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Last March, I had the opportunity to lead the NLCF mission team to Danlí, Honduras for a week of evangelism, teaching, community engagement, and more.  At the beginning of the week, we visited the small community of Los Quiscamotes, where a previous GCLA mission team had built a house.  Our main purpose that day was to see an example of the types of projects teams like us could work on in the future.  While we were there, however, I noticed a water pump, and started asking questions.

You see, before I went into full time ministry with NLCF, I studied Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech.  A lot of what I learned about surrounded the idea of water.  One of my favorite classes in graduate school was about water and wastewater in developing countries.  From that class, we had seen and talked about hand pumps just like the one I saw that day.  I got excited to finally experience something I’d heard about in the classroom!  A few minutes later, our friends explained how the beautifully built hand pump was no longer being used because it had been contaminated from a nearby latrine.  Now, the locals retrieved their water each day from a small spring in a deep ravine nearby.

I felt something that day.  I felt God saying, “Do something about this”.  At the time, I didn’t know what that would look like.  Fast forward to the summer, and the idea crossed my mind to utilize the resources surrounding me at Virginia Tech.  I reached out to my old department, and proposed the situation in Los Quiscamotes as a Senior Design Project idea.  Long story short, the idea moved forward, and now I’ve been working with a team of four engineering students from the Biological Systems Engineering department for the past semester.  We are hoping to design both short term and long term potential solutions to help provide safe access to clean water.  I’m very excited to say that two of those students will be joining our NLCF team to travel back to Honduras in March.  Our plan for this trip is to begin scratching the surface of the situation; we hope to take measurements, estimate water quality, and begin conversations with the members of the community.  Meanwhile, the rest of the team will be involved in that, among other projects and activities such as working with schools, evangelizing, and building a floor for someone’s home.

What started as a lecture in a classroom, turned into a moment of calling to action from God, and is now moving forward into something bigger than I ever imagined.

We’ll see where things go from here!

-David M

 

On Saturday November 5th, over 40 individuals gathered in Christiansburg, VA for the first-annual Donut Dash 5k.  That’s right… a 5k race, with donuts.  What could make running just a little more fun?  DONUTS!  The premise of the race was that participants would run halfway, eat as many donuts as they wanted, and then run the second half as fast as they could, being filled with donuts.  Each donut eaten reduced their final time by 45 seconds.

It was a chilly morning when the event came, and the race started around 10 am with 26 runners participating.  The first person across the finish line was Jacob Brummond, with a raw time of 21:57, but Ean Ormsby was the overall winner (Men’s 18-21 division) with a final donut-adjusted time of 19:38, consuming an impressive 7 donuts.  Stephanie Arnold won the Women’s 18-21 division, with an adjusted time of 24:46, consuming 2 donuts.  She also had the fastest overall raw time for the ladies.  In the Men’s 22-25 division, Walt Haim came in first, eating 3 donuts for an adjusted time of 24:19.  See full race results here.

 

One of the main goals of the event was to provide a fun and unique opportunity for the Blacksburg and Christiansburg communities to participate in.  Also, the event served as a fundraiser for the NLCF Honduras team, travelling to Danli, Honduras in March 2017.  After everything was said and done, the love of running and sweets helped raise $552 for the team!

Thank you again to everyone who made this event happen!  We wouldn’t have been able to do this without runners, volunteers, or our gracious partners:

RunAbout Sports

Tillerman Coffee Company

TriAdventure Multisport Coaching & Fitness

Montgomery County Parks & Recreation

Town of Christiansburg

NRV Mall

We hope to see you out there next year!

So we had an election, and opinions on just what happened are strong and vary greatly.  Now this isn’t strange.  I have participated in elections for a while now and the day after euphoria and depression is predictable and regular.  But this cycle, this election, was an exaggerated version of what has happened before.  They have never been pleasant things, but they also haven’t been like this one.

For the first time in surveys dating to 1992, majorities in both parties express not just unfavorable but very unfavorable views of the other party. And today, sizable shares of both Democrats and Republicans say the other party stirs feelings of not just frustration, but fear and anger.

More than half of Democrats (55%) say the Republican Party makes them “afraid,” while 49% of Republicans say the same about the Democratic Party. Among those highly engaged in politics – those who say they vote regularly and either volunteer for or donate to campaigns – fully 70% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans say they are afraid of the other party.

