Spring Break - Vision Denver is officially over.  Spring break for us is not a break, but a week to spend more time with students, build their vision, and serve.  Last week we took our group down south - all the way to Denver!  The purpose of this trip was to build a vision for serving where we are and attempt to see Denver through Jesus’ eyes.  Both were accomplished!

Most of the time consisted of learning some of Denver’s history and spending time with people who are serving/ministering in the more unknown areas/peoples of Denver.   We were able to provide man power for a church planter in a downtown neighborhood and a man who is working among thousands of Russian speakers.  We also heard from a young man who spent a year on the streets of Denver and another pastor who ministers to many homeless.  We were able to give a day to serving (a.k.a. hard work that no one else wants to do) at the church which was our home for a week.  We also gave a half day to loading a shipping container with medical equipment and supplies bound for Nigeria.

A mindset seems to prevail among many students which says that real missions is spending lots of money to go to far away places.  Home is where you can return to your normal comforts.  This trip created a new category for students as meaningful, Kingdom-significant missions/serving right where God has them.  Seeing with Jesus’ eyes as opposed to tourist eyes was also a major shift for them.

A group from Oklahoma State came in this week for their Spring Break.  The purpose of the trip was to serve a like-hearted Christian Challenge (BCM).  We had a great time with them.  They were able to do a lot of landscaping work at the Pruett’s house (which was a huge blessing as they will be gone all summer) and a thorough house-cleaning and retaining wall construction plus yard work at the home of one of our church small group members.  He recently lost his wife to ALS and has four children to care for.  This was an even huger blessing.

The group was fantastic.  They displayed servant hearts as well as grateful and humble attitudes.  I would take that group of students anywhere.  And props to Tony and Melissa who led the team as servant-leaders.  

On our leadership team, called Losers, we have been working on the skill of listening.  Not just being attentive, but allowing God to use us in His redemptive work in the lives of others through how we listen.  It is very difficult.  We are pretty much taught that we must speak into people’s lives.  After all,  power people are all talkers.  Wisdom can’t be shown if we don’t talk (or blog). Right?  So we listen just long enough to access the appropriate data file in our brain and then begin to download when the person speaking breathes. We also have our own problems and want someone to hear us too, so we often start relaying that info before we have truly listened.

We are learning that we need to die to our self (or be a Loser) to really listen.  And when we do that we can invite the person to speak more.  Often, listening in this way will remove barriers to grace that may exist and the person who is sharing can begin to feel the calming presence of Jesus and even understand what God is moving them to.

Listening in this way begins with being firmly rooted in Christ and knowing we that we are known by Him and safe in Him.

A challenging discipleship.

Christian Challenge