Keeping Up With the Andersons

Earlier this year (2007) I did a series of three talks on servanthood at the pharmacy faculty weekend away.

Talk 1: Mark 10:35-45
Accept the Unexpected (The Surprising Attitude of Servanthood)
[Transcript]

Talk 2: John 13:1-17
Actions Speak Louder than Words (The Demonstrated Action of Servanthood)
[Transcript]

Talk 3: Philippians 2:1-18
Taking the Plunge (The Obedient Humilty of Servanthood)
[Transcript]

Hello everyone!
Thanks for all your prayers.

I wanted to attach a photo of the new Economics student leaders. They were voted into their positions this afternoon. Please pray that they will grow Ecos EU for God's glory

The mission went really well. The highlight was the debate on Tuesday. It was well advertised and there were over 300 people attending (in a lecture theatre that only holds 200). It was a shame that there were people who came and had to leave because they couldn't squeeze in. The debaters engaegd well, and it was a great time for all, but the best thing was that one person indicated on her communication card that she wanted to become a Christian! Please pray for the follow-up of this girl and for everyone else who came to the debate. You can listen to the debate yourself.

Also we had other events including a talk by Warwick de Jersey that you can listen to too. Less people came to this, but it was a good talk anyway. There is also a talk on today in the largest lecture theatre on campus by Greg Clarke about "The New Atheism" (I can't remember the full title), but it fits well as an extension to our mission that we didn't plan at all.

Pray that students who invited their friends to events will continue to get opportunities to raise this topic of conversation with them.

"made up your mind that there isn't a god? not sure what to think?........."

Now I've captured your attention, it's to let you know about the Science and Engineering faculties mission this week on campus! Please pray for it - that people would come, that conversations about Jesus would be had, that God would have mercy and his people boldness, that God would save some.

"The Sydney University Evangelical Union, Engineering & Science faculties have a week of activities just for you!!!

Week 6 (27/8-31/8)

Monday: BBQ
Location:Eastern Ave Lawns(Science), Engineering Lawns (Engineering)
Time: 12.30pm - 2pm
- come down & have a snag or two,or three,or four or ten!

Tuesday: Debate- "Is God Just A Delusion?"
Location: PNR Lecture Theatre
Time: 1pm - 2pm
-listen to a quality debate between Rev. Andrew Katay, minister of St. John's Anglican Church, Ashfield and Professor Tim Bedding, from the School of Physics

Wednesday: Hang Out Afternoon
Location: Biochem Lawns
Time: 2pm - home time
- rock up and chill with people. You can either have a chat or if you are more physically inclined, join in one of the games that will be running. I hear there may be Jungle Speed!

Thursday: Talk – "How Can We Be Certain?"
Location: Carslaw 159
Time: 12pm-1pm
- A thought provoking talk by Rev Warwick de Jersey, minister of St Matthias Anglican Church, Paddington

Friday: Pizza Lunch
Location: Eastern Avenue Lawns
Time: 1pm-2pm
- pizza, 'nuff said! "

Thanks for all your support.  We've both been in the haze of sickness on and off for a few weeks, but we know that despite how we feel, God is always working his purposes out, and he doesn't need us, but graciously uses our weak efforts. We've been reflecting on God's goodness in our training over the last 2 years, as we think forward to the future. We are thinking hard about how we use these skills in service over the next couple of years, whilst we hope to be further trained in knowing, loving and serving (a lifetime pursuit, I know, but thinking particularly about Bible college). I'm also thinking hard about knowledge management. I used to work in the area...one of those 6 month job placements in 2002. I want to make sure that all that I've learned I can share with others, through forums, common ownership of files, personal conversations, and how I use my skills in the future.

So, next Thursday, we're having a ISM morning training, where all local students involved in the international student ministry can shar, pray and be trained particularly for this minstry. Pray that God would really use this to help us be initiative taking, risk taking, loving and sensitive as we seek to share Jesus and our lives. Pray that God would build the international student ministry for his glory!

Just yesterday, I was talking to a Christian Korean guy - he's been in the country 1 week, and came along to our Bible study group. His English is poor, but pray that we were able to encourage him and build him up in Christ. We were looking at Colossians 3 - thinking about our new identity in Jesus...

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory..."

He was so nervous, but managed to understand the change based on some fantastic diagrams, and analogies about taking off old clothes and putting on new clothes.

Here's some of the questions that were asked by the others in the group:  How can we have died with Christ? Hasn't he died instead of us? I'm alive now, how is my life hidden? How is Christ my life?

Because their grasp on English is developing, it really makes us think hard about what the Bible says. Praise God for that. But it was so encouraging to see them wrestle to understand the Bible.