~Pew Research Center

We are extremely divided as a country and are seemingly growing more so.

Several times a week, our staff team gets together to pray and this morning was one of those times.  As we were talking about the election and what is the role of our church today, one of our new staff, Curtis reminded us of some powerful words by Jesus in John 13.  34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

The love that Jesus was talking about is the rugged and powerful kind.  Keep in mind the context of his words were immediately following Judas leaving the group to sell Jesus out to the Pharisees, and Jesus knew what he was doing.  This kind of love isn’t based on what is best for us, or what is easiest either.

For those of us who follow Jesus, we have this thing that we know.  We know, not just are technically aware of, but KNOW that the Spirit of God is in us and with us.  That God the Father is lovingly aware of us and will give us the strength that we need to walk through this life in all its highs and lows.  We know this.

That knowledge releases us to be the kind of people that truly get after the task of loving those around us.  We love our brothers and sisters in Christ who just handled their vote in a way that we could never imagine handling ours.  We love our brothers and sisters in Christ who think things and support things that we are against, that we believe God is against.   We love our brothers and sisters in Christ who say things that we would never say; we love them.

But we don’t just love them.

Jesus was just as clear that we are to love everyone we are around as we love ourselves.  So, not just our brothers and sisters in Christ, but everyone.  We love everyone.

Out of our foundation of God’s love and power that is at work in us, we extend ourselves towards others.  Regardless of how they voted, what they support, and even regardless of whether they love or tolerate us back.  This is who we are.

It doesn’t mean that we agree with everyone, it doesn’t mean that we don’t believe some ideas are simply wrong.  It doesn’t mean we don’t talk about the things we disagree with and it doesn’t even mean that we don’t work in opposition to those things. It simply means that we look at everyone our eyes meet as someone made in the image and through the love of God, whether they have responded to that love or not.  It means that we turn away from the cultural narrative that the last several generations have been writing (ours included) that tells us that what people think, what jobs they have, what they look like, who they voted for, or what they can do for us determines their value.

We turn away from that.  It is off the table.

The value of people comes from the one in who’s image they are made.  We simply cannot say we love God and not get very serious about the task of loving those He made; 1 John chapter four makes that very clear.

So here is what I suggest love should look like over the next few days and weeks…

To those who voted for Donald Trump (or wanted to)

You are allowed to be excited for your candidate to have won.  But please consider the ways your words come across to those who didn’t vote the way you did.  I have already heard a couple of people say, “I can say whatever I want because you know that if Clinton had won, they would.”  But is that the point?  We follow a messiah who didn’t do what was fair, who didn’t respond based on what we deserved.  Do we welcome that kind of grace and not return it to those we are around?

 

To those who voted for Hillary Clinton (or wanted to)

You are allowed to be sad, even angry.  But also, please consider your words and actions.  Anger isn’t a wrong thing to feel, but the scriptures make it clear that it can cause us to do things that don’t honor God and that can lead us away from Him.  We aren’t told to never get angry, but James tells us to get there more slowly than we usually do.  Anger can lead us to despair, violence, and fear.

 

To those who feel afraid based on the election results

As the church we should be on the lookout for those whose way may be more difficult as a result of this election.  We may not agree on any number of things, but the church is called to be a voice and a refuge for those who don’t feel like they have either.  The church needs to stand against violence towards any group of people and those aren’t just words, if we see it we will step to your aid.  We will not laugh when we see someone is being mocked, we will engage.  We will not pass by if we see someone is being harassed, we will engage.  We will seek to live out of our foundational awareness of God’s love and presence with us to be a support to who need it.  You are people.  You are just as valuable as anyone; you are not less than anyone.  Even when we disagree, your value to God and to us remains unchanged.  We won’t do it perfectly, but we will do it.

Peace,

Jim

Here is another shift that is very exciting for us!

We are adjusting how we disciple our male leaders, apprentices and those who want to lead one day in NLCF.  We are just doing this for the dudes this year, and this may be the only year we do it this way.

Why you may ask?  You also might be wondering, why just the guys?  Both are really good questions.

