Christian Challenge at MSC

So what is a TD anyway?  I’m not talking about Touch Downs or Total Domination, but about Thursday Dinners.  These free meals come with a bunch of people to hang out with, a place to sit, and a short devotional about something spiritual.  I know, I know, you’re asking, "But why, oh great writer of the blog, should I, a lonely college student, come to eat at the Christ Center at 5pm on Thursday nights when I can get my meals in the Cafeteria?"  Well, reader, I am glad you theoretically asked. 

Firstly, it’s a well proven fact that eating food keeps you alive longer.  Even more than that, it’s well known that not paying anything for afore mentioned food will cost less than actually paying for the food.  Furthermore, eating within community makes aforementioned "free meal" even better, because according to the "theory of the ice cube tray," spending time with cool people makes you cooler.  Plus, cafeteria food has been determined to cause serious boredom, mostly due to the repetitous servings of "breaded meat-like cutlets" with "Masked potato-substance" and "Gravy-flavored semi-liquids."  Basically, it’s a great chance to not eat there, just to break up the monotany of it all.

So come and enjoy tonight.  I believe spaghetti will be served, hot and ready, at 5pm.  There should be some sides and drinks as well, along with a bunch of super cool people to hang out with and get to know.  Just watch out for Z, he’s a downer….

SeRFS stands for Safe Rides for Students.  It has existed since 2001 as a service that ChallengeMSC provides to all students at Mesa State.  If any student needs a ride on Friday or Saturday nights, we’re here for them, no questions asked.  There is never any charge to get a ride from SeRFS, but drivers do gratefully accept tips to help offset the costs of donating their own gas.   

Why would anyone ever want to drive people who have had too much to drink around?  Wikipedia does a great job of describing what being a "SeRF" is:

"The rationale is that a serf "works for all," while a knight
or baron "fights for all" and a churchman "prays for all;" thus
everyone has his place. The serf works harder than the others, and was
the worst fed and paid, but at least he had his place."

The term actually comes from the feudal system – Serfs were the bottom of the barrel, so to say, just one step above slaves.  But, they served an important purpose.  Without Serfs, the Barons, Knights, Kings, Dukes, etc. wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t have places to live, and would live in the squalor of their own filth.  Serfs were the unnoticed gears that kept the monarchy running.

In much the same way, SeRFS has been providing these Safe Rides for seven years, making sure that over 15,000 people that were not capable of driving themselves safely made it home without problems.  They give up their own time and money to serve others, and most people don’t even notice the hard work they do. 

Before SeRFS began running on the weekends, the rate of student-aged DUI’s was up, as were the number of sexual assaults and violent crimes in the areas that parties occur.  Once the idea caught on, all of these statistics began to taper off.  SeRFS was and is still making a difference on the Mesa State Campus.

So, next time you or someone you know is thinking of hopping in their car and driving home when they shouldn’t be, remember that there are students out there who care enough to be the DD – even if it means not getting to go out themselves.

Call them anytime between 9 and 2 on Friday or Saturday: 257-9797.  It may be the best call you make all weekend.
 

The Great and Illustrious History of Christian Challenge at MSC –

Christian Challenge was started here about 60 years ago, in the early fifties.  It flipped through the hands of various directors over time until 1980 rolled around, and a young man by the name of Darrin Crow took up the challenge given to him by his director, Chip.  Darrin has been leading Christian Challenge ever since (except for a short sabbatical once), teaching students about how God loves them and how He wants them to be a part in changing the world.

ChallengeMSC (aka Christian Challenge) exists to lead students to a deeper understanding of Christ through our five passions – Worship, Teaching, Leadership, Prayer and Evangelism.  These are the basis of everything we do at ChallengeMSC.  It is our goal to bring students to a level of spiritual maturity by the time that they finish school that they will have a strong grasp on their faith as they leave the relative security of the college campus and face the "real world."  They will know the why’s and how’s behind being strong in their beliefs in a world full of doubt and hostility against what they believe.

We have a bunch of weekly events that help us to reach this goal; everything from some awesome Men’s and Women’s groups and free food to both large and small groups and one-on-one discipleship.   We do have four full-timeish ministers on campus – the man, the myth, the legend Darrin Crow, the sports guru and general helper-outer guy Zach King, our resident geeky computery come-up-with-amazing-ideas guy Kevin Young, and our new addition, the amazing and talented Vicki Tucker, who is heading up our women’s ministry.

So feel free to check back here occaisionaly, and see what is going on with ChallengeMSC.  On the top of the page there are links to info about all the directors (except Vicki… but we’re working on it) as well as to our calendar and contact information.  Remember that God is God, and you are not.  His will wins in every situation.  The sooner you learn that, the easier that college will be.

The last day at Glorieta is always a sad one.  People start petering out early and heading home, and Glorieta just feels smaller.  I’ll have my last coke tonight, the last one for fifty-one weeks until I return.  We go back to life and work and preparation and meetings and bills and mortgages and leases and everything, and we hope that we can bring some of what we experienced here back with us.

That’s one of the reasons I took so many pictures (you can see them here, hopefully), with many more to come as I collect from everyone. These are memory triggers for those that attend, which helps us to remember.

Bobcat Bite’s is amazing.  The green chili cheeseburger is like nothing else I’ve ever eaten.  It’s as close to magic as I’ve ever encountered, but like the amazing Coca-cola here, it too must wait another 51 or so weeks before I can enjoy it again. 

In reflection, this year was odd.  All of the wives stayed at home (at least from our group).  Bobby Pruett wasn’t there to make everyone smile.  Joe Ricks wasn’t there.  Neither was Max Barnett, due to his recovery from surgery.  And again, it rained in Glorieta on Cerena Melazzo’s birthday – thanks Cerena. 

I hope I can bring back what I’ve learned and apply it to the new events that we’re starting up this semester.  I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I received and need to use.   God willing, I can at least put a portion of it to use, and I hope that the students that attended this year can do the same.  If we do even just a small bit of what we learned, there is no way that Mesa State College, or Grand Junction, or even the World as we know it could be the same.  I hope and pray that we can start to make more of an impact, that we can increase our volume and velocity enough that we can see the wheels of change turn in our community.  I hope….

David Platt – Day 6 – The Four Facets of Jesus’ Unique Compassion (that we should learn) 

1. See their sighs

1. The crowds and multitudes were harassed and helpless
2. Many of them rejected Him

For more information check out David Platt’s website – www.brookhills.org.