We're All in This Together

Elizabeth:  Since the beginning of high school, I have always taken on some kind of leadership role. I always wanted to help others out and felt that was one way I could do so. However, what appealed to me first about leadership was that I would be the one out in front, the person others noticed first. Leadership in youth group meant that I got to grow close to a group of 5 or 6 other leaders, and we got to decide what the group wanted to do and/or needed to do. In band leadership, I knew I wouldn’t have to warm-up with the rest of the group, because in my role I got to hand out music and make sure everyone had the necessary pieces for rehearsal. As president of TAFE (Texas Association of Future Educators) my junior and senior years of high school, I got to lead meetings, and even lead the leadership meetings. There was responsibility, but at the same time I was the one in charge. As a Peer Mentor in college, I got to be one of the first people to connect with freshman students; I had the answers the new students were looking for. And, the list goes on and on, I have been in many roles. While deep down inside my motives for wanting leadership roles have always been genuine, each leadership role had some glam to it that I felt I needed to have. Perhaps you have had a similar experience.


Though the reality is, leadership is such a valued trait, skill, gift, whatever you may call it, that it needs to be taken seriously. Luckily for me, I never let the glam of leadership consume the way I led. I have always wanted to help another out the way someone once helped me out. For instance, in my leadership role as a representative for my high school church youth group, I really had the desire to be more intentional in the way I connected with my peers and I wanted to use my planning skills for a good purpose—to plan fun and exciting things for the group. I wanted help get the concerns of my grade across so that we could plan events by the needs of the entire group. It was incredible to be able to use my voice to speak for those in the group who may otherwise never been heard. Isn’t that the purpose of real leadership? Hearing and answering the concerns of the whole and not a minor few? If that is really the point of leadership, then that’s where I’ve always wanted to be, in the sticky place where I’m expected to be sensitive to the needs of others and lead in a way that helps everyone. The glam is lost at that point. I no longer care if I get a special t-shirt because I’m a leader, or that I get to do special leadership activities. That will still be fun, but that’s not what it is about. I thank God that He has shown me what it means to be a leader and that He has given me the gifts to lead. He has done so in unique ways. I have led in different capacities. For many years, I was a student leader in various organizations. Today, I’ve entered into a new leadership role where I lead in a congregation setting, where I guide, teach, encourage the faith of children, youth, and families. God has and looks like He will continue to use my gifts in leadership to serve Him and others.

I spent awhile talking about leadership, because that is what I’m continuing to notice as I read through the Old Testament. Some people lead in great ways, ways that glorify God and lift up the people they serve. Other leaders have led in detrimental ways. In ways that went against what the Lord asked and in the process they hurt people. Lately, in the Old Testament…many of the stories in the books of the Kings speak of kings who really didn’t lead in a positive way. In the end of 2 Kings, Josiah is spoken about, and here is a king who served out of love for God and his people. He had a lot of work to do, because those who preceded him weren’t great leaders. He cleaned up a lot of their messes and helped get his people and the temple to where he felt God wanted them to be. He got rid of the things that people were worshipping apart from God. He straightened things up. That sounds simpler than it probably was. Josiah was a king beginning at the age of 8…wow! And he asked the people of the time who were worshipping idols to do away with that. His leadership flipped the lifestyles of the people completely around. I’m sure all of his people weren’t happy with him, but he did what he knew was right in the eyes of the Lord. He didn’t lead for glam; he led with a genuine heart to serve God and others.

If you consider yourself a leader, why is that you lead?

What do you want from the leaders of today? What expectations do you have of them?

Allison:  So in the past two weeks I moved into my dorm at school, had training for a peer mentoring program and had my first week of classes.  It’s been extremely busy! So I’m glad to have a weekend to relax, catch-up, and BLOG—because I’ve definitely missed it.  Coming back to school has been interesting.  Going into my sophomore year, I know more people and have a handle on how this whole college thing works.  It’s crazy to think that at this time last year I was adjusting to a completely new lifestyle and finding new friends—some of whom have become my best friends since that time.  It’s very different though.  Obviously Elizabeth is not here anymore and I’m involved in some new organizations.  I’m working as a peer mentor—I’m paired with a class of 20 freshman students.  We met at orientation and I will go through the semester with them in their FREX course and be a resource to help them adjust and find their way at TLU.  I have a great group of students and I’ve learned so much from this job already!  I’m definitely looking forward to what the rest of the semester will bring.

Despite the fact that I’m back at the same school and living with the same people, things are different this year.  My role as a student and leader is different and the campus is changing and moving forward.  I’ve realized I can’t go through this year doing exactly what I did last year.  I was talking to a friend the other day and explained that I felt like I almost had to rediscover where I fit in—which is definitely not what I was expecting.  It seems silly almost, but it makes sense.  I’ve grown and I’ve changed.  I’m coming into this year with different experiences than I did last year.  And let’s be honest, I don’t want to go through four identical years of college.  I want to learn, I want new experiences!

