Cultureblog

Stick Around

Wed, 04 May 2011 16:30:43 GMT

Being a student at the University of Texas has its perks. You get to go to football and basketball games for real cheap, meet a lot of people, roam around an awesome city, get a good education and have people around you that are passionate about what they do. Now that I graduated in May of 2010, I find that I have a lot more time on my hands. No more studying late into the night or volunteering for 3 student organizations. However, I still have that drive to be a part of something bigger.

My husband and I decided to continue attending HCBCUT because we knew how much it had poured into us. We met at church, our best friends attend, and we have an amazing support group as we make these new transitions in our life. I travel as a consultant and I am gone Monday through Thursday pretty much every week. I find that it can be tiring but I always enjoy coming to hear Denny speak truth and to see all the people I love and care about each Sunday. I have met with a couple of girls in my time that I have left school and I remember being in that exact place in life. I try to encourage and reassure them through each struggle or, even better, celebrate in the good times! However, I am also amazed by how much they continue to teach me and remind me of what is important when I get bogged down in work or life’s surprises. God has placed influential people around us to encourage us to fight the good fight and enjoy the wonderful gifts he has provided.

When you graduate from college, many of you will probably want to move on to the next stage of life and leave the college years to memories. However, I encourage you to take a good look at what makes you the person you are today and share that with others. It is by far the best thing you can do and will keep you young at heart. For me, Hill Country still encourages me to grow in Christ, meet new people, and see lifelong friends.

Maybe

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:40:33 GMT

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It's a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." -James 4:14

After hitting the snooze button as many times as possible, we groggily crawl out of bed to splash water on our faces, curl our hair a bit, grab our Starbucks, and make it to class or work in time...if we're lucky. We go throughout our day, checking in where we should when needed, spending countless hours checking our phones and Facebooks, checking off the hours as they roll by. When the end of the day finally arrives, we enter end-of-the-day mode and maybe hit the gym or catch up on our shows on hulu. We shower and check our email accounts again then crawl into bed to prepare for the next day...where we'll do the same mundane, routine all over again.

Maybe your life has a little more excitement and diversity than this. Maybe you don't even like Starbucks. The point is, though, we take everyday for granted. We live according to lists and planners, checking off appointments and tasks as we finish. Now, of course, studying needs to be done, as does that big assignment your boss put you on, but for the most part, the way we're going about life is all wrong.

James 4:14 clearly states that this little routine we're going through on Earth is a mist. It could end in five seconds, two years, or three decades...all which are, when it really comes down to it, nothing...compared to eternity.

We cannot know when our alarm will decide not to go off, making us late. We can't predict the moment when our professor decides to move the deadline of that project up to this Friday. We do not know when the drunk driver next to us will not be paying attention when switching lanes. We cannot guess when our grandmother will be diagnosed when breast cancer.

Your life is a mist. It's simply this gateway to the better, a short time to rally up believers, to live for Christ. What matters is the decisions we make and the processes we go through. What matters is realizing that this is not life; our life is with Jesus and awaits us above.

Sharing the Gospel

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:15:06 GMT

I met Sean at a square dance for international students. At the end of the evening, after a couple of hours of dancing, we were chatting and getting to know one another. I mentioned something about church, and he was very interested.

Sean, who is from China, was fascinated by the idea of the American church. I invited him to Austin Hotspots that was the following day, and he came. While we were walking around the food trailer park, the conversation turned to God. To my surprise, Sean knew absolutely nothing about Christianity. He didn’t know about God, Jesus, or the Bible. He didn’t know about worship or pastors or sermons. I was the first Christian he had ever met. I tried to explain (with Andrew Raymund’s help) everything there is to know about Christianity as concisely as possible.

This is no easy feat, and Sean still had questions as our time at the trailer park wrapped up. Sharing the gospel is great no matter whom the recipient is, but with Sean there was something even more special. So many people come to the table with cynical attitudes toward the church, with memories of pain caused by so-called “Christians,” or with stubborn intellectualism that prevents them from even considering a spiritual realm.