The first reason is that the church, across the board, is seeing a drop in guys – both numerically and in the level of their commitment to the church.  Up until the past couple of years this hasn’t been our experience at NLCF but over the last few it has been.  We love the guys that are with us and committed to following Christ with us, but we believe that we can reach more.  By reach we mean see more guys come into God’s family and be adopted by him and see more guys demonstrate a deeper level of passion and commitment to the calling Christ has given all of us.

It felt like the Spirit was calling us to do things a bit differently, so that is what we are going to do.

It is so new we don’t even have a name for it yet! : )  So, if you want to shout one out to us, please feel free. I can tell you that Robbie Poff and I have come up with some awful ones.  We haven’t spent much time on what it will be called, but we have spent A LOT of time on what it will do…  So, here goes.

It will meet every third Sunday evening as a whole group.  Robbie Poff and I will co-lead those times where we will worship, pray, and be guided together into a deeper understanding and life of passionate pursuit of the Lord.  This isn’t going to be like some men’s groups that tend to revolve around bro-speak and getting away from porn, dating and sports.

I imagine all those things will come up, but this will get into how we develop an understanding of what God’s vision is for our lives, how we hear from him more clearly, and how our life of faith can look more like the way that Jesus lived.

Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, “What is the greatest commandment?”  They intended this to be a trap question that would get Jesus in trouble.  In his answer, not only does Jesus side-step that trap, but he gives us one of the strongest creedal statements for our lives.  Jesus answer was simple, and also so profound we cannot ever fully dive to the bottom of what it means.  I will give The Messages transliteration of Matthew’s account from Matthew 22.

34 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. 35 One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: 36 “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?” 37 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ 38 This is the most important, the first on any list. 39 But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ 40 These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

 

Again, super simple but very profound.  Love God in as focused a way as you can and love those around you like you love yourself.

 

This group is open to anyone who has been in a huddle last year or who was asked to be in one this year.  If you are new or don’t understand what a huddle is, it is the way that we disciple people in our church.  Each huddle has a leader and three to eight members.

There are a couple of distinctives about this men’s group.  It would be considered a high invitation and high challenge type of group.  Essentially that means that if you are in the group, the leaders will be highly dedicated to you and walking through life with you.  There is a strong invitation to share life with us.  The challenge is that we would want you to feel the same commitment.  That means you are willing to speak into our lives if you notice things that don’t glorify God.  In our church, we don’t believe that just because someone might be a pastor or on staff that they have everything together.  I, as one of the pastors/elders need you to care about my life as I care for yours.  Another way the challenge plays out is that the group times we meet are critically important.  We want you to prioritize all of them.  Over the course of the year, something might come up, those things happen.  But those that are in this group would commit to working so that almost never does.  Additionally the participants would be in a huddle made up of guys in the group.

Together we will talk about the deeper issues in being men who walk closely with God, closely with others, and are dedicated to playing our part in God’s kingdom.  Then we will have weekly “challenges,” think of them like Crossfit WOD’s or as weekly focuses.  They will start pretty simply.  Having a 10 – 15 minute time with God at least four days a week.  If you haven’t been doing that consistently, you start there.  From there the weekly challenges will become, well more challenging.  Each week we will all publicly commit to the challenge that is next for us and the next time publicly talk about how it went.  We will celebrate the successes and we will celebrate those that weren’t.  What we find in the gym, with an instrument, with learning a language, in almost anything is that first you find your edge, then you push against that edge.

And then the edge moves.

I am extremely excited to walk together through this new, as-yet-unnamed adventure!

Cannot wait to see everyone who is coming back and meeting everyone that is new.

Jim
#loveGodloveHokies

One of the things that I do each summer, with many of our staff and leaders, is to reflect on what God has done and ask him what he wants to do.  This almost always results in some adjustments or shifts as we just try to be like Israel during the Exodus, following the trail the Lord leads us in.  There is a lot of time spent in prayer, seeking the Lord, talking to people, getting input, more prayer, seeking, talking, “inputting” …  You get the idea.

And over that process, things start to take shape.  As they do we look at them from every angle, pray, seek, talk…  This is a difficult but exciting process, at least for me.  Once something is solidified and dedicated to God, we look at how to share it.  I am very excited to get to share some key things with you now.

