Dear faithful friend, These last few months have been full with so many rich times with family, friends and investing in others over coffee, dinners, and meetings. Our focus continues to be like in Matt 28 where Jesus says ‘to teach them in such a way that they will do everything I say.’ Our intent is to teach others in such a way that they will WANT to do everything He says. As we take time to meet with men and women we are addressing their heart and praying that their changed lives will follow. Here are few glimpses of what God has been doing. The Great Commission Matt, a UT Pike and Mechanical Engineer I worked with for over three years, graduated in May and the first weeks after graduating went to Honduras teaching school to youth because he wanted to spend the first few weeks simply ‘serving and loving others.’ He is now in La Cross, WI going through training for his new job. I talked to him this week and he was playing basketball with his new friends so that he could get close to them and ‘love them the way Jesus would.’ He reminds me of Brian Kastner whom I worked with at SMU (30 years ago!) that is now an oncologist in Michigan. He went to medical school because he wanted to care for people the way Jesus would . These two men get what it means to ‘be Jesus disciple.’ Jesus said to His first disciples, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ And the goal is to ‘make disciples (of Jesus) as they go’ (Matthew 28:18-20). These men gives me so much joy as I hear their hearts and watch their lives as they have gone into the ‘real world.’ We are about making disciples of Jesus. One of the men I meet with each week is Nick, an architect, whom I had the privilege of baptizing earlier this year. We are reading through Dallas Willard’s book, “The Divine Conspiracy” with another man. I’m amazed how quickly and profoundly he is picking up that this “life” that Jesus offers is about ‘becoming the kind of person that Jesus is—Not just about behavior.” He had his grand-nephew staying with him for the summer and has talked all summer about how he is discipling him to Jesus. They have actually been reading through Willard’s book together and has had some great discussions. We are about making disciples of Jesus so that they can make disciples too! What Starts Here Changes the World I (Barbara)continue to love to meet with folks and help them grasp more about their talents and strengths using the CoreClarity training that is built from CliftonStrengths. Recently I met with the U of Texas Cru Staff team at their team retreat. Their team of 10 has 5 new interns joining them this year. As we talked about their top 5 talents collectively as a team with Harmony, Includer, Woo, Belief and Developer it was so encouraging to see each of them understand more the unique value they bring to their team this year. As the tagline for UT says…. What Starts Here Changes the World! The Cru UT Team is a spiritually grounded, energetic & welcoming team that creates an open, accepting & harmonious environment for students at UT. They pursue the development of students to see changed lives by winning, building, and sending Christ-centered multiplying disciples. I love getting to come alongside folks and help them step into their vital uniqueness in being all that God wants them to be in whatever work or environment they are in! Here are few insights some of the team had about their strengths. • “Communication is one of my strengths but I don’t enjoy giving talks. I LOVE to emcee!” • “I enjoy using my strength of “positivity” to encourage others. For me it is driven by a habit of gratitude and thankfulness.” • “Belief and futuristic drive everything I do. How I spend my money, how I schedule my day, what I talk to people about on campus.”
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AuthorBarbara & Warren Archives
March 2020
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