With Sean, I got to start from square one and build up to the full message of the gospel. This experience was a huge blessing in my life, and it highlighted the reality that we Christians can’t just sit back and assume that the gospel is making its way around campus and around the globe.

There are people in this city who have never met a Christian. It’s weird, I know, but it’s true. There are people in this city who have never heard the name of the ONE TRUE GOD. There are people in this city who have a distorted and tainted image of Jesus Christ, and we must not be satisfied to leave them that way. We need to be the Church in every part of our lives, whether we are in class, at work, or even square dancing.

Small Groups Producing Life Change

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:43:47 GMT

As finals passed and spring turned into summer this year, most of the Hill Country college students transitioned back home where they enjoyed the break from the pressure of tests, homework, and various campus groups. However, several of the students who remained for summer school or work chose to use that time of less responsibility to dig into the Word with each other by joining a Bible study.

One of the groups focused on Beth Moore's Breaking Free study, which focused on the Christian woman’s identity in Christ, the beauty of an intimate relationship with Him, and the freedom to be found when one abandons lies and claims truth.

Jenna Christopher, fresh from graduating from A&M, chose the Beth Moore Bible study to get involved in her new church. As the days progressed, she explained that she gradually started having the impression that this study would actually do something in her life.

“I had never read the Bible, understood the deeper meaning, and had someone explain it to me,” Jenna said.

Summer continued, and truth from the Scriptures began to seep into her everyday life. Jenna described how her fiancée noticed she read her Bible more consistently and prayed more deliberately, and how it impacted their relationship, motivating them to protect their purity. As she watched God slowly change her life, her excitement also spilled over into her relationship with her mom, giving her the chance to share how He was working in a very real and tangible way.

While God moved in her relationships, He also addressed the strongholds in her life and made it clear that He desired freedom for her. Jenna told a story of visiting the tallest building in Singapore toward the end of the summer, and how God gave her a “calm that was so intense it was almost creepy,” despite her debilitating fear of heights. He also opened her eyes to the extent of pride’s hold on her life.

“I didn’t ever think I was being prideful, but then I saw all these little thoughts where pride was a huge motivation.”

As Beth Moore wrote, freedom from sin’s fortresses begins with recognizing them for what they are.

As Jenna looked back over the summer, she expressed how the Bible study had changed the way she thought and how she viewed her Bible. She also enjoyed the chance to interact with women of all ages from the church and was surprised to see how well they could all relate, despite their different stages in life.

“It was good to know the church had that kind of community,” she said.

Too many times one leaves a Bible study feeling like nothing changed, that it did not impact them at all – Jenna was not one of them. Her last statement summed it up well.

“I feel like I’m more prepared for life, just against Satan’s attacks and for marriage and for being missional with my family –I’m just so much further than I was! I feel more…whole.”

Heidi Rogers told a similar story of revolutionary change and renewal. When she first got involved with Breaking Free, she had no solid plans to stick with it. However, God had other plans, and when Stacy Gauthier asked her to lead one of the break out groups, it was “zero to 100% commitment all of a sudden!" Looking back, she saw it as God’s providence in bringing her all the way through a Bible study for the first time in her lifetime at church.

Going into the Bible study, Heidi knew Breaking Free dealt with overcoming strongholds of sin.

“I felt like I already knew all of this because I had already dealt with all my addictive behaviors; I was pleasantly surprised – just the things I learned and what God showed me, how things could be better with Him.”

However, as the weeks progressed, she realized how powerful these truths were that she encountered. When she broke down in tears one night, she was shocked to see how the others responded in kind as they became truly vulnerable and honest with one another – it was the body of Christ as He intended.

Several weeks into the study, Beth Moore spoke truth into the lives of these women as she firmly but lovingly maintained that while people may like, admire, respect and even worship Him, they do not love Him – and it’s ok that they don’t love him yet. As the group grew closer together and began to trust one another, Heidi explained to them that while she knows God interacts with her, she does not know how she feels about God’s love or how she feels about Him.

“I went in my room and got on my knees, and I said, 'Lord, I don’t love You – what a relief! I want to spend time with You, I want to get to know You, and I want to be excited to hang out with You.'”

As Heidi was speaking, it became clear how after so many years of declaring one’s love for God while secretly wondering what was missing, it was so freeing to be able to say with no condemnation – I do not love God, but I want to. She described how this gave all new meaning to the Bible’s overarching theme of God’s love and its radical power.

“The Bible talks about love so much you kind of belittle it and get over it. I don’t think about it – it’s just thrown around so much. But He’s LOVE. It’s all about love, even though that sounds cheesy.”

Heidi also expressed how God used this study to give her direction and clarity in her life when she had none.

“I was so concerned about what God wanted me to do next, but I realized that night that I wanted to talk to Him, I wanted to hang out with Him. For the first time, I was starting to FEEL His love and FEEL love towards Him. I don’t know if I LOVE Him yet, but I’m getting there.”

While she had been considering overseas missions already, she felt that her motives were finally right – to love Him and be loved by Him, and then in turn love others. She now has confidence in her decision to attend Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and plans to leave October 1st for Perth, Australia as long as she can finish raising the $12,000 she needs by that time.

Heidi and Jenna offered just two of the stories that happened through the Bible studies this summer, and they both echoed the life-changing truths that revolutionized everything from their view of God’s Word to their perception of His love for them. They understood that getting involved in a Bible study is not a “churchy responsibility,” but rather a precious opportunity to know truth and be freed by it, and to share in the community and fellowship of the body of Christ.

Help Needed in Mexico

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:45:52 GMT

Church Family,

As many of you know, heavy flooding has hit the border of Mexico and has had devastating effects on the city of Piedras Negras. Over thirty people have been reported dead, with several missing and many forced out of their homes. The mayor was also killed along with several others in a plane crash while surveying the floods. Eliud, the pastor of the church that we partner with in Piedras Negras (Iglesia Bethel) has contacted us to inform us of the devastation and the great need for canned food and clothing in the city. We will be collecting items this Sunday to take down to Piedras Negras and we will be traveling to deliver them as soon as possible. Most importantly, we want to be united with our brothers and sisters in prayer.

Please pray:

1. For Eliud, his wife Ana, Iglesia Bethel, and the rest of our brothers and sisters in Piedras as they help meet the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of their city.

2. That the good news of the Gospel would be received and that many would come to know Christ through the believers in Piedras.

3. For a safe and quick way to deliver the supplies that we collect.

Once again, right now the physical needs that Eliud has expressed are for canned food and clothing. As far as food, if you are purchasing it, please get things like canned beans, meat, veggies, fruit, etc. If this changes we will keep you updated. Please bring all items to church this Sunday morning. If you have questions or would like to arrange another time to drop off a donation please email hcbcutpiedras@gmail.com.

For His glory,

The Piedras Team

Keeping Up with the ROAD TRIPS

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:09:17 GMT

Keep up with what's going on with the different trips and know what to pray for specifically through these blogs updated by the teams:

MEMPHIS
"HCBCUT Goes to Memphis"

SHERMAN
"Serving in Sherman"

FORT MYERS
"Ft. Myers Spring Break Trip 2010"

OMAHA
"Oh My, I'm Going to Omaha"

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
"DR Team"

GONALZES
"Gonzales Mission Trip '10"

Girls' Night

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:42:10 GMT

When I was a freshman, a few seniors began an unconventional girls’ night of authenticity, where they showed (by testimony) how the power of God through salvation revolutionized their broken lives. We praised Him for who He is and what He has done through worship. Then we separated into pairs and shared the areas of defeat where sin had taken over, finding freedom, not condemnation, by bringing what was in darkness into light.

Candace and I were asked to take up where the old crew left off when they graduated, and we agreed.

Now, three years later, God laid it on our hearts to finally take ownership of that responsibility. I see brokenness in my life, and I've been seeing how broken the women are around me as I hear how we are hurting - aching for understanding, healing and love. I've also watched how we, as women, judge one another, gossip, and put on a face of perfection, and I know that it is time for change. God reminded me of that night my freshman year when we were truly vulnerable with each other. I thought about how we lifted up the name of the Lord together, and then lifted up one another before Him. He showed me how He wanted to demonstrate to us that we are all broken people, so we don't need to hide our sin and our worries from each other. If we can't be safe with one another as sisters in Christ, then where in this world can we ever feel safe?

So a few weeks ago, we had our first girls' night of the year, and the Spirit of God moved clearly in that place. Without planning the theme of the night together, God showed both Candace and I separately that we needed to address the idols in our lives- approval, security, certain people we look up to, success, attention from boys, and many other areas of sin and slavery. I saw tears, laughter, surrender, and new strength in the faces of each woman that night. As we worshiped together, I could almost see the chills we all had as we fell on our faces before the Lord. It was a beautiful thing to see and be a part of that night. It was especially powerful for me because I so often maintain that I can't hear God when He speaks to me, but that night, there was no doubt when I heard His voice.

Needless to say, we are going to continue having this night of worship, prayer, and testimony, cultivating authenticity and the love of Christ among us as daughters of the King. My prayer is that judging, condemnation, hypocrisy, gossip, and fear will begin to fade away from the culture of our church as we fight those things together, as one, in these nights that we come together and adamantly demonstrate that we truly care for each other. Satan is fighting hard to destroy the power and beauty of our relationships as sisters in Christ, so I say: let's fight back.

You gave yourself for me

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:38:49 GMT

You gave Yourself for me –

a concept echoed 1,000 times before, yet never to truly sink in.

You, who are all that is good –

a loving Father, a passionate lover, the love of my life –

or so I say, so I claim.

You gave, not with conditions or stipulations, but freely;

not sparingly, but without restraint; not in part, but all of You.

All you had to give, all there was to give. You gave Yourself.

Not an hour of Your day that you squeezed in for me;

not some gift you picked up along the way; not a few empty words in passing;

not anything I've ever dreamed of giving to You nor anyone else.

Your very self. Your life.

Your body to be beaten, Your spirit to be battered, Your heart to be broken.

And this priceless, palpable gift,

this grace beyond compare, is for me.

I, who throw it away every time I choose the approval of a friend over Your sacrifice;

or the satisfaction of seduction over the safety of Your intimacy;

or the ease of apathy over Your consuming passion.

And You did not simply allow me to have Yourself. No.

You called me by name, out of my darkness and filth,

straight into Your sweet, enveloping embrace,

where all my faults, fears and failures are nailed to a tree –

and forgotten there.

So I fall on my face before my Father, and cry to my Savior,

releasing my resistance to this utter madness,

this painful truth, this beautiful reality.

Then it sinks in. You sink in. You gave Yourself for me.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NIV)

Yellow Butcher Paper is All We Need

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:55:03 GMT

This past Saturday a group of advertising and RTF majors, as well as students just interested in serving in this capacity, braved the rain and came into the offices of Hill Country UT to meet about an advertising campaign for our church. We sat our umbrellas outside the door to dry, while inside we attempted to saturate the room with creative, big ideas for how to create awareness and interest in Hill Country UT and ultimately, to further the gospel on the UT campus. We began in prayer, and then Whitney Miller, our fearless leader, pulled out yellow butcher paper and began to write down any and all of our random, ridiculous, and remarkable ideas.

I myself am not an advertising major and do not necessarily think like an advertising major, so this meeting and the way it functioned was very new and foreign to me. The ideas that were being formulated were just written out in an unorganized manner with no certain reason or system, and it worked. This is evidently the way advertising majors brainstorm, and it was such a fascinating process to watch and be a part of. After all this brainstorming craziness, we began to think about logistics and implementation for several of the best concepts.

Something I noticed during the meeting was that when we start getting into the small details and tasks in order to bring ideas about, we become more vulnerable toward forgetting the purpose behind doing these sorts of activities. Instead of looking at these tasks as ways to glorify our Father and further His Kingdom, we become overwhelmed and see them as just another item to cross off our never ending to do lists. The best way I have found to fight against this mentality is through prayer; to come to God through petition for clear sight for why we do what we do. So as we closed the meeting in prayer, we asked God to remind us and continue to remind us that we work on these projects to bring glory to His Kingdom.

Operation UT

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:06:15 GMT

Wow! There has been a whirlwind of activity going on with Hill Country UT this past weekend. I had just moved back from my summer job in Anchorage, Alaska, when I was immediately put to work getting ready for Operation UT. After driving for eight days straight (4000 miles), I was ready to lay in the warm Austin sun and do nothing, but God had other plans for me. He did some amazing things on the UT campus the last few days and it is very exciting to start another year.

Operation UT is the annual fall kick-off extravaganza that Hill Country UT has. It started as helping move people into the dorms two years ago and has blossomed into so much more. On Friday, we had a dinner get together for all the Hill Country students that I had not seen in three months. I was so excited to see old faces and to meet new ones. I love how every time I go to a church event, I always meet at least one new person that loves Jesus and is excited about being missional. We went bowling afterwards, and although I did not partake in knocking over pins, everyone had a great time and I enjoyed getting to know some new faces. As I went home, I prayed for God to give me strength for the long day that tomorrow would be.

Saturday was so much fun! We had four main areas of focus: move-in, Swirll, and advertising. In the morning, everyone arrived around 9:00 for donuts and coffee, and we soon departed for the two main dormitory areas on campus, Jester and Kinsolving. The idea is to ask if people need help while they move into the dorms. Moving into the dorms is miserable. In 100+ degree heat you are moving heavy boxes up elevators or stairs that are too small into even smaller rooms. Oh and 200 or more families are trying to do the same exact thing simultaneously. By helping people move in, we hope to show the glory and love of Jesus Christ. People were very thankful and curious to why we would do this, trying to offer money that we would flatly refuse. Sweating together, I also made many new friends that I hope to keep up with. When we got done moving in a student, we invited them to Swirll and all the other events that were going on the rest of the week.

In the afternoon, I was at Swirll, a local frozen yogurt shop. All morning we were handing out coupons for free frozen yogurt. I mean, who doesn't like free stuff? Most people thought this was too good to be true. They would ask me why I thought they deserved to get something so good for free, which is a great segue to sharing the gospel with someone. I met so many new freshmen! We handed out hundreds of fliers about the movie night and made connections with over 300 students.
Saturday advertising was really interesting and fun too. The goal was to get the word out about a Christ-centered and culturally relevant church named Hill Country UT. We did things like human tetris and a flash mob! Students had a great time putting on the stunts and handing out info about our church. We also handed out work-out backpacks, which became the newest fashion statement around campus.

On Sunday, we had over 60 new visitors show up to church! This was so cool to me and shows what God can accomplish. It was neat to see the fruit of our labors on Saturday. The band did a great job leading worship, and Denny had a great sermon with some neat visuals. Afterwards, I stood around and met people. A group of guys and girls came up to me and told me they felt so welcome and engaged in the message of Hill Country UT, and wanted to know how they could get involved immediately. Praise God! I wanted to shout aloud I was so excited, but managed to contain myself so that I didn't seem creepy. I took their names and ways they were interested in getting involved. One guy said he would love to be in the next flash mob. Our goal is to follow up with every new student by next Sunday to help them get involved in the movement. That task is daunting, and I will be praying for strength and perseverance.

On Sunday night, we had a movie on the South Mall. Even though we had a few technical difficulties, I think it turned out successful, because we continued to try to serve the students and reach them.

We have prayed about this weekend all summer, because it is so important to quickly reach freshmen and help them to feel welcome in their new environment. God was so faithful. When I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I was reminded of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." As we get farther into the fall semester, please continue to pray that God will soften the hearts of the UT students to realize how much Jesus loves them. Pray for a boldness of faith for the student missionaries on campus, that they will continue to seek the will of God and be instruments for His glory. And pray that I find time to put away the pile of clothes in the middle of my bedroom floor before classes start!