Fall break update

Hey friends,

I hope you are enjoying the break, maybe getting a chance to rest and catch up on homework. We have set a date for our annual Thanksgiving meal (carnival)--Thursday, Nov. 19.

In preparation for this, the Theatron club has chosen our team as the benefit for their service project for homecoming week. They are collecting canned beans, corn, instant potatoes, and possibly turkeys, as well as clothing. It's great to see how God is providing already.

Also, we are doing a coat and blanket drive this week. We will have boxes set up all over campus where students can drop off coats (sizes M-XL) and blankets. Consider bringing an item back from home with you tomorrow.

We do not want the boxes to overflow. If you see a full box, let me know and I may ask you to take the donations back to your dorm for the moment.

God is a great God, strong and able to provide. Let's trust Him.

Paul

The week of 9/27

Friends,

I hope your weekend was dandy. A few announcements...

Our meeting this week will be at a special time--6:00pm instead of 6:30--in ADM 204 on Tuesday. Having it earlier helps the Tuesday outing get to Food for Life on time, but if this is a conflict for you, please let me or Zach know.

It was be helpful if you would email

downtownimpactteam@gmail.com

and tell us which outing you will be attending (Tuesday or Thursday). It's a small formality that helps us prepare for the week ahead and minimize confusion. Thanks!

New church plant in Greenville

Caleb M just told me about a church plant coming to Greenville. Renewal Church is led by Matt Rogers and will be supported by a number of churches (Baptist and otherwise) from around the Southeast and by the North American Mission Board.

As a team, we see church planting in Greenville as a way that God renews and invigorates the body of Christ and reaches more people who could not be reached by existing churches. If you are looking for a church home during your time at North Greenville, being a part of this plant would be a great experience. It is really exciting to see churches supporting and encouraging the fulfillment of the Great Commission through new churches, especially in our city.

This week

Hi friends,

A reminder...we need you to email

downtownimpactteam@gmail.com

and let us know which outing you will be participating in--either Tuesday after our meeting or Thursday after BSU. Please do that by Monday night.

We have the largest (and coolest) impact team, and we need to be able to plan how many vans we need to take.

ALSO, our meeting will be at 6:00pm instead of 6:30pm on Tuesday in ADM 204 because of the bonus chapel.

For His fame,
Paul

Shakespeare and laughter

Tonight was our first official outing of the semester! It felt good to be back in Greenville, back on the street, back with our friends. We arrived at Food for Life just as everyone had received their meals, so we jumped right into conversation. Daniel and Michael, both new arrivals on the team, were thrown into the madness and did quite well. I had a nice talk with my friend Kenny, and we were able to serve him by providing some cough medicine for his cold. I also spoke with Toni, who just had surgery to remove scar tissue from her side.

Dan had some good laughs with one guy (whose name we don't know) about the difficulties of studying Shakespeare in school. It was good to laugh and enjoy the humor that God has given us. Katrine caught up with Steven, a guy who used to go with us to the Channel on Sunday nights my freshman year. We continue to praise God for the ministry of Food for Life and for their consistency in the gospel.

This week

Hey friends,

So that we can plan out this week...we need you to email

downtownimpactteam@gmail.com

and tell us

1) which outing you will be attending

2) and whether or not you will be attending the meeting (6:30pm ADM 204).

Tuesday outing: 7:00-9:30ish

Thursday outing: 8:30-11:00ish

Obviously some of you have class on Tuesday nights. We understand if you can't make it. This just helps Zach and I plan accordingly. Thanks!

Good to see that you have found our super-awesome blog!

If you have questions, please ask.

A Biblical Theology of the City

For your reading pleasure...Tim Keller is a pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and he has some helpful thoughts about how to understand the city biblically. The article can be found here. Enjoy!

Team training

Just a reminder...Impact team training is this weekend, Sept. 11-12. Jody has planned this to be a helpful weekend that will set the course for the coming year of ministry, and he is really hoping that you will be part of it. We will also hammer out our vision for this semester as a team, so it is important that you are there. It's Parent's Weekend; you're on campus anyway, right? :)

Friday, Sept. 11: 3:00-8:00ish
Saturday, Sept. 12: the morning hours? (I can't remember the exact times)
Hayes Ministry Center

Obviously, if you have extenuating circumstances beyond your control, we will carry on without you (somehow). Exact details will be disclosed at Fusion on Thursday.

