Brerah

Jealousy?

That's right. Two in one day.

So if you don't know, I'm working at Vanderbilt for a campus ministry, called RUF. We are a part of the Presbyterian Church in America . We're a fairly insignificant denomination on a national scale, but we are growing, and many people seem to love our churches. Likewise, RUF is now on over 100 campuses, which numerically is fairly insignificant when compared to other campus ministries, but we believe that we are doing a great thing in bringing the gospel to students where we serve.

At Vanderbilt, RUF has a rich tradition of having many good campus ministers and we have enjoyed a fairly successful ministry here, if that is really measurable?? Recently, another campus ministry has made a big push to make a 'comeback' on campus, and I am beginning to see their influence more and more. They are making a big push with freshmen, and with people that would be considered 'leaders' in most peoples eyes. I feel like that I am in a wierd place because on one hand I want to say, "Good luck" and I want to mean it. On the other hand, I am really not too convinced of their methods of doing ministry. I believe that they treat people as projects rather than people, and its generally pretty hard for me to support that kind of approach. So what do I do? I talk to many students who are meeting with the leaders of this other ministry much as I do.

I wonder what the other leaders are telling the students? I tend to think of our approach as bringing the gospel to the students wherever they are, and this can look many different ways. Sometimes this might mean that hanging out might be the best thing, and many times it means that we have to take a deep look at someone's life and their sin and have very difficult conversations. It just depends. I think this is what Jesus would do, and so do many other people who are involved with RUF. We tend to focus on 'being' and not so much 'doing.' But doing is the natural inclination of our hearts. We all tend toward legalism because it makes us feel like we can earn it, and do it before God. It makes us feel good about ourselves. But it is not the gospel. The gospel tells us to give up on our own efforts, and trust Christ because we can't do it. Jesus doesn't bring a 5 week plan to discipleship, he brings grace and the Word to our real lives. This is hard.

Any suggestions?

posted by corbs @ 12:14 PM