The Internship...

This video was put together by Isaac Gee, a former RUF intern at Georgia Tech. It is excellent, and it does a great job of describing the RUF internship program and it's impact. I wanted to share it with all of you, and I hope it will give you a little more insight into the ministry you're partnering with me in.


The RUF Internship from Isaac Gee on Vimeo.

My end-of-semester newsletters are currently in the process of going out, and there will be more updates and posts coming here soon as the semester draws to a close.

Thanks!
Stephen

Top of the World...

I had a wonderful Fall Break here in Knoxville. It was busy, but a productive busy, which has left me far less stressed and anxious than I was last week. It opened with an impromptu camping trip with three sophomore guys on a mountain in North Carolina called Max Patch. This has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's in the absolute middle of nowhere. It's just this bald, grassy mountain top, surrounded by 360-degree views of mountains. Absolutely spectacular (I posted some pictures at the end of this post...check them out!)

After getting a lot done around the house and in the yard over the weekend, I felt like I needed some alone time on Sunday afternoon. So after church, I hopped in the car, drove out to the National Park, and found a nice wooded place by the river to sit, think, read, and pray. It was a great soul-refreshing afternoon...but it did get me thinking about some things.

I definitely believe we all need time alone with God. That's for sure. I also believe that nature's beauty is a precious gift of God. However, as I sat surrounded by God's beautiful Creation, this place I felt I had to retreat to be alone with God, I was struck by the fact that Creation is just as beautiful in the middle of urban Knoxville. Why? Because in the Smokies, I was surrounded by trees. In urban Knoxville, I am surrounded by people. And which do we read in Scripture that God loves more? ;-)

We believe that the whole earth will be made new when Jesus comes back. The mountains will be made perfect, and so will the cities.

It all just reminded me about the importance of community, and the dignity of our fellow image-bearers of God (all humanity). God gave us each other, and we were designed to live in community and have relationships. When we aren't living in community, we aren't truly human. An afternoon in the mountains was wonderful and refreshing, but it was not the truest human experience. It's not what I was designed for. I was designed for community.

I'm sure there will be many more quiet trips to the mountains in the future, but I pray that I will have a similar attitude toward other people God has placed in my life...that I will see them as places of refreshment, places where I can experience God more fully than I can when I'm by myself. Relationships are messy, for sure...but it's in the mess that we find and experience grace.

Well, after all that...how about some pictures of mountains? At least some of them have people in them... [insecure hypocrisy disclaimer]

September Goings-on...

Tennessee RUF Staff: Me, Catherine, and Brent at our
Family Weekend Tailgate

It's been a busy month of September with RUF here on Rocky Top. Here are some highlights:

• Labor Day: Apparently, the Labor Day Freshmen Guys Hike is just not supposed to be. Just like last year's attempt, we didn't manage to do any hiking, although we did manage to do some eating at the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge. Heavy downpours from Tropical Storm Lee kept us in Knoxville on Labor Day, but they didn't dampen all our fun. In a last minute decision (an audible, if you will...go vols), we headed to a local park here in town and played one awesome game of Ultimate frisbee in the rain. Due to the uneven ground, one endzone was guarded by a 6-inch deep puddle. It was muddy...it was freezing...it was fantastic. After the game, we headed back to campus and trudged into the freshmen cafeteria (also known as Presidential Court Building, or PCB more commonly...not to be confused with my hometown). We were still sopping wet, but no one seemed to mind. That evening, we met back up with Catherine, the freshmen girls, and some upperclassmen guys and girls and drove an hour to Pigeon Forge to eat at the ever-popular Apple Barn. We had about 25 freshmen attend, and it was a great trip! The rain may have stopped us from hiking, but it could not keep us away from apple fritters and copious amounts of apple butter. 

• Family Weekend Tailgate: UT's Family Weekend was September 9-11, and with so many of our students' parents coming to town, one parent and good friend of Tennessee RUF had the wonderful idea of hosting a tailgate for parents and students before the UT-Cincinnati game on Saturday. Our church, Redeemer, hosted the tailgate in their parking lot and fellowship hall, and a local restaurant named Gourmet's Market catered a delicious brunch for a great turnout of both students and family members! In addition to the food, we had plenty of information available about Tennessee RUF, and of course we had some tunes and corn hole going on outside. To make the day even better, our wonderful campus minister Brent bought me and Catherine tickets to the football game that afternoon, and the Vols whooped up on the Bearcats. Neyland Stadium never ceases to amaze. [go vols.]

