Spring Update

I don't know about you, but spring tends to be pretty full around these parts! Here are just a couple of events I've been a part of over the past couple of months...

Preview Weekend

As I mentioned in my last update, I’ve recently switched roles in Cru.  One of my first big tasks was to

attend what we call the Headquarters Internship Preview Weekend.  This event provides college
students who are approaching graduation, the opportunity to hear about Cru’s professional internship
possibilities.  Approximately 80 students - graphic designers, software developers, accountants,
marketing gurus, project managers, and more - from all over the country descended on Orlando to see
how God could use them to advance the mission of Cru through their particular professional skills and
giftings.  Cru is actually a wonderful place for these kinds of folks to intern because, generally, they will
not just be doing “grunt” work, but they will get to dive into to the real work and gain a depth and breadth
of experience unusual in an internship. At the same time, they will also be trained and equipped with
ministry skills on local campuses, which equips them to live with a missional perspective, wherever the
Lord may lead them.  Please pray for these students as they pray through their next steps. Those who
join us for a year or more are a huge asset to Cru - pray that we steward them well.

Lenses Institute

Several years ago, Cru’s ministry to collegiate and professional athletes, AIA, began to realize that there

was often a cultural disconnect between the predominately white AIA staff person and the much more
ethnically diverse athletes they were trying to reach.  In short, AIA staff were struggling with cultural
competence and that struggle inhibited their ability to effectively minister within the athletic community.
Taking this problem seriously, the leadership of AIA committed to organizationally growing in cultural
competence and the Lenses Institute was born.  The vision is of Lenses is to see “a day when the
ethnically and culturally diverse people of God are seeing, understanding and acting in ways that display
to the world that our God is one.”   They now offer week long workshops to help believers grow in seeing
the world through the eyes of others.

I had the privilege of participating in a recent Lenses workshop in New York City, and what an experience

it was!  I’ve always loved the coming together of cultures and people in New York and it was the perfect
place to be reminded that the world is full of image bearers who speak, look, and act differently from me.
I learned SO many things over that week, but one of the most impactful was how limited I am when I only
hear the perspective of people who are just like me (whether in ethnicity, socio-economic, gender, or
cultural background).  Good leadership decisions can only be made when many different voices can be
heard. The problem is not that I do not (and actually CAN not) see everything. The problem is when I
think that I do.

If your church or non-profit would benefit from the learning at Lenses, please check them out.  It’s a

worthwhile investment. (lensesinstitute.com)

Here's me with friends new and old from the Lenses Institute.