Christ, Core, and Crutches!

Hello again, my friends! Halloween 2021 is the books, and soon the semester will be too!

Jamarkis
I want to start by introducing you to my friend Jamarkis! He's a Junior who just transferred this semester, and has gotten plugged into Focus at UTD as well as a church that a lot of us are a part of, called Northeast Church Garland. I asked him if he'd be willing to share a bit of his story:

Jamarkis (Paraphrased):
I was pretty sheltered as a kid and never got the chance to learn much beyond the confines of my family and home. When I got older and moved to Galveston, I was quickly sucked into a culture full of partying and smoking weed, surprised by all the things I didn't know the world had to offer. After being stuck in what felt like limbo for years, I made a friend and mentor who invested in me 1-on-1, teaching me how to make something better of my life. I haven't gotten to see him as much since I moved to Dallas but I feel the impact of his friendship and guidance every day. Luckily, we still get to text all the time.

Jamarkis identified as agnostic after leaving home and just felt lost, not knowing where to look for credible insight to help him ponder life's biggest questions. I praise God for providing that crucial friend in Galveston and that Jamarkis has since gotten to multiply exponentially the amount of friends and mentors actively supporting him, after only 3 months in Focus at UTD. Somewhere along the way he's decided that he believes in Jesus and is now enthusiastic as he explores what life with Jesus looks like in the context of a safe, critical-thinking community of Jesus-loving people. He's inquisitive, funny, and incredibly bright.

Core
It was a great month of ministry. Things have really gotten settled into a rhythm and my core (small group) has started to cement as a unit of consistent guys! We'll have 8 people consistently each week, as well as a new person every week or two. We've had Christians, Atheists, Hindus, and the generally undecided. What I love about core is that they all had a positive experience and decided to hang around because of the unique friendship and care they've found from the group. What they are hopefully starting to realize is that it's really Jesus they're drawn to in us. :) As one of my mentors, Ronnie Worsham, says EVERY TIME I see him, "I'm not here because I'm good; I'm here because God's good."

A group of us from our core spent a few hours together bowling and eating! From left to right: Jacob, Elijah, Myself, Nhala, and Sion.

A few weeks earlier, we went and saw the movie Shang-Chi, and a bunch of guys from another core coincidently booked the row right in front of ours. I could list these names too but I know y'all aren't trying to read all that.

After finishing our Bible-study one week, we hung out for a few hours playing games. One is called Ninja, and you'll see it in this video. Luckily (for me), the only match recorded was the one in which I won.

We recently switched our focus in core each week from being topical (Prayer, Anxiety, Time with God, etc.) to a section-by-section study of the book of Philippians! We should wrap that up right before the semester concludes in early December. Please be praying for that study, and that the Lord speaks to each of us as we grow in better understanding his Word.

Church Retreat
The last thing I want to share is about Northeast Church's retreat last weekend! It was a sweet time where every generation from child, to UTD Focus student, to retiree spent a day and a half together playing games and learning about what scripture-writers meant when they used the Greek word "Koinonia" (κοινωνία) which is often translated as "fellowship" or "community." It was so meaningful brainstorming together how God wants us to engage in fellowship with one another in 1-on-1, small group, and general church-body contexts. It was especially cool seeing the students from Focus getting to build friendships with people 3x their age. It excites me thinking about the coming kingdom where people of all nations and experiences will love one another and love Yahweh all together.

Now you may be thinking to yourself "Does Taylor have a crutch next to him?" and "He must have been doing something ridiculous like learning how to skateboard..." and you would be exactly right... I've been told by a few of the students that I should perhaps remember I'm not a college student anymore. Begrudgingly, I cannot argue with the truth.

Thank you all for your support and prayer. I'm so grateful I get to engage in God's work in so many fun and enlightening ways, building sweet friendships like the one between Jamarkis and I, as well as the many new friendships in core. I wouldn't get to do any of this if not for you, and I thank God for each of you.

Your brother,
Taylor