A Baptism and an Ordination

Last Friday, we celebrated our second ever baptismal service at Tulane's outdoor pool. This time around, there was only one to be baptized, but it was great!

Liz Bowers made her public proclamation of faith in the presence of the Tulane Chi Alpha community, and a lifeguard. 

I don't have any pictures, currently, as Jen and I couldn't find the camera that evening, but hope to have some soon. In the meantime check out Liz's testimony.

Then, on Monday, I was ordained by the Assemblies of God. I'm not too big on formal occasions or for titles, but the service was still quite meaningful. Superintendent Doug Fulenwider preached a deeply challenging address on keeping the Kingdom of God first.

The night was even more meaningful as my dad, and his brother, John, were in attendance. I didn't even know they were coming to town until I discovered them in my dining room Sunday after church! Thank God for family.

Speaking of family, I'm looking forward to a non-surprise visit from my mom, tomorrow. This will be here first time to Louisiana.

Tulane Likes to Talk about Sex

Last week, one of my favorite speakers on the planet, and a really nice guy, Curt Harlow, paid a visit to New Orleans. Curt is the West Coast Regional Director for Chi Alpha. He's a blast: full of funny stories and profound insight and the love of Jesus.

While here, for just a quick stay, he shared a talk entitled Sex: Selection and Survival. We did some creative advertising at the lunch break, as Curt shared a few 3-5min comedic vignettes to the students chowing down and studying in an area of Tulane's center for university life, and then one of our students would invite them to come to the talk.

Well, I think the creative advertising helped, but more than that, XA students invited their friends. Nearly 50 people showed up and scarfed 14 pizzas! Close to 20 of them were folks who had never met XA before.

Curt shared more funny stories, illustrating the power of sex and relationships, and giving some brilliant guidance in building a relationship that works. He ended with a personal confession of his faith in Jesus - the power that has enabled him to enjoy more than 20 years of loving marriage. After this, there was some Q & A.

Tulane students love to talk about sex, and we'll keep dialoguing with them. There is a shift going on in our community, as we step into greater boldness, and begin to have faith that God really can impact this university with the Good News! After this wonderful turn-out and discussion, our students are encouraged and expectant for the future in a new way.

Activity at Tulane

We just arrived home from D.C. last night, and I'll post some updates on all that shortly, but here's a little current events blast from Tulane in the words of President Scott Cohen:

March 18, 2008

Good Morning:

I know I just wrote you a few days ago but I couldn't wait to tell you the exciting news that emerged from this weekend's inaugural meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative U (CGI U).

The energy was electrifying and the enthusiasm infectious as 700 college students joined activists, speakers, more than 30 university and college presidents, celebrities and guests from around the world to make commitments to specific solutions for global problems.

Tulane not only played host but also made several CGI U commitments of its own that address global issues in the areas of health, education, poverty and the environment. One Tulane CGI U commitment, announced by President Clinton himself, was our pledge to open several community health centers in New Orleans neighborhoods. These community centers will provide high-quality heath care for those who cannot afford health insurance and will also help revitalize depressed or hurricane-ravaged neighborhoods.

We also pledged to host annual summits, a web site and other efforts by which we will encourage universities throughout North America to implement our successful post-Katrina curriculum that makes public service a requirement of graduation. As the first major research university with such a requirement, we are already recognized as the national model and leader in civic engagement.

We also became the landmark 500th signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging that the university will measure its impact on global warming and develop a plan to achieve carbon neutrality through reduced energy use, green building, increased recycling efforts and other measures. The one-minute interview at this link will tell you more about these commitments.

Since this will be my last Tulane Talk before our upcoming three-day weekend, I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Campus Sex Talks

Over the past few weeks, I've had the privilege of leading a provocatively title discussion on sexuality and God on our three campuses: Tulane, Loyola, and UNO. "Why does God hate Sex" drew out a few new folks, some of whom were just curious, and a few who seemed to be expecting a fight.

At all three campuses, we were able to really break down some false objections to God and to Christianity, and give students, Christian and non, some food for thought regarding why God has rules about sexuality.

I really enjoy engaging students in this kind of an arena, and am grateful to God for the opportunity. I look forward to building on this in the near future.

