In Search of Kingdom Living

My journey to Urbana started with the 4 1/2 hours spent outdoors at Trinity Presbyterian between 7:30-11pm, trying to mobilize 11 buses across Ontario. It was a cold and windy time as I ran around making sure everything was ok. I received dozens of calls, dealt with a number of problem cases, lost a glove, had my authority usurped by a particular church elder who let his kids run rampant onto a bus without signing in…. and finally, we were on our way to St. Louis.

The ride itself was pretty taxing, I had to be awake during most of the ride to inform the bus driver of our stops. I also can’t sleep very well in new environments… and sleeping on a bus with 40+ other passengers is definitely a new environment.  I did have a good/long conversation with Joe about life, school, and church. Hopefully we’ll be able to share more when we ride back to Toronto.

In the end, I can say it’s a near miracle, a blessing from God that all 11 buses arrived in St. Louis safely and relatively on time.

When we got here, I met so many unexpected people. First, bumped into Christina Singh, who was the older sister of a childhood friend of mine named Richard. Also spoke to Shu Yin who’s a IVCF worker in Montreal. I was walking through the stadium to find seats for the evening session and bumped into Kathy, one of the ‘chicago girls’. I also heard that Uncle Danny and Auntie Rachel were in St. Louis and I was able to connect with them over the phone - we’re going to meet up for lunch on Day 3. With the emphasis on family/community this year, I’m wondering if God’s sending me a signal about my own lack of community and being purposeful in finding a community that I can fully engage in.

Before the evening session, my co-workers, TCCFers (and friends) and I went hunting for a place to eat. Maybe it’s still Christmas break… but this part of the city is practically dead. We’re in the middle of downtown and most restaurants are closed (all signs indicate that they’re only open for lunch hours). Finally, we were able to find thie chique/fusion restaurant called Mosaic that served TAPAS food. Basically, tapas is where they serve you smaller portions, encouraging you to grab a variety of plates, so you can sample all the dishes. It felt like quite the scam, but the food was great. I had a hummus/pita dish and steak tenderloin – costing me $22US. Man. First urbana meal is some high-end stuff.

We finally entered the Edward Jones Dome (where the St. Louis Rams play their games) and it was quite the sight. Even with our numbers of 22000+, we could only fill half the stadium. I think Urbana is definitely planning to grow, and potentially fill up the entire place.

The first session was pretty much what I expected. They had all the heads introduce aspects of Urbana. I found it interesting that there was a significant welcome in french from the GBU (student ministry in Quebec). The worship team followed and it was mainly Israel Houghton-black-gospel-funk styles. I just read an article in the daily Urbana newspaper, and it seems that the worship tema will continue in showcasing the various worship styles from different cultures/ethnicities. The chords were phat and groovy, but due to the large unfamiliarity with the songs, it felt more like a performance than a worship team leading the attendees into worship of God.

Jim Tebbe said something in his introduction that struck me. He mentioned that we may not remember anything, we may not learn anything, but that’s ok – it’s not the purpose of Urbana. Instead, we should be willing to listen to how God may be speaking to us. That is definitely going to be my focus here at Urbana.

The drama team this year is taking a different approach. It seems they’re telling a continuous story (called the Journey) where everyone is playing the same character. The story so far has two students disagreeing on the way of evangelism/mission. One student wants to talk about Jesus all the time, the other student prefers to befriend them, speak ‘their language’ first in order to bring in ideas of faith in a relevant way. I think this year’s drama is especially relevant to my context and I hope all the CCFers will think through the difficult missional tension presented by the dramas

Unfortunately, when Ajith started his exposition of Ephesians 1, I was already dying from the lack of sleep/energy so I didn’t absorb much from the talk. I am going to sleep early tonight so I will be well rested for the following day. Greg Jao was also back as emcee, he has the same easy humor as before and can really engage the attendees.

Lastly, the book of the day was Courage and Calling by Gordon Smith. Each day, there will be a book (or two) that only costs $5. I’m really psyched about them as I already marked down a few really good choices. Looking forward to the next few days.