The first, and probably biggest shift for this next year (and possibly only this year) is that we are merging the 11am and the 7.07pm gatherings together.  They will both now meet at 11am in Colonial Hall.  It may seem odd to many that have been going to the 7.07 that we would do this.  This past year was one of the strongest the 7.07 has had.  Great and growing community (both in depth of relationships and numerically), powerful worship, life-changing/profound/powerful/let’s just say life-changing again teaching : ).  It wasn’t shrinking, it wasn’t dying.

So why not have it this year?

At NLCF, we have been committed to trying to never burn out leaders.  To not ask so much of them in ministry that their walk with God apart from their leadership dries up.  So that plays a big role in all of this.

Over the past several years, our worship teams have graduated and sent more people out than new people have come in.  It seems like over the past few years fewer people feel willing or able to play a part in this vital role in NLCF.  Now I get part of that.  It is tough to get in front of hundreds of people, and it is especially tough to truly worship God and not just perform when you are up there.  I have always said it is a weird balance of focusing on the worship of God, but also being aware that you aren’t worshipping God solo, that you are helping others to worship him as well.

Fewer people seem to either believe they can do it, or want to over the past couple of years.

This has meant that our worship teams have been a bit more stretched than we would like them to be.  And with graduating a big group this past Spring, it would have meant more stretching.  Now we could do that, we have enough to do that.  But two things would have likely happened.

• It would have likely led to burn-out in the worship team members we have.
• It would make it so that Robbie and Kristal Poff (who oversee our worship teams overall) really wouldn’t have any time to recruit, encourage and develop/disciple present team members and new ones as well. To put it more simply… They wouldn’t have time to solve the problem.

So, possibly for only a year, we are bringing the two gatherings together, we will celebrate the Lord together, we will worship together, and we will continue to grow together.  After this year we will do what we do: reflect, seek, pray, talk, get input about whether we bring the 7.07 back the following year.  Personally I hope that is the way the Lord leads.

In the meantime, let us know if this shift raises any other questions for you (most people who would be most directly impacted have been spoken to already), come ready to celebrate and seek the Lord together on Sundays at 11, and let’s see what God has in store for us all!

Jim

#loveGodloveHokies

In Part 1 of this blog I shared my recent experience losing my job. It forced me into a place where my faith had to get bigger. I went from fear in not knowing how provision would come to rest in knowing the truth that, no matter what, God will provide what we need. It also forced me into a place where I had to start the invigorating hunt for a job *insert tones of sarcasm*. Searching for jobs, applying, interviewing, and eventually deciding on a job is certainly exhausting. But what I was learning from God about his faithfulness and complete provision kept leading and empowering me. Understanding and believing the truth that God sees us, knows exactly what we need, and freely provides it gives us freedom. When we rest in this promise, we are free to approach job searching, or whatever unknown you may find yourself in, with a different mindset, a mindset that is more concerned with God’s glory than our benefit. Because I know and believe that God has me and will take care of me, instead of asking where I can get the most pay and benefits or where is most convenient for me or where I have the most opportunity to climb the ladder, my focus can be shifted toward simply asking where I can best serve God’s Kingdom.

There are certain temptations that accompany looking for and deciding on a new job. Especially when money is tight and a paycheck is needed, it is tempting to go for the job that is most immediate. With five days remaining before the coffee shop closed, I’d had only one interview and seemingly no others lined up. The interview went well, and I was hired on the spot, but I asked for a few days to pray about it. After seeing that I had received no other emails or phone calls about all of the applications I had been submitting, I didn’t think there was much to pray about. This was what was on the table and even though I wasn’t remotely excited about it, I thought, “It’s a job; it’s an income; I should take what I can get.” My husband returned home a few hours later, asked how the interview went, and noticed my demeanor. What he said was so simple and so full of faith: “It doesn’t seem like you want the job, so don’t take it. Something else will come up.” Not for one second did he pressure me into taking something just because “it was a job.” Not for one second did he doubt that God would have something better in store and that God would continue to take care of us. That guy’s faith makes me better, and it again shifted my focus toward asking where I can best serve God’s kingdom instead of where the quickest paycheck is. The very next morning, I received three emails from companies asking to set up interviews. Three interviews later, there were three new, exciting job offers on the table.