Here's a copy of the notes that Jen so kindly typed up for me. She also used the talk for a Satellite Group for ladies that she leads at Loyola.

fun with internationals

As our relationship with Tulane's Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) continues to develop, we have more and more opportunities to serve and love international students. This past week, Chi Alpha hosted the monthly 'coffee hour' the OISS sponsors on campus. Jen and one of our student leaders baked some wonderful cookies, and we provided some other harvest-time snacks. Jen also had some fun games for us all to play. Coffee Hour is just getting back on its feet again, and this one was, by far, the most fun and interactive I've been to!

While there, I met a new student from mainland China, Xiangcun, who is here on a government scholarship. In an email over the weekend, he said that I'm the first American friend he's made! What an opportunity.

photo album: http://tulane.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069912&l=a848f&id=2809800

Recap

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us this week!
Monday night turned out quite well.

At 6:30pm we had a Albanian style dinner with missionary Mark Orfila with some of our Chi Alpha group. Mark shared some stories from his time on the field, and we prayed for him and his family. more pictures

At 8:00pm we welcomed the Tulane community to our counterpoint to Ann Coulter. Typical to Tulane, the response was small. However, Mark's talk, and the subsequent Q & A time was definitely beneficial to our students, and the handful of guests.

The Good News about Jesus was shared, and Mark presented a coherent Christian response to religious hatred, and the trend of tolerance. I hope we can build on this, as our students gain boldness to speak up for the love and truth of God, and as we search out creative ways to share the Good News to wider audiences.

Also, last night I was a part of a panel discussion hosted by the GLBT Caucus of the Tulane College Democrats. I'm not sure why they chose to invite Jen and/or I to represent the Christian Perspective on homesexuality and gay rights in America, but I, with a bit of fear and trembling, accepted the invitation. All in all, the discussion went pretty well. Two of the other panelists (a Reformed Jewish rabbi, and a young Philosophy & Ethics professor) were not particularly happy with my answers to questions about the morality of homosexual behavior, but otherwise the students asked me several questions, and gave my dissenting opinion a fair hearing. I only hope my demeanor, and the bits of God's Truth I was able to share were a small glimmer of light.

Finally, our last monthly Gathering of the Fall semester is next week. Please continue to pray for us and our students!

Ann Coulter Visits Tulane, and Chi Alpha Responds

Follow the News regarding ultra-conservative political pundit, Ann Coulter's recent visit (this past Monday, the 22nd) to Tulane:

Tulane Hullabaloo 12 Oct 07

Tulane Hullabaloo 19 Oct 07

Letter to Hullabaloo Editor 19 Oct 07 #1

Letter to Hullabaloo Editor 19 Oct 07 #2

Tulane New Wave 24 Oct 07

I was present at the event with some of Tulane's Student Affairs faculty and staff to attempt some level of crowd control. I tried to keep my area somewhat subdued, but the whole event really turned into a circus as Coulter's loaded arguments continually received jeers, rude gestures, and more from a mostly antagonistic audience.

I left the event heavy-hearted as so many students I have been called to share the love and message of Jesus with left with angry, bitter hearts, hardened in their preconceptions about Christians, God, etc... as Coulter regularly identifies herself as a Christian, and the majority of America's evangelicals are heavily associated with political conservatism.

However, I believe God has set us up for a great opportunity of response, and our Tulane students agree. Before we knew of this visit by Ann Coulter, and it's association with what is called Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week we had invited missionary Mark Orfila to come visit our students to share about his experiences ministering among Islamic Albanians in the Balkans on the 29th of October. Mark has an amazing heart of love for Muslims to the point of literally turning the other cheek when he was beaten for his work sharing the message of Jesus!

Mark has agreed to change our planned prayer time into an outreach for dialogue at Tulane. Please pray for us!