Walk for the Homeless

I like to keep you guys informed of the different ministries and organizations in Greenville, secular and Christian, that work with the same people we work with. One group is United Ministries, which sponsors the Place of Hope day shelter on Pendleton Street. We've heard some good things through our friends about the work they do. They also provide job and skill training to interested people.

On Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2:00pm, United Ministries will be holding a Walk for the Homeless, a fund-raising event for the Place of Hope. Consider being involved. You get a free t-shirt!

Passion 2010

This really has nothing to do with Impact Team, but...I'm posting it anyway. Consider attending Passion 2010, a global movement of college students seeking to make Jesus famous in this generation, in this world.

I attended the Passion Regional in Atlanta in 2008, and it was truly a life-changing event. The website has all the information.

This semester

Quick update. We will resume regular outings after Impact Team training Sept. 11-12. Until then, we cannot use BSU vehicles, but if you still want to go downtown on Thursdays after Fusion, I am happy to drive four other people. Anyone else will have to drive themselves. This is an unofficial outing. I will be in the lobby in Turner after Fusion, so if you want to go, come talk to me.

Looking forward to this semester,
Paul

Welcome back!

Hey guys,

Good to have you back! I'm excited about the new semester. I've seen many of you and already some have asked about impact team. As you probably know, Zach and I will be co-leading the team.

Applications will be available at Fusion tomorrow night, and sorry, you still have to fill one out even if you were a member last year. They are due by Sept. 7, but the sooner you get those to Zach or me, the better.

We will have a team meeting next Tuesday at 6:30pm in ADM-204. We will review our vision and talk about what the coming year will hold.

We will most likely begin going downtown next week starting with our Thursday night outing.

See you soon,
Paul

Downtown Impact Team in the Skyliner

Check out Jon Harris' article about our team that was published in Wednesday's edition of the Skyliner.

Also, Jon and Chris Bullard--some of you may know them--created a non-profit organization called Sidewalk Stories for their senior presentation for Senior Interdisciplinary Seminary. Explore the website and read about their heart for Greenville.

Impact Team Banquet

BSU is putting on a dinner to thank members of all the impact teams for their service, so all of you on Downtown Team are invited! Both of the ones I have been to have been tons of fun, and we will be celebrating what God has done during the past two semesters. Mark your calendars!

What: Impact Team Banquet

When: April 28th at 6:00 p.m.

Where: Hayes Ministry Center

Attire: Casual

I do need you to RSVP to me one way or the other by April 22 if you plan to attend. Thanks!

Art in Greenville

As you know, art has great power and can have a tremendous effect on its audience. Often artists seem to have their finger on the pulse of the city, reflecting emerging ways of thinking and positing new ones. Greenville is quickly becoming a haven for developing artists young and old, and this is something that is very encouraging to me, who remembers downtown without places such as Artist Crossing and West Greenville. Artisphere is a three-day arts festival coming up soon that never would have been possible 15 years ago.

If you're downtown for fun, I would encourage you to stop by a gallery and observe and appreciate the art you see. Ask questions about the art: 

• Is it nihilistic? 
• Is it happy?
• Is it dark or light?
• What does it say about the city? 
• How does it portray God?
• How does it portray man?
  
• Is it sensual or jaded? 

These questions can help us better understand the culture of Greenville and how we are a part of that culture.

(Just a side note...) And by all means, if you don't like what you see or think you can do better, start creating what you want to see. The way to change the arts culture is not to theorize about why it is bad but rather to make something better and more creative.

Serving Greenville

One of our core tenets as a team is to serve Greenville in tangible ways. I wanted to let you know about two organizations who are working to make Greenville a stronger city.

• Hands on Greenville is a non-profit organization affiliated with the United Way. They are sponsoring H.O.G. Day on Saturday, May 2nd, a day when they direct volunteers to complete service projects throughout the city. Last year, 2,800 people participated during the morning hours and gathered at Fluor Field for a huge celebration. I know that May 2nd is right in the middle of exams (I have two that morning), but if you are able, I would encourage you to participate.
  

