NOT OF THIS WORLD

Ever have one of those Daniel Powter "Bad Days" during your years on staff? You know where:
"They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on..."

And then God shows up and gives you an Elisha-sized peek at the invisible yet eternal work He is doing around you? Senior Staffer of the week Peter Jason Lively recalls such a moment:

"At the Staff Conference in 2001 we had some current and former students visit during, I believe, the junior/senior days or something akin to that. One of the former students who had just graduated came who was one of those relationships that had started out somewhat antagonistically and became amicable and friendly. He loves to argue and challenge, particularly when it came to initiating gospel conversation and relationship with non-believers. Over the course of his years with the movement his heart and attitude softened to the point that he became one of our leaders in reaching the lost.

During one of the plenary sessions at the conference he turned to me and said that he appreciated me, that God had used me to change his heart towards non-believers and that he wouldn’t be reaching out to them had it not been for me. This was completely out of the blue. Up to that point I wasn’t certain how he really viewed me, and had no idea I had made any difference in his life. It was at a low point in my ministry experience, a time when I was wondering if I was making any difference at all. I cried. It was such a privilege to hear him say those words to me, an incredible gift from God."

Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, it would only seem natural for Peter to seek the supernatural in a community rife with history of "visitors" not of this world. When I asked Peter how he came to Christ he replied, "It happened in the month leading up to my 17th birthday. The morose, traumatic ending of a romantic relationship and the unexpected death of my grandfather spurred greater examination of the fragility of life and the need for something more substantial."

For those of you like me who think more with the left side of your brain I'll translate: after breaking up with a girl and losing a loved one within a month in high school, Peter realized that spiritual vacuum that can only be filled with Jesus Christ. I like the way Peter says it better- I just had to keep pulling up my online dictionary. Plus it has been awhile since I have referenced the Pascal metaphor.

From Roswell it was on to Albuquerque and the Universtiy of New Mexico where Peter hooked up with Campus Crusade for Christ and one Bob Bush. "Bob was one of the main people of influence in my formative years. He was my discipler while I was a student and my first personal example of a happy relationship between the intellect and the Christian faith." Peter graduated in 1998, joined the UNM staff team in '99 and served there the next eight years before coming to the regional office last year.

At their best, the people of Campus Crusade are a breed chasing headlong for the insurmountable, the gospel transformation of the Earth. This contagion of wanting to help change the world is thrilling and has been caught, in some measure, by many students and everyone on staff. It is a humbling family to be a part of.
Peter Lively
GPI Regional Operations Team
Boulder, Colorado

Being a creative person, Peter also notes how the magnitude of this task and the scope of our mission creates certain tensions in staff life: "The biggest downside is how quickly the vision can be swallowed up by so much of the ‘doing’ of staff life that seems much more ‘urgent’ than it is ‘important’. Also, the capacity to dream of ‘what could happen’ and ‘what we could do’ often capitulates to the immediacy of ‘tried and true’ methods and structures. A balance of daring new ventures and maintaining needed systems seems inherently difficult on staff."


Above you see Peter and his lovely wife Alana feeding alien horses found outside Roswell. And if you click on his graphic in the right margin you can read the rest of his profile. When not producing videos and media tools for the region (and sometimes while doing that) Peter is often reflecting on art, ministry, and the post-modern challenge of reaching the lost. "Any time we stressed reaching non-believers to a point that we stopped caring for our brethren or focused too much on building the body at the expense of evangelism it led to disastrous consequences. Either we saw great penetration into the post-Christian world at the utter exhaustion of our movement or we became complacent in our faith and leading to a great deal of infighting in the body and apathy with our walks with God."

"We each have our own strengths and passions and mine definitely lean towards evangelism. I’ve realized that when I lead in some movement endeavor I need someone who has a strong pastoral bent and will care richly for the body enabling us to launch out from a healthy community base."

Whether you credit his Roswell roots or his Biblical thinking, Peter has caught the truth of 1 Peter 2:10-12: Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Congrats to Mark Niemeyer who was the first to note the gravel road of the month is in Colorado. In fact it is dirt road called Ogallala and is one mile from my house. I included the western view this week so those of you who guessed Kansas and Nebraska have proof I'm not pulling your leg:



Congrats Mark. Your copy of Tim Keller's "The Reason for God" is in the mail if not at your house by now!
-Bert