For the next four days we will be learning, growing, and preparing for this adventure through a jam-packed lineup of world-class speakers and teachers, cross-cultural training simulations, and opportunities to reflect on what God is doing in each of us, and in the team as a whole.
Like any good InterVarsity experience, we began our time together with some good food, lively tunes, and—of course—several ice-breaker games. The favorite by far was the “write a 3-sentence skit to be acted out by another group” game. This writing of this particular skit was significantly influenced by Tom S’s 7-year-old son, Isaiah:
(In case it wasn’t immediately clear, Nancy and Tracy are demonstrating the awesome power of crime-fighting “Bionicals.”) All in all, a great first evening.
Today, Sunday, has been a full day of spiritual development with times spent in prayer, Scripture, a two-hour retreat of silence, and worship at a local church. Pastor Ken Janke, who will be with us all week to help us think about our development as a team and what God might be doing in us as we prepare, led us in a discussion this morning of various ways to encounter God as a team. One way is to practice what he calls “Mutual Christ”—in other words, to share what we know and experience of Christ personally with the group, so that each individual’s picture of Jesus will be stretched and expanded throughout the month. What a rich picture we will surely paint together!
Later in the morning, Jim Tebbe, Urbana Director and InterVaristy’s VP of Missions, led us through a manuscript Bible study of the book of Ruth. Here you can see Yeona deep in thought.
After a very engaging “communal discovery” style discussion, Jim shared his thoughts on Ruth as a book about the Mission of God. In Matthew’s genealogy of Christ, Ruth and three other non-Jewish women are included. Not only is this a beautiful foreshadowing of the New Covenant—the unity of Jew and Gentile in and through Jesus—but it is also a striking reminder that the Mission of God will go forward at all costs. No matter the unfaithfulness of humans (marrying outside the Jewish community was forbidden by God), God accomplishes his purposes anyway—and even brings honor to these women in the process as they are welcomed into his family and given a crucial role. As Jim put it, “God…and no Plan B.”
Deep stuff. Much more at a later date. I am off now for some silent retreating…
No comments:
Post a Comment