47 People Camping!

The new school year is in full swing and in September, our fellowship went on our first annual "Fall-Bond" camping trip together to Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.  We hoped to get as many people as possible to get together, go camping, and get connected to the fellowship. 47 people came and had a great time hiking, roasting s'mores, having morning devotionals, and hanging out around the campfire.  I directed the trip which consisted of a lot of logistics (note the pic below in which students are making faces at me while I'm taking care of business on the trip); shopping for food, getting tents, finding the campground, etc. Seeing the students "Bond," and connect with nature made all the prep worth it!

Pilgrimage To Israel

In the summer, I was able to take a seminary course that did a study trip to Israel.  Walking the land of Jesus and the Bible, the scriptures came alive for me in new ways.  There were many impactful experiences like walking around the temple area, visiting Ceaserea (Acts 10), and the Sea of Galilee.  One morning our class took a boat ride on the Sea; as I looked across the sea, there were no boats visible in any direction.  We stopped out in the middle, and besides the waves from our boat, the water was still as could be. As a group did a devotional, worshipped and sat in silence.  Not having a strong imagination, I often have a difficult time visualizing scripture, but this made many of the Gospel stories that take place on or near the water feel so real.  Specifically, the still water was just like when Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4: 35-41).  Needless to say, it is even more clear to me now that the Bible is not longer just ink on a page, but has geographic and historical grounding. Here is a video that I took of the Sea that day.

World Changers Developed!

Part of my emphasis in ministry this year was with upperclassmen and graduating seniors.  To do that I hosted graduating seniors several times this last semester in order to talk, train, pray, study scripture with them about life after college.  Some of the topics that we focused on; finding community after college and financial basics.  In the picture above, we are working on budgeting and applying Christian principles to how we use our money.  Many were very thankful for the practical advice and said things like, "Thank you so much for that, I had never been taught how to budget, this was what I needed."  An SSU alumni from '04, Geoff Andrews, helped lead part of the financial training, thanks Geoff!

I also went to lunch with the senior men.  We started a tradition of dressing up, getting lunch and just looking dapper!

Johnston Family Summer Update

There is a lot going on for our family this summer...

- We are growing by one! We recently found out that we are with child and due Nov. 25, here is a pic of the first sonogram.  (sorry that its sideways)

- Israel: For a seminary class, I will be going with a class group for 2 weeks to Israel (June 17th-30th).  I'm very excited!

- Seminary: After this summer I will be about 50% of the way done with my M.Div degree...there is light at the end of the tunnel. I estimate to be competed in late 2014.

I Set a New Record!

Twenty five people in a row said "No" to me (I was counting), which is a record, at least unofficially.  For our outreach to kick off the semester we were asking people to take part in our campus survey in which we were asking people if they thought, "God is a God of love or wrath?" (Pictured)  They would answer by putting a sticky dot on our board.  Even though many people didn't want to talk, we were still able to talk with hundreds of people on campus about God.  We then invited them to our outreach event in which our speaker addressed the hard question of "God of Love or Wrath?"  (His answer was both)  I've seen at least two of the people we met at the outreach be actively involved in the club since, and for the outreach talk, we had our highest attendance of the semester, including many new faces!  Please be praying for the people we met and the new people that have been coming.

Is Christianity Just a Crutch?

We started off this Spring semester with a talk series called "Hard Questions About Christianity," and I had the honor of giving two, the first being, "Is Christianity Just a Crutch?"  It is fun and challenging for me to sincerely dive into these types of questions because I have to research, be articulate, and give what is hopefully a satisfactory answer.  This question is relevant because people often see Christianity as something that merely gives people comfort during hard times, that weak people use to find meaning, or that people need to not feel alone. I explained that Christianity at its essence is not a crutch, but oftentimes is used as a crutch.  Everyone turns to some sort of crutch in their life (needing to be liked, substance abuse, pride, etc.), so I asked people to reflect on what they find dependency in other than God.  As Christians, we believe that we are weak, which is why we need God, and God's power is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Cor. 12: 9-10)  I challenged the non-Christians to make God the thing they rely on and I challenged the Christians to be active in their faith, rather than just use it as a "crutch."  Pray that these students would rely on God alone, and be active in their faith.  Also, consider whether you have been using Christianity merely as a crutch...