So much has happened over the past few weeks & it has been an exciting time for me and for us as a family. Sam and Jen are both doing well. Sam is growing and is now almost back to his birth weight. He’s feeding well & becoming more alert and attentive. He’s still learning to get into some of the normal routines of life, but generally is feeding, sleeping, crying & all the other things that babies do. Jen is recovering from the C-section & doing well at being a mum for the first time. She’s not allowed to drive for 6 weeks & has to be careful with some of the normal household chores, so I’m trying to ensure that I’m around and helping out with the everyday stuff.
We are thankful to friends both here in NZ & in the UK who have been so kind and helpful to us. It’s great to have friends who become part of the wider family. TSCF have been brilliant to me and ensured I took 2 weeks Paternity Leave. I’ve realised many folks don’t get this privilege at their workplace, so I’m very grateful that we are well looked after in TSCF – it’s very hard to say thank you to an organisation, so as I know some of my colleagues read this, let me make my gratitude to them known on here! Church & other friends have been making and supplying frozen meals & biscuits/cookies/muffins galore which have kept us well supplied over the past few weeks. We have particularly appreciated the strong sense of community within our church and their care for us has been great.
Today marks my return to work after Paternity Leave. And, whilst I’m sad to be away from Samuel & the hours of watching him & marvelling at how good-looking he is (people have said he looks like his dad, so I’m just taking that as a given), it is also good to be back. The past 2 weeks have been amazing – the reminder of the goodness of God in the wonder of creation, the incredible experience of new life and all that entails and the new adventure of parenthood. However, they’ve also afforded some time for thought & reflection on the student work that lies ahead. I am keen for the next 6 months (and beyond) to be significant, both for me, but also for the work of the Gospel here in NZ.
The challenges are huge. My colleague Andy Shudall was interviewed yesterday on NZ’s Christian radio station, Radio Rhema about the decline in church attendance and involvement amongst young people. You can listen to him here. After some conversations with students just before Samuel was born, I have realised the 4 major challenges we face with the Christian students we work with are: the crisis of friendship, the obstacle of engagement, the problem of discipleship & the challenge of leadership.
The crisis of friendship is that so many Christian students live in a Christian bubble. In fact, let me broaden that – so many Christians live in a Christian bubble. One of my students honestly shared with me “Ben, we don’t have any non-Christian friends.” Whilst disappointed at the statement, I appreciated her honesty. I want to think more about how we can help students in this regard & to implement things which may help them.
The obstacle of engagement is the next step along. When students do have unbelieving friends, many struggle to engage them in meaningful conversations about what being a Christian is all about, who Jesus is & why they believe what they believe. Again, this problem needs addressing.
The problem of discipleship is an over-riding problem. It’s part of the reason for the first two crises. In talking with our students, most of the issues that crop up are to do with basic discipleship. As a teenager, I remember bemoaning that I had not been discipled by anyone (which now I look back on it was not strictly true!), but thinking that I shouldn’t moan about it, but rather get on with discipling others so they weren’t in the same situation as I was! We long to see students going on as fully-committed disciples of Jesus in the Universities around NZ. Part of the problem is the need for more workers, but it is broader than that – we need a culture of discipleship and a zeal and enthusiasm to see discipleship happening widely. I am hoping to up the ante in this regard in the coming months.
The challenge of leadership is one of the more noticeable problems. There are potential leaders around, but they are in short supply. We long to see students lead and be led in a godly manner and yet are aware of the difficulties this raises for many in our current generation. Leadership is daunting and yet, it is also exciting and adventure and we long for more people to join the ride!
I hope to be able to blog more about some of the happenings regarding these in the months ahead, but for the moment would appreciate your prayers & even insights as we seek to address these issues. They are issues that I am wrestling with here in Wellington, but that we are also wrestling with throughout TSCF and beyond. For me, the past few weeks have been significant in “breathing space” away from the day to day hustle & bustle which have allowed some thinking time about all I do and am, and how we can be more effective in the future.
There are times when things happen in the student world which you can claim no involvement in whatsoever. At times, that can be a good thing, as if something goes pear-shaped, you had no responsibility. But, when something goes well, you can claim no credit. On Saturday, the 2 TSCF groups in Wellington, CU & ICF organised a “Cultural Marketplace”. It was a fund-raiser, a promotional event, but also came out of a desire to engage with the cultures of our students. I had no involvement in any of the planning or running of the event. However, in spite of this…no, probably because of this, the event went brilliantly. Nigel Pollock, TSCF’s National Director described it as
“one of the best organized student events I have been to - not just in NZ – ever.”
Foolishly, I chose not to take our camera (I’m a bit photo-ed out at the moment!), but regret that. Probably a couple of hundred people were there over the course of the evening buying & sampling the 10-12 foods from different cultures, as well as enjoying the music and dances provided by various other student societies, Embassies and cultural groups. Mel and Peng, the 2 Presidents of our groups explained what the groups are about and why they exist. They have both been good examples of students who have stepped up to the plate of leadership and have sought to befriend, engage & disciple those around them. I am thankful to God for both of them.
Jen and I took Samuel along for his first big outing. He enjoyed it thoroughly and slept through it all, including the rather loud, but impressive Chinese Lion Dance. Yesterday, he had his first visit to church, which again, he seemed to enjoy – he slept through most of it too!
I’m waiting for students to post pictures on Facebook of the Cultural Marketplace so that I can post some pictures on here – when they have, I will post some…but for now, enough of my ramblings, it’s good to be back…
