You Are Not Your Ministry.

One of the things I've wrestled with for as long as I can remember is an answer to the question, who am I?

I just caught the title of an article on churchleaders.com called "You Are Not Your Ministry." That single five word sentence is like the theme of 2011, and my first full year in ministry.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

I know some things about you:

I know that you are not your art.
I know that you are not your church.
You are not your technical expertise, or lack thereof.
You are not your voice, even though people love it when you’re on stage.
You are not what your authority figures believe about you.
You are not your blog posts, or your readers’ insane responses.
You are not your Twitter count, or your Facebook friend total.
You are not your impact.
You are not your successes, and you are not your failures.
You are not that thing in your life that didn’t work out.
You are not that thing in your life that worked perfectly.

But I also know this about you:

I know that in Christ, you are a child of God.

My friends, there will come a day when you no longer create art. There will come a day when the software you use is no longer in existence. There will come a day when you no longer serve in that church, in that ministry. There will come a day when he’s no longer your boss, and they’re no longer your Elder Board. There will come a day when you quit blogging, and when people put Twitter and eight-track tapes in the same category. There will even come a day when your impact wains.

But there will never, ever come a day when you stop being a child of God.

Read the full article here.

TCX Theme: Fused?

Every January, a team of Cru student leaders from around the region gathers in Minneapolis to carefully select the theme for the next TCX conference. Last January, the students selected the word "Fused" - adding a reference to John 15, when Jesus talks about being the vine. Each session, the speakers made references to what happens when we abide in Christ, and stay connect to the vine.

Crawford Loritts, a pastor from Atlanta, spoke of our responsibility to pass along what we've learned. "Our walk with God is not just about us. Branches do not eat the fruit they produce." Tom Henderson, a pastor from Sioux Falls, spoke of the correlation between remaining fused to the vine amidst wrestling with deep sins in our lives.

Those are just a few of the connections made as students were encouraged and challenged to live a life that is fused to Christ.

TCX: looking back

Christmas has come and gone - and so has TCX. As this new year begins, I can't help but think back to my experiences at past TCX conferences.

In 2004, I was a new believer, and learned about what it meant to follow Christ in the midst of a broken world.

In 2005, I learned about the holiness of God - the I AM that had spoken to Moses and so many others had called me to live a life of holiness, too.

In 2006, I felt the Lord prompt me to commit a year of my life to full-time ministry, unsure of how or when or where that would be. I knew why - to make disciples of all nations, as commanded in Matthew 28.

In 2007, with graduation looming, I came to a crossroad. Would I take the first steps in following through on last years' contract to give a year of my life in ministry? I went to a seminar on transitioning from college to staff life, and afterward I ended up sitting down with my now boss, Steve, the Director of Operations in our region, and a team member, Erika, who I'd worked with before on some projects. As they explained about the team, and opportunities to serve in Minneapolis, I became even more interested.

4 years later, here I am - in Minneapolis, working with Steve and Erika on the Operations team, serving staff and students around the region and around the world!