In thinking about all this I’ve done a lot of looking back at how I’ve come to be the person I am today—August 29, 2011 at Texas Lutheran University.  This week we started moving into 1 Chronicles.  Frankly, I couldn’t wait to move past the endless lists of lineages recorded in the beginning chapters.  But as I finished my reading last night, I thought about why the Israelites thought it so important to record their lineages.  I mean, they put a lot of effort into making sure they recorded who was the son of whom, and from which wife.  For them it was important to know who came before them, how they were connected to each other.  And if I really wanted to I could probably make some interesting family trees from the chapters I’ve read. 

But the point is, the knowledge of who came before them was important.  They were their ancestors, the people who shaped them--whose odd quirks, distinct facial features and stories of faith made the Israelites who they were—both as individuals and as a nation.  This week I’ve been realizing just how interconnected and broad the Chronicles of my own faith are.  For starters, I could easily describe my faith ancestors as being friends and mentors from home as well as those I’ve met in my time at TLU so far.  And beyond that, my chronicle at TLU extends to friends, friends of friends—some whom I’ve only met briefly, professors—those I’ve actually had for a class and those I’ve met through chapel and organizations.  Those people have had an incredible impact on my personal and spiritual growth—they’ve made me who I am today.  And while that list—or web more likely—would probably be of minimal interest to anyone outside it, it’s important to me.  It’s who I am, and it’s a reminder of those who have come before me and who have walked beside me.

So this week I encourage you to think about who would be in your life chronicle.  Realize just how interconnected you are, and likewise how supported you are—even in the midst of change and uncertainty.  Maybe even talk to them about it, thank them for how they’ve been a part of your life.  

And furthermore, whose life chronicle are you in?     

Have a great week everyone! And spend some time thinking about these alphabitz...

Leading  Following  Connecting

Sisters in Christ,

~Allison & Elizabeth

Come on, let’s eat your son today!

**If you can tell us where exactly in the Bible we got our awesome title, you win!**

Elizabeth:  As I read 2 Kings this week I have decided that I may have similarities to Naaman. Now, don't worry, I don't have leprosy...that's not what has kept me from blogging the past couple of weeks. When Naaman found out that he could go and be free of leprosy he did. He trusted that God would take care of him, however he seemed to expect God to be greater than God appeared to him. When Elisha shared with Naaman that the way he would be cleansed of leprosy was to wash himself seven times in the water of the rivers nearby, not the cleanest waters, Naaman wasn't sure if that was for real. If all he had to do was wash in the rivers nearby, why couldn't he do that where he was? Why did he need to travel out to hear God's words through Elisha? I think Naaman wanted God to speak grander words through Elisha. At least He could have provided the purest of pure waters to wash in. Naaman doubted when he heard Elisha's words. Naaman needed to be re-convinced that Elisha was speaking on the Lord's behalf so it would be foolish to not believe what was said.

Let's think about this story for a moment. Do you ever get disappointed or discouraged in what God wants you to do because you don't hear it as something extraordinary? Or maybe that's only me who struggles with that. Like Naaman, I often get excited about God's plans for me, but then when I really get to experience them, they don't seem as grand as I thought they would be.

I grew up with a positive outlook on religion and on my own faith. That deep interest in my faith and my constant desire to learn more about religion, especially my own Lutheran denomination led me into the beginnings of church work. Beginning the summer after my sixth grade year I volunteered my time working with the preschool ministry at my church. The church preschool had a typical Fall-Spring school year, but then had a summer program. Since I wasn’t in school over the summer myself, I would help the teachers in their classrooms. I enjoyed the time with the kids and I enjoyed helping the teachers as they needed help. I continued this volunteerism every summer until the summer of my sophomore year of high school when I was old enough to work and earn a paycheck. I continued the same work, just got paid to do it. As I continued to get older, once I graduated high school, I worked as a teacher myself. I taught a class of mixed ages kindergarten-2^nd grade myself. I really liked the program; I enjoyed the opportunity to teach, and of course liked interacting with the kids. My favorite part of the preschool program was Monday mornings when all of the classes would go down to the sanctuary for Chapel. At Chapel the kids would sing a couple of songs, typically Vacation Bible School songs that they knew, and then would listen to a message given by the pastor. I connected in this time, I could really get into the silly songs about my faith, and then I could hear familiar stories of my faith taught in such a simple way. The simplicity and seriousness of this time always reminded to keep the faith the way a child would. It was really from preschool chapels that made me consider looking into a Lutheran university to attend, where I too, could experience mid-week chapel services. I achieved that by going to TLU. Actually, the chapel at TLU became my favorite place on campus, I rarely missed a chapel service. I share my experiences with “chapel” because that is the place where I feel God’s presence and hear Him speaking to me. It is in the simple worship and simple messages that I hear a calling to use what gifts I have in ministry. I hear God in a simple, yet grand way. I begin to get excited.

