INTERNSHIP UPDATE 2 - Notes on "Radical" by David Platt

This weekend is the leadership retreat for CCF, and I will be there as an intern!

To prepare for the weekend of vision-casting and focusing on a Spirit-led year, we all read the book "Radical" by David Platt. I mentioned some of the challenges in this book previously. I have finished the book, and have learned some things that I want to share with you. I also want to take these things into my ministry with CCF:

1. Jesus was radical. The gospels are filled with Jesus saying things that are hard to hear. He tells people to sell everything they have and give it to the poor, to leave before a father's funeral, to trade their livelihood and their families for persecution and the unknown. Too often I have written off these passages as things that only those people were called to do, or things Jesus said as hyperbole just to make a point. And I'm sure Jesus was making a point. And I don't think everyone is supposed to get rid of everything they own right now, but we still must be willing. And we must not cling to any material thing, or any earthly comfort or security, because we cannot cling to the world and to the Father. No matter what we have, we must consider it all worthless compared to Christ. This is what Platt refers to as "radical abandonment to Jesus."

2. Radical giving. In order to give radically, we must reevaluate what we really need and look past the materialistic culture we are in. One practical thing Platt suggests is figuring out what we need and putting on cap on what we will spend, then giving the rest to support Kingdom growth. Often times, people increase their wealth and increase their living conditions as they do. What if we stopped at what we really needed, the minimum, and used the rest for Kingdom work--for missions, for taking trips to spread the gospel, for sharing with our neighbors in need?

3. Radical going. God's plan is for His people to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. From the beginning of time, God has been trying to bring all peoples back to him. In Genesis 12 we read that God promises Abraham that through him all nations will be blessed. And in Revelation 7, we read about John's vision of the great multitue before the throne consisting of people from every tribe and nation. This is the blessing made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus. 

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? Rom. 10:14-15

This is God's plan for reaching the world. Going and sharing the gospel with people who have not heard is not an option.

There is so much to this book, and I hope you get the chance to read it.

Prayer Points:

-Pray for our retreat this weekend, that we would be led by the Spirit in making decisions and planning for the next year.

-Pray that we would be people who go and teach people who will go and teach people who will go...

-Pray for my funding while I am working with CCF.

Thanks for following, and let me know what I can be praying for you!

With Love,

Beth

INTERNSHIP UPDATE 1

Interspersed in the posts of this blog will be updates on my internship with Campus Christian Fellowship at East Carolina University. You can tell them apart by the boring titles ;)

I will not officially start the internship until the beginning of July, but I will be in the office and helping with different events through the next few weeks. One of my jobs is helping to recreate our display board that we use for church visits and campus events to let people know abotu who we are. I will also help with freshman orientation events where we set up a booth alongside the other clubs and organizations for incoming students to check out.

Please pray that these events go well, there are eight of them. Pray that God provides connections and conversations with new students, and that they will find the right ministry to get plugged into.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

With love,
Beth Nosay

Called Out

My parents are very calm people. Even in their discipline they were calm, it was almost scary. A lot of the reprimands and punishments from my childhood I have forgotten, but one remains with me always. I don't even remember exactly what I did to deserve it, but I clearly remember the voice of my dad saying, calmly and firmly, "You did wrong." A heavy lump dropped from my throat to my stomach, a guilt worse than any spanking.

Honestly, I don't know which was more painful: knowing I disappointed my father, or having my failure said aloud and exposed.

I have been reading a book along with the leadership team in Campus Christian Fellowship called Radical by David Platt. It has been a difficult book to read. In it, Platt points out that the American Dream and our purpose in Christ do not fit together. Being a follower of Christ does not mean we strive for a good job, nice house, and a long life of health and safety while we have a little church and prayer on the side. It is not looking to God to provide us with comfort and shying away from His command to go and make disciples. Platt talks about complete abandonment to the cause of Christ, and complete trust in His power instead of our own.

I have also been reading the Scriptures. Before I went home for my wedding, I challenged a group of students at Bible study to write down the gospel message, to know what it is and be prepared to tell people about it. So, taking my own advice, I set out to write down the core of the gospel message. As I looked through the passages that mention the gospel, I noticed many of them were about spreading the gospel to new places, no matter the cost. The apostles, and many Christians, have abandoned the lives they knew for lives of financial instability, physical risk, and greater joy and peace than they had ever known.

I think about these things and that feeling in the pit of my stomach comes back. I thank God for the times when he calls me out and says "You did wrong." But He also says "Let me make you right." I spent a lot of time thinking of God as an addition to my dream for my life, when God is the creator, center, and purpose in my life. I can chase the American Dream, maybe even achieve it. In a decent economy and with some luck I could have a good job, a good family, a happy life. But I would miss so much more, and death would sting.

God has been teaching me to make Him, and His purpose of reconciling the people of world to Himself, more and more the center of my life. And it just gets better and better.