All
Welcome to 2021!
We’ve been reading 1 Samuel over Zoom together during the break. The faith of Hannah, the intimacy between God and Samuel, the failures of Saul, God’s incredible promises and grace to David, and so much more have been instructive and encouraging.
Dear CU Martus Cornerstone Partners and other friends of the ministry,
This story of the shepherds and the angels has always been a favorite. Maybe because the scene is so vivid. Or because it was such a stark contrast between field work and supernatural glory. This is definitely a season where we needed the reminder of God’s Advent power amidst the extraordinary ordinariness of Covid-tide. Of course, it would look a little different: God’s power breaking through a Zoom call, or an angelic host gathering above a rather lonely Franklin Field. God’s breaking into history is our hope. He came through 2000 years ago in the birth of Christ. He is trustworthy to come through again when Jesus will return and bring restoration and renewal to all things.
All of us are prone to forget the things God has done for us. We need reminders. When Joshua led God’s people towards their new home, they had to cross the Jordan River ( Joshua 3:15-16). God parted the waters, and His people walked through on dry land (v. 17). To create a memorial of this miracle, they took twelve stones from the middle of the riverbed and stacked them on the other side (4:3, 6–7). When others asked what the stones meant, God’s people would tell the story of what God had done that day.
Happy New Year! I want to begin by expressing our deep gratitude to the many of you who have participated in our ministry, attended our events, and have faithfully partnered with us financially to develop transformative Christian leaders. We serve a sovereign and yet merciful God who wants to break into our brokenness, and those of us who minister with Christian Union are blown away by the privilege of serving Jesus and His beloved people in this capacity.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
— Isaiah 9:6
Christian Union Gloria Hosts Lecture with Ryan Gregg
By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer
This fall, CU Gloria, Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard, virtually hosted Ryan Gregg as a speaker for their Leadership Lecture Series, Doxa. As former co-president at the Harvard Graduate Christian Fellowship, Gregg discussed how to approach Christianity from an intellectual perspective.
Christian Union New York
Due to technical issues, the recording begins a couple minutes into the conversation.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.
— Isaiah 40:4
Student Spotlight
The idea that faith and reason are opposing forces, enemies of one another that will never find common ground is a familiar concept in our increasingly secular society: faith is blind, reason is logical, faith isn’t academic, reason is scientific. Like many intellectually ambitious high schoolers, this was the thinking of Timothy Kinnamon, Columbia '20. But when Kinnamon entered Columbia and came across the CU Lumine community, he found these assumptions challenged and quickly overturned.
We hope you’ve all had a wonderfully refreshing and blessed Thanksgiving! Here at Brown, the ministry has so much to be thankful for this semester. CU Libertas continues to see the Lord work in the hearts and minds of our students. Despite the difficulties we’ve all faced during this abnormal season, students are seeing the fruits of faith toughened by extenuating circumstances, they’re sharing the gospel in creative ways with family and friends, and they’re relying on one another through prayer and new expressions of communal bond.