Merry Christmas

Well this Christmas break has been a much needed refresher for me. Although the traveling and buying gifts tends to wear us down, there is something about the day itself that is refreshing.

I hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating with your family, and you all remember the real reason for the season. I will leave this video from our last synergy, our Christmas gathering, for your enjoyment:

Graduation!

Well it has been an amazing ride, but my sixteen years of schooling has come to an end. This December I graduated with a degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky.

While the degree is impressive and I spent thousands of dollars to get it in this world where a college degree is essentially necessary. However, I can confidently say my education in political science is not the most valuable thing I've learned.

While I had heard it said many times before I got to college that I would learn as much outside of the classroom as inside. I definitely found that to be true. There and while being at CSF, I have developed a special passion for Jesus, and that's far more valuable than any degree.

Now that I have graduated, I will be going back to campus to be a missionary on campus by working at CSF and pouring into the lives of students. Thank you all for your support during this and even before throughout my entire life. It has meant a lot.

Christmas Synergy

Last night we had our special Christmas Synergy--the last Synergy of the semester. It also happened to be the largest Synergy as 615 college students packed into the CSF building. It was a very different synergy, as we were joined by our Community Leaders--the older community people who come to CSF to help disciple leaders in our "Core Groups"--and showed them our appreciation. We also heard from the "Black Voices", a campus gospel choir that has become a mainstay in the CSF Christmas synergy.

Along with the wonderful Christmas music we heard, we were pleased to have Mike Breaux deliver a powerful message and sang by candlelight, as shown above. And I will leave you with this wonderful little clip (which we showed last night as well) from one of my favorite theologians about the true meaning of Christmas.

Gospel of Luke CSF Group

Today was the final meeting that my CSF group met to study the gospel of Luke. A CSF group (formally named growth groups) are basically small groups designed to learn more about God while getting students more plugged into the ministry. These are certainly the best way to meet people and get to known CSF'ers in a personal way.

This particular study was an in-depth look at the Gospel of Luke, led by myself and CSF leader Aaron Northcutt. We generally had about ten or so students who would come to discuss the two or three chapters we were studying for the week.

Luke is also the author of the sequel to his gospel, "Acts". The book is a very historical look at the "man" part of Jesus, while certainly not erasing his deity. It follows Jesus' teachings and focuses on the difficulty of following Christ. Reading Luke 9 was especially convicting for our group as we read the costs of following Christ. I encourage you all to study the gospel of Luke and follow the man who was also God.

Synergy

Every Thursday at about 8 PM, CSF hosts Synergy--its weekly worship service. On a normal week we will have nearly 500 college students join us as we worship and hear a sermon from one of the many teaching pastors we have at our disposal. CSF is blessed to hear from some of the top teaching pastors around including CSF campus pastors Brian Marshall, Jeremy Buchanon and Matt Dampier, along with others such as Southland Pastors Dan Hamel and Jon Weece, and Heartland Community (Chicago, IL) pastor Mike Breaux.

Normally, we begin the night with a time of worship (as seen in the video above), then the teaching, then more worship. Our most recent sermon series was called "The Elephant in the Church", in which we focused on major topics that can often be ignored by the church: Sex (Matt Dampier), Money (Dan Hamel), Doubt (Brian Marshall) and Suffering (Jeremy Buchanon). This was an amazing series and you can listen to the audio of these talks here or find "UK CSF Synergy Podcasts" on the iTunes store.

Unearthed

Tony Anderson is definitely a friend of CSF. He helps lead a core discipleship group of CSF leaders and has been to Synergy and Shift multiple times to speak. He also founded and runs a non-profit based here in Lexington known as "Unearthed." Unearthed is focused on fighting a worldwide problem of human injustice--sex trafficking. Many believe that sex trafficking is only a problem overseas or not in America, or that we don't effect the sex trade, but that is not accurate. 

Tony and his friends at Unearthed are constantly fighting against the sexual brokenness of this world and are living out the Gospel by caring for those in need. 

Please check out this short but powerful video called "Jacob's Story" from Unearthed. You don't want to miss it. 

Prayer Night

One of my roles at CSF is leading "prayer night" each week. Myself along with a couple other staff members meet and plan this "prayer night", that each week consists of a small teaching on prayer, individual prayer time and a group prayer time. Sometimes as many as 30 people join us at 8 PM to simply pray together.

At CSF, we want to be a ministry rooted in prayer and allow prayer to lead the ministry. 

