tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69239661330501110622024-03-12T16:34:43.686-07:00Rhett's Ministry BlogRhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-81292789523826800222023-05-09T12:08:00.002-07:002023-05-09T12:08:21.414-07:00Looking Back, Looking Forward<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtqx43JBJ6Wsgv5-17pB0vRjlesSxJ5kekftRBKvfmU2_CcYSnsvqJO3zoSuTGohLGmTDkCIorDwBNYnWJ-m3p4N01fErsW4NZHBxEifEAvmTW3jjjkVWp0kG3Mo0CpG30qXYsZ3xQSwX12dzW8n_ZVu0q85COkhi1CSK-Myv6ETewEA7TFb1JgzdRQ/s1926/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-09%20at%201.51.09%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1926" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtqx43JBJ6Wsgv5-17pB0vRjlesSxJ5kekftRBKvfmU2_CcYSnsvqJO3zoSuTGohLGmTDkCIorDwBNYnWJ-m3p4N01fErsW4NZHBxEifEAvmTW3jjjkVWp0kG3Mo0CpG30qXYsZ3xQSwX12dzW8n_ZVu0q85COkhi1CSK-Myv6ETewEA7TFb1JgzdRQ/w640-h458/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-09%20at%201.51.09%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our UTD pastoral team this year! From left to right / top to bottom (ready for this?):<br />April, Cort, Peter, Brandon, Stian, Mandy, me, Andrea, Kylie, Coral, Amy, Hannah, Michelle, Lindsey, and Lailah.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This has been an incredibly bittersweet month of ministry for me! With the exception of my apprenticeship year at UNT, I have been involved at UTD for a decade, and now I'm getting to move on to a new chapter.</div><div style="text-align: left;">As I mentioned in my last ministry update, my wife and I are moving to Arlington at the end of this month- I'll be coming onto the UT Arlington team as their assistant director and continuing to help plant a chapter of FOCUS at TCU. I've felt called to the Ft. Worth / Arlington area for almost five years now, so this has been a long time coming, but it's still shocking that the time has already come. </div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been such a blessing to get to be a pastor for the last several years at the campus that I first walked onto as a 17 year old with little to no direction and drive. God has blessed me immensely in this time, and I hope I can continue to be faithful and be a part of God changing many other students' stories out west.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Parking Lot Graduation</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQaKmDhrHV3CVBRoy83oINnjTI9wfch_dYgApZ-xODFUjqMQf7P4QTP_BQDheRj_HNZEwF1HDmJkyXkv-JQ5453LcolxSCneo35gf5_b5d8E49athIUDO1HIkOqKT83GOurxq0MFJXiD4YlgI4uLxJVHYChURihpwkijAE8t3ZVJ3DdWmuVfubinNiQ/s3748/IMG_2677.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1809" data-original-width="3748" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQaKmDhrHV3CVBRoy83oINnjTI9wfch_dYgApZ-xODFUjqMQf7P4QTP_BQDheRj_HNZEwF1HDmJkyXkv-JQ5453LcolxSCneo35gf5_b5d8E49athIUDO1HIkOqKT83GOurxq0MFJXiD4YlgI4uLxJVHYChURihpwkijAE8t3ZVJ3DdWmuVfubinNiQ/w640-h308/IMG_2677.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Parking Lot Graduation is an annual tradition that UTD FOCUS has been doing since 2020. It started as a spur-of-the-moment idea from Peter (one of our pastors) to do something for students who weren't going to get to walk the stage to receive their diplomas because of the pandemic. Now, it's a fun way for our students to celebrate each other and be able to invite more family members. The structure is simple: almost two hundred people line up along the sides of a parking lot on campus, and we play Pomp and Circumstance over a set of speakers and give students who are getting degrees their own (not official) FOCUS diplomas. It's very silly and very sweet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagIKcXE9devqrVOosY14NpU1WAJBUnTVZyTGY5ZhPcFrg0AzngY-vBpy11uWMK1nduMeJtkaEHx4pzP615hR8DA70hjs9iWrrVjze2iZImOv7M9jI-9GSwnuc176_uLkdaICYkf0LtpFgeTkXZ_pGU_YXLa80Z4Rn39IRb36cFDHKvR6GusrkJbECow/s3024/IMG_2623.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2563" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagIKcXE9devqrVOosY14NpU1WAJBUnTVZyTGY5ZhPcFrg0AzngY-vBpy11uWMK1nduMeJtkaEHx4pzP615hR8DA70hjs9iWrrVjze2iZImOv7M9jI-9GSwnuc176_uLkdaICYkf0LtpFgeTkXZ_pGU_YXLa80Z4Rn39IRb36cFDHKvR6GusrkJbECow/w542-h640/IMG_2623.heic" width="542" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fearless director Brandon graduated from seminary, and I got to congratulate him!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>End of Year Party</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1THVsMoo9VzE0vbZSzOWy3d-H9WjWf8SUXljvPCipECkOw0i7vwCwbKNQ99Udh02YQjDz0unpCB5421uUdK7X-kxCyAlflcC5uwVJAsjZCHWFXefZGexO48i-B76QKa5iQ1AFgWNHffCcsPmk-aHu4oVC8WvV2Sdv_r0Vkp1jlnqUm4wzHs7BC_jCLg/s4032/IMG_5076.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1THVsMoo9VzE0vbZSzOWy3d-H9WjWf8SUXljvPCipECkOw0i7vwCwbKNQ99Udh02YQjDz0unpCB5421uUdK7X-kxCyAlflcC5uwVJAsjZCHWFXefZGexO48i-B76QKa5iQ1AFgWNHffCcsPmk-aHu4oVC8WvV2Sdv_r0Vkp1jlnqUm4wzHs7BC_jCLg/w640-h480/IMG_5076.heic" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of our male pastors at UTD got together for a picture, and SOMEONE had to ruin it by blinking.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We got to celebrate the end of the school year by throwing a party for our students. It's incredibly rewarding to see all of the friendships that have formed between students by the end of the year that didn't exist at the beginning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Please be praying for our students as they go back to their respective homes and hometowns for the summer break. The summer can be a time of rest and growth for some students, but it's a time of spiritual struggle for many.</li><li>Pray for our pastors as their raise their salaries. It can be a daunting journey (and a humbling one), but we're always blown away by God's faithfulness and peoples' generosity.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRh9ALumQN4bADGQwMzsocnQ2ME4C_LFZ7Dehe-Qe0CiV0MVeFG7qoBtZ8V6pGnwrNPzGUNbOKLEKLtu4AFWIYYeJ_hzPkPBDOse6I6sXzJJe4tXEYXCj44q2XrsJx51tCeT52s4DRI_tmZAsAyEwmMMaCwGzwD0Qy8z7gKTrIQ9ugI5qCbHP-5s2FLQ/s1728/May%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRh9ALumQN4bADGQwMzsocnQ2ME4C_LFZ7Dehe-Qe0CiV0MVeFG7qoBtZ8V6pGnwrNPzGUNbOKLEKLtu4AFWIYYeJ_hzPkPBDOse6I6sXzJJe4tXEYXCj44q2XrsJx51tCeT52s4DRI_tmZAsAyEwmMMaCwGzwD0Qy8z7gKTrIQ9ugI5qCbHP-5s2FLQ/w556-h640/May%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-10838303041992336542023-04-13T14:32:00.003-07:002023-04-13T14:32:57.580-07:00He is Risen!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75lm-tc5PD-yDExTf0riilCC0ukZOoBia4saQvyj_X4MOhrm_lsazlVKVcoEYtwx-poDLOTcnGbReBV2y-KSZW2A_TDTGF_1T_XgijKaka02-5LIXCmdYQmk-Xa2r-CA64OGDmDcnm75WgSRQ99VlUPSJAKEpasx86ZgrD_Bk4_-HAK3IkM5K8pDcCw/s1024/IMG_7402.HEIC" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg75lm-tc5PD-yDExTf0riilCC0ukZOoBia4saQvyj_X4MOhrm_lsazlVKVcoEYtwx-poDLOTcnGbReBV2y-KSZW2A_TDTGF_1T_XgijKaka02-5LIXCmdYQmk-Xa2r-CA64OGDmDcnm75WgSRQ99VlUPSJAKEpasx86ZgrD_Bk4_-HAK3IkM5K8pDcCw/s600/IMG_7402.HEIC" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When your church has a petting zoo at its Easter potluck, you pet the baby goats.<br />This is not optional.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Spring Outreach Week</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Every year, we have the pleasure of hosting a group of students from a ministry in Washington State called Campus Christian Fellowship. They spend their spring break (which is the week after ours) reaching out to and serving students on OUR campuses! </div><div style="text-align: left;">This year, our outreach during this week was focused on how God is a relational, healing God who moves to restore our relationships with Him, others, and ourselves.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTftIEXoQOg_ypFvfeWSskqilv4gaIXVrboVHCRIkMe4DiDXgGjd2H3g7CVK92ZZPd843109fiwhfMRVTPpcIVEQ6mn1s0pu6CEiwrzSwDZxuUA0LBRCY5GMBh4I9o9RVf1ULVPwHUTXLpIVxX8RNyuHx5mLUk4UDTFad1n9bBx7xZAVx_VoymzOBH1w/s759/IMG_2185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="759" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTftIEXoQOg_ypFvfeWSskqilv4gaIXVrboVHCRIkMe4DiDXgGjd2H3g7CVK92ZZPd843109fiwhfMRVTPpcIVEQ6mn1s0pu6CEiwrzSwDZxuUA0LBRCY5GMBh4I9o9RVf1ULVPwHUTXLpIVxX8RNyuHx5mLUk4UDTFad1n9bBx7xZAVx_VoymzOBH1w/w640-h474/IMG_2185.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For one of the days of outreach, we created a life-sized (or bigger!) cut out of a person who we<br />affectionately named Frederick. We invited students to write down what it feels like to be them<br />on a mirror square and place it on Frederick. We then got to talk to them about how God can change<br />our self-perception and purpose.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Wisdom for Dummies</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Every semester, we host an event called Pizza Theology, in which we dive into a topic related to Scripture and faith for four hours (!) with a one-hour pizza break in the middle. This semester, the topic was the wisdom literature (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Rez Fair</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">For the past few years, we've had the pleasure of hosting a giant Easter celebration right by the student union at UTD! The celebration includes tables with interactive Gospel presentations, free food, raffles, live music, inflatable slides, and more. We get to partner with several other Christian organizations on campus for this, so it's a blast to get to do!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>UTA, Here I Come!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">While this has been in the works as a possibility for years, it's not official: I will be moving (with my wife of course) to Arlington to join FOCUS at the University of Texas at Arlington as their assistant director and lead men's pastor! This is an exciting (and terrifying) opportunity, and will move us closer to the accompanying goal of planting a chapter of FOCUS at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth next year. Outside of one year at UNT (and TWU), I've been at UTD for a decade now, so it's a bittersweet time for me. I preached my last sermon as a pastor at UTD this past Friday.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Please be praying for the transition to UTA- that God would give me and everyone involved wisdom, peace, and strength.</li><li>Be praying for our upcoming trip to Washington with our student leaders for the Student Institute of Campus Ministry- the annual week-long leadership conference. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM99U3Rc3beBj50_7wrTtlYZ5HnQHPzrEAN0LhBlamUj2phZ2qwV5cH63U2irrRiqswwg-1jsq7mA3JuWm_-i0BpKU53bNxrcmIXAnMADbD2fr5c05OBZZCUOJR7cBq68XZBm2Su-yhYFJR2_6H1ukenn5vuoxGOYzd6Wlqip-bL-YRI9TVKv3KWpxPQ/s1728/April%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM99U3Rc3beBj50_7wrTtlYZ5HnQHPzrEAN0LhBlamUj2phZ2qwV5cH63U2irrRiqswwg-1jsq7mA3JuWm_-i0BpKU53bNxrcmIXAnMADbD2fr5c05OBZZCUOJR7cBq68XZBm2Su-yhYFJR2_6H1ukenn5vuoxGOYzd6Wlqip-bL-YRI9TVKv3KWpxPQ/w556-h640/April%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKQzlinK7b4b02m6d5TbHeJpyNuK-HtpxhDK-QspMyRQRW9vdwGwAxzJFu3ooVQ8j1p0VirR_GFMVyQcJkJrQPmsr-N-mwxSEvCruTUJZkE6UMo_tfCr5EX0Hv9Ji8dN6XeruWTHJ0NWH8mTEWeFZWVRPOV7J2DrboWF_ilZ5BKtiEWeA4H7NQvi-YA/s3724/IMG_2246.heic" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"></a></div>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-9698902132720834242023-03-02T14:48:00.001-08:002023-03-02T14:48:07.181-08:00Love Always Hopes<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOxFc-AMZKILlrCt-sjZQvgtGQ_sy8T2pgDATubo1vRt2Nxagri0gLtQL8M36_bLcr8Du8cF2RQ8uafPJou_L15P4xobPK3bQQQNg1AySTqT1Sb99szfWqNwAN7oeAu4IAHkVJmda4vki70LBw559F7Iich6gLXYjKmHGaFnG_BaIBK78yfbmc3ODzg/s1550/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-02%20at%204.02.10%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="1550" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOxFc-AMZKILlrCt-sjZQvgtGQ_sy8T2pgDATubo1vRt2Nxagri0gLtQL8M36_bLcr8Du8cF2RQ8uafPJou_L15P4xobPK3bQQQNg1AySTqT1Sb99szfWqNwAN7oeAu4IAHkVJmda4vki70LBw559F7Iich6gLXYjKmHGaFnG_BaIBK78yfbmc3ODzg/w640-h602/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-02%20at%204.02.10%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">It always protects, always trusts, <b>always hopes, always perseveres.</b>"</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><i>1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (NIV)</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">and have no compassion on the child she has borne?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px;">Though she may forget, </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px;"><b>I will not forget you.</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;</span></span></p><p class="line2" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px 25px 0px 50px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">your walls are ever before me."</span></p><p class="line2" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px 25px 0px 50px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><i>Isaiah 49:15-16</i></span></p><p class="line2" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px 25px 0px 50px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">“Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Nanum Myeongjo";">it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.”</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Nanum Myeongjo";"><i>GK Chesterton</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Nanum Myeongjo";"><i><br /></i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">Lately, God has been showing me just how insidious how an unloving, unforgiving heart can really be. I think we often assume that an unforgiving and unloving heart must be <i>actively</i> bitter- at the forefront of one's mind. While that is certainly often the case, I wonder if this kind of thing more often flies under the radar in the form of mild annoyance, lowered expectations, and subtle avoidance. Maybe a lack of love and forgiveness looks more like a lack of involvement than like hostility. Perhaps that's why Scripture tells us that God disciplines those whom He loves. He has enough hope for the kinds of people that He can transform us into that He doesn't give up or shy away from extreme measures. He has been showing me how often I don't exhibit this kind of loving persistence- passing off my dismissal of others as acceptance and my unwillingness to challenge others and myself as patience.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">Is there anyone in your life who you've lost hope for in subtle ways? What would it look like to embrace the reality found in Jesus that love always hopes?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><b>Release</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQ8DCOe0Gk0zRq64D6DsC--O_Zx8BJn7NVfyxK121hACu1WF3u8le3bVK7Fep7yn5k-6E1b1Oo-pM_ldShLOKYE5CZdwDmZfMt_aMGYZoj1axmHSwvLu2YC1_Mx7sCCYRRc5_4A1X8rW07ErFVnFyJDspWqs8WRsn-s22YuJH-qgFsCfVzHfQPLEr1w/s4032/IMG_9450-preview.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQ8DCOe0Gk0zRq64D6DsC--O_Zx8BJn7NVfyxK121hACu1WF3u8le3bVK7Fep7yn5k-6E1b1Oo-pM_ldShLOKYE5CZdwDmZfMt_aMGYZoj1axmHSwvLu2YC1_Mx7sCCYRRc5_4A1X8rW07ErFVnFyJDspWqs8WRsn-s22YuJH-qgFsCfVzHfQPLEr1w/w480-h640/IMG_9450-preview.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of professional African drummers and dancers teaching a dance to <br />audience members.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>One of the goals FOCUS has begun to pursue more is to more effectively welcome all kinds of people into our community. UTD is one of the most diverse college campuses in the country, but (like in most places), people tend to cluster into groups that look the same and think the same. It can be easy to reach out to students who look like me, invite them to a service where the pastors all look like me where they can sing music made by people who look like me and listen to me quote theologians who look like me in my sermon. While diversity for its own sake may not be the main goal of ministry, the call of God's people is to be a blessing to all nations, and often we assume this will happen with no effort or thought on our part. Some of our pastors and students recently put on an event called RELEASE that celebrated African American and native African art- much of which is Christian. It was a way to communicate to a large section of the campus that the community we offer is for them, too. That we want God's fingerprints to be on everyone at our campus, and we want our community to look more and more like the multitude of every tribe and nation that God revealed to John in Revelation. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">But beyond the seriousness of these goals, it was a beautiful event, and some of the most fun I've had in a long time!</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXam6Eq3HbN4QxO4RKzGDbUovPtERqaygg_R94XJqvkeIAi1Jm-kKd8AEeUyOxFPwAYRYuUCt3v73cy43KA6k6jyGIKfTJy-0jy-Xkg4YY4W-PZsE0FhQZ6v88rqojxQyzd6rn0IWQh8WiK9fXIJ8ZA2bUjcSyytmGRYPCOFWbsLMkzCBJjfRu_tCtg/s4032/IMG_9569-preview.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXam6Eq3HbN4QxO4RKzGDbUovPtERqaygg_R94XJqvkeIAi1Jm-kKd8AEeUyOxFPwAYRYuUCt3v73cy43KA6k6jyGIKfTJy-0jy-Xkg4YY4W-PZsE0FhQZ6v88rqojxQyzd6rn0IWQh8WiK9fXIJ8ZA2bUjcSyytmGRYPCOFWbsLMkzCBJjfRu_tCtg/w480-h640/IMG_9569-preview.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The show ended with a New Orleans style second line chorus. It was one of<br />the most joyful things I've seen happen on any college campus.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">Prayer</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">The last week of March is Spring Outreach Week- a time where a group of students from another college ministry in Washington state called Campus Christian Fellowship joins up with our students to reach students across campus- connecting them with Christians, bringing them into Christian community, and sharing the message of Jesus with them. Please be praying that God work work through this!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;">There are still a lot of students and staff members in FOCUS who are going through a really hard time with crises and tragedies in their own lives and in the lives of family and friends. Please be praying for comfort, peace, and strength for them- both through God's people and directly through His Spirit and provision.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Nanum Myeongjo;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlADeaBqOFbHv6eBgOP3FGU1KCev2FaqiFMt2i7QzDDzVsUphfIrR49-8aIMartFCheUWdCMcSIjh4peryZJ_4ZZWeB6Awzu-QGlofEnKwK9YrZkBFUvHxIU7aIF4el9EauILGjcOWqlxMmd4ZPjjsG53j2C17UEi6xTa7_0gDSR7pr6WdWQBmqCaUsA/s1728/March%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlADeaBqOFbHv6eBgOP3FGU1KCev2FaqiFMt2i7QzDDzVsUphfIrR49-8aIMartFCheUWdCMcSIjh4peryZJ_4ZZWeB6Awzu-QGlofEnKwK9YrZkBFUvHxIU7aIF4el9EauILGjcOWqlxMmd4ZPjjsG53j2C17UEi6xTa7_0gDSR7pr6WdWQBmqCaUsA/w556-h640/March%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-31141421003416391752023-02-16T14:05:00.002-08:002023-02-16T14:05:40.740-08:00The Word of God Lives in You<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUvZiS-uBM3n5UkfAN-HI1nbvPrB8usN5hiovWS69QS8bC5A_W934oVaQh1SIuRhOwhzRfrg4oKb26lczRaZdgkccKxy_qBqvgKZFPCXcekzN0ZEdXNmSXxtjT6rfjei1pmKXpP2ACEKAgDMklVH-42giW_vCtpjTVFfJt9wx_FSSW-D59WWCy3Audg/s2730/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-16%20at%203.25.38%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1358" data-original-width="2730" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUvZiS-uBM3n5UkfAN-HI1nbvPrB8usN5hiovWS69QS8bC5A_W934oVaQh1SIuRhOwhzRfrg4oKb26lczRaZdgkccKxy_qBqvgKZFPCXcekzN0ZEdXNmSXxtjT6rfjei1pmKXpP2ACEKAgDMklVH-42giW_vCtpjTVFfJt9wx_FSSW-D59WWCy3Audg/w640-h318/Screen%20Shot%202023-02-16%20at%203.25.38%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A moment of worship and celebration at our annual Winter Retreat. Sirak, Jadon, and Lailah- all sweet<br />friends are seen here making a joyful noise!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> "I write to you, dear children,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">because you know the Father,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">I write to you, fathers,</div><div style="text-align: center;">because you know him who is from the beginning.</div><p></p><span class="indent-1"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><div style="text-align: center;">I write to you, young men,</div><span class="indent-1"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">because you are strong,</span></div><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">and the word of God lives in you,</span></div><span class="indent-1"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">and you have overcome the evil one."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">1 John 2:14 (NIV)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">I am persistently amazed by the ability of myself and others to keep God's Word at arm's length while living lives that are surrounded by it. As a pastor, I read Scripture with students and with other pastors, I teach on preach on Scripture, I read Scripture on my own, I study Scripture in seminary classes, I ask and answer questions about Scripture nearly every single day. And yet, invariably, I find myself and others reducing Scripture to ideas- believing the mature student of Scripture is the one who can navigate the Bible the most quickly or who knows the most potential interpretations of the most frustrating passages. And yet the relationships with God's Word espoused by people of God like David, John, Paul, and others point to one on which the Word lives so much within someone that it shapes their assumptions, dreams, reactions, and hopes- stabilizing them in times of difficulty and destabilizing them in times of complacence. It seems that in the quest to let the Word of God live in us, there is no replacement for a combination of humility, openness, pain, and time. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;">I have recently felt a push from God and from some key people in my life to not settle for learning about Scripture, but to lean into it with the constancy, intensity, and thirst necessary to make it come alive in me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;">How alive is God's Word in you? And do you believe He has a more vibrant relationship with His Word in store for you?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lasting Friendships</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaHgdUxy2cHmVeN0IfgI2lKYl4naqZD73nBy7ghyIP7YQxO1y9zvcugDa5FxbqXpFohP0YjQjpa1jy6pwllkE1EuLFRHQZ_UBwO4y1lJXomHyWHBWVLWDM0gcgtYJ3MRWc2mGUOOupSHC6zeJ-7GuGQhjtknmZhyhjUd0gvAxq9156IgTu4ftl7MHIA/s1024/IMG_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaHgdUxy2cHmVeN0IfgI2lKYl4naqZD73nBy7ghyIP7YQxO1y9zvcugDa5FxbqXpFohP0YjQjpa1jy6pwllkE1EuLFRHQZ_UBwO4y1lJXomHyWHBWVLWDM0gcgtYJ3MRWc2mGUOOupSHC6zeJ-7GuGQhjtknmZhyhjUd0gvAxq9156IgTu4ftl7MHIA/w640-h480/IMG_1213.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of UTD grads- all of whom I got to know as students, and many of whom I got the pleasure<br />of meeting with on a weekly basis. Mark (in the Dr. Pepper shirt) is getting married next month!