As part of the publicity for this event (not much time to get the word out), I have submitted the following letter to the editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo (student newspaper) this afternoon:

One of the most difficult statements Jesus of Nazareth ever made was, “Love your enemies.” Many people throughout history, and around the globe today have made a practice of self-identifying with Jesus as a Christian while routinely neglecting his more difficult teachings. Ms. Ann Coulter is one of those millions. While I cannot speak for the reality of her religious persuasion and faith, I am confident in the assertion that her recent visit and talk at Tulane completely failed to reflect the ethic of Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers…Blessed are the meek…Turn the other cheek…Walk an extra mile…” Even as all people fall short of the ultimate expression of Jesus’ teachings, I think it very unfortunate if anyone at Tulane were to take Coulter’s attitudes and beliefs as generally representative of Tulane’s Christian population. Ms. Coulter refuses to give a legitimate hearing to those she disagrees with, and makes her money by belittling opposing people and views. Despite the rather juvenile response of the crowd this past Monday at McAlister Auditorium, I believe we can all be bigger than that. As a leader of one of the Christian communities here are Tulane, I would like to invite the Tulane community to an honest dialogue regarding such difficult issues as cultural and economic imperialism, terrorism and religiously motivated violence in general, tolerance and hatred, and Christian evangelistic work. These are not easy topics, but if we are to be the best people we can be, we must address difficult issues with more than a jeer, a prejudgment, or an apathetic wave of the hand. I also hope Tulane Christians can have the opportunity to graciously present their beliefs, and the ethic they embrace as followers of Jesus of Nazareth. As one step in that direction, I invite the Tulane community to join us this coming Monday, the 29th, in the 1834 Room/Faculty-Staff Dining room in the LBC (#215) at 8pm for a talk and dialogue with a Christian worker who has lived with the Islamic Albanian people in the Balkans for the past decade: When Cultures Clash: Hatred vs. Tolerance… or is there another Way – a counterpoint to Ann Coulter. For the sake of space and real dialogue, only the first 60 guests will be admitted.

Graduations!

Saturday, we attended our first graduation of the year at Loyola. We celebrated with Jontue Jackson, Andrea Savickis, and Laura Post.

Laura joined us the moment we moved to New Orleans in July of 2007. She is from the New Orleans area, and felt that God wanted her to go to Loyola. She knew about Chi Alpha from several of her friends that attended Louisiana Tech and were involved with XA there. She wanted to know if Loyola had a Chi Alpha chapter, and we told her, "Yes, you're it!"

Laura plugged in immediately, and stepped into a leadership role. She's the first four year Chi Alphan we've seen all the way through. She has been such a blessing!

This coming Saturday, we will try to be in two places at once, as we see Brandane Smith graduate from UNO, and Annie Chung graduate from Tulane.

Reconciling students to Christ--transforming the University, the Marketplace, and the World!

Tulane Recovery

This past fall we saw much smaller freshman classes at all the New Orleans universities. Many prospective students and parents where still very worried about the recovery and safety of New Orleans, and the universities themselves.

Two days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, we helped move in nearly 1,700 freshmen to Tulane. This past fall, there were less than 1,000.

However, news was just released that the fall 2007 incoming freshmen at Tulane number nearly 1,400! And they don't just come from the USA, but Albania, Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, India, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom, as well.

I have not found numbers for the incoming classes at the rest of the universities we minister to, but this is good, exciting news.

read the whole news story here: http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=7339

Riding a Weird Wave toward Easter

One of the exciting opportunities involved in missional ministry on the American university campus is the presence of student from all over the globe--internationals from nearly every nation on the planet make up nearly 3/4 of a million of the 16 million college students in the nation.

Jen and I have been making friends from other nations in New Orleans since we arrived, but have had difficulty getting together a working relationship with Tulane's Center for International Students & Scholars from the get go. It's a long, weird story, but I'll spare you the whole history.

Since the hurricane, and especially this new academic year there has been a new sense of willingness, even excitement about working with us, as a new director took over the department last fall. We were helping to put back together the International Host Program, which gives internationals an opportunity to get to know an American family. We are recruiting friendship families from local churches. (check out www.onemorefriend.org)

Well, the new director, left for another state last week! So, the point of this little story: please pray that the doors God has opened will stay open, and the favor that has been granted us will continue as Tulane's transitions continue.

On a bright note, however: Our interns will be leading an Easter Retreat on the 6th-8th for international students. They will be camping, exploring some of South Louisiana's amazing culture, and learning about the Christian holiday of Easter. We're excited about what God has in store for this great weekend.

---Tulane Greenwave baseball team is having a bit of an up and down season, but has still amassed a 19-7 record heading into a series with top 25 ranked East Carolina this weekend.