As a new year begins, Taylor brings in the best of the best and the Ultimate Tools of all time. Here's to you, toolbag freshmen. As I sit in the student union, trying to actually accomplish some work, I realize that it is nearly impossible as these "totally hot" freshmen are mackin' on our senior girls. Listen boys, unless you got that ring, you can't touch these girls...well, you could touch...but that's about all. From the looks of it though...they wouldn't mind. I am so glad that I get to go to a great school with all these incredibly intelligent boys. I mean, they seem so intelligent with their talks about their money from mommy and daddy and their endless flirting with girls who are about 4 years too old for them. Thank you so much freshmen boys for only making our #1 school so much...dumber.
I was told to be more positive. And here's what I am positive of...as tuition goes up, the dumber people get. Not so much academic wise, but just in general. I watch these mere freshman here and realize...yep...dumb. I listen to their conversations and get...dumber. Even when they are not speaking and I am just in their presence...dumber.
Thank you.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
In Response To Sarah Tabb
I see an epidemic of men being boys.
by Sarah Elizabeth Tabb on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 1:47pm
I attend a Christian university. I love the spiritual atmosphere. I love all the ministries I can be involved with. I love the amazing spiritual leaders I meet who challenge me in my faith. But there is an epidemic spreading across the Christian community of twenty-somethings. This is an epidemic of men being boys.
I guess I can blame my dad for this one. My dad has set the standard on being a man of God. My dad is the spiritual leader in my family. He challenges me with his faith, and always faithfully follows Christ no matter how crazy it might seem. He doesn't give up on ministries when they are struggling. He has always been a consistent part of my life. He is what a biblical father should be.
So I guess maybe I have unrealistic expectations of what I see in a man of God. Maybe I've just been surrounded by the best. But here's the thing: I am so sick of watching boys raise their hands in chapel, be ministry majors, talk about social injustices and a love of global missions, and then see absolutely no action.
Every ministry in this school struggles to have men participate. And it is not just this school. It is across every Christian campus. And it is not because of the ratio. Last time I checked, the ratio was not 20 to 1. (It's 3:2 at the WU). Every world impact team struggles to have boys come (when I went to the dominican, there were two boys...eight girls). Every time I turn around, a girl is leading a ministry, starting a ministry, going wherever God leads her. But I see very few men.
I see ministry majors who talk about all these great ministries they want to do someday, doing absolutely nothing now. I see boys who have never stepped off the bypass. Maybe do a "clean up marion" day, but nothing consistent. No time?
No excuse. I see girls making the time. I saw every boy make time for the Colts game yesterday. It comes down to one thing: priority.
So I am really losing patience. When we had twenty girls at the ReaLife retreat, and seven boys total (from IWU and TU COMBINED), I started to get discouraged. Will I ever meet a man of God who can challenge me in my faith and be a stronger leader than me?
And the most discouraging part is there are some parts of ministry that I can't help with because I am a woman (that is very difficult for me to say). For instance, the inner city kids ministry I am a part of needs men. I cannot be the positive male role model that these kids so desperately need. And what frustrates me the most is this: when a boy comes a few times, maybe a whole year, and then drops the kids, he is proving to the children that all men are going to leave them, and a Christian man is no different. They will all leave you. I do not want that to be the message these kids get. Because I do know some men of God. I know some men who have stepped up to the plate and been spiritual leaders.
But I have seen so many boys give up when things get difficult in a ministry. I have seen so many boys sit back, and let girls do all the leading. And honestly, it breaks my heart. I see so much potential and so much laziness. And I meet girl after girl after girl who is a women of God. I see them starting ministries, non-profit organizations, and spreading the gospel and God's love to all of Marion. I see them investing in relationships with the unloved.
So boys, this is my challenge to you. STEP UP TO THE PLATE. It is time to be a man. It is time to take come action.
And if you decide to keep sitting down and let the girls take all the leadership and ministry roles, don't you dare complain about girls being too assertive. Because I know there is no way I will let God's ministry suffer because there are too many boys and not enough men. If no one will fight the battle, I'm going to pull a Deborah and do it myself.
If you have stepped up to the plate and are a man of God, thank you so much. It makes my heart rejoice to see a true man of God in some of you young men.
And most of all, thanks Dad, for showing me what a man of God truly is.
Here's to you Sarah Tabb...