• Greenville Forward has written a vision for progress in the city by 2025. I would encourage you to read the Vision 2025 and consider how you and Downtown Impact Team fit into that vision.
  

Taking it to the Summit?

Dan, Andrew, and I weren't able to go to Herdklotz Park to play soccer because of the rain, so we decided to go downtown and check out the Greenville Summit instead. Last year, Cole mentioned that the management there was open to us doing a Bible study there. At the time, we had no good way to do it, but the Thursday afternoon outing may fit.

The Greenville Summit is government housing for the handicapped and is located right across Richardson Street from the bus station at the same intersection as Downtown Baptist. We talked to the receptionist there, and again she was open to the idea, so Dan, Andrew, and I started brainstorming ways to do a Bible study there.

We are looking at doing a social event towards the end of the semester and start the study next fall. Again, we're still throwing around ideas, but please be in prayer for this opportunity.

Tuesday night is just all right

Another solid night at Food for Life. We saw C.W. for the first time in several months, and Bethany asked him all about the Soup Kitchen crew. Wayne and Sharon are still in the area, as is Pat, but we heard that Reggie has gotten back into trouble since he took the cooking class at the Soup Kitchen.

As for C.W. himself, he said his wrist is still hurting him but that he should start getting disability pay soon. He also wants to move into Greenville Summit, government housing for the handicapped. He told me,

"I don't know why God took away my hand. My hand was my blessing, and I used to be able to work, but now I can't even close it."

Continue to pray for perseverance for C.W.

Dan and Daniel both dealt with Doc, the self-proclaimed kingpin of the streets and spoke with Jeff as well.

Katrine caught up with Kenny, and I talk to a man named David, a writer who feels rejected by society. He has a 15-year-old daughter who is on the Honor Roll at Tanglewood Middle School. Although he feels outcast by the world, he said that he sees a clear difference between the churches and the world. That was encouraging to hear.

The Gospel and the Poor

This is helpful article by Tim Keller about how the gospel transforms our view of ministering to poor people. Enjoy!

T is for Tuesday and all its craziness

This will be quick...What a night! We had three random encounters with people on the street, all of which resulted in some funny stories. Ask Katrine, Bethany, or I about them some time.

Bethany got to speak with Franklin, who looks like a completely different person without his massive beard. Katrine spoke with a guy named Chris, and I spent my time with Toni and her husband. She lives a few blocks from Triune and is considering going back to school because she is so bored all the time.

A guitar was lying around, so somebody picked it up and started playing the blues. It reminded me that healing can start to come through music, as well as through narrative, or telling your story.

Continue to pray for these people and the entire Food for Life ministry.

Sharing Christ with Greenville's Urban Poor

Explain the way things were meant to be:
-God loves us.
-He wants a relationship with us.
-We were created to live in His world to honor God.
-We were created to be dependent on God.

Explain what has gone wrong: 
-We have chosen independence from God our Father.

-The things we think will give us freedom actually enslave us.

-God is offended that we would seek to be independent of Him.
-His response is to cause our independence to be ultimately destructive and enslaving.
-Independence is expressed through specific acts of rebellion. What are some examples?
-The outward acts of rebellion stem from a fundamental problem with our heart (such as selfishness and pride).
-Because it is an issue of the heart, they cannot correct it by themselves.
-We need the offenses of our heart to be removed and our lives to be freed from the slavery of our rebellion so that we can live as we were meant to live, in a right relationship with God (dependence, joy, pleasure, etc.).

Explain that we cannot fix the problem on our own:

-We cannot do it ourselves because we have cut ourselves off from the source that can make us right with Him.
-Because He is the life-giving source, when we cut ourselves off, we can't find our own way back. 

Explain how things can be made right again:

-God must fix the problem Himself.

-God wants to fix the problem, but God cannot ignore how He has been offended because it is a personal offense and because He is perfect. 

-The personal offense must be paid for. 

-Only someone who had not offended God could pay for the offense.

-Only God could be perfectly pleasing, but only man could make the payment.

-God must take on human flesh. 

-Jesus claimed to have been both God and man.

-Jesus' life is the only one that fits with his claim.

-He lived a life perfectly pleasing to God.

