OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Every month, students get together to worship, fellowship and testify about the wonderful things God’s done on campuses across New Jersey. 

Last Jersey Cru, our staff decided to invite a panel to discuss what God says about diversity and unity within the body of Christ. I was able to join a panel of intellectual, God-fearing believers to answer questions about race and our roles as Christians in the conversation.

A week after the panel, I was given the opportunity to speak at Kean’s Cru movement meeting on Ephesians 4:1-16. We talked about the 4 major responsibilities we have as Christians in addressing those different from us within the body of Christ.

Together, we recognized that humility, patience, gentleness & bearing with one another in love are all ways through which we can yield to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Yielding to one another is not very different than yielding to someone in traffic on the road. It takes the Holy Spirit giving us humility to lay down our desires (to be right, to be in control, to be comfortable) so that others may feel loved and so that the body of Christ may grow in maturity. 

“We are called to speak and act in humility, patience, gentleness and love.”

No matter what our opinion on a social justice issue, politician or carpet color of the church rug, we are called to speak and act in humility, patience, gentleness and love. This isn’t easy, but is necessary for the Christian church to grow more fully in Christ and therefore more accurately represent Jesus Christ to the world. When we do this, more will want to be a part of God’s family - because of our love. The Lord has challenged me to consider how I’m applying Ephesians 4:2 to my speech on social media, in person, or within the body of Christ.

CHANGE IS NOT EASY

In my last letter, I talked about how New Jersey is a “different world”… but really, it’s more like college life is a different world.

When a freshman walks onto the college campus, he/she is very aware of the differences from home life. Sometimes these differences stem from their ethnic cultures. Often students will start to feel alone, misunderstood, and frustrated by the second month of the semester… unless they meet a friend… someone else who may feel alone or scared but chooses to smile and say “hello”.

Beyond college life, many people are scared of what they do not know or understand and often that leads to assimilation or isolation. However, when someone is bold enough to engage with another person made in the likeness of God, they choose freedom over the bondage of fear.

A friend of mine gave her 3-year old daughter advice for whenever she would meet someone new at our biennial staff conference in July of this year. After her daughter greeted me, Sarah said “Pheobe, do you have a question for Ms. Tabitha?” “Oh yes…. Ummm…. What’s one good thing that happened to you today?” Pheobe would reply. Sarah is teaching her young daughter to not live in fear of the unknown when it comes to relationships but to engage in conversation that leads to freedom over fear.

At Cru15, I witnessed God do something with the fear once in our leaders hearts that was passed on to the 5,000 staff in the room.

Steve Sellers and the national leadership team began to look around and truly SEE who was and who was NOT yet in the room and then they encouraged us to wrestle with the question “why”...Why were there so few ethnic minorities on staff with the ministries of Cru in the United States?

I believe this year's national staff conference was the visible beginning of change for Cru in the U.S. and may even impact Christian evangelicals in America for the next decade. For forty days before the conference, staffs were invited to fast and pray for the Lord's hand in and through Cru15. The staff at Cru15 engaged in difficult conversations, many of which helped bring up some underlying racism they didn't know existed. We did this so that we can move to expand in our diversity ethnically as staff in order to show God’s love in our unity to a dividing nation. We were also challenged to grow in our commitment to share the Good news, move forward in building partnerships with the body of Christ, and take the good news beyond our borders so that everyone may have the opportunity to know God personally.

A dream…

On August 28^th, 1963 our nation heard a speech from a well-known Pastor concerning a seemingly impossible dream called equality.

This speech helped “remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.”

“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism... Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment,” says MLK Jr.

With Christine in the MLK garden @ KU

Later in his speech, King encourages the people to love one another and remember that each person is an individual who deserves a fair chance and we as a people cannot “walk alone”.

On August 27, 1985 I was born to a young Christian Puerto Rican couple in the back seat of a station wagon in the Bronx of NYC. After being raised in a very ethnically diverse environment, I later went to Kean University in NJ to study yet another culture – deaf education. The summer of 2008, after a one-year internship with Cru’s campus ministry in New Jersey, I joined staff.

Over the course of the past 11 years serving God through the ministry of Cru, the Holy Spirit has placed on my heart a dream to see His children fellowship together across ethnic barriers. I’ve been privileged to see Him transform the ministry in New Jersey and recently experienced amazing new efforts by the national leaders of the campus ministry to see an Acts 2 community come alive across the United States. (Specifically verses 7-11 & 42-47)

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21

Next week I will be at our headquarters in Orlando, Florida with a team from across the nation praying, hearing & strategically planning to make Cru a more ethnically diverse ministry. There is so much more I can say about this matter, but for now, I would just as you to please pray that I submit to the Holy Spirit and follow as He leads in regards to this very sensitive topic.

… And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.
– Martin Luther King Jr. 

Transition Transition Transition… oh, and Transition

May is all about transition. The sun transitions to a more visible position. Seniors say their final words of wisdom to the underclassmen before they head out to the real world. Staff families take off to lead in their summer mission assignments known as Summer Projects. Students transition out of their regular schedules. And I… well… I have just been announced as the Jersey Metro Cru female director!

One thing that is not changing this season is my location! This summer I will be working alongside Mark Scott, Jersey Metro male director, to plan how we will help guide the team for next year. I am also coaching new and returning interns on how to raise up their ministry team so that they can be fully supported as they enter into the full-time mission field. Please pray that I grow in discipline with my time and my relationship with the Lord as I lead in these new roles.

Tab, Laura, Nicole, Lakesha (new Kean Cru pres), Kassy, Sarah

I’m excited to announce that Laura Fairchild, former president of Kean Cru who I discipled from her freshman year, is now raising support to intern with our Mid-Atlantic regional office! She will be using her degree in accounting to be a support and resource to our staff across the region. 
I’m so proud of her willingness to take such a large step of faith to raise her salary for the next year as she surrenders her “American Dream” to serve her King full-time for a year. Especially as the first African-American woman to serve in that office! Please pray for her to meet those who God is calling to financially support her so that she can report in August.

Please also keep in prayer our Jersey Metro staff team who are serving this summer in the Dominican Republic, Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, and those staying in New Jersey. Many of our team needs more financial support in order to stay full-time campus ministers. Some have yet to even report because of this.  Please continue to pray as we trust the Lord with all these things this summer.

In Awe!... of cities?

Last month, at RADIATE-In Awe, I had the opportunity to join Pastor Rich Perez from Christ Crucified Fellowship and director, Andy Young, of the Cru Philly team in a couch discussion in front of 1000 students.

Here is that interview following a great talk called "cities" by Pastor Rich. (starting at minute 53)
http://vimeo.com/83794784