University of Alabama Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship

Join us on Wednesday, 12/1 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   If weather permits, we'll sit outside. Otherwise, we'll meet in the BCM Library.  Lunch will not be served at the BCM. Instead the Bishops kindly volunteered to bring sandwiches and water. You're welcome to bring your own beverages as well or food that might meet a particular dietary requirement.  Wrap-up preview   We'll close out Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. He has guided us on a journey of discovering what love for God looks like to how we can live according to that love.  We'll also take time to pray for student, faculty, and staff as we close out the semester.  Next meeting   Our first meeting of the spring term will be January 12 .  We'll discuss...

Join us on Wednesday, November 17 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   If weather permits, we'll sit outside. Otherwise, we'll meet in the BCM Library.  Chapter 10 preview   On 11/17, we'll discuss Chapter 10 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . It's getting real. Francis Chan gives us some ideas about  living out their love for God. "We each need to discover for ourselves how to live this day ." "…learn to listen to and obey God, especially in a society where it's easy and expected to do what is most comfortable."  Items of interest   Book survey . It's that time of the semester when we think about a book to discuss in the fall term. Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/NUMWLa4srVbTcrtb7 . Wou...

Join us on Wednesday, November 10 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   Chapter 9 preview   On 10/27, we'll discuss Chapter 9 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . It's getting real. Francis Chan presents vignettes of people who are actually living out their love for God. "They [vignettes of real people] tell of people who sought to live their lives fully surrendered to God." "If biblical examples seem unattainable, hopefully these average, everyday people give you hope that you, too, can live a life worth writing about."  Items of interest   Book survey . It's that time of the semester when we think about a book to discuss in the fall term. Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/NUMWLa4srVbTcrtb7 . ...

Join us on Wednesday, November 3 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.   Meeting logistics   Chapter 8 preview   On 10/27, we'll discuss Chapter 8 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . We've had a profile of the lukewarm. Now a profile of those who have responded well to God. These are the opposite of the lukewarm characteristics. "There has to be more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness." "It's just this sort of love, that is crazy to the world: true love, a kind found nowhere but through Christ." "This is Christ's love. He gave us something for which we can never repay Him, and then He asks us to keep giving like He gives."  Items of interest   Book survey . It's that...

Join us on Wednesday, October 27 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.   Meeting logistics   Chapter 8 preview   On 10/27, we'll discuss Chapter 8 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . We've had a profile of the lukewarm. Now a profile of those who have responded well to God. These are the opposite of the lukewarm characteristics. "There has to be more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness." "It's just this sort of love, that is crazy to the world: true love, a kind found nowhere but through Christ." "This is Christ's love. He gave us something for which we can never repay Him, and then He asks us to keep giving like He gives."  Items of interest   Book survey coming up . It's time to st...

Join us on Wednesday, October 20 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   Meet space change - reminder   Weather permitting, we'll gather at the picnic tables by the front door of the building. That should give us an opportunity to enjoy the fall weather.  When we do meet indoors or when weather precludes using the picnic tables, we'll meet in the Baptist Campus Ministries library to take advantage of a little more square footage. When you enter the double doors, walk straight toward the dining hall. The library will be on the left before you enter the dining hall. There will be a lot of people there who can guide you.  The latest on masks   Here is information from the Baptist Campus Ministries director regarding masks in the building: You are no longer required to we...

Join us on Wednesday, October 13 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   Meet space change - reminder   Weather permitting, we'll gather at the picnic tables by the front door of the building. That should give us an opportunity to enjoy the fall weather.  When we do meet indoors or when weather precludes using the picnic tables, we'll meet in the Baptist Campus Ministries library to take advantage of a little more square footage.  The latest on masks   Here is information from the Baptist Campus Ministries director regarding masks in the building: You are no longer required to wear a mask with a few exceptions. However, we encourage you to wear them 1) if you prefer to or 2) if you are not vaccinated. Masks and gloves will still be required in the kitchen when ...

