The Commons Under Construction

(Click on the picture to get a better look at the Quads)

As we enter this last week of the Fall 2008 semester at Union, a sense of joy and excitement will go along with us. No it is not the joy of taking exams all next week and wondering how we will do in all of our classes. But as we walk to those exams, we can catch a final glimpse of a building that is currently under construction.

The 15th dorm of the new Quads has pretty much been completed, and next semester, it will be opened for students. But even more exciting than the newest dorm is the Commons. We have been without a Commons (on this side of campus) for over 10 months now. We used to have 3 total, and now we only have the one in the Heritage Complex. But in Fall 2009 the new Quads Commons will be completed.

This past week, we have seen them move dirt, and today the ground has pretty much been leveled out. Pretty soon, we will see the framework of this 16th building. The new Commons (according to our campus newspaper) will be 30,000 square feet. Now we do not know what all will be in the Commons at this time. All we know is that they have gone over several floor plans trying to make the best one possible. They wanted to use every inch of space for something, and it sounds like this Commons will be amazing! The RDs will live in the new Commons as well.

Other than the Commons, the Quads have been transformed over the course of the semester. When we arrived, we had buildings and sidewalks with some newly laid sod. We were not allowed to walk on the sod until after Fall Break. Since that day, lampposts have been put up all through the 4-Quad area. Also, the Tornado Monument/Memorial was finished early this semester. Today, trees are being planted all around the area. Come Spring 2009 the Quads will look a lot different, yet again, and the Commons will be well on its way by then.

By Fall 2009, we will hopefully have the Residence Life Complexes back to normal, with new dorms and a new Commons. Then it will be time to conquer the next big task, more dorms. With completion of the 15th dorm, we are back to where we were the night of the Tornado. We have not increased our number of rooms on campus. But our enrollment has increased and is projected to increase again next year. If this happens, we will be tight on space to house everyone. So new dorms are in the works, as Dr. Dockery works on another plan for more housing.

So concludes another semester at Union. Finals are on the way, and the Commons is coming up. Spring 2009 promises to be another great semester.

Matt

The Next Christendom

This was my final textbook of the semester, and I just finished reading it last night. In the class I have been taking on Christian History, we have discussed the history of Christianity, stretching from the time immediately following the Apostles up through most of the 1900s with a glimpse into the present. This book, The Next Christendom, moves past the idea of history. Instead of looking primarily at the past, it stretches into the future and looks to see what Christianity might look like in 2050.

The book begins with some history, looking at how Europeans spread Christianity across the world, including America. But the book does not center around European and American Christianity. Instead, it focuses on Latin and Southern America, Africa, and Asia. Christianity has flourished in these regions over the past several years, and it is still continuing to spread. According to Jenkins, the author of this book, the "next Christendom" will be located in the southern hemisphere in areas such as these. He bases his predictions off of current statistics and provides readers with a look at what Christianity will look like in these regions in the coming years. Such statistics predict a vast spread of Christianity, moving the majority of Christians to these southern countries rather than Europe and America (where Christianity is centered now). From there, he speaks of what the future holds for these countries and how they will one day be reaching into Europe, spreading Christianity anew in those lands.

Do I agree with all Jenkins says in this book? Yes and No. I agree that there seems to be a shift in where Christianity is being centered. Even today we are seeing a secularization in Europe primarily but also in America. And in the southern hemisphere, Christianity is spreading like wildfire. I do not disagree with Jenkins' assessments on the spread of Christianity.

What I question is what Jenkins considers to be Christian. For instance, he states that he includes anyone who claims to be a "Christian" in these statistics. It does not matter how off their theology may be, if they claim to be affiliated with Christianity, then they are included. As a result, Mormons are even placed in this group. He does leave Mormons out at times, but on several occasions they are included in his statistics. So if Jenkins' idea of a Christian is covering too vast a range of people, then are the statistics skewed? In some ways, I would think so. It may be true that Christianity is spreading drastically in these regions but maybe not to the degree that Jenkins states. With skewed statistics, maybe his judgment of the future is a little off base.

