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Tom, if you could be a rodent for one day, what you be and what would do?

Any rodent?! What qualifies as a rodent? Does a marsupial qualify as a rodent?

No, not for this.

I’m not too well-versed in rodents.

You could be a rat, a rabbit, a squirrel.

Rabbits are rodents?

Yeah, technically…I think…for this conversation.

I guess I could be a mouse…girls tend to think mice are cuter than rats.

How did you find Agape?

I found Agape when I applied to Loyola, I think first thing I looked up before I actually sent in my application was whether there was a community on campus. So, I found out that way and kind of just checked the box of “non-denominational Christian” on my application. Then I got an e-mail from Mike, didn’t really pay any attention to it, but then I just checked it all out.

What was your first experience with the community?

I went to the faith fest, and I remember Sarah Harrington and being very bubbly. I honestly don’t even remember meeting Mike, which I think that blows me away more than anything, because having the head of this ministry being someone who’s so easily relatable that I almost forget him, looking back that’s cool about Agape and Ecclesia.

What draws you into the community?

Well, I think what draws me in is the fact that this community is hungry for something. You’ll see a number of other communities on campus that are all hungry for something, they have a goal or something, but the main goal of growing closer to God and closer as a community is definitely something that drew me to stay. The main focus was a relationship with God, and having other things flow out of that definitely stood out to me.

Why are you a Christian?

I suppose the reason why I’m a Christian has a lot to do with what Jesus offers, almost more so than redemption and salvation, was hope. Growing up I didn’t see any avenues to attain hope- I saw the allure of getting money or fame or prestige in different occupations, but I didn’t see any hope or anything worthwhile in that, so everything was kind of a dead end in my mind until Jesus came into my life and showed me the hope he had for me and his death on the cross. Obviously there’s other stuff but that’s the thing that stands out to me.

What draws you to Jesus?

This is gonna sound silly, but in business school some folks will say that in the interview process, a lot of people won’t be looking at your grades or what school you went to. They want to know if you’re serviceable in your career path and if you’re someone people would want to have a beer with. I would want to have a beer with Jesus. He’s someone who is perfect in every way, but someone I feel like I can sit down with and hang out with. At the same time, the people you sit down and have a beer with are the people you can count on a lot of the time.

What has God done for you that you couldn’t do for yourself?

I think the biggest thing that’s very easily noticeable is how he rescued me from my anger. That’s a big part of my testimony- just recognizing how God worked in my life. I feel like, yeah, I’ll get frustrated and upset, but irrational anger isn’t a part of my persona anymore.

If you could have everyone you ever meet see one movie, what would it be? What makes you say “that story, that’s it”?

I feel like it would have to be a comedy. There’s something so amazing about laughing together- there’s nothing like eating and laughing together with other people. From there, the first thing that comes to my mind, the other night Mike and I were talking about “Super Troopers” and he gave me some very direct quotes from that movie, and I love that movie in general because there’s so much goofiness in the make-up of it. Anyone can enjoy it- there are a lot of people who would find it crude, but I’m like “this is for you too- you need to have some fun.”

Any final words for the reader?

I would say that you are really not as busy as you think you are. In all likelihood, you’re not even busy. You have classes and stuff going on, but look at a single mother’s life and think about how busy you are. Make time for yourself and do something you love. Make time for rest- read a book, go on a walk.

Olivia, if you could fight one famous literary character, who would it be and why?

I feel like I have to answer Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter, because in terms of pure evil, Lord Voldemort doesn’t have anything on that woman. She is the purest evil in that book, so I would feel no qualms about it. She’s probably not gonna be able to do me much harm if there’s no magic involved, she’s pretty short and pudgy.

And pretty old.

The sensation of punching this old, evil, pudgy woman seems pretty appealing to me for some reason.

How did you find Agape?