I have this to say....I completely agree. I am sick and tired of seeing all these "men" on our campuses act like they are doing so much. Walking around, talking in their Bible scholarly language, and really letting everyone know how much they know about Jesus. Day in and day out, I sit in classrooms with these boys and hear them have so many "smart" things to say, but let me say this...saying is not the same as doing. Most of the ministry majors that I know are more content with hanging out with their girlfriends or scoring more points on Nazi Zombies.
However, with that to say...where does this lack of want come from? Where does this lack of not wanting to get involved TRULY come from? Who's responsibility is it to train these boys to be true men of God. First of all, let's go back to most of the neighborhoods where our boys are from. Not to stereotype, but most of our boys do come from the suburbs. And here's the thing, I do know a few families in the burbs who do raise their boys up to be men of God, but to be honest, that is few. Most of the boys who I know have never really been pushed in their faiths at their churches in the burbs. They have grown up in this Christian suburbian bubble where they get involved because it is the right thing to do or their families are involved in the church. They go to youth groups and trips because their friends are there and in reality don't really get outside of this bubble. They go through hardships and struggles, but have to keep their mouths shut because it will hurt their image of their family. And the bubble continues on. The first blame...burbs. A great clean place to grow up, but not really the most challenging spiritually.
Not only does the burbs bubble add to this lack of growth, but the idea of serving is really not a regular idea that is put into the minds of our boys who grow up in this kind of environment. Sure, they may give their money to different associations and may give a turkey or two at Christmas time, but why? Serving is yet another thing to show how great they are at helping mankind. A great pat on the back.
So, here we have these boys coming from these backgrounds and they get into another bubble. Welcome to the Christian College life. Here we prepare you to get involved in so many things and be such great leaders...but really, what are we preparing you for? Here we have these great role models to show you exactly how you need to grow and to be pushed so that you will become a great leader...oh wait. Not exactly true. Here...we put on another front. We don't allow you to share your struggles or what is going on in your life. No, no sir. You cannot be real because if you are...what kind of man are you? If you are, what kind of leader are you? You have to be the strongest. You have to be on top. You are at your top, you have grown. You are such a strong strong leader. See this is the problem in our Christian school systems. We create this lie that you are spiritually mature. We create this problem where we do not push our boys to be men. We do not push them to take the next step. We do not challenge what they are saying. Yes, I agree that they need to grow up and take that step out on that limb, but what are we doing as they are not deciding to? If we are the body of Christ, then how are we fixing this problem? We need to step up to. The men on our campuses, the professors, the pastors, the bros, the whoever need to challenge these boys. The girlfriends, the friends, the sisters in Christ need to challenge these boys. We need to push back and help them step up.
by Sarah Elizabeth Tabb on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 1:47pm
I attend a Christian university. I love the spiritual atmosphere. I love all the ministries I can be involved with. I love the amazing spiritual leaders I meet who challenge me in my faith. But there is an epidemic spreading across the Christian community of twenty-somethings. This is an epidemic of men being boys.
I guess I can blame my dad for this one. My dad has set the standard on being a man of God. My dad is the spiritual leader in my family. He challenges me with his faith, and always faithfully follows Christ no matter how crazy it might seem. He doesn't give up on ministries when they are struggling. He has always been a consistent part of my life. He is what a biblical father should be.
So I guess maybe I have unrealistic expectations of what I see in a man of God. Maybe I've just been surrounded by the best. But here's the thing: I am so sick of watching boys raise their hands in chapel, be ministry majors, talk about social injustices and a love of global missions, and then see absolutely no action.
Every ministry in this school struggles to have men participate. And it is not just this school. It is across every Christian campus. And it is not because of the ratio. Last time I checked, the ratio was not 20 to 1. (It's 3:2 at the WU). Every world impact team struggles to have boys come (when I went to the dominican, there were two boys...eight girls). Every time I turn around, a girl is leading a ministry, starting a ministry, going wherever God leads her. But I see very few men.
I see ministry majors who talk about all these great ministries they want to do someday, doing absolutely nothing now. I see boys who have never stepped off the bypass. Maybe do a "clean up marion" day, but nothing consistent. No time?
No excuse. I see girls making the time. I saw every boy make time for the Colts game yesterday. It comes down to one thing: priority.
So I am really losing patience. When we had twenty girls at the ReaLife retreat, and seven boys total (from IWU and TU COMBINED), I started to get discouraged. Will I ever meet a man of God who can challenge me in my faith and be a stronger leader than me?
