Christian Faculty and Staff Network gathering on 8/18 -Welcome back!

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 addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions?
  • God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts—it's falling in love with God.
  • And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything. 

If you've not read the book, prepare to be challenged. If you've read the book, read it again with us and share your insights now that you've had time to reflect. From the Preface to the Updated Edition: "And I want you to see that the crazy people in this world are those who experience God's love and remain complacent, not those who let go of all they have and follow him completely. 

These happened on the day of our meeting:

  • 330. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, died. According to tradition, she is the first Christian archeologist who explored the locations associated with Jesus's life. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher are among the many churches the construction of which she oversaw.
  • 1917. Cameron Townsend set off to do mission work. His legacy includes the founding of Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

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