Haiti Update

from The Assemblies of God

HAITI:  Relief efforts continue on several fronts. Convoy of Hope workers have distributed more than 1.7 million meals and installed dozens of water filters since a 7.0 earthquake rocked the nation January 12. U.S. Assemblies of God missionaries and national believers from Haiti and Dominican Republic are assisting in relief efforts and ministering to people’s emotional and physical needs.

Missionaries also are evaluating damages to churches and pastors’ homes. A number of AG pastors, along with Haiti’s AG general superintendent and one missionary family, are without housing. More than one-third of the nation is displaced. The U.S. Assemblies of God is committed to help provide assistance.

COH reports that more than 1 million pounds of food and supplies are headed for Haiti. “At this point many months, if not years, of long-term response will be needed,” says Greg Venturella, international operations director for Convoy of Hope. “Haiti was impoverished before the disaster; the earthquake only amplified the situation.”

go to www.convoyofhope.org to give

Announcement: The Veritas Forum at Tulane

see more at www.veritas.org/tulane

Radical Marxist, Radical Womanist, Radical Love

What Mother Teresa Taught Me about Social Justice

Monday, February 1 @ 7:00 pm

Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life: 1834 Club
--on the second floor, follow the signs

Dr. Mary Poplin

Professor in the School of Educational Studies

Claremont Graduate University

Having spent the majority of her academic career teaching and living by a range of worldviews, Mary Poplin now undergirds her academic vocation to improve education for the underprivileged with the radical change of worldview she wrestled with while she was Dean of the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. In her presentation, Professor Poplin will describe her unexpected encounter with Christ in her early 40s, and the impact that her experience of volunteering with Mother Teresa had on her professional and personal life. Students and professors will be challenged to think through the deep assumptions that shape their own lives and work and to consider the historic Christian faith as an intellectually credible and experientially satisfying basis for living in today's world.

God, Government or Me: Who Determines Moral Good?

Monday, February 8 @ 7:00 pm

Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life: Kendall Cram Room

Prof. Marcus Cole

Wm. Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law

Stanford Law School

in dialogue with

Dr. Eric Mack

Professor of Philosophy

Tulane University

Dr. Eric Mack and Dr. Marcus Cole, after putting forth their individual arguments for political libertarianism, will engage in a discussion dealing with the foundation of morality from their respective secular and Christian perspectives. Free from the difficulties of crossing a political divide, these men will be able to address and critique each other’s fundamental principles that compel them to a common conclusion. Both Dr. Mack and Dr. Cole will also relate how morality in their personal lives is motivated by and rooted in their distinct worldviews and philosophies.

Dr. Eric Mack is Professor of Philosophy at Tulane University. His central philosophical interests are the basis of moral rights, property rights and distributive justice, and the legitimate scope of coercive institutions. Dr. Marcus Cole is Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. His wide-ranging academic interests include classical liberal political theory, natural law, and the history of commercial law.

Sponsors Include: Tulane’s Division of Student Affairs, Newcomb-Tulane College Programs, Tulane University School of Social Work, Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, Episcopal/ELCA Campus Ministry, InterVarsity Chrisitan Fellowship, The Impact Movement, Presbyterian Campus Fellowship, Tulane Catholic Center, Tulane Wesley Foundation

Christmas Letter 2009

Printable versions are available here: letter / collage

Sending out Laborers

1. New photos posted on my flickr account from our recent Christmas party - good times!

DSCF4335
Originally uploaded by mattdegier

2. We desire to develop students to be effective messengers of the transforming Good News of Jesus to the university, the marketplace, and the world. Part of that goal is to see students answer the call to campus ministry. Here's a story written by our current Campus Missionary in Training, Meg Powell, about one of our seniors, Liz Bowers. (Liz has shown up on this blog in the past.)

Elizabeth Bowers is a Senior at Tulane University. She has been attending Chi Alpha since her freshmen year. When Liz first came to Chi Alpha she was struggling with the idea of God. She began to explore all faiths. The big question she was trying to answer was, Who is the real God? Through a roommate and some research Liz found this group called Chi Alpha. As she continued her quest for answer the students of Chi Alpha invited Liz to be apart of their group. She began to attend the Chi Alpha services and became more and more apart of the Chi Alpha community. She began to live her life out with other students of like faith. One night at service, through worship and the message Liz had a revelation of Christ. She realized that she needed Christ in her life and that she didn’t have to live this crazy life alone. God had given her a community of believers. That night Liz accepted Christ into her life. She is now leading a bible study and is a leader in Chi Alpha. Liz graduates this coming May with a Bachelors of Science and Engineering. Liz is brilliant!! While the world says that she should go on to have an amazing career and a large paycheck, she feels God calling her down a different career path. As she comes to a close in her college career she is walking down a new avenue. Liz is choosing to follow the call of God in her life to serve with Chi Alpha and reach out to students the same way she was reached. Liz has a heart to see the engineering and science community reached for Christ. She is currently applying for a Campus Missionary Internship with Chi Alpha. Be in prayer for Liz as she chooses to follow the call of God in her life. She is truly an inspiration and passionate about reaching out to students. 

