Tag Archives: Campus Crusade for Christ

Forward – Fixed Point

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2011-5-22 Great Wall“Forward to where?” has been my question as I’ve been thinking through my word for the year. January and February was more about not staying still, but I’m too much of a deliberate person to randomly move.

That’s where faith came in. The first challenge was to break inertia.

Yesterday, our teaching pastor talked about Jesus’ last days and his upper room discussion. Everything Jesus did and said was focused on his “fixed point” – going to the cross. He was preparing his friends.

I paused and asked myself, what is my fixed point?

It came quickly and spontaneously. I’ve labored over purpose statements before, but this time it was easy:

To be salt and light.

I’ve never been a screaming evangelist, although I’ve shared my faith. I’ve never been a theologian, although I’ve taught many Bible studies. I’ve never been an orator, although I have spoken in public. I’ve never been a famous author, although I love to write.

More than anything, I want to be a friend and to have an opportunity to be with someone in a way that they see Jesus in a new light and are thirsty for more.

So…forward means to me moving in the direction of where I can be salt and light. Salt makes me thirsty so that I want to drink more. Light illumines my way so that I see things I haven’t seen before. I want to live my life in a way that others don’t squint and run away or spit out the salt.

It’s not total clarity, but it’s a direction. It’s my “fixed point” as I move forward today, and in the days to come.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

What is your “fixed point?” I’d love to hear your comments.

Forward

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2011-5-22 Great WallI’ve resisted the movement of people picking a word for the new year rather than a resolution. I’m not sure why…maybe because I hate eliminating options, maybe because I was afraid of failure, maybe because it was vague.

But this year I was challenged individually and prayed about it. And I woke up one night with a clear sense of a word.

Forward.

I started out with a feeling of disappointment. It’s not a very dramatic word. It’s the opposite of “backward” and who wants that for a word for a year? It’s not sexy like “courage” or bold like “strength.” It’s not promising like hope. It just kind of sits there, inching along.

But when you have been where I have been this past year, dealing with cancer, trying hard not to go backwards, it’s not a bad word. My cancer has once again been declared as “stable,” another not sexy, bold or promising word. I’ve fought physically, emotionally and spiritually this last year. I’ve wanted to retreat within myself.

Even with the most amount of hope the word “stable” can muster, I don’t just want to stay where I am. I want to move again. I want to move forward. I have to confess I don’t really know exactly what that looks like or where it is. Each time I wrestle the disease down, each time I draw in my life because of physical limitations, I struggle to know how to expand into the grace of extended time.

Do I go back to doing what I was doing before things got desperate? Projects I was working on got wrapped up, just in case “something happened.” Some projects moved on with other people taking responsibility. Some things don’t seem as important as they did a year ago. The same was true with relationships — some wrapped up while others moved on.

So, do I go back to what I knew or move forward? I’m familiar with back; not so much with forward. And since I’m not as strong as I used to be in many ways, could I even do the things I used to do? A few things I tried this last month (like facilitating a meeting) didn’t go so well. I’m not the same person I was before this last year battling cancer.

A verse comes to mind: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13

It feels like a good thing to do, even if it is a strain. Straining is not dependent on the amount of strength you have. It’s going beyond what you think you can do. I will strain to move forward because, even though I don’t have clarity of what “the goal for the prize of the upward call” is, I know it is good. And I know God will be faithful to show me what this all means…as He uses the word in my life this year —

Forward.

July Newsletter

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July 31, 2013

 Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers this last month. So much has happened, it’s hard to capture it in a letter.

First, Maggie is walking! She has been walking with a surgical boot, and last week we got the word she can start walking with a regular shoe, starting with a few hours a day. She’s been going to rehab to try to regain a natural gait and has some pain, but overall it’s given her (and me) an incredible amount of freedom. We’re defining a new normal for which we are grateful.

Secondly, doctors have not been able to locate the source of the cancer and therefore, have not begun treatment. For some, this would be a stress builder, but having been through chemo before, this has been a window of opportunity for us to do some things before hard times come. We keep praying that if God wants us to find it and treat it, He will make it high visible. And if He doesn’t, we will continue on the path before us and trust Him.

Third, we had an amazing time at our staff conference and Maggie was able to join me for part of it. Alastair Begg, a pastor from Cleveland, spoke from Jude, encouraging us to stay true to our calling and the faith to which we have been called. I had the privilege to speak to 4 of the ministries that report to me, encouraging them to continue to trust God for the future was we continue to transition them for even greater effectiveness.

Fourth, Maggie was able to complete a project as our President, Steve Douglass, made a report before the Board. There had been confusion on statistics that Maggie waded through and figured how to communicate in a way that affirms our values and goals. She enjoys working on big challenges, but she is also glad when they are over.

Lastly, God is providing the resources to pay for Maggie’s medical and staff conference expenses. We have hit our yearly “out-of-pocket” so Cru is paying 100% of her treatments, for which we are grateful, but we still have a deficit we are trying to cover. Wonderful friends of the ministry have already donated 2/3 of the cost, but we still need about $3000. Could you pray with us that it will be covered.

And if you have not signed up for Maggie’s blog at www.thebruehls.com, I really want to encourage you to do so. She’s done a great job summarizing the spirit at staff conference as well as her thoughts and feelings with her health. I know she’s inspired me through the transparency of her walk with the Lord.

Thank you so much for partnering with us in ministry. We are grateful each day for our partnership that keeps us going. It’s been a good month, and we want you to rejoice with us —

Roger and Maggie

P.S.  If you would like to give towards our medical deficit please go to htpps://give.cru.org/0008787

The Changing Face of Cru

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CSU 2013I’m sitting at the Denver airport at 5 in the morning, reflecting on the last 5 days. It’s been amazing.

Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) has grown up. 2 years ago at our last staff conference, our name was changed.

This year we changed our face.

Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) has a firm foundation laid in it’s past. It’s a foundation of risk-taking faith. I remember when one critic exclaimed, “They would charge hell with a squirt gun!”

We are recapturing that faith in a new generation.

Instead of reminding us of our past, this conference focused on the future. The world has changed in the last 60 years. Our methods have changed with it, in a commitment to reach each generation. Satan has different strongholds. We need different weapons for different contexts.

But what was evident was that in each generation, the Spirit is the same. We feel inadequate in ourselves and have to depend on the Holy Spirit. The Great Commission is the same, and we are closer to seeing it accomplished. The opposition is real, and we need the Spirit of God as He is the victor.

In a world where Christians are often known for what they stand against, we committed ourselves to be known for what we stand for — the good news of Jesus Christ delivered to the lost through an ultimate sacrifice of love.

The stage presented us with fresh new faces representing the future of Cru. They were multi-ethnic, wrestling with issues different than our generation. They honored the past, but looked to a future.

Roger and I are so humbled to be a part of this organization — an organization that dares to change in order to stay true to their mission.