Corn hole!

• Freshmen Guys Cookout: Freshmen Guys Bible Study has been going very well, and we've been averaging around 15-18 guys each week. After Bible study a couple weeks ago, we had the guys over to my new house for a cookout. It's so awesome now to have a house with plenty of space and a big backyard...it makes hosting things like this so much easier! Some of our awesome upperclassmen guys came over to get the grill fired up and get everything set up while we were having Bible study, and when we pulled up to the house, we could already smell the burgers around back. About 20-something freshmen attended (hard to get a headcount...), much food was consumed, we had some corn hole and lawn darts going in the yard, and the sophomore guys had an opportunity to share some of their favorite freshmen dorm stories from last year. 

• Camping and Hiking Trip: We were bound and determined to do that hike, and we figured why not throw a camping trip in there too? Unlike my dear alma mater, the football schedule plays a huge role in   our RUF calendar. If there's a home game, that weekend is out. If there's an away game, it's iffy...but only Friday. So when the Vols have a bye-week, you had better take advantage of it! The boys in orange were off this past Saturday, so UT RUF headed to the mountains! We camped at Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with about fifty (yes, fifty) students. We had eight campsites all grouped up together, and somehow had enough tents and hammocks to go around. We churned out some hotdogs and s'mores on two campfires and had a grand ol' time. We set out to take a night hike through some abandoned decrepit resort buildings, but in the dark, we couldn't figure which way to go. Luckily, we ran into a retired couple from Louisiana who agreed to walk with us to the right road on the one condition that we would sing "Rocky Top" for them. Of course, we obliged, and we had to sing it a couple more times as we passed camp sites of their friends. The next day we hiked 9 miles (round trip) on the Appalachian Trail to Charlie's Bunion, and oh, what a view! The clouds were below us, and it was incredible! A few more met us for the hike, and so yes, there were approximately 60 of us on the trail. Passing hikers had comments ranging from "go vols" to "what is this, a field trip?" Altogether, it was a great trip, and a great chance for our freshmen to get to know and bond with our upperclassmen.                                                             

• Sunday Night Fellowship: Tonight was my first time speaking at our weekly Sunday Night Fellowship. I used a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible called "The Terrible Lie," about Adam and Eve's first sin. The JSB describes the Fall as "a terrible lie" coming into the world, that "God doesn't love me." But even as they leave the garden, their beautiful relationship with God broken, God gives them a promise that He will send them a Rescuer. I'm definitely still learning when it comes to this kind of thing, but it was some good experience. Both Catherine and I will each have a couple more opportunities to speak at SNF this semester.

Well, that's the goings-on around here this past month. Fall Break is coming up this weekend, and I'm looking forward to a few days of nothing to do here in Knoxville. It will be a great chance to catch up on some reading and some jobs here around the house. 

Thank you all for your continued prayers. I'm continuing to learn and grow through this experience, and I'm so thankful to be here serving the students at UT-Knoxville.

More to come soon! Be on the lookout for my snail-mail fall newsletter in coming weeks...if you've never gotten one before and would like to receive it, send your me your address to stephen.moss@ruf.org

Chapter Two...

Fall semester is in full-swing here at the University of Tennessee, and football season is right around the corner. The campus is once again buzzing with students, and there's a slight crispness to the morning air, hinting at the amazing weather that lies ahead.

This time last year, I was still as lost and confused as the freshmen walking around with maps on their first day of class. The idea of an RUF large group meeting with more than 300 people was still very overwhelming, and as I was simply adjusting to a new job and a new city, I really didn't have too much to actually do.

One year later, however, I find myself in the role of "veteran intern." My two co-interns from last year, Anne and Mary Beth, have both moved on, and now I'm the one "showing the ropes" to our new intern, Catherine (who has jumped right in and been awesome, by the way!) I'll admit, it's been a bit of a transition having to remember a few more things and having a few additional responsibilities (thankfully, I learned from two of the best!), but overall, it has been a great experience so far this year.

