Triolet

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul and many signs and wonders were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common ... And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
//Acts 2:42-44, 47b//

Thought the First:
This past week we watched a series of lectures by the media analyst Gordon Pennington. The lecture series was fittingly entitled "Faith, Media, and Culture," and Pennington spoke on the necessity and nature of Christian cultural engagement and influence. In the course of his lectures, he mentioned the Acts 2 church, which lived so differently from the surrounding culture that by its very nature it was a light to the world and drew many new believers daily.

I realized as I was listening to that description that there was conviction there for me. As we have progressed further through the year, I know that many of us here at IMPACT (and alumni as well) have expressed a discontent with the prospect of expansion. God forbid that class sizes should grow beyond the twenty-five cap, that the IMPACT we know and love should be changed in housing arrangements, in class styles, in whatever way possible from the manner that we are accustomed to. But shouldn't we delight in the prospect of such a change?

The conviction arose mainly when I drew a parallel between the characteristics of that church and IMPACT as I have experienced it. The particulars are not perfectly aligned, but for all intents and purposes, we are part of a learning community not unlike theirs. In other words, we learn theology together, are growing in our faith together, share the banal aspects of our daily lives with one another. We pray together, break bread together, have even seen wonders take place as God worked through us. Do I think we have managed to rebirth the Acts church? Absolutely not. Do I think there is a just comparison to be drawn? Yes.

Given that we are not dissimilar, I do not think that it is absurd to think we might follow the same pattern of growth. Oh, I doubt that IMPACT will grow from 35 to 1000 students in the course of one year, but it is growing. And I would argue that such growth is healthy, appropriate, only to be expected if IMPACT is truly a successful program with regard to its aims. Furthermore, I am encouraged by the heightened interest, which suggests that we are not so great an exception in today's society as we have been lead to believe. Even if only 35 of the many prospective students get in, my prayer for the rest is that they do not lose that desire to assert, defend, and live out their faith as they begin their college years. We are not alone. Yes, I do have to remind myself: celebrate! Rejoice instead of selfishly clinging to the way things are. Time happens and I cannot do a thing to change that. And so we move on and grow.


Thought the Second:

We were not made to say good-bye.


Thought the Third:

Shin Splints

Puff white, clear light,

sun on skin on muscle and bone.

Each shift and twitch

slides, expansion, contraction,

and movement commenced.

Run to... (where are you running to?)

 Running from... (what are you running from?)
Arms open, promise of grace still

drifting on the last exhalation,

as with one last push against the pain

you leap:

and are caught by the kiss of everlasting love.