My favorite hymn is “Here I Am Lord,” and we sang it a few times in chapel at TLU. It is my favorite because it speaks to me vocationally and lets me know that I can use my energies and passions to serve God. Many hymns or even silly VBS songs speak to me in ways that let me know that I can serve God with the gifts I have been given. I’m empowered to do so. However, when it got time to really apply my gifts and step into ministry the grandness went away. As a preschool teacher and now as a youth director, I have yet to see a child touched by something I have done. I don’t see God vividly as I work day to day as I thought a person in ministry would. The grand excitement in the way I heard/ still hear God does not always carry into the experience. I think I’m like Naaman in that way. I want to do more than just wash 7 times in dirty waters. I want to be great as I serve God. Like Naaman, I need to be reminded that washing in dirty waters may be what God is asking me to do, and if I’m truly serving God then why should I be concerned with the tasks set before me? For me it is helpful to be reminded of the faith like a child that Jesus calls us to hold, if we love Him and remember He loves us, he will take care of us. He will use us as we are to help grow His Kingdom.

Allison:  Oh goodness, it’s definitely been a while since we’ve blogged.  That being said, much has happened since then.  While we were away on blog sabbatical, I was very busy with my youth interning job.  We had camp in July, and since our church runs our own summer camp, preparations start in the fall and pick up like crazy come mid-June.  I love camp, I really do, but boy this year was exhausting!  We go to camp up at the H.E.B. Foundations camps and have a Junior High camp, followed by a Senior High camp.  Usually there’s a week of recovery in between those camps, but for some reason this year we were booked in back-to-back weeks—meaning we got home from a 5 day camp Thursday, had camp closing Friday, loading on Saturday, and took off again Sunday for round two.  It was tough, and by the end of the second week I was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted.  But camp was great!  Here’s what I learned in a nutshell:

At Junior High camp we have high school students who go as counselors—we call them YACs (Young Adult Counselors).  It’s really awesome to watch them step up as leaders and grow spiritually as they build relationships and share their faith with the campers.  And this year I tried to do just that—watch then and encourage them.  While I also hung out with the campers through the week, I tried to let the YACs take the lead.  It wasn’t easy, but by opting to do more behind the scenes work, I gave the high schoolers more opportunities to pour into the campers, especially since they will be the ones who are with these campers through the school year.  And leadership-wise, I’m on my way out.  My goal this summer was to build up leaders before I left, and it was neat to (for once) step back, chill, and watch them work.

At Senior High camp our keynote speaker was Todd Agnew.  Which was so awesome—we don’t normally have speakers that “famous” at camp.  But because of an awesome mutual friend we have with Todd’s wife, we were able to have him hang out with us all week, which was an awesome experience.  Todd was so down-to-earth and so…well, normal.  It never even crossed your mind you were having a conversation with the guy who wrote ‘Grace Like Rain’ and he was SO funny too!  He is such a great speaker—if you ever have a chance to hear him talk, go for it.  But Todd talked about how “who Jesus is defines who we are”.  So if Jesus is the shepherd, we are sheep.  If Jesus is the bread of life, we are hungry.  If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, we are dead.  So chew on that World Wide Web!  My favorite thing he shared though wasn’t even a keynote theme.  He talked about how we are only completely filled by the love of God, by Jesus.  God creates things in this world that make us happy, that give us a taste of what eternal joy in Him is like.  And those things aren’t bad, but we should remember they are just a taste; they are not the end all.  God fills us, and everything else is a bonus on top of that; whipped-cream icing on a really awesome cake, if you will.  A really awesome perspective to keep in mind, I think, when we find ourselves getting caught up in the appetizers of life.

Also since the last blog, I’ve acquired some incredibly awesome green running shoes—a nice little dollop of icing there.

So now that I’ve spent most of the blog talking about what was essentially the month of July for me, Elizabeth and I also got back into our Bible reading :)! So 2 Kings…

2 Kings 2 talks about the relationship between Elisha and Elijah just before Elijah is to be taken up into heaven.  Elisha makes a promise, a covenant with Elijah saying “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you”.  Elisha vows to follow Elijah, to stay by his side, until he leaves this earth.  Now Elisha knows that Elijah’s time is short, in fact prophets along the way remind Elisha of this on multiple occasions.  It’s as if they’re saying, “Look Elisha, this guy Elijah is going to be gone soon, so this relationship you’re building is kind of pointless.  Why don’t you just go off and do your own ministry?”  But every time that happens, Elisha renews his vow to Elijah, and every time they continue on “together”.   Elisha also asks to be filled with the same spirit that fills Elijah, to be his successor.  Elijah warns him it will be a difficult task, but agrees.

I really like Elisha here because he doesn’t do what is easy.  He could decide not to grow close to Elijah and avoid the feeling of loss when Elijah leaves him, but he chooses to build their relationship instead.  He could choose to just tell the story of his adventures with Elijah to his grandchildren, but instead he asks to fill his shoes, to carry on his task and his burden.  And even when others encourage him to take the easy road, his continually renews his commitment.  This blog is already pretty long, so I’ll wrap this up, but just think about that this week.  What is the easy road, and what is the road worth taking?  Which will you choose?

**Also, take some time to revel in the greatness that is 2 Kings 2:23-25**

 So this week consider these alphabitz

Courage  Weariness  Vocation

Sisters in Christ,

~Allison & Elizabeth