They always told us in training that the second year of the internship was incredibly different than the first...in a good way. You arrive back on campus knowing your way around, with established relationships with the students, and plenty of lessons learned from victories and mistakes along the way.

Sometimes it's hard not to dwell in the past, wishing I could go back and do things differently last year, worrying about missed opportunities. But one of the main lessons I have learned through working with RUF is that God is at work, even in the midst of our failures. I have already been encouraged to see the ways I can learn from my experiences last year as I begin building relationships with this brand-new class of freshmen.

As I begin this second chapter of my internship with RUF @ UT, I'm really excited to see how God will be at work. I'll continuing to build relationships that were started last year, and I'll also be pursuing a whole new group of freshmen guys. Through it all, I pray that I'm continually reminded of God's faithfulness, and that I remember my job is to love these guys and point them to Jesus...not to myself.

A FEW QUICK NOTES FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR:

• Large Group - We just had our third Large Group meeting of the year last night. We've been averaging over 300 students, many of whom are freshmen! Brent is preaching through the gospel of Mark this semester, looking at the person of Christ. 
• Sophomore Guys Bible Study - I'll be leading the Sophomore Guys Bible Study this year, and we had 25 guys show up at my house on Monday for the first one! It was a little crowded in the living room! We'll be studying the Jesus Storybook Bible, looking at the larger Story of Scripture and how all of it points to Jesus. I'll write more about this later, but if you've never read the JSB, whatever age you are, you should check it out!
• Freshmen Bible Studies - We had a "mixer" for the freshmen guys and girls last week, and tomorrow will be the first Freshmen Guys Bible Study that I'll be helping our campus minister Brent lead. We have about 30 guys signed up so far, many of whom I've met, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better over the next months. 
• Hiking Trips - I'll be leading a Freshmen Guys Hiking Trip in the Smoky Mountains on Labor Day, and Catherine will lead one for the girls. We each plan to hit the Apple Barn restaurant in Pigeon Forge on the way back. Hopefully this year we'll actually get to hike, unlike last year's experience...
• Family Weekend Tailgate - We'll be hosting a tailgate during UT's Family Weekend on Sept. 10, before the Cincinnati game. It'll be in Redeemer Church's parking lot, and it will be a great way for students, family, and friends of RUF @ UT to learn more about what's going on with us this year and have some fun before the Vols beat the Bearcats!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement as I begin this second year! Please continue to check my Prayer Page for ways you can continue to be in prayer, and also my Support Page, as I'm still raising funds to meet my budget for this year!

Resting in His Promises,

Stephen

When in Rome...

Well, time has certainly flown by and left me spinning. It was a year ago this weekend that I arrived in Knoxville, and I've been calling Rocky Top my home sweet home ever since. After living my first 18 years on Florida's beautiful Emerald Coast, I've been moving steadily northward. Florida was followed by a 4-year stint in Alabama to get some higher learnin', and I now find myself up in the Tennessee hills (where, by the way, there are telephone bills, but I've yet to see any smoggy smoke.) Knoxville has been an awesome place to live my first couple years out of college. 

Disclaimer: This post has little to do with anything of any significance. Fair warning.

Each new "home" has been considerably different than the last, and wonderful in different ways. I love where I am now. Knoxville is one cool city, and it's having an effect on me. At first, I felt a little like a fish out of water here in the mountains. Being raised a mere mile from the sugar-white sands of the Gulf of Mexico, East Tennessee was minor culture shock. Not to mention the fact that after attending a high school of 55 students and a university of 4,500, I now found myself navigating across a campus of 27,000. And let's just say that fall Saturdays look a little different at UT than they did back at Samford...

Some changes were obvious. I was in a new city. I had a new roommate...a new job...and a new apartment (now a new house!). But that was only the beginning.

I resisted the changes for a while. I held on desperately to my suburban-Alabama-twinged Florida-ness. My first clue to the coming metamorphosis was in November when I began searching my closet for something to wear to our RUF Barn Dance. I realized that my wardrobe was overwhelmingly dominated by pastels and stripes. A quick trip to Goodwill solved that immediate problem, and I didn't think much of it...for a while.

