Coherence In All We Do, Together

by Maegan Moore I remember the week before the Fellows program began, glancing at the calendar for the upcoming inaugural month of my Fellows year and immediately feeling overwhelmed. We doso much. How can all of these seemingly unrelated responsibilities have any relation to each other?

But it didn’t take long to see two things. This year was not just about doing things in abundance. Instead, this year was about being faithful with all that we were given to do. It was about continuing to work out what it means to live out our vocations–our calling to our families, church, community, work, etc. And this was only possible in the context of a body of believers–and so our journey towards coherence began, together.

Every week we were able to practice the liturgy of doing together the things that formed us.

Together, we sat in the Trinity sanctuary and listened to Pastor Greg walk us through Philippians while asking the question: “What does it mean to live as a community of friends?”

Together, we shared meals and times of fellowship, learning to hope for each other, hear each other, and carry one another’s burdens.

Together, we were invited into the homes of our host families and ushered into the routine rhythms of daily life–finding Kingdom realities at the kitchen table and in the playroom.

Together, we wrestled to understand that our work really matters–even in the nine-hour days of entering data into spreadsheets, making copies, and scheduling appointments.

Together, we learned to show up–even when we were weary and in shambles. We learned to find rest in one another.

Together, in our shambles, we learned to anchor words about community in concrete and tangible expressions of love, trust, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Together, we did our best to enthusiastically participate in the formation of the young, middle school and high school image bearers of God, even when we felt like we were speaking a different language.

Together, we marinated in ideas, relationships, and experiences that equipped us to go do all things to the Glory of God.

Everything we do is Holy work. But the whole of what we do must be greater than the sum of its parts. In anything and everything we do, we have the opportunity to work out our primarycalling as a disciple of Christ. And it is only in the context of community that we can learn to steward what we have been given and all that we do.

As a native(ish) North-westerner, I have a strong affection for the Redwoods. These massive trees, over 600 years old, are able to survive on the windiest coast in the U.S. because of their root system. Each tree relies on the surrounding Redwoods so that they don’t topple over; their roots spread out instead of down, linking together and holding each other in place–accountable in growth. As we grow, we need other people to keep us honest–to build habits of trust and transparency. We need to engage in conversation with those who will challenge us. We were designed to work out our vocational calling in the context of a body of believers.

Over the past nine months, since my first glance at the fellows schedule, the things that first looked like disjointed responsibilities of being a Fellow–to be a good tutor, a host-daughter, a friend, a student, a small group leader–have all begun to fall into the picture of our holistic, comprehensive responsibility as disciples of Christ. I have seen God’s glory worked out in all of these spheres–crossing the humanly constructed lines of dualism that too-often divide. In His goodness, He allowed me to begin to see these fragmented bits of threads being woven together into a fabric as part of a larger weaving.

And so, perhaps the most important thing we learned this year was that “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). To live out the Gospel, together.

-

Maegan Moore interned at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Virginia during her fellows year and will continue on with the Institute full-time.

The Paideia of the Playground: How Tutoring Impacts the Trinity Fellows

It was a Thursday afternoon in early September when the Trinity Fellows first filtered onto the small playground behind Johnson Elementary School. Some came eagerly, and within minutes of meeting their student, were chasing their child around the monkey bars and up the slide. Others approached the playground more tentatively; fidgeting as they stood on the edge of the woodchip rectangle, they seemed a bit unwilling to enter in. As I watched the eager and the uncomfortable alike, I couldn’t help but wonder: should they all be required to participate? In the past five months, I have come to answer that question with an emphatic “yes” as I have watched Fellows who do not share my innate love-of-children grow in their capacity to empathize and understand their students. And I have begun to see that the beauty of the Fellows Program, and its partnership with Abundant Life, lies in the way in which it commits individuals to loving what Christ loves. The program requires that Fellows tutor with Abundant Life – not because they are “good” with kids or have any interest in teaching – but because Christ cares for these children, and thus they should as well.

In his book, Desiring the Kingdom, James K. A. Smith argues that “liturgy” (a term he broadly defines as any identity-forming practice – from shopping to cooking to reading the Bible) fundamentally shapes our desires, which, in turn, mold our character. In short, Smith believes that what we do determines what we love, and what we love determines who we will become.

For the Trinity Fellows, tutoring at Abundant Life has become one of these “liturgies” – a sanctifying, identity-forming ritual that is slowly shaping them into men and women who love God and neighbor most. Each week, they are learning to love others as Christ first loved us: by listening to their students with compassion, encouraging them in times of frustration, and disciplining them out of a spirit of love. Each week, they are learning to see their student as Christ sees us – with a redemptive vision that recognizes great beauty in great brokenness and affirms the truth that we are all image-bearing sons and daughters of the living God. In effect, the practices of the playground – and the discipline of actively stepping-into the life of a child, week after week – form a type of paideia, or “training in righteousness.”