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">While my monthly ministry updates usually focus on my time with college students while they are still in school, it is also a blessing to get to remain friends with many students well into their post-college years. One special way of getting to do that is at weddings, and I've had the blessing and honor of getting to be a groomsmen or officiant in several weddings of men who used to be students in FOCUS. This weekend, I'm a groomsmen in the wedding of two of our graduates- one of whom I got time with every week for two years. Next month, I get to officiate the wedding of two of our other students- one of whom has graduated, and the other of whom is graduating soon. As I push further past my own college years, I'm learning more about what it takes to launch from college into the rest of adult life as a disciple, and it's a great gift and responsibility to share this with the men I disciple.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Thank you!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thank you so much to everyone who has been praying for our students and who has been supporting us with your prayers, your conversations, your encouragement, and your financial support. As I re-read the first several books of the Old Testament, I'm reminded of how the Levites were only able to serve in the Temple because they were provided for by the rest of God's people- thus, they all took part in caring for the Temple. Similarly, the pastors in FOCUS would never be able to devote their full attention to ministry without the support of hundreds of people who have long since left college and college ministry.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>A lot of our students and pastors have gone through (and are going through) very difficult seasons of life right now, dealing with the serious sickness and loss of close family members. Please be praying for peace and provision for these students and their families, and for the students and pastors around them to have the compassion to grieve with them and the strength to be a support to them.</li><li>Our leader team is focusing in this semester on pursuing a vibrant prayer life, pursuing purity of speech in how we speak of one another, and growing in reaching our campus with the Gospel (it can be very easy to get complacent in the Spring semester). Please be praying for us to be faithful to this, and for the Spirit to work in these ways.</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_PsJrZBOjZcdN-Rf2oqSsS2MJ3zg9wZ1ufsmjW6dTkZ3wBeEo_QlaRKL3ZY6iAFNLHsAEm_nfU9aHDFliOmnmWcE3iWzU0bW22HdHj_uQKU6EIbtMIgxExu8NU3QjYMC-LSdnHq09-iu681bIWrgDSXIl4G6F-73VzD8YmPXTX1wwqH9UepRPbmEmA/s1728/February%20ST%20Portrait%20(1)-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_PsJrZBOjZcdN-Rf2oqSsS2MJ3zg9wZ1ufsmjW6dTkZ3wBeEo_QlaRKL3ZY6iAFNLHsAEm_nfU9aHDFliOmnmWcE3iWzU0bW22HdHj_uQKU6EIbtMIgxExu8NU3QjYMC-LSdnHq09-iu681bIWrgDSXIl4G6F-73VzD8YmPXTX1wwqH9UepRPbmEmA/w556-h640/February%20ST%20Portrait%20(1)-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text 1John-2-14" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></div></span></span></span></span></span>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-17019584994277869142022-11-17T14:26:00.002-08:002022-11-17T14:26:42.466-08:00Seek His Face<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFrM5Y75Hkc2w4o5mOe9w1kBnPNSxYqjDsPFsFpkCPIRrL_FE2oP6dZfb-wE1ugDcyS99rCmYW38wGsy1xbWs2mZP66KjzhmZ-eMAEPcoI-n57tPoB99AsJQq9VfmweXYf6SmIvDXexg4LhEj8Vn4NNMtR_1aaduZILmXv9BE1Aaejz6IgVyFDqcrQw/s1794/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-17%20at%203.50.40%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="1794" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFrM5Y75Hkc2w4o5mOe9w1kBnPNSxYqjDsPFsFpkCPIRrL_FE2oP6dZfb-wE1ugDcyS99rCmYW38wGsy1xbWs2mZP66KjzhmZ-eMAEPcoI-n57tPoB99AsJQq9VfmweXYf6SmIvDXexg4LhEj8Vn4NNMtR_1aaduZILmXv9BE1Aaejz6IgVyFDqcrQw/w640-h628/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-17%20at%203.50.40%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">"My heart says of You, 'Seek His face!'</p><p style="text-align: center;">Your face, Lord, I will seek."</p><p style="text-align: center;">Psalm 27:8 (NIV)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="page" title="Page 12"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Song </span><span style="font-family: Times;">of </span><span style="font-family: Times;">the waters calling: come and drink. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Come, all you creatures, to the shadowy brink </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">in dark of night.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">This spring of living water </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I </span><span style="font-family: Times;">desire, </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">here in the bread of life I see entire </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">in dark of night.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><i>Song of the Soul</i> by St. John of the Cross </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times;">(translated by John Frederick Nims)</span></p></div></div></div><p><br /></p><p>There is a unique plight that a college pastor who is concerned with the spiritual health of the people under their care will always face: How do I foster spiritual health in this person that will outlast their time as a student? It's the teach-a-man-to-fish conundrum- only in regards to loving God. I think there can often be a problem in the Church in which pastors concern themselves with motivating people to pray, and churchgoers concern themselves with finding pastors who will motivate them to pray. What's interesting is that the material on prayer found in Scripture, as well as the material on prayer throughout Church history that has been deemed worthy to be passed down through the centuries is hardly concerned with motivating people to seek God.</p><p>Instead, the angle of approach seems in many ways to be one of showing the kind of precious, intimate, all-encompassing relationship with God that is possible. Rather than pushing prayer onto people the way a parent pushes their child to eat vegetables, these writers <i>presume a thirst for prayer-</i> seemingly operating on the assumption that the ache for more that we feel is not a problem to solve, but a blessed invitation. What if rather than searching ourselves for an energized motivation to pray, we <i>searched</i> ourselves for spiritual hunger pangs, seeing them as an invitation, rather than a problem?</p><p><br /></p><p><b>A Smorgasbord of Pictures</b></p><p>A bunch of college students have started using the social media app BeReal over the last handful of months. Rather than providing users with a constantly generating feed of content, all it does is randomly ping you (and all of your friends) once a day at a random time, giving you two minutes to take a picture of what you're up to. It has proved invaluable in capturing both the candid moments of ministry and the horrifying faces I am capable of making. Enjoy.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0C2PqMXnaJC3zjXBxG7VqG2LGMj7UK6zmPyM9xOGD9uX1G-9iO0Q2OfbZDOWwXkMFJoVHrsUhk7GkJWRsARR5xg8sa06lS5XrhqM9x7B8BEs-YhjldWt6LlwLJtme4R8LvrqrGc2_YDfOi_jGzQYc8WxRSYLhCyFfpSLYUgsMgi7MWzEHBlP9OhgtQ/s1848/IMG_1168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1848" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0C2PqMXnaJC3zjXBxG7VqG2LGMj7UK6zmPyM9xOGD9uX1G-9iO0Q2OfbZDOWwXkMFJoVHrsUhk7GkJWRsARR5xg8sa06lS5XrhqM9x7B8BEs-YhjldWt6LlwLJtme4R8LvrqrGc2_YDfOi_jGzQYc8WxRSYLhCyFfpSLYUgsMgi7MWzEHBlP9OhgtQ/w325-h400/IMG_1168.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Talking through small group leadership with Stian (left) and Jonathan (right)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCeOuktuLQzZMipQ-xiNrsmciNT82rd2zymxTyynOopdD4xNEJlhhEPvkPslhG4RjRRDDj16zD7CtoWfg49SyhkGNUNU-Ds77LV-vg25v2_wdzL4Vz8_b4iW2kCxcKqe4fqwM9XAyzCR2D5Yf2x02JUj6yK27U_7i1iPr6u4Qbh77xyspXAJDGTlXGw/s1835/IMG_1169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1835" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCeOuktuLQzZMipQ-xiNrsmciNT82rd2zymxTyynOopdD4xNEJlhhEPvkPslhG4RjRRDDj16zD7CtoWfg49SyhkGNUNU-Ds77LV-vg25v2_wdzL4Vz8_b4iW2kCxcKqe4fqwM9XAyzCR2D5Yf2x02JUj6yK27U_7i1iPr6u4Qbh77xyspXAJDGTlXGw/w328-h400/IMG_1169.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I try to play basketball with students once or twice a week.<br />Pictured here is Jadon, in the worst-timed picture ever.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvAZe4F8xfgX3VhtiDtS6cP146gi7TfhPwnEPaUvR5Wuys1Td6WRcEqPPPdEjdYbknb6yPAwITKuP35jlVz4ZSb7VwsyeX9WCjlA1rnMaqaI_GS6rN3Dt7NPpEQVZp-MTZeZymg8dntGghJ_eBGHJO1V6wGKWK6BK6TxzfK06rlR4luzF3UNzYycLUg/s1862/IMG_1170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1862" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvAZe4F8xfgX3VhtiDtS6cP146gi7TfhPwnEPaUvR5Wuys1Td6WRcEqPPPdEjdYbknb6yPAwITKuP35jlVz4ZSb7VwsyeX9WCjlA1rnMaqaI_GS6rN3Dt7NPpEQVZp-MTZeZymg8dntGghJ_eBGHJO1V6wGKWK6BK6TxzfK06rlR4luzF3UNzYycLUg/w323-h400/IMG_1170.jpg" width="323" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes a 20-30 minute time alone with God in the afternoon<br />helps to process the day so far and prepare for the rest of it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIES1u9cepfnAY8t1EPSG35W2LMwWw_hBDOKjoxDTTU4jW0bUSRIcK82RwQehDGuvdJRzRdhSRaBNM_xSCz-eit29toLpF84ekzSK9GwQRZ-MN5RQjDKzVXHV4FASZzDGA9NJm4hFjL0A_vioxiRHJr3NG76xuzXYa8C2wuhVzaR7QmbxMhYobj4ZeZw/s1866/IMG_1171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1866" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIES1u9cepfnAY8t1EPSG35W2LMwWw_hBDOKjoxDTTU4jW0bUSRIcK82RwQehDGuvdJRzRdhSRaBNM_xSCz-eit29toLpF84ekzSK9GwQRZ-MN5RQjDKzVXHV4FASZzDGA9NJm4hFjL0A_vioxiRHJr3NG76xuzXYa8C2wuhVzaR7QmbxMhYobj4ZeZw/w321-h400/IMG_1171.jpg" width="321" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating breakfast with Drew, a Denton FOCUS pastor.<br />We led a core together in 2015-16, and were both in each other's weddings!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGoMCgKKYuA1ISlWbCY6vVK7PsF3MYTkqxIcTirRSEjaOS--8v3jEf30au8Y1cJG1BqwFRmqHKv4WFQpyGhR8kT_fKbNQgu4wSx_Hx0wBaRj2kW5Cv2RbIZM1-TGvyVtP_26xtCsZun0hYlygSeoZClvjl9rGUupkcjtYAsSLOKi1hBanCTdS23pm0g/s1852/IMG_1172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1852" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGoMCgKKYuA1ISlWbCY6vVK7PsF3MYTkqxIcTirRSEjaOS--8v3jEf30au8Y1cJG1BqwFRmqHKv4WFQpyGhR8kT_fKbNQgu4wSx_Hx0wBaRj2kW5Cv2RbIZM1-TGvyVtP_26xtCsZun0hYlygSeoZClvjl9rGUupkcjtYAsSLOKi1hBanCTdS23pm0g/w324-h400/IMG_1172.jpg" width="324" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Northeast Church retreat!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg661oCCgVm01pJGJPdvtWdAY3WmPTVEpA3LG6mk8T_3NlWjm_HOqzx1zni1p-E7IkO7MKnwMi5wJdGSZtDsumZmETvWgjprpyJAyBXuFNy-BryTP0d2xH1BOtbpzDFKhgQYz3jnlIW-WgIzx5W-l-vaAot4X3_BNGj2HQxeer6oIJpeRp_O60GoEeVDQ/s1832/IMG_1173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="1497" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg661oCCgVm01pJGJPdvtWdAY3WmPTVEpA3LG6mk8T_3NlWjm_HOqzx1zni1p-E7IkO7MKnwMi5wJdGSZtDsumZmETvWgjprpyJAyBXuFNy-BryTP0d2xH1BOtbpzDFKhgQYz3jnlIW-WgIzx5W-l-vaAot4X3_BNGj2HQxeer6oIJpeRp_O60GoEeVDQ/w326-h400/IMG_1173.jpg" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching a preaching workshop for our apprentices!<br />Pictured: Hannah and Stian<br />Not pictured: Katherine, Coral, Kevin, and Eileen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOXspq6NTkFqGugj0USJ2a-gk6p1D7q4ll9rZ9NcGP-bblcKI3KDjgBJmOBdz1cJMVJwT-ejyLeYXiRbwocxeG5KAGbI2BbdFrO6im2lreb7T5em1PgFRB78aS_Id4nENr6t49KtE8bQCkodhCy-x9UZkkFS5MFeGrKyOc6zpzYK_5NmktGOpTxGo9w/s1832/IMG_1174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="1500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOXspq6NTkFqGugj0USJ2a-gk6p1D7q4ll9rZ9NcGP-bblcKI3KDjgBJmOBdz1cJMVJwT-ejyLeYXiRbwocxeG5KAGbI2BbdFrO6im2lreb7T5em1PgFRB78aS_Id4nENr6t49KtE8bQCkodhCy-x9UZkkFS5MFeGrKyOc6zpzYK_5NmktGOpTxGo9w/w328-h400/IMG_1174.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to study the Bible with Andrew, a TCU student!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0AHLrq1NwtEUqKCJcI9R5jhfmCeth182rYGDyhOvyMj7RoTRPQRaRhBAD9ttmARdYlUvPVGjK3lyJMq9p9CvdIZR0_fjda6eXzSEW5T2zxKUhEQKNXAJbCnTy-m7mPGilVGS0hoiT38qoxlIiPyfBgdcXpJcBlIMRHlwfVKJB3wH2QK6TB_C2K0glA/s4032/IMG_1116.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF0AHLrq1NwtEUqKCJcI9R5jhfmCeth182rYGDyhOvyMj7RoTRPQRaRhBAD9ttmARdYlUvPVGjK3lyJMq9p9CvdIZR0_fjda6eXzSEW5T2zxKUhEQKNXAJbCnTy-m7mPGilVGS0hoiT38qoxlIiPyfBgdcXpJcBlIMRHlwfVKJB3wH2QK6TB_C2K0glA/w300-h400/IMG_1116.heic" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonus content: <br />My wife and I brought home a kitten (who we've named Winnie)<br />to be a little sister to our cat (named Captain).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Prayer</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pray for our students over the Thanksgiving break. Pray that they would be a light to their families, and that they would be able to come back refreshed.</li><li>Pray for our one-on-one Bible studies, that God would use them to bring people closer to Him.</li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbq8qvv5Hh5yicowGPErKPtxLeyceb5Mnc2bl2yZMQ4lMC59kqIwkVEqaR40MVa7ngLK7vZePGc9XbTfNyLqwPdTvzaA_RfBMjF7poYpv5PP3XUmWaoW-x3y79EDQpjZoDk-ZdNWNdFh8SRE4XXKXVVBDnS5GTn24dK7IxBb7PDd2IQlU7homi0Eang/s1728/November%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbq8qvv5Hh5yicowGPErKPtxLeyceb5Mnc2bl2yZMQ4lMC59kqIwkVEqaR40MVa7ngLK7vZePGc9XbTfNyLqwPdTvzaA_RfBMjF7poYpv5PP3XUmWaoW-x3y79EDQpjZoDk-ZdNWNdFh8SRE4XXKXVVBDnS5GTn24dK7IxBb7PDd2IQlU7homi0Eang/w556-h640/November%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-10094564613905909312022-10-20T14:06:00.004-07:002022-10-20T14:06:23.633-07:00"I Am Prayer"<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYD84ZGvF3HHJhu5gPUvlOeyWR6dSOWjL13XAIT6gLqkxpBqw1O6TqRPnBzQ8ysoD_SkhyYiDRMvV73Z_xl-NbeH_gYlUbgrMrIctjGiaM8ZWuJMrFDdZQCOnkXxK7N3_PPSSZgTTseYvTZvOX6dwieCFte7-61wb4es8LdFbpNKDrYhnChtWFxYDtzA/s1802/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-20%20at%203.40.08%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1802" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYD84ZGvF3HHJhu5gPUvlOeyWR6dSOWjL13XAIT6gLqkxpBqw1O6TqRPnBzQ8ysoD_SkhyYiDRMvV73Z_xl-NbeH_gYlUbgrMrIctjGiaM8ZWuJMrFDdZQCOnkXxK7N3_PPSSZgTTseYvTZvOX6dwieCFte7-61wb4es8LdFbpNKDrYhnChtWFxYDtzA/w640-h464/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-20%20at%203.40.08%20PM.png" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: justify;">"</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;">In return for my friendship they accuse me,</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">but I am a man of prayer."</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Psalm 109:4 (NIV)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;">"'</span><span style="text-align: left;">The vision of God,' says Bishop Westcott, 'makes life a continuous prayer.' </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">And in that vision all fleeting things resolve themselves, </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">and appear in relation to things unseen...</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="text-align: left;">'</span><span style="text-align: left;">I am prayer,' said a Psalmist. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">'In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,' said an Apostle."</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i>The Hidden Life of Prayer </i>by David M'Intyre</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The Psalms often show a writer who is facing great adversity, but is learning to "find themselves" in God- finding comfort in His presence and provision. Think of the image of God's presence with the Psalmist in Psalm 139, or of the images of God's attention and provision in Psalm 23. One of my favorite instances of a Psalmist learning to find themselves in God, however, is tucked away in an angry Psalm of lament. In Psalm 109:4, the phrase that the NIV renders "I am a man of prayer" is intentionally vague. While "I am a man of prayer" is a valid translation, tt could be translated: "I am in prayer," or even "I am prayer." In short, the Psalmist is not just describing prayer as a habit of his, but simply attaching himself to prayer. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">This has made me wonder on and off for the last couple of years: What kind of intimacy with God would someone have to reach in order to be able to say: I am prayer? Or is the Psalmist expressing a reality that is already there: if you have given yourself to God, you can only really find yourself and be yourself when you are in connection with Him from then on. You have been bound to Him. You are prayer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Ministry Highlights</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">This time of the semester is one of my favorites. While the August and September season of intense sowing (meeting new people, starting new relationships, etc) is always fruitful and rewarding, the subsequent months of really getting to know students and really getting to be on the front row of God's work in their lives are my favorite part of being a pastor. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxUD-UWRkrc_79MIF7XjiBoH5D8lbulzzbVAGragJ8KUpfxXkeePM_RaQIJe3PTEcUTzlIAIuCj9UGhEXhpU9CqjXBAuORspZVRKOn4BCaiZeEf-cQsMLa3MZc89a9XaRnH_9JxzS70BpisSht5s58fHVRJAiXW1AREYGFXG07Tz87ytWSFUwgKmbWA/s4032/IMG_0375.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxUD-UWRkrc_79MIF7XjiBoH5D8lbulzzbVAGragJ8KUpfxXkeePM_RaQIJe3PTEcUTzlIAIuCj9UGhEXhpU9CqjXBAuORspZVRKOn4BCaiZeEf-cQsMLa3MZc89a9XaRnH_9JxzS70BpisSht5s58fHVRJAiXW1AREYGFXG07Tz87ytWSFUwgKmbWA/w640-h480/IMG_0375.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan (left) and Stian (right) are two of my favorite guys to meet with. Here they are, both wearing the same shirt, and both frozen in what can only be described as a half-grimace.<br />Jonathan is a student who has blessed me and others with his humility, consistency, and dedication to being a faithful disciple and a good friend. Stian is a good friend of mine who is doing the apprenticeship this year! More on him below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczHf4mjwcPBcHF3nfJMFn_5O86G0_Yak1Ly8gNGA8kC72GpFREkGOcqvOyqLMhMIr-9c3AmDlAzLAoT_wiZyehixLikKArSgD-W93SFNvslERQ-XguEgJFA84nWGwzuddgy-6zkRcxoya7-7RhvCPLe5Q-IKMGhqGyQ904jaYI0vD5dkn0-3v0gg-3w/s2100/RenderedImage.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1575" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczHf4mjwcPBcHF3nfJMFn_5O86G0_Yak1Ly8gNGA8kC72GpFREkGOcqvOyqLMhMIr-9c3AmDlAzLAoT_wiZyehixLikKArSgD-W93SFNvslERQ-XguEgJFA84nWGwzuddgy-6zkRcxoya7-7RhvCPLe5Q-IKMGhqGyQ904jaYI0vD5dkn0-3v0gg-3w/w480-h640/RenderedImage.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stian (pictured here cutting my hair) was someone I got to mentor as a student a few years ago. Since then, we've become good friends, and I'm getting to help him step into life as a full-time college pastor. And he's helping me not look totally disheveled.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>Please pray for our students to learn to rest in God. October is often a time of the year when students are busy and stressed, because they've been at their studies for several weeks now, but the end of the semester isn't in sight. I've found that students who struggle with depression often find this time of year when both mental energy and daylight are more at a premium to be difficult.</li><li>Pray for our students' hearts to be shaped by God's Word and by Christian community. It's "basic," but we just want them to know Him.</li><li>Let me know how I can be praying for you! </li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEnHsXDGfGxm2xshOARfbdH74D2E2IWnye7TuyD4VwRUpzzmQ8iZq9wtrbJgNh790iBbFiPwyIp1z7Bk3rrrhcW5HQ6UBHfgeJ27rcSIB4QPTQXHon7XwY3Sb0AOj548Z21RzTMEhnsqGwk7dPQ7SCwC__wXRsAy5e1s-BWKx5d9s8NM0D2NDZOsvow/s1728/October%20ST%20Portrait.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEnHsXDGfGxm2xshOARfbdH74D2E2IWnye7TuyD4VwRUpzzmQ8iZq9wtrbJgNh790iBbFiPwyIp1z7Bk3rrrhcW5HQ6UBHfgeJ27rcSIB4QPTQXHon7XwY3Sb0AOj548Z21RzTMEhnsqGwk7dPQ7SCwC__wXRsAy5e1s-BWKx5d9s8NM0D2NDZOsvow/w556-h640/October%20ST%20Portrait.png" width="556" /></a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-67977960680694568502022-09-08T14:27:00.003-07:002022-09-08T14:28:59.111-07:00Creating<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2eQ4iD2rJ0TxD7kTciyNLy6YMjEyAxeMURDBuTOxm9KM9UqooWd6J6-mADQSsoDmnRXZPhR6bDWy-0KN30lcHfcTRPKAMyUYcuGt3KPQmWfhNlYlImU_qn6G6iNKtq8X9nFLU_66DD64bpr0niv6_xLv0VYhG26NSSXdSFLBsozUddgbT-VhyYsblfw/s1333/IMG_0043.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1333" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2eQ4iD2rJ0TxD7kTciyNLy6YMjEyAxeMURDBuTOxm9KM9UqooWd6J6-mADQSsoDmnRXZPhR6bDWy-0KN30lcHfcTRPKAMyUYcuGt3KPQmWfhNlYlImU_qn6G6iNKtq8X9nFLU_66DD64bpr0niv6_xLv0VYhG26NSSXdSFLBsozUddgbT-VhyYsblfw/w640-h480/IMG_0043.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">All of the current FOCUS pastors from over a dozen different campuses, all together in one place!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>"<span style="text-align: start;">In the beginning</span> <span style="text-align: start;">God created</span> <span style="text-align: start;">the heavens</span> <span style="text-align: start;">and the earth.</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-1-2" id="en-NIV-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>Now the earth was formless and empty, </i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-1-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>darkness was over the surface of the deep,</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-1-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-1-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="text Gen-1-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i><span class="text Gen-1-2" style="text-align: start; text-indent: -32px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;">Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><i>The old has gone, the new is here!"</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">As I have mentioned a few times in these ministry updates, I have spent the last year and a half in part-time (and occasionally full-time) seminary classes with Fuller Theological Seminary.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">One of the many classes I have gotten to take this year boasted a beautiful name: <i>The Church's Understanding of the Church, Humanity, and the Christian Life in its Theological Reflection </i>(as you can imagine, it provided me with a lot of nice, easygoing, rainy day reading material). Two of the many topics covered in this class were those of Creation and Anthropology (the study of humanity, and what it means to be human). Studying these things brought about a much more robust understanding of the fact that not only did God create everything I see around me- He is continually sustaining and creating new things. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The ways we see God creating in Genesis help us understand the ways that He makes us into new creations! Just as the Spirit hovered over the chaos and nothingness of reality before creating the universe, He hovers over the chaos and nothingness of our hearts, our relationships, and our lives. Just as God spoke light, life, order, flourishing, purpose and relationships into being for Creation, He is doing the same in our lives today. Notice the words John picks up on when describing Jesus in his Gospel and in his letters- light, life, water, birth, etc...all images that first find their way into Scripture in the narrative of Creation. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">How does your life resemble the story of Creation? Are you in a time of chaos and nothingness, barely cognizant of the Spirit hovering over you, planning something new and keeping you from boiling over? Is God bringing order to an area of your life? Is He shining light on something in your heart? Is He introducing new relationships- filling your life in new ways? Is He clearing away something old, making room for something new (like a gardener)?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b>The Creator in Ministry</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">At the beginning of each school year, college pastors get to see a new stage for God's creating work to take place in. There are new students we meet, who God plans on turning into new creations. Because of the turnover rate of college ministry, the student body on each of our campuses takes on a totally new culture every year, and we get to join God in creating and cultivating something new, by His grace helping to bring light, life, and order into dark and chaotic places.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Over the last few weeks, we have:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Frantically advertised our presence on campus so that students looking for a college ministry know we're here for them</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Met as many freshmen as possible through board game nights, field nights, seminars, helping people find classes, eating lunches and dinners with strangers</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Sought to plug freshmen into church homes by offering rides to church (and advertising their availability all over campus!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Started to have ministry-specific events like worship nights and Bible classes</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Started around two dozen new small groups on campus</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Begun to invite everyone in those small groups into one-on-one Bible studies with pastors and student leaders</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Other things I can't think of right now!</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">This is a hectic time of year, but also an exciting and blessed one. I wish I could tell you about every freshman and first-time student leader who I'm excited about this semester, but for now it will have to suffice to say that there are a lot.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Thank you so much if you have prayed for me, checked in on me, or supported me financially. You are the reason I can be a full-time college pastor.</span></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-dtPtc6Zp28opI_p29MH-XgsYT6dm2L2?usp=sharing"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Click here to read a handful of my papers from seminary (if you're interested)!</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://anyfocus.org/resources/media-page/?category=All&key_words=Search&speaker=495&series=All">Click here to listen to my most recent sermons!</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Prayer requests</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Please pray for the many freshmen (and new students of all kinds) that we have met over the past few weeks. Pray for them to find good friends who point them to Christ, and to dedicate themselves to following Jesus during their time in college and beyond.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Please pray for our campus pastors and student leaders. While this time of year is encouraging, it is also incredibly exhausting! Pray for physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">At the end of September, our campuses all do what we call Fall Camp, which is a unique ministry opportunity, because the students get a lot of time around one another and around their pastors.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nkxWg3WGbISv-ntZdu42GiLAZxEYcqEWwjENCJ52TBtAYDhrClE7bDIdCmCSJR2ycCZYaR73kFbEEfJr4dZijWORa5ES7xymqsV_ZZFor1UHL5mRvSJVBO0bBgjj-sQN2M1TTET-y8CckoJa4xTJ_v2n8pRcvBhNRnqfF-4vJBAL4TJMSQvab3criQ/s1728/September%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nkxWg3WGbISv-ntZdu42GiLAZxEYcqEWwjENCJ52TBtAYDhrClE7bDIdCmCSJR2ycCZYaR73kFbEEfJr4dZijWORa5ES7xymqsV_ZZFor1UHL5mRvSJVBO0bBgjj-sQN2M1TTET-y8CckoJa4xTJ_v2n8pRcvBhNRnqfF-4vJBAL4TJMSQvab3criQ/w556-h640/September%20ST%20Portrait-1.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-11919309948651162512022-04-21T16:03:00.002-07:002022-04-21T16:03:24.772-07:00As Wise as Serpents and as Innocent as Doves<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWPEPS_Jf8ofZHi6KP_vnPkJoxr_Bx3-XcG_oqfmGHncH9oZnIBEZXXeW7WRfota5fos7UfQfldFNEalyN3ZC_PyNaq_IjQOdz1oTjpJJT0CF0MMwZSx_SVwONG_AUdntAnqHT9Lmj64gpXjNimOCtDu15jY25EX_mj5KakbEOkifi8KpDll2tA8cew/s4032/IMG_5411.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWPEPS_Jf8ofZHi6KP_vnPkJoxr_Bx3-XcG_oqfmGHncH9oZnIBEZXXeW7WRfota5fos7UfQfldFNEalyN3ZC_PyNaq_IjQOdz1oTjpJJT0CF0MMwZSx_SVwONG_AUdntAnqHT9Lmj64gpXjNimOCtDu15jY25EX_mj5KakbEOkifi8KpDll2tA8cew/w640-h480/IMG_5411.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A group of students at an outreach event a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, we had</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the pleasure of meeting Spiderman during this event.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Matthew 10:16 (NIV)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">The past few months have been marked by a lot of learning and wrestling. I've found myself in seminary classes about global Church history and theology in film. I've been reading and wrestling through a book called <i>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self</i> by Carl Trueman- a tour of the Western thought leaders of the last two centuries (people such as Wordsworth, Shelley, Nietzsche, Freud, Marx, Reich, and more), and how they exercise extraordinary and unseen influence upon the way people think now. I've found myself in some strange ministry situations that have pushed me to be more perceptive and shrewd. In short, I've been pushed by continued education and by life experiences to be as shrewd as a snake.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span><span style="background-color: white;">Recently, I've felt a counter-push by God to be as "innocent as a dove." While Jesus was a keen observer of people who "knew what was in each person" (as John 2 tells us), and Paul was well-versed in the philosophies of his day, they both pushed those who followed Christ into what in many ways was a simple faith. Jesus' call to his disciples was simple: "Follow me." Jesus said the Law and Prophets could be summed up in sister commands to love God with all of one's heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as oneself (which He later upgraded to loving others as He loved his disciples). Paul told the believers in Corinth that he was "A</span></span><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 19, 32); color: #001320; text-align: justify;">fraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3) While we must not be as wise and shrewd as the serpent, shrewdness cannot teach love.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;">Which side of this two-headed command from Jesus is harder for you? Do you avoid the shrewdness of the world, leaning towards naïveté in the pursuit of a simple faith? Or do you fail to find intimacy with God because you prefer concepts and control to the risk of relationship? I've found myself in both of these pitfalls at different times. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span face="Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><b>Rez Fair</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;">After a couple of off years due to COVID, we've gotten to revive an annual celebration of the Resurrection called Rez Fair, in which a bunch of Christian organizations from UTD (and a couple of churches from the area) come together to celebrate Jesus and share the hope he gives us with our campus. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lHm5pAterMqQp6r3AtsXMpB0s39xpvjP2P5WpvHL8WoB6ozIlUspfI0u-hHYpsPkh9m_jxKu7KcRioSBKEwvaU12e7o_rPshpW70nafifN6glvo5azc5gqT6h9f8mieCcleWaOBGy4isEgVg8WLLchMn01UJj4rfLXG1ED7oLZQutryoD28jcOXkaQ/s1824/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-21%20at%205.56.21%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="1824" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lHm5pAterMqQp6r3AtsXMpB0s39xpvjP2P5WpvHL8WoB6ozIlUspfI0u-hHYpsPkh9m_jxKu7KcRioSBKEwvaU12e7o_rPshpW70nafifN6glvo5azc5gqT6h9f8mieCcleWaOBGy4isEgVg8WLLchMn01UJj4rfLXG1ED7oLZQutryoD28jcOXkaQ/w640-h474/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-21%20at%205.56.21%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As you can see, the day was beautiful and the turnout was encouraging!<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Good Friday</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had the joy and the challenge of preaching at our Friday Night Fellowship on Good Friday, and shared about how when Jesus was crushed by us, his goodness and love came out. Listen here: </div><div style="text-align: left;">https://anyfocus.org/media/good-friday-2/</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div></td></tr></tbody></table></span></p><ul><li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;">Please pray for our students as they enter a tough season of finals. It can be easy to get pulled under from the stress of it (especially for certain majors).</span></li><li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;">Please pray for our students as they prepare for the Student Institute of Campus Ministry- a week-long college ministry training conference in Washington state.</span></li><li><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;">Please pray for our students as they finish up the semester and enter the summer- that this would be a time of spiritual growth and not one of regression, as many breaks can be.</span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggD68CJGuB8agjr2A_CY1jdybIV9N13Avzqu90BWbBWemYeAWTcLahhGKvbKoEYrM3k3NN6giHtN0-u6kmdixwlrdAnQIrrm6sICv52m3lxNxti4Gh6bMGZsg34U0IXLRpp4tKxkXCQsLJGysT_0n7rl255zIOhkrtzsyZPhEOA_WoSB1AbOTyJHDSfg/s1728/April%20ST%20Portrait.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggD68CJGuB8agjr2A_CY1jdybIV9N13Avzqu90BWbBWemYeAWTcLahhGKvbKoEYrM3k3NN6giHtN0-u6kmdixwlrdAnQIrrm6sICv52m3lxNxti4Gh6bMGZsg34U0IXLRpp4tKxkXCQsLJGysT_0n7rl255zIOhkrtzsyZPhEOA_WoSB1AbOTyJHDSfg/w556-h640/April%20ST%20Portrait.png" width="556" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><br /><div><br /></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #001320; font-family: helvetica;"><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-11149462585857848422022-02-21T11:15:00.005-08:002022-02-21T11:15:59.145-08:00I Don't Care What I Think<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA8SmzN9y122QL-SV-qHojIaL_0wcKZ0LnLwPsekXCLGBcQXhjrRYhaELJ3sCKT1VuyzgP6rhyL2DHE8EZEEWTAvFXKLJ98iRakoy7MWEES2w-7PtS3xqK058gGbk9k7VFj233h0HS_5LfVA0WxIB4ByddXmCRp2Cw1hG91t4kR4FpryVTtdUFx_h25w=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA8SmzN9y122QL-SV-qHojIaL_0wcKZ0LnLwPsekXCLGBcQXhjrRYhaELJ3sCKT1VuyzgP6rhyL2DHE8EZEEWTAvFXKLJ98iRakoy7MWEES2w-7PtS3xqK058gGbk9k7VFj233h0HS_5LfVA0WxIB4ByddXmCRp2Cw1hG91t4kR4FpryVTtdUFx_h25w=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A group of men's pastors (from multiple campuses) appreciating nature together!<br />From left to right: Drew, Cole, me, and Connor. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; </div><div style="text-align: center;">indeed, I do not even judge myself.</div><div style="text-align: center;">My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.</div><div style="text-align: center;">It is the Lord who judges me.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. </div><div style="text-align: center;">He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness </div><div style="text-align: center;">and will expose the motives of the heart. </div><div style="text-align: center;">At that time each will receive their praise from God.”</div><div style="text-align: center;">The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV)</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Paul is saying something astounding:</div><div style="text-align: center;">‘I don’t care what youthink and I don’t care what I think.’ </div><div style="text-align: center;">He is bringing us into new territory that we know nothing about. </div><div style="text-align: center;">His ego is not puffed up, it is filled up. </div><div style="text-align: center;">He is talking about humility – although I hate using the word ‘humility’ </div><div style="text-align: center;">because this is nothing like our idea of humility. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Paul is saying that he has reached a place where his ego draws no more attention</div><div style="text-align: center;">to itself than any other part of his body. </div><div style="text-align: center;">He has reached the place where he is not thinking about himself anymore."</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Timothy Keller in <i>The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness</i></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of the pastors and students in FOCUS are currently wrestling through just how pervasive ego is in our hearts. So many emotions, perspectives, and attitudes on the heart that seem to be innocuous or even beneficial can so easily become tainted by ego. The creativity and sacrifice of ambition that we see in God's character can so easily become selfish dreaming. The desire to do well in one's work can come from a fear of failure that is entirely wrapped up in ego. Ego can just as well cause someone to hide themselves in some instances and to broadcast themselves to the world in others. I often become my own worst critic- a clever way to hide my own ego, since I can convince myself that I'm not looking to others for their approval. </div><div><br /></div><div>The freedom we see Paul expressing here is freedom from the need to prove our own worth, ability, or purity to ourselves or to anyone else. We can only look to God for that, since He is where our worth, ability, and purity come from in the first place. Just like in Genesis 3-6, our pride, selfish ambition, violence, and more all trace back to us lacking in faith and trying to make a complete picture for ourselves outside of God. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What I've Been Up To</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This has been a very interesting semester so far! We've had a lot of unexpected circumstances that have made it difficult at times for me to find a "rhythm," but I've gotten to see God working nonetheless. Despite a delayed start to school, getting COVID, and having to stay at home during an ice storm, there's still a lot happening.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I've gotten to continue to fill gaps and help train up a new generation of students to serve behind the scenes running sound for our Friday Night Fellowship services and for Winter Camp. This has been a learning experience (and at times a difficult one!), but it's making it possible for all of the FOCUS students at UTD to gather together to worship God. </li><li>Men's ministry- We recently had our Winter Camp, and there have been so many cool conversations and decisions coming out of it for a lot of people. I've heard from at least 3 guys in the small groups whose leaders I get to mentor that they've started going to church again for the first time in years after camp last month. Guys are also starting Bible studies, getting accountability for sin struggles, and becoming friends rather than acquaintances. It's been humbling to see God do all of this while I've felt sidelined at times from sickness or the need to work around the edges. That's the power of doing ministry together, though! There's always someone stepping in to fill the gaps.</li><li>Seminary- Two cool updates here! First, I'm now on my 4th class in seminary. It's called Global Christian Tradition, and it's about the history of the church in different continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) and how different systems of theological thought and worship came out of those times and places. It's giving me a much better understanding of how the Church has arrived at different places on topics like the Trinity, canonization, iconography, and more. Second, <b>I will be going into full-time seminary work for a year starting in July in order to get my seminary degree and open up doors to start a FOCUS chapter at Texas Christian University. </b>I will still be working with FOCUS, but my work time will shift towards a lot of reading and time with people, and less of the planning, administrative stuff that it takes to keep an organization running. I'm humbled to have the opportunity to do this, and excited about both the learning itself and the doors it will open for us to reach a new campus. </li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Showcase!</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjE4xHnSWfPG1UTF76q79zs_vPSWvfS7_aAvFiDJ5F2--XUyvTKjcQB5Cw7YPmblabpzPLNujXqOY1KmFVBZAUYV2pYOxXurno_KQ8PoVI3AJRyu2ZUykZM1STh1yX9ObR0ueX-WVcDO_xLIE_PS9Qf6y_DSQXkaPJxUDh-y2wpSO0KR52R8zq2-IJZQ=s1920" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjE4xHnSWfPG1UTF76q79zs_vPSWvfS7_aAvFiDJ5F2--XUyvTKjcQB5Cw7YPmblabpzPLNujXqOY1KmFVBZAUYV2pYOxXurno_KQ8PoVI3AJRyu2ZUykZM1STh1yX9ObR0ueX-WVcDO_xLIE_PS9Qf6y_DSQXkaPJxUDh-y2wpSO0KR52R8zq2-IJZQ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div>You are cordially invited to Showcase 2022! (Side note: no one says cordially anymore, except when inviting someone to something). </div><div>Showcase is a fundraiser where 100% of the proceeds go toward sending students the Student Institute of Campus Ministry, a week-long leadership training conference in Washington state where students learn how to become missionaries on their college campuses. This was incredibly formative for me when I went back in 2014, and I've watched countless other students (literally hundreds at this point) find passion and wisdom to purposefully disciple others for the remaining years of their time in college (and after that) through this conference.</div><div>The Showcase itself is a mixture of a variety show with singers and dancers and an artisan market. The show itself features people who have sung professionally and gotten degrees in theater, an improv comedy troupe, and dancers who have danced professionally and competed at the prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance festival. The artisan market features paintings, crafted items such as handmade stuffed animals and wooden cutting boards, and some culinary creations such as home roasted coffee beans and pastries. </div><div>Please, please come! And donations are welcome either way!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Prayer</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pray for protection and favor with our college campuses! We want to be able to meet together and reach students, but the campus is often forced to change rules and reservations because of COVID.</li><li>Pray for our students to grow in their involvement in community and in their individual pursuits of God.</li><li>Pray for Showcase! We've made a decision to send anyone to SICM who we believe would benefit from it and who has shown that they're willing to put effort into raising money to go and make the most of their time there. That being said, finances are really tight for a lot of people, and Showcase is one of the main ways we offset that. </li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB_Q_lp3z3jX-ToZHoZdWIObzvCMFwcAArjHMLDwSYiMYXEKabf0ZU5wQHiLRC45mdbl2I6JhFGYbCQxHqbP63jJHAjcvbKhhFOSth1nAkhtLLKw_eKEaj_fpsdwmjFQEEi6MnDJXBbEVaAOT3AYGXobr6UC1CK7KgrvHbKvRZdGVQA-CyBKs3w3UyDw=s1728" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB_Q_lp3z3jX-ToZHoZdWIObzvCMFwcAArjHMLDwSYiMYXEKabf0ZU5wQHiLRC45mdbl2I6JhFGYbCQxHqbP63jJHAjcvbKhhFOSth1nAkhtLLKw_eKEaj_fpsdwmjFQEEi6MnDJXBbEVaAOT3AYGXobr6UC1CK7KgrvHbKvRZdGVQA-CyBKs3w3UyDw=w556-h640" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-26888947137497729222021-09-21T14:05:00.002-07:002021-09-21T14:05:33.420-07:00Life to the Full<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nG1j8tumQO8/YUkKlrXF8pI/AAAAAAAABHs/pJiB6j0wMCcw1D-4RAIzicSwoGhW-ZN5wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC03362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nG1j8tumQO8/YUkKlrXF8pI/AAAAAAAABHs/pJiB6j0wMCcw1D-4RAIzicSwoGhW-ZN5wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/DSC03362.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Our students during evening worship at Fall Camp. Getting to do something stripped down in an <br />outdoor pavilion was such a great experience!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Jesus in John 10:10 </i>(NIV)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Let us all live snugly without risk, </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">and life will soon be little more than a </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">thick gelatinous stream of </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">comfortability and ignorance.”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><i>Myles Connolly in <u>Mister Blue</u></i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">It's been a while! I'm sorry for not looping you in on things. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">In short, you haven't heard from me because we have been hitting the ground running in a way that we haven't in a long time. By the time this Fall semester came around, every college campus FOCUS has a presence at had been devoid of any "official" campus life for nearly 18 months. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">That means people who had only been in school for a semester when universities shut down due to COVID are now upperclassmen! </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">As they come back onto campus, they are experiencing very different mindsets. Some students feel like they're making up for lost time, and want to hit the ground running in the party scene (which while very small at UTD, is undoubtedly growing). Some students feel frozen by their social anxiety, and by anxiety surrounding the pandemic. Either way, Jesus offers a full life of intimacy and change that looks like neither of those things, but speaks to both of those people. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">So now that we're back on campus, we've been meeting students as much as possible, and God has been so, so good in providing connections and protecting our students. </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">Thank you for making that possible!</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><b>Fall Camp</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">We got to do a camp this September for our students, and it was such a fun and meaningful time. The theme of the camp was making and sticking to decision for God- something so relevant and helpful for college students, especially at the beginning of the year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--T6X76b10js/YUpGT1GalqI/AAAAAAAABH8/cSp_t9BXgTMqu123eAyApMyC9QGriQC4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC03489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--T6X76b10js/YUpGT1GalqI/AAAAAAAABH8/cSp_t9BXgTMqu123eAyApMyC9QGriQC4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/DSC03489.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michelle, one of our apprentices, talking to the students about Communion.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AzsTimJxNEc/YUpGT-rGKCI/AAAAAAAABH4/872qnJz3-AICHvCfoVXIwhxdgvr-id6jgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSCF0413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AzsTimJxNEc/YUpGT-rGKCI/AAAAAAAABH4/872qnJz3-AICHvCfoVXIwhxdgvr-id6jgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/DSCF0413.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nhala (left) and Sion (right) are two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet! Nhala was in my peer<br />team last year, and continues to serve the community super faithfully, and Sion has been in the<br />community for years and serves on the worship team. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2CspBUnjrQ/YUpGT2HvqdI/AAAAAAAABIA/AnthRGFE_eMu2ZpmajY-ajwmeF8XqG8cACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSCF0515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2CspBUnjrQ/YUpGT2HvqdI/AAAAAAAABIA/AnthRGFE_eMu2ZpmajY-ajwmeF8XqG8cACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/DSCF0515.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students playing basketball at Fall Camp. I'm passing the ball to Landry like my life depends<br />on it, because in that moment, it does. Just kidding.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EResNTaVxk/YUpGUI-D0oI/AAAAAAAABIE/HEbJvErLUIwyegxxNfMxxKGMVP_3gTESwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSCF0522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1153" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8EResNTaVxk/YUpGUI-D0oI/AAAAAAAABIE/HEbJvErLUIwyegxxNfMxxKGMVP_3gTESwCLcBGAsYHQ/w360-h640/DSCF0522.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jadon, here seconds away from doing something<br />very silly, is a senior this year, and has become<br />one of my favorite people over the last couple of years.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Pray for continued safety for our students.</li><li>Pray for our students to get closer to Jesus, and to find meaningful Christian community in our cores (small groups).</li><li>Pray for resilience for our student leaders and pastors as we seek to be as present to people as possible. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bda2iLl0KQw/YUpJEZSKB_I/AAAAAAAABIU/6g4k4oIjGFUafGFk3ELa_CBny0A6gGIFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s829/Sept21_StudentTestimony-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="721" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bda2iLl0KQw/YUpJEZSKB_I/AAAAAAAABIU/6g4k4oIjGFUafGFk3ELa_CBny0A6gGIFwCLcBGAsYHQ/w556-h640/Sept21_StudentTestimony-01.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-57e2574c-7fff-0e5f-719a-468587b1b65b" style="text-align: start;"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="text-align: start;" /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div></span><p></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-25573302646329043962021-06-30T15:15:00.001-07:002021-06-30T15:15:12.873-07:00Celebration and Foundation<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4gqckadt60Q/YNzHSpWp-GI/AAAAAAAABD0/WSgMGrAZPu4pOUK0vCgprXPgRc9tQR7ugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1536/559A9130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4gqckadt60Q/YNzHSpWp-GI/AAAAAAAABD0/WSgMGrAZPu4pOUK0vCgprXPgRc9tQR7ugCLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/559A9130.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful bride (Kaylee) and I. I believe I'm on the left.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks,</span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> and send some to those who have nothing prepared. </span></div></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This day is holy to our Lord. </span></div></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'"</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">[This verse was shared with Kaylee and I by my friend</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and mentor, Brandon, during our wedding ceremony]</span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've had quite the time over the last several weeks!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #333333;">As many of you know, I got married on June 19th. The season of wedding planning and entering marriage has brought a lot of notable things with it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><b>Celebration and Thanksgiving</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">This has been such a good time to see all of the ways that God has been good to Kaylee and I. To look around while at our wedding was to see the countless blessings God has given me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My groomsmen represented the ways that God has provided me with godly, caring friends throughout every course of my life. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Our officiant, Brandon, represented how God has provided me with mentors who push me towards God and are willing to believe in me enough to entrust me with responsibilities in ministry.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">The front rows represented the godly family members in my life whose loving presence and consistent generosity have shaped me into the person I am and provided for my needs as I focus on ministry.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">The rows of people represented so many friends and family who have changed my life, and who- somehow- God has used Kaylee and I to show His character to in some way or another. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">There is something powerful to celebrating God's blessings! I didn't really do anything to deserve so many godly, caring, fun, generous friends and family members. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My heart has been overwhelmed on an almost daily basis with awe and thankfulness to God, and to countless people who have blessed me on my journey through life so far.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">If you're reading this, I want to say: thank you so much! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><b>Foundations in Marriage</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">One thing that I've encountered over the last 10 days or so is the extent to which I'm in a season of setting foundations for years to come. Transitional periods are so important in this way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">In short, Kaylee and I are learning what it means to become one flesh while continuing to become more centered on Jesus and dedicated to serving others. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">One flesh- There's something powerful just about sharing things with someone. We're in the same space together, we're sleeping in the same bed, we're merging bank accounts, merging insurance plans, we're sharing food with one another, and we're learning how much we affect one another's lives and callings</span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Centered on Jesus- The first day after Kaylee and I arrived back home from our honeymoon, I found myself completely crashing in terms of mental energy and overall ability to function well. I took a break to be alone with God (journal in hand), and He essentially told me that He was disciplining me as a reminder to build upon the foundation of Him. I hadn't been seeking God much over the last few days of honeymooning and since arriving back home, and God was showing me how true the words of John 15 are: "apart from me you can do nothing." After spending time with Him, my mental energy immediately returned, and I was able to go back to helping Kaylee with setting our apartment up.</span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Dedicated to serving others- It's already evident to us how easy it will be to simply retreat into one another, shrinking back from meaningful friendship and service. We want to grow up as a couple in community, seeking to be a greater force for the Kingdom than we were before.</span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><b>Foundations in Ministry</b></span></span></div></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">I also find myself in the midst of a season of foundation-laying as a pastor. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The summer brings with it the chance to lay a few kinds of foundations.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Foundations for leadership- We are in the process of thinking through student leaders for the upcoming school year (which is less than two months away!). We are also planning for the first Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM) to take place in Texas. This will involve a full week of training students in how to be missionaries and disciple-makers on their campuses.</span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Foundations for ministry partners- The summer is also a time of the year in which we are laying the foundations for our ministry partner teams- people who will support FOCUS pastors in the mission to make and mature disciples on college campuses through their prayer and financial donations, both of which are vital and appreciated</span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><b>Prayer</b></span></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Please be praying for our staff and our incoming apprentices to be able to reach their goals in fundraising, and to trust that what God provides will be enough</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;">Pray for our students to continue to embrace community, prayer, and Scripture so that they can come back to school more centered on God and filled with His heart for their campuses</span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div></div><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-RpNj1Cj9E/YNzs2F4NjdI/AAAAAAAABD8/IJVrHzqmgywCtfsvlwVZYlgNIZbul0gkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s829/June21_StudentTestimony-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="721" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-RpNj1Cj9E/YNzs2F4NjdI/AAAAAAAABD8/IJVrHzqmgywCtfsvlwVZYlgNIZbul0gkgCLcBGAsYHQ/w557-h640/June21_StudentTestimony-01.png" width="557" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-55211048811799048232021-04-01T11:45:00.003-07:002021-04-01T11:45:53.029-07:00Enough<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XUe_FWOS6pA/YGS4a56C7mI/AAAAAAAABAo/-WChp1uDKQkwlWm2liYQCAa2dWDQu8hEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/BC8D4B79-1861-4F85-BE8E-1C973689A4F5_1_201_a.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1719" data-original-width="2048" height="538" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XUe_FWOS6pA/YGS4a56C7mI/AAAAAAAABAo/-WChp1uDKQkwlWm2liYQCAa2dWDQu8hEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h538/BC8D4B79-1861-4F85-BE8E-1C973689A4F5_1_201_a.heic" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our students, Ari, helping us deflate a giant beach ball after an outdoor outreach event!<br /><br />"Our Father in heaven,<br />Hallowed be your name,<br />your kingdom come,<br />your will be done,<br />on earth as it is in heaven.<br /><b>Give us today our daily bread.</b><br />And forgive us our debts,<br />as we also have forgiven our debtors.<br />And lead us not into temptation, <br />but deliver us from the evil one."<br />Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)<br /><br />"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."<br />1 Timothy 6:8 (NIV)<br /><br />"Said the robin to to the sparrow,<br />'I should really like to know,<br />Why these anxious human beings<br />Rush about and worry so."<br />Said the sparrow to the robin,<br />"Friend I think that it must be,<br />That they have no heavenly Father<br />Such as cares for you and me."<br /><u>The Robin and the Sparrow</u> by Elizabeth Cheney<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>So far this year, God has been challenging my conception of what is "enough." He has been exposing the myriad of ways in which I seek to twist and stretch towards a life that is convenient, satisfying, and exciting. He is exposing the ways in which I feel like I "deserve" a certain kind of food or entertainment or appreciation after a long day or a hard week. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the biggest ways in which God challenged me was by giving me the opportunity to preach on a single line of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us today our daily bread." In short, He showed how when we learn to bypass our own pride-and-fear-driven desire for gain, we give space for God to show us that He is giving us what we need, and we are able to enter into the truly abundant life of sacrificial Kingdom-love that Jesus typifies and leads us in. If you're curious about this and would like to hear more, you can find this sermon here: https://www.thenortheastchurch.com/content.cfm?id=315&download_id=1443 (it starts at around the 20 minute mark in the audio). </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Showcase</b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcZb8A-bb-w/YGYRCIxsVSI/AAAAAAAABAw/qxAl8kGAQpkiaTQLnM9yoJ0wN6wpnL2CACLcBGAsYHQ/s1500/158863070_2888496141421864_4609482324131955037_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1025" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IcZb8A-bb-w/YGYRCIxsVSI/AAAAAAAABAw/qxAl8kGAQpkiaTQLnM9yoJ0wN6wpnL2CACLcBGAsYHQ/w438-h640/158863070_2888496141421864_4609482324131955037_n.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div>Every year, FOCUS sends over a hundred students who have demonstrated faithfulness, availability, teachability, initiative, and a heart for God and people to a week-long leadership training conference called the Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM). This year, instead of sending students to Washington state for SICM (to a wonderful ministry near Seattle called Campus Christian Fellowship), we will be hosting our own version near San Antonio. SICM was influential and formative in my own development as a disciple when I was a student. </div><div><br /></div><div>Showcase is the main way we help these students offset the cost of room, board, and travel so they can give God and one another their undivided attention over the course of a full week. It's going to be live-streamed THIS Saturday from 6:30-8:30 on anyfocus.org/showcase!</div><div><br /></div><div>I've had the pleasure this year of writing two original songs that will be featured during Showcase, as well as being a part of the tech team. I think we've got something very special planned, so I would highly encourage you to join us. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gdjjiE6ozUM/YGYTxrwJd-I/AAAAAAAABBI/vUvkQtZf8KQg0chIsLa6dYEQmaM5zuAjwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_2108.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gdjjiE6ozUM/YGYTxrwJd-I/AAAAAAAABBI/vUvkQtZf8KQg0chIsLa6dYEQmaM5zuAjwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_2108.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had the chance to record a song for Showcase in an actual recording<br />studio a couple of weeks ago! It will be "debuting" on Saturday.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Seminary</b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpDlPCyRDk/YGYSbs_cV0I/AAAAAAAABA4/sCAwIkr_Xj8Km2b_dYU3uQvO69W8wKcRACLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/CDF64508-2037-4694-B1CA-8FF33DFCD29A.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpDlPCyRDk/YGYSbs_cV0I/AAAAAAAABA4/sCAwIkr_Xj8Km2b_dYU3uQvO69W8wKcRACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h400/CDF64508-2037-4694-B1CA-8FF33DFCD29A.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I've had the enormous blessing and opportunity to begin online classes at Fuller Theological Seminary this week! I plan on working towards my Masters of Divinity with a focus in Biblical Theology over the next several years. I'm excited and grateful to see what I learn through the lectures, reading, discussions, and times of prayer that this will lead me through, and I trust that God will use it to grow me in knowledge and love for Him and His people. <br /><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Students</b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfJHSnfkY-k/YGYTHEc3FdI/AAAAAAAABBA/bykayyrT-agZUQ0vV0Hvng2ZEX4YfLORQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_1957.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfJHSnfkY-k/YGYTHEc3FdI/AAAAAAAABBA/bykayyrT-agZUQ0vV0Hvng2ZEX4YfLORQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_1957.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student leader (and incoming FOCUS apprentice) named David and I line<br /> our faces up on a Zoom call to create this terrifying image.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We've had to get creative this whole year, but as more students receive the vaccine, we are finding that more opportunities are beginning to open up to spend time with students. While there are a lot of grave and deep conversations that happen in the course of discipleship, there is also a lot of laughter as we build friendships and enjoy the quirkiness and zest that college students bring to the people around them each year. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Prayer</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>This year brings a lot of life-transitions with it. I plan on getting married and moving to an apartment with my future wife Kaylee this summer, in addition to starting seminary and preparing for a year of more normalcy on campus. My body tends to react to transitions and stressors like this through anxiety and health problems, and I've noticed some of that lately. Please pray for me to find strength in God, to have wisdom to handle these transitions well, and to have a heart for others during this season. Also pray for the people around me to have patience on my bad days :)</li><li>Please pray for continued protection for our students. But thank the Lord for how good He has been to us so far!</li><li>Please pray for Showcase to be a success, and (more importantly) for SICM this year to be safe and impactful for our students. </li></ul><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h9F0PlcnAyE/YGYU0aUTEvI/AAAAAAAABBQ/Z8oAmYSJef4HYIsuDzodieT-nk-BPVPWACLcBGAsYHQ/s829/April2021_StudentTestimony-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="721" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h9F0PlcnAyE/YGYU0aUTEvI/AAAAAAAABBQ/Z8oAmYSJef4HYIsuDzodieT-nk-BPVPWACLcBGAsYHQ/w556-h640/April2021_StudentTestimony-01.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-76170668239941306532021-02-09T16:05:00.002-08:002021-02-09T16:05:39.978-08:00The Gospel<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jttvTYDtnUU/X_32R5xaO9I/AAAAAAAAA7U/1Q5gqLYg0pg0zuF0iwxoGhYhIYr4kptTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/File_002.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jttvTYDtnUU/X_32R5xaO9I/AAAAAAAAA7U/1Q5gqLYg0pg0zuF0iwxoGhYhIYr4kptTwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/File_002.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Behold Your King"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The second station of the cross from an outdoor sculpture garden at the Museum of Biblical Art</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 John 4:9-10</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"To fix beliefs or ideas in someone's mind, especially by repeating them often"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Definition of "inculcate" from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"To stamp in, to form upon, to impress"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Etymology of "inculcate"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the last month or so (but really for much longer than that), God has been pushing me to-you guessed it- <u>inculcate</u><i> </i>the Gospel in myself. I think it can be easy to think that once we have read the Bible, accepted the Good News, and even "taken ownership" of the Good News, our work of absorbing the Gospel is done.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">However, a quick look at our fears, our insecurities, our beliefs, our doubts, and our identities shows that although we hold onto the Gospel and are held onto by the Gospel, the truth of the Good News doesn't pervade our thinking in the way we would like it to. This has been my experience all too often. Headlines about a worsening pandemic overshadow the hope of redemption. Stories of Christians putting their faith in politicians (on either side of the aisle) overshadow the hope that Jesus so obviously had for his Body, the Church. Constantly being confronted with my fragility and weakness overshadows the trust that God could know me, love me, and (here's the craziest one) use me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wonder if this kind of situation is why churches throughout history have leaned into consistent liturgy so heavily. I wonder if that's why I could visit my grandparents' Lutheran church this Sunday and hear the same creeds, songs, and prayers that I heard 20 years ago when I couldn't even see over the pew in front of me. God has been teaching me the extent to which the world muddies the living waters of the Gospel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't always trust God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not only is that something God has grace for- it's something He isn't at all surprised about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I (and all of us) can choose to be purposeful about finding ways to preach the Good News to ourselves and to one another regularly. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been developing a personal liturgy- a set of five scriptural truths, each with two accompanying verses that I read out loud to myself daily, and I've been encouraging the students I meet with to do the same.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Idolatry</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-bmqhJWifc/YCMiE_Z4lII/AAAAAAAAA88/rXRUU6E6Mo0gAill4BELB5AAmjcob3a3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1221/idolatry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1221" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w-bmqhJWifc/YCMiE_Z4lII/AAAAAAAAA88/rXRUU6E6Mo0gAill4BELB5AAmjcob3a3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h316/idolatry.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A moment from our introductory sermon on idolatry. We've since spoken on the idolatry of entertainment and beauty.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've been teaching on some of the many things that we as humans tend to idolize. I would highly recommend watching some of these if you have the time!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Please pray for continued safety for our students and their families during this pandemic.</li><li>Please pray for opportunities to reach students on campus. The lack of campus life and the cold weather has made that difficult, but God has been faithful! One of the small groups whose leaders I've been mentoring has doubled in size over the last month.</li><li>Please pray for conviction and wisdom for our students as they seek to follow God well without the normal structure school provides (most classes are currently asynchronous). </li></ul><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EjKGxS2aRZQ/YCMjOjFC9MI/AAAAAAAAA9E/sYCSYKyxRIYAMKVkCV7zbWZ6C7IepYZ6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Feb2021_StudentTestimony-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1781" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EjKGxS2aRZQ/YCMjOjFC9MI/AAAAAAAAA9E/sYCSYKyxRIYAMKVkCV7zbWZ6C7IepYZ6QCLcBGAsYHQ/w556-h640/Feb2021_StudentTestimony-01.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-46097954055298630402020-09-30T10:26:00.001-07:002020-09-30T10:26:42.706-07:00Parakleo<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X-BWup0AI1A/X2JZMYxlYsI/AAAAAAAAA3c/VOHQzjg5OoUskhaXgBnuRWdb45FegzIwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1325/deep%2Bdive.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="1325" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X-BWup0AI1A/X2JZMYxlYsI/AAAAAAAAA3c/VOHQzjg5OoUskhaXgBnuRWdb45FegzIwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/deep%2Bdive.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot from one of our Deep Dive teachings. More on that below! (Also, notice how professional my slides are)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">“When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, </div><div style="text-align: center;">a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, </div><div style="text-align: center;">and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. </div><div style="text-align: center;">He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”</div><div style="text-align: center;">So Jesus went with him.”</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mark 5:21-24 (NIV)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">“All this I have spoken while still with you.</div><div style="text-align: center;">But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, </div><div style="text-align: center;">will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I do not give to you as the world gives. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”</div><div style="text-align: center;">John 14:25-27</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are two pieces of Scripture, from two different Gospels, describing two different situations. In one, a religious authority is desperately pleading with Jesus to save his little daughter’s life. </div><div>In another, Jesus is promising that the Father will send an Advocate (your translation may render this as Counselor or Helper) to the disciples. </div><div>In one, a man falls at the feet of the Divine and asks for help.</div><div>In another, the Divine comes down to men (and women) and offers them help.</div><div><br /></div><div>And somehow, “pleaded” and “Advocate” come from the same root word in the Greek- parakleo. I care about this because Brandon, the director of FOCUS and a friend and mentor of mine, recently (at the Advocate’s suggestion) put that word in my hands and told me to learn what it means and seek to become it. And apparently, this particular word applies to an aid, a counselor, a lawyer, and a desperate beggar. </div><div><br /></div><div>One explanation (https://bit.ly/2Ggc4fD) reads: “Parakaleo can include the idea of giving help or aid but the primary sense in the NT is to urge someone to take some action, especially some ethical course of action. Sometimes the word [conveys] the idea of comfort, sometimes of exhortation, but always at the root there is the idea of enabling a person to meet some difficult situation with confidence and with gallantry.”</div><div><br /></div><div>It’s amazing that one word could contain so much humility and yet so much boldness as to encapsulate all of these things. </div><div>How is the Spirit doing this with you?</div><div>How can you do this with others?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ministry During COVID</b></div><div>While I won’t bore you with all of the details of which buildings are open and which ones aren’t, which weeks have been fruitful and which ones have been frustrating, I will say this: God has been very obviously at work this year!</div><div><br /></div><div>Despite the uncertainty and restraint of a pandemic, we have been able to meet new people, and there are a fair number of freshmen who are in our cores (small groups), being discipled and bringing their own discipleship to the table. People are being staggeringly open with one another- pushing to allow God to work on every part of their hearts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come away from a conversation with someone and thought: God was working there. I’ve seen God give me an idea for a question to ask or a Scripture to discuss, and then seen how He has used it to very specifically minister to the guys I’m talking to. I’ve seen Him do this for other people. </div><div><br /></div><div>He’s at work!</div><div><br /></div><div>That being said, there have been harder times. Trying to map out the Venn diagram of state laws, federal recommendations, university regulations, the call of the Gospel, the Great Commission, and the call to protect others has been very exhausting at times. We definitely need prayer as we seek to be faithful and fruitful. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Deep Dive</b></div><div><br /></div><div>When we were planning what to do as a large community, we had to face the fact that we can hardly do anything physically as a large community. We had spent the past several months (from March to mid July) attempting to recreate our normal services (worship, sermon, fellowship, etc.) in a streamed format, and had found that in doing so we weren’t embracing the situation we were in. </div><div><br /></div><div>We decided this semester to do something together that we could only do during a time like this. Something centered around deep learning and reflection. So we started Deep Dive- an hour a week, a chapter a week of going through the Gospel of Mark in a way that engaged the heart and mind as much as possible (given the time constraints). </div><div><br /></div><div>And because of the busy schedules of the other pastors at UTD, this teaching time became my responsibility. Getting to dig into a single book of the Bible (a small one, at that!) and think through how to teach it has been immensely rewarding. I again get to sort through the complicated Venn diagram of commentaries, sermons, classes, books, academia, campus ministry, etc.. We have students from all sorts of backgrounds- ones who have read the Bible cover-to-cover multiple times, and ones who have only heard bits and pieces in passing. </div><div><br /></div><div>I’ve been amazed at the extent to which our students have engaged with the material. In a lot of ways, Mark’s two main goals are to get us to look at Jesus and to get us to look at ourselves, and I’ve seen our students doing both of those things. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Spotlight - Nhala</b></div><div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaR01KB5khw/X2JpJBf5yII/AAAAAAAAA3o/ix7MmIDNGnAgaUTc5c-MODyhL9P-UMuxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/IMG_0236.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="959" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vaR01KB5khw/X2JpJBf5yII/AAAAAAAAA3o/ix7MmIDNGnAgaUTc5c-MODyhL9P-UMuxgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h640/IMG_0236.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div>There are 6 corefas (core facilitators) who I have the pleasure of mentoring and walking alongside this year, and I’d like to give each of them some space on a ministry update so you can see the kind of students I get to disciple and learn from. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first is Nhala (pictured above). Nhala came from a Christian family in the Philippines, and moved to America after high school. He is pure-hearted, sincere, and attentive. We usually wears a smile and always wears a hat. This is his first year leading a core, and God is teaching him to pair his genuine heart with insight and boldness as he goes through the ups and downs of discipleship.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Prayer</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>- God has been very faithful to protect our students from the pandemic so far- please pray that he continues to do so.</div><div>- Pray for our students and pastors to learn to think like Jesus and approach problems the way God would want us to as we navigate a confusing and contentious political season. </div><div>- Pray for consistency from the students who are in our small groups and Bible studies, and openness from the ones who are not yet in one. </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zk-mmfii-sg/X2JpT_BLiNI/AAAAAAAAA3s/fvmiDDpymSEfcm3H5a1dL7ashsKB-4CXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s829/September%2B20%2BStudent%2BTestimony-01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="721" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zk-mmfii-sg/X2JpT_BLiNI/AAAAAAAAA3s/fvmiDDpymSEfcm3H5a1dL7ashsKB-4CXwCLcBGAsYHQ/w556-h640/September%2B20%2BStudent%2BTestimony-01.png" width="556" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-89956059835259208502020-07-22T15:19:00.000-07:002020-07-22T15:19:42.011-07:00Wineskins<div style="text-align: center;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-DXyR4fN54/Xxi6PDW9a5I/AAAAAAAAA1M/O4F8U9Y1c9kVV8Kesi46dSsX4hA0Xpe6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_20200719_083717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="351" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R-DXyR4fN54/Xxi6PDW9a5I/AAAAAAAAA1M/O4F8U9Y1c9kVV8Kesi46dSsX4hA0Xpe6ACLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h351/IMG_20200719_083717.jpg" width="625" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of our church worshipping outdoors early on a Sunday morning</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"No one puts new wine into old wineskins.</div><div style="text-align: center;">For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.</div><div style="text-align: center;">New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mathew 9:17 (NLT)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"You are who You say You are;</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's different than I thought You'd be."</div><div style="text-align: center;">Andrea Marie (singer)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Have you ever wondered what went through Paul's head all day after he encountered Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus?</div><div style="text-align: left;">Or have you ever wondered the kinds of thoughts and emotions that rushed through Peter's head after God led him to the house of a Gentile? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes, we realize we need a new wineskin when God pours new wine in. And sometimes, we realize we need a new wineskin when our wineskin breaks, and all of the wine we thought we were holding onto so securely leaks out of us. In a sense, both of these things have happened to me this summer. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To be clear, what I see Jesus getting at with his wineskins analogy is essentially this: if wine is our actual knowledge and experience of God, then wineskins are the thought patterns, habits, and systems that we use day-to-day to make sense of that knowledge of God and live it out. This is visible throughout the Bible! God's punishment of the Egyptians through plagues and subsequent deliverance of His people presented the Israelite people with a <i>lot</i> of "new wine" to deal with, and their Egyptian wineskins of hard work, idol worship, and living in the shadow of the most powerful empire there was would have to go. In a lot of ways, the Tabernacle and the Laws are God's way of giving His people new wineskins. A lot of prophetic literature uses the Exodus as an image to remind Israel of how their day-to-day actions and attitudes didn't fit the wine of God's actions and presence in their midst. In the Gospels, you can see how some people come running to Jesus, seeking not only the new wine of his presence and miracles but also the new wineskins of following him and joining in his ministry. Unfortunately, other people would rather not have the new wine, since it would mean letting go of their current wineskins. For instance, after Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead, John writes in the 11th chapter of his gospel: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"...many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary [Lazarus' sister], and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>'What are we accomplishing?' they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.'”</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>My Wineskins</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the last several months, my wineskins have cracked. The selfishness with which I approach being at home, the laziness with which I approach relationships with roommates, the uneasiness and doubt with which I react to uncertainty- these things have all burst open. I can always tell that my wineskins are breaking when I get anxious and disorganized. There have been a lot of tears and a lot of questions. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the same time, I have seen God pour new wine in. He has shown me how willing He is to help me love Him. He has shown me all of the ways in which I really don't have faith in His willingness to step in and build His own Kingdom, and posed the question: "What if you trusted me here?" </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Our Wineskins</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I believe that FOCUS is going through a similar process right now. And why wouldn't we be? A global pandemic, an election year, political tensions, online schooling...the list goes on. Some of us are wiser and more experienced than others, but none of us has been through something like this before. Because of that, we are working to form new wineskins for our outreach, our discipleship, our teaching, our mentoring, and our worship. It's exciting and exhausting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Your Wineskins</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm certain that you've had the experience of a bursting wineskin before, and I know there's a fair chance that this year has brought that experience with it. If you feel like you're having that kind of experience right now and need someone to talk to about it, please email me, text me, call me, or message me on Facebook. I would love to listen.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Thank You</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm so grateful to everyone who has continued to pray for our ministry and to support us financially this year. Your generosity has been a stabilizing force for us, and it has not gone unnoticed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Prayer</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Please pray for wisdom, guidance, unity and pureness of heart for our staff as we plan for this year. </li><li>Please pray for hope and joy for our students.</li><li>Please pray for new students at UTD (and at all of our campuses) to find Christian community. </li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jn-vNP1jYcU/Xxi7al24WfI/AAAAAAAAA1U/WwPgfAP-udAJCLR5J89OEk0hwigqWIL8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2019-2020%2BStudent%2BTestimony%2BJuly-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1781" height="781" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jn-vNP1jYcU/Xxi7al24WfI/AAAAAAAAA1U/WwPgfAP-udAJCLR5J89OEk0hwigqWIL8gCLcBGAsYHQ/w680-h781/2019-2020%2BStudent%2BTestimony%2BJuly-01.png" width="680" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div>Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-35455652584341828342020-05-19T10:40:00.001-07:002020-05-19T10:40:41.398-07:00Smorgasblog<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of my roommates- Mark and David- spending time with God and each other in a tree in our front yard. David is over six feet tall, so he's basically a tree already.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Blessed is the one</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-1-1" style="position: relative;">who does not walk in step with the wicked</span></div>
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or stand in the way that sinners take</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-1-1" style="position: relative;">or sit in the company of mockers,</span></div>
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but whose delight is in the law of the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>,</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-1-2" style="position: relative;">and who meditates on his law day and night.</span></div>
</span><span class="text Ps-1-3" id="en-NIV-13943" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="display: inline; font-size: 1.2rem; font-weight: 700; left: -4.4em; line-height: normal; position: absolute; text-align: center; top: auto; vertical-align: text-top;">3 </span><div style="text-align: center;">
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-1-3" style="position: relative;">which yields its fruit in season</span></div>
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and whose leaf does not wither—</div>
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<span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-1-3" style="position: relative;">whatever they do prospers."</span></div>
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<span class="text Ps-1-3" style="position: relative;">Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Trying to decide what to write my blog about today was very difficult. In some ways, the last month has felt like forever, and in other ways, the last two months have felt like one day that's overstaying its welcome. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do I write about the many phone calls with students, some of whom are thriving, some of whom are struggling? Do I write about the staff book club I'm in, and what we've learned about spiritual leadership and the letters of John? Do I write about trusting God in difficult times? How about emotional health? Or why not a whole blog on loving our neighbor? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I couldn't decide, so I've made a buffet for you. Read everything, or just try what you're curious about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Nature / Trees</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">A creek near my house that I go to sometimes to make phone calls<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The combination of being stuck at home and having beautiful weather has meant that I spend much more time outside than usual. While I'm not really into camping, and couldn't name a single tree or plant in the picture above, I find that I connect with God best in nature (something I inherited largely from my mother). Lately, I've listened to a Bible Project podcast series on trees (they are astonishingly important to the themes and metaphors of Scripture) and an audiobook called <i>The Hidden Life of Trees </i>by Peter Wohlleben, and have loved getting to learn more about the oak in my front yard and his friends. What's been especially cool is that I've gotten to see how much we can learn from trees in our walk with God. Here are a couple of examples! I think you'll find them really helpful, especially if you often think in analogies. Either way, they just show that God is always much more creative than we give Him credit for. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Trees are much, much more connected than they seem. They communicate through chemicals released to the wind and electrical impulses (also some studies suggest through SOUND somehow), and they share nutrients with one another. If one tree in a forest is struggling (maybe it's getting less sunlight than its counterparts), the other trees will often send water and glucose through their root systems to their hungry neighbor. Often, the same tree will be in need one year, and then decades later be the one helping another tree out. This has made the Biblical idea of the Church being simultaneously many and one, as well as the commands to help the needy resonate on a different level.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Trees are meant to grow slowly. Mature adult trees purposely grow their branches near one another to create a canopy that often allows only 3% of the sunlight available to reach the ground. This "forces" younger saplings to grow slowly. This might seem like a counter-intuitive approach, but it actually makes the young trees grow more a more dense structure, which allows them to withstand things like intense wind more easily. It reminds me of the parable of the seed and the sower from the Gospels, which warns against growing quickly without having good roots in place. We often want to seem more externally mature to people, and it feels like God is teaching us the same lessons over and over again. But maybe He knows exactly what He's doing in this, and Biblical writers knew what they were doing when they urged their readers to be patient and steadfast. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Contentment and Thankfulness</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I've had a couple of conversations with my friend / mentor / boss Brandon Worsham in which he has pointed out to me the vitality of being grateful and content in what God is doing in my life right now, rather than just wishing I were in a different season. In response to this, I bought one of the cheapest voice recorders I could find on Amazon, and have made it a discipline to use it to record the things I'm thankful to God for at the end of the day. It's hard to count all of the blessings that God gives me each day, and it's crazy that I forget them so easily!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Speaking of thankfulness, I just wanted to say how amazingly grateful I am for all of my donors who have chosen to continue supporting me in a time of uncertainty. You all mean a lot to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Livestreaming Lots of Stuff</b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Brandon interviews Darby about waiting in the Lord at a summer FOCUS service.<br />I'm so grateful to know these two people!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Adam Chaibainou (an incoming apprentice and a friend of mine!) shares about what he's seen God doing this year in FOCUS</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I've had the privilege of being on the team that handles the tech side of our live-streamed services. We use two platforms, which allows our students to see a sermon and participate in worship with slides and lyrics while also seeing each other's faces and discussing the topic in a video call. It's been so cool to see that God isn't limited by our distance from one another. Go to twitch.tv/utdfocus to see the services! They're live at 7:30pm on Thursdays :)</span><br />
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<br />Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-35791361110856261182020-04-21T12:28:00.001-07:002020-04-22T13:02:01.458-07:00My First Ministry Vlog!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello! In light of the fact that the video call is having a heyday in 2020, I wanted to try something new and do a vlog instead of a normal blog. I hope you enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As always, thank you so much to everyone who supports me in ministry :)</span></div>
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Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-90165302509617016522020-02-27T15:10:00.001-08:002020-02-27T15:10:37.195-08:00Jesus<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g-XdqvmFQRs/XlhEixGh4FI/AAAAAAAAAto/rCSqcytf1nsHz74eS6jPQNgrv7hwNHlZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_20200124_224806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g-XdqvmFQRs/XlhEixGh4FI/AAAAAAAAAto/rCSqcytf1nsHz74eS6jPQNgrv7hwNHlZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_20200124_224806.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I don't know why, and I don't know how, but a lot of people ended up wearing their shoes on their heads at a recent outreach event. </span></td></tr>
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"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, t</div>
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author and perfecter of our faith,</div>
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who for the joy set before him e</div>
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the cross, scorning its shame, </div>
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and sat down at the right hand </div>
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of the throne of God."</div>
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Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)</div>
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"I want to know Christ — </div>
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yes, to know the power of his resurrection </div>
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and participation in his sufferings, </div>
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becoming like him in his death, </div>
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and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."</div>
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Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV)</div>
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For the last few months, I've felt a push from God to look at Jesus more. At first, this feels like a "duh" kind of idea. Of course I'm supposed to look at Jesus! But looking more intently at Him has led me to the realization that I often miss out on genuinely and intently focusing my eyes on Jesus. I think we often look at Christ in a general, remember-that-Jesus-exists kind of way, but rarely in a energy-taking and energy-giving, personal, open kind of way. </div>
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Re-reading the Gospels and being introduced to others' thoughts about Jesus (<i>The Life of Jesus </i>by James Stalker<i> and The Jesus I Never Knew </i>by Philip Yancey being two highlights<i>) </i>has unstuck me from my thought patterns and comfortable approaches to ministry in a lot of ways. Too often I model my ministry based on Christian ideas and morals rather than on the actual teachings and methods of Jesus. </div>
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<b>Some Pictures</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7eCvjGYY4I/XlhIiOoS4zI/AAAAAAAAAt4/ZO8FfMUFqEca5OEpkzERSQNd59e4GR4bgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200203185658380_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7eCvjGYY4I/XlhIiOoS4zI/AAAAAAAAAt4/ZO8FfMUFqEca5OEpkzERSQNd59e4GR4bgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200203185658380_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul is one of the student leaders who I have the pleasure of being with and mentoring this year. He's super funny, charismatic, and makes so many sacrifices for the Kingdom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ns3pkQynsbY/XlhIijiyf_I/AAAAAAAAAuE/ntAeegjKOQc0WEbV10S-rN7Z-jrVyCDbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200206114029756_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ns3pkQynsbY/XlhIijiyf_I/AAAAAAAAAuE/ntAeegjKOQc0WEbV10S-rN7Z-jrVyCDbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200206114029756_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josiah is one of the guys I meet with this year, and not only is he well on his way to a PHD (despite being 22 years old), he's also amazingly forgiving, wise, and humble.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9JIO3GBfgY/XlhIiOXVyhI/AAAAAAAAAuA/P-ulFTE78PM6klsOrDT8pflq-NJQHUdXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200203185655826_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W9JIO3GBfgY/XlhIiOXVyhI/AAAAAAAAAuA/P-ulFTE78PM6klsOrDT8pflq-NJQHUdXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00100lrPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200203185655826_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke leads a small group with Paul. Having two apostles leading the same small group really is a blessing :). Also, he's incredibly smart, musically gifted, and has a level of commitment and pastoral wisdom that's extremely rare in guys his age.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the cover of my first album! It's an short (25 minute) exploration of what it looks like to walk with God while going through the ups and downs of life. Look up Follow the River on the music-listening service of your choice and give it a listen :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The foot is mine. The rest is my friend Akwasi. He was in FOCUS when he was my age (he's like...90 now), and his friendship pushes me to take myself less seriously and take Christ in more gratefully.</td></tr>
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<b>Showcase</b></div>
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Our annual fundraiser / concert / art sale / extravaganza for the Student Institute of Campus Ministry is THIS Saturday the 29th! I highly, highly recommend going- this show is always a blast, and it goes towards sending students to a week of training on how to disciple peoples in college. That week of classes has led to SO much fruit in my life over the last 6 years, so it's a cause that I really believe in. More info at anyfocus.org/showcase!</div>
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Also, thank you so much to everyone who prays for and gives to my ministry on campus. You are all such a blessing to me.</div>
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<br />Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-18640001534611230712020-01-21T16:22:00.002-08:002020-01-21T16:22:25.843-08:00Psalms, Pstudents, and Psermons<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nMYN5kNICOE/XieG8jJnj3I/AAAAAAAAAp0/GtxncVEHkd0JzBaHF2uTt_uz41ftJIEOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_20200119_211319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nMYN5kNICOE/XieG8jJnj3I/AAAAAAAAAp0/GtxncVEHkd0JzBaHF2uTt_uz41ftJIEOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_20200119_211319.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture from one of the worship sessions at Winter Camp this year. Our students and staff did a phenomenal job preparing for worship, and it was so cool to see our students proclaim truths about God with so much engagement and energy!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Endow the king with your justice, O God,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">the royal son with your righteousness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">May he judge your people in righteousness,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">your afflicted ones with justice."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalm 72:1-2 (NIV)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Instead of a single devotional thought at the beginning of my blog this month, I've interspersed some thoughts throughout my updates. I hope they're encouraging to you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">During the Advent season this year, I had the pleasure of getting to speak to my church's teen ministry about the story of Jesus' birth, and of getting to write a Sunday sermon on how we respond to the advent of Christ in our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We just finished our annual Winter Camp, and it was such a cool experience! For those of you who aren't familiar with FOCUS's winter camp, here's the general structure: 600 or so students from 12+ college campuses in the DFW area come together from Friday night to the Monday morning of MLK Day, and they worship together, learn together, and spend time with other believers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This year, our topic was the Psalms. Our goal was to help our students engage with this book in a way that helps them see it as a rich source of wisdom and direction for prayer, rather than a source of confusion. (</span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9phNEaPrv8 for an awesome overview of the decisions that the Biblical authors made in compiling the Psalms!) The teaching sessions focused on:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalm 1's call to heed God's instruction in the path we choose for ourselves</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalms of remembrance, and the importance of choosing to look at how God has acted in our lives in the past</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalms of anger and lament, and how important it is for us to pour our hearts out to God in prayer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Messianic Psalms, and how they connect us to Israel's history, point us to Christ and urge us to pray hopefully for Christ's return</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Psalm 119 and its example of what it looks like for a believer to love God's Word</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I had the pleasure of getting to speak on the Messianic Psalms- a task that pushed me to learn so much more about the richness of that subgenre of Scripture than I had known in the past. The Bible shows God's faithfulness in SUCH rich and staggering ways!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Also, I got to see people embrace following Christ in some pretty concrete decisions for their personal lives at Winter Camp, which was so encouraging!</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2kqYmeOPco/XieUQ__c2ZI/AAAAAAAAAqA/nWQTkQ6s96YfoBmNS2EfEkwm-FhsbBPmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_20200114_193909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z2kqYmeOPco/XieUQ__c2ZI/AAAAAAAAAqA/nWQTkQ6s96YfoBmNS2EfEkwm-FhsbBPmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_20200114_193909.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">We had such a successful board game night and met so many students last week!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Although much of our outreach occurs during the first few weeks of the fall semester, we also make a concerted effort to meet students at the beginning of the spring semester. Transfer students and international students often find themselves stepping onto a campus where all of the friend groups have already solidified, and student life isn't doing anything to help them make new friends. On top of that, there are a lot of freshmen who have spent a semester without friends or in the wrong friend group and are ready to search for different people to go through life with and different decisions to make. This year, we've had a lot of success in meeting students and inviting them into our small groups!</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pray for wisdom as we look at potential students to invite to the Student Institute of Campus Ministry, a campus ministry leadership conference we participate in every year that's immensely important when it comes to giving our students a vision for building God's Kingdom while in school.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pray for our cores (small groups) to grow in commitment to Christ and intimacy of fellowship with one another.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Pray for guidance as we enter a new sermon series on how to think like a Christian.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">As always, thank you SO much to everyone who prays for me and supports me financially!</span></div>
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<br />Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-60005627978485737322019-11-30T20:14:00.002-08:002019-11-30T20:14:44.975-08:00Fear would be a good word for it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSECM38hl4w/XeM4Mfs9xmI/AAAAAAAAAmg/IBWV8i_VFWgJEE9hRD9ooeQEdeDLNjJxwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot_20191126-161040%257E2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="1600" height="366" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSECM38hl4w/XeM4Mfs9xmI/AAAAAAAAAmg/IBWV8i_VFWgJEE9hRD9ooeQEdeDLNjJxwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Screenshot_20191126-161040%257E2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shot of the horizon at UTD. More on why I put this picture here below!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />"Whoever watches the wind will not plant;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you do not know the path of the wind,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so you cannot understand the work of God,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the Maker of all things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sow your seed in the morning,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and at evening let your hands not be idle,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for you do not know which will succeed,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> whether this or that,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or whether both will do equally well."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ecclesiastes 11:4-6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">harvesting where you have not sown </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and gathering where you have not scattered seed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See, here is what belongs to you.’"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matthew 25:24-25</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lately, I've had the feeling that something was holding me back from engaging with God, with people, and with the tasks I have in front of me. I've gotten the sense from God (and been told by friends) that the best thing I could do in this situation was to choose not to focus on my own inner concerns, but to focus on two things: to understand and love Him and to give love and nurturing to others. Ironically enough, the one prayer that I've prayed the most in the past 3 years has been to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love people like Jesus did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I decided to try to focus on that, rather than attempting to solve my problems through introspection (a favorite pastime of mine). Instead of focusing on how I should pray, I began to focus on going back to the drawing board for a richer understanding of who Jesus is. Instead of focusing on how I should love, I began to focus on who was around me and what their needs were. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, I found myself alone in a car for two hours on a rainy night this week, driving to a Thanksgiving gathering. Finally, in some time with God in the car, I got some clarity on the situation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The common thread holding me back from engaging with God, people, tasks, goals, and presence was fear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of letting the guys I meet with arrive at the end of the year unchanged. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of slipping into old attitudes and habits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of wasting a meeting, a sermon, a blog, or even a semester. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of falling back into anxiety.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of drifting away from God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of God turning away from me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of letting someone down. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fear of getting in trouble for letting someone down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was reminded of 1 John 4:16-18- "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wherever you feel fear regarding a situation or a person, there could be a tangible opportunity to push yourself toward love and toward action. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A few important notes.</b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It hit me again during Thanksgiving break just how much I have to be grateful for. God has blessed me in too many ways to count. A specific thank-you to everyone who supports me in ministry through prayer, conversation, and donations. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing to be grateful for: UTD FOCUS has had a handful of baptisms in the last couple of weeks!</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As you may have already heard, December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, and FOCUS is going to be raising donations for our annual Keep FOCUS Growing fundraiser. This year, our theme for KFG is Bring the Horizon. This comes from the idea that the horizon is where heaven meets earth. When we think of the horizons for FOCUS, we think of more students from more people groups on more campuses hearing about God in a more meaningful and effective way. As FOCUS seeks to reach more campuses in the DFW Metroplex and send out more missionaries onto those campuses, we find ourselves in more and more need for financial support. This year, we've raised $36,000 in matching funds, so please mark your calendar for December 3rd and give on anyfocus.org/KFG!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While filming a promo video for KFG, I dropped my phone from the fifth story of a parking garage, and somehow, it didn't break! Praise God for that!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pictures</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k0TfjqqrB70/XeM6a_1Eo3I/AAAAAAAAAms/hiSgdkRiIvwCecWVImybD2bw2Kgyj-jTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screenshot_20191126-161013%257E2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="911" data-original-width="1600" height="364" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k0TfjqqrB70/XeM6a_1Eo3I/AAAAAAAAAms/hiSgdkRiIvwCecWVImybD2bw2Kgyj-jTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Screenshot_20191126-161013%257E2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul and Luke are two guys in my peer team. Paul (left) is on staff at his church and a leader in FOCUS, in addition to working separate jobs in social media advertising. He's incredibly hardworking, and I don't think I've ever heard him complain. Luke (right) hopes to serve God in the medical field and is mature well beyond his years. Both of these guys are enormously insightful into scripture and into the guys in their core.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVPprY7eSfk/XeM7FS_QRBI/AAAAAAAAAm0/Sg7hJ33A5VUWvmUwTDEa-dQodEZjJ7RUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00000IMG_00000_BURST20191113185725961_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVPprY7eSfk/XeM7FS_QRBI/AAAAAAAAAm0/Sg7hJ33A5VUWvmUwTDEa-dQodEZjJ7RUwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00000IMG_00000_BURST20191113185725961_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Josh. He's not actually as serious as he looks in this photo. I've gotten the privilege of meeting with him for 3 out of his 4 years of college. He's bold, tender, wise, and uncomfortably intelligent, and God has done some awesome things in him and through him in his time at UTD.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew is new to my peer team this year. He's generous, wise, funny, and unique, and he loves God's Word. Also, you can tell by the way this picture is taken from below that he's pretty tall.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwPIl5-W1LI/XeM8Ey0bVDI/AAAAAAAAAnE/JiE52W4_7TQ8-lIOOs9F3wYXN_3HHwo3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191112155300753_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwPIl5-W1LI/XeM8Ey0bVDI/AAAAAAAAAnE/JiE52W4_7TQ8-lIOOs9F3wYXN_3HHwo3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191112155300753_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">I didn't know Tim very well before this year, but he is leading a small group with my friend Jack, and I've gotten to know him quite a bit better this year. He's smart, insightful, and fierce in his work ethic and love for others. He's killing it in that dress shirt.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FeOn7eOFO1Q/XeM8tLyEgEI/AAAAAAAAAnM/0iHxKLLl-EcegWLeTZxBhDTC4ZedZ70OACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191108154130932_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FeOn7eOFO1Q/XeM8tLyEgEI/AAAAAAAAAnM/0iHxKLLl-EcegWLeTZxBhDTC4ZedZ70OACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191108154130932_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">John has been my roommate for the last 3 semesters, and he's in my peer team this year. On top of that, he's quickly becoming a good friend of mine. He has a natural intuition and love of Scripture (plus a heart to grow in that), a totally out-of-left-field sense of humor (he's had me rolling on the ground in laughter multiple times), and a loyal, teachable heart. On top of that, he's grown so much in using his gifts to love and minister to others.</td></tr>
