While 1,000 college students were attending Cru Winter Conference /// Minneapolis at the end of December, our Tanzania team of missionaries were at a similar type of event in nearby Zambia, called "Pamoja Africa." This conference was for the next generation of leaders who have a vision to transform Africa and the world. Their conference, like ours, had worship speakers and seminars. But most importantly, both conferences were about mobilizing students to take steps of faith and get involved in the world around them, whatever that looks like. Cru seeks to mobilize college students of the world to go forth and be leaders in every segment of society, to impact others. Here are a few quotes and stories, along with some photos, from their Facebook page: "The word Pamoja is derived from the Swahili word meaning “togetherness”. Pamoja Africa is a vision and a movement. A vision to raise a new generation of transformational leaders for a new Africa and beyond. A movement that will build a network of Africans who are continuously engaged in connecting with each other through business, political, social and religious platforms to make a difference for the Lord." "These are Africa's new generations of leaders. Wherever you are, make an eternal difference. Pass it on all you have received. You are made to make impact, in Jesus name!!!" Empowering Leadership, by Dela Adadevoh: Yes, I see a new Africa. Do you see it? I see a new Africa where the leaders are servants of the people They seek to serve not to be served. They are the voices of the voiceless, the faces of the faceless, protectors of the weak and the poor. Leaders are not using fear, force or manipulation as their weapons of control- Leaders are motivating their people by vision, love and respect. I see a free people uniting in action around the common vision of a God-fearing, free and prosperous Africa. The young are dreaming with God Filled with hope and poised for action. The youth are racing on foot with horses Taking risks and leading change Liberating the oppressed and bringing freedom to the captive Loving their land and joyfully laboring to make it the envy of other nations.
0 Comments
Last week I was trying to pick out a few hymns to sing at office morning prayer for worship Wednesday. Instead of relying on Google like I usually do, I grabbed a few hymnals I bought at an antique store a few years back.
I love all books, new and old, but nothing beats the smell of a worn-out binding and crusty yellowed pages- especially from an old hymn book. Paging through a Congregational Church hymnal published in 1919, I saw song after song titled with strange names like "Downs," "Fleming," and "Bradford." Upon further inspection I realized "Bradford" was the popular song "My Redeemer Lives" - and a few other oddly-titled hymns were actually familiar tunes. And then I stumbled on this one: 1. When on my day of life the night is falling, And in the winds, from unsunned spaces blown, I hear far voices out of darkness calling My feet to paths unknown. 2. Thou, who hast made my home of life so pleasant, Leave not its tenant when its walls decay; O love divine, O helper ever present, Be Thou my strength and stay! I defaulted to Google (which was inevitable!) to look up the hymn and learn more about it. I found two more verses (which, of course, were my favorite of the bunch): 3. Be near me when all else is from me drifting-- Earth, sky, home’s pictures, days of shade and shine, And kindly faces to my own uplifting The love which answers mine. 6. Some humble door among Thy many mansions, Some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease, And flows forever through heaven’s green expansions The river of Thy peace. That line -- "where sin and striving cease." That's been a reoccurring theme of the last few years. I've blogged about "cease striving" found in the NASB version of Psalm 46:10. And I've also seen the phrase pop up in other songs, like In Christ Alone ("what heights of love, what depths of peace when fears are stilled, when strivings cease"). "To strive" means to make great efforts to achieve something. Devote serious effort or energy to a task. In my life, striving looks like me trying to achieve perfection, to earn approval from God and others, to devote serious time and energy to managing my image so others like me. Some days the striving seems harmless, even beneficial: striving to complete a project or to do list or inbox zero. But it's easy for the goal of those strivings to be all about me- for my own peace of mind, and not for the glory of God or the serving of others. And most often, my strivings show that I trust in myself a lot more than I trust in God. But He offers the "sheltering shade," where, in his presence, sin and strivings cease. He is the one place where our trust is secure. Below is a quick post I wrote this fall for the national blog for Cru Winter Conference about Listening Well...enjoy! -Amy
I was eating lunch with some friends the other day, and about 20 minutes into the conversation I noticed something. Someone said they’d seen a movie recently. They didn’t like it, but they didn’t really elaborate on their opinion. Someone else mentioned that she had seen saw a different movie over the weekend, and she didn’t like it either. The third person at the table nodded along, and mentioned that he’d seen a totally different movie last month. He liked it. I just sat there, eating my carrot sticks, shaking my head. To an outsider walking by, we appeared to be having a conversation. But we weren’t, really. Everyone was talking about their movie experience. But no one was actually interacting with each other. No one asked “What didn’t you like about the movie?” or “I heard that was funny, do you agree?” or any other variation of a question that would indicate they were listening to the person talking. Listening is a rare gift. We spend so much of our lives in front of screens, which gives us a false sense of connection. We long for true connection with others. But are we longing so deeply for it, that when we’re given the opportunity to connect, we can’t get past our desire for someone to know us? That makes it hard to listen in a way that communicates care for someone. So how do we connect with others? How do we listen well? Here are a couple things I’ve been trying:
|
Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
September 2022
Categories
All
|