Suffering is Part of It

October 08, 2024

Over a 100 students at Fall Camp 2024

Howdy and Hello!

I am excited to tell you all about the exciting ministry going on at UTA.

This month, I had a lot going on and a lot to prepare for our students. Between Fall Camp preparation, two sermons, a series of worship activities and team games I needed to plan, and my weekly responsibilities of meeting with and praying for students, I was busy busy busy this last month. This busyness did add up to be pretty stressful and left me feeling a bit drained at times.

Two things about that:

I am feeling very refreshed now that Fall camp and those sermons are done with. God is good and they all went well. I can tell you more in the rest of the blog.
I have been thinking a lot about the reality of life under Christ and His model of a life of suffering.

Philippians 2:5-11

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus in his equality with God chose to become nothing. A baby born into a poor socially disgraced family. He lived a righteous life for others, and in living for others, died they death that we all deserved.

I want to be loved. I want to be successful. I want to be adored. I want to be comfortable. Most of my life, I can so easily be focused on myself. My pursuit of looking like Jesus often comes to a halt when one of those ideas gets challenged. Christ did not feel loved, successful, adored, or comfortable on the cross though.

But through his suffering, Christ was exalted by the Father even higher. A name above all other names.

Prayer meeting over a potential church plant

Suffering is something the American Lifestyle tells you to avoid. But Christ is calling us in the present to pick up our cross daily.

I realize a busy and stressful work season is among the smaller crosses I will bear in life, but all the more important to learn this lesson early in life. There is and always will be great suffering in this life till Jesus returns. It does not take much looking to find this idea be reality. I look at world news, politics (both nationally and locally), I see disasters, like the Hurricanes in Tampa. I look as close as some of my closest friends and see suffering in life and in relationships.

I have found great hope in this poem from Philippians. The suffering we endure does not have to be in vain. The pain is real. But it can be redeemed. I will suffer in this life, as we all will. But I can choose to suffer like Christ or like myself, and only one will bring me higher in His Kingdom.

I am now encouraging my students to look for suffering. For college students in a first world country, the suffering we have experienced is sooo different from the rest of the world and the rest of history. Where is Christ calling me to die to myself? How will giving up more be more beautiful? How will I understand Christ more through my suffering? What am I actually missing when I have less?

A student made Bonnie this wonderfully silly hat

Kelley's first time with little lady. Pray for Casa Del Lago and their wonderful ministry.

Angel and Daniel with girly

Fall camp was such a blessing this year. While it was the most stressful for me in terms of preparation, the results were far from disappointing. I had 6 guys from core this year, and they all had a great time. I always tell students this is where most people go from feeling like they attend FOCUS to feeling like they are a part of it.

All of my guys came out of their experience closer to one another, closer to our greater community, and closer to Christ. Each of my guys came to me at a separate point during or post camp to thank me for inviting them not only to camp, but to FOCUS in general. One said "I have not made friends like this before. I have never had friends that point me to Christ like this."

The boys after ultimate frisbee

I got to preach on Thursday before camp about how our community needs unity and what that will cost us as individuals. Similar to the idea of suffering I mentioned above, 1 Corinthians talks about the cross being wisdom. In us denying ourselves, seeking to put others first, we do lose our freedom, rights, and preferences. But through those sacrifices we gain connection, belonging, and harmony.

Many students have told me that sermon was challenging. I am happy to hear that. It was ample timing before our retreat to talk about unity, and I think we saw much fruit through the way people sought one another at camp.