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Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-64596310195245011322019-10-25T09:33:00.003-07:002019-10-25T09:33:48.588-07:00Limp Wrist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIHHySOCJII/XbMX0zM00II/AAAAAAAAAk4/CpyamufOrggh8XlEo9G_cEgtOZQGVDnxQCEwYBhgL/s1600/10248frm_feb1bc58642b541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="600" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aIHHySOCJII/XbMX0zM00II/AAAAAAAAAk4/CpyamufOrggh8XlEo9G_cEgtOZQGVDnxQCEwYBhgL/s640/10248frm_feb1bc58642b541.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God reaching out to Adam (representing mankind) in the Creation of Adam section of the Sistine Chapel.</td></tr>
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“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;</div>
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I was found by those who did not seek me.</div>
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To a nation that did not call on my name,</div>
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I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’</div>
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All day long I have held out my hands</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to an obstinate people,</div>
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who walk in ways not good,</div>
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pursuing their own imaginations..."</div>
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<b>God to the Israelites; Isaiah 65:1-2 (NIV)</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'</div>
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Jesus replied, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'</div>
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'No,' said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.'</div>
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Jesus answered, </div>
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'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'</div>
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'Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, </div>
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'not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!'</div>
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Jesus answered, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
their whole body is clean. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And you are clean, though not every one of you.'"</div>
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<b>Jesus washes Peter's feet; John 13:6-10 (NIV)</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. </div>
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If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Jesus to the Church in Laodicea; Revelation 3:20 (NIV)</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"God doesn't clean His fish before He catches them."</div>
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<b>From a song I heard, and also from an embroidered</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>pillow someone was selling on Facebook.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
God has been using a handful of Bible verses, conversations, pieces of art, and times of prayer to point something out to me: <b>repentance is relational.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Some of the Bible's strongest calls to repentance are followed closely by some of its strongest calls to approach God. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Recently, I gave a sermon on unity in the Church, and the Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel (pictured above) spoke to me a lot. In the picture, God is reaching desperately out to Adam (literally reaching out from heaven towards mankind, straining towards them), and Adam is relaxing like a lazy Roman king eating his dinner, draping a limp hand back out towards God. It hit me as a call to reflect on all the things God has done in history and in my life to reach His hands out to me, and all of the ways I have neglected to grab ahold of His hand. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Perhaps the first step to repentance is often to repent of the way we see God. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What I've Been Up To</b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Peer team- getting to meet with, be friends with, mentor, and pursue God with 12 different student leaders this year has been a huge blessing and challenge. More on that below!</li>
<li>Core visits- Each pair of these student leaders facilitates a different core (small group), and I've gotten to visit each of these small groups over the last few weeks. Seeing what God is doing and getting to share the experience He's given me in that area (you become "the experienced one" quickly when the turnover rate is 3 or 4 years) has been awesome</li>
<li>FOCUS on Jesus videos- I've had the privilege of filming training videos for our new 1-1 Bible study. These videos will loosely guide hundreds or even thousands of students over the next several years as they study the Bible with their peers. Many thanks to Laurence Glenesk over at SMU FOCUS for writing the new study!</li>
<li>Preaching at Tuesday Night Fellowship- I've gotten to preach every other week at our large-group meetings on Tuesdays. This has grown me a lot in trust and time-management. Also, it's definitely pushed me to grow in public speaking.</li>
<li>Marketing- I've loved getting to oversee our awesome 3-person marketing team at UTD. Our goal is that no student has to graduate without having heard of a Christian community on campus- we want to be a visible community of Christ for our peers to see around them. This has involved video commercials, banners, yard signs, Instagram posts, etc.. Many thanks to Ashley and Maria (two of our apprentices this year) for all of their creativity and hard work in this area!</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Pics</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5gH68AEFv8/XbMXzgAwJXI/AAAAAAAAAlA/mWgdD-RA2WkWQcOSxBKHu3YNNKTTWvcSQCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190925115814821_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5gH68AEFv8/XbMXzgAwJXI/AAAAAAAAAlA/mWgdD-RA2WkWQcOSxBKHu3YNNKTTWvcSQCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190925115814821_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student named Corbett who is an alma mater of my old highschool, Coram Deo Academy. Getting to be friends with someone who is in the same spot I was in 5 or 6 years ago is such a cool opportunity :) Love you, dude!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QsCe3g9N6mY/XbMXzj5RRLI/AAAAAAAAAk0/136IaDo4m40VBoKXl2__OjSsL44IuFlGQCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191004121255504_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QsCe3g9N6mY/XbMXzj5RRLI/AAAAAAAAAk0/136IaDo4m40VBoKXl2__OjSsL44IuFlGQCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191004121255504_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashley Obregon- UTD apprentice, Christian Instagram influencer, all-around godly woman. It's been great working with her this year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mywIrvgsNTA/XbMXzmWn2PI/AAAAAAAAAlA/ZxexrtRwJXIVxb2GTWudRnKcNKiraKeaACEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191015161324262_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mywIrvgsNTA/XbMXzmWn2PI/AAAAAAAAAlA/ZxexrtRwJXIVxb2GTWudRnKcNKiraKeaACEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191015161324262_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Steele- two years in a row in my peer team. Jack is one of the most generous young men I've met, and I've seen him grow in confidence and pastoral thinking so much over the last 16 months or so!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2QJMn_vQpg/XbMX0giIa5I/AAAAAAAAAlI/5SpH_JrPHPI1Nmgz4CI04MjpoVcCEIrFACEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191021134156910_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2QJMn_vQpg/XbMX0giIa5I/AAAAAAAAAlI/5SpH_JrPHPI1Nmgz4CI04MjpoVcCEIrFACEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191021134156910_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jalen Quintana- UTA staff member, and the first person I ever led a small group with. This is a terrible picture of him, but I know he won't mind. He has the spiritual gifts of evangelism, wisdom, and laughter. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tCl-bUiJayY/XbMX08ez1JI/AAAAAAAAAk4/f7YYAEopOuo-SJPDKr7A7e51hCbBIt94gCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191022214905391_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tCl-bUiJayY/XbMX08ez1JI/AAAAAAAAAk4/f7YYAEopOuo-SJPDKr7A7e51hCbBIt94gCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20191022214905391_COVER.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie was an honorary member of my peer team last year, and now he's leading a core! He's been so influential in bringing people from different interest clubs at UTD to FOCUS, and he brings a sharpness and energy that I value so much. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-all88irsxL8/XbMX1Xn_iCI/AAAAAAAAAlM/eetyCDlLUTso-SVv0Jz0I-eU4jz8xVevwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20190922_090140-02.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-all88irsxL8/XbMX1Xn_iCI/AAAAAAAAAlM/eetyCDlLUTso-SVv0Jz0I-eU4jz8xVevwCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_20190922_090140-02.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our students at Fall Camp! We had such a good time this year learning about making and sticking with decisions in our walks with God.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8ITLrIjI5M/XbMX1jJuKlI/AAAAAAAAAk8/adjf4vsbgZkAExph3FHDD8QgP5PLlanaACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20191020_213927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b8ITLrIjI5M/XbMX1jJuKlI/AAAAAAAAAk8/adjf4vsbgZkAExph3FHDD8QgP5PLlanaACEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_20191020_213927.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my core visits this year turned into us waiting out a tornado in a garage (which I now know was maybe not our best option). Everyone was safe!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIfoZNI97ug/XbMX1wtO0ZI/AAAAAAAAAlY/OxL1mj-LVvkutnnq8aWltkvXLLAnro87gCEwYBhgL/s1600/MVIMG_20190930_174254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIfoZNI97ug/XbMX1wtO0ZI/AAAAAAAAAlY/OxL1mj-LVvkutnnq8aWltkvXLLAnro87gCEwYBhgL/s640/MVIMG_20190930_174254.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Bunyard- a friend, roommate, and peer team guy. He has a dry sense of humor that has had me rolling on the floor laughing, but I've also been floored by his insight into Scripture and into people. Definitely wise beyond his years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YuL_0mgfIKA/XbMX1kXHjII/AAAAAAAAAk4/MAWGlL5MDDsQozPygsWO006pMaThzw4bQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_4507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YuL_0mgfIKA/XbMX1kXHjII/AAAAAAAAAk4/MAWGlL5MDDsQozPygsWO006pMaThzw4bQCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_4507.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently, bracelet-making is the favorite activity of males at camps.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s52W0HVf9O4/XbMYIewQMoI/AAAAAAAAAlU/C_HgK8v4bGkPoJlKFRtcRFiGkjeA1YpiwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Screenshot_20191025-103329%2B%25282%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1600" height="362" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s52W0HVf9O4/XbMYIewQMoI/AAAAAAAAAlU/C_HgK8v4bGkPoJlKFRtcRFiGkjeA1YpiwCEwYBhgL/s640/Screenshot_20191025-103329%2B%25282%2529.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our community put on a small surprise birthday party for David Maynard (you can guess where he is in this picture) at Braum's. David has impacted as many people in this community as anyone I can think of, so it was well-deserved.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Prayer</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>We are re-integrating our Tuesday Night Fellowship with our Friday Night Fellowship to redirect more staff hours away from event-planning and towards time with students. Please pray that this would lead to fruit in our community.</li>
<li>Please pray for the victims of the tornado in the Garland area.</li>
<li>Please pray for our busy students and staff to walk in step with God and be at peace.</li>
<li>We have a lot of students who aren't Christians, but who have shown interest in learning more about the Bible. Pray for us to be faithful in loving them and showing them who Jesus is.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1snBAU9OdA/XbMX2eGN8WI/AAAAAAAAAlE/2EI3J8yiqxMmrgKMyGkenoel6vDqVkqewCEwYBhgL/s1600/October%2BStudent%2BTestimony-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1392" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1snBAU9OdA/XbMX2eGN8WI/AAAAAAAAAlE/2EI3J8yiqxMmrgKMyGkenoel6vDqVkqewCEwYBhgL/s640/October%2BStudent%2BTestimony-01.png" width="556" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-24875177412868016312019-09-10T09:04:00.001-07:002019-09-10T09:04:09.808-07:00I Have Come That They May Have Life<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IFW_Qebsr-o/XXe62Alcf1I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/zYDJt0DnQz4IMsLfcmlohet0YDlbNrPBgCLcBGAs/s1600/MVIMG_20190816_195817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IFW_Qebsr-o/XXe62Alcf1I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/zYDJt0DnQz4IMsLfcmlohet0YDlbNrPBgCLcBGAs/s640/MVIMG_20190816_195817.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">John 10:10 (NIV)</span><br /><br /><div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
Have you ever, as a child (or as an adult), realized that you don't know your parents as well as you had thought you did? That you don't know what they were like as your age, or how they interacted with <i>their</i> parents, or what they used to want to be when they grew up, or what is on their mind on any given day? </div>
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The things most central to our lives can be easiest to take for granted. I think that's true for us as Christians, too. </div>
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Why do some Christians seem bored of Jesus by the time they arrive to UTD as freshmen?</div>
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Why do other Christians reach their 70s, 80s, and 90s and seem more in love with- and more mystified by- Jesus than ever before?</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
Two words come to mind: "wonder" and "experience." Put more simply, God wants to turn our dead periods into living question marks and exclamation points. </div>
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<div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
Lately, God has led me to the conviction that I don't <i>get</i> Jesus to the extent that I think I do. I don't feel like He is saying this from a place of condemnation, but from a place of invitation. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
He is inviting me to ask why Paul could be nearing the end of his painful and fruitful ministry and reflect that he wants to "<i>know Christ, </i><span style="text-align: center;">—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10, emphasis mine). He's also inviting me to reflect on what it looks like to experience Christ's death and resurrection in my own life.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;">When Jesus talks about being the "life," when John refers to Jesus as bringing life and being full of life, what does that <i>actually </i>mean? </span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">
I have thoughts, but I'll let you comment your thoughts to this question :)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What has been happening?</span></b></div>
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Sometimes, when I have a particularly long day or week, I'll journal everything that happened in bullet-point form so I can get it all down on paper. So here's an information dump of some things that have happened!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul style="font-size: medium;">
<li>We got new apprentices at UTD! I'll have pictures of them later on, but for now, their names are Maria, Cort, Kylie, Hanna Mason, Hannah Diaz, Ashley, and Erin. They've done great work on campus already, and I'm loving getting to work with them.</li>
<li>We had quite possibly our most successful Welcome Week to date! So much cool stuff happened. I've gotten to see so many freshmen get several close Christian friends, come to their first Christian event, pray for the first time, and begin to study the Bible for the first time. </li>
<li>We've gotten to try a lot more outreach geared towards international students and minority groups on campus. Our goal is for FOCUS to match the ethnic makeup of the campuses we're on, and for it to begin to reflect the heart for diverse people-groups that you see in Exodus, Isaiah, Mark, Acts, and Revelation (really, everywhere). We worked on an event with several other Christian organizations called the Big Howdy, in which hundreds and hundreds of international students (primarily from India and China) got invited into Christian community and experienced Christian hospitality. 400+ international students filled out interest cards at this event and were contacted individually by our students. We did an event for Latin-American students called the LatinXplosion, where 80 students (most of whom had never been to a FOCUS event) came, experienced the love and hospitality of Jesus, and were invited into our community. We did a worship and bubble-tea night for Asians and Asian-Americans where several Korean and Chinese students heard the Gospel for the first time, and a handful have stuck around! What's been really cool has been seeing our Latin-American and Asian-American students and staff taking ownership of these events and thriving in this environment. </li>
<li>One of our apprentices, Ashley, has begun running our Instagram page, and she has done an amazing job! Using social media in this way has allowed us to reach so many students we otherwise wouldn't be able to reach. </li>
<li>The first few weeks of school were amazing, but they were tough. I had a lot of 14-15 hour work days back-to-back (as did the rest of our staff at UTD). I sprained my ankle at a field day event I was helping run, and ended up being on crutches for the next two days. My car was hit by a truck and totaled a couple of weeks ago. </li>
<li> God has been good through all of this. I've gotten time to rest more recently, my ankle healed much more quickly than it should have (also my roommate just happened to have crutches that weren't his at our house), and God (and my parents) helped me find a Prius that will hopefully safe me a lot of money on gas and repairs. Praise Him!</li>
<li>We're currently in a sermon series on our theme for the year, which is Steadfast. The sermon series examines what it means to be steadfast (in love, in truth, in sacrifice), how God is steadfast, and how we can reflect His steadfastness in our lives.</li>
<li>There's a guy on the phone next to me yelling on the phone about business, and it's making it hard to focus on writing this blog. You'll figure out whether the total was $750,000 or not, sir. I just know it.</li>
