Good afternoon faithful E-news readers. It's Lance Finley coming to you from Findlay, Ohio. Last week I shared a little bit about our need to recalibrate to the kingdom of God. Jesus talked over and over again through the Gospels about the kingdom-that was a major focus of his. He talked very little about the church. Sometimes we seem to be the exact opposite. We talk a lot about the church and focus a lot on the church but not as much on the kingdom. Words like "kingdom" I find interesting. Over time words change their meaning. Sometimes they take on different nuances of what they mean. Certainly, I think kingdom is one of those words for us, where we need to rediscover what Jesus meant when he told us to seek first his kingdom. That's actually why I am here today.
Some of you will probably recognize the background here. I'm on the campus of the University of Findlay. Behind me, that's "Old Main". It was the first building here on campus. At one time, it housed the entire university. And now that the University has grown and expanded, it is really the centerpiece of the campus. Dr. Fell, the President of the University, her office is in this building as well as many other offices and classroom space and the Ritz lecture hall. Still kind of the center point of the campus here. Why I chose to shoot this video here is, I grew up in a little town in central Illinois called Charleston which is the home of Eastern Illinois University. That's my alma mater. And Eastern Illinois University also has an "Old Main" building on its campus. It was the first building on its campus and at that time housed the entire university and of course, today, is the administration building. We've put some pictures here below. You can see what that looks like. One of the unique things about Old Main at Eastern Illinois was, it was built in the late 1800s during a time where in Illinois certain Illinois colleges, they were going with medieval castle looks for their main buildings. So I grew up in a town that had a building that looked very much like a castle. My mom and dad worked at the University and actually worked in that building. I always thought it was the coolest thing that my mom and dad got to go to work in a castle. You can imagine my surprise years later when I came to the University of Findlay campus for the first time, and somebody told me to go find "Old Main". In my mind, I had this image of a large medieval castle like building because that's what old Main was like in my growing up years. Now, this is a beautiful building in a very appropriate setting. But it's not a castle. So that threw me off. And I just wonder if we don't have the same disconnection sometimes with the way Jesus talked about the kingdom and what that means for us today as his church. The audience that Jesus spoke to had a very particular idea of what they thought the kingdom would be and the kingdom that he ushered in and the kingdom that he established is very different than what they expected. And I have this hunch that the same is true for us today.
So for the next several weeks, probably a big chunk of the summer actually, we're going to explore this theme of the kingdom of God. For the next several weeks we are going to look at maybe what the kingdom isn't, or how we've taken the kingdom sometimes and not necessarily misunderstood it but just got a portion of what it means to be the kingdom rather than whole picture. And then we'll spend some time looking at what Jesus said about the kingdom, what the reality of the kingdom of God really means, because Jesus talked about it a lot. The kingdom of God is like a farmer that goes and sows in a field. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of God - over and over again, you hear Jesus teach on that. And then finally will talk a little bit and explore what it looks like for us to seek first the kingdom of God. And how we do our part as his kingdom citizens to advance his rule and reign over all the earth. So I'm looking forward to this summer and this time we have to dig in to this significant and hugely important idea of God's kingdom and I hope that you will tune in every week and explore with us as we seek to understand the kingdom and know how we best serve in King Jesus’ kingdom. Thanks for checking in and have a great weekend. We'll see you next week.
This weeks video can be found at: https://vimeo.com/169140009?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220
CGGC eNews—Vol. 10, No. 23
The Well Summer Theology Camp at The University of Findlay
Through a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., The University of Findlay is proud to present a summer opportunity for interested high school aged students. The grant allows participants to attend for FREE. This includes all daily meals, snacks and all materials the participants may need.
It's also a great way for students to experience what it's like to live in a college dorm. (Students will be supervised at all times.)
Youth are invited to join us at The Well, a week-long summer institute focused on understanding the role of faith in all aspects of our lives including career and leadership opportunities. Participants will explore meaningful theological questions together, reflecting on the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examining how their lives are affected.
Join us Sunday, July 10 through Friday, July 15
What can participants expect from the institute?
The Well's curriculum is designed to walk participants through five tough questions, each building on the last to help individuals identify the role of faith in life and vocation.
The five big questions include:
- What is most important to me?
- Who am I? / How can I live a life of meaning, dignity and joy?
- Are there causes larger than me that drive my decision making?
- What am I being called to do?
- How will I serve humanity?
Some of the daily activities include:
- Daily worship at different Findlay-area churches to represent the variety of Christian expression
- Breakout sessions to dig deeper into the "five big questions"
- Students will be encouraged to share experiences, strengths, weaknesses and barriers to understand the relationship between faith and life
- Personal testimonies from guest speakers representing occupational and non-occupational ministry
- Exploration road trips to a variety of distinct religious centers (Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox and more)
- Leadership development and teambuilding exercises at a local "high ropes" course
- Interaction with professionals to discover how they provide service and vocation through their occupation
- Volunteer work benefitting several local charities within the Findlay community
- Daily review and debriefing of each day's theme, sharing thoughts on real life application
- Recreational activities at UF's athletic center, movie night, scavenger hunt, ropes course and other games
Got questions?
Contact Pastor Matt Ginter, Director of Campus Ministry [email protected]; or Shawn Graves, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Findlay, [email protected].