This week, I taught on "Spiritual Warfare" and how each day and each prayer is a constant battle. Here is the talk I gave.

We can all think of multiple reasons for prayer. We praise and worship, we ask for things, we confess our sins, we improve our relationship with God—but there is one reason that I think is often left out of those lists—Spiritual Warfare. 

One thing that is often forgotten is that there is a very real battle going on for our soul. Both sides are trying to get a foothold on our lives and invade our thoughts and become our master and Lord. 

 It seems today in America, there is a certain Biblical illiteracy, one that leaves us believing that there is no such thing as real demons here on earth. Yet that doesn’t line up with the New Testament. That doesn’t line up with Jesus’ teachings.

Shockingly, nearly 60% of people who proclaim to be Christians in America don’t actually believe in a literal Satan, just that he is a symbol of evil. Somehow, 30% of Christians (in other words, someone who claims to believe in the Bible) say that a person can not be under any type of spiritual influence, such as a demon or the Holy Spirit. 

The New Testament was written in historical style and we should believe that Jesus really does cast out and warn us against demons. In light of that, it’s something we should give careful attention to.

Paul was not just writing for his health when he wrote: Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:11-12)  

This is a real battle. The world likes to paint this picture that our struggle is against flesh and blood. It is a battle going on that our senses don’t always detect. This is the important battle. There is nothing in the material world that can compare to this battle. This is the only armor that can protect us. 

So what’s their strategy against us and what should be our strategy for them? How do we defeat     them? CS Lewis offers some wisdom as usual.

One of CS Lewis’ most famous works is the Screwtape Letters. It is a fictional work in which a older, wiser demon “Screwtape” is writing to his nephew “Wormwood” and giving him advice on how to attack his “patient”. Of course, since it is demons doing the talking, “enemy” refers to God and “master” to the devil. The “patient” is a human subject…or us. I think this particular letter perfectly illustrates what we face in America today. Perfect illustration of spiritual warfare. 

“My Dear Wormwood,

I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves. Of course this has not always been so. We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism and we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics.” Interesting differences in America and Haiti or Africa—no materialists or skeptics in Africa. When we compare the two, it makes CS Lewis’ idea of the demon’s strategy much more real and vivid and how it can vary. There is clearly a spiritual realm.
 “I do not think you will have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark. The fact that "devils" are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing them) he therefore cannot believe in you.” 

Well, that complicates things a bit. Not only do we have an evil spiritual realm that is in a constant state of attacking us, but one that is trying to conceal itself and do it in secret.

We live in a world that tells us that seeing is believing. Devils are characterized with red horns and a pitchfork. People dress up like the devil for a Halloween part just like they might for any other fictional character. 

So how do we defeat this—prayer.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

All of these are things we get through prayer. Truth, righteousness, readiness from the gospel, faith, salvation and the word of God. In other words, THIS IS NOT A PHYSICAL BATTLE. It is a spiritual battle and our best battle plan is to pray to the one who can defeat it all. 

And right after Paul wrote that last section about spiritual warfare to end the book of Ephesians, he writes: And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 

He uses the word “pray” “prayer” or “Prayers” 5 times in three verses. He understood the power of prayer and its usefulness in the battle against the real enemy.
Back to Screwtape…
“Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated… “ 

Through prayer, we can defeat a powerful enemy who has many powerful schemes and strategies at his disposal. But God has given us a way to defeat the enemy. And that is through our prayers. 

So that’s it, right? We just bow our head, close our eyes and start praying and we win? Not exactly. The enemy can be in a constant state of attack and divert your attention elsewhere during prayer.
“Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing. When they meant to pray for courage, let them really be trying to feel brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.”And he goes on a little bit later… 

“I have known cases where what the patient called his "God" was actually located—up and to the left at the corner of the bedroom ceiling, or inside his own head, or in a crucifix on the wall. But whatever the nature of the composite object, you must keep him praying to it—to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him.” 

As Screwtape says earlier in the letter, “when the patient (THAT’S US) is attending to the Enemy (THAT’S GOD) we are defeated…” 

But as Screwtape notes: the demons will do whatever necessary to make sure that doesn’t happen. Even if that’s sitting down and “praying” a completely empty prayer or letting our minds wonder elsewhere. They always find a way. 

This is why spiritual warfare is important. If you’ve ever prayer with Pastor Tim, you know he starts out every prayer: I pray the blood of Jesus over this time of prayer. I pray that only your spirit, oh God, will come close and prosper.” 

