Skip to main content

Pizza Theology and Pumpkins

 




Pizza Theology was a hit! Every year, twice a year, several hundred college students from around DFW come to hear a 4 hour lecture on a biblical topic. This years topic was about helping scripture come alive and being able to make sense of biblical narrative. Our speaker, seminary professor Rikk Watts, walked us through the first 11 chapters of 1 Kings, not worrying about finishing the story per se, but rather helping our students engage with the depth of the story as they read along. Some of the things he helped bring to life for our students were the importance of listening to God rather than to ourselves, the dignity of a desperate cry to God, the role of the office of leader being honored by God even when the leader is of a corrupt character, and the importance of honesty and ownership of our mistakes. It was really such a neat experience and our students walked away with lots of questions and an excitement to read more of the old testament. They also ate lots of pizza. Thank you for providing an opportunity for our students to grow in their discipleship by learning how to read the bible as it was meant to be read.

Our end of October TNF landed on halloween this year so we invited our students to dress up if they wanted to. I was impressed with some of the students commitments. Whether it was Jordan's pumpkin head. Or Mauricio and Daniel's pharisees. Even they ended up worshiping Jesus by the end of the time.

Speaking of little pumpkins. Lucy continues to be one of the greatest joys of Hayli and I's life. She's about as cute as it gets in my book, and she also is fully of joy and makes us laugh every day. Thank you for helping us to provide a home for her! I'm so appreciative of your partnership in ministry.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More Winter Retreat and Lucy Update!

  The fruit of winter retreat is evident! God really used that time to bond our guys together and point them more collectively towards following Jesus. Since winter retreat we have been able to identify several guys that we are excited to invite to be leaders next year in the ministry from Austen, to Josh, to Manny, to Chris (who's testimony is below) God is raising up young men who are eager to not only know Him but to share him with their peers. I couldn't be more grateful for you who helps to make that kind of heart transformation possible! One of our core groups, led by Ian and Crew has been in a particularly healthy place. These guys look forward to spending time together, reading God's word, praying for one another, and sharing their lives. Here they are hanging out an arcade together recently. But every week they are learning about Jesus together and growing as disciples! Speaking of Growing, Lucy is getting bigger. This photo above was from her first wedding recentl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning From the Wise

Dear Friends, Thank you for taking the time to read this ministry update. This winter season has been particularly encouraging and I am excited to tell you about what is coming up soon! The month of December began with a celebration. The school semester was coming to a close quickly so we threw our annual Focus Christmas party in the first week of the month. Talk about Christmas come early. The event was filled with sweet memories, worship, and funny skits put on by the various weekly core groups. Watching those skits is always a highlight of the year as everyone in the core often participates and everyone gets to see each others silly sides. A couple of guys at the UTA Focus Christmas Party. In the bottom picture, one of the roommates couldn't make the event so the rest of the guys thoughtfully chose to find a way to include him in the picture, no matter what.  Once the semester was over and the students went home for the holidays, I had a lot of time to read. Over the ...
2 comments
Read more

Disciple Means Student

Two of the things that I have been most grateful for in the last month is the fact that God gifts us with so much fun in this life, and secondly, how God blesses us by giving us the ability to learn. At our online TNF's we have been hosting after events for our students where we try to do something that helps everyone feel connected. At one of our most recent after events we decided to host "show and tell" where everyone finds one or two objects that they are most proud of owning or they consider to be the most interesting thing they own. It was such a blast to see what the students loved and wanted to show off. In the bottom right Taylor Bass, one of our student leaders, was showing off the set of armor that he and some friends had crafted from cardboard. And 2 blocks above him Nathan Baugh, another one of our student leaders, shows off his autographed pictures of Ariana Grande that he got when he was in middle school. It was so sweet to laugh with those in attendance...
Post a Comment
Read more