Now I found myself facing a new set of temptations. A couple of the job offers came with benefits, a pay raise, and even a fancy title. It can be a little disheartening to tell your friends and family that after spending four years getting a college degree, you got a job as a barista. It has been a knock on my pride, which I’ve most definitely needed. But needless to say, I was excited about this prospective job. It was a “big girl” job. It had the pay and benefits to make our life a bit easier. It had a title I wouldn’t be ashamed to say at our family gatherings. It was a good gig. But as I was sharing all the details with a friend, I felt God’s Spirit leading me back to this question: “Is this where I can best serve God’s Kingdom?”

All of these things: a quick paycheck, a big paycheck, or a cool title, they mean nothing. They won’t last. They’re not inherently bad and it’s wise to consider them, but they can’t be the crux of my decision. Ultimately, my “job” is to serve God the best way I can and with everything in me. So, throughout applying, interviewing, and deciding on a job, I kept asking, “Where can I best serve your Kingdom, God?” Praying this drew me away from those temptations for the most money or the fancy title, and it turned me toward God, his Kingdom, and eternity. Paychecks, benefits, and titles don’t measure up when you compare them to the glorious image of Jesus. When our hearts are set on seeking God and his Kingdom, it seems outrageous to go after such small things like money and titles. We should be seeking the place where our job is much more than the paycheck; rather, it is a place where we can daily have an impact for the Kingdom of God and work for eternal things. Because I know and believe that God will take care of me and completely provide for my needs, the money doesn’t matter. Because I know and believe that my identity is wrapped up in being a daughter of the King, the job title doesn’t matter. What matters is seeking a place where I can be used for much bigger things, things that last.

This summer we’ve been learning about the greatest commandment: love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. I think loving God with everything in me is choosing to trust him, to trust what he says is true, and to trust his ways are better. Jesus says seek his Kingdom first and he will take care of our worries, needs, desires, and dreams. In fact, he will take much better care of those things than we ever could, and he’ll show us how to live life abundantly. So, I’m choosing to trust God with my job, my marriage, my needs, my dreams, and my desires. I give it all to the King because my heart is set solely on him, not on chasing after these things. I will seek his Kingdom first, trusting that is the way to live life to the absolute fullest and trusting that God can do much bigger and better things with my life (my relationships, jobs, hopes, needs, desires, all of it) than I ever could on my own.

If you’re wondering how the story ended, I did decide on a job. I am proud to say I will continue serving up your favorite caffeinated drink at Tillerman Coffee Co. I’ll be working with a small family that is opening a new coffee shop in the Corporate Research Center. Our open date is not set in stone and seems to be delayed a bit, but if this process has taught me anything, it’s that God has us and no worry or stress will change that. This family is passionate about cultivating community and investing in the people that we will serve, and I am totally on board with that! It seems like it is going to be a place where I can be working for the Kingdom in so many ways, and I am excited to begin.

Throughout this process, Christian and I have truly been blessed by so many people praying for us, encouraging us, and generously taking care of us. I cannot thank you enough for walking with us. The Lord has used you greatly.

Matthew 5:33 “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

~Meg

Have you ever played the game of Things? Well, if not, it goes something like this: you draw a card and it gives random topics and you write down your response. Here’s an example:

Things you don’t want to hear your boss say:

“We’re going out of business.”

About a month ago, I heard those exact words from my boss. I, along with my coworkers, found out less than two weeks before the closing date that we would no longer have jobs at the coffee shop. Wait a second. For those of you wondering who this random girl is posting on NLCF’s blog, I’m not a hacker. My name is Meg, and I’ve been a part of NLCF for about a year now. I graduated from Liberty University (go Flames!) in 2015, got married shortly after, and moved to Blacksburg (go Hokies?) shortly after that. My husband, Christian, is on staff with NLCF and I am so blessed to be a part of a family like this one. Now back to my story. If you could’ve seen what was going on in my head at the moment I heard I was losing my job, you would’ve thought you were watching the movie Inside Out. Sadness, anger, disgust, and fear were fighting it out. Sadness won at first. It gave me great joy to serve our customers and to serve my coworkers, as well. I saw God move in me and in others while I was there, and I am so grateful for my time at the coffee shop. After sadness came disgust and anger at how we were told our jobs would no longer be there. I was disappointed in the twelve days notice that we received. I was not looking forward to searching for another job. But, most of all, I was scared. I was scared I wouldn’t find a job immediately and we wouldn’t be able to pay our bills. I was scared we’d go into some major debt. Yes, I knew the words to say. I knew to talk about how the Lord provides and how everything will be fine. I knew those things but I didn’t feel them. It’s easy to believe God provides when we have a steady income to count on. But what happens when that disappears? What happens when we’re confronted with not knowing how provision will come?

