So What Do We Really Do in PCB?!

   A week in Panama City Beach, Florida sounds like a pretty sweet perk to any job, but let me assure you that last week was not a vacation.  University of Illinois Cru loaded 63 students and 6 staff into cars and a charter bus to meet 800 other Cru college students at a conference called Big Break.

   The purpose of the conference is to grow students' hearts for Jesus and train and equip them on how to dialogue with people about spiritual things.  Statistically, only 2% of Christians talk about their faith with non-Christians once a year! If Jesus is the most important and impacting part of our life, then we should be talking about him MUCH more! This conference does a great job giving students practice, teaching, and confidence to come back and engage in spiritual conversations with their friends and family.

Here is what our week looked like in pictures:

Every morning, Roger Hershey, shared from the Bible on why it is urgent to engage in conversations about Jesus, how we can be confident because of the Holy Spirit, and then taught very practical skills. One of my favorite mornings of teaching was on How to Listen Well. Instead of just talking at people, we are called to listen, engage, and care for people wherever they are at. 

Every day in the afternoon, our students took big steps of faith to engage with the other Spring Breakers on the beach.  This always invokes the most fear. It is easy to hear a conference message, but then to turn around and do it is one of the most growing parts of the week. The always surprising part is that the Spring Breakers are so interested in talking about spiritual things. We ask them about their religious background, listen to their experiences, and find out where they are doubting or confused about Jesus.  Even after doing this for years, I get a little nervous, but so many times people leave the conversation thanking us for asking question and getting to know them in a deep way. A common thing I hear is, "I've always wanted to talk about this stuff, but I never know who to talk about it with."  That makes me realize that talking about Jesus doesn't have to be taboo. People have questions and are just waiting for people to talk about it.

Two nights of the week we have Creative Dates. First, a boys room asks a girls room out for dinner and then cooks a big delicious meal for them!  This night the girls room cooked stir fry for the boys. As staff, we get to jump in and enjoy the feast and the community. Always a highlight of the trip. 

After dinner, we would meet back up for another meeting. The Worship band led us in a sweet time of praising God for all He did that day and then we would hear more teaching from the Bible from Matt Mikalatos. He is one of Alex and I's favorite speakers.  He is incredibly creative and thinks so uniquely when he talks about Jesus.  Every night, I learned more about the love of Christ and what a true relationship with him looks like.

The last night we go out to dinner for a big U of I celebration. It is so fun to see how close the group of 69 of us got over the week!  Real community happens when we take steps of faith together and are going after the same goal.  These are 2 of the 5 Chinese international students that came with us on the trip. I had so much fun getting to know them throughout the week. Its such a blessing that all 69 of us will go back to the same campus with all that we learned and grew in. 

This is my 3rd Big Break on staff and every year I value it more and more.  I am constantly so thankful for my job and the immense privilege it is to get to invest in students!

Seeing Jesus as Black & White- My Talk at Cu

Here is the video from the talk I gave last week at Cru on 1 John 1:1-10.  There were a few things on the power point that didn't make it in the video so I am including the graphics of them here.

Seeing Jesus as "Black and White" from uicru on Vimeo.

A way that many people view the Christian life that can lead to performance and self-righteousness:













A way to view the Christian Life that brings repentance and transformation.














1 John 1:1-10

1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ²  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵  This the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.