Seeds of Vision

Hello again everyone!

Wow, it's been too long since I last wrote, though frankly, it's hard to follow a post like I made last time with anything that is even close to as exciting, though I am so glad to report that Li did finally give her life to Jesus, so the story is now complete!

My hard-copy letter told a few additional campus snapshots from the first semester (if you didn't get this, please let me know and I'll add you to the mailing list!), so I wanted to focus this post on a more "area-level" perspective.

I'm learning more and more that I love, need, and want vision. Without it, I quickly lose my way and find my leadership mediocre at best, but with it clearly in view, my heart is inspired and I find myself leading with conviction and passion.

As such, one of the primary undertakings of my first 18 months in the role of Area Director for Iowa has been to lead our staff team in the hard work of visioning. We began in earnest this past June, and though we remain in process, I wanted to share with you some of the "seeds" that are beginning to take root among our area team.

As I've reflected on how I wanted our team to function, I've become convinced that one of the most valuable things I can do is to create the right kind of "team culture". I've come to believe that when the "culture" is right, fruitful ministry will follow in natural, organic ways, or to put it like Jesus, "By their fruit, you will recognize them...every good tree bears good fruit." In Jesus' economy, there are profound levels of integration: the means are the ends (and vice versa).

So, we've talked about what kind of team we want to be. How do we want to function? What things do we want to value? What do we want to define us? In answer to these (and other!) questions, we created four pairs of words:

• Innovative and Visionary
• Healthy and Mature
• Communal and Interdependent
• Joyful and Celebratory

Now, as you all know, talk is cheap, so I won't take the time to explain exactly what we mean by these things or how we plan to implement them, but as we finished our discussion a few weeks back, I found myself so grateful to be a part of my staff team. A group deeply committed to the Gospel, intent on loving each other in meaningful ways, and driven to play our part in the mission of God. Though it's perhaps expected, I am pumped for where our team is going and how we are going to get there; it made me grateful to God that he had situated me in that room, with those people, at that time.

I am expectant for the fruit that will arise in coming semesters, but for now, I stand thankful for the state of our "field" and the "good seed" that God has sown among us.

With anticipation,

Jon

PS...For those of you who would be interested in making a special year-end gift toward our ministry, you may do so online at https://my.intervarsity.org/f749db980fd18832ac7d5dac5a10e9cf/donate.php. The gift will need to be submitted by December 31st to qualify for your 2007 tax deduction!

Just another day at the office

In my experience, it is easy to exaggerate the "awesomeness" of things; I regularly attach words like "amazing", "incredible", "unbelievable" to things that are only marginally so. This story, however, deserves all those adjectives and more. As you can see, it is quite long, but I wanted to do it justice. I'm confident it will be worth a read.

The story originates from one of our chapters earlier this fall, where our staff leads a vibrant and growing chapter involving dozens of students. One of those students, who we'll call "Amber", had been working to love and minister to a non-Christian international student, we'll call "Li".

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Li and Amber were both set to go to our annual Fall Conference in Kansas City in late September, but in the week before the conference, one of Li's best friends committed suicide. Then, while she was at the conference, she called another of her friends in London, and the police answered, informing her that this friend had just committed suicide as well (making three close friends in a week's time). As you can imagine, Li was dealing with incredible levels of pain, heartache, and sadness, and had little clue how to deal with what was going on around her. She would later tell Amber that she felt like she was having heart attacks all the time because her heart hurt so badly.

Amber sought to minister to Li and be present in her pain, both at the conference, but also after they returned to campus, and it was as this student leader empathized with her friend that God started to intervene in truly miraculous ways.

After returning to campus, Amber started getting emails from herself. Yep, you read that correctly, emails addressed to her, from her, using her own email address. (Weird, I know, but just wait.) The first email was a list of five Bible verses about healing brokenheartedness, and tons of information on how to help friends grieving suicides! She was understandably surprised by it, but decided to pass on the verses and information to Li, who received it thankfully.

Then, Amber got a second email (again from herself?!) that contained transcripts of emails that Li was exchanging with one of her friends about the suicides. In those transcripts, Li talked about how brokenhearted she felt, but also how thankful she had been for the care and friendship of Amber. Again, as you can imagine, Amber was even more curious about this email, as it wasn't just helpful information, but actual transcripted conversations from the very girl she's trying to witness to talking about how thankful she is for Amber's friendship. (Unbelievable, but just wait...)

(On a sidenote, Amber also got another email that was a transcript of a hand-written letter that Li had written to her brother. Amber got the email within one hour of the letter being sent to the post-office! Beyond that, because of their family situation, Li and her brother write in code, such that it would have been incomprehensible to read, but as Amber told me, "but there I had it, typed, and in completely comprehensible English.")