How many times does God have to prove to me he can be trusted? I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve seen him provide when there was no other way. I’ve seen him come through so many times in support raising over the past few years. I’ve experienced his complete provision throughout college and in the first jobs I’ve had in Blacksburg. And I know that he promises he will take care of us and give us exactly what we need.

Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

But even after all that I’ve seen him do and all that I know to be true, I was still fearful.

It’s moments like this, losing a job or not even having one or an unexpected expense, when we are thrust into places of having to trust what God says is true. Without knowing where money is going to come from, there really is no choice in the matter. We can trust that God will take care of us or we can worry and stress, and God will still take care of us. His character and his promises don’t change just because I have a hard time believing they are true sometimes. Praise the Lord for that! But it’s also in these moments where God desires our faith to get bigger. He pours his gentle Spirit out on us and testifies to our hearts that his words and his promises are in fact true. He’s saying, “I’ve got you. I always have and I always will. Trust me. Believe me.” God uses moments like these to reorient our hearts to believing his truth. Instead of fear, he wants us to feel rest in knowing he has us. I’ll be honest; it’s not my first reaction all the time, as you saw above. It’s not always my default to rest in his truth and promises. It doesn’t come easily, especially in difficult circumstances, but this is when we preach to ourselves God’s truth and we fight the lies and fear with Spirit-empowered faith in his promises.

Jesus reminds us that the flowers and the birds are taken care of and fully provided for, and he says we are so much more valuable! Because that’s true, how much more will he provide for and take care of us! In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the “much more” that Jesus was talking about. We’ve experienced God provide in ways we never saw coming, and he has given us everything we need and more.

So here’s another example of the game of Things:

Things the God of the Universe and your Creator says:

“I see you. I hear you. I know your needs. I promise to take care of you and provide all that you need. I will never fail.”

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

This post first appeared on seanlunsford.com on March 28, 2016, the day after Easter.

You may have heard of the explosion that rocked Lahore, Pakistan, yesterday. Having grown up in that part of the world, it hits pretty close to home for me.

The sad thing is that it isn’t even an unusual occurrence. The sad thing is how, well – mundane – these blasts have become in the region. How often I feel a buzz and look down at my wrist to see yet another news alert with yet another body count. And I have to wonder at just how detached I’ve become. I look down and all I see are numbers. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism. If every one took an emotional toll it’d be too much. But then once in a while, something makes me take a step back and feel that emotional reaction to the evil and tragedy of it all. And it breaks my heart.

And yesterday it hit harder than it has in a while. Because yesterday those buzzes on my wrist came literally as we were singing that Christ has risen, that he is victorious over death. That he brings light to the darkness. While out there in the world it’s as dark as ever, and death is still very, very real.

I feel like there should be some takeaway or something, but I got nothing. The thing is, this is where we are right now. On the one hand we proclaim Jesus’ resurrection and victory over the evil one and death itself, and on the other we’re still waiting for the final, utter vanquishing of evil, and for the restoration of creation to be completed. And until then we live in a world where a bomb will kill dozens even as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

So as I stood in that auditorium yesterday, as the alerts came in with the climbing death toll, I sang through the tears that were welling up, “You give life, you are love, you bring light to the darkness.” And I sang it praying that his light would pierce through the darkness hanging over Lahore right now.

Because as dark as it seems right now, the darkest day in history was that Saturday two thousand years ago. But when all hope seemed lost, Jesus came back. And the very thing that seemed to have beaten him is what clinched his victory. So we celebrate that victory, we proclaim it and live in it, even in the face of unspeakable evil. God’s light is breaking through the darkness, and we are carrying it, knowing victory is ours.

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

~Sean

This year, I once again had the pleasure of working with our seniors through the Life After College program.  For the second year now, we hosted 3 different workshops throughout the Spring semester, culminating in Senior Night on May 11, 2016.  The first workshop in February focused on financial topics, ranging from budgeting to insurance.  In March, the second workshop revolved around how to find a church community after graduating.  In the last workshop, we talked about how to live missionally in the workplace.