I'm not sure what happened after that. I wish I could say. All I know is that my small selection of plaid began to reproduce like rabbits. My closet started getting full, and brightly-colored striped shirts began a sad migration to the box under my bed. 

But, not to worry...my wardrobe would not go without bright colors. In fact, one color in particular began to spread faster than the others. And not just clothes. Before I knew it, I had T-shirts, polo shirts, button-down shirts, shorts, a towel, a visor, a chair...all BRIGHT ORANGE.

 Yes, this life-long Seminole fan, who was quite distressed after the National Championship of 1998, soon owned nearly as much orange Tennessee paraphernalia as he did Garnet & Gold. The final straw was when the "Power T" made its first appearance on my vehicle (I can't claim credit for this one...thanks, Dad.)

Up until this point, the changes in wardrobe could be easily explained away one way or another. But after living nearly a year in East Tennessee, I stopped looking for a pretense. I figured, "When in Rome..." and I bought my first pair of Chacos (the official footwear of East Tennessee). My guilt for caving into peer pressure has been eased by the fact that they are by far the best things I have ever put on my feet. Seriously.

There are many other changes not having to do specifically with my new home, but rather with my new stage in life. For instance, I have had to learn how to feed myself (without going to a cafeteria or fast-food restaurant). When it came to decorating, down came the Ferris Bueller and college football posters...and up went art. Yes, you heard me. Art. The likes of which you buy for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I won't get started on the decorative fake plants.

My media choices have also shifted considerably. After long protesting that I wasn't interested and that I'd never read it...I finally began reading Harry Potter. More than a mere choice of reading material, I feel like a cultural veil has been lifted from my eyes, and I finally know what the heck everyone's been talking about for the past decade. It's lived up to the hype, for sure. I've just started Book 5, and I say with all semi-seriousness, if you ruin the ending for me, I may not be able to forgive you for a while.

And then there's the music...I've always been upfront with the fact that I am way behind the times musically, and I've never been able to fit my tastes into any type of genre (or even artist!). I had no idea who all these new bands were everyone was talking about, and frankly, I didn't care. But drop me in Tennessee, and specifically into RUF, and I didn't stand a chance. Call me conformist, but my iPod is now happily full of the Avett Brothers and, thanks to my hip(ster?) campus minster, Mumford & Sons. I know, I know...you all liked them before they were cool. I'm okay playing catch-up.

So yes, it's been a year full of change since I moved to Knoxville. A new job, new house, new friends, new church, new clothes, new shoes, new team (in addition and subordinate to the old team, mind you), new skills, new decor, new books, new music...

However, all of these changes are still pretty surface-level. I'm still the same person I've always been (and I'll always be "from Florida"). I think there's something good to be said for adjusting to your new surroundings.

The most important changes are the ways God has been at work in my heart the past year. He has shown me in ways that I've never before experienced just how weak and helpless I am without Him. He's shown me places in my heart that I never knew were there (and wish they weren't). There is still a whole lot of work to be done, and there always will be. However, as God has been revealing the glory of His gospel to me more and more real in my life this year through the ups and downs, His grace has been working and shaping my heart. While I feel like I'm always finding more and more that needs to be "fixed" in my life, I can rejoice and praise my Father in Heaven for the work He has done. I have been justified by grace alone, and I am also being sanctified by grace alone. The more I understand how helpless, lost, dead I am without Him, the more I love Him...and, thanks be to God, the more I can love others. There is a long way to go...but I can rejoice in how far He has brought me.

So as I face my second year in Knoxville, with Mumford on the iPod and Chacos on the feet, I look forward to all of lessons (some of them difficult) that God still has for me to learn through this internship, and the real "changes" that He is always at work accomplishing in my heart.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Resting in His Promises,

Stephen


P.S. go vols!

P.P.S. but really...go noles!

Encouraged...

It's been a long summer...encouraging, but long. After travelling all over the Southeast, I'm ready to get settled back in Knoxville, and I'm really ready for the year to begin!