By simply sitting with their student, sharing a snack, helping with math-facts, and listening to a little bit of his or her life, these Fellows are becoming people who boldly enter the messiness of a broken world – not because they are innately-equipped to do so – but because they know that the all-sufficient God of Creation goes before them, enabling and empowering them to do His good work. By entering into the chaos of that woodchip arena in order to pull-back a swing or push a student down the slide, these Fellows are, in some minute way, enacting Christ’s incarnational love.

And so I’ll leave you with this paradox: that, perhaps, paideia is more at work on the playground of Johnson Elementary than it is in our seminary class; and, perhaps, the thing that will most impact these Fellows is not what they read in a textbook or discuss with their mentor, but rather what they do every Thursday afternoon.

Fellows at Work

In my experience in the Fellows Program thus far, I have seen "the convergence of faith, life, work, and culture" come to a head in my work at the Center on Faith in Communities.  The Center on Faith in Communities, directed by Dr. Amy Sherman, is a branch of the Sagamore Institute, an Indianapolis-based policy research think tank.  My job at CFIC entails assisting Dr. Sherman in her work to "inspire, educate, equip, and resource the Christian community for the work of mercy and justice among the poor."  Day-to-day, this can mean many different things.  From conducting primary and secondary research to writing book reviews, I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with Dr. Sherman on many stimulating and worthwhile projects.  One of the projects that Dr. Sherman has graciously let me participate in is the process of writing her book called Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, to be released by InterVarsity Press later this year.  I have contributed to many things in this process, large and small, from formatting footnotes to writing the first appendix.  Getting to see the book-writing process has been fascinating and informative, but I have most enjoyed learning from the actually content of the book.  Dr. Sherman’s book does for pastors what the Fellows Program does for young adults.  It challenges pastors to preach on vocational stewardship from the pulpit, encouraging their congregation to capitalize on their gifts for the sake of God’s kingdom and to integrate faith, work, and culture.  The book has bolstered what I have been learning through our seminary classes, through discussions and stimulation from our Fellows community, and through our volunteer work at Trinity Presbyterian Church. As I was working on prospects for next year, I realized how truly different this job-search has been from my experience this same time last year. I am looking at vocation and faith in a totally new light, understanding that the dualist divide between the sacred and secular is a deceptive lie from the evil one.  God has had profound amounts of grace with me and is continuing to lead me toward his heart through my faith and work.  Please be praying that all 14 of us will be led by God to understand how he wants us to be transformed and how he wants us to transform his world through our vocations.

----

In case you are interested, Dr. Sherman has recently written an article published in Crosswalk Magazine to whet people’s appetites on topics, issues, and stories addressed in the book.  You can access the article here.

--Sally Carlson, Chesapeake, Virginia

,

"Establish the Work of Our Hands"

,

“Let yourwork be shown to your servants,and your glorious power to their children. Let thefavorof the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”

~Psalm 90:16-17~

 

A few weekends ago all the Fellows packed up the infamous and unreliable Trinity bus (insert saga of the Lexington Bus Breakdown) and headed to Eagle’s Landing Retreat Center near Roanoke, Virginia for the annual Fellows Initiative Retreat on Social Justice. We found ourselves in the beautiful mountains of Virginia, unpacking our belongings in quaint, log cabin-style accommodations, and ready for a weekend of fellowship, learning, and fun. Seventy Fellows gathered in total, representing programs from Falls Church, MeClean Presbyterian, Raleigh, Charlotte, Kinston, and Knoxville.

Gideon Strauss, President of the Center for Public Justice, prepared several “conversations” on his walk as a believer in pursuit of biblical justice. As a native South African speaking both English and Afrikaans, he found himself serving as an interpreter for the Truth and Reconciliation Committee after the fall of apartheid in South Africa in the late 1990s. These experiences provided Gideon with deep insight into the brokenness of humanity and the pain, heartbreak, and rage that God’s people experience in the face of great injustices. Left to his own devices, the weight of these emotions would have crushed his soul and his marriage. Gideon found that the only adequate response to the brokenness was to pray through the Psalms, expressing these deep emotions in the safety of the hand of the Lord. He invited us to do the same and to consider what it would look like for us to act justly in our everyday lives; including the clothes we wear, the food we buy, and our politics.

