Advice in these tough economic times

Everywhere you turn, there's news about the economy. Most of it, of course, is bad. Time for some encouragement, I think!

Karate master and actor Chuck Norris, I recently discovered, is a Christian. I wonder if he praises the Lord every time he kicks a bad guy through a window or door! Among his other things, he also writes a regular column, and in his latest, titled, "An 87-Year-Old's Economic Survival Guide" (found at: http://townhall.com/Columnists/ChuckNorris/2009/02/24/an_87-year-olds_economic_survival_guide), he tells us his mother's perspective on the situation. It's very insightful stuff, coming from a woman who went through the Great Depression. Here's her advice:

--"Get back to the basics. Simplify your life. Live within your means. People have got to be willing to downsize and be OK with it. We must quit borrowing and cut spending. Be grateful for what you have, especially your health and loved ones. Be content with what you have, and remember the stuff will never make you happy. Never. Back then, we didn't have one-hundredth of what people do today, and yet we seemed happier than most today, even during the Great Depression.

--"Be humble and willing to work. Back then, any work was good work. We picked cotton, picked up cans, scrap metal, whatever it took to get by. Where's that work ethic today? If someone's not being paid $10 an hour today, they're whining and unwilling to work, even if they don't have a job. The message from yesteryear is don't be too proud to do whatever it takes to meet the financial needs of your family.

--"Be rich in love. We didn't have much. In fact, we had nothing at all, compared to people today, but we had each other. We were poor, but rich in love. We've lost the value of family and friends today, and we've got to gain it back if we're ever to get back on track. If we lose all our stuff and still have one another and our health, what have we really lost?

--"Be a part of a community. Today people are much more alone, much more isolated. We used to be close with our neighbors. If one person had a bigger or better garden or orchard, they shared the vegetables and fruits with others in need. Society has shifted from caring for one another to being dependent upon government aid and welfare. That is why so many today trust in government to deliver them. They've forgotten an America that used to rally around one another in smaller clusters, called neighborhoods and communities. We must rekindle those local communal fires and relearn the power of that age-old commandment, 'Love thy neighbor.'

--"Help someone else. We never quit helping others back then. Today too many people are consumed with their own problems and only helping themselves. 'What's in it for me?' is the question most are asking. But back then, it was, 'What can I do to help my neighbor, too?' I love Rick Warren's book 'The Purpose Driven Life,' and especially his thought, 'We were created for community, designed to be a blessing to others.' Most of all, helping others gets our minds off of our problems and puts things into better perspective.

--"Lean upon God for help and strength. We didn't just have each other to lean on, but we had God, too. We all attended church and belonged to a faith community. Church was the hub of society, the community core and rallying point. Today people turn to government the way we used to turn to churches. It's been that way ever since Herbert Hoover's alleged promise of a 'chicken in every pot' and President Roosevelt's New Deal. Too many have abandoned faith and community. We trust in money more than God. And maybe that's a reason why we're in this economic pickle."

Food for thought today as we prepare for President Obama's State of the Union address tonight.

Evangelism - near and far

Our mission with Campus Crusade for Christ involves three key "distinctives" - Win, Build, and Send.

Win: to introduce students to the person of Jesus Christ
Build: to help students grow in their faith
Send: to equip students to win/build/send for a lifetime

I want to take just a minute or two to talk about two different experiences this past week in the "win" category. I titled this, "Evangelism - near and far" because the two means of evangelism for me this past week (well, the two stories I'm going to tell at any rate) couldn't be more different.

The first involves a couple of guys on the track team. Andrew is a guy who has been involved with our Athletes in Action ministry for several years, but is still gaining confidence in his new relationship with Christ. This past Thursday, he and I were meeting (it was supposed to be a larger AIA Bible study, but he was the only one who could make it.....ah, student ministry!) when all of a sudden his roommate, Anthony, showed up. He plopped down and we just started talking. He wondered what we were doing, so I explained about our small group. Then I started asking him some questions. It was clear that he had not thought of spiritual things for many, many years. His family had taken him to church until 2nd grade, and he hadn't been back since. Yet as I asked him some questions, he was able to articulate some of the things he had learned (the lesson: teach your kids well, because, really, they won't forget it).

The long and short of the conversation was this: I ended up sharing the gospel with him, and Andrew chimed in with some thoughts and a bit of his personal testimony. Anthony did not receive Christ, but heard probably for the first time how a person could enter into a relationship with Jesus. God provided us with an opportunity, and we took it.

The second story involves a strategy called "everystudent.com". This is a national website (check it out...it's great) that addresses so many of the important questions that people ask. We are doing this strategy on a number of Connecticut campuses, including Quinnipiac University. This past week I received an email from a student named Travis who asked me a ton of questions - some theological, some philosophical, but all interesting - and we have engaged in a back-and-forth email discussion since. He has asked me about Jesus' claims to be God, the historical evidence for the resurrection, the scientific evidence supporting theism, free will, prayer, and much more. Some questions probably are legitimate areas of inquiry for him, and others may be smoke screens to hide a deeper issue. In either case, I've been able to present a Biblical worldview that hopefully makes sense to him. I have never met Travis, but we've already engaged on a deep level thanks to the advance of technology.

So there you have it: evangelism near (Anthony) and far (Travis). Please feel free to pray for these two young men as they process our ongoing conversations!

Prayer Partners

One of the great joys of this year has been to meet regularly with two local pastors - Weston and Russell - for prayer. We get to UConn at 8:30 and usually pray until 9:30 or sometimes even 10:00. Interestingly, we meet on Monday mornings, when pastors usually take that day off. For me, it's a chance to link arms with fellow laborers, and it is so encouraging to know that they want to see us succeed.

Why do we pray together? It's tempting to pray for everything going on in our separate ministries, but the purpose of our time is to pray Great Commission-type prayers for the UConn campus. I know we've had lots of people praying for us over the years, and I'm extremely grateful for that. But I cannot even begin to adequately express the level of encouragement it has been to me to pray with these two guys.

By way of encouragement to you, if you don't have someone you pray with regularly, make a point of establishing something, at some point in your week. It's worth the investment!!!