Statistics show how NYers cope with the recession - Crain's New York Business

Statistics show how NYers cope with the recession - Crain's New York Business

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hair

This is totally unrelated to ministry, but has anyone else noticed how awful NYC water is for your hair? Mine has been particularly frizzy this year. A friend mentioned that she always has great hair when she's traveling in the Netherlands, and, lo, we confirmed that hers was not the only hair that was luscious & glossy in Amsterdam. The great hair returned in Seattle while we were there for a wedding on labor day weekend, and then again in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota.

I will miss living in Brooklyn when we move this fall, but on the upside I'm looking forward to some great hair days.

Commencement

An End and A Beginning

"So whuddya gonna do now?" As the year rushed to a close and graduation came and went, this question rang in in all of our ears. We are extremely proud to have walked through college with an entire class of graduating seniors. They are going on to many different things. Their interests and talents are many, as are their options.


Andrew, one of the graduating seniors, picked up on a more important question that very few will ask. It is a more elusive and complex question but one that we feel, because of the God we serve, feel compelled to ask. During our year end banquet, he reflected on the year saying that in the midst of numerous activities he found himself being asked to consider much more than just the mechanics of event planning: "What is our character going to be like? Who are we going to be?" For it’s in this question that hearts are unlocked and people start to live lives of dangerous beauty. Though character change is difficult to measure, we cannot help but be delighted to hear students coming away from this year with questions of true repentance, faith, and gospel transformation on their minds.


Some of the obvious highlights of the year have been the big events like conferences, retreats, and spring break trips but, so often, the true marks of transformation are hidden in subtle changes and mundane acts.


This year, several students and recent grads decided to share an apartment, but their varying standards of cleanliness became a source of much tension throughout the fall. Despite many confrontations, they appeared to be locked in a stalemate. Literally. Then, the most offended woke up on his birthday morning to discover that his greatest offender had cleaned his bathroom, including his toilet. This act remains his most cherished birthday gift from this year. As a practical matter, maybe it's not a big deal, but we cannot take it for granted when the Spirit graces us with the humility and willingness to reconcile, to actually change our attitudes and posture towards others. This is the same necessary kind of miracle that brings us to the Father.


In a culture of individualism & self-interest, New York is a particularly ripe petri dish for bad dating habits and Christians are by no means immune. One self-proclaimed womanizer found himself listening in on the opposite end of a particularly messy breakup. As he sat there, he began to realize as a participant in this community, he might have some responsibility to speak on behalf of this young woman who was particularly hurt. The thought of confronting someone else, a graduate student, no less, terrified the sophomore, but as he confirmed that he was, at that point, the only person privy to the information, he moved forward. A few days later, we received a phone call. The confronter said, "That was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life." A few hours later, the confronted also called, saying,"____ called me out. It was so awesome. I can't believe he did it, but I really needed it."


These acts, though seemingly small, were made with a sense of courage and self-forgetfulness that bear the marks and character of the gospel. We challenged our student friends with the question "What does it mean to love well?" and they responded.


This was a precious year for us in many respects, and we feared that we would not know how to let go. Yet as we see these young men & women coming into their own knowledge of their uniqueness in Christ, we see it as an awesome privilege to send them on to new things. 3/4 of the students, will come back to campus a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, and the class of 2007, the class with whom we share our freshman year at NYU, we send them out into the world.


Have we mentioned God's answer to prayer? At the beginning of the school year, Mike prayed that four people from our ministry would move onto professional ministry after this year. (Why four? We don't have a logical reason, but apparently the Spirit was on the move. We certainly don't believe that these students' potential gospel impact is limited to their choice to pursue professional Christian work, and pray that they always pursue the redemption of every part of culture they enter.) Two recent graduates and one senior applied to EdgeCorps, Navigators' short-term ministry exploration program long before their deadline, but #4 remained elusive. Throughout the year, a number of seniors inquired about EdgeCorps, one even began the application process, but each one moved on to other things. During finals, our least likely suspect found herself yearning for Japan, where she had studied during high school, and spent a college summer with the Navigators. At this point, she is beginning her fundraising for a summer 2008 start date with the Navigators in Japan.


