Reflections on the Evangelical Student Fellowship Retreat

This past weekend I was able to leave the city to go on a retreat with some of my faithful friends at PTS. It was hosted by the Evangelical Student Fellowship group and the theme was "What does it mean to be Evangelical?" More specifically "What does it mean to be Evangelical in light of the context of One Holy Catholic, Apostolic Church?" We were blessed to listen, think through, meditate, pray through and even apply what we were engaging in during our workshop time. Tim Baker and Matt Bell were our guest speakers. More than that, these faithful brothers in Christ helped us wrestle with and break through some of the barriers that we Christians face in a post modern world. They are post graduates of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and are both entrenched in their Ph.D. Studies in Patristics (the study of the writings of the church fathers). Their commitment to the Gospel and their burden for the church is obvious. This passion has led them to start the "Ancient Christian Faith Initiative." Their website is an interactive site or I guess it could be said that it's more of a resource for events,seminars and online classes. I highly recommend you take a look at the site and if possible take advantage of this awesome tool.

One of the most impacting truths I took away from this weekend was the reminder that we as Believers must hold together our deeply rooted traditions with our modern experiences. That is to say that being engaged in our world and culture should never come at the cost of letting go of or loosening the Biblical standards that we are called to. We can and should trust/submit to the teachings of God's word because God's word was entrusted to our Apostolic fathers. That and many subsequent works that offer rich understanding of the Bible by the ancient Christian fathers should be studied and learned. These sources have sustained time and the same truths laid out for Christians then, hold true for us all the more now.

One of the maladies that we discussed in the modern church was that of Inclusion. Inclusion is of course a loving and biblical concept. As we look at how Jesus extended himself to and cared for the marginalized, we know that that is something we then are called to do. We are instructed to care specifically for the widows and the orphans. Clearly we can look around our modern world and see the long withstanding tradition of caring for those who cannot care for themselves. We can observe that churches bring in people who are on the fringe. The early church was known for taking on "civic" reform and change just by obeying that command. They were doing things to care for the sick and for the elderly. It seems that some churches today are more concerned with not offending anyone or promoting the transforming work of the Gospel by discipling these very people who are clearly in need discipleship. In an effort to include and accept all, the church today neglects to practice authentic inclusion, which comes through instruction and truth. Of course these observations aren't to disparage our Brothers and Sisters in the Universal Church Body...but rather to identify ways to bring the intrinsic fuction of the Church back into the realm of our cultural climate.

These types of conversations matter. They matter especially to a room full of seminarians who are being equipped to go out into ministry...ministry in the church. We worked through some case studies and were able to draw truths from individual reflection and group discussion. What I appreciated most about these brothers who led us was that they care massively for the applications of these truths in ministry. We got to apply what we were talking about and lay hands on and pray for our brothers and sisters who were up against difficulties in the very Body of Christ. It was an encouraging and edifying time!

In my own personal meditation of everything we were learning, I had to praise God that He would affirm and confirm every foundational brick that He laid in my time being a part of FUSION (At New Hope Church). As the Matt and Tim emphasized the importance of Christian tradition and as they pointed us to the Gospel message on the Cross, I was brought to the FUSION mission statement which I had affixed to the back of my Bible. I was grateful to know that their is faithful teaching from Humble Pastors and teachers like Tim and Matt as well as my former Pastor Bryan McWhite, Pastor of Young adults at New Hope Church.I'll leave you with this from FUSION's Mission Statement:
The fusion community is a place for you to belong and to become.

We are committed to loving Christ and learning to live in his ways by hearing and doing his Word. We love modern worship and cultural engagement, but not at the expense of truly biblical teaching. We love to live in community, to invest in our small groups, and to serve the community together, but we want those things to flow out of a heart filled with God-exalting, joy-inspiring, love-producing biblical truth.

We're not about reinventing.
We're about rediscovering what has always been true.

I pray for the truth to grip the hearts of all church leaders today and to come.

Let's go Deeper!

The past couple of days have been challenging...rough actually. The awareness and the reality of my life here has taken hold and there are truly moments when the loneliness is palpable. I knew this was to be expected, I prayed over it as I thought about what the process of making friends looked like and what type of community I was going to step into. I also prayed over the ebb and flow that comes in the balancing act of managing a busy schedule. I did all these things knowing that inevitably these were areas that could possibly be a source of discouragement for me. Orientation and the first week of classes bombarded us with activity, serving as the impetus for connecting and getting to know people. That has been a wonderful experience...a blessed experience. I've visited some churches and attended some services and it's too early to tell where I'll land. I just keep entrusting that to the Lord to make it known to me. I trust in that implicitly.

Here's the thing, with classes already underway and routines being established, autonomy beckons. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but it opens the possibility of allowing for navel gazing. It's seems impossible to think that any of the connections made during the past week of Seminary Bootcamp, implies immediately established or sustaining intimacy, or to think that trust is guaranteed both on the giving end and the receiving end. To those who know me and know me well, I'm a person who can establish a rapport in a social setting. I do that pretty well. However, being the deeply relational person that I am (after all, I am made in the Likeness of God and He is indeed a relational God)I long to be understood, I long to be truly valued in the communal sense and through friendship. I long to do and be those very things as well. I know that it takes time, so I continually remind myself of that.

