Last Philosopher's Passion of Spring 2004...

Well, it was a really wonderful term for me serving at CCF.  It's kind of surreal that Philosopher's Passion met for the last time this evening to share a meal together.  Tonight was really enjoyable.  Thanks to Sophia for bringing chocolate banana cake, and Phat for picking up a whole bunch of goodies at the store on the way over!  It was very much unexpected, but very much appreciated =)  Also a VERY big thank you to Mike Y, who went to pick up everybody on my behalf, even when he had a final in just over an hour.  You're a lifesaver, and thank you so much!

So, Sophia, Noella, David, Phat and I all had hamburgers and then various deserts... I think there were more deserts than main course food... but that's because it was at my house!  I really enjoy having people over.  I really think that I may take the work term to learn how to whip up a couple of easy but very yummy recipes, because I have discovered that I really like hosting events in my house.  Perhaps an area that I can develop further... darn!  should have picked more skills up from Annie last term =P

So, I'd like to quickly share some thoughts about Philosopher's Passion and what the past three months have been like:

- To begin, getting a chance to serve with Sophia was wonderful!  Even before I knew Sophia well, she always seemed to pop up out of nowhere when I needed someone to talk to, and she is a good listener.  From the beginning I was really excited about serving with her.  Our very first meeting, which was to set out the mission for Philosopher's Passion for this term was quite interesting... at first, our styles did not exactly match up.  I am pretty detailed oriented, and Sophia has a bigger outlook on the overall picture.  Without knowing this about each other, our first meeting was productive but a long time getting there,  because we both weren't aware how to mesh our styles.  But it certainly didn't take long for us both to learn how, and when we did, it is so evident that God placed us together for a reason... for Sophia to keep reminding me of the bigger picture and to keep overall focus when I can't see it, and for me to catch the details that may get missed.  It was a synergetic team in every sense of the word! 

- A word of... not caution... but FYI if you ever want to lead a group such as Philosopher's Passion... Attendence fluctuates DRASTICALLY!  If anybody knows a way to help people to commit to coming out regularly, please let me know!  But be advised, that if you want to get involved in the seeker ministry, the turnover is huge.  We had weeks with ten people, and then the next week, only one person would show (who was usually David... thanks David for being so reliable!)  And then two people (the second being Noella) and then ten people again!  I know it's because we are at school to study, but just be aware and don't be discouraged if this happens to you.  I am glad that I learned this now so that I can put some time into thinking of accountability systems for Philosopher's cell.

- Many irregular members that come know more than you think they do!  This is something that I learned to be very important.  Not knowing where everybody is in their knowledge of Christianity, I try to take things slow and explain concepts along the way so that nobody gets left behind.  I have to find a new way to do this, because it is easy to come off as condescending to seekers who are very well read in the material.  Of course, I have no such feelings, I just want to be very clear so that everybody has the same starting point.  But yes, a word of caution to balance the pace of discussion.

- God throws curve balls!  With the very unstable nature of this kind of ministry, you never know what you're going to get, so it is important that you are solid on the foundations of your faith.  Sometimes questions creep up that have nothing to do with the subject at hand.  It's good to be flexible, and I learned once again that it's really okay not to have all the answers!  Nobody does, right?

- You will learn more about your own faith than maybe you will end up teaching other people.  And this was exciting for me!  Some of the questions that came up were truly philosophical to the core, and as I'm not an extremely deep thinker, I was quite intrigued at many of the topics that arose.  Especially stuff on evil and angels... I want to look deeper into this theology, because it's really interesting, and it's challenged my faith because I haven't even thought about many things before.  Searching for the answers is a journey all unto itself, but that's life!

I hope that everybody who came out to Philosopher's Wednesday or Friday meetings will walk away with a little philosophy to ponder on.  I know that I have, and it's a term that has really shaped me.  It feels good to serve the Lord in a way that He has designed!

So what came first... the chicken, or the egg?