I'll start off with a support update, since that has been my primary job this summer! Thanks to your continued pledges and new gifts, I have only $5,470 left to meet my annual budget for my second year. My ministry with RUF at Tennessee is funded completely by supporters like you, and I am very thankful for all of your prayers and contributions that have allowed me to stay in Knoxville thus far. For ways you can continue to support my ministry through prayer, please visit my Prayer Page. If you have not already, would you prayerfully consider supporting my ministry financially as well? To learn more, please visit my Support Page.


Well, I must say I'm a little exhausted after a week of RUF Staff Training in Atlanta. However, I am also refreshed and extremely encouraged about the upcoming year. Staff training is the annual gathering of all RUF campus ministers, staff, and interns from across the country...in total, around 250 people! In addition to the actual training that takes place, it's also a great opportunity to spend time with the other staff members, fellowship, share experiences from the past year, and yes, have a little fun.

2nd-year RUF Interns at our "Baby Shower" for fellow interns Mike and Deanna Ford

I've been blessed with my "class" of fellow 2nd-year interns that have all become great friends over the past year. Spending time with them and hearing how God has been at work in their lives and on their campuses is always a blast. They are such an encouragement to me, and I've learned a lot from their examples and our shared experiences. The fellowship with fellow staff has definitely been an unexpected benefit of the job!

But of course, what Staff Training would be complete without...well...training? I really appreciated all the different training sessions we 2nd-years had, all led by various campus ministers.

We started off with a review session on RUF's Philosophy of Ministry. (<<< Worth a look if you've never seen it) This was a big help, and a great reminder of our purpose on campus. We were reminded that our Philosophy of Ministry is neither a technique, strategy, nor a process. It is rather our attempt as RUF staff to biblically pastor people. Our theology (as found in Scripture) informs our Philosophy, and our Philosophy then informs our methodology. This is one of the things I love most about RUF. Our core beliefs are solid, rooted firmly in Scripture, however our methodology is extremely flexible. And it's not only flexible from campus to campus, it is also flexible from student to student. In the New Testament, we see both Jesus and the Apostles ministering to different groups and individuals using a wide variety of methods and approaches, but with one message of Truth. We as a staff are all very different people, and we serve very different campuses and very different students. However, RUF's purpose is always reaching students for Christ and equipping students to serve.

Other sessions included "What does it mean to be holy?," "How to study the Bible and lead a small group," "Evangelism," and "Dealing with 'that' student." On Tuesday night we had a staff worship service where we heard from Elbert McGowan, campus minister at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. He shared with us the importance of reaching the outsiders on our campuses. Using the example of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well, he challenged us to pursue those who might feel out-of-place in a church setting, those who are despised, forgotten, or ostracized...and to love them as Christ has loved us. We can't tame the radical message of the gospel to fit in our neat Christian comfort zones...it's a raging river that is meant to rush far beyond our tiny little comfort zones and into every corner of the world...and every corner of our campus. This was a much-needed reminder and challenge, one we will especially be seeking to pursue by God's grace at the University of Tennessee.

In many ways this week, I was confronted and reminded of how I have let myself get in the way of the gospel this past year. I have tried to build my own kingdom instead of the Kingdom of God. I have let fear and insecurity keep me from what He has called me to, and I have let arrogance and pride lead me to what He hasn't called me to. These were sobering realizations, but all overwhelmed by the knowledge of God's grace in the wake of these failures and shortcomings. I am humbled by how He has used me and promises to continue using me, even in (and sometimes through) my weakness.

Because of what Christ did at the Cross, I can rejoice in my weakness because He has promised me His strength. He's promised to stay with me and guide me. He still uses me, even when I fail, and He gets all the glory!

This week has been a wonderful reminder of Christ's love for me, and His love for the world...in particular, the University of Tennessee. I have the awesome opportunity to share and embody that love to college students at UT. After a long summer, I'm am very encouraged and excited to get back to campus. I've been missing our students, and I can't wait to meet a whole new group of freshmen! I look forward to seeing what God has in store this year for the University of Tennessee!

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support. If you have time, drop me a message and let me know how you are doing and how I may pray for you!

God's Provision...

One of the main lessons I have learned throughout this internship is trusting in God's provision. Those of you who have been following my updates for the past year know that RUF staff are responsible for raising our support each year. RUF is funded 100% by the generous gifts of individuals and churches.