-He died to make the payment that we owed to God for offending him.

-God raised Jesus from the dead to show that he approved of Jesus' payment.

-God removes our offense and reconciles us to Himself when we trust Christ alone.

-We must trust that Christ's life makes us pleasing to God and not our own.

-We must trust that Christ's death frees us from the offenses.

-We must trust that Christ's resurrection promises us that things will one day be as they were intended.

Spring break!

I hope everyone's break is going well. Since you have some time on your hands, I thought I'd pass on a video that deals with some of the theological issues surrounding mercy ministries such as ours. You will probably recognize John Piper, pastor and author of Don't Waste Your Life, and he is joined by Tim Keller, a pastor in Manhattan and Don Carson, author of over 50 books from Reformed Seminary in Illinois. Enjoy!

Caleb Says Goodbye to the Impact Team Leadership

Three years ago I had no idea what the Downtown Impact Team would look like today. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to serve the team through two years of leadership. And the thought never crossed my mind that God would grant to our little team such great influence over hundreds of lives in multiple cities around the country. How gracious God has been! I am so thankful to have witnessed God do so many incredible things through the Downtown Impact Team. He has shown his gracious faithfulness, he has advanced his gospel-kingdom, and we have had the joy of participating with him. What a joy it has been.

Many needs remain in Greenville, though. Countless neighborhoods and apartment complexes suffer from material and social poverty. Thousands of citizens wander the streets without any knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you attended the impact team meeting on Tuesday, you remember that I stated that the mission to Greenville will last far longer than our short time at college. We belong to a small movement; God's mission to rescue the people of Greenville from eternal suffering involves more missionaries than we could ever know. This truth makes our efforts significant. God is working in the city, and we believe he has called us to join him in his work.

As God's work advances, the leadership of the Downtown Impact Team must pass to others. Serving the team through my leadership has brought me such overwhelming joy in Christ. Your love, commitment, and passion for the advance of the gospel has humbled and challenged me every week. However, the team has much to gain by my stepping down from leadership. God is calling others to lead. I am honored and overjoyed to hand leadership of the team over to two very qualified men. Paul Conner and Zach Willis will lead the team in ways that I never could. Imagining how the Downtown Impact Team will grow thrills me with excitement.

Those of you on the team, I thank you for your faithfulness. I ask that you receive the leadership of Paul and Zach with enthusiasm and prayer. I love these men, and I have full confidence that they will follow God's leading for the team's future. Center your lives on the gospel and remain faithful to your calling.

For the fame of Christ,
Caleb Murphree

Flat Tires and the End Times (Tuesday)

We arrived at Food for Life at 8:00 and jumped into some conversations. For some reason, we tend to feel exhausted on Tuesday nights, but God gave us strength. Dan and I talked to Jesse, a man who is studying the Bible but believes that you must not sin in order to get to heaven. We explained that we cannot be pure by ourselves -- we need Jesus to purify us. Pray for clarity.

Bethany, Katrine, and I all had separate conversations about the end times. It seemed to be the theme of the night. Alexander and James are two tradesmen who are having trouble finding work.

We met Devin, a Christian who was saved later in life and said he really connected with the Passion of the Christ. Terry said that he wanted to be a missionary some day. We also talked briefly with Kenny as we were leaving.

As we were walking back to the van, we saw a young lady on the side of the road with a blown tire. She was having trouble changing the spare, so Andrew, Dan, and I gave her a hand and got her on her way. It was cool that God put that opportunity for service right in our path.

Thanks for praying.

Meeting Tuesday

Don't forget to email downtownimpactteam@gmail.com by Monday midnight and let us know:

1) When you will be going downtown -- Tuesday night, Thursday afternoon, or   Thursday night

2) Whether you will be attending the meeting at 6:30 in ADM 204

At the meeting, we will be doing some role-playing and trying to learn to apply what we talked about last week. It should be a fun meeting.

Thanks,
Paul

Thursday night

Winter is not over, just so you know. The temperature was in the 30s, and the wind was blowing as well, but thankfully most people had retired to the mission. My group on Main Street ran into a guy named Mike Hendrix who had just gotten out of jail, but he also told us that two weeks ago he was saved through a prison ministry called Rock of Ages. He really understood the gospel, and he was so excited about reading the Scriptures and sharing his faith, and he said that he did not desire to live how he used to live. It was very encouraging to see God moving.