Going into the planning of Senior Night, we had several goals in mind:  First of all, we wanted to have fun.  This group of seniors was special; the impact they have had is sure to last for years to come.  After serving so faithfully for many years, we wanted to make sure they felt loved and celebrated for their hard work and for God’s provision, bringing them through college and/or graduate school.  Also, we’ve noticed that the end of the school year can be very hectic, with all the last minute projects, exams, final “hang outs” with friends, etc.  This often leaves little room for quiet reflection and time with God.  Because of that, another big goal of Senior Night was to provide space and time for the seniors to get away and spend time with God.

Once the night finally came, it was a great success!  We had 17 seniors and 8 staff come out that night to join in the fun, food, memories, teaching, worship, reflection, and group discussion.  We even had a special visit from the Hokie Bird himself!  The theme for the night was “Be Strong and Courageous”, taken from the words in Joshua 1.  We talked about how to trust God, remain obedient, and “gather our provisions” for the next season of life.  When the night came to a close, we knew it wouldn’t be a trip to Camp Tuk-a-way without a campfire and s’mores.

As the flames faded away from the campfire that night, one season was ending.  The Class of 2016 had finished.  They had run the race set before them, remaining faithful to the task of growing God’s Kingdom at Virginia Tech.  But as that season has ended, a new one has begun for them.  They are now taking the things they learned with us at NLCF and Virginia Tech, and moving on.  They are starting new chapters in their lives and working to make disciples of Jesus…this time, all over the world.

To the seniors, we thank you.  Our church and this community will deeply miss you, but we wish you the best of luck in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.

You’ve always got a family here in Blacksburg.  Don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello!

~David

During the Winter Break of my sophomore year, NLCF attended a Winter Conference much like Fusion. After what had been a crazy Fall semester, I was simply craving some extended time with God and looking forward to time hanging out with friends! I also had a decision I needed to make over the break and so I decided that this time set apart for worship, teaching, & conversation would be a good space to ask Him for a clear answer.

I remember the day He answered. I woke up to have some quiet time before the events of the conference started and opened by Bible to Hebrews 10, specifically 10:24 and read, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” I was in the midst of a difficult roommate situation and really wanted God’s direction as far as where to live for the upcoming fall. I remember reading that verse and thinking that my current roommate situation was far from these words.

As with many conferences, the afternoon had a series of breakout sessions. I don’t remember what the actual breakout session was titled but I do remember sitting in a room, listening to the speaker, when he referenced Hebrews 10:24. Really? And then, later that night, sitting in a main session, the speaker referenced Hebrews 10:24, again. It was clear that I couldn’t ignore these words and I knew at that moment that God was answering me and telling me to move into a roommate situation where I could live this out.

Maybe you have a decision to make concerning a future job, a relationship, or your next step in your relationship with Him? The conference I attended had nothing to do with roommate relationships but I believe because I set that time aside to seek Him, He answered.

Maybe you don’t have any upcoming decisions, maybe you just need to be encouraged and/or challenged by the content of the conference. How can you go wrong with “getting, giving, and living the Gospel”?

There’s no denying that in today’s culture, we live busy lives. You are in the homestretch of finishing the fall semester, you are anticipating the holidays, and excited that a month break is on the horizon (hallelujah!). But, before you blink you will jump right back in to the craziness of another semester.

Fusion is just 2 days (Thursday night, Friday, & Saturday morning)! What do you think God could do in & thru YOU (well beyond January 9th) if you set these 2 days aside to hear from Him? Could He do it somewhere other than Carlisle, PA? Probably! But why not join with friends and seek God in the midst of the community He has placed in your life for this season? I remember when I went back to my hotel room that night and shared with my conference roommates what I believed God was saying, we celebrated together (jumping on hotel beds & dancing around the room!), it wouldn’t have been the same celebration somewhere else.

That Fall I moved into better roommate situation where we strived to live out the words of Hebrews 10:24. And, that decision I made in the midst of a Winter conference continues to impact my life today as those roommates (though spread about and in different seasons of life) continue to be people in my life that spur me on in love, good deeds, and in my relationship with Him.

Why Fusion? Why NOT Fusion?

– Jeanette