Cities Conference Features James K.A. Smith, Vince Vitale
by catherine elvy, staff writer
At the Christian Union Cities Conference, scholar James K.A. Smith challenged young professionals to reflect upon whether they are pursuing faithful service or self-serving aggrandizement. Ambitions can propel believers to fulfill spiritual callings or throttle them into idolatrous practices, he said.
Students, Christian Union Faculty Appreciate Ministry Center
by tom campisi
When the Christian Union Center at Columbia University was dedicated last fall, the ministry’s Founder and CEO, Matt Bennett, said “generations of influential students, faculty, and alumni will be emboldened and equipped to carry revival and cultural reformation to the university and the world.”
The impact of the building was felt immediately; the consensus among the ministry’s faculty was that “God is at work in the new ministry center.” Within a few days, Christian Union was able to engage more new students than in the previous year of ministry. At the close of the recent academic year, Ministry Fellow Ava Ligh said the Christian Union Center was a blessing that enabled students to experience a greater sense of community and provided a wonderful place to seek the Lord, study the Word, and grow together.
Opeyemi and Prudil Appreciated Comradery, Mentoring
Two recent Princeton University graduates, a computer science major and an electrical engineering major, are eager and prepared for the integration of faith and vocation.
Moyin Opeyemi ’19 and Bryan Prudil ’19 each credited their participation in a Christian Union Bible course with giving them confidence to be salt and light in the workforce. Opeyemi (computer science) is an associate product manager at Uber in San Francisco, while Prudil (electrical engineering) is a systems engineer at Raytheon in Tucson, Arizona.
Ministry Director Mentors Penn Football Players
by catherine elvy, staff writer
Since fall 2017, Christian Union Ministry Director Tucker Else has been steadily gaining ground in his outreach to Quaker athletes, especially to members of the football team. Given their hectic training and academic schedules, Else offers flexible discipleship sessions to players.
“Time is such a commodity,” said Else. “It’s pretty easy for these guys to live and sleep football and academics.”
Rodarte ’19 Challenges Classmates to Be Change Agents
by tom campisi, managing editor
In her Class Day speech, senior Patricia Rodarte encouraged fellow Brown University graduates to go beyond borders.
Rodarte, a native of El Paso, Texas, grew up less than a mile from the Rio Grande, which marks the boundary between the United States and Mexico. She opened her speech by talking about the shared culture and interdependent ancestry and economies of El Paso and its “sister city,” Ciudad Juarez, Mexico—despite being separated by a 10-foot-tall fence.
“There is a constant movement of people across their ports of entry…” she said. “Crossing borders is central to my region’s identity.”
Christian Union at Yale Hosts Forum
by cassandra hsiao, yale ’21
On a rainy Friday evening in April, a hundred people gathered in Battell Chapel at Yale University to hear the answer to the pressing question: “Why suffering?”
Christians and skeptics alike have grappled with this question for centuries—how could a loving God allow for the existence of suffering? At a forum hosted by Christian Union, Vince Vitale and Michael Suderman of the Ravi Zacharias Institute presented some profound answers.
Vitale, educated at Princeton (’04) and Oxford, is the director of the Zacharias Institute. Along with Suderman, he has been traveling across the country, giving lectures at churches and college campuses alike.
Q and A with Andrew Walker
Andrew T. Walker is the Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics and Director of Research at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is also an Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of God and the Transgender Debate, as well as editor for The Gospel for Life Series, Walker resides in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife and three daughters.
by robert p. george
When the U.S. Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, it recognized that religious liberty and the freedom of conscience are in the front rank of the essential human rights whose protection, in every country, merits the solicitude of the United States in its foreign policy. Therefore, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, of which I served as chair in 2013, was created by the act to monitor the state of these precious rights around the world.
But why is religious freedom so essential? Why does it merit such heightened concern by citizens and policymakers alike? In order to answer those questions, we should begin with a still more basic question. What is religion?
Praying and Fasting for Our Nation
Thursday, August 15, 2019
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
— Daniel 9:1-3 (ESV)
Alumni Engagement Officer
Remote Location The Alumni Engagement Officer supports the planning and execution of alumni programs and activities for Christian Union, with three primary objectives:
● Increase philanthropic giving to CU among alumni
● Build meaningful relationships with alumni
● Broaden connections to CU
The Alumni Engagement Officer reports to the Vice President of Alumni Engagement. He or she works closely with both the Development team and the individual university ministries.
Education, experience, and necessary skills:
● Bachelor’s degree required.
● Experienced (minimum of 2 years of job-related experience).
● Exceptional communication skills
For a full job description click here.
Interested applicants should send a résumé and cover letter to Opportunities@ChristianUnion.org.
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
— Luke 11:9-13
Rebellion and Revival
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
— Psalm 85:4-7
The text of Psalm 85 is introduced by a particular historical designation: “Of the Sons of Korah.” When we know Korah’s story, we gain unique insight on this prayer of restoration and revival. In Numbers 16 we learn of Korah, a tabernacle servant during the time of Israel’s wilderness wandering. Along with 250 fellow dissidents, Korah rose up and challenged Moses and Aaron for priestly authority.
That didn’t go too well for him…
How God Relates to Nations
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. —Jeremiah 18:7-10 (ESV)
Mendonsa ’19 Inspires Stanford Students to Serve
by eileen scott, contributing writer
Emily Mendonsa is a servant leader who is both “tenacious” and “tender,” according to Susan Brown, a Bible course leader with Caritas, Christian Union’s ministry to Stanford students.
Ever since she was a teenager, Mendonsa has had a passion for ministering to vulnerable and impoverished children through Naomi’s Village in Kenya, a ministry founded by her family. At Stanford, Mendonsa, who graduated in June, was active in Bible courses and responsible for recruiting fellow students to serve at Naomi’s Village on summer trips.
She credits her relationship with Susan Brown and the ministry’s rigorous Bible courses with providing structure as she pursued God during college. She and Brown met every week for two years and talked about everything from Bible course content to theological issues she faced in classes.
Healing the Land
Monday, August 12, 2019Welcome to the beginning of a 21 day fast! A few thousand from across the country are seeking God for revival during this fast. If you’re new to fasting, please see these fasting resources so that you can participate safely and effectively.
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. — 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (ESV)
Zachary Albanese
Ministry Director at HLS Has High Expectations
by catherine elvy, staff writer
Christian Union’s ministry director at Harvard Law School anticipates a season of fruitful expansion.
“I’m looking towards the 2019-2020 academic year with hopes for growth, both in numbers and impact,” said Justin Yim.
CU Cities Conference 2019
How can we bridge the gap between the questions of culture and the invitation of Christ? By taking seriously the neglected spiritual discipline of conversation. Are you a better conversationalist than you were five years ago? Most people find this a difficult question to answer, but it is a critical question to be able to answer with a confident “Yes.” God finds his way into good conversations; so, practically and concretely, what would it look like to take day-to-day conversation seriously as an essential aspect of Christian discipleship, and to see those conversations consistently leading to others turning to Christ? That’s the question I want to explore together in this session.
Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not wisdom that you ask this.
— Ecclesiastes 7:10
James Fields
Christian Union Ministry Director
Princeton University
The Word of God is full of paradoxical statements, such as: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35); “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35); “….whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45). Many of the aforementioned teachings of Jesus are commonly referred to as paradoxical teachings. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, a paradox is “something that is made up of two opposite things that seem impossible but is actually possible.” In other words, a paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory statement containing truth that joins two opposites.
