On my first day of college, I was enamored with the possibility of meeting so many people. I made sure that I would check out every organization possible. One of those organizations just happened to be InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It was around 6 p.m, on a Friday afternoon, and Intervarsity was about to have their annual cookout to start off NSO. (new student outreach for all you non-Intervarsity peeps) I could not, for the life of me, find the location they were having it. Earlier in the Summer, I got a member's number. So, I decided to call this person. Not only did he tell me where to go, he also drove around in his car for 15 minutes before finding me!
InterVarsity playing Intramural Football in my Freshman year....
As I got to the cookout, I noticed something right off the bat: how friendly everyone was. Now, I'm quite the talker, I never have had a problem with meeting new people; yet, the effort people took to get to know "that new freshman" really hit me.
InterVarsity in 2016 at the Eastern VA Conference...
It was here that I really learned what it meant to be in a loving community filled with so many different people. It is also here where my concept of Christianity significantly matured. For, before coming to college, I had only been a Christian for two years. I still had my questions (I still do by the way, which is okay), one of them is that I was always told that I could not be a Christian and a Democrat. Before I go any further, I'm about to admit something I'm ashamed to say. For I had always valued myself as a 'tolerant' person, but before coming to ODU, I had a strong bias against Conservatives. Rather that was politically or theologically, I felt like they were all close-minded and bigoted. My small group leader, who was a conservative, by the way, shattered all of that with one secret weapon: getting to know me. He not only shattered that bias, but he also convinced me that it was okay that I still had questions and affirmed I was still a follower of Christ. He also taught me a lesson, rather he knows it or not, that I still carry with me in all of my leadership roles: that the most opposite people can always find common ground and that sometimes, these friendships are even the ones you most cherish. So InterVarsity, let me just tell you why you have impacted my life so much:
Bro love...don't ask questions...
Intervarsity, you taught me everything I know about what a community ought to be. You see, God has always wanted Us to be in unity, but often times we get unity confused with unison. We are told in the bible to be one in Christ. However, the tragic thing is that people throughout history have taken this to mean that Christians cannot be different as individuals: whether that be politically, theologically, how we worship God or our customs. In fact, the thing that really awes me as a Christian is that although there is, for sure, some doctrines that are essential to Christianity, there is much room for different cultures to worship God in their own way. And that is a GOOD thing! Do not believe me? Check out the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 17.
InterVarsity at hunt club farm...
Which leads me to the next thing you taught me InterVarsity: the concept of racial reconciliation. My sophomore year of college, InterVarsity had a conference. The theme was Racial reconciliation. In fact, just recently, at Urbana, Intervarsity invited an evangelical speaker who is a part of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Intervarsity you truly changed my heart. You taught me that God made all of us differently with different ethnicities and cultures because that was the only way that God could represent the image of God. You also taught me that God cares about our ethnicity and culture. Indeed, God is not colorblind. You also acknowledged that minorities in America are treated poorly and you taught me that I have privilege. This is nothing new throughout history. Looking at the Bible, every society had the privileged and the disenfranchised. (Check out Acts of the Apostles Chapter Six. Here we see ethnic conflict and tension happening in the Church.) Jesus calls us to lay down our privilege and to reconcile with those that society mistreats. Just like God reconciled himself to us, through the holy spirit, I must make it my life’s work to seek out reconciliation between ethnicities, genders, the poor, etc. For it is in these situations where we get a glimpse of Jesus.
A three part series done this fall...
You also taught me that multiethnicity is not just optional, it is in fact, required of Christians. The Kingdom of God is not going to be separated by gender, theology, politics, race, ethnicity, etc. But neither will our beautiful, God-given differences disappear either. We are called to partner with God in his kingdom work to show everyone what the Kingdom of God is meant to be. Not only this but when interacting and worshiping with those different than us, we truly get more of a picture of who our God is.
Michelle Higgins, part of the Black Lives Matter movement speaking at InterVarsity Urbana '16...
Finally, I just want to thank you InterVarsity for loving everyone no matter what religion or creed they are. No matter what sexual orientation or ethnicity. People in our chapter may differ in how they view some issues, but you still none the less teach that we should love our neighbor. I've seen how God has used InterVarsity to bring so many different kinds of people closer together making them the most unlikely of friends. I know this is true for me and others.
InterVarsity at CHAT in Churchill, Richmond...IT"S CHAT YA"LL.
InterVarsity, thank you for showing me that although I am different than some Christians, I too, am a Follower of Christ. Thank you for giving me friends that I consider family who will surely be a cornerstone in my life. Thank you for showing me how blind I was to the suffering of those around me. Thank you for showing me my life’s calling and how that falls within your plan. Most of all, thank you for showing me that although all Christians are different, we are all, in fact, one in Christ.
InterVarsity in our Volleyball Tournament...
InterVarsity teamed up with ODU NAACP and others this semester to discuss race relations...
Follow our ODU's InterVarsity chapter on Facebook!!!
