Today we heard from Rev. Lance Lewis, a pastor and church planter in West Philadelphia. His church is Christ Liberation Fellowship and it “is a multi-ethnic church committed to making disciples who make a difference in our community, city, and world.” Pastor Lewis blogs on two sites, Blaque Tulip and Reforming Churches , the website of a broadly reformed fellowship of pastors and churches that seek to influence the black church and black community with biblically reformed theology.

Some questions for reflection from his sermon on 2 Timothy 3: The Cross-Centered Life.

1. What difference does Paul’s teaching on the gospel and salvation make in your daily walk and relationships with others?
2. Pastor Lewis talked about Paul’s life having a direction. Paul was oriented toward the promotion of the gospel, and the extension and expansion of the Kingdom of God. How can we begin to direct our lives in a similar way, whatever our current circumstances?
3. What impact does a “prosperity gospel” have on the work of a church? i.e., if we begin to seek comfort, convenience, prosperity, and ease as our primary goals, what impact might that have on our own faith and the community around us?
4. Pastor Lewis paraphrased John Perkins, as saying “We send our children to school to gain knowledge and tools, not so they can get out of their communities, but so they can return and invest themselves in the community God has called them to.” What would that kind of investment look like in your own life? How can you begin to seek peace, righteousness, worship, and justice where you are now?

Thursday evening (tonight) at 7:30 pm in Mills 270/280, a team from Emmaus Ministries in Chicago will be presenting “Stories From the Streets.” Emmaus ministers to the young men in Chicago’s night community who are involved in prostitution. These men are known on the street as “hustlers.”

They describe the presentation as follows: The program consists of approximately one hour of the life stories of men involved in prostitution communicated through music and dramatic monologue. Rooted in our guys’ own words, these stories are moving and engaging, sometimes amusing, and always offer an opportunity to understand these men who are truly the “ostracized among the overlooked.”

This is a great opportunity for students interested in urban ministry, ministry to the broken, as well as those interested in music and drama ministry.

Because the College is closed today, due to the ice, we also missed the concluding talk by Dr. Paul Helm on Global Warming: What’s the Stake? If you are interested, Dr. Helm has an analysis of this issue posted on his blog, cleverly titled “Helm’s Deep.” You can read it here. Yesterday in chapel he led us through Pascal’s wager and explored the thesis that global markets and global capitalism are not to blame for global warming, and that they may actually help us deal with the effects of global warming both now and in the future. Here is his analysis on that issue, in response partially to his reading of Michael Northcott’s A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming, which he described as a helpful unhelpful book.

Recommended reading: Dr. Helm writes an analysis monthly (the links above are Analyses 9 and 10) on his blog as well as a draft of a paper on philosophical theology. His talk from last night “Evil, Love, and Silence” will appear on his blog next month.

One of my favorite times each month is when my home in Chattanooga is filled with Covenant students who serve on their halls as discipleship coordinators. One of my job responsibilities is to oversee these students as they lead in creating atmospheres of spiritual vitality on their halls. I meet with each DC individually throughout the year, usually over a meal in the Great Hall, to talk about how things are going for them and for their halls, and then we all (or as many as are able) meet together once a month at my home on a Sunday afternoon to share with each other.

I supply the place and the food, and they bring the noise, fun, and conversation. Yesterday over bowls of beef stew and chili, we shared with the three new DCs some of what the DCs learned over last semester. The DC role is primarily a relational role. Although they work to organize prayer and praise gatherings, and coordinate residence wide events, their primary work is behind the scenes as they seek to build up and encourage the men or women on their halls. That can look different on each hall: sending notes of encouragement, meeting regularly with each hall member, seeking to spend time on the hall, providing opportunities for sharing and accountability, challenging the hall to commit to a service project, etc. When we meet together, the students often share ideas about what they’ve tried, what they are planning next, as well as sharing what they would do differently.

It has been a great joy for me to get to know this group of young men and women, and to see them grow in grace as they lead, often in very quiet, unnoticed ways.

We enjoyed having Dr. Lewis Baldwin in Chapel on Monday. He’s Professor of Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University, and he challenged us to look more closely at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, particularly as our world seems to be more fractured than ever.  We were getting a head start on remembering Dr. King–his birthday is today, and the national day of remembrance is next Monday, January 20.

Tomorrow, a group of students who traveled to Ireland over their Christmas break will be leading music and sharing about their time of ministry there.

Covenant students have a few more days to enjoy, but the staff is back here on the mountain, frigid temperatures and all. I’m told this cold spell is highly unusual for Tennessee/Georgia (a wind chill Wednesday night recorded at -4 degrees). It feels like I never left Pennsylvania.

I’ve been looking ahead to the Spring semester chapel schedule and am anticipating a great semester. One of my favorite preachers, Rev. Lance Lewis, is coming later this month from Philadelphia. In February, Paul Tripp and Anthony Carter are each speaking for a series of talks. For Christmas, I received a copy of Paul Tripp’s latest book A Quest for More which is a challenge to Kingdom Living. I haven’t started it yet, but it’s next on my list (I need to finish Anthony Carter’s book first). Scattered throughout, we have the Faculty Lecture Series, as well as Covenant professors continuing the series “Books That Changed My life” and of course, Chaplain Messner moving us through Philippians.

I’m also looking forward to being part of a team of Covenant students and staff heading to Belgium over Spring break, where we’ll be learning about ministry with some of the immigrant cultures there. It’s part of a larger Break on Impact program at Covenant, where students, faculty, and staff use their Spring Break as an opportunity to gain cross-cultural experience and to learn from and serve the global church.

And, speaking of the global church, Christianity Today recently published an article about the challenges and opportunities facing the church in Turkey.  I recommend it as a good overview of the work God is doing through this small but growing part of his church.