I think before the org fair, even, I saw signs around campus that said “Agape,” and I thought “oh, that’s a Jesus thing- I think I want to go to that,” and so I did. I think what stuck out to me about Agape in particular is that everyone seemed kind of weird, which made them seem really real to me, because I think there’s this thing where sometimes you meet Christians and they’re really nice but you’re not sure if they have a real personality. I did not have that sensation whatsoever, and so I knew that I could belong there and that was really cool.

What draws you into the community?

I think that genuineness extends beyond people just being able to be themselves, but also being able to be vulnerable and I think we have the capacity to be real with each other. I think testimony time at Agape really speaks to that and I’ve just realized that it’s really rare to have an experience in college where you get to be that vulnerable and close to people; that’s a really difficult experience to find.

What draws you to Jesus?

I think some of the questions that I ask myself most often have been, “Is Christianity just a story that I tell myself to understand the world? If so, then is it just a form of escapism?” and I think that’s one of the most prevalent doubts that I’ve had. It’s not whether this is “true” or “real,” because I’ve experienced it to be real. Everyone has something that they use to explain the world to themselves. I don’t have a good explanation for that, except that I don’t think the universe could be an accident- it’s too intricate and too beautiful and too profound to be an accident. I also had a big realization about a year ago that Jesus is the opposite of escapism, and I think that’s why I’m so drawn to him- he’s a God of engagement, he became human, and I think he loved being human. Whenever I read the part of the Gospels where he’s praying and crying in the garden, I think he was sad to leave. He loved being on earth and being human and being with us so much and he was sad to leave. I think that shows something so profound about being a human, and there was no one else like that that was God and man, and I think that’s what draws me back to him.

What gives you hope?

I’m an Advocacy major, so it’s pretty necessary if I want to do the work I’m doing. I think it’s really cool when I meet people who have a lot of passion for that kind of work, who look at the world and see all of its ugliness sometimes and they don’t pull the blindfold back down; they roll up their sleeves. That’s the kind of person that I want to be, so seeing other people do that gives me a lot of hope. I also think art gives me a lot of hope, because I think it’s just cool when anyone creates instead of destroys. Creativity is such a huge part of God’s character that I think it’s a really incredible part of experiencing him. I say art and you think “drawing, dancing, painting,” but I mean I think everything can be art.

What breaks your heart?

I think also being an Advocacy major and learning about the entrenched and systematic sin problems in the world really depresses me, and if I don’t think about the other side of it, the hope, I get really down on the fact that there is some sin that is so entrenched in the world that it’s unavoidable. I don’t want to participate in any injustice, but I always am, no matter how much I try. It’s honestly impossible with the way the world works. That’s really hard to grasp sometimes.

If you could recommend one movie that everyone should see, what would it be and why?

I’m such a book person, so this is hard, but my favorite movie is The Royal Tenenbaums because it’s about this messed up family, but they all have redeeming moments, and you realized that people are really complicated. No one is at this point where they are hopeless. I think in that movie, there is a lot of redemption and I think that’s why I like it so much. Also, its just really quirky, and I like weird, quirky stories. My runner-up was any Hiyao Miyazaki film. I can’t even put words to why people should watch them; you just should. You shouldn’t look down on it because it’s a cartoon- they are just perfect.

Any parting words?

Something I’ve realized this year is that I’ve felt closest to God in seasons of joy and of suffering, but the farthest I’ve felt from God is when I’ve felt apathetic towards him. The opposite of apathy is love, and when I can’t care about God, I just feel so far from him. Even when things are horrible, I feel close to God, but I think it’s also best to recognize the spirit of joy that we have, and to try to cultivate that in ourselves as much as possible.

With the season of Lent upon us, there surely has been thought and talk of what we are going to give up, or what we will be fasting from, for the 40 days. However, I would say there is more to be found in fasting and in these 40 days. In reflection upon last year, the first year I observed Lent, I was convicted that I didn’t realize the greatest thing I was receiving through the process, God Himself.

