Wrestling with Simplicity, Introduction

A convergence of ideas has occurred in my mind recently.

Our team, as a form of development and bonding, reads a chapter of the book Authentic Communication by Tim Muehlhoff and then we discuss its implications for our ministry during staff meetings. (Excellent book by the way, well worth the read!!)Well, several weeks ago we talked about an idea presented in his book that if we intend to make an impact on people then what we do needs to have low predictability while retaining high information. Muehlhoff suggests that we need to act, speak, and present our perspective in a way that challenges the assumptions made about "our kind" while still offering valuable information about who Christ actually is and what we actually believe. As you may know, I am always a fan of low predictability, so this idea naturally got me thinking.

The next marker on the way to the convergence happened in a conversation with some of my students. In talking about evangelism, the Four Spiritual Laws came up (not surprising amongst Cru members). The students suggested that the booklet they had all learned to use was too simple, and that it wasn't working well with students. They liked internalizing it so that they had a basic road map of the Gospel in their minds, but they felt they needed something more for the students they shared their faith with.

A couple of days later, I remembered a study I learned about in Sociology class. The study looked at social groups and the commitment levels and/or responsibilities placed on members to see the correlation between the two. Researchers assumed that a low-level commitment at entry level increasing over time would make for the most loyal membership in a group. The study found, however, that a range of higher commitment levels actually had the best chance of producing loyal members, implying that people actually preferred a sense of buy-in or strong commitment to a group their joining.

Finally, this past weekend, I read Epic by John Eldredge (another FANTASTIC book, while we're at it!). The book presents the Story of God and shows how all the stories we love mimic this one, great Story. In four sections he presents the Gospel message in terms of story elements like hero, villain, battle, struggle, hope, victory, and happily ever after. The presentation moved me immensely - I felt so inspired and motivated to live for God and to "play my role" in the story! I wanted to join in battle to win human hearts for God, despite it sounding much harder than the generic "go out and share your faith" kind of exhortation.

These four things have converged in my mind. So far the I can only say that I think the Four Laws is too simple for today's generation. Not that they aren't true, but that they're a model of presentation,  parts of a story rather than a story. And that, I think, is the issue. Would you rather read a textbook on the parts of a narrative or a narrative? Which one would move you and become a favorite on your bookshelf? Stories move us because the parts are woven into a whole and built into a moving symphony of ideas, while the textbook teaches us to understand a story and even retell it, but is not a story itself.

So, over the next few days, I'm going to try and think and write and post about this. About balancing simplicity of truth with beauty of composition and trying to contextualize the "basics" of the Gospel in a way that moves those I share it with. Maybe I'm wrong to be thinking this way - let me know your perspectives! But before you toss out my ideas completely, consider the following: If story isn't meant to be a part of our efforts, then why did Jesus speak mainly in parables?

Evangelism Story and Prayer Request

Hello Ministry Family,

I just thought I'd drop a note to tell you about a cool thing God did today and to send along a prayer request. This afternoon, I met up with Katelyn, a fellow Cru staff member, to do some evangelism on campus at UMASS Dartmouth. We met to pray, and we decided that our goal was to have one good conversation that went past the basic survey that we were asking. We thought in order to achieve this we would probably need to plan on speaking to about four different students, hoping that at least one of the conversations would take off. Little did we know that God was about to show us how much He is in control, and we are just to be obedient and go out to share our faith and He'd take care of who we talked to and the end product of us going out.