The name of Jesus has power against the dark forces we may come against.
Philippians 2
“ …that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”   “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” John 16:23 

We are constantly being attacked. And this is how we wage battle. This week, practice spiritual warfare in your prayer lives. In the journals, write down areas in your life that you think the enemy could have gotten a foothold in. Maybe it is your prayer life. Ponder on it and write down ways in which you can do battle against that.

David Bentley Hart at CSF

On Wednesday night, CSF had a special treat when David Bentley Hart joined us to talk about Atheism's Debt to Christianity. Dr. Hart is one of the most distinguished theologians of his time and was recently given the Ramsey Award (given every two years for the most substantive work on theology) for his book Atheist Delusions.

Joined by a packed house of over 450, Dr. Hart gave a talk entitled "Atheism's Debt to Christianity: How the Christian Revolution has Shaped the Modern World (and why we should all be thankful)."

Dr. Hart's talk was certainly interested as her focused on how Christian history has shaped modern atheism and there would be no modern atheist without the Christian revolution. After his talk, Dr. Hart took questions from the audience. His doctorate in Philosophy certain showed itself here. One of the highlights of the night came in the final question when Dr. Hart was asked: "How can you believe all this stuff? Virgin birth, resurrection...you seem like a smart guy, how can you believe it?"

Dr. Hart quickly pointed out the logical faults in the young man's argument, saying: "If my philosophical conclusions lead me to a supernatural God (which they do), then for me to believe in the supernatural (i.e. resurrection and the virgin birth) is the logical conclusion."

All in all, the talk went over many of our heads. However, one thing we learned--extremely intelligent people believe in Christianity because that is where the evidence points them. It certainly helped reenforce my faith.

Building Like Water

CSF has been gifted with some amazing gifts. One such gifts is its building. Thousands of people come through CSF doors throughout a semester. We try to be the best stewards of the gifts God has given us and want to provide a welcoming place where people can come and hang out and worship and grow together. Here are some pictures of our building.

What is CSF?

Christian Student Fellowship (or CSF) is the largest campus ministry in the nation. We are called to reach campus in a special way. There is a campus minister, our own building and close to twenty staff members. But I feel as if I couldn't describe this place any better than what is on our website:

CSF is a non-denominational campus ministry on UK’s campus. CSF isn’t a place. CSF isn’t a program. CSF is everywhere on campus- although we do have a building where we sometimes hang out. It’s a million different places and a million different people. It’s downtown serving the homeless. Climbing at the Johnson Center. A conversation about Jesus 'til 2am. It’s wherever people are interacting with each other and with God. 

Old staff. Young staff. Student Leaders. Campus. This is how CSF reaches out to campus. 

CSF is mainly staffed by recent graduates of UK who give the first year or two years post-graduation to giving back to the UK community by working full time at CSF. 

We have a few ‘older’ people who serve as long-term staff that help guide and invest into these younger staff members. The staff then pours into our student leaders who then pour into campus. 

CSF does 150+ unique events during the year designed to connect with people at UK- this is on top of all the weekly small groups we do all across campus! 

CSF is supported by the generosity of random people (like you) who want to see students come to know and experience the good love and good life of Jesus. 

Baptisms at CSF

At CSF we are often known for our huge parties and the world's largest water balloon fight. But the real heart of CSF is making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Over the last two weeks, we have had ten students make the decision to be a disciple of Christ and be baptized at our Thursday night worship service known as "Synergy" and our Fall Retreat in Ohio. It is encouraging to see students make these decisions and is evidence of the good CSF is doing on campus, which is refreshing to see for us who work and serve there often.

Christian Student Fellowship

At the end of this last August, my Campus Ministry had a water balloon fight. That probably doesn't surprise you, but it might surprise you to find that there were about 9,000 people at our water balloon fight. At Christian Student Fellowship at the University of Kentucky, we have a pretty large audience.

Fortunately though, we don't stop there. At CSF, we are striving to get every one of those people involved in a CSF group (i.e. a Bible Study). And hopefully, we can have a little fun along the way. Because we believe the Kingdom of Heaven is like a party...so why not bring the Kingdom to earth now?

I will officially be coming on staff this December, but as a student I am currently still on staff roles, including a leader of our pancakes ministry, prayer night, on campus promotions, as well as leading a Bible study over Luke and a small group discipleship group (includes Bible Study and accountability) called a core group.

Here on this blog, I will keep you updated on everything going on here, as well as how God is using me in it all. And at CSF, we honestly believe is we can change the campus, we can change the world.