Who is Cru? : Build

In a little under three weeks I will be on my way to Clearwater! I still am in need of $1600 of support. If you would be willing to become a part of my financial team, give me a call at 317-727-4205 and I will be forever grateful! 

I realize that many people are not familiar with Cru or it's mission. Heck, I had never heard of it till I came to Purdue. Cru defines its mission with the words: Win, Build, Send.

I am going to skip Win and go straight to Build. (Sorry Type-A's).

One of the ways (my favorite way) that Cru promotes the building of men and women in the Lord is known as discipleship. It's kind of similar to what you are probably thinking. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples is one of our examples of how we disciple. More specifically, as a discipler, my job is to point the young men I mentor towards Christ.

Above are the three young men I disciple. The one on the left is Logan, the one on the right is Josh, and the one near the bottom is Jacob.

Each week, I meet with these three freshmen and talk about life, the Word, and the Gospel. I encourage them in their walks and steps of faith, but they also encourage me. Seriously, my heart feels like it is going to explode every time I see one of these men grow in their faith. I don't think anything I have ever done has brought me as much joy! Next year, they will be sophomores discipling their own froshies. I cannot wait to see how they lead other young men.

Discipleship, mentoring, big-brothering- whatever you want to call it. Cru has given me the opportunity to actively lead others in their faith, preparing them for a life lived for the Gospel alone. 

This has been my little tid-bit on Build! I hoped this help give you some insight on what Cru is all about!

Growing in Financial Faith

So today during my quiet time, I realized that I have been pretty poor about giving back the little finances the Lord has blessed with me.

Confession - I only pledged $50 to support Purdue Cru. I could afford way more than that.
Confession - I tithed last week with a pretty begrudging heart. I pretty much did it because I felt like I had to, not because I wanted to give back.

My point is, how can I be asking people to take a step of faith in supporting me to go on this Summer Project, when I myself have not had the best track-record with financial faith?

I mean, at the time I felt like I had a pretty good excuse. I myself am trusting the Lord to support me on this project, so I shouldn't have to give, right? I should just save all my money and use it for my own support JUST IN CASE. Man, do you see where the holes in my faith are in that thought process?

In Haggai, the people of the Lord were so caught up in building up their own homes that they neglected the Lord's temple for 16 years! Why? Was it a lack of faith in his providence? A lack of respect or fear? An arrogance or pride in themselves? Honestly, it was probably all of the above. If you read all of Haggai, you'll see that the Lord frustrates the peoples farming and production abilities because of where He has been put on the priority list.

If you read my last post, you know that I have been convicted of the lack of faith I have had in the Lord. Part of having faith right now in my life is trusting in His providence for support money.

Francis Chan once said in a sermon, in response to a well accepted message, "I'm really glad you guys were touched by my message. Now, what are you going to DO?" Part of our growth involves actually DOING something, not just coming to a greater understanding. I want to practice having faith financially.

So! I need you to keep me accountable! I have decided to give back the following things to the Lord, however that may look (I'm still looking for places to put the money).

1. 15% of my remaining paychecks from Purdue's Division of RecSports
2. 100% of the money I receive from selling back old textbooks.
3. 100% of the money I receive from selling my extra clothing.

I have come before the Lord and promised to give these blessings back to Him in the name of His glory. If you could help by keeping me accountable, that would be awesome!

Also, please continue to pray for people to join my financial team for Summer Project!

What is Prayer without Faith?

Over the last week, the Lord has struck me with conviction over my lack of faith in many areas of my life. I got the chance to share this at our weekly CRU meeting last Friday and I wanted to share it on the blog as well.

James 1:6-8 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

After reading this verse, my heart sank. I have been praying for support to come in for project, but a huge chunk of me always doubted that it would. There are other areas of my life where this is true to. Areas of sin or areas of needs... so many places in my life where the Lord will not provide, simply because I am foolish enough to think that my life is too complicated and too challenging for the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE! Man, what an idiot I can be!

I want to let you know that the Lord has been strengthening my faith this past week. I am giving up those areas that once lacked faith and allowing Him to work his wisdom and glory. I hope this short testimony of mine is an encouragement to you as well! Have faith in the Lord! Pray with a heart that trusts Him to work big!

Support Update!

I am currently at $1565, which is about 47% of my total! Keep praying and if you have not yet decided to join my team in financially supporting my mission of spreading the gospel in Clearwater, I humbly ask you to consider!

Walk Humbly and Love Mercy!

Cody

BTWs- If you wanted to know what the coolest family photo looked like, look no further! These are my brothers and sisters in Christ in the Shreve Ministry at Purdue University. Be praying for their summers!

Support Raising and Ending the Semester

Today is my last day of regular classes in Sophomore year! Next week is known as dead week (professors are given the legal right to intellectually murder their students with anything and everything but a final) and then finals! It has been such a great semester.

Right now, I am reading through Proverbs and Phillipians simultaneously and it has been so good! Solomon is a boss (I think I want to name my kid after him... Solomon. Seriously how neat is that?) and Philliapians is all about cultivating a positive attitude. It has been so uplifting as well as practical.

Support is coming in and I want to thank everyone who has given! I have reached the $1000 mark, which is just about 30% of my support!

Please keep praying for me and my support! I'm remaining strong in the faith I have that the Lord will provide for me. Have faith as well!

Praying for Support and More about Clearwater

So far, I have been blessed with about $800 of my total support! I am so thankful! over to be over 20%! I will keep praying for support to come in, and you should too!

So, before signing up for this project, I was unsure of what Clearwater Beach was really like. To be honest, I even stopped and thought "Do they really need me to bring them Jesus?" The answer to that is an emphatic- YES!

(Wikipedia, do yo thing)

Clearwater is in the Tampa Bay area and has a population of about 107,000 people. It is a community of almost 80% white, and while a very beautiful area, over 15% of the population is below the poverty line. Nevertheless, there is most certainly a wealthy side to the area.

Most notably, Clearwater, Flordia is the homebase to the Church of Scientology.
http://scientology.fso.org/
About 10% of Clearwater's community considers themselves a part of the Church of Scientology. If quick summery of Scientology:

Many would consider Scientology a cult (though, as a sociologist, we have classified almost every religion as a cult as some point). However, Scientology rarely starts as a religion for most. Scientology is often used as a alternative-psych self-help lesson, which turns into a religion as members become more and more involved. Many secular psychologists and other scientific experts have noted the damaging effects these "counseling session" can have on their patients, however. Below is a BBC documentary about the church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwPMHM3qC9w

One of the elements of my summer will be sharing the gospel in Clearwater. Undoubtedly, some of the people that I meet will be a part of this Church. Please be praying for these people and my ability to share the gospel while I'm down there!

Cody

Just an update!

Last week was spring break for me, so I was able to send out another round of letters! Still be praying for support to continue coming in!

So far, I have received $185! Thank you so much to everyone that has sponsored me so far and is already praying for me.

Another fun update: a friend of mine, Logan, is going to Clearwater with me! I met Logan this last December and am now discipling him (which basically means I am pointing him to Jesus as an older Brother in Christ).

I still have a few more support letters to send out. Hopefully, I will be able to finish those within the next week. With school, work, and student organizations, I wonder how I manage to find time for sleep.

I hope you will continue praying for me! Let me know how I can be praying for you!

Support Process Begins

Last week, I sent out my first round of support letters. Be praying for the Lord to move in the hearts of the people who receive them. I need both financial and prayerful support from my ministry partners.

Oh! And one of my disciples has applied to go to Clearwater with me! I have been praying for his application and acceptance. I would be so pumped to have another Boilermaker going with me.