Last year I wanted to see God move and work in ways that I had felt that He wasn’t working in my own life. I had felt like I hadn’t heard God in a great while so I decided that giving up my headphones for Lent was the thing that was going to change that. The reason that I chose to do such was because I knew it would be hard for me. It was not necessarily because I wanted God to transform the way in which I listened to him, but likely more so that I wanted to put a Band-Aid on the uncomfortable and almost embarrassing wound of not hearing from Him. Even with that being the case, I still feel that God moved during that time. Not because I had given up my headphones, but because at the very core of that decision, God really worked on how much more of Him I want and showed me more of my need for Him.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
​ – Psalm 42:1

Through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross we have access to the one true King. When we fast, we are seeking out the presence of God. When we fast, we are not just giving something up, we are gaining more time and intimacy in the greatest relationship we will ever know.

Through recognizing our absolute desperation for God, we can humbly approach prayer and fasting. In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches on the two subjects as well as on giving to the poor. He tells us to give in secret, to pray in secret, and to fast in secret. Jesus wants us to focus on doing it with God and for the glory of God rather than for our own glory. We are not giving up social media, a certain food, or headphones to have attention focused on us. We give, pray, and we fast to grow closer to God and have Him work through us so that He may be lifted up. Throughout Matthew 6, Jesus makes sure that our Father is the focus. He intimately begins the Lord’s Prayer by saying:

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
– Matthew 6:9

We get to intimately cry out to God, calling him Father and glorifying his name. This is what I hope for in this season of Lent. That we would not be focused on what we are giving up, but instead on what we are gaining in the intimacy of our Lord. We are all desperate for God and fasting is a way to tangibly feel that.

So, for these next 40 days or so, rather than focusing on the giving up of some item or idea, lets focus on how God grow more abundantly in our life in our humble obedience to Him. Not seeking out our own gain, but instead seeking out the will and the things that our Abba Father wants to provide.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
– 1 Timothy 6:17

​If we are seeking to overcome a stumbling block in our life, let us use this time to pray and fast as it is written in Isaiah 58 to “loosen the bonds of wickedness.” If we are seeking for God to intercede on our behalf let us follow the example of David in 2 Samuel 12:15-17 and cry out to God in our fast and prayers. Above all, let us seek and pray to God so that he may transform us.

​Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
​​- Romans 12:1-2

-Tom

What is the worst tasting thing you’ve ever eaten?

When I was in Thailand for three weeks, I lived in a refugee camp. Thai food is amazing, but this was not Thai food. It was (food from) this people group from Burma, or Myanmar, and they didn’t have a lot of resources. One day, I seriously saw them pull up what I would call grass from outside of our hut, and then boil it with rice, and it was stuff like that every day. Just, anything that has to do with weird meat, too, like when I was in Ethiopia, I had to eat so much random beef and I was just like “I’m going to die here.”

Okay, how did you end up in Agape?

When I was a freshman, I was in the trolley line- that’s like this cool thing they do for the freshmen: you can go on this trolley ride and they tell you all about historical Chicago. So I was in this trolley line, and I was just back from YWAM (Youth with a Mission) so I was all “I’m gonna talk to everyone about Jesus!!” So I’m talking to this Jewish girl in line about Jesus, and about Christianity in general and then she was like “I think Jesus was like a cool guy; I thought what he did was cool.” And I was like “yeah, I mean, he’s the coolest guy I know! And God!” and then this person turns around and she’s like “are you talking about Jesus?!” and I thought she was gonna yell at me. But this girl turned out to be Blythe’s freshman roommate, Rachel, and she was like “are you a Christian?!” and I said “yeah! Are you?” and she said “yeah, me and my roommate,” and then Blythe turns around and that’s how I met Blythe and we ended up talking the whole night, and we were both looking for Christian community and Rachel was dating someone who went to Agape before, and then I went to Agape with them.

What draws you into the community?