As a group of seventy, we each entered the weekend with a different understanding of justice and its relevance to our lives. What does the call to do justice in Micah 6:8 really mean? Is it only for my cousin who serves as a missionary in Uganda, my friend who teaches at an inner city school, or my neighbor who runs the soup kitchen at our church? What does it look like for us as twenty-something Fellows and for the businessmen, lawyers and museum curators that we may become? Gideon avoided any speculation and provided us with a biblical framework for understanding the call to do justice. He suggested that the call to do justice is a thread in the fabric of the biblical narrative. It is not optional, but rather, essential and interwoven, it is part of what it is to be human. What a bold statement! Throughout the weekend we heard from Gideon about ways that we could begin to “do justice” and had great discussions around our tables with the other Fellows.

The weekend was filled with great food, fresh mountain air, an Ultimate Frisbee tournament victory for the Trinity Fellows, and much laughter. We returned to Charlottesville grateful for each other and aware of the friendships that the Lord has established. Conversations on the ideas Gideon presented still linger and can be traced in g-mail threads that relate articles about justice to one another and uncover areas of injustice that we participate in by nature of our consumerism. I think we will continue to see the fruit of these discussions in years to come and each in our own spheres of influence. For now, we will pray and ask God to establish the work of our hands and open our eyes to the world around us.

--Ally Jaggard, East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania

,

You Make Beautiful Things

,

"If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for the Creator, there is no poverty."  – Rainer Maria Rilke  

Ordinary

Walking into the Doran house on Monday nights for Roundtable always brings a smile to my face. Before I even reach my hand out to turn the doorknob I can already hear laughter and chatter from within and smell something delicious cooking in the oven. Each week we gather there together, the 15 Fellows, Katherine, Greg, Dennis & his family, to share in life. Reclaiming the act of sitting down to meal together is a powerful reminder of one of the primary aims of the Fellows Program; exploring the ways in which our lives matter. How often do we arrive at the end of a given day wondering to ourselves, “What did I do today? Will it have any lasting importance?” The dust covering the lenses through which we see the world makes it so hard sometimes for us to see the answers to these questions. One work day gives way to the next, a blur of spreadsheets, legal documents and phone calls. Yet somehow over the course of the past two months, through prayer and earnest conversation, we have just begun to wipe the dust from one another’s eyes enough to catch a glimpse of God’s work unfurling in our daily lives.

Hope

God created Adam from the very dust of the earth, should it come as any surprise that he can make beautiful things from of the dust of our lives? One of the first things we did together as a Fellows class was to share our testimonies; how God has been shaping each of us throughout our twenty-some years. It was such a privilege to hear how God’s hands have been conforming each of my friends to look more and more like Him. Some of our stories are loud; God has moved mightily to deliver us from tough situations and convict us, changing lives in short order.

The stuff of day-to-day life is quieter, admittedly, but the changes I’ve witnessed in the past two months can still be heard. Several fellows have taken steps to glorify God with the ways in which they spend their money, a middle school student has found sweet certainty of her salvation, and dozens of conversations have been sparked by the idea of a program designed to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in every area of our lives. Friends, the gospel is at work here. We’re not the same people we were yesterday or last year. God is making all things new.