<li>I've begun to co-lead our Tuesday Night Fellowship nights with Sarah Glenesk, another staff member (who I joke is my older sister, because of how nice and mean she is to me depending on the day). It's been <i>so</i> cool getting to work a fellowship night in a more intimate setting (60 people instead of 200). </li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Pictures</span></b></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgpN1ymkIBE/XXe62Ya9POI/AAAAAAAAAiw/jG8VuhAzPTQ3ux5iW35EaVU9FRr8LelRwCEwYBhgL/s1600/ben%2Baddiction.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1368" height="332" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgpN1ymkIBE/XXe62Ya9POI/AAAAAAAAAiw/jG8VuhAzPTQ3ux5iW35EaVU9FRr8LelRwCEwYBhgL/s640/ben%2Baddiction.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Students from several Christian organizations on campus being led in benediction at an event called United Worship</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps_ub-fjK9w/XXe61MpoRMI/AAAAAAAAAig/mRyMcWt1uegC8icOLdek6OVIflGTOuoMACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_4125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps_ub-fjK9w/XXe61MpoRMI/AAAAAAAAAig/mRyMcWt1uegC8icOLdek6OVIflGTOuoMACEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_4125.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Students leading worship at our firsts Tuesday Night Fellowship</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvG8tMf_Yvc/XXe61XzgruI/AAAAAAAAAik/bz-MUyCNvJ8G-FudPkKbDFzMN2sr3JWYwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_4127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uvG8tMf_Yvc/XXe61XzgruI/AAAAAAAAAik/bz-MUyCNvJ8G-FudPkKbDFzMN2sr3JWYwCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_4127.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Students worshipping at our first Tuesday Night Fellowship.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lix437NVzz4/XXe6yz0KrOI/AAAAAAAAAiw/UlMJXj16IV4Oxw087EzdNjjAyPUJawFYwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_20190828_214233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lix437NVzz4/XXe6yz0KrOI/AAAAAAAAAiw/UlMJXj16IV4Oxw087EzdNjjAyPUJawFYwCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_20190828_214233.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">My Hyundai Elantra, which is now advertising for FOCUS in a junkyard somewhere in Texas. Truly a city on a hill. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwTGv4lQ8ds/XXe62R25D4I/AAAAAAAAAis/I9EvRyVCqx8UH2tNPzffMMhAWd_jsOceACEwYBhgL/s1600/MVIMG_20190820_210127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwTGv4lQ8ds/XXe62R25D4I/AAAAAAAAAis/I9EvRyVCqx8UH2tNPzffMMhAWd_jsOceACEwYBhgL/s640/MVIMG_20190820_210127.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A bunch of students at our Latin Xplosion event! We played Loteria, and it was a blast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Keep scrolling to find out what's going on in this pic!<br />(See what I did there? Now you have to keep reading)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUMcHiHK7kU/XXe6xwp2SfI/AAAAAAAAAiw/mDURB6uWUlgegyBBYPFi6PQRs09G6QS6QCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190824171838710_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUMcHiHK7kU/XXe6xwp2SfI/AAAAAAAAAiw/mDURB6uWUlgegyBBYPFi6PQRs09G6QS6QCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190824171838710_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Akwasi, one of my best friends. He's a huge source of encouragement and creativity in my life, as well as a constant reminder of God's goodness.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TKeVavm1V_4/XXe6xtzxZ9I/AAAAAAAAAio/JZN-XHjxl_c0cr1XXQVzflUF41U_MpQsACEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190823205824021_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TKeVavm1V_4/XXe6xtzxZ9I/AAAAAAAAAio/JZN-XHjxl_c0cr1XXQVzflUF41U_MpQsACEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190823205824021_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Henry Pham- a student who came up in our Richland ministry and is about to graduate from UTD! He's wearing my glasses in this picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HgJViA4biDg/XXe6w7T4pRI/AAAAAAAAAio/JubUaq9kiC0Fd8_VHe0EBpR3C3jI8OwagCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190814185330259_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HgJViA4biDg/XXe6w7T4pRI/AAAAAAAAAio/JubUaq9kiC0Fd8_VHe0EBpR3C3jI8OwagCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190814185330259_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Cort Thomas is one of our apprentices (our only male apprentice at UTD). He came up through the Dallas Metro Family of Churches (who helped start and fund FOCUS), and has been doing an awesome job this year.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LsfJBw2CwW4/XXe6w-fcKbI/AAAAAAAAAiw/TGpBP60H-HAQ2SRdkW6rGv8ZrO47J1IqgCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190815154128500_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LsfJBw2CwW4/XXe6w-fcKbI/AAAAAAAAAiw/TGpBP60H-HAQ2SRdkW6rGv8ZrO47J1IqgCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190815154128500_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Joshua Marsh was in my core his freshman year, and now he's leading core for the second year in a row. Love this guy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6euJPcXdZtY/XXe6yApk2zI/AAAAAAAAAic/pnyByUc6nsgatkCcwnKX9MQk7L5_TN6HwCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190826164204161_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6euJPcXdZtY/XXe6yApk2zI/AAAAAAAAAic/pnyByUc6nsgatkCcwnKX9MQk7L5_TN6HwCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190826164204161_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Stephen Milian was in my core his freshman year, and now he's the leader of our sound team on Fridays. A huge source of joy and remover of stress in my life. </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTCVBJxz11k/XXe6ySQIfJI/AAAAAAAAAic/Ii92MtKJt9omTbrgmjlxmxjsviDAoOJTwCEwYBhgL/s1600/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190826184351294_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTCVBJxz11k/XXe6ySQIfJI/AAAAAAAAAic/Ii92MtKJt9omTbrgmjlxmxjsviDAoOJTwCEwYBhgL/s640/00100lPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190826184351294_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Alex Crossley is in my peer team for the second year in a row. His incredible hair and sense of style are rivaled only by his unique perspective on life and his genuine pursuit of Jesus. </td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Prayer</span></b><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Pray for our new students to stick to the pursuit of Christ and Christian community that they've begun. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Pray for energy and encouragement for our student leaders and staff.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Pray for our upcoming Fall Camp to go smoothly (no injuries!) and for God to use it to help students see Him and know Him.</span></li>
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<br />Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-81767682688995517802019-07-31T20:53:00.001-07:002019-07-31T20:53:05.125-07:00Who Do You Say I Am?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXuJyu1o_TE/XUJZtT2hO1I/AAAAAAAAAc8/upnJKGOUKVIFeYmmP2rnmCAiEl-fGZa-gCLcBGAs/s1600/67350160_10218193555046511_5078430705873059840_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZXuJyu1o_TE/XUJZtT2hO1I/AAAAAAAAAc8/upnJKGOUKVIFeYmmP2rnmCAiEl-fGZa-gCLcBGAs/s640/67350160_10218193555046511_5078430705873059840_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">People worshipping God at Teen Camp. More on that below.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span class="text Matt-16-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, </span></span></div>
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<span class="text Matt-16-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">he asked his disciples, '<span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Who do people say the Son of Man is?'</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Matt-16-14" id="en-NIV-23687" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23687B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23687B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> </span></span></div>
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<span class="text Matt-16-14" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-23687C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-23687C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Matt-16-15" id="en-NIV-23688" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><b>'</b></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">But what about you?'</span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> he asked. '</span><span class="woj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">Who do you say I am?'</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Matt-16-16" id="en-NIV-23689" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Matthew 16:13-16 (NIV)</span></div>
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Lately, God has been calling me to look at Jesus more.<br />
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Crazy, right?<br />
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But seriously, amidst all of the lessons on prayer, justice, honesty, patience, forgiveness, Law, etc., etc., etc., I find myself forgetting to look at Jesus. Ronnie Worsham, my pastor, my boss's dad, and one of my mentors, often says: "the whole Old Testament is designed to get us to the conclusion: Jesus is Lord." That's so true.<br />
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Recently, I read a book called <i>What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?</i> that explored the historical impacts of Jesus' legacy on human rights, education, and technology. As silly as it sounds, it seems like we really owe much of the rights we take for granted not to technology or philosophy, but to a homeless Jewish man who was given by his own people to be executed.<br />
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How often do I try to become a better person by asking the question: "Who do I feel like I need to be?" rather than by first imagining Jesus asking me the question: "Who do you say I am?"<br />
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<b>Time with Friends</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtVXwRxpvjA/XUJdZG6sIUI/AAAAAAAAAdI/LL7nLddwtLIbSOtEec-u154i6uUGRiI-ACLcBGAs/s1600/66379194_10219991882093285_3848891180888621056_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtVXwRxpvjA/XUJdZG6sIUI/AAAAAAAAAdI/LL7nLddwtLIbSOtEec-u154i6uUGRiI-ACLcBGAs/s640/66379194_10219991882093285_3848891180888621056_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right, me, Peter (lower), Brandon (upper), Austin Nelson, Austin Bailey, David, and Casey. Not pictured is Laurence.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I recently got to drive to Breckenridge, CO with several friends from FOCUS. It was so meaningful to get to spend time with these people. We all have multiple shades of relationship. Brandon is my boss, my mentor, and my friend. He also helped parent me some when I moved out. Peter is a friend, coworker, somewhat a boss, and a landlord. I don't know Austin Nelson very well- we lived together for all of two weeks last year- but he's hilarious and godly. Austin Bailey has been a friend from a different campus for years, and he will be doing the FOCUS apprenticeship at Collin College this year. David just finished his sophomore year, and we got to become much better friends during this trip. He's such a servant to people around him and <i>loves</i> deep conversation. Casey was in my peer team last year and will be a peer team leader this year. He's becoming a good friend. Laurence was my first peer team leader in 2014, and we've been friends since then. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I remember being one of a couple of students who went on a trip with Brandon and Laurence three years ago. It was impactful to me to interact with them as friends. It was just as impactful this year. Nothing says "we're not going to be content to just be coworkers" like piling into a car together for 13 hours...twice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Teen Camp</b></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UOl3VjZyGqw/XUJfxqYvJmI/AAAAAAAAAdU/U93Hrukfc5I8J0d8ZXp159jXlY_j4bx5wCEwYBhgL/s1600/Jesus%2Bslide.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="1080" height="324" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UOl3VjZyGqw/XUJfxqYvJmI/AAAAAAAAAdU/U93Hrukfc5I8J0d8ZXp159jXlY_j4bx5wCEwYBhgL/s640/Jesus%2Bslide.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">When I have longer to prep for a talk, I like to make more engaging slides. When I find out that I'll be speaking to an audience in the age range of 12-18, I need to make more engaging slides. I got to borrow a bunch of construction paper and made slides that displayed the ideas I was talking about. Here's my favorite!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I recently had the honor of getting to go to the annual camp for Christian Teen Fellowship (CTF), which is our church family's teen ministry. I don't think I've ever seen God do as many amazing things in as many amazing people's lives in such a short period of time as I did this past week. People experienced the Spirit for the first time. People forgave one another for bullying. Couples decided to stop dating in order to honor God more- and didn't feel the need to start drama over it. People shared their stories with one another. And most of all- so many people got closer to Jesus and gave more of themselves over to him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sarah Worsham (she directs our UT Arlington campus) and I got to speak to the teens from Wylie over the topic of the Biblical story, and how we are also part of the Biblical story. I got to write a talk about Creation and about Jesus, and they were so rewarding to write and give. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Pray for wisdom in pairing our small-group leaders together. Our small groups (cores) are almost always led by same-gender pairs, and we really want God's guidance in selecting pairs of people who complement one another and work well together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Pray for the incoming freshmen, international students, and transfers at our campuses.</span></li>
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Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-7383131844083492702019-06-25T15:08:00.000-07:002019-06-25T15:08:37.167-07:00Ahhhhh<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our staff eating together at our end-of-year staff dinner. Thank you to Drew Cleveland for letting me steal this picture (he doesn't know I stole it).<br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">"The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.<br />He makes me lie down in green pastures,<br />He leads me beside quiet waters,<br /><i>He refreshes my soul.</i>"<br />- Psalm 23:1-3</span></td></tr>
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Have you ever been out of breath, and had the thought: "This walk to my mailbox sure is tough. I'm out of shape!"<br />
Or have you ever had the opposite experience? I remember when I played basketball in high school, I could go jogging for several minutes before feeling out of breath. It's obviously much harder to get to that place in my old age, but I remember that feeling fondly.<br />
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Something I didn't realize until about 4 minutes ago is that it is very, very difficult to change your lungs' capacity for air. The reason we don't get out of breath when we exercise is that we are training our hearts to more efficiently pump blood (and oxygen) to our organs and muscles.<br />
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This reminds me a lot of our spiritual wellbeing. God has been bringing this quote from Psalm 23 to life for me a lot in the last few months:<br />
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"He refreshes my soul."</blockquote>
From what I've read and heard (I am <i>far</i> from a Hebrew scholar), the word for "soul" here- <i>nephesh</i>- is synonymous with someone's breath, passion, personhood, and being. God has been showing me that, while He gives us countless ways of finding rest and enjoyment in His Creation and in His people, He is ultimately the one who restores our being itself. Rikk Watts says: "Until such a time as we know the I Am, we can never truly <i>be</i>."<br />
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This summer, God has been refreshing and restoring my soul. My time working for FOCUS has been a time of constant transition- I moved houses 4 times in the first year, I've gone from a student to an apprentice to a senior staff member (transitioning between very different campuses each time), and in doing so, I've had the blessing of meeting and getting to know a <i>lot</i> of people. That being said, I've also learned to package my personality so I can get to know those people a lot more, and I've learned to share my sins, hopes, fears, and experiences with God with a lot more people. That grew me a lot, but it also meant that I became exhausted at a soul-level. This summer, God has refreshed the part of me that my capacity for healthy compassion, regret, hope, and sadness comes from. The sure-footed security of Jesus shows me that when we fully entrust ourselves to God- including our identity itself- He stewards our souls better than we ever could (we probably have more of a habit than we realize of out-sourcing the development of our personality and character to our surroundings).<br />
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Now, back to the whole exercise metaphor. I'm pondering- and perhaps you've pondered this too- what it looks like to get in better shape spiritually. To improve our ability to breathe God in when life gets hectic. As I've begun to have more responsibilities in the last few years, I've begun to have much more sympathy for the parent who struggles with their prayer life, and for the friend who works 80 hours a week and doesn't seem to have as many interests as my friends in college (go figure!). I'm realizing that as the treadmill of life speeds up, I'm going to have to be very purposeful in spiritual cardio so that the breaths I take of God refresh my soul the way they did when I was a junior in college who lived at home and worked 8 hours a week.<br />
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To my friends and donor-friends who are in the thick of life, just know that I have enormous respect for you, and God understands how difficult it is to grow in character and closeness with Him while your capacity is being tested. I also believe more than ever that God is in the business of refreshing souls, and that He can rebuild even the most burnt-out, "over it" person there is. I'm praying that you can be refreshed by God amidst the busyness of life.<br />
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In the interest of my time and yours, I'm going to lump my ministry updates in with my prayer requests this month.<br />
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<li>Please pray for wisdom and receptiveness to God's voice for our staff and our students as we select and begin developing our student leaders for the upcoming school year. </li>
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<li>Our UTD staff are wrapping up the process of nailing down our core leaders for the upcoming school year. There's a good number of student leaders for the coming year (I think around 30 guy leaders?), and I'm excited about all of them.</li>
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<li>Please pray for our students who don't have access to their FOCUS community throughout the summer.</li>
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<li>A lot of our students move back home, graduate, or begin working full-time jobs during the summer, and it can be really difficult to find the stability, accountability, and spiritual food of community when they suddenly don't have the small groups and Bible-studies that they did the previous month.</li>
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<li>Please pray for our summer FOCUS services to be impactful and meaningful to our students, and to point them to Jesus.</li>
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<li>This summer, our Thursday Night Fellowship services are centered around the idea of being a lifelong disciple outside the college setting. That's such an important topic because college is a uniquely fertile environment for ministry and spiritual growth; it's a blessing to find that, and it's hard to leave it. </li>
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Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923966133050111062.post-56369471317441886922019-05-23T08:30:00.002-07:002019-05-23T08:30:59.288-07:00Whatcha Want?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our group of UTD students at the Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM) this year, teeeeechnically standing in <span style="font-family: inherit;">Canada (about 50 feet from the border). </span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Those who live according to the flesh have their</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> minds set on what the flesh desires;</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28122M" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28122M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; text-align: start; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"> but those who live</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">in accordance with the Spirit have their minds </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">set on what the Spirit desires."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Romans 8:5 (NIV)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Matthew 9:36 (NIV)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you have any interests that are important to you, but other people really couldn't care less about?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">I love rap music. To me, a <i>good</i> rap song can have so much depth and meaning. My heart for others, my faith in God, and my appreciation for people of different backgrounds have all been challenged by people who used the medium of rap to communicate. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most people don't really want to hear about this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something that God has pointed out to me is that I do a pretty terrible job of learning to care about what He cares about. I often come to God for direction, for peace, and -if I'm honest- to appease Him, because, after years of following Him, I can still think He's somehow needy. Recently, God began pointing out to me that I rarely talk to Him about what He wants to talk about. First, I don't talk to God about the nations (namely, the thousands of international students at UTD from mostly unreached countries) coming to know Him. Second, I don't often come to God just to be with Him. I think Jesus came to his Father for direction, peace, wisdom, and more, but I also think Jesus just loved to be with his Father. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>SICM</b></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My SICM roommates and I with our wonderful host family! From left to right: Deion, Me (looking very dazed), Jason (our "host dad"), Toni (our "host mom"), Aidan, Sion, and Caleb (our "host brother")<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Every year, FOCUS sends a number of students who have shown consistency, initiative, and a heart for God and people to Bellingham, Washington for a week-long conference called SICM, where they learn to be disciple-makers on their campuses. SICM is where I first began to see myself as someone who God wanted to use to bring others to Him (or closer to Him) on campus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And it was <i>so</i> great this year!</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small;">Our students were incredibly cheerful, engaged, focused on God, and supportive of one-another (trust me, that's not always the case)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">No one was injured (go hiking with 80-120 college freshman, and you'll see why that's a miracle)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">We had some awesome experiences doing campus evangelism at different colleges in the area. One of my housemates, Deion (in the picture above) grew up Buddhist but became a Christian two years ago. The person he ended up in a conversation with grew up Christian but was considering Buddhism! You could see God's hand at work in so many places!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I got to attend some of the classes, but I also got to do some video work in preparation for next year's Spring Showcase (our huge fundraiser to send students to SICM), and our UTD senior staff got to have some really productive times planning for next school year.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Overall, it encouraged me and put ministry back in perspective to see a bunch of college students getting excited to share their faith with others and grow closer to God. </span></div>
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<b>Prayer</b></div>
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<li>Pray for summer FOCUS! We start today, and I'm super excited. I've found that God can do a lot of behind-the-scenes heart work during the slower days of the summertime, and I would love to see Him do that in our students and staff.</li>
<li>Pray for our students who are back home. It can be hard to keep growing in your faith when the structures (small groups, accountability, one-on-one Bible studies) that pushed you towards God fall out of place. Please pray that they would continue to grow as disciples and find a solid Christian community where they are. </li>
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Rhett Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04307820146757027222noreply@blogger.com1