I'm very thankful to my assistant leader, who prepared a summary of the events of the Bible - creation, sin and it's consequences, Jesus' life, death and resurrection, Jesus' return and the last days, what it means to live now in repentence and faith. We plan to refer to this overview each study, to help them see where in God's story we are, and what events it looks back on and looks forward to. This is how we helped them find the answers to their questions, by looking at the framework. Please pray for God to be continuing to work in them so they can read God's word without feeling completely confused. Thank God he has brought my entire group to faith in Jesus.

Toby beat me to posting!

Anyway, just love to let you know about 1 or 2 people in my life you can pray for.  We've had 3 weeks back at uni this semester...I started a God's World (investigating Christianity course) in week 1. There were 3 of us. Week 2 they asked another friend, so there was 4. Last week another 3 friends came - there were 7. There are another 2 joining us this week...and I wouldn't be suprised if God brought along the whole friendship group...they're a bunch of double degree engineers who are high achievers (sounds like me when I was at uni). They're all Asian-Australians. God seems to bring me into relationship with these people so regularly for which I am grateful. Pray for the Christians in this group to remain faithful! And pray that God will continue to change the  hearts and minds of the not-yet-Christians coming along. Praise God.

It's also been really encouraging to see the girls who were investigating Christianity last semester join small groups, and really grow in their new-found faith even in the last couple of weeks. They've all signed up to do the Leading People to Christ evangelism course and are loving the challenge of understanding the gospel more fully and thinking hard about how to use their friendships to talk about Jesus. One of the people in my God's World course currently is friends with them, and I'm sure God is using the change in their lives to help him consider the climas God has on him. Please pray for these lovely girls, that nothing will snatch them from whole-heartedly following and loving Jesus.

THanks for your prayers...you are just as important in God's work on campus as the role we play...never underestimate the effective prayer of God's saints...thanks guys

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. It doesn't mean that nothing is happening on campus, on the contrary, it means there's so much going on, that we haven't had time to keep our blog updated. God is surging forward in His work, and we're all running along behind Him trying to keep up

For example, in one staff meeting two weeks ago the following things came up:

• 180 people who, at AnCon, expressed interest in full time ministry need to be followed up. Each of the trainee staff has been given 10 to 15 people to meet up with on top of what they already do.


• 4 new small groups for international students has turned into 6, and so there was a hunt for more people to lead these groups, which God has now graciously provided.


• AnCon also generated an influx of students keen to do more walk-up evangelism. I now lead one of many teams of students that meet weekly to go out and do walk-up evangelism in pairs for two hours.


• Promotion for Refresh Conference needs all hands on deck. By the way, this is a conference that you are invited to. Its on the 7th to 9th of September at Deer Park Conference Centre, Port Hacking. At the conference you can hear in more detail all the great things that God is doing at Sydney University.

Thank God for the way He has used AnCon and is working in the students this semester for His glory. I am really excited this semester, because I feel I am really at the coal face and achieving for God's Kingdom every single day. Talking about full-time ministry to students who are already keen about it, and doing two hours of pure evangelism each week makes me feel like I'm cutting to the chase.

Ancon was fantastic!

One the highlights was Rowan's talks on resurrection, which made a big impact on some people, but the main highlight was that many people committed their lives to Christ!

Also on one occassion Rowan asked those who were willing to seriously consider going into full time ministry to stand, and about 200 people stood up!

I think my review group and seminar went well too. Plus there was lots of fun to be had. The picture is of people doing theatre sports stuff (I got roped into doing that too).


Praise God for AnCon and for saving some students. Also pray that we'll be able to follow up all the people that stood up, so that many of them will be part of the flood of Christian leaders we are sending into God's church.

Week 1 has also been great, and busier than we expected. On Monday I went with a group of students to do some walk-up evangelism. We got to explain the gospel to some people (one student from America seemed to be primed to ask all the right questions like "so, what difference does that make to how you live?") and we met an international student who is already a Christian, but had not yet heard about the EU.

Please pray for those people and that we might have further contact with them.

ACES and ISM meetings have already started this week for MG, and the small group Bible studies for the other faculties will begin next week, so we've also been busy calling people and gathering timetables. We haven't had as much time as we had hoped for preparing one of the student training courses, which also starts next week. Pray thatGod would be looking after all these things for us.

Sorry you havn't heard from me in some time. As soon as I was back from taking a break I was very busy finishing preparations for Ancon: mainly preparing my seminar on the historical reliability of the New Testament.

This morning we leave for AnCon (going via Officeworks to photocopy and also picking up some students on the way) Pray for our health over this next week, as we are not feeling top of the world right now. Pray gor general safety at AnCon and that God's Word is faithfully taught and received.

There are 375 students registered for AnCon, which is more than last year.

Hello all...we've had wonderfully refreshing holidays. We did the Sydney tourist thing...the powerhouse museum, the maritime musuem, the art gallery - I think my favourites were the giant steam engine and the submarine. I can thoroughly recommend these places for holiday visits.

