True Worship

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free?” – Isaiah 58:6

We just returned from a challenging week on the west side engaging with urban poverty in Chicago. This is a picture from the L stop in the Austin neigborhood. From tutoring kids and scrubbing walls, to discussing ethnic identity and inequality, it was an exhausting week. Our phrase for the week was “true worship is naming what matters to God.” More than just singing songs and going to church, God wants us to worship with our whole lives, acting to bring Jesus healing to the oppressed. These people matter to God and should matter to us as well.

 

Publicity Stunt

I wouldn’t call Greek Conference a publicity stunt by any stretch of the imagination. But when you hear about Fraternity/Sorority students living out their Christian faith and renewing the Greek system, people start to notice. This year, the New York Times noticed and wrote this article!

GC Indy 2011 – Quick Facts

Greek Conference Indy was a great experience and many students made significant decisions as a result. At the end of the weekend, we ask students to respond on a comment card. Though some are more serious about their commitments than others, here’s an idea of how they responded:

• 475 Greeks attended Greek Conferene from Ohio to Oregon
• 95 Greeks from Purdue attended – the most from any campus!
• 8 students decided to follow Jesus for the first time
• 184 students recommitted their lives to Jesus
• 219 students committed to share Christ in their fraternity or sorority house.

Check out the highlight video!

True Brotherhood

One of the best parts of Greek Conference is watching our students grow closer to their fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. In this photo, 7 members of Delta Tau Delta at Purdue are praying after our Saturday night general session. Greek Conference provides these young men with a unique opportunity to connect with their brothers on a spiritual level. God is using this momentum to raise up a young leader in Delta Tau Delta to take over the house Bible study this semester.

But now I see…Greek Conference Indy ’11

One student’s journey to faith in Jesus

This was the first time we’ve had a student at Greek Conference who is blind. A Phi Mu at the University of Illinois told me she was bringing her sorority sister, Casey (name changed for privacy), who was not a Christian. Since Greek Conference was only two weeks away, I worked quickly to provide Casey with conference materials she could read ahead of time and even found a book of scripture printed in braille. She was thrilled to receive this gift!

It was touching to watch her Phi Mu sorority sisters caring for her throughout the weekend and making sure to include her in the Saturday night dance party. Casey learned about Jesus from the teaching and experienced His love through her sisters. On Saturday night, she stood to commit her life to Jesus for the first time. Casey thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and was sad to leave when we talked on Sunday.

The Saturday night dance party. The idea is to show Greeks they can still have fun without alcohol.

Greek IV On the Air

Listen to a radio interview with Eric Holmer, Greek InterVarsity’s national communications director. The interview was conducted by Elisa Talmage of Missions Network News and gives a great overview of the ministry. This was aired Thursday September 2nd, 2010.

What do we expect from our frat boys?

John Belushi in Animal House

I recently read an article chronicling the shift in America toward a society where women have more power and influence (and more jobs) than men. As of this year, in large part due to the recent decline in contstruction and manufacturing jobs, women hold more of the nation’s jobs than men. 60% of bachelor’s degrees are earned by women. The author argues that today’s economy, management styles and education are all better suited toward women’s natural abilities than men’s. (You can read the article here)

In this rapid shift toward a seemingly female dominated society, it is quite telling to observe that the media often portrays men as lazy, juvenile and unemployed. Being a fraternity member myself, I couldn’t help but notice similar trends in the perception of college frat boys.

What do we expect of our frat boys? Huge parties. Cheap beer. Hookups. Pornography. Hazing. Vandalism. Think this list sounds extreme? Just look at movies like Animal House or Old School. No doubt they are entertaining films, but they certainly shape our expectations of Greek life. If you’re looking for real-life examples, just listen to some alumni stories from your chapter’s heyday. This is the expectation. Sadly, the more this stereotype is endorsed, the harder it will be to take fraternity men (and all men) seriously in society.

But what if we could graduate from the “boys will be boys” mentality? What if these boys joined a fraternity and grew into responsible men of integrity that were lauded for something other than their ability to drink. That’s the core aim that most fraternities were founded on, but it often gets lost in our less noble expectations of what it means to be Greek.

A large part of my role in working with fraternity men is to help them see the alternative – to point them to Jesus who constantly offered revolutionary ways of doing things. I have sensed a shift taking place in Greek culture.  Universities are cracking down on keggers and hazing, while things like service, philanthropy and brotherhood are emphasized. I see students speaking up, challenging unhealthy traditions and creating alternatives. It is my prayer that as Greek students give their lives over to Jesus, that they will not only experience deep heart transformation, but that the transformation would spread in tangible ways to their fraternities and sororities.