Pray that Mike would continue to grow in the Lord and get plugged into a church near where he lives in Taylors.

Zach's group talked to Lee and Angelo at Labor Finders, and a guy named Bobby showed up. He had been a crack addict on the street but was saved and has since quit the habit through Narcotics Anonymous. Now he is able to talk to guys who are where he has been and encourage them.

Praise God for how He is working in Greenville!

Tuesday night

Last night, Dan, Katrine, Bethany, and I arrived at Food for Life at 8:00, but most of the crowd had already thinned out. The service must have been shorter than usual, but we still saw Kenny and had a good conversation with him. He told us that he is from Gaffney, but he has lived in Florida, the Bronx, DC, Delaware, among other places. And he had a crazy story about when he was in an Atlanta bus station where there was a shooting. It was one of the better conversations we've had with him. Again he thanked us for being there for him, and he said that we are one of the reasons he keeps going.

Continue to pray that God would draw Kenny to Himself.

Also, take advantage of the list of prayer focuses that Caleb gave us. And keep thinking through ways that we can clearly present the Gospel in a way they will understand. You guys are the best!

4 of 10 Prayers | 3 Days

Pick three days of your week and spend some twenty or thirty minutes praying these ten prayers for our city.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

We thank God for reconciling us to himself through Christ. We confess that we think too lightly and too seldom on this glorious reality. We plead with God to help us grasp the explosive truth of Christ becoming sin for us so that we might become righteousness. We long to comprehend this message of reconciliation.

We thank God for calling us as his ambassadors to Greenville. We admit that it is a complicated city that we don’t entirely understand. We ask God to affect us with the serious responsibility of bearing the message of reconciliation. We ask him to teach us how to communicate the gospel to the people of Greenville in a way they understand.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare… (Jeremiah 29:4-14).

We thank God for sending us as exiles to Greenville. We know that our home resides with Christ, but we also recognize that God loves Greenville and desires to rescue its citizens from suffering. We pray that God would be good toward Greenville’s citizens, though they don’t deserve it. We pray that God would alleviate the mental, emotional, financial, physical, social, and racial suffering in the city. We ask that believers would give God credit for his goodness to the city as he rightfully deserves.

We ask that God would be good toward Greenville’s citizens by saving many people – more people than we could imagine – though they don’t deserve it. We admit that we resist participating in this work because of fear, pride, and selfishness. We ask God to change what we want to become what he wants. We pray that God would use us through the churches of Greenville by the power of his Spirit to bring the gospel of Jesus to many citizens. And we pray that God would save thousands.

6 of 10 Prayers | 3 Days

Pick three days of your week and spend some twenty or thirty minutes praying these ten prayers for our city.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19-20).

We rejoice that God’s plans far surpass our own, and we thank him that he is carefully and patiently unleashing his gospel in Greenville. We confess that we are impatient and self-focused. We ask God to thrill us with the prospect of being a small part of his work, thanking that his work in Greenville extends beyond our impact team and beyond BSU.

We ask God by his Spirit to teach and guide Pendleton Street Baptist Church, Downtown Baptist Church, Grace Church Downtown, North Hills Community Church, and Upper Room Fellowship.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

We ask God by his Spirit to empower church planters and to call them to Greenville.

We ask God to create a passion for church planting in local churches. We ask God to guide local churches to support church plants through funding, resources, training, and people. We confess our craving for comfort and regularity, and we ask God to send us wherever our money, gifts, and talents can best be used.

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:44-47).

We confess our indifference toward the needs of Greenville’s poorest citizens. We admit that we hoard and we defend and we adore the very things that God gave us to give to others. We ask that God would greatly disturb the smug comfort of believers in Greenville. We ask God to invade our consciences with the bitter suffering of the urban poor.

We ask that God would create in us the self-sacrificing, self-denying love of Christ for those in Greenville who suffer and for those who are destined to suffer eternally. We ask for the creativity and opportunity to sacrifice more and more of what matters most to us for the cause of relieving suffering in Greenville.

Thanks Ryan!