However, I do think a day is coming when we will find the center of Christianity in some of these regions (unless a great revival occurs in the Northern Hemisphere). That is my other problem with the book. There almost seems to be no hope. Although I do not believe that Jenkins reads this as fact, I do wonder where he stands on this issue. Is this the absolute future that we will one day see, or is this just a possibility of what could happen? Are we going to sit around and let Christianity die in Europe and America, or are we going to attempt to prevent the secularization of these areas? I am glad that Jenkins pointed this shift out to Christians. It should give us reason to stand up and press on, holding on to what we have. But I do not think that this book should be read with the idea that there is no hope for our country.

Read this book if you get the chance, but do not be depressed at the end. Do not let it paint a picture of hopelessness in your mind. Instead, take this very possible future and use it as motivation to spread God's word in our own lands as well. Our country can still have a spiritual awakening.

Matt

Preparing for Christmas

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those
with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Have you read the Christmas story yet this Christmas season? I thought it was appropriate to post it on here for someone to read. If yo have not sat down and read this yet, read back through this familiar story. I think many times we gloss over the details and forget what really happened on the night of Jesus' birth. We have heard the story for years, and it becomes easy to go through the yearly motions of reading the story for tradition's sake and never focusing in on learning something new about Christ's birth.

We looked at this passage Sunday at West Jackson for this very reason. It seemed almost too simple for a college Sunday School lesson, but once we began discussing the story, we all discovered small details that we had never paid much attention to in the past. Have you ever thought of Mary's condition as she was riding the donkey? She was right at the point of birth, and yet she was traveling on a stubborn animal. Think of her determination to get to Bethlehem for the census.

And think about the shepherds' faith in believing the angel and then traveling to the manger. Afterwards they praised God and gave Him the glory for this birth. For the shepherd's, this was "breaking news." They did not grow up hearing the "Christmas story." When Jesus was born, they spent the night praising God. Have we let the story become so old in our lives that we find ourselves not giving God glory for His gift? This Christmas season, read back through this account, as well as the one in the opening chapters of Matthew. Search the Word and see if there are some details that you have overlooked. Seek God, and allow Him to teach you something new this year. Don't treat this just like a traditional story that you must read every year. Instead, read this Scripture as God's Word written to us, for us. Jesus is more than a story!

Matt

A Summary of Christian History

No, you cannot click to look inside. Sorry, this image is from amazon.com, but you can go there to order it.

This has been another one of my textbooks for this semester, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good summary about the History of Christianity. It is great when you actually enjoy your textbooks in school.

Most people, unless you are a history major or minor in college, do not particularly care to read a book with a bunch of dates and facts. But for me, this is not an ordinary history book. Of course, those elements are present in this book, but for a history book, I found it quite easy to read. From the first chapter I was impressed with this book. I never got bored with all the details that the author presented about each period of history. Many times my mind shuts down when reading pages and pages of historical texts. But this one was different, and I think that part of it is due to its almost story-like read. Now it is not exactly written like a fiction book or a story, but it is kind of close. My point is that I think it would be an easy read for most people, especially if you enjoy history.

Also, the author does not focus on one specific movement. He takes into consideration all view of Christianity from the end of the 1st Century to the present day. He shows how the early church dealt with various heresies, how and why the Reformation began, and what denominations have formed over the past two to three hundred years. He explains each movement and comments on the various leaders who started the movement and were the major influences on the movement.

But if you are not into reading 450 pages of history, you can even pull out specific chapters. Pick up wherever you would like in history, and you will not be too lost. Of course, you will miss out on some of the background, but I feel like you would still be able to get a good understanding of what was going on in that particular era. So I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the history of Christianity better. If you have ever wondered how we got to this point today, pick up this book and see where it all started. I hope you find this a good read.

Matt

Finals on the Horizon

So yesterday I was talking about being stressed. I think that for the life of the college student, the word stress is immediately associated with finals. It is the single most stressful point of any student's semester. But like yesterday, it is also important for us not to become too stressed at this point. Stress only leads to late nights of studying and uncertainty when we are taking the test. Nothing good ever comes out of stressing about finals. But no matter how we say that we might change our study habits, it never seems to happen. Semester after semester, we push it to the last minute and have to start some late night studying.

