Greetings from Harvard Law School!
In this monthly email, I'd love to share with you a recent article written about Christian Union Gloria Law to give you encouragement and inspiration that your support is changing lives at Harvard Law School.
Greetings from Harvard Law School!
If you’ve ever visited Harvard, any time during the year, you can go on a guided tour of the campus led at times by current students. One of the stops on the tour is the famous “John Harvard” statue in Harvard Yard. The question is then asked if anyone knows the “3 LIES” of the John Harvard statue with the inscription of “Founder” and the date 1638. This was highlighted in a well known scene in the film, The Social Network, when some men were being tested on this very question in the dead of winter. The three lies that they are referring to are these:
“And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city...” - Jonah 4:11.
You know Jonah, right? It’s the little, little book between Obadiah and Micah, that chronicles a chapter in the life of a very reluctant prophet by the same name. When you think about the story, it doesn’t reflect well upon its supposed author. But those short four chapters hold great insight into so many great themes: the character of God, justice and mercy, missions, calling, and so on.
When Harvard was first founded in 1636, one of its central bylaws was written as follows:
"Let every student be earnestly pressed to consider well that the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ who is eternal life--and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."
In 1993, when evangelist Billy Graham asked Harvard’s president, Derek Bok, what the greatest struggle his students dealt with at the college, Bok quickly responded, “Living with emptiness.”
“The cost of salvation for us–nothing. The cost of faith–everything.”
This gospel truth dropped on our students this semester as we are studying through Genesis (which the students requested). For the past few weeks, we have been digging deep into and wrestling with the life of Abraham, from chapters 12-23. We have tracked the evolving relationship between Yahweh and Abraham, with a special focus on what we learn of who God is and what He is like. It gives us a very special view into the foundation of God’s redemptive narrative that ultimately helps us understand the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And when we really know the gospel–both cognitively and experientially– it transforms us, setting us free to become the image-bearers of our Creator.
God is on the move at Harvard Law! Thank you for your support and prayers. Since the start of the academic year, I have been holding weekly mentoring meetings, Bible courses, leadership lecture series, and great conversations with law school students who are seeking more of Christ in their lives.
Confusing?
Messed up?
Scary?
How about the word, extraordinary? Would you use that word to describe the reality that we are in right now? We find ourselves isolated and quarantined while we see life as we once knew it morphing in front of our very eyes. Our world is changing or, at least, it’s different in this season—introverts are flourishing in isolation, while extroverts are struggling; people are reconnecting with long lost friends virtually, while we are separated from our … friends. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve stopped watching the nightly news program because I don’t want to hear these words again — “Another record-breaking number of deaths in the last 24 hours…” But that’s the reality that we are living in currently.
May 30, 2020
Christian Union Gloria Law (Harvard Law), Christian Union's ministry at Harvard Law School hosted a virtual reunion on May 30, 2020 at 12:00 PM EST.
Christian Union Gloria Law invited participants from all classes, all denominations, and all Christian ministries to this annual event. We loved the opportunity to connect with other Christian alumni, current students, and meet the Christian Union ministry faculty and staff. Thanks for joining us!
Get Involved
For questions about how to get involved with Christian Union Gloria Law on campus or as an alumni, contact Christian Union's VP of Alumni Engagement Christine Foster:christine.foster@christianunion.org.
‘Keep it simple, stupid’ was something I had never heard before I took a preaching class at seminary. I’m not sure if it qualifies to be one of the true “great” preaching mantras, or leadership mantras, but it gets its point across. Dr. Haddon Robinson, my preaching professor, used to say to us homiletical plebes, things like, “If it’s foggy in the pulpit, it’s cloudy in the pews!”, or “If you can’t say it in 25 minutes, you won’t know how to say it in 45.”
I love to cook. I love cooking, not simply because I love food (as all inspiring chefs!), but I really like the process of creating something with ingredients that I have at my disposal. Once in a while, my wife, Melissa, will watch me prepare a meal, and notice that I’ve stopped following the recipe at one point in my preparation. “You’re not following the recipe anymore, are you?” she’ll ask. And my answer is, “Nope.” I’ll tell her that while I love my cookbooks and all its recipes, I get to a point that I know what the key ingredients I’ll need for a sauce, or a meal, or a recipe are.
Wednesdays, 8-9 PM EST
Thatʼs important to know. Iʼll tell you in a minute the reason why.
“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 7:14
Itʼs probably the most well-known revival verse in the Scriptures. This summer, itʼs been on our lips weekly, and itʼs on my mind constantly. “LORD, will you really?” I sat down with this passage for a couple hours this week, as I prepared to release the welcome campaign for the incoming class at Harvard Law School. As I was dwelling in the prescriptive and conditional promises of this particular verse, I found myself pausing and asking myself, “LORD, is that all it takes to bring revival?”
“And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city...” Jonah 4:11.
We’ve been studying the great little book of Jonah this summer in Cambridge. You know Jonah, right? It’s the little, little book between Obadiah and Micah that chronicles a season in the life of a very reluctant prophet by the same name. When you think about the story, it doesn’t reflect well upon its supposed author. But those four short chapters hold great insight into so many great themes: the character of God, justice and mercy, missions, calling, and so on.
The month of May represents the hope of warmer weather, the smell of budding flowers, and a season of newness for many people. If you’re a 3L HLS student, you’re thinking it’s the end of a 3 year-long chapter, and the beginning of the rest of your life. So much has gone into the last three years of law school — so much sacrifice, all the labor and investment into preparing for the life that is now staring back at you squarely. In just a few days, over 500 students will graduate with their degrees from Harvard Law School. Hundreds of young men and women will strive to make their mark and leave a legacy on and in the world in which they will strive to lead. There among them are those who hold a unique understanding of their law degrees as secondary to something of greater value — their call to honor God with their lives.
We’ve been referencing the topic of revival frequently in our study of Nehemiah at HLS lately. Or, should I say, perhaps, I feel like the topic has been speaking to me lately. And it’s appropriate, too, because one of Christian Unions’ missions is to be part of ushering revival into our country through fervent Spirit-led prayer and the study of God’s Word. Then the question came up during one of my mentoring sessions with one of my students, “How does revival happen?”
Maybe, you’ve read some of the great leadership books by Jim Collins (Good to Great, Great by Choice) or books by Simon Sinek (Start with Why) or Joseph Grenny (Crucial Conversations)? I highly recommend another book about leadership, written way before any others - Nehemiah.
Depending on where you reside, it may start to look and even, smell, like... well, Spring!? If you live in the Northeast, it’s definitely does not look nor smell like anything but the dead of winter. But, I digress. The wonderful thing about the seasons is that whether you like it or not, they are inevitable. Seasons change. From the “deadness of winter” we will most inevitably move into a season of new life, or Spring.
I’m a Patriots fan. (Insert reaction here.)
All kidding aside. I love watching Patriots football, not only because of blind loyalty to the home team, but more so because I find it fascinating that when (and if) we win, the credit goes to the whole team, and not one player. My opinion is that the success of any organization is largely based upon the quality of the vision and the quality of the TEAM executing that vision.
One of the most frustrating things in life is to invest an exorbitant amount of resources—time, talents, and sometimes treasures—towards something, to only see questionable ROI’s - RETURN ON INVESTMENTS. It’s painfully awkward when it’s someone else’s resources, but when it’s our own, it’s just painful. My wife, Melissa, will commonly say, “Well, that’s a part of my life I won’t get back!?” Ouch.