I want to publicly thank Ryan for volunteering to lead Thursday night's outing last week. Ryan has always been a great supporter of what we do, so please remember to personally thank him for serving us in this way. Thanks, Ryan!

Information about contextualization coming later this week!

Tuesday's outing (25 degrees is cold)

It was very cold again, but Dan and I were wearing pajama pants under our jeans, so we stayed warm. Katrine and Bethany survived as well. We got delayed on the way into downtown, meaning that we were slightly late for Food for Life, but we still had some good conversations.

-TJ: now working at the McDonald's near Triune
-Patrick: janitor at the hospital
-Kenny: has a cold; his bag was recently stolen; attending Changing Minds church on Wade Hampton Blvd.
-Michael: from Greenville; went to jail in Georgia but is now back in South Carolina; wants to know about the afterlife and judgment
-David: a carpenter who cannot find work because of the bad economy

Continue to remember our specific prayer focuses as well:

-Downtown churches
-City leaders
-Business leaders
-Local and national economy

Thanks for your faithfulness,
Paul

Tuesday outing, fools!!

Last night, it was Bethany, Katrine, April, Dan, Caleb, and I; and once again we walked over to Food for Life. On the way, we met Louis, who told Dan that he should stop using the word "awesome" to describe everything and should start calling everybody "Fool." It was hilarious, because as we were walking, Louis starting saying "awesome," and Dan starting calling us all "fools." Funny stuff.

There were probably 50-60 people (maybe more) getting fed at Triune, plus about 25 volunteers, so we had plenty of people to talk with. We met several men who want to work but cannot find any jobs in the poor economy, so that is definitely a matter of prayer. Also, Dan got into an intense theological discussion with one guy who knew the Scriptures but has some false ideas as well. Pray for clarity there.

This week, we are continuing to gather information and ideas about the homeless culture, and next week at the meeting, we will put our cards down on the table and discuss what we found and how we can best bring the Gospel into that context. Have a great week,

Paul

Alert! Time change for Tuesday meeting!

Due to the student-led renewal service taking place tomorrow night at 6:30, we will be having our regular Tuesday meeting at 6:00 instead of 6:30. Sorry for the late notice, but we're trying to cater to everyone. 6:00 -- Tomorrow -- ADM 201.

Meeting Tuesday

Hey friends,

Don't forget the meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 in ADM 201. Also, please email downtownimpactteam@gmail.com and confirm your attendance, and let us know when you are available to go downtown -- Tuesday night, Thursday afternoon, or Thursday evening. Looking forward to a great week!

Paul

Tuesday's outing (brrrr!)

Hey guys,

Dan, Katrine, Bethany, Caleb, and I had a great outing last night. We walked through the wind, snow, and ice -- okay, maybe not snow and ice, but it was REALLY cold and windy -- and we ended up at Triune to catch the last hour of Food for Life. We saw Kenny, Dr. Love, Lee, and some other friends, and Paul Blumer, the guy who heads up Food for Life, shared with us his heart for ministry with the urban poor. Kenny said that he has been waiting for us to return, and Dr. Love was happy to see us, and we want to be faithful to be there for them this semester.

We intentionally observed the different tendencies of the downtown culture, asking some of the questions in the previous post and listening for their answers. I would have posted some of our discoveries, but they are written in Caleb's secret notebook, which I do not have access to. I'm sure we will discuss them soon, and the Thursday outing will involve much of the same information-gathering process. It's exciting!

Keep praying,
Paul

Engaging Culture with the Gospel

At this week's meeting we talked about how to define culture and how to understand the way the gospel relates to it. As we start gathering information about the culture of Greenville's urban poor, keep some of these questions in mind. You may even want to ask people some of these things on your own while hanging out downtown: 

• Where do people spend their time and money?
  
• What do people do during their free time?
  
• What do they fear?
  
• What do they dream about?
  
• Where do they shop?
  
• What cultural experiences do they value?
  
• What are the most painful experiences they have had?
  
• What music do they listen to?
  
• What film and television do they watch?
  
• What do they find humorous?
  
• In what ways are they self-righteous?
  
• What do they read?
  
• What is their spirituality?
  
• Whom do they trust? Why?
  