-Erin Sheets--Mechanicsville, VA

Transform '09 Conference

Mixed feelings filled the old white bus as it carried the fifteen Fellows away from Charlottesville at the beginning of yet another precious weekend. Just weeks earlier Dennis pitched the idea of attending this conference, which was not on our schedule, and would bump our total number of ‘scheduled away’ weekends from five, to six in three months. But Dennis had us sold on the line-up of speakers at this conference, as he personally vouched for their life-changing potential. Thus, we found ourselves on our way; slightly bummed we were missing the Halloween festivities at home, yet eagerly anticipating how accurate Dennis’ ‘life-changing’ claim really was.The conference, hosted by McLean Presbyterian Church, located just outside D.C., was called “Transform ‘09”. Paige Benton Brown, Katherine Leary, and Os Guinness were lined up to speak on the transformational perspective of the kingdom. We Fellows were all excited about Os Guinness, having just read his book “The Call” as part of our summer reading. Katherine Leary we knew not only to be on staff at Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, but also as the aunt of our very own Rachel Leary! Finally, Paige Benton Brown we knew the least of, other than that she is a former RUF intern at UVA and had significant “life-changing” potential (quote: Dennis Doran). We arrived on Friday night at McLean Presbyterian after having settled our things at our hosts’ house and making a delicious stop for some Italian subs. Quickly settling in our seats, we did our best to prepare ourselves as Paige Benton Brown began her talk. Paige began by defining “kingdom”: the term of the conference. The kingdom of God she said, is the presence of the future, a reality for the whole world, the hub of the entire New Testament. The gospel of the kingdom is not just forgiveness of sins, but also renewal and TRANSFORMATION of sin. This has serious implications for the way we are called to live out our lives, both as the church and kingdom citizens. It means we must not limit our work to the church but also maintain the church/world distinction. It means seeking renewal “as far as the curse is found”. Paige encouraged the audience not to so comfortably identify with the “conservative Christian” title, for the Christian role on earth at this moment in history is not to conserve, but to transform. Paige referred to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 to describe exactly HOW God’s children are to participate in this transformation. She explained that what is expected of us is proportional to what ‘talents’ have been given us, and that it is not okay to just play it safe and bury our talents. We must be bold and risk-taking in employing our talents, trusting that God has given us our gifts for a reason and that even in employing our gifts, He is there guiding us. God is always doing the work and He is using us broken sinners simply because He loves us. Therefore, we need not pray for God to use us; He will use us. We need to pray that we may be useful in Him using us. The following morning Katherine Leary of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York City, spoke to us about kingdom transformational work, through her personal story. She spoke of her various experiences in the corporate world as well as her current role as Director of the Center for Faith and Work. Katherine encouraged us by way of her story to carry over the transformational kingdom perspective to the workplace, so that hearts may be transformed. Transformed hearts will transform communities; transformed communities will ultimately transform the world. Finally Dr. Os Guinness closed out the evening by sharing a message with us from Acts 13:36. The verse reads “After David served the purpose of God in his own generation, he fell asleep”. From this verse, Dr. Guinness took the meaning of calling for David and allowed us to apply it to our lives. He emphasized the importance of service in calling; how we need to ensure we are serving the purpose of God like David did, and that he did so “in his own generation”, meaning his calling was for him and him alone. Similarly, God’s call for each one of us is specific to each one of us. Finally, Dr. Guinness encouraged us that if we trust God in this, we will ‘fall asleep’ in peace and trust that we have completed God’s work. Being left slightly stunned, tired, ‘transformed’ and with MUCH to digest, the Fellows once again loaded the ‘ol white bus and began the trek home that Reformation (aka Halloween) night. On the way home several Fellows personally attested to the life-changing capacities of the conference, which Dennis had so fervently claimed just a few weeks earlier. A confident buzz filled the bus that night, confirming that it was all worth another precious weekend away.

MODGNIK!!! (try reading that backwards)

by: Emily Mims We could not have asked for a more gorgeous  weekend at Rockbridge Alum Springs.  It was 70 degrees, and the sun shone brightly on the leaves that were just barely beginning to change from green to red.  All across Young Life's camp in Goshen, VA, middle school kids ran and played and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and property.  If one had looked closer last weekend, though, they would have also noticed 15 Trinity Fellows running and playing and just getting to enjoy life at Rockbridge.

Last weekend, we fellows found ourselves headed to Rockbridge (a YL camp property near Lexington), to participate in the annual youth retreat called MODGNIK (named about 10 years ago by our very own Dennis Doran).  One of the incredible, intentional components of our program is that we get to be involved in the lives of the youth at Trinity Pres. by joining their D-(discipleship) groups, cooking pancakes for them on Sunday mornings, and building relationships with the kids.  Each of us is assigned a specific class and gender to focus on (for example, I get to be with the 6th grade girls)—for each grade between 6th and 12th.  So last weekend, half of us were in cabins with the middle school campers, and the other half were "ropes wranglers"--heading up the ropes course, climbing wall, swing and zip-line at the camp.  There were almost 400 middle school campers who came from Trinity and several other churches in Virginia.

Some of my favorite moments throughout the weekend happened when I got to watch the other fellows serving the middle-schoolers with smiles on their faces.  I loved watching Erin help a sixth grade girl struggle to put sheets on her top bunk bed.  It was fun to see Peter surrounded by a swarm of kids wanting to get on the big swing.  Rachel and Andrew tag-teamed the climbing pole, jovially calling out commands to the kids as they climbed.  I enjoyed seeing Mallory sit patiently at the bottom of the zip-line all afternoon to help the kids get off their ride.  And I think we all formed deeper connections with one another as we served the middle schoolers alongside each other.

All in all, it was a long, crazy, fun-packed weekend.  We all worked tirelessly to serve the middle schoolers, let alone just keep up with them. :)  But it was also filled with fun for us and just the privilege of getting to be on the front lines of youth ministry.  The speaker talked about Heaven all weekend, and I can’t forget one sixth grader’s comment to me as we walked across a green field, "I feel like this is a little bit like how Heaven is."  What a joy it is to see a young girl processing the beauty of God's creation, the fullness of Christian community, and the peace of feeling safe and loved---and then attributing that to our Father in Heaven!

I couldn't help but agree with her...and I honestly do hope that MODGNIK was a small taste of the eternal joy God has in store for us.

Some fun pictures Becca took with the 8th grade girls this weekend:

[gallery]