The third email came later that week. This time, the email Amber got was a transcript of an email conversation that Li was having with a friend in which she wrote about these "mystery emails" that Amber was getting. The friend was understandably freaked out, so suggested that they switch to Skype (an online messaging tool). However, Amber also received an email (again from herself!) with the Skype transcript later that day! The Skype transcript revealed some experiences from Li's past that would have been impossible for anyone on campus (including Amber!) to know about.

The next email gets even crazier! This is a quote from Amber:
"So tonight I got another email from 'me' (I've been getting about one a day) that contained an email [that Li got]from a friend who was concerned about the brother of one of the girls who committed suicide. The email was basically begging [Li] to call and talk to him since he was not doing well at all and everyone around him was scared he was going to kill himself. I [=Amber] went down to [Li's] room right after I read it and caught her just as she was leaving to go study, so as we were walking I told her about the email. She stopped and said, 'I need to call him, was it urgent?!' I told her it was, and she handed me all her books and ran to call him. She got a hold of him literally moments before he was about to hang himself and basically talked him out of committing suicide tonight. Afterwards she was pretty shaken and angry, but still glad that he was still alive.... A little while later, [Li] stopped and said, "[Amber], the pain's all gone!" Her chest pain had suddenly disappeared!

As of last report, Li was still teetering on the brink of faith in Jesus, but had actually gone back in her journals with Amber, and together they found a prayer that Li had written two years earlier where she asked God to speak to her in a way that could only be him; it seems like he is answering that prayer!

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Now if that story doesn't drop your jaw, I don't know what will! As I've processed it, here are some of my reflections...

- I find myself so grateful to the LORD for his intervention, not only in the life of Li, but in the lives of her friends. What an incredible picture of the Lord's pursuant love!?
- I love the way that Jesus brings life out of a situation laden with death. He is the master of resurrection..."Death is swallowed up in victory!"
- I'm amazed at the "intricacy" of God's work in Li's life. He could have broken through to her in any number of ways, but his way is beyond comprehension; it is so wise, so beautiful, so intimate.

For all the "work" that we do on campus, this story serves as a reminder as to who it is that does the real work, and who is truly deserving of all glory and praise: Jesus, the one who lives to intercede for us.

To Him be Glory, forever and ever!
Jon

PS...The story goes on with the friend who Li talked out of suicide, but it's more than I can include here. If you'd like to hear the rest of it, drop me an email and I'll fill you in!

On the home front...

Hello again everyone,

Before I get to updating the ministry, I wanted to share a couple things about our family.

First, as for the announcement, as some of you may have guessed (or heard!), Steph and I are indeed expecting our second child! We found out a few weeks back, and she is early in the process (about 10 weeks we think), which would put her due date in May/June. We go to the doctor next week for our first appointment and should be able to hear the heartbeat for the first time. She's been feeling more nauseous with this pregnancy than with Elijah, and being pregnant and a mom at the same time is a different ballgame, but all in all, we are thrilled and look forward to meeting our second child in the spring!

Another exciting development is the progress of our house (we are building on the west edge of town, by the soccer complex, for those of you who know Pella). I spent my Saturday trying to put a porch on the front of the house (with moderate success!) and at this point, it looks like we will be moving in sometime in January. I'll try and get some pictures posted after we get the siding on, so you can look forward to that next time!

I'm also glad to report that we officially have a toddler in the house. Elijah has been absolutely adorable lately (as you can see in the pictures!), but is becoming more of a handful as he regularly wanders off to flush our toilet and empty our cereal boxes on the floor (two of his current favorites!) I've embedded one of our favorite videos below; enjoy!

With Expectancy,
Jon

Vision and Teaching

In addition to catching you all up the great things that have been going on, I wanted to give you a glimpse of my upcoming months and invite your prayers...

As I think about who I am and the mission I've been charged to lead, I'm seeing that my my two primary callings are to function as a visionary and a teacher. These are the things that give me the most life, that call the most heart, courage, and passion out of me, and which consistently prove to be the most fruitful activities of my life; the more I vision and teach, the hungrier I become to do them exceptionally well, so I'm asking for your prayers toward that end.

Teaching
In the next few weeks, I'll be speaking at William Penn (10.2), Central College (10.3), Grinnell College (10.9), Drake University (10.31), and again at Central (11.7). As such, I'd like to invite your prayers in two ways.
1. Pray that I would speak with power, authority, and wisdom: that my teaching would cause students to encounter Jesus in life transforming ways.
2. Pray that I myself would encounter Jesus in life transforming ways as I prepare. (Teaching is usually one of the ways I learn most effectively).

Vision
At the same time, I'm going to be continuing to lead our area in a strategic visioning process. I am so pleased with the work we have done so far, but as I mentioned above, the more I taste, the hungrier I become! Please pray:
1. That God would aid us in the creation of an organic, adaptive team culture that is marked by four pairs of values: "Innovative and Visionary"; "Communal and Interdependent"; "Joyful and Celebratory"; "Healthy and Mature".
2. That God would entrust us with a vision that would make us gasp because it is so compelling, gripping, and "heart-enlisting". (You can pray too that we would have the courage to follow Him!)

