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aalmike
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Name: Mike
Interests: Jesus, Basketball, Switchfoot, Lakers, Davis, California, Epic, meeting other 1/2 chinese, 1/6 Norwegian, 1/6 English, 1/6 German people like me.
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message me
Member Since:
12/15/2005
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| So the Staff Conference began today with a big carnival. It was a lot of fun. This next week Chip Ingram will be coming in to speak to all of us (about 5000 people). It is crazy to see all the people with different ministries like Jesus Film and Executive ministries and AIA and Campus Ministry come together and celebrate. CM 2007 must have been nuts because there were 4 times as many people there.
On monday Chris Tomlin is coming in to do a worship concert. I'm looking forward to hearing him live because I have never heard his stuff in concert before.
On Tuesday, CCC surprised us all by announcing that Switchfoot is coming to give us a special concert. How SWEET is that. Two concerts in a row, one with one of the best worship writers and singers of this generation, and the second with my favorite band.
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| Life is Good Today for new staff training was the day of outreach. Our lifegroup went to Flat Irons mall in Broomfield to do some sharing of the gospel. God poured out His blessings as two girls accepted Jesus into their hearts at Borders. Two girls in my lifegroup (Claire and Rosie) went in there to get away from the sun and sat down with these two high school girls that were just hanging out for the afternoon. They shared the gospel with them and God moved in their hearts as they decided to accept Him into their lives. Sweet deal!!!
As for me, I had the opportunity to share with a very interesting fellow named Chris. Chris opened up right at the get go and we talked about some controversial things. I was excited to hang out with this guy but a little worried for him at the same time. As me and the two other guys in my lifegroup (Ben and Kevin) introduced ourselves Chris began to open up.
As we sat down, Chris began telling us how he was trying to figure out if he should help (through financial means) his friend get an abortion. Chris believes that abortion is wrong, as do I but he also believes that friends are very important and need to be loved. His friend is not in a financial position to have a child or even go through a pregnancy because her job requires physical activity. For me, this was very eye opening. This was no longer about the issue of abortion but more about the tough situation of a human being. Suddenly, for me personally, the issue of abortion became less about life vs choice and more about the proper response as a Christian to this difficult situation.
How would Jesus respond? Ben did a great job of explaining to Chris how Jesus responded to people who were making decisions that were morally wrong. Jesus when approached by a sinful (probably prostitute) woman who desired to know Him in John chapter 8 said, "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." Jesus would not accept sin, but he accepted the woman as a human being.
As for Chris, we got to talk and dig deeper into his life and learn that he has gone through a lot. From dealing drugs, to his girlfriend having an abortion without him knowing, to being on probation, to turning to God and asking his parents for help and all this after only nineteen years of living. Crazy!! I thought he was thirty after hearing all of his stories. I was encouraged to talk to him yet worried for him as well. He has a difficult decision to make in regards to his friend. He needs to show grace but he needs to be truthful as well. So please pray for him and his friend who will be going through the abortion on tuesday if she decides to go through with it. It is such a tough issue to deal with and I am glad God brought the issue to the forefront for me. Abortion is no longer a black and white morality issue but more of an issue that has a personal and immense impact on many peoples lives.
As I checked my email today I had the privilege of getting some new pics of my nephew Caleb. He is such a precious little one and it really affirmed the beauty of life and how wonderful the Lord is. Here are some of the pictures of him and his father Matt (my brother).
I love the joy found in my brother in this shot. It reminds me of the Lord and how he truly feels in regards to us. We are His children
The joy in Caleb here as his father lifts him up is too sweet. I like the way Matt is holding him up high and softly yet firmly as if there is no way Caleb will be let go but there is no chance of him being crushed by Matt's hands.
Here is Laura holding the little guy who doesn't look too happy. This reminds me of how God is tender and loving even when our tears are flowing.
Contentment, joy, peace, satisfaction, carefree. They are present in both of their faces and that is a testament to how God feels towards us; and how when we understand the depths of His love, feel towards Him in response.