During Chapel last week, the preacher spoke about the dangers of putting people in a box. It's a dangerous thing to make snap judgements, it's a harmful thing to make comments based on one's perception of another (GOSSIP!). He warned that when we do this, we effectively contribute to the tearing away at or the hampering of the very Body of Christ. I was so encouraged by that message. It's a good reminder especially in light of a new school year beginning, new faculty and staff, new students, established students alike...we are all in a very real context for this truth to apply itself. It's human nature for us to label people. We do it to draw a big picture for ourselves...a picture that tells us how we relate to one another,all the while trying to discern where our own place exists on that landscape. It can serve an immediate purpose of putting a name to a face and a snap context...especially when you are learning 60-75 names, can be helpful! But the call to move beyond that is necessary. Just as quickly as we build up that structure or picture in our minds, we have to work just as diligently and intentionally to tear away at the layers. We must do this in order to get to the very heart, the very core of one another. We all have a story that lends itself to why we are who we are. Yet despite that, because of the certainty in the part of our identity that calls us sons and daughters of Christ Jesus, we have a jumping off point! I praise the Lord for that! That right there is comforting to me amid this process.

I hold fast to the love and faithfulness of our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the whisperings of the Holy Spirit as He guides me, invites me to trust in Him and to be still before God. I do this knowing that there is no trial, no suffering greater than the suffering our Savior faced when He was abandoned and left violently alone to face the wrath of God for OUR sins. He did this so that we could know more thoroughly God's love for us. And in that love I can know with certainty that God's Grace is indeed sufficient!

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Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ that have stepped out in an act of obedient faith to follow you to this place of refining. We know that in your Sovereignty and in your Kingdom, we have a place. May we rest in that and allow peace to reside in us as we seek after you more deeply in study so that we could be more effective for your Kingdom work. Most of all I pray that in all that we do, it would be for YOUR Glory sake. May your very words stay close to our hearts and may your words be ever sweet to our weary bodies, thirsty spirits and our lonely hearts. May we find refuge in your unwavering faithfulness to us and may we cherish more and more the sufficiency of your Amazing Grace!

In the Name of Jesus we pray...Amen.

The Big Move to Pittsburgh

It's hard to believe that the time has already come for me to start my studies at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary! In some ways, this new chapter in my life has been a long time coming and in other ways, it's come up way too quickly for me to even wrap my mind around! I took my time driving out here. I set no agenda for myself, stopping when I wanted to stop and driving for as long as I wanted. At my pace, I made it to Pittsburgh in two days! If I'm being honest, I think in some ways I was delaying the process because it was ridiculously difficult to say good bye to dear friends, family and co workers.

Settling into my new studio apartment has taken some getting used to. No complaints of course, but it has been a while since I've had contend with the noises and sounds of a bustling city, neighbors and the likes of heavy doors opening and slamming shut. On the one hand there's that, but on the other, I have a network of people to share in this living experience! I have even benefitted from the kindness of my upstairs neighbor. In passing conversation, it was brought up that I had no furniture. I knew I would have to haul my stuff by myself so I have opted to slowly invest and build up a collection over time. One purchase that I mentioned was on the top of my list is a bed. From that mention came her offer for me to borrow a futon matress she was not using. I had spent the first three nights on the floor and so this was a much welcomed gesture...especially after having to move all of my stuff alone! Did I mention I had to move my stuff all by myself???? Okay enough with the pity party right. My place is starting to feel like home. I would say that the bulk of my boxes and bins were full of kitchen ware, appliances, dish and glassware as well as an extensive collection of spices and pantry mainstays. I may not have a couch, I don't have a TV or an extensive shelving system, but my kitchen stuff is neatly put away!!! I've already cooked a few meals and have even baked cookies in my cute little kitchen.

Lastly I wanted to mention that I am in need of prayers! The realization that I'll be studying under a world class faculty is exciting, but daunting. I'm having a hard time disassociating my undergrad experience to the one I'm about to begin. I just ask that you would pray for me to have a deep dependcance on the Lord for strength in order that I may honor Him during my time of studying. During Orientation, it was mentioned a few times that although grades are a big component of our education, getting perfect grades is not the end all be all of this experience. This school is very passionate about producing pastors but in the same breath, their commitment to academic excellence is not matched by many other Seminaries. School came easy to me growing up and I developed some lazy study habits. It wasn't until my last year of my Undergrad that I felt like I broke the bulk of them. I realize that seminary is completely different in terms of the nature of the course work and the fact that I get to engage daily in Theology and eventually come out conformed to be more like Christ through this transforming experience. I know this to be truth, but that doesn't mean that I'm not struck with the weight of this responsibility and gift! Afterall, this is meant to equip me to pastor God's people in vocational ministry one day! So, if you could just be praying this for me as I'm ramping up to start classes, I would be most grateful.

My address is 700 N. Highland Ave. Apt.# 311, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Please feel free to send notes and cards! I'll need the encouragement! Since I know that some of you are already wanting to send care packages...God Bless you for that! Please send it to my school mailbox to ensure safe delivery. That address is 616 N. Highland Ave. Box# 67, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

I love you all and I miss you more than I can even express. Thank you for your prayers and all the well wishes at each turn of this adventure!

Blessings upon blessings...
MEL
P.S. Yes, I did take this picture, with my lame, stone aged digital camera and I still got skills so those of you that I know are gonna give me a hard time about my camera...can suck it!!! :)