• What do they think about the gospel?
  
• What sins will the gospel first confront and then heal for these people?

Jesus was the perfect missionary, taking 30 years to understand his culture and then preaching the gospel and accomplishing the work of the gospel. Our missionary efforts are weak and often misdirected; however, we continue learning about our culture and seeking to share the gospel in it because Jesus died for our sins of cultural arrogance and insensitivity. The progress of the gospel is not tied to the quality of our efforts but to the sacrifice of our Savior. Jesus exchanged our sin-filled efforts for his perfect missional life.

As we take these first few outings to gather information, remember that Jesus made our acceptance to God possible on the cross; no amount of cultural relevance can make us more pleasing to God. We take time to learn our culture not for our own sake but for the sake of our friends living in culture. To understand them and take the gospel to them in an understandable way reflects the life of Christ and highlights him as the perfect missionary. In every way possible, we want to be highlighting Christ and pointing to him as our only hope.

I encourage you to further your understanding of these issues by reading this helpful article at TheResurgence.com.

Chapel 1/19/08: Race

I thought today's chapel was an excellent presentation and one that was very relevant for our impact team, so I hope you took advantage of the opportunity to think about race in a different light. He brought out some good verses that apply to race and that are helpful to us since we deal with people from different racial and cultural backgrounds. Like Dr. Thompson said as he closed, the solution to reconciliation is not simple, but what is exciting is that we can be part of the solution by understanding what God has told us and by acting on that reality.

"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." John 17:20-21

The early church also wrestled with racial tensions. The traditionalists of the day did not believe that the church should seek to reach the Gentiles, and Paul and Peter had to demonstrate that the call of Jesus is for all men, not just Jews. As in the first century, prejudice is still alive and well today, and it's not easy to deal with, but we must work for reconciliation so that the church can be all she was intended to be, and so glorify God.

Paul

Prayer points

Hello everyone,

It was good to see you all at the meeting on Thursday, and I hope you're getting settled into your new schedule of classes. Obviously we want to be increasingly dedicated to God-honoring, worshipful, and intecessory prayer in this spring semester because we believe that God chooses to move when we align ourselves with His will in prayer. We want to do that in personal and corporate prayer, and we want to keep you updated on specific ways that we can pray. God has given us tremendous promises in His Word regarding prayer, and we would be foolish to ignore them. Here are a few specifics:

-Team unity
-Wisdom for how to specifically pursue new opportunities and ideas for ministry
-Downtown churches (GraceChurch Downtown, Pendleton Street Baptist, First Pres., etc.)
-City government (Mayor White, City Council, the police force)
-Wisdom for city businesses operating in a tough economy
-The discipleship of new believer Nathan
-Louis, Crazy, CW, Franklin, Leroy, Scipio, Veronica, Dwight, Ronnie, Robert, Kenny, and the rest of our friends on the street

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7

It's great to join with you in seeking the good of Greenville. Let's trust God for a great semester.

Paul Conner

Spring 2009 Family Talk

Friends,

I've always wanted to be a part of something much bigger than myself, and I'm humbled that God has rescued me and made me a part of his movement of missionaries, the Church. As college students, we have the choice before us to serve the Church in advancing the gospel into the shadows of our city or to demand services from underpaid staff members who strive to entertain us with funny-titled sermonettes. Which will you choose?

I know most of you very well, and I believe you are on board with Christ's mission to redeem the city of Greenville. The question our team faces is "How are we going to do it?" What part do we have to play in God's kingdom work? 

I believe Spring 2009 holds incredible opportunities for our participation in the gospel's progress. We are going to hold a family talk for all impact team members on January 15 immediately after the first Fusion of the semester. Our family talk will be held in the smaller Joyful Sound conference room; that is the room in the Student Center at the end of the Student Services and Campus Ministry halls (signs will be posted).

We are going to be asking God to do some ridiculous things this semester. I want to share with you the vision and strategy of the Downtown Impact Team for the current stage we are in and talk about where I see our team moving in the next several months. We must submit to Scripture and act like members of one Body if we hope to do all we set out to accomplish. I encourage you to set your eyes on Christ, lock arms with your brothers and sisters, and march forward with the light of the gospel.

For His fame,
Caleb