By Erna Kim Hackett
How does having kids affect your perspective of stepping out in APE ministry? I grew up in the Korean immigrant church where male pastors ( always married, always with three kids) worked remarkably long hours for the church. Often travelling and leaving their wife and kids at home for the sake of the ministry. I would say, often neglecting their children, with the justification that they were doing God’s work.
Photo Courtesy of Ben Heine (cc)
Technological breakthroughs coupled with the ever-connected global village have birthed a generation that sees the world differently. Millennials are a beautiful generation that is highly creative! Creatives are everywhere — especially in the university context. I believe there are more opportunities now for creatives to express themselves than ever before!
Hate to say it but we wont have a post up until wednesday. I am heading out to Catalina Island for our InterVarsity Regional Conference and will have absolutely no wifi until Tuesday night. My other friends on the blog are busy doing stuff all around the world so I don’t have any posts to load at this point either.
So I guess we can see this as little resting and reflecting point.
In the mean time answer these questions for me in the comments. If you would rather privately tell me, then email me please. Your feedback is important for this blog to serve us all best.
What kinds of things (topics, styles, etc) have you enjoyed on the blog?
What kinds of things do you wish we had more of?
Also here are the five most popular posts, in order, the last quarter incase you have missed them and want to get caught up!
Have a great few days and thanks so much for reading this blog and contributing by commenting and sharing!
By Steve Stuckey
Steve is a spiritual director with InterVarsity in Southern California. He writes here on this blog to foster spiritual formation for us catalytic leaders. Our hope is to create some space online to not only stir you up to be an APE leader but also help you connect with God well in your soul. He has developed many APE leaders and knows what our strengths as well as struggles are.
[This post is part of a series called Rooted. Find the other posts here]
His name means El is Yah or God is Yahweh. His job was to confront false religion, clear out the pantheon, and call a recalcitrant people back to their roots. He performed his dangerous task with authority, humility, and humor. Like Moses he had a twin peak experience in life—two high points with a valley in between. (Read 1 Kings 17-19 and view this artistic study). Learning to navigate that type of spiritual geography is an important task for any follower of Jesus, especially for apostles, prophets and evangelists.
Anna M. Jarvis
By James Choung
Mother’s Day often reminds me of sentimentalities like carnations, brunches, and heart-shaped chocolate. But did you know that the day is rooted in faith and justice?
This American holiday is a relatively new one. By 1861, Julia Ward Howe was already famous for her Civil War song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” But during the twelve years after writing that song, she witnessed the horrible carnage of that war. And it got to her. She was already an activist who fought for a woman’s right to vote. So she took one more step: she called for a day that would honor peace and motherhood in her Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1870. Here’s an excerpt:
By Beau Crosetto
Often times when we think about getting some solitude we think about getting some free space to do our own thing. We just need that hour to unwind, relax and catch our breath. But this is not what solitude is at all.
The last two days I took a retreat with a few of my friends to step back and reflect on the year and how God has been moving.
I love these times because it gives me a chance to soak up all that God has been up to and not just move on. It also allows me to address problem areas with him and let him shape me more into his image.
One of the things I did on this retreat is re-read through Henri Nouwen’s great book The Way of the Heart
The first part of the book is all about solitude and just what it really is. Here is a great quote from the book that struck me.
I cant help but think about what it means to be a neighbor as I watch this Ohio Case unfold.
If you have been in a cave the last few days, three women have been held captive in a house for 10 years and none of the neighbors knew. the details that are leaking out are just horrible.
But what is interesting to me is the neighbor that found them and rescued them. His interview is below and it is great (this is the recent one by Anderson Cooper).
By Steve Stuckey
[This post is part of a series called Rooted. Find the other posts here]
“Wow! What a weekend,” Bill said. “I was up till 2:00am on Thursday night arranging rides for the conference. I woke early Friday morning with a call that one of our seminar leaders was sick and would not be able to make it. Between trying to find a replacement, complete my own seminar, and pack my car with musical equipment, I was tired before I ever reached the dock for our 5:00pm departure to Campus by the Sea. But once on the boat with all the students, the adrenaline kicked in and I was fine. I had a great conversation with a new student on the ride over. My Friday night presentation went well. Students told me how much they appreciated what I had to say and that encouraged me. The next two days were filled with transforming conversations over meals, great worship times, basketball with fellow staff in the afternoon, and a prayer session lasting late into the night. Though I got only five or six hours of sleep each night, I didn’t feel all that tired. The energy of the group and a lot of strong coffee carried me along. So much kingdom work was getting done in such a short time. But then on the boat ride home Sunday afternoon, I noticed that my head hurt and I was starting to feel a little sad. I had worked on the conference for four weeks. It was a fantastic success with numerous students deciding to follow Jesus. But it was coming to an end.”
[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]
By Sarah Carter
One of the most intriguing windows into John the Baptist’s heart is found in Matthew 11 (or Luke 7) as he sits in jail, his life close to its end. Something about this conversation between Jesus and John speaks deeply to the places of doubt and misunderstanding in my own life, particularly in the prophetic or apostolic risks I have stepped into.
In the story, John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus an important question: “Are you the one who is to come,or should we expect someone else?” This inquiry seems bold in its skepticism, or perhaps disappointment. Without assuming John’s attitude behind such a question, it’s safe to say he was struggling with some serious uncertainty about Jesus’ identity. Maybe it was the lack of fire baptisms, threshing, and chaff burning…basically any judgment in general (Matt. 3:12). Maybe it was tinged with a little more self-interest or even entitlement as John rotted in jail (could you help a ‘cuz out?)
Beau Crosetto
James Choung
Erna Kim Hackett
JR Woodward
Grace Biskie
Jon Hietbrink
Dave Ferguson
Linson Daniel
Eric & Stacy Rafferty
Sarah Carter
Shawn Young
Luke Cawley
Chris Nichols
Brad Brisco
Steve Stuckey