Thanks in advance for your prayers and partnership. I look forward to sharing the fruit of our (yours and my!) sacrifices!

With Expectation,
Jon

Rejoicing...

Hello again everyone!

I'm glad to report that I'm writing at a far more reasonable hour this time, and that the pace and strain of ministry on my family has been noticeably better since I last wrote. Thank you to those of you who have prayed for our family; I believe God has been at work! In particular, the last 24 hours or so have been incredibly sweet: Elijah is sleeping much better, is constantly saying "dac-to" (aka "tractor"), and can now take 5 unassisted steps before he dives giggling into our arms. Parenting can feel a bit paradoxical at times, but it is such a joy to love our little boy. :)

On the ministry front, we are emerging from a season that is known as NSO (New Student Outreach), and there are fantastic things to report from all across our area:

* Since I last wrote, we've seen at least two people choose to follow Jesus for the first time: a Chinese international student from Coe College, and a freshman guy from Drake!
* We had 150 students from Iowa in attendance at our first-ever Regional Fall Conference (FC07)! In two cases (William Penn and Coe), the number of students at the conference actually exceeedthe number of students in the chapter at the beginning of the year!
* Grinnell College is enjoying their best Bible Study launch ever. One of their studies had 18 students attend the first meeting!

The stories literally go on and on, as I only hear bits and pieces from my staff, but join with me in thanking God for the work he's doing on the campuses of Iowa!

With Joy,

Jon

Midnight in Early September

This time of year, it's all too normal. Midnight hits, and I'm still plugging away at any number of things, hoping that my son sleeps well (he's awake with Steph at the moment), and fighting off sleep. Thankfully, this pace is an exception rather than the rule, but to be honest, it's been an incredibly full last few weeks, and I'm feeling it.

On the one hand is the work on campus. Chapters are launching into a year of new freshmen, inexperienced leaders, technical glitches, and transformed lives. I experience these things much more second-hand now than I used to, so I find myself cheering on my staff by phone as they tell me about this great new freshmen they've met, or the leader who is really stepping up to the plate and owning their responsibility in the Kingdom. It truly is an incredible time of year, so filled with hope, expectation, and sometimes disappointment. Though it's incredibly difficult at times, it's this time of year that reminds us why we do this job: we love Jesus, we love the campus, and we are convinced that it is incredibly strategic in God's kingdom.

On the other is family and core relationships. Though it can go unnoticed (and unappreciated!) my family feels as much of the burden as I do, and they sacrifice along with me for the sake of the mission.

To be honest, it has been a difficult season for my family. Both Steph and I are in the midst of ministry launches, which costs time and heart and attention. Elijah continues to sleep poorly, which wears on us physically. In addition, I've been pounding away at a grad school course that is due in just over a week (mainly between 9p-1a). (BTW, it should have been done long ago; apparently, I'm not done procrastinating school work...) Those factors (among others) have been taking their toll on our relationship.

Toward that end, I'd like to ask for your prayers.
1. Pray that Steph and I would make the most of the time we do have; that we'd be able to "check our work at the door" and be more fully present to one another.
2. Pray for Elijah's stomach and intestines, that they would stop waking him up all the time and that he would rest peacefully.
3. Pray for my capacity. I'm finding that I really do need Jesus' help to be a great dad and husband. (Go figure!)
4. Pray that we would be able to push through "functionality" into genuine intimacy.

Thanks for "bearing with" us in this way. We are so grateful.

Learning,
Jon

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Jon's Epistle, Blog Edition!

I've never written a blog before, so this will be a work in progress, but by way of introduction, I wanted to lay out a few of my hopes for this experience.

1. I hope that utilizing this tool creates more opportunity for me to share about the ministry of InterVarsity in Iowa. I'm hoping that this will continue to feel trendy enough to help motivate me to update you all more regularly. :)
2. I hope this paints a somewhat "unvarnished" picture of the real ins and outs of doing this job. Communication to hundreds of people four times a year can be helpful, but there's only so much you can say in a page or two. My hope is that this blog feels closer to the action.
3. I hope it enables a greater level of connection between you all and our ministry, both through keeping you more current on what's going on and how I'm doing, but also enabling feedback and interaction.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm hoping to post every couple of weeks. If you'd like to receive an email when I post, please drop me a quick message, and I'll add you to the list. I believe it's also possible to "subscribe" to this blog using the hyperlink below, but to do that, I believe you'll need to create a user ID (if you don't have one already). If you have any difficulties with the site, please let me know, and I'll do what I can to fix it.

Thanks again for checking in, your care and support mean so much.

With expectation,
Jon