And the most discouraging part is there are some parts of ministry that I can't help with because I am a woman (that is very difficult for me to say). For instance, the inner city kids ministry I am a part of needs men. I cannot be the positive male role model that these kids so desperately need. And what frustrates me the most is this: when a boy comes a few times, maybe a whole year, and then drops the kids, he is proving to the children that all men are going to leave them, and a Christian man is no different. They will all leave you. I do not want that to be the message these kids get. Because I do know some men of God. I know some men who have stepped up to the plate and been spiritual leaders.
But I have seen so many boys give up when things get difficult in a ministry. I have seen so many boys sit back, and let girls do all the leading. And honestly, it breaks my heart. I see so much potential and so much laziness. And I meet girl after girl after girl who is a women of God. I see them starting ministries, non-profit organizations, and spreading the gospel and God's love to all of Marion. I see them investing in relationships with the unloved.
So boys, this is my challenge to you. STEP UP TO THE PLATE. It is time to be a man. It is time to take come action.
And if you decide to keep sitting down and let the girls take all the leadership and ministry roles, don't you dare complain about girls being too assertive. Because I know there is no way I will let God's ministry suffer because there are too many boys and not enough men. If no one will fight the battle, I'm going to pull a Deborah and do it myself.
If you have stepped up to the plate and are a man of God, thank you so much. It makes my heart rejoice to see a true man of God in some of you young men.
And most of all, thanks Dad, for showing me what a man of God truly is.
Here's to you Sarah Tabb...
I have this to say....I completely agree. I am sick and tired of seeing all these "men" on our campuses act like they are doing so much. Walking around, talking in their Bible scholarly language, and really letting everyone know how much they know about Jesus. Day in and day out, I sit in classrooms with these boys and hear them have so many "smart" things to say, but let me say this...saying is not the same as doing. Most of the ministry majors that I know are more content with hanging out with their girlfriends or scoring more points on Nazi Zombies.
However, with that to say...where does this lack of want come from? Where does this lack of not wanting to get involved TRULY come from? Who's responsibility is it to train these boys to be true men of God. First of all, let's go back to most of the neighborhoods where our boys are from. Not to stereotype, but most of our boys do come from the suburbs. And here's the thing, I do know a few families in the burbs who do raise their boys up to be men of God, but to be honest, that is few. Most of the boys who I know have never really been pushed in their faiths at their churches in the burbs. They have grown up in this Christian suburbian bubble where they get involved because it is the right thing to do or their families are involved in the church. They go to youth groups and trips because their friends are there and in reality don't really get outside of this bubble. They go through hardships and struggles, but have to keep their mouths shut because it will hurt their image of their family. And the bubble continues on. The first blame...burbs. A great clean place to grow up, but not really the most challenging spiritually.
Not only does the burbs bubble add to this lack of growth, but the idea of serving is really not a regular idea that is put into the minds of our boys who grow up in this kind of environment. Sure, they may give their money to different associations and may give a turkey or two at Christmas time, but why? Serving is yet another thing to show how great they are at helping mankind. A great pat on the back.
So, here we have these boys coming from these backgrounds and they get into another bubble. Welcome to the Christian College life. Here we prepare you to get involved in so many things and be such great leaders...but really, what are we preparing you for? Here we have these great role models to show you exactly how you need to grow and to be pushed so that you will become a great leader...oh wait. Not exactly true. Here...we put on another front. We don't allow you to share your struggles or what is going on in your life. No, no sir. You cannot be real because if you are...what kind of man are you? If you are, what kind of leader are you? You have to be the strongest. You have to be on top. You are at your top, you have grown. You are such a strong strong leader. See this is the problem in our Christian school systems. We create this lie that you are spiritually mature. We create this problem where we do not push our boys to be men. We do not push them to take the next step. We do not challenge what they are saying. Yes, I agree that they need to grow up and take that step out on that limb, but what are we doing as they are not deciding to? If we are the body of Christ, then how are we fixing this problem? We need to step up to. The men on our campuses, the professors, the pastors, the bros, the whoever need to challenge these boys. The girlfriends, the friends, the sisters in Christ need to challenge these boys. We need to push back and help them step up.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
And here is the question. Why am I so sure of my God? Why am I so sure of the one that I am in love with? Why am I so sure that I am doing the right thing and following the right religion?