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| I finished my first seminary classes here at CSU. Sweet!! I get to send them in to Talbot School of Theology for a couple of credits. Who would have thought? It might be a good 10 years before I finish any sort of seminary schooling but it is nice to know that I am on my way. Its also nice to know that I actually did well. At UC Davis, I rarely did well. I did enough to pass, but never got A's. And that C in Dinosaurs is probably a scholastic low-point. But that was many years ago and Cs get Degrees.
Now comes the next stage of New Staff Training, learning about the ministry and all the detail things that I abhor. Today we had our first full day of training and it was hard for me. The talks were informative and engaging but it was just a lot to take in. Its hard for me to sit still for almost an entire work day. They did do a great job of teaching the importance of contextualized ministry and movements everywhere but by the time the 7th hour rolled around, my mind was starting to check out. These next couple of weeks might be more difficult then the classes of the first two weeks. After all the hard work of listening, I went and saw Transformers with Pav and Nalani. It was an entertaining summer movie, not particularly deep but it contained a lot of cool visuals and comedic moments.
I have been praying about Epic and look forward to seeing what Epic is like when I get to campus. God is moving in mighty ways at Davis and I look forward to seeing God change lives and expand His glorious kingdom.
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| Staff PlacementI'm out here at New Staff Training in Colorado and things are going well. I've met some cool new staffers over the past couple weeks, got to go camping on the Poudre river, and I have learned a lot about Doctrine and God's word. It has been a good yet tiring experience so far. Thankfully, the weekend is here so I am going to take the time to relax a little bit. Probably sleep in on Saturday, play some basketball and do a little studying for my final on Monday. I haven't taken a final since June 2004 so I wanna make sure I study hard.
This past Sunday I found out where I am going to be placed. The options were University of Hawaii, UC Davis, UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara. This was kinda funny because my brother went to Cal, my parents went to UCSB and I went to UC Davis. It was a rather simple ceremony. You pick up your envelope and then tell no one about it for a couple of hours. I picked mine up after dinner, walked outside, opened it up and read the contents. I called my parents a couple of hours later, then my brother and then did some homework. Then I called up Dave Lowe my old campus director and let him know. He already knew where I was headed so it was no big surprise to him but he was excited to have me coming back. So I'm heading back to UC Davis. I'm excited to be going back. I look forward to working with a new group of students and seeing where this next generation takes the Epic Movement. I must say over the past 5 years, God has proven to be faithful in so many ways to the movement. I'll try to give a little history of it someday on xanga. But for now, just know that from what I have seen, God showed up in a mighty way through Epic at Davis. I look forward to seeing how God continues to move through this wonderful ministry over the next couple of years.
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| NSTI am out in Colorado right now for New Staff Training. Time is flying by, its already been a week and I'm still meeting new people everyday. It is fun seeing people that I haven't seen in ages, and people that I met in the past but don't quite remember (although as an introvert it can be draining being around hundreds of people that I don't know). I have learned alot about the different ministries that people are joining. Some people are doing the Jesus film, some are going oversees long term, some are from foreign countries and are getting trained here at CSU, others are going into high school ministry, and others are doing Athletes in Action. My roomate Luke is involved in AIA, he played football at Purdue and is now is going to work at the AIA headquarters. I'm trying to become a morning person so it is good to have Luke around because he wakes up at 6:00 every morning and works out.
Anyways, Classes are way better then undergrad courses at Davis. Right now I am studying Doctrine Survey and Bible Study methods. It is hard work and a lot of reading but it all is very very interesting. I especially enjoy Doctrine survey because I am learning so much about different beliefs that different Christians hold along with CCC beliefs. The professors here are pretty dynamic (we sang a worship song to go with one of his lecture points, that never happens at UCD) and they are very much in love with the Lord.
I'll find out where I'll be place in the next couple weeks so I will probably post again when they tell me where I am headed. The options that they gave me are UCD, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and UH.
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