Fearless Boston Winter Conference

In early January, I got to help lead the Boston Winter Conference. Here’s a little update about what happened at the conference. If you want to download a PDF, click here.

“The end of a conference is really just the beginning.” ~ James White, Pastor of Christ Our King Community Church in Cary, NC, and BWC speaker

It is a disease that affects us all. It has the potential to take over your life and paralyze you. Thoughts of dangling from immense heights, incurable diseases, and loneliness all incite this emotion: fear. Jesus speaks directly to this issue when he says, “Do not be afraid.” He gave that command more than any other. He knows that all of us struggle with fear. His perfect love can make us fear less.

During the second annual Campus Crusade for Christ Boston Winter Conference, 285 college students converged upon the city to grow in their faith, build relationships, and give back. They arrived envisioning what their lives could look like without fear of failure or rejection, and were given the tools to make their hopes a reality.

Pastor Stephen Um started the week by speaking about the fearless love of the Gospel, how Christ’s perfect love drives out fear. He pointed out how success-driven our culture is and how much we fear failure, but reassured us that it’s okay for us to fail because we need to learn that our identity does not hang on such an idol. Nicole from the University of Maine Orono said her relationships would be the opposite of what they are now if she could fully trust God’s justification of her in Christ. “Trust would be a given. I wouldn’t have to worry about other people’s opinions of me, because I would know that what God thought, was of the utmost importance.” The students of the Northeast region learned this week that fear has one formidable foe: the love and forgiveness found in Christ.

Once we understand that God’s love frees us from fear, the next step in the journey is to risk confronting the sin under the surface. Conference speaker Liz Swanson encouraged students to courageously admit that they don’t “have it all together.” Shane Deike challenged the group to use what they have learned by sharing it with a world that is hungry for Christ’s touch. The Day of Outreach offered many opportunities for students to take risks in evangelism and fearlessly share the gift of Christ with others. These included sharing the gospel with people on the Boston Common, helping repair fire damage in the inner city, and handing out boxes of food to needy families. Jennifer from Brown University remarked, “I feel I have grown in compassion for people today as I’ve shared my faith with them.”

At the conclusion of the conference, students were excited to return to their campuses, not only to practice letting go of their fears, but also to help others do the same. For Nicole, attending a seminar which answered tough questions about God and taught how to share those answers boldly was very valuable. “A lot of people have questions about how a good God can allow evil to exist. This seminar taught me what the Bible says about this issue and equipped me to answer the questions my friends ask.”

Steve from the University of New Hampshire says he is ready to apply what he has learned here to point other people towards Christ. “I can help calm non-believers’ fears about God only through the Gospel—there’s no better way. During the conference I gained a lot of head knowledge, but on the last day something clicked. I don’t have to worry about my own sins or fear others’ opinions of me, because Jesus took care of that on the cross. God is so good.”

To live a fearless life, to “be strong and courageous” is not a new message for us; but to glorify Christ by facing what we fear most—whether that may be sharing the good news with our family, trusting God to provide our every need, or failing others and risking being rejected—this is our call to action. When confronted with what terrifies us most, may we hear the words of our Lord to Joshua: “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” What encouragement! He is with us and His power rests on us. For when we are weak, truly, we are strong. Remember Beloved, His grace is sufficient, even for you.

“The topic of fearlessness didn’t resonate with me at first, because I didn’t realize I struggled with it. But as the conference went on, I realized I do struggle with fear of failure and disapproval. I never really saw those areas of my life for what they were before now.” ~Emily, Syracuse University

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

“I can’t tell you how many people come into my office and ask, ‘How come I have this money and I can’t find happiness?’” says Alden Cass, a therapist to corporate attorneys and men on Wall Street. The quote comes from an article I’ve been reading in New York Magazine from December 2006 called “Can’t get no satisfaction: In a culture where work can be a religion, burnout is its crisis of faith.” It’s fascinating.

Some great quotes from the article:

“I once talked to a pediatric dentist,” she says, “and he said, ‘A good day is when there are no screamers.’ And I’m sure half the people he was talking about were the parents.”

One has to wonder whether the developments of a high-speed world haven’t made burnout worse. First, the obvious: With the advent of e-mail, cell phones, laptops, BlackBerrys (or “CrackBerrys”—the argot here seems extremely apt), and other bits of high-speed doodadry, it has become virtually impossible, in senses both literal and metaphorical, to unplug from our jobs. As Schaufeli, the Dutch researcher, notes, one of the strongest predictors of burnout isn’t just work overload but “work-home interference”—a sociologist’s way of saying we’re receiving phone calls from Tokyo during dinner and replying to clients on our BlackBerrys while making our children brush their teeth.

But the problems wrought by technological advancement go far beyond trespasses into our homes. They’ve done something to how we perceive time—and, by extension, work and leisure—itself. There’s a way New Yorkers often describe this, actually. They say they’re busy. It’s hard to find New Yorkers who don’t believe themselves to be really, really busy, whether they have six kids or none, and whether they’re trading bonds or driving cabs. “Busyness”—a homophone of business, which cannot be an accident—has become the defining sensation of city life. If busy meant “fulfilled,” or “engaged,” that’d be one thing, but it seems, in most cases, to mean “overloaded” or “frazzled.” In Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, James Gleick points out that doctors and sociologists even have a name for this harried sensation: “hurry sickness.”

Moskowitz also tells me about a conversation he once had with an employee at a high-profile high-tech firm. He reached this young man during the day, but only barely, because this fellow was heading out to see a movie. Moskowitz marveled at how wonderful that was and how flexible his employer must be. “Oh, yes,” the employee told him. “Here, I can work whatever 80 hours per week I want.”

So… have you experienced burnout? How does the gospel affect your work?

Grass Roots Evangelism

I’m always interested in hearing more about evangelism and what’s working around the world. Here’s something I found in Australia:

Grass Roots Evangelism. Basically, the idea is that if you send people to share the gospel in areas where there is very little gospel presence, it doesn’t work well.

“I wonder if rather than pouring resources into the centre of barren areas, which are often cut off from contact with other growing ministries, whether we should put more resources into areas surrounding the barren geographies, with the aim of strengthening these ministries. The resulting strengthened ministries could then begin new ministries in the barren areas near them, just as the grass runners begin to encroach on the areas of dirt.”

I wonder what this would look like on campus. I think one thing it would mean is that evangelism is best done in community with support from others around you. Anyway, just a thought. What are yours?