For me, these late nights are only a week away. Next week is our last week of classes at Union. The following week will be finals week. So next Friday night, I will be sitting in my room looking through notebooks filled with notes as I begin to compile all of my information for the tests.

So finals are coming soon. But the great thing about finals week is that you can finally see the light at the end. The end finally seems close, and another semester will be complete. So my 5th semester at Union University will soon be over.

Matt

Have You Been Stressed?

We all go through times of stress in our life. And it seems that when one crazy thing pops up, stressful situations continue to come into our lives. But is stress worth it? We know that the Bible specifically commands us not to worry about things in life. Jesus tells us this in the Sermon on the Mount. But how easy it to follow that command?

I do not know about you, but I know that I can easily find myself stressed out if I am not paying attention. Different situations will begin popping up in my life, deadlines will arise, and before I know it, I am running frantic trying to get everything done. It normally leads to long days and short nights. I find myself missing out on sleep, and I am always exhausted. So is it worth it to be stressed?

Not only does the Bible warn us about worry, our bodies let us know when we have too much going on in our lives. I am not saying that it is wrong to busy in life. However, it seems that the busier life gets, the more stressed we become. They normally go hand in hand.

We are all going through difficult times right now with the economy. That is affecting every American, and even many around the world. But my guess is that the economy is not the only stressful situation in your life. More than likely, you have other struggles such as sickness, bad work environment, heavy workloads, or bad relationships. When all these hit you at once, life seems like it is too much to handle.

So how should you handle the stress in your life? Well first of all, I would encourage to try to prevent stressful situations by not making your life too busy. But if stress has crept up into your life, go to God. He can give you comfort and a clear head to help you work your way through the stress.

I am on the brink of finals, and I can see stress on the horizon. My goal is to kill the stress before it arrives. If I prepare now for my tests, then I will not be as overwhelmed come finals week. Planning can also help you in your quest to kill stress. So be careful. I understand that life is hard, and that stress is almost inevitable. But as Christians, we know the one who can cut out the stress in our lives. Give it to God.

Matt

NIV Application Commentary - Hebrews

Now that the semester is drawing to a close, I am beginning to finish up many books, all the text books that I have to read over the past few months. This, the NIV Application Commentary - Hebrews, has been one of the books that I have read this semester. Now I have not yet finished this book, but I only have 1 or 2 chapters left to read.

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George Guthrie, the author of this book and my professor, wrote this commentary about 10 years ago. This commentary does a good job in going through each passage verse-by-verse so that the reader can gain a better understanding on the book of Hebrews. But what aids this book are the the two other sections found in each chapter: Building Contexts and Contemporary Significance.

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I am assuming that other commentaries in this series have these same divisions, and if so then it might also be worth your while to look into those books as well. But as for Hebrews, these two sections really help in further understanding the text found in the book of Hebrews. For instance, Guthrie begins each chapter by doing his verse-by-verse analysis, discussing the original meaning of the text. What did the author mean in accordance with his original audience? How did this text apply to their lives? But then he moves into the Bridging Contexts section where he shows how the text is still applicable today. What is it that we can gain from this text in our daily lives? Does this text still apply to our lives? Finally, he provides numerous examples on how to live out the teachings of Hebrews. If Hebrews teaches me to live in this manner, how can I be sure that I apply these lessons to my life? When put altogether, Guthrie walks his readers through the book of Hebrews by showing them the meaning of the text and why it is applicable to our lives today.

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I find this process very helpful. The Bible has obscure passages that people do not always know how to interpret. We find ourselves lost in the text and wonder how it can help us in our spiritual life. It has been great to dive deeper into the Word, discovering the meaning of the text and also learning how that text can apply to my life.

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As I said, I only have a couple chapters to go, but I will have to finish the book within the week (for class). I cannot wait to see what else lies in the pages of this book. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to study the book of Hebrews. Whether you are just reading through the book or preparing to teach about one of the passages, this commentary can help aid you in your studies.

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Matt