the bigger picture

I could get used to life on the road...good music playlists, sleeping on mounds of pillowsand air mattresses, surviving on fruit roll-ups, apples and trail mix (really just the peanuts and m&ms because I pick everything else out) and spending the days and nights with amazing people.  But really, the one reason I would love it the most is the opportunity to get a glimpse of the bigger picture - a picture of what God is doing outside of the USC bubble, even the LA bubble. 

This past week, I spent 6 days traveling up the California coast to visit campuses and meet with staff and students about their Greek system/ministry.  The destinations included UCSB, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal.  Each campus is experiencing a different phase in their Greek movement, but each campus has evidence of God's desire to see the Greek system reached.  My hope was to be there to encourage them, learn from them, pray for them and be a resource in any way I could.  This depiction will not give the experience justice or explain in enough detail what happened, but I wanted to share the glimpse of the bigger picture.

The journey began in Santa Barbara.  We (Heather, a fellow USC staff member, and I) arrived in Santa Barbara around 10am to meet up with Angelica, a senior in Alpha Delta Chi (the Christian sorority at UCSB).  Over a cup of coffee, we talked about the Greek life at UCSB, the difficulties of reaching out to Greek students, the need to reach out to Greek students and ways to reach out to Greek students.  After gathering prayer requests, brainstorming ideas, sharing resources and offering as much encouragement as we could, we finished up talking and prayed for Angelica and UCSB and the Greek students and the future of a Greek movement there.

Then on to San Luis Obispo.  I was already amazed at the beauty of the area of Santa Barbara (which is probably why I almost went to school there), but I had no idea how much I would love San Luis Obispo.  After discussions with many of my fellow Trojans, we decided that USC would be pretty much the perfect school if you picked it up and dropped it in San Luis Obispo.  Mountains, beaches, farms, amazing coffee shops, the best tri-tip sandwiches and WONDERFUL people!  Not only did I get the opportunity to meet with the student leaders and staff that were helping out with Greek ministry, but I was greeted by 8 students at a gathering that had been arranged for students interested in Greek ministry!  I was so blessed by the opportunity to get to know them, hear about their Greek system, learn from them, tell them from my own mistakes, encourage them and pray for them.  As I was talking to one of the students after, I couldn't help but thinking about how sovereign God is.  As a confession, its easy to fall into the mindset of thinking that I will have something to offer people being on staff.  After all, didn't God put me there for a reason?  What a silly thought!  I would hope that I would move out of the way enough for the Holy Spirit to speak through me, but without Him, I have nothing to offer!  So as I listened to the ways God has been moving with Greeks at SLO and the hopes for Greek students to experience Jesus continuing into the future, I was thankful for the things I was learning and the ways I was being challenged to take steps of faith!  Leaving SLO, I felt blessed with encouragement, new challenges, new friendships and a renewed passion to see Greek students everywhere experience a relationship with Jesus.

Moving further north, we made our way to Berkeley.  I have never felt more out of place surrounded by earth-toned clothing as I walked into a coffee shop in a bright green and white striped shirt on St. Patrick's Day!  I hope this doesn't come off as a negative comment at all, but it is definitely a different culture there!  I got to spend some great time with Arijaan (staff at Cal working with Greeks) and spend some time in prayer with her about Cal, Greeks at Cal and Greek Summit, the summer project we will both be on this summer geared specifically for Greek students.  I then had the opportunity to join Arijaan and three Greek girls at Cal for a "dinner and discussion" time.  The girls shared their hearts, their fears and their desire to see more Greek students get to have the relationship with God that they have.  Again, my hope was to encourage them, pray for them, learn from them and share what I had learned from our mistakes and successes at USC. 

We are not all in the same phase, but we all have the same heart.  We are united in Christ wherever we are.  That is the bigger picture. God has bigger plans than we can ever imagine, we just have to trust Him.  We have to believe that He is bigger than the box we tend to put Him in.  Jesus increased my vision of Him and of what He wants to see happen in the lives of Greek students.  My prayer is that He continues to do the same for all of the staff and students I had the opportunity to meet and even those that I didn't.  Join me in praying for this as well!

an outsider's approach

Just last week, I had the privilege of spending an afternoon on the Cal State Long Beach campus during a week of new staff on-the-field training.  Every intern and new staff member with Campus Crusade continues to be developed as we take part in a 2-year training program.  This is what brought me and about 30 other new staff and interns to our on-the-field training last week.  On Thursday, we were split in half.  Half of us went to Cal State Fullerton and the other half to Cal State Long Beach.  The purpose of the day was to try two tools to share our faith that we had never used before.  Eager to see the atmosphere on a different campus, my excitement grew even more when the regional directors and staff on Cal State Long Beach told me that I would be able to go into the Greek office there and talk to some of the Greek leaders on the campus.  I couldn't wait to get in and talk to them! 

A group of us were pointed in the direction of the Greek office and we walked in.  We did not hide why we were there or try to disguise it.  We told them that we were with Campus Crusade for Christ and were interested in seeing if there was a need for a Greek ministry on the campus.  We then asked if anyone would be willing to tell us a bit about their Greek system and possibly go through a leadership interview with us.  One of the members of IFC (Interfraternity Council) began talking to me and telling me all about their Greek system.  If I was asking these same questions to someone at USC, they would look at me like I was crazy - being in the Greek system there, I should already know all of that, right?  That's when I realized how incredibly advantageous it is to come in as an outsider.  I knew all of the Greek language and general information about the Greek system, but I didn't know how they functioned specifically at CSULB.  I just asked questions.  And let me tell you, Greeks LOVE talking about the Greek system.  Part of me thinks this is because they are always being questioned about their purpose, their reason for event existing, that they are almost trained to explain what exactly they are and why they exist.  So many people come at Greek students attacking them for their way of life, their exclusivity, their "silly" traditions, that we (Greeks) have had to develop a defense.  So I asked questions - not with any other motivation than to simply learn.  In Doug Pollock's book, God Space, he states that his "whole ministry changed for the better when [he] began to seek to understand before [he] sought to be understood."  Seek to understand them!  They want to be understood!

After nearly 20 minutes of just asking him about the Greek system there at CSULB and his experience in it, I asked permission to go through a leadership interview with him.  This is an amazing tool that just asks about their experience and opinions about leadership and then transitions into their thoughts about Jesus and how he led.  I couldn't believe I had never used this tool before!  It is the perfect thing to use with Greek leaders and it is such a great way to get to know them.  One of the questions even asks, "If you were in our shoes trying to expose students to Christ in a positive way, what would you do?"  What was his answer?  He said, "Exactly what you're doing.  Ask me questions.  Be genuine.  Get to know me before you share this with me." 

By the time we both had to leave, he had given me contact information for everyone I would need to get ahold of, told me when IFC, PHC and all of the other Greek Councils met and even offered the option of coming to speak at their meetings to publicize this new Greek ministry.  This student was not even a Christian!  Yet, he was willing to do anything to help us out, all because we had taken the time to get to know him, to come from an outside approach and become an insider.

Currently there is not a Greek movement with Campus Crusade at CSULB.  I was filled with joy and yet also sadness when he began offering all of the opportunities for connections in the Greek system - joy because of the doors God seemed to be opening and sadness because the need is there but there are not enough laborers for the harvest. 

As Greek movements begin to pop up on campuses all over our region, I'm reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthians: "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.  To those under the law I became like on under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings" (1 Cor. 9:20-23).  Don't let fear hold you back from reaching out to a group of people where you feel like an "outsider."  Ask questions, develop friendships, be genuine, love them and let the Spirit use you.