I was just talking to Mike about how we are both a number four on the Enneagram, which is the individualist. So, to my core I am an individualist, and I like to do my own thing. But the more I study about Jesus and Christianity, the more I’m convinced that you can’t be an individualist and be a Christian. You can’t do everything on your own, and as much frustration as I’ve had with Christianity through people in my life, I’ve also seen God through the people in this community more than I’ve seen God in any other way in my life. I’ve just consistently experienced something so real and deep and true that is nowhere else in my life, so it makes me come back and unable to deny God’s existence. There is a depth to the friendships that I’ve had in this community that I’ve found nowhere else. I don’t think I’d be a Christian if not for this community.

Why are you a Christian?

Some days, I’m like “I don’t know! Why the hell am I a Christian? This is horrible and I didn’t sign up for this crap!” In the end, though, I think I’m a Christian, because in some senses the story of Jesus makes sense to me. It explains some of the questions that I have; the big questions, they make sense to me in light of Jesus. I also think I’m a Christian because I really value the sacredness of each individual. I really love how different every single person is, and I want to see them thriving in the person that they were created to be, and I believe the gospel offers that to people. It gives people the chance to be exactly who they were created to be.

What draws you to Jesus?

This I know for sure. I’m gonna try to not cry. What I love about Jesus is that he never forgets the people we always forget. He goes after that person that is forgotten, and I see that in the Gospels with him healing blind men and touching lepers and giving women a position that they never had before, but I also see that Jesus cares about the millions of people that we’ve incarcerated, who we don’t think about. But Jesus knows them and cares about them intimately and individually. I think what draws me to Jesus is that he comes to me and comes to every person and I love that about him- which he cares about the people I couldn’t care less about.

What breaks your heart?

My original answer was apathy, but I think that pisses me off more than it breaks my heart. I think what breaks my heart is powerlessness- my own, as well as other people’s to change things that are deeply wrong. It would be easy to say “poverty” or “sexism” and those things do bother me, but I think when I get down to it, what really bothers me is that I can’t do anything to change that. It breaks my heart when people don’t see who God created them to be, and don’t value that person- whether that’s because of their sexual orientation or skin color or general insecurities. It breaks my heart when people aren’t seen by themselves or by others as who God created them to be, and when that person is disrespected. I hate that, because I’m certain that God designed each person perfectly and intimately, and I want to see all of those people thriving.

Recommend a book. What’s one that’s been a watershed book for you?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou- it’s like her autobiography and it’s beautiful and important and amazing. There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz- it’s an ethnographic study in the form of a novel about two boys who grew up in housing projects in Chicago. And then The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne- that book annihilated my life my sophomore year and I was just like “I have got to get my crap together.” But I just think Shane Claiborne, he gets it. He’s like Mike Moore, it’s just like “you get it. I don’t know what it is, but you get it.” Those have all been huge to me. Also, Year of Biblical Womanhood and Jesus Feminist- those have all been books that have drastically changed the way I view the world and my role in it.

Any final words?

I think what I’ve been realizing lately is that there is no love in the world like experiencing people who love you when you are the worst version of yourself. I think that it is possible to find that in this community, and holy crap, if we don’t take advantage of that, we are fools.

Nick Cage, because, well, what not?

Tuesday night prayer is happening tonight.  This is where we gather together and intercede for the campus and each other.  If you have never been then you have never lived.  1236 W North Shore at 9pm.

Agape is back in Damen MPR this week at 730pm.  Soon we will be meeting in our permanent small groups for the year.  My small group is going to pick a mascot and it will probably be an ascot.

Ecclesia is doing a little sumpin sumpin special for you all.  We know it is the Super Bowl and have adjusted accordingly so we can celebrate in Word and Sacrament and then celebrate in the American tradition of commercial watching. 3:30pm in Palm Court. Check out the event:

Lastly, the RISE retreat is coming up and sign up is ending soon.  Get on it

peace home slices