It's the Final Countdown!

But for real, guys. Finals are next week, and I'm definitely feeling the crunch. So far I've been juggling fundraising, schoolwork (so much schoolwork!), and being a half-decent boyfriend for Sam. It's gotten pretty difficult, especially since a lot of these have been ramping up all at the same time. However! I haven't messed any of them up too badly yet, and that's always a nice feeling.

Go me!

One of the things that I was really hoping to get to talk about in this post was social justice and the Church, since both of these have become such significant priorities in my life as of late. The main thing that bothers me is that I just don't see these two things mix much at all, at least in my (admittedly limited) experience, and I am utterly convinced that the Church MUST be actively trying to right the wrongs we see in our countries and communities. 

However, my good friend Robby Lewis got there first, and he has written everything that I wanted to and more. His blog post is absolutely stellar, and he gets right to the crux of the matter. Please, do yourself a favor, take a moment, and go through it. 

For real. Don't worry, I'll still be here when you're done.

tl;dr, Robby's point is that all too often, we live and teach an incomplete Christianity. We evangelize to save people's souls, we preach so people can learn the Bible, and we create various church events to build community. These are not bad things; on the contrary, evangelism, strong Biblical teaching, and having a loving community are absolutely essential aspects of the Christian life. But it's not enough, and we live like it is. If we are supposed to model ourselves after Jesus (or as I've heard it, become little Jesuses), we have to do more than we are. Jesus' ministry was characterized by both soul care and addressing people's physical needs, not just one or the other.

This is exactly why I'm so excited to go participate in LAUP this summer-- that's the whole point of this Urban Project. Their number one goal is to care for the poor and show God's love for them by helping provide for them, whether it's food, job training, or just companionship. This is also exactly why I'm a little scared about going on this trip. I don't feel nearly prepared enough to face the shortcomings in my incomplete Christianity, and I know it's coming for me. 

All that being said, I want to come back changed. I've seen and lived nominal Christianity, and it's so boring, you guys. It's living your one life married to a moral checklist, full of "shoulds" and "oughts", and utterly without knowledge of God's purpose and peace. I've been there, and thank God I've been able to see the other end of the spectrum. Living the way God desires for us is absolutely incredible. Yes, it can feel terrifying and full of questions, but there's this overarching feeling of total satisfaction and peace throughout. It's worth it, and it makes me sad I don't go after it more than I do. But that's for another time. 

Anyway, that's all I have this time. Again, if you would like to pray or support me financially at LAUP, the link is https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate. Not only will both you and I know you're a good person, the United States government will as well (since InterVarsity donations are tax-deductible).

Go you!

Thanks for reading this, everyone, and I'll be posting more soon. Hi-ho Silver, awayyyyyy!



P.S. Let me know in the comments if you want to hear about something in particular, whether it's my life, stuff I'm learning in seminary, or miscellaneous whatevers. I'll be doing this anyway, but I also like writing for prompts. 

Previously, on Lost...

Know what's embarrassing? Forgetting about a blog you made two years ago, starting to make another one, and having Google remind you that you already have one. Sorry for leaving my blog lying around, the internet.

Anyway! I've decided to try and get this bad boy up and running again for a couple reasons, the most immediate being that I want to let people know about LAUP. What is LAUP? Well, fictitious wonderer, it stands for the Los Angeles Urban Project and, coincidentally, is pronounced "lay-up", not "lowp" (it's ok, I made the same mistake). More importantly, however, it is an immersive six-week mission trip to inner-city LA through InterVarsity. To oversimplify somewhat, LAUP as a program has three main goals: (1) Care for the poor, (2) Pursue racial reconciliation, and (3) Labor in the area of prayer and spiritual warfare.

What happens is that a bunch of students sign up, get divided into teams of six or seven, then get distributed to various churches, ministries, or non-profits and spend the remainder of their time working at their sites. My team and I (that's us in the pic) get to work with Homeboy Industries, which is a group that provides various services to ex-gang members and prison inmates in order to help get them out of those lifestyles. We're not sure yet what our responsibilities will be exactly, but Homeboy offers their clients everything from job training to tattoo removal to legal services.

Left to right: Sarah, Suneun, Nick (our fearless leader), Ervin, and me.
Not pictured: Kayla (the 6th chosen one!).

Guys, I'm really excited to get to go to LAUP. The thought of working with ex-cons and gang members for six weeks is pretty intimidating, but I am looking forward to it overall. God has a way of showing up in difficult situations and providing something amazing on the other side.

In any case, there are two ways you can help support this trip. The first, obviously, is financially. I am responsible for fundraising $1,600 for this trip, and if you would like to help support me (in a tax-deductible way!), there are two ways to do that. The first is to donate online at https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate. Just search for my name and you'll find me. The second is to mail a check (made out to Intervarsity) to:
Talbot School of Theology, T-403
13800 Biola Ave
La Mirada, CA 90639

More importantly, though, my team and I will need prayer. Without prayer covering us and our community, everything we do will be a waste. If you would like to partner with me in prayer, I would love to hear from you-- it's always so encouraging to know that other people are praying alongside you.  My email is gordon.samuel.lee@gmail.com.

I'm going to keep updating this every few days up until LAUP, so keep checking back for new posts. As for tonight, though, it's time for me to hit the books as hard as my caffeinated mind can. Until we meet again!

Kinda like this, but with less smiles.