Last summer was certainly a test of faith as I faced the prospect of raising $31,800 in a little more than 2 months. I was so humbled to see God provide for me in amazing ways, through the faithful prayers and gifts of you, my supporters and partners in ministry.

With my second year right around the corner, I must again raise $31,800 so I can remain at the University of Tennessee with RUF through the end of the school year in May.

You can see a break-down of my support-raising needs for this year in the graphic above.

Monthly pledged support, continued over from Year 1, adds up to $20,700. If you have a pledge set up, any automatic withdrawal will continue until you change or end it, or until I am no longer employed with RUF. There is no need to renew the pledge for the 2nd year unless you are changing the frequency or the amount. If you have any questions about your pledge, please email me at stephen.moss@ruf.org or Bonnie in the RUF office at bstandridge@ruf.org

New gifts this year that have already come in add up to $2,400. A big thanks to those of you who have already given!

This leaves a remainder of $8,700 to be raised to meet my budget for the 2nd Year. Would you prayerfully consider making a gift or pledge towards this goal today?

Any amount that you are able to give is greatly appreciated and helps me stay here in Knoxville ministering to the students of UT-Knoxville. I can't do this without your support and prayers.

For more information about RUF and how to support, go to www.ruf.org/support-us. To give securely online, go to www.ruf.org/donate, (just make sure to select my name in the drop-down menu). If you are writing a check, make it out to Reformed University Ministries, put my name in the memo line, and mail it to Reformed University Ministries, 1700 N. Brown Road, Suite 104, Lawrenceville, GA, 30043. You will receive a receipt promptly, and all gifts are tax-deductible.

Again, I very much appreciate your faithful support, whether financial or through prayer. I am so blessed to have an army of prayer warriors at my back.

Please check back to this blog often, as I'll keep posting updates about support as well as ways that you can be in prayer. If you haven't seen it yet, check the last post for a quick wrap-up of the end-of-the-year goings on in RUF Tennessee!

I would also love to hear from you! Feel free to drop me an email at stephen.moss@ruf.org or even a phone call at 850.814.8727!

I learned a great lesson of trusting God last summer, and I know I can continue to trust Him this summer to provide for my needs.

Resting in His Promises,

Stephen

End of the Year...

I must apologize for my delinquency on keeping the blog updated. The end of the year and beginning of summer have gone by like a whirlwind! To keep this post relatively short, I'll just hit the highlights:

• Shenanigans: Tennessee RUF played it's first-annual round of Shenanigans the week after Spring Break. For those unfamiliar with Shenanigans (known to many as "Assassins"), each participant is assigned another participant that they must shoot with a water pistol. Once you get your target, they give you their target. The game continues until there is only 1 person left standing. For complete details: http://www.utk.ruf.org/shenanigans-2-11 The game can typically last more than a week, but our students took it very seriously, and we had a winner within 4 days. It was a great success, and students are already planning their strategies for next time. We were excited to have 91 students participate this year, and hope to have even more play next year!

• Rafting the Ocoee: At the beginning of April, we went camping down in southern Tennessee and rafted the Ocoee River the following day. Another great trip and great turnout! The weather was beautiful.
• End-of-the-year Cookout: We had our End-of-the-Year Cookout at the Reynolds' home. We are so very thankful for the Reynolds' hosting us for Sunday Night Fellowship each week throughout the year, and especially for this cookout, as they had to hurry to get a giant fallen tree from the storms that came through removed from their backyard and patio just in time for the cookout! It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a farewell to our many awesome seniors and departing interns, Anne and Mary Beth.

• Summer Conference: Tennessee RUF brought 25 students to RUF Summer Conference in Panama City Beach. Richie Sessions, pastor of Independent Presbyterian in Memphis, was the main speaker in the evenings, and our students had the opportunity to hear from many different campus ministers in various morning seminars. And of course, there was plenty of beach time. RUF Tennessee competed in many different sports and competitions throughout the week, but we placed highest in Tug-of-War (see below), where we unfortunately came up short in the championship match against Arkansas. It was a great week of learning, worship, and fellowship, and I was encouraged to see our group bond together over the course of the conference.

