Christian Faculty and Staff Network gathering on 2/12 - Free, but not cheap

Come to the Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship on Wednesday, February 12, at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and lunch will be served. 

It's the best meal deal in town: You can get lunch there for $1 thanks to the generosity of local churches. Don't forget to thank the church workers for what they do for the students. The first meal of the term is special, so you won't want to miss it. 

We'll discuss Chapter 4, God Never Gets the Address Wrong. Rosaria shares stories about the providential instances that bring people together and draws some conclusions about hospitality. The chapter is in our current book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield. Here's the summary from Amazon:

• What did God use to draw a radical, committed unbeliever to himself? Did God take her to an evangelistic rally? Or, since she had her doctorate in literature, did he use something in print? No, God used an invitation to dinner in a modest home, from a humble couple who lived out the gospel daily, simply, and authentically.
• With this story of her conversion as a backdrop, Rosaria Butterfield invites us into her home to show us how God can use this same “radical, ordinary hospitality” to bring the gospel to our lost friends and neighbors. Such hospitality sees our homes as not our own, but as God’s tools for the furtherance of his kingdom as we welcome those who look, think, believe, and act differently from us into our everyday, sometimes messy lives—helping them see what true Christian faith really looks like. 

You're welcome to facilitate one of our meetings as well. I pass around a sign-up sheet and invite all to participate. Some things you might want to do:

• Facilitate the discussion of the current chapter of the book we're going through. That involves asking questions and inviting responses.
• Giving a discipline talk about what you're doing in your area. It's a chance to get to know you and what you're doing at UA.
• Bring in a guest speaker (we can also dial up someone on speakerphone).
• Invite your pastor or college minister to chat about college students in your church.
• Etc. That's a catch-all in case you have a great idea about something else for our lunch gathering. 

We've mentioned how Christians had the reputation for staying in cities to care for those afflicted by plagues while others were fleeing.  I came across an article outlining a letter Martin Luther wrote about Christian response to contagion. It could be relevant to our era of coronavirus and other outbreaks. Here are some quotations:

• "First, Luther argued that anyone who stands in a relationship of service to another has a vocational commitment not to flee."
• "Lay citizens, without any medical training, may find themselves in a position of providing care to the sick. Luther challenges Christians to see opportunities to tend to the sick as tending to Christ himself (Matt. 25:41–46). Out of love for God emerges the practice of love for neighbor."
• "But Luther does not encourage his readers to expose themselves recklessly to danger. His letter constantly straddles two competing goods: honoring the sanctity of one’s own life, and honoring the sanctity of those in need."
• "[During a plague outbreak] he [Luther] stayed behind to minister to the sick and dying." 

Happening somewhere. Some nearby events you might find interesting:

• February 20. West Alabama Fellowship of Christian Athletes Annual Banquet. Tuscaloosa River Market. Tuscaloosa, AL.
• February 28-29. A Common Call Christian Faculty Conference. First Baptist Church Starkville. Starkville, MS. 

On February 12:

• 1663 Cotton Mather, a founder of Yale University, a pastor, and one of the most influential leaders in New England was born.
• 1865 Henry Highland Garnet, a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist, addressed the US House of Representatives, the first African American to do so.
• 1891 Katharine Drexel of Pennsylvania dedicated her large inheritance to founding Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament that served African Americans and Native Americans. She also helped found Xavier University of Louisiana, a Catholic HBCU.