The Veritas Forum at Tulane - Moving Forward for Spring 2010

This is an email I sent out to students, staff, faculty, pastors, and campus ministers on my Veritas email lists:

Green Wave Greetings!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to thank all of you who have been a part of moving The Veritas Forum at Tulane along this year. We have big shoes to fill after last year's wonderful event with Dr. Francis Collins.

I want to keep you all up to date on where things are, now that we are moving from the idea stage towards reality.

As previous updates have mentioned, we are not trying to duplicate last year's event with Dr. Collins. This year, we are planning to have two smaller conversations on Feb 1st and Feb 8th, each following a general theme of what is good/right/just, and how do we arrive at those ideas and pursue them well. Also, each conversation will target a different niche of the campus.

Mon, Feb 1st with Dr. Mary Poplin ~ 7pm.

Currently scheduled for the LBC's 1834 Club, though other venues are being researched.

Dr. Poplin is a frequent guest for Veritas Forums, and has a compelling personal story.

Read her biography at Claremont Graduate University here

Browse her Veritas conversations here

We will look to partner closely with these and other segments of the university, especially, for this evening:

Newcomb Institute, School of Social Work, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and International Development.

Mon, Feb 8th with G. Marcus Cole ~ 7pm.

Currently scheduled for the LBC's Kendall-Cram Room.

Cole is a law professor at Stanford who is new to the fold of Veritas presenters. We look forward to being the first to host him.

This conversation will not only involve Q&A from the audience, but we hope to secure a dialogue partner for Prof. Cole to discuss issues relating to morality and law, and hopefully moving toward the areas of human rights, and where we secure legitimate grounding for our conception of those rights. Prof. Cole knows Dr. Eric Mack of Tulane's Philosophy Dept, and believes he would be a good partner for this dialogue. We will be contacting Dr. Mack with an invitation by the end of this week.

Read about Prof. Cole here

We will look to partner closely with these and other segments of the university, especially, for this evening: School of Business, School of Law, Philosophy Dept, Political Economy Dept, Social Policy and Practice Dept, Economics Dept, Murphy Institute.

We will also look to partner closely with these segments this spring; both conversations may connect well with them: Newcomb-Tulane College, School of Liberal Arts, History Dept, Religious Studies Dept, History Dept, Anthropology, Sociology, and Cognitive Studies...

As you can see, the niches we are aiming for are actually quite large. I believe we will find some strong partners in some of these entities, and look forward to developing those relationships.

What Now?

1. I'd love to be able to write a long email to you explaining the vision behind The Veritas Forum, and our vision here at Tulane, but that would be beyond our scope tonight. However, I do hope to type up something soon and share it with you, and hopefully accompany it with a video version. In the meantime, please take a moment to glance at www.veritas.org especially their mission and values.

There is so much more to this endeavor than hosting interesting programs. We are working to build bridges for the message of life in Jesus Christ to the whole university.

2. Please keep Veritas in mind (spread the word) and in prayer.

Join us for prayer at the Rogers Chapel Seminar Room tomorrow (Thursday) from 9:30-10:30am and/or Monday (the 7th) from 9-10am.

3. We will need help securing finances for this exciting endeavor. An estimated, generous, budget is set at $5,500. We will land somewhere between $4,500 - $6,000.

If you (yes individuals can give big or small) or your organization would like to partner with us financially, you can send gifts directly to Veritas, just be sure to indicate that the gift is for the Tulane Forum. Information on giving is located here.

Also, please pass this information along to others who might be interested, and to your churches.

4. We need help planning and pulling off these events in multiple areas. If you have connections with the university in areas that would be helpful (segments we hope to connect with or others not listed), or some ideas to share, or just a desire to help, please contact me right away.

There is so much more to share, but I will call it a night for this email. Be on the lookout for more information soon.

For Veritas!

-matt