• Trip across Tennessee: I was already headed across the state to see my roommate Jeff get married in Memphis, so I was able to stay with families of some of my students in Memphis and then in Nashville on the way back to Knoxville this past week. It was great catching up with many of the guys and meeting their families...not to mention eating some fantastic food along the way. I even got to watch rising sophomores Ryan, Davis, and Jay play in a local summer basketball league...getting ready for RUF basketball next year!

• Moving! I am now settled in at my new house here in Knoxville. I'm living with three other guys, 2 of whom are on staff with Crusade here at Tennessee. It's been great so far! I love the new house, and it's much closer to campus. More pictures soon.

• Next? I will be headed to Birmingham on Friday. I'll be chaperoning the youth mission trip from my former church there, Faith Presbyterian, to Palmer Home for Children in Columbus, MS. After that, I will return to Birmingham and be there until the end of the month. For those of you in Birmingham, I hope to see many of you while I'm there!

So that's the short update. Thank you again so much for your prayers and support. I'll be keeping you updated on my support-raising for next year, as well as the ways you can be praying.

Stephen

Renewal for the City...

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:4-7 ESV)

Where to begin? It was a very long, but very exciting and life-changing week in Chicago with Sunshine Gospel Ministries. The trip with Tennessee RUF didn't wind up panning out, however, my old RUF group from Samford was going the same week. They were kind enough to let me jump in with them, and what a week it was!

We (Samford) were there with other RUF groups from UT-Chattanooga and Birmingham Southern, as well as two other groups from Bethel University and Indiana University. We were participating in Sunshine's Bridge Builders Week. You can read a fantastic description of Bridge Builders here. In short, it's a short-term missions program where groups come to Chicago not just to serve, but ultimately to learn. In addition to work projects, there is teaching on a biblical perspective on the poor as well as other special experiences to enhance and accompany the teaching. These experiences included a tour of Pacific Garden Mission, Meal Share (going out into the city in teams of 2 with an extra bag lunch, with the purpose of sitting down and eating with a homeless person), and the "El" Experience (riding from one side of the city to the other on Chicago's "El" train, with the purpose of striking up friendly conversations with whomever wound up sitting next to us.) The combination of the excellent teaching with these experiences led to a life-changing, transformational week.

One lesson that stuck with me was when Sunshine's director, Joel Hamernick, led us in discussion about causes for poverty. We all volunteered reasons, which we noticed him grouping into 3 unlabeled categories on the white board. He then labeled one category "tragedy." This included death of a family member, loss of a job, natural disaster, etc. The next category he labeled "personal sin." This included drug and alcohol addiction, crime, laziness, etc. The final category only had 2 reasons that had been offered up, much smaller than the others. He labeled this one "injustice and oppression." We were realized that most of our reasons for poverty had been in the tragedy or personal sin realm. The only ones given for oppression had even been individual instances (like abuse and abandonment). We learned that as members of a cultural majority (especially in America), we rarely see injustice and oppression that is systemic rather than specific or individualized. While poverty coming from Tragedy or Personal Sin requires some act for it to occur, we saw that poverty coming from injustice only requires us to go on living naturally, maintaining the status quo.

The biggest lesson we learned was to view every human being as an image-bearer of God. Joel reminded us that "you can't minister effectively to someone you think less of." As image-bearers of God, every human-being deserves to be treated as such. Every person has a story, every person wants to be listened to and understood...every person wants to be treated like a person. Far from seeing ourselves as the "helpers" coming in to help the lowly poor, we had to see ourselves as poor and impoverished, helpless apart from the grace of God. As we took to the streets to sit and eat with the homeless, our mission was simply to engage with them as human-beings, listen to them, see them as image-bearers, perhaps even learn from them.

Throughout the week, we were split up into different work projects in the mornings. Some helped out with remodeling projects around the church that was hosting us (we slept in their gym. it's in the middle of one of Chicago's more dangerous Southside neighborhoods, Woodlawn, and 90% of the congregation is homeless. They are doing a lot in the neighborhood, and we were greatly blessed by their hospitality!). Some helped doing demolition work in another building nearby that would soon be home to a church plant. Some of us went into the schools to help out the teachers and staff, spend time with students, etc. One group went to a public elementary school (Wadsworth), and another group went to Hyde Park High School, where they were also able to talk to students about college and encourage them to continue their schooling.

