Donan's Favorite Books of 2020

Here's my 5-star reads of the year-to-date:
1) A Different Pond was 2018 Caldecott Nominee so I wasn't surprised it was good. I was blown away by the illustrations which lead to me to exploring more of Thi Bui's s work including...

2) The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir which was a powerful refugee story as well as a reflection on parenthood.

3) Truly Devious series was recommended by a good friend. Compelling characters, layers of mystery, smooth writing-- really loved it!

4) Peace Like a River was also recommended by a friend. I enjoyed the family and setting but also gave up in the middle when the plot began to drag. However, the concluding/resolution scene was so beautifully written it made up for any pacing problems. I'm going to recommend this one around to many folks!

5) The One and Only Ivan was the 2013 Newberry winner. I read it for a Book Bingo category (animal as a main character) but this story was so much more-- what does purpose look like? how do you define family? what good can come from loneliness? 

6) Gilead which won 2005 Pultizer Prize for fiction (and thus probably read by many of you) has been on my TBR list awhile. I'm thankful I read it during the election season to remind me of how history impacts communities.

Testimony to God's goodness!

I wrote this in December 2019 as a reflection on my summer. I spent 12 weeks making 50 asks to individuals and churches to support the work of InterVarsity in the Inland Northwest. I share this as a story of God's goodness, abundance and generosity!

MPD= ministry partnership development. We invite people to become partners with InterVarsity who financially give, pray, serve and advocate.

I have been afraid of MPD for as long as I can remember-- deep, 15 years in the making, decision-altering
kind of fear. I felt overwhelmed by it, unsure of what I should do when faced with the reality of it. I wanted
the fear to just go away but I had no idea where to start. 

When I said ‘yes’ to being an Area Director, I knew I needed to address my MPD fear. I didn’t want to pass
along my fears to staff that I supervise. I felt powerless to help others thrive on staff when I was crippled
with fear.

Last December my supervisor asked me to consider the Elevate cohort. My first feeling was shame, “How
did I left my fear shape my life so deeply?” My second feeling was skepticism, “How can I possible make
50 asks in one summer?” As I took some time to pray, I felt a deep sense of peace and partnership with
God; I felt like this cohort might be the fear-facing opportunity I needed. 

And yet, even as I said yes, I didn’t really believe I could make 50 asks in a summer. I kept telling myself
that even 35 would be more than I had made in a single summer. I figured that the cohort would give me
the tools to make at least 35 asks. I would get some training and accountability to make it possible.

About three weeks into the summer, we studied the passage out of Exodus where God gives the Israelites
directions about how to collect the quail and manna, detailed and daily instructions. I wondered why God
would involve the people so regularly in the importance of gathering food? Why not sure provide them with
food that never ran out and never spoiled in a central location? I wondered if God was using the food
gathering process as part of the people’s formation-- was God inviting them to trust Him every day through
the process fo collecting?

And something in my heart leaped at the invitation this passage extended to me-- God is inviting me to
trust in Him as I make regularly asks in MPD. MPD was no longer about the yes and no answers or the
money raised. MPD was part of my spiritual formation. Would I engage in the process that God invited me
into? MPD was about confronting my fears but about daily trusting in God’s faithfulness.

Internally, that shift made all the difference. I found freedom in responding to God instead of being confined
to accomplishing what felt like an impossible task. I was quicker to ask for prayer when I struggled. I
made riskier asks for appointments because I believed God was doing something in the process of
asking, not just in the yes or no to an appointment.

Spicy Faith

by Annie Crawford, Lewis-Clark State College CSM

Could Spirituality be Spicy?

At the Welcome Fair, students walked up to the table and saw an array of spicy foods: Flamin' hot cheetos, little hot sauce packets, atomic fire balls. Some were shocked, some excited. As they walked up we asked "Do you like spicy food?". Often, they responded with an enthusiastic "Yes!" or an emphatic "No!", with few in between. Whether or not they enjoyed spicy snacks, I would say "We're InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and we believe your spiritual life could be spicy". Following this, they might laugh and start talking about their own spiritual lives, but others responded differently.

