I feel like a senior again

This time 11 years ago, I was in 8th grade, and thinking about where I was going to go to high school the next year. I was in the Cesar Chavez zone, but wanted to go to South Mountain because it was closer and it was a black school, while Chavez was a Mexican school (you probably didn’t know 8th grade Jason, and you should count that as one of your blessings). I eventually went to Chavez for 4 years, met Jesus, and did some other stuff that was wholly insignificant.

This time 7 years ago, I was in 12th grade, and thinking about where I was going to go to college the next year. I applied at the three public in-state schools, got accepted to all three, and got scholarships to all three. NAU was my first choice, but they only offered ⅔ tuition. U of A was second, and their offer of full tuition was appealing. However, my last choice, ASU, gave me full tuition plus an extra $1000 per semester (or maybe per year; I can’t remember). I went there, despite losing my scholarship after my sophomore year, really got to know Jesus, and did some other stuff that was mostly insignificant.

This time 2 years ago, I was a supersenior, and thinking about what I was going to do after college. Thinking is actually probably too light a verb. I was freaking out. I mean, this was bigger than what school I was going to next. This was my future we were talking about here. A whole lot of prayer went into this, tons more than what high school and college I was gonna go to combined. As you should already know, after I graduated I went on to EDGE Corps for two years (well, one-and-a-half so far).

Which leads me to this time. 2 weeks ago, I was in Colorado Springs for a training summit with EDGE, and the big question everyone asked was, “What are you doing next year?” It feels very much like my final year of college all over again.

No, this is not a post to tell you what I’m doing next year. I don’t know that yet. It’s just listing options that I’m praying about. Options such as:

Staff in Training: This would mean continuing on on staff wherever they would send me. Chances are, they would send me somewhere other than ASU since that’s where I did my undergrad and both years of EDGE, and they would want me to get some diversity.
Entity Staff: This is staying on staff, but without the long term commitment that comes with Staff in Training. From my understanding, it’s kinda like another year of EDGE minus training summits.
Associate Staff: This person works at a job outside of the Navs, but is still involved with the Navs in their spare time. The only fundraising they have to worry about is for ministry stuff.
City Life: This is a new sector of the Navigators. From my understanding, this is a group of people who still live by the Navigators calling statement (“to advance the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of laborers living and discipling among the lost”), though they are not employed by the Navs. They live together and minister together, maybe even work together, for the purpose of bringing Jesus to the workplace and to the neighborhood.
Leave Navs: This would probably mean climbing the management ladder at the movie theater or finding a better paying job.

Considering there was one point in my life when I vowed never to go into ministry, I don’t want to take any of these off the table, because I know God can put it right back on. I wanna skip the middle man. I am leaning towards one of these, but I’d rather not say which until something’s more set in stone. So, until then, I will be talking to God, to my campus director, and whoever else will listen and give godly advice.

And fortunately, I don’t have finals this time around.

Outreach Night

Every Tuesday night during the semester, a couple of my co-laborers and I head over to the honors dorms to serve smoothies and other goodies to students in hopes of engaging them in conversation.

Tonight we’re doing something a little different.

We’re showing up a little earlier this week, and serving a full meal. The price of admission for them is to write in our God Journal, which asks something like, “If you could ask God something, what would it be?” or “What are your thoughts on who God is?” We’re really hoping that tonight, before we leave the honors dorms, that we will be able to engage in a deep conversation with the students that they can mull over during the break. Please pray for tonight, as we will be fighting against “Glee” (which will be on in the lounge where we’re eating), studying, and some possible end of the year celebrations. Pray that these students will hear God’s Word and think about what it means for them. Lastly, pray that this would be an open door for us to continue discuss spiritual matters come next semester.

Prayer for the Supreme Court

Today, I ask you to be in prayer for a Supreme Court decision. I received this from a higher up in the Nav office, so I'll just let them explain what's happening rather than summarize:

On April 19th, [that's today!] the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide whether groups like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Campus Crusade and others can be removed from college campuses because they require their officers and voting members to share their core religious commitments. According to some universities these core religious beliefs violate their affirmative action policy.

Seventeen organizations and 13 state attorney generals are working together on this case. Pray for the justices to rule on the side of religious freedom. For more information on how to pray, go to http://www.intervarsity.org/news/campus-faith-freedom-alert. This case has far reaching implications for religious freedom in all areas.

Spring Break!

At 1 in the morning, 35 or so of us are hopping on a bus and heading to Lake Tahoe for some fun in the snow. Please pray that lives will be changed in this trip, as we have a few people coming who don't know Jesus.

I'll update later with how it went.

The First Stone

On Tuesday nights, we've started going out and sharing the gospel with people out on north campus (or the NC as they call it in da 'hood). It may not be the most effective way of evangelizing, nor is it my favorite way of doing it, but I know that God can use this to bring people closer to Him, so we do it. 

On the first night that we did it, Big Pat and I went out together. The first gentleman that we approached was a culinary student at SCC working at Sparky's Diner to pay the bills. He was from the Bible Belt, and grew up Christian. However he left the church when he came out to his parents as gay and they "made (his) life a living hell." In fact, it's why he and his boyfriend moved from Georgia to Phoenix; to get away. 

This made me sad. We didn't ask him what "a living hell" entailed, but I can imagine it was far short of loving him despite whatever flaws he may have. He said they're on good terms now and he doesn't hold any kind of grudge against them (which makes him a better man than myself), but I can't imagine a family pushing one of their own members away in the name of Jesus instead of showing him Christ's unfailing love regardless of the sin in his life. It seems to me anti-gospel to say "Change, or else."

Now, do I think that there should be some correction and uncomfortable confrontation if a Christian is seeking a homosexual lifestyle? Absolutely. But I feel like urging someone to go straight is far from the correct approach, because even straight people are not without sexual sin. On Sundays, our churches are filled with people who are into premarital sex, pornography addicts, divorcees (which Jesus said makes them adulterers), and a slew of other people who we like to extend grace to, and that's good. Why is it that when it comes to homosexuals, then, that we are quick to cast the first stone?

I'm really glad that Pat and I (mostly Pat) didn't focus at all on this guy's homosexuality. It's not our job to play the Holy Spirit and try convict someone of sin. We just presented the gospel as we would to anybody else. The rest is in God's hands.

It's been a long time...

It's such a shame that I've neglected this blog for so long considering all that's been happening with my ministry this semester. I should really be more disciplined in this. 

Anyway, what to update first is pretty easy. As you may know, last semester saw me spending a lot of time not doing ministry because I was fundraising. I was looking for a part-time job while I was doing that, which brought me back to the job that I had quit last summer to, ironically, fundraise. This semester, I'm still working at the theater for some supplemental income. This obviously causes a problem with one job being in San Diego and the other one in Tempe. Well, that problem was solved by moving one job over. 

So, at least for this semester, I've become staff for the ASU Navs. I'm reintegrating myself into this ministry after being absent for a semester, but the transition as seemed to go smoothly for the most part. My biggest problem is that coming in midway through the year, I've run into trouble finding some guys that I could invest in. I'm looking to get a Bible study for upperclassman men going, which I'm hoping can be beneficial for me and the students. 

I think that's enough for right now. I swear I'll update more often. I've just been having trouble with my computer, so my iPod Touch has been serving as my mini-laptop. There's plenty of stuff to write about, so stay tuned.