We also went up to a friend's parents farm...I like to fool myself that I'm a country girl...but I am so so not. We went for a walk in the bush for about 1/2 hr...I keep sliding down the hill (it was muddy!) and Toby came back with 7 ticks! Ooops. But God also used the holidays to teach us a lot about ourselves, particularly some inadequacies in how we have been relating to each other. We're thankful to God and are striving to put changes in place.

And hello - it's one week till AnCon! How did that happen?  We're busy writing seminars, we spent today training the review group leaders, and we have meetings to prepare for next semester this week. It's an exciting time.

Please pray that God would use AnCon for his glory as we learn about the Resurrection. You can even come along yourself on Wednesday night, 7.30pm at the Tops Conference Centre (stanwell tops) to see what God is doing.  We'd love to see you there.

God bless

MG

Every two or three years the EU holds a big mission, but in other years it's common for some of the individual faculties to put on their own "mini-missions." Last year the Science faculty put on a mini-mission called "Know the Future" and this year the Science and Engineering faculties are combining to do another mission in week 6 of semester 2.

At the moment the topic for this mission will be something that engages with Dawkins' book God Delusion. Andrew Katay is willing to debate, but we need to find an atheist to go up against him. Please pray that we will find someone to do that.

I've just been reflecting on what it means to be honest to God...I've been reading some really helpful books...and writing a seminar...

Here's the blurb advertising it -

Honest to God: Are we really living out our faith?
Do you find yourself knowing the good you should do and fail to do it?
Do you know the gospel, have even done LPC, but struggle to remain sexually pure?
Do lies slip off your tongue like water?
Are your quiet times a pretense, a mere ticking off a to-do list?
Is being a Christian just something you do around other Christians?
Do you know plenty of information about God but don't feel as though you know him?
Come along as we get real with God, real with each other and make real commitments for change.

I'm excited about addressing this in my own life - spending more time in reflection and prayer, attempting to be more real and honest with others in my ups and downs in the Christian life.

Please pray for myself and those I'll be ministering to - that God's Spirit will make us people who love God and our neighbour with all our hearts, minds, strength and everything in us.

Ta.

Just for your info, this is the blurb for Toby's seminar:

History or Mystery? Does the New Testament record what really happened in the first century?
It is essential for Christianity that events recorded in the pages of the Bible did actually take place. How far can we trust the apostles and how much has what they wrote been distorted over time?
Who decided which writings are God-inspired scriptures and which are not? Come on an adventure into the past and find out how historical your Bible really is.

I feature in the 3rd issue of the new Christians in Economics newsletter...I thought I'd attach it for your edification.

Enjoy Economics Newsletter #3

Yep - uni has finished for the semester...and the students are busy studying for their exams.

It's been a great semester. A few things to pray for at the moment:

• Give thanks for my God's World course that finished this week. The three girls coming said that they really understood what being a Christian is now and want to live God's way. They have all come from nominal religious backgrounds, and so see this point as a recommittment of what they never understood previously. Praise God for his divine intersections that led to this group forming and the awesome relationships built, not just between us but with God. They're all coming to Annual Conference, so pray that it'll be a time of great growth for them.


• ACES has decided that we will start 2 new small groups next semester, so we've been asking more people to train in leadership. Thank God for the growth that has led to this and for the leaders, many who are lacking confidence. Pray that God will grow them and always remind them that he will equip them for his work. Give God great thanks for the 1st semester of having assistant leaders in ACES and the way people have grown through this! What an investment for the growth of God's church now and into the future!


• On the staff end of things, thank God that we have a new administrator! And continue to pray especially for our senior staff who really do stretch themselves, that they would be relieved of some of the workload as the new administrator gets a handle on things. Pray for rest for them at some point over the next few weeks, especially those with young children.


• I was just having a chat with another Howie and they were struggling to make ends meet, and just that day, God had provided them with some one-off work to help them. Thanks for your prayers and support - God does provide for all our needs, whether we are in plenty or in want. Thank God for the Christian community.


• Thank God for our good health, a great place to live and for your support! What a blessing it is to be able to serve others from a full-tank. Please pray that we would be able to be generous.


• Pray for Ecos, that more people would come to Annual Conference and be built up in Christ and into the Ecos community!


• Thank God for ISM this semester. There will be 5 or 6 of them at Annual Conference. Pray for wisdom as we prepare review material for them especially. Pray for creativity as the ISM planning team meets for an all day meeting on 10 July.

Some of you may have noticed that this website has been sporadically going down. This is because we've been having problems with our internet connection and this blog is hosted on a computer at home.

We think we've fixed the problem now. Our phone jack was going rusty, so we rewired it.