One conversation with a student went like this:

Me: Do you think spirituality could be spicy?
Student: Hmm... I've never thought of spirituality like that.
[by this point he's looking like he's trying not to offend me]
Me: Why not? How do you think of it?
Student: I always kind of thought of it as...boring.

I think this is a pretty common idea of faith, bible studies, and our spiritual lives as a whole. Sometimes when we try to imagine particularly spiritual people it might evoke a vision of someone studious, engulfed in hours of silence, who's too busy being "spiritual" to laugh or play. I think this is the picture most students have when they get invited to a small group. Little do they know, choosing a spiritual life with Jesus can be so spicy (so enthralling and full) that even quiet contemplation can be life changing. I told this student and others that choosing to follow Jesus has been the spiciest thing I've ever done, and that my spirituality is full of flavor and life!

When I say spicy I mean full of life, excitement, joy and depth. The kind of faith that moves you to do bold things, meet new people, and go to new places. Spiritually spicy people laugh, play, question, throw parties, and have quiet times. All together, they live a life that is full. This year, I hope students say yes to the spicy spirituality that God has offered them. 

Mark Camp 2019 (from the other side)

Every Spring Break for the past five years I've spent 5 days (7.5 hours each day) with college students studying scripture. When I tell people of this practice, their eyes get wide and they something like "That's intense!" And, I quickly rush to explain that it's not that intense and students enjoy the experience. While that's true-- it's not complete. There is an intensity to the experience of that much scripture because that much time in scripture changes us.

I wish I had words to explain what it is like to lead students through that process of transformation. It's not formulaic. It's deeply personal and yet, as the years go by, I've noticed some of the signs that transformation. Students start to ask big questions that connect scripture and their lives. They start to tell stories about their lives and ask if Jesus might have something else for them. Some even begin to acknowledge their needs for healing or forgiveness. One or two students might even decide to follow Jesus for the first time as adults.

Spring Break 2019 I spent time with students in the book of Esther. We decided to offer a manuscript study for students who had finished the book of Mark, something that would deepen their understanding of God at work in the world. In Esther, the name of God isn't mentioned prompting the question, "Where is God?" When the people of God are threatened with genocide, where is God? Why doesn't God just appear in power and set all things right? And yet, the text is about people figuring out how to be faithful. People fasting and praying, seeking answers. People asking for change but being sure if it will come. We wondered as a group, how different is this scenario from the world today? We consistently need to ask where is God, to fast, pray and act. One group summarized that central message of the book as "God uses evil people and broken systems for good."

My prayer is that this study of Esther prepares students for living in the world as agents of transformation for the kingdom of God. May they not be discouraged when God doesn't work on their timetables in the midst of their strategies. May they seek God in all things and be looking for the ways God may have placed them in their communities, churches, and workplaces for 'such a time as this.'

I'm grateful that I get to witness this transformation. I'm grateful for your support of this transformation.

I've attached a couple of the summary photos-- when we looked for the central point (middle of the chiasm) in the book of Esther. These 'armchair theologians' are coming soon to churches near you :)

I am so lucky...

... to have a front row seat to see God transform lives.

I was sitting in church on Easter morning when this thought popped into my mind.

I just returned from two weeks of teaching the gospel of Mark. And, when I say teaching, I really mean facilitating the students discovering the text. I provide some training about how to make observations about the text, how to use these observations to form good questions and how to have a conversation as a group which helps lead to an interpretation of the text. I prepare questions in case the group is stuck. I have an idea of the main themes of each section we study. However, my goal is to really train students so that they can study the text on their own.

And, every year, students encounter God in ways I never expected. I am amazed.

This year, I taught the second half of Mark during Holy Week. I felt the parallels and thanked God many times for the gift of time to study this text in preparation for Easter worship. On the last night of Mark Camp, we took the evening to walk through the traditional stations of the cross, using images from different cultures. We posted these images around the room and invited students to walk through, spending a few minutes meditating at each. I also invited students to do the whole process in silence.

45 minutes later we were still in silence.

I wish I could describe what it feels like to be in a room with college students who are meditating on the cross. Words fail me to describe the intense beauty and deep sorrow. They are fully present to the death of Jesus. They place themselves in the scene, not distancing themselves because of time and circumstance. Students wept. Students knelt. Students prayed. I felt like I was on holy ground.

I am so lucky to have a front row seat to watch God transform lives. Thank you to all of those who support my work with InterVarsity. God is at work doing amazing things that will impact campuses, churches, and workplaces in this generation and the next.

Go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last-- and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." John 15:16

Last Saturday, the Inland NW area hosted a student leadership day. We gathered student leaders from Gonzaga University, Washington State University, and Whitman College to give them a vision for how God might use leadership in their own lives and how He might use it to transform the lives of others back on campus. As I prayed for the day (and continue to pray for the student leaders), this verse from John keeps running through my head. God calls up to bear fruit that will last.

I find it tempting to do things in ministry that might look good on the outside but not produce long-lasting results. Honestly, I am tempted by these things to satisfy my own internal desire to be successful. I want to know that what I do day to day matters. I want to know that I'm making a difference.

As I've stepped into being area director, God has been consistently pointing me to invest in the things within the ministry that produces long-lasting fruit. He points me to solutions instead of quick fixes. He shows me the big picture instead of snapshots of success. I'm thankful for the clarity. I also struggle with the timeline. I wonder, "Why does this take so long God?" And God points me back to "bear fruit that will last."

Will you join me in praying that the Inland NW will be an area that bears fruit that will last?

This week I'm praying for the funding in our area. My staff work diligently to invite and partner with individuals and churches across the area. I'm thankful for their faithfulness and the generosity of so many. I also realize that our area still needs $46,500 for all staff to be fully funded. Being fully funded means staff being paid at 100% of their appropriate salary range and having expense money to host student events. Staff often function at 80-90% of their funding, which translates to receiving a lower paycheck and buying supplies out of pocket for student events. This short-term fix can leave staff feeling unsupported and questioning the value of their work on campus. I feel that part of bearing fruit that lasts is having an area staff team that feels supported, valued and is focused on campus. If you are praying with me this week, would you comment below and let me know? I appreciate your partnership in the gospel.

If we only do one thing this year...

2 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

These verses have been running through my head since June. At National Area Director training, we studied the book of 2 Timothy. While it's always a treat to study scripture with InterVarsity staff, this study felt like a reminder of one of the core InterVarsity values that drives me: student leadership development. 

In 2 Timothy, Paul reminders Timothy of his legacy of faith which starts with Timothy's grandmother Lois and then his mother Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5) Paul reminds Timothy of the things that Paul himself passed onto Timothy: "fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim. 1:6). 

And what is Timothy to do with this legacy? He is to entrust it to others who are qualified to pass it on.

My job as an area director is to pass leadership on-- from staff to student leaders, from student leaders to student members. I am always looking to entrust God's good gifts to reliable people who will then entrust it to others.

I felt like once this job description clicked in my brain, all the other strategic planning fell into place. I always need to be thinking how to pass on what we do to the next generation. I always need to ask how to lead and teach in ways that others can replicate. Nothing in this job is about me, building a program or structure that I can run or feel successful in doing. I build with eyes to give away.

To that end, I've asked my staff to have one primary focus in the next year: develop student leaders who will find and develop two others. 

I sometimes stop and laugh at myself because I feel like I have the same job description now as I did when I was an intern with Intervarsity almost 15 years ago. And yet, that's also what I love-- the ministry we do isn't magic. It doesn't take a special personality or years of training. Instead, we "entrust to reliable people who will teach others."

Thank you Paul for the constant reminder of the lessons of ministry. Thank you to my fellow new ADs for the scripture study.

To God be the glory.