Our group went to Master's Academy, a small Christian school there in the Woodlawn neighborhood. It only had 32 students in K-8th grades, 4 teachers, a principal, and some volunteers. We were so impressed. The founder of the school had grown up in the neighborhood and managed to graduate high school and attend college. He came back, and by God's grace, defying all naysayers, began a Christian school in one of Chicago's dangerous South side neighborhoods. We were able to help with all kinds of projects around the school (with so few staff, there was plenty to be done from hanging artwork to cleaning the kitchen! we soon realized that when volunteers weren't there, the principal would often have to clean the kitchen herself between breakfast and lunch.) We were also able to spend a lot of time with the students, and they were awesome. It was so encouraging to see their gifts, talents, and individual personalities being nurtured and encouraged by the teachers. These students were being affirmed, encouraged, and loved...and it was evident in their behavior. They were all very well-behaved and ambitious. One 4th grade boy told me he was going to go to MIT! Talking with the 4 middle school boys, I found that one was an excellent classical pianist, another was a extremely gifted (and self-taught) artist, and another was obsessed with the muppets and wanted to be a puppeteer. We also heard a few of them freestyling Christian rap, and couldn't believe our ears how talented they were! It was sobering to realize that so many students in the neighborhood didn't have these same opportunities to be creative, be themselves, be nurtured spiritually, and set their sights on college. However, it was so encouraging to see how God was working through the Master's Academy staff to make a difference in the lives of what students they could. Joel encouraged us all that whether we could make a difference in the lives of 10,000 students (like a social entrepreneur he knew with a plan to build a system of charter schools), 30 students (like Master's Academy), or just 1 student (like a family he knew who took a troubled student into their home, eventually sending her to college)...we could all make a difference.

We learned so much from our experiences in Chicago, and the staff at Sunshine were wonderful. In everything Joel taught us, he showed the upmost humility and winsomeness. He never relied on guilt or manipulation, but rather the gospel. We left feeling inspired and excited rather than browbeaten. True love and concern for others is born out of the gospel...not guilt.

I wish I could write about everything I learned this week, but this post is already so long! I'll say one of the biggest lessons I'm bringing home with me is seeing everyone as an image-bearer of God, someone with a story to tell, someone who longs to know and be known. Having to strike up conversations with total strangers on Chicago's "El" train has shown me I can do that very same thing back here in Knoxville...right here on Tennessee's campus!

Thank you all for your prayers. It was a very exciting week (not to mention exhausting!), and it was great to spend it with some old friends (and new ones) from Samford RUF. It was also great to spend some time in such a beautiful city. Chicago is such a cool place. Like all big cities, it's amazing to see both the utter brokenness of man and man's reflection of God's image juxtaposed in such a magnificent way. We are reminded of our need for redemption as well as the new creation to come, and the vibrant diversity gives us a taste of that new creation. Cities are tragically beautiful, but ultimately hopeful, places.

I will finish up the post now, but of course, there must be pictures...haha. Enjoy. (photo credit for some of the pictures goes to Rachel Freeny! thanks!)

Resting in His Promises,

Stephen

The Chicago River was dyed green for St. Patrick's Day! So cool!

Part of the Samford group by the river in downtown Chicago

The actual house from the true story "Raisin in the Sun" was based on...only a few blocks from where we stayed.

The church where we stayed in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood

Me with Samford intern Scott Morris...it was great to also be able to hang out with some of the other RUF interns!

The hallway at Master's Academy...so colorful and full of life! We loved it!

The students at Master's Academy had each painted Bible stories, and we helped them create a
Sistine Chapel ceiling in their library.

One of the middle school boys drew this version of the Mona Lisa...self-taught. We were amazed!

Some of the kids from Sunshine's after-school program came over one afternoon from Awana Olympics...so much fun!

Our Awana Olympics team!

With some of the Master's Academy students at recess.

Me and my football buddy at Master's Academy...he made sure I knew he was only in 1st grade when he beat me.

Deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's in Chicago's west side

On top of Chicago's Hancock Tower

Such a beautiful city!!!