Forgiven or forgiving?

I was recently asked to help someone involved in indescretion and a messy situation that initiated some internal thoughts. Am I at risk, questioning if it's right to help, maybe it's right to withhold involvement, should I ask questions about the messy stuff or stick to the simple tasks, what would other people think if they found out I helped?

We are just coming out of Easter where on the cross Jesus makes a request that goes right up against my internal dialogue, reason, and emotion. 

"Father forgive them for they know not what they do."  Luke 23:34

Yeah!  Sing "Being forgiven is awesome" to the tune of the sticky Lego's sound track "Everything is awesome"  - thank you Jesus! 

And - being forgiving is.....hmmmm.....well that would be nice....uuuuhhhh.....that doesn't have a ring to it.  What, when, how does that look like, give me an owners manual please?

It was probably directed at the soldiers and workers doing their jobs, people that had to be there, or people caught up in the group think mentality of the moment.  Either way, Jesus asked for forgiveness for others when he was being brutally treated and in pain. 

Could it be said that how we respond to crisis determines if we're a Christian or Atheist?  When the pain, agony, fear, and weight are crippling - do we still love, cherish, and have the capacity to view life, circumstances, and others like Jesus does?

An old worship song I've sang a hundred times starts out "I'm forgiven...". 

 I don't want a church community to be "forgiven", I want a church community to be "forgiving".  It's possible to mentally agree that you are forgiven but not be very forgiving.  I think a forgiving person knows very well what being forgiven is all about.  I think it's time I write a Christian song for myself about "being forgiving".  That I move on from the 11 year old theology and nice, safe, Christianity of being forgiven and desire to be forgiving.

With my children. Around friends. In my church. In my community. Believing and hoping for the best in people, even when I'm driving. And in deconstructing some of the routines and walls in place that insulate, sterilize, and incidentally remove myself from people and places and opportunities to be forgiving.

I hope you forgive me for this........"Being forgiving is awesome....being forgiving is cool when you're part of a team...
 

New Orleans Caravan of Joy!

Surprise!!! CSF alumni dropped off snacks, drinks, games, supplies and personal sanitizers (nice touch!) for students 2,200 mile mission trip to New Orleans. Many of these alumni have been on CSF trips before and get what it means to be immersed together in the damage, loss, grief, and need. They get it. You get it. We all get it. Nice job alumni!

Half of the group has never been on a mission trip before, awesome! Team CSF has arrived as the southern flood waters capturing nationwide attention are receding. On day one they got to slosh through wet and damaged materials. They also grouted floors and painted.

Through intentional travel, planning, fund raisers, WVU grants, and exceptional alumni and churches, CSF strives for all CSF students who can to go on mission trips. In the past, students home communities can't or won't support for a variety of reasons. It drives me nuts seeing college students with limited home or church connections not be able to go. Yet again a CSF team effort has succeeded in that goal.

Thank you alumni, partners, and churches for following and aiding New Orleans as well as fantastic students and community at WVU!! Follow updates and use the pictures as spring boards to share YOUR past experiences with spouses, children, or friends! Or help knock out the remaining expenses via online banking, PayPal, or check. 

Team CSF is YOU!

Honored to be a part of Team CSF!

Gary 

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For the Life of the World

What is our salvation actually for? Find out with us this Thursday night, January 28th as we host a screening of For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles (or FLOW for short). We hope this movie will inspire you to do great things on the WVU campus and beyond.

FLOW was originally made as a 7 part series, but we will be viewing the feature film cut. The film is funny, profound, and wonderfully made. The journey will start around 7:30pm and is about 2 hours long. Snacks, drinks, and note taking tools will be provided. RSVP to our Facebook event to stay updated.

Read the Synopsis below, and find out more at their website.

Details:

When: Thursday, January 28th @ 7:30pm
Location: CSF, 2901 University Ave, Morgantown

Synopsis:

“For the Life of the World is an entertaining film series that explores the deeper meaning of Salvation. Have you ever wondered, “What is my Salvation actually FOR?” Is it only about personal atonement, about getting to heaven, or something that comes later? Is it just to have a “friend in Jesus?”

Join Evan Koons and his friends – Stephen Grabill, Amy Sherman, Anthony Bradley, Makoto Fujimura, John M. Perkins, Tim Royer and Dwight Gibson – as they discover a “new perspective,” the BIGGER picture of what it means to be “in the world, not of it. ”This seven-part film series and companion Field Guide will help you, your friends, church or organization investigate God’s Economy of All Things – OIKONOMIA (a Greek word that has a lot to say about God’s plan for his creation, the world, and us.)

Explore how God’s purposes are woven into every area of our lives: family, work, art, charity, education, government, recreation and all creation! The Bible calls us Strangers and Pilgrims, living in “the now and not yet” of God’s Kingdom Come on earth. We are also called to be salt and light, to have a transforming presence among our neighbors. In seven 20-minute-ish episodes, you’ll learn how our lives lived on earth matter in God’s plan for the world.

Anyone familiar with the Christian faith – whether you’re Baptist or Catholic, Orthodox or Presbyterian, madly in love with your church or just about to walk out its doors – will find wonder and hope along this journey. Rediscover our passionate and imaginative callings as agents of God’s grace in every broken place.

You’ll travel a vast terrain in each episode, so you might want to watch the series more than once. There’s much to discover and ponder anew!”

New everywhere!

New freshmen, new transfers, new grad students, new friends, new classes, new environment, new countries, new buildings @ WVU! The first week of WVU Fall semester is an eye opening experience indeed! 

A new group of juniors, seniors, and grad students form a new leadership team for CSF.  A new group of freshmen come alongside sophomores for an underclassmen leadership group.