{"id":1151,"date":"2019-03-13T13:53:11","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T13:53:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/2187-words-of-wisdom\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T20:15:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:15:52","slug":"2187-words-of-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/the-magazine\/2187-words-of-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Words of Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Union Alumni Share Insights, Encouragement at Brown<\/h2>\n

Tom Campisi<\/h5>\n
Managing Editor<\/h5>\n
Christian Union: The Magazine<\/em><\/h5>\n

\"ayishaBeing a leader with Christian Union at Brown helped Ayisha Jackson make a\u00a0smooth transition to urban missionary\u00a0when she graduated in May.<\/p>\n

Jackson, an engineering\u00a0major, said the ministry\u2019s emphasis on a seeking-God\u00a0lifestyle and rigorous Bible study prepared her for\u00a0her work with Renaissance Church in Providence,\u00a0Rhode Island.<\/p>\n

Jackson returned to campus in the fall as a participant\u00a0in Christian Union\u2019s Life After Graduation\u00a0panel discussion, which included three other members\u00a0of the class of 2018 who are active in vocational\u00a0ministry at Brown: Gianna Uson, an intern with\u00a0Christian Union; Isaac Whitney, an intern with\u00a0Athletes in Action; and Katie Hay, an intern with\u00a0InterVarsity.<\/div>\n
\n

Panel members talked about the benefits and\u00a0challenges of life after college, the importance of\u00a0being part of a church community, and the role faith\u00a0plays in their lives.<\/p>\n

For Jackson and other panelists, being active in\u00a0vocational ministry may not have been part of their\u00a0plans when they came to Brown four years ago, but\u00a0they talked about being open to God\u2019s will and\u00a0trusting in His providence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe discussed seeking different opportunities\u00a0to grow yourself in a particular ministerial calling\u00a0full-time after college,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s\u00a0temporary, it will still contribute greatly to your\u00a0spiritual life and walk with God for years to come,\u00a0which is something a few of us attested to already\u00a0experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Uson, the moderator of the panel, concurred\u00a0with Jackson. The computer science major from\u00a0Hayward, California, joined the Christian Union\u00a0at Brown team this summer.<\/p>\n

\"gianna\u201cI told the students that it\u2019s good to have dreams,\u00a0goals, and maybe even a five-year plan, but to hold\u00a0to these things loosely and be open to whatever God\u00a0has for you. Know that God can change your plans\u00a0and trust that He has your best interest in mind,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

Whitney, who graduated with a degree in economics,\u00a0encouraged the students to trust in the Lord,\u00a0beyond their abilities and dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Ivy League students, it\u2019s pretty natural for us\u00a0to shoot for the stars and work our butts off for\u00a0certain prestigious careers,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was certainly\u00a0my mindset, and still is to an extent at times.<\/p>\n

It is a rite of passage to load up your schedule with various extracurriculars and r\u00e9sum\u00e9-builders. But\u00a0real Christlike strength is having the ability to surrender\u00a0all our plans to God\u2019s will and understand\u00a0that God\u2019s ways are better than ours, and so are His\u00a0plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney also stressed to the students that, although\u00a0hard work is still required, \u201cour ultimate\u00a0identity and sense of worth must come from Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must learn to trust in Him wholly. I never\u00a0planned to be doing what I am now, but I am so\u00a0incredibly thankful that God brought me into this\u00a0position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justin Doyle, a Christian Union ministry fellow\u00a0at Brown, said the alumni did a great job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was proud as I sat and listened to the wise\u00a0counsel of these recent graduates of our ministry\u2014they are proof that God has certainly been at work here at Brown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Whitney, Uson, and Jackson were integral members\u00a0of Christian Union at Brown when the ministry\u00a0was in its formative stages four years ago. Each\u00a0credited Christian Union for the role it played in\u00a0their spiritual formation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time at Brown would not have been the\u00a0same without Christian Union,\u201d said Uson.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristian Union gave me a community of believers who loved and encouraged me to see God in everything and keep my hope in Him. Christian Union also helped shape my worldview\u2014including life, work, and community.\u201d \u201cThrough Bible courses,\u00a0ministry fellows, and my peers, I learned to see the\u00a0value of my studies, interactions with people, and\u00a0everything big or small as intimately tied to God\u2019s\u00a0will for me to be a reflection of Him and His plans\u00a0for restoring the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whitney reflected on how valuable it was to\u00a0become part of a Bible course in his freshman year.<\/p>\n

\"isaacHe appreciated the close-knit nature of the small\u00a0group and how Christian Union helped him make\u00a0\u201chuge strides\u201d in his faith walk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really learned how to read and study the Bible\u00a0unlike before,\u201d he said. \u201cI was given opportunities\u00a0to lead Bible studies and pose certain questions and\u00a0challenges, which has helped prepare me for the\u00a0leadership role I\u2019m in now. More tangibly, I have\u00a0found myself consulting old Christian Union resources\u00a0I was exposed to as a student. Even now, I\u00a0meet with CU at Brown\u2019s ministry fellows (Matt\u00a0Woodard, Justin Doyle, and Laurel Copp)\u00a0and get advice and resources from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jackson, the culture at Renaissance\u00a0Church, which includes an extensive daily\u00a0devotional and prayer time, is similar\u00a0to that of Christian Union at Brown. She\u00a0also noted how a summer trip to Israel,\u00a0organized by Christian Union, and the\u00a0ministry\u2019s rigorous, academic approach\u00a0to Scripture have helped the Bible come alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been able to sustain a thirst for the Word,\u201d\u00a0she said. \u201c[Freshman year] I was excited about how\u00a0much I was learning, and how much encouragement\u00a0I was getting to look at the text and concepts of the\u00a0faith through historical, theological, socio-economic,\u00a0and cultural lenses. Christian Union taught me\u00a0how to seek after truth and revelation in God\u2019s\u00a0Word.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian Union Alumni Share Insights, Encouragement at Brown Tom Campisi Managing Editor Christian Union: The Magazine Being a leader with Christian Union at Brown helped Ayisha Jackson make a\u00a0smooth transition to urban missionary\u00a0when she graduated in May. Jackson, an engineering\u00a0major,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":52,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"university":[],"class_list":["post-1151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-magazine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1464,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions\/1464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1151"},{"taxonomy":"university","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianunion.org\/brown\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/university?post=1151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}