, but if not, may you STILL be glorified in all.  It was an incredible time to share with students and a time where I was reminded of how awesome it is to live life with these students.  

We are still praying for the student to be healed, but my prayers have also shifted to - Lord, may our campus see a revival, may students pursue You Lord like never before, may they truly desire to see your glory in every situation.  May we cry out and petition you for the salvation of those who do not know you.  Oh, how incredible it would be, to see students continue in their desperation for the Spirit of God in all things.  I ran across the video last Feb. and I was reminded of it today, and I thought I would share it.  May we be like Paul and pray diligently and faithfully for people!

First Thoughts

Well the time has finally come for me to have some sort of outlet to share some thoughts.  As time passes, hopefully I will have time to share thoughts on theology, ministry, college students, and other topics that seem to arouse a thought on any given day.

My only thought today is that when I look back to this original post, I want to look back and see that I posted about something meaningful to me and the ministry God has entrusted to me.  To sum it up in a quick word, God has called me to Anderson University for this season of life to make collegiate disciple-makers.  When I look back on the ministry at AU, whether that be months or years down the road, I pray that the ministry at AU is known more for multiplying disciples and sending them out to impact the nations than for simply gathering large numbers of people into a building so we can write stats down on a report.  At AU BCM we cling to both the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 4:19 and the Great Commission in Matthew 28.  I am still struggling through what this exactly looks like on our campus, but just because I might not know exactly what it looks like or how to always implement it, my focus cannot change.  I just pray that as I engage the campus community with the Word of God and as we invest in the lives of students, that Jesus matures believers to the point that they can begin to spiritually reproduce.  Everything we do as a ministry with the BCM then needs to be filtered through theses same strategic lenses.  Does this help believers mature and equip them to multiply?  Are we inviting people to follow Jesus?  Are we intentionally fishing for men?  Does this truly help us make disciples?