Soularium

God sailed past our expectations, we never thought the first student we talked to would be such a long and fruitful conversation. We spoke to a freshman girl on campus for about an hour. We started by doing a picture survey, called soularium, which was created by Campus Crusade students on a summer project in NY. She was so open to share about her past, present and future goals as we worked through the survey asking her questions about what her current life situation was like, what she wished it was, her description of God, her spiritual background and what she hoped her spiritual journey included. Katelyn was able to share with her about having divorced parents, and create common ground with her there. The freshman girl was a joy to talk to, and I'm currently learning to follow the Holy Spirit's guiding while creating a positive environment for trust building with the students instead of forcing the direction of the conversations towards a decision about Christ every time, because they honestly might not be ready. Unfortunately we did not get into the presentation of the Gospel, but both Katelyn and I were able to tell a little of our testimonies about why we were on staff with Cru Ministries (which did include, God and His Son Jesus and God's role in our lives and decisions). Also as we were parting ways we invited her to the student group on campus, Christian Fellowship. She said that her grandmother is a Christian, so she is open to it and really wanted to stop by. We also exchanged e-mail addresses :). When we sat down with her she was reading a book about finding healing, and I hope that in God's time she'll find it through her Savior Jesus Christ. For now lets call her Brittney, so that I can refer back to her later. Please keep her in your prayers. I really hope to see her this Thursday.

College is a time where so many decisions are made. For Brittney she is on a path trying to figure out her path to inner-healing, and future total enlightenment. Our goal as Christians is to meet them where they are at and answer their questions on the road to the cross. We covet your prayers so much. Thank you for making this all possible. Please keep Matt and I in your prayers. Pray that we continue to get time on campus evangelizing to the precious students that God wants to bring into His family.

To God be the Glory,
Rebecca Litchfield

March Prayer Letter

Hello All!

I regrettably forgot to post our last newsletter on here! I am so sorry to those of you who only look for electronic updates! Here it is!

God Bless,
Matt

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 - Matthew 28:18-20

March 1, 2012

Dear Ministry Family,

Two young men that Matt meets with

 - no stripes are not a required dress 

code to meet with Matt.

Jesus spoke the Great Commission before ascending into heaven to a crowd of people including His most devoted followers. The Savior of the world had spent thirty-three years on earth, three of which had been fully devoted to ministry and Gospel-planting. He had spoken to countless crowds full of thousands of hungry souls. Often, though, I have wondered what (other than His divine omniscience) gave Him the confidence that some of that final crowd would listen and obey. How did He know the mission would move forward? Or, more appropriately, what had He done to ensure it?

Acts answers this question, as do the Gospels, by simply pointing to a small group of men who Christ had invested higher levels of effort in. These men, selected by Christ, appointed by the Father (Mark tells us Jesus prayed before calling the apostles), and eventually filled by the Holy Spirit had caught the “full fever” of Jesus’ vision and were the first “operatives” in Jesus’ global mission. Three years had shown them His character, His heart, and His intent for the world, and by the time of His ascension they had made His vision their own.

Reading this out of the Gospels has driven us to make discipleship an ever-increasing part of our role on campus. Meeting with students, caring about and pouring into their lives, teaching them, wrestling with the Truths of Scripture, showing them Jesus vision and helping them realize that they, too, can aid in advancing it, and showing them how God has specifically equipped them is – I believe – one of the most powerful parts of Church Age life. I am one believer, and even on my most sold-out, fired-up days I am still just one person. But, if a portion of my time is given over to meeting with even two students regularly and helping them see why I’m sold out for Jesus’ vision and why they ought to be as well, then I’m multiplying myself, making three where there was one. 

Two of the Christian Fellowship girls

 that God laid on Rebecca’s heart, 

with Arnie, the university’s mascot. 

Pray for us about this area called discipleship, please! Pray specifically that God will show us who to meet with, how to reach out to them, what to work on, and, ultimately, that God will bless our efforts by turning those students around and having them do the same and select others to pour into. I (Matt) currently meet with seven college men who I love working alongside and devouring Scripture with – pray that I can effectively meet their differing needs and care for their lives individually. Rebecca currently meets with three college women and is praying about three more whom God has laid on her heart. Pray for the launch of these new relationships as well as the continued deepening of the ones she has. Also, please pray that God will continue to help us balance this part of our job with the others, such as evangelism, training, etc.

Thank you for your efforts to empower us with spiritual and physical resources. You truly have freed us up to do this work and it blesses us so much to have you serving with us. May God continue to bless your faithfulness and continue to guide all our efforts for His Kingdom.

Your Fellow Laborers,

Matt & Rebecca Litchfield