God has captured me. My God has taken me over and I have fallen in love with him. He has shown me how to live my life. He has opened my eyes and taken the darkness out of my heart. And people ask me this question, how do you know that this is real? I know that this is real because there is nothing else than can make me feel like this. I have seen things that would be totally impossible without anyone other than God. My life has been changed and miracles have happened. Why do I believe in it? Because I have no reason not to.
God has captured me. My God has taken me over and I have fallen in love with him. He has shown me how to live my life. He has opened my eyes and taken the darkness out of my heart. And people ask me this question, how do you know that this is real? I know that this is real because there is nothing else than can make me feel like this. I have seen things that would be totally impossible without anyone other than God. My life has been changed and miracles have happened. Why do I believe in it? Because I have no reason not to.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Faculty and Staff
so, I run home this morning before my lab...partially to see my family and partially just to run home. I have some breakfast with my mom before heading off to my first thing of the day...Chem For Living Lab. As I arrive, I pull into the Nuse parking lot. Now, here's the thing...I have never had a problem pulling into this lot before. I have never had a problem parking there. I have never gotten a ticket for parking there. I mean, OBVIOUSLY I am not going to drive back to my house and walk to class..THAT IS JUST RIDICULOUS. So, I hit up the parking lot, just like many times before. And as I start to get out of the car, I hear this voice..."faculty and staff parking only." This wasn't a cheerful and pleasant voice. This was like the secretary from Monster's Inc. who hated her life. This was a voice that was just bitter and angry at the world and I really never did anything to her. Now, I must admit that once I heard this voice, I was a tad bit upset. I might have wanted to punch her...but then I just moved my car and went on with my life. Now, here's where my rant begins...The parking lot in Nuse is a faculty and staff only parking lot. This lot...has quite a bit of spots that are never even close to being filled. In fact, I think there are like triple the spots more than the professors who even work in there. So, tell me this...WHY IS IT ONLY FACULTY AND STAFF? I mean, really?! Do we not have enough stupid parking spots for people who don't really need them? There are multiple spots around campus that are completely pointless that we can't park in. It's not that I am too lazy to walk to class because I usually do, but today...I just wanted to park and go to class. Really, is it that big of a deal? Is it Mrs. Monster's INC. secretary who hates her life? Just because your job sucks, doesn't mean that you have to make our lives suck. Just saying.
While I am on this rant let me continue with something that I have been annoyed with lately. I have been thinking about community plunge lately. And I have been thinking about how much I hate it even more than I ever have. I mean, people ask me what I think about it as a person from Upland and this is what I have to say...thanks...thanks for walking in our parade and glorifying yourselves, thank you for making t-shirts...and glorifying yourself, thank you for showing us how hard you work to make our community "nicer," thank you for helping Taylor affiliated people and not the real community.
I mean, I am not saying that it is bad for community plunge to help out in the community, but I will be real...it does not do as much as it brags to do. Really, what does Taylor students walking in our parade do for us? What does a freshman who does not want to really serve do for our community? What does the wrong heart really do for our community? And here is the biggest question...how are people really helping when they just assume our needs? What does Upland really need...has anyone asked the people that? And by the people, I mean the unnoticed. The untouchables. I mean the people that we see every day and do not go out of our way just to say hello. The people in the gas station who we do not take the time to understand their stories. The kids in the red barn who we do not take the time to be the family they need. The people who we just assume have so many problems...but when has anyone really stopped to ask? Really. And even further...why is this a one day a year thing? Why do we take a day for service to show how great we are? We can be doing service everyday of the year. We can be doing service in all we do. So, tell me this...what makes this one day so freaking special? Thank you Taylor for your dedication one day a year. I mean there are people who are dedicated more than this, but these people are few. And a few can make a huge difference...but what would happen if we made that few a little bit more and then a little bit more and so on? How much greater would this community that allows us to call it home for a few months out of the year be? What if we came up beside Upland people and worked with them? What if we asked and got to know them? What if we really cared?
I see a lot of things that people will never see...and that is because I understand. I am from here and I am from the part that isn't so pretty and shiny. I am outside of the box and I see the hurt and pain that is here. I see the struggles and the stress and I long for people to understand this. I long for people to fall in love with Upland to make it their goal to really serve Upland. I long for people to fall so in love with these people of Upland that they will sacrifice for them. What's the hold up?
