Hello to the LAUP faithful!
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| Jenny and I with ever-growing five-year-olds Lucy & Tyler |
Greetings from Seattle, from the desk where I now spend so
many hours reading, writing, praying, and dreaming of the future! I felt led, tonight, to say hello and offer a
quick update of all that’s been happening in me at the halfway mark of this
academic sabbatical.
If normal life is God pouring jugs of water into my soul,
and then inviting me to enjoy pouring them into students, this year he has a
circle of caution tape around me because he’s initiated an operation of digging
a 300-foot well inside me that feels like it contains a geyser!
In contrast to last quarter, where I was taking in 5000
pages of theology about God’s Kingdom and his invitation for us to be a part of
his good news to the world, this winter is about me turning ideas into reality. I’m studying under 30-year World Vision
veteran Bryant Myers about how to effectively pursue Christian development
among the world’s poor, and I’m spending the rest of my academic hours creating
the next generation of curriculum to help students gain God’s heart for the
poor, and to help InterVarsity more powerfully offer the good news of God to
Los Angeles.
It’s almost as if I can literally feel God scooping my well
deeper, week-by-week.
The deeper I go in my studies and reflections, the more
convinced I am of my vocation to be one who stands at the bridge between
middle-class America and the world of the urban poor, inviting both into the
wonderful treasures of community, love, and partnership that can only happen by
God’s grace.
I am aware of what a gift I have received though this
sabbatical, and I thank you for your encouragement, your giving, and your
prayers.
I hope reading this note gives you as much joy and wonder at
our God as writing it is giving me. I
look forward to sharing more with you about the fruit that comes from this
sacred time.
Scott