Join us on Wednesday, October 6 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.   Meeting logistics   Meet space change - reminder   Weather permitting, we'll gather at the picnic tables by the front door of the building. That should give us an opportunity to enjoy the fall weather.  When we do meet indoors or when weather precludes using the picnic tables, we'll meet in the Baptist Campus Ministries library to take advantage of a little more square footage.  Chapter 4 preview   Jarran Hill will lead us in discussing Chapter 5 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . Where Chapter 4 might have been hard for us to read, Francis Chan said Chapter 5 was the hardest for him to write. Here's a taste of what's coming up: "Jesus's call to commitment is clear. He wants all o...

Join us on Wednesday, September 29 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   Meet space change   Weather permitting, we'll gather at the picnic tables by the front door of the building. That should give us an opportunity to enjoy some early fall weather.  When we meet indoors or when weather precludes using the picnic tables, we'll meet in the Baptist Campus Ministries library to take advantage of a little more square footage.  Chapter 4 preview   We'll discuss Chapter 4 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . Things get more difficult starting with this chapter. Here's a taste of what's coming up: "He [Jesus Christ] just wasn't interested in those who fake it." "…the American church is a difficult place to fit in if yo...

Join us on Wednesday, September 22 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   Here's a little wrinkle. Weather permitting, we'll gather at the picnic tables by the front door of the building. That should give us an opportunity to enjoy some early fall weather. If the weather doesn't cooperate, we'll use our usual meeting room.  We'll discuss Chapter 3 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . Here's a taste of what's in the chapter: "Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting God's absolute and un- limited love for us." "My existence was not random, nor was it an accident. God knew who He was creating, and He designed me for a specific work." "…I don...

Join us on Wednesday, September 15 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting topic   Phil Bishop, UA Professor Emeritus, Kinesiology, will share on Building a Legacy that Lasts at our  9/15. Get to know Phil at http://www.philbishop.com/   Items of interest   Speakers and facilitators Jerran Hill will facilitate discussion of a chapter from this semester's book, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, on 10/6. Contact me if you would like to facilitate one of the weekly gatherings.  Food for thought   Jen Wilkin suggests how we can look at sanctification as a lifelong journey . Main point: "Sanctification, while certain, is not sudden." More about it: "All who faithfully proclaim the Good News of Christ must do so circumspectly, balancing a healthy fear ...

Join us on Wednesday, September 8 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   We have a guest speaker! Kim Andrews, Director of Baptist Campus Ministries, will tell us about that particular ministry on 9/8. Kim will tell us how BCM serves students and how faculty and staff can help campus ministries. Each semester, we invite representatives from the different campus ministries to tell us about their groups.  Items of interest   Food for thought   From the Theology of Work Project's How to Read the Bible with Workplace Eyes : "But there's quite another way to see an understanding of work in the Scripture. The Bible has a lot to say to us about how to live out our lives. Whether it's through the fruit of the Spirit, whether it's through an understanding of this is how you were ...

Join us on Wednesday, September 1 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   We'll discuss Chapter 2 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . Francis will challenge us in Chapter 2 to acknowledge, "On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves." Let's figure this out together on 9/1.  Items of interest   Speakers and facilitators Kim Andrews, Director of Baptist Campus Ministries, will tell us about that particular ministry on 9/8. Phil Bishop, UA Professor Emeritus, Kinesiology, will share on Building a Legacy that Lasts. Contact me if you would like to facilitate one of the weekly gatherings.  These happened on the day of our meeting: 1648. Marin Mersenne died. The French priest facilitated ...

Join us on Wednesday, August 25 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Meeting logistics   We'll discuss Chapter 1 of Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God .  Items of interest   Semester schedule. Our semester schedule is at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f8gdIycPWFZwhs7YFJ0_HW5p1I6ik_LY4NaLDkX7Pn8/edit?usp=sharing .  Speakers and facilitators Kim Andrews, Director of Baptist Campus Ministries, will tell us about that particular ministry on 9/8. Phil Bishop, UA Professor Emeritus, Kinesiology, will share on Building a Legacy that Lasts. Contact me if you would like to facilitate one of the weekly gatherings.  These happened on the day of our meeting   325 . The Council of Nicaea concluded. One of the outcomes was t...

We'll welcome each other on Wednesday, August 18 , at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue), and (drum roll!) lunch will be served ! At $1 per meal, it's the best meal deal in town.  Our book is Francis Chan's Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God . From the Amazon abstract:  God is love.  Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love.  Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not, we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresse...