Full circle

When I was an undergraduate at Baylor, I began attending a weekly college group centered on knowing Jesus. It was led by Jeff, and it changed my life by transforming my relationship with God.

And I wasn't the only one who was changed by it.

We were fed Christ week-in-and-week-out, leading to the birth of a church - a church I have been part of for more than 9 years. 

Well, this month I have come full circle: I am now helping to facilitate a weekly college group in hopes it will lead people to know Jesus better and to live by His life. We are going through a book by Hannah Whitall Smith - The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. She wrote it in the late 1800s, and it has helped me much in my faith. It's one of the few books I would classify as having as the topic the deeper Christian life.

We have met twice, and both meetings have gone really well. But I think the part I am most excited about is that I am truly helping to facilitate - this isn't just my deal. Fellow freaks Amanda, Chris, and Maria have joined me in this quest (or I have joined them), and we are leading this discussion group together.

I cannot express how much that means to me.

The real fruit from Jeff's teaching 12 years ago is not just a handful of people knowing God a little bit better as individuals. The fruit has been a community of believers, and the fruit of that church is the dispensing - together - of Jesus Christ the best we know how.

This isn't a one-man show. It's not even a male-only show. It is two men and two women with something to offer in how to live by the life of Jesus (and much still to receive). And already, after just two weeks, it is moving away from facilitators and non-facilitators to a collection of Christians wanting to know God through His Son.

So, I'm feeling a little sentimental. I'm feeling thankful that an old man took the time to share Christ with some college students. I'm feeling grown up that I am now doing something similar. And I'm feeling amazed that God has created a venue for four siblings in Christ to give back in the way they once received.