While I am on this rant let me continue with something that I have been annoyed with lately. I have been thinking about community plunge lately. And I have been thinking about how much I hate it even more than I ever have. I mean, people ask me what I think about it as a person from Upland and this is what I have to say...thanks...thanks for walking in our parade and glorifying yourselves, thank you for making t-shirts...and glorifying yourself, thank you for showing us how hard you work to make our community "nicer," thank you for helping Taylor affiliated people and not the real community.
I mean, I am not saying that it is bad for community plunge to help out in the community, but I will be real...it does not do as much as it brags to do. Really, what does Taylor students walking in our parade do for us? What does a freshman who does not want to really serve do for our community? What does the wrong heart really do for our community? And here is the biggest question...how are people really helping when they just assume our needs? What does Upland really need...has anyone asked the people that? And by the people, I mean the unnoticed. The untouchables. I mean the people that we see every day and do not go out of our way just to say hello. The people in the gas station who we do not take the time to understand their stories. The kids in the red barn who we do not take the time to be the family they need. The people who we just assume have so many problems...but when has anyone really stopped to ask? Really. And even further...why is this a one day a year thing? Why do we take a day for service to show how great we are? We can be doing service everyday of the year. We can be doing service in all we do. So, tell me this...what makes this one day so freaking special? Thank you Taylor for your dedication one day a year. I mean there are people who are dedicated more than this, but these people are few. And a few can make a huge difference...but what would happen if we made that few a little bit more and then a little bit more and so on? How much greater would this community that allows us to call it home for a few months out of the year be? What if we came up beside Upland people and worked with them? What if we asked and got to know them? What if we really cared?
I see a lot of things that people will never see...and that is because I understand. I am from here and I am from the part that isn't so pretty and shiny. I am outside of the box and I see the hurt and pain that is here. I see the struggles and the stress and I long for people to understand this. I long for people to fall in love with Upland to make it their goal to really serve Upland. I long for people to fall so in love with these people of Upland that they will sacrifice for them. What's the hold up?
Monday, September 13, 2010
Welcome to Chem For Living
So here's the thing...I don't mind gen. ed. classes. They don't really bother me at all, actually. However, it starts to bother me when I sit in a class for 50 minutes only to start 20 minutes late and then spend 30 minutes on one thing. For example, balancing equations...do you know how easy it is to balance equations? You put numbers on each side...oh dang. Kill me.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Family Ties
I often try to hide parts of my family. I mean, there are parts that I am extremely embarrassed about. I don't want anyone to know about my drunken uncle or my crazy aunt. I don't want anyone to see how we really are. That shows who I am and I don't want that. Isn't that just like a human? Isn't it just like us to let people in our lives go because we don't want to be associated with them?
This was made more real than it had ever been before this summer and then again just a few days ago. When you look at the line of Jesus, the Bible leaves no one out. It does not just say that Jesus was born and that he had no past. No...Jesus had a past. He had a messy one at that. He did not come from the Godly, rule following people. Nope, he came from the dirty messed up people who lived their lives as the world lived. He came from people who were prostitutes, adulterers, and murderers. People that we would never own up to being in our family, but the Bible does not leave this family out. The Bible owns it. Our Lord and Savior comes from people who most of us would consider the scum of the earth.
And taking this on farther...how cool is it that God could have totally made Jesus come from another line of family? He could have came from the family that had less messed up people. He could have came from the good law abiding citizens. He could have came from those who did live lives that were good, but he didn't. He came from a family that was messed up and God planned it this way.
This was made more real than it had ever been before this summer and then again just a few days ago. When you look at the line of Jesus, the Bible leaves no one out. It does not just say that Jesus was born and that he had no past. No...Jesus had a past. He had a messy one at that. He did not come from the Godly, rule following people. Nope, he came from the dirty messed up people who lived their lives as the world lived. He came from people who were prostitutes, adulterers, and murderers. People that we would never own up to being in our family, but the Bible does not leave this family out. The Bible owns it. Our Lord and Savior comes from people who most of us would consider the scum of the earth.
And taking this on farther...how cool is it that God could have totally made Jesus come from another line of family? He could have came from the family that had less messed up people. He could have came from the good law abiding citizens. He could have came from those who did live lives that were good, but he didn't. He came from a family that was messed up and God planned it this way.
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