Empty Nesting
We are also graduating with the class of 2007. Who have we become in this process? One year ago, we were just beginning to consider a return to New York City. We knew we wanted to work in ministry & were confident in some of our gifting, but in one short year we have also come to better know our short comings and limitations. We have spent a fair amount of time arguing about the dishes and facility management in general, though we are grateful that we have not lost our mutual respect and love for one another. We can even say that our love for one another and for God is growing deeper through the hard conversations and challenges. We continue to see ourselves in a type of ministry that focuses on gospel transformation of the heart as we continue to wrestle with the subtle deceptions of our own flesh, seek forgiveness from one another and, together, plead the blood of Christ.


Thus, we look forward to the future to what God will commence in our lives and in the lives of our friends. This fall, Mike will pursue an M.Div at Princeton Theological Seminary full time while Sonja will continue working at Redeemer Presbyterian Church for another year. Though Redeemer teeters on the cusp of megachurch-ness, we are already the beneficiaries of intimate care and investment. There are many opportunities for us to serve immediately, and some others for us to grow into. As members of this community, we will need to submit to the wisdom and care of these brothers & sisters, especially as we enter this new season of learning and discernment. What that means practically is that we will move to Princeton, NJ (yes, for real) in late August and Sonja will commute to the city. Mike’s full-time employment with the Navigators will officially end August 31st . (And we'll actually make it in the black, if we can raise an additional $5,500 over the next few months). Thanks so much for partnering with us in ministry to students in New York City. We will be in touch again before the end of the summer. If you are interested in supporting our last leg of this journey you can do it online : www.navigators.org

i AMsterdam

Before boarding the plane to Amsterdam, many of us had lowered our expectations of the trip so we would not be disappointed, but were once again surprised by a creative God. The physical beauty of the Netherlands itself was disarming. We felt at home in the city environment but disoriented by the calm of the canals and the hush of public transportation. We saw and experienced many things in a short amount of time and will continue to process the lessons over the next few weeks and months. Here are a few initial thoughts:

We observed quite a few differences and similarities as we visited 3 different Navigator ministries during our week-long trip. One of the most striking differences between was found in the educational system. University students pay about $2000 a year for the education and also receive a monthly stipend from the government. As a result, many take their time with studies and make room for growing in character.

Many of us were convicted on how we use our time. The Dutch students didn't seem to mind the 4 hour Bible studies and relaxing at a local pub afterwards. There was little hint of the frantic pace in which we New Yorkers lead our lives, where students complain if a bible study gathering lasts more than an hour. Elizabeth, a junior at NYU, said that during our time in the Netherlands she "finally learned how to rest". We continue to wrestle with finding our identity in work and business. It is ironic that we have to leave the country to learn these things.

Another goal was to learn about prayer and deepen our spiritual lives. Our very gracious Dutch hosts led 2 workshops on ministry prayer and the Holy Spirit. Where we, once again, were asked to slow down and listen before we spoke. We are fiercely independent and want to fix ourselves, but were reminded of the importance of listening, trusting, and submitting to God through prayer in a community of believers. Our time with Bruce Kuhn, actor & teacher, was similarly convicting as he taught us how to read the scriptures as people who actually believed they happened. (We usually tend towards to punctuation-blind monotone.)

We are also grateful for the friendships that we have made in the Netherlands. As opposed to staying in hotels or hostels, we were welcomed with open arms to stay in the apartments and houses of our hosts. The difference between being fully immersed in the culture and observing it on the periphery was significant. We ate what they would have for breakfast and lunch and even partied alongside them. We'll never forget the nearly 1,000 Dutch Navigator students and friends at an enormous dance club singing pop songs and dancing into the night.

Personally one of most important lessons that God has been teaching me through this season of life is that ministry must be mutual. The Bible speaks nothing of lone ranger superstars in Christianity. Even when we want to isolate and exalt people like David and Paul they always seemed to have trusted advisors and people around them encouraging them and sharpening them.

When I played hockey at Dartmouth I hated working out. I was tall and skinny, unlike the other players on the team, and tried to evade team lifting to do it on my own time. But our captain spoke to me reminding that I will always get a better workout with others. Interacting with both U.S. and Dutch staff taught me that I need to make being part of a team, or building one, a top priority.

As we look forward to what God has for us in the future. I can say that we were impressed by the level of thought put into the organization of the Dutch Navigators Ministry. It is not perfect, and the leadership will continue to wrestle with the tension of organization and mobilization, but there is discrete wisdom that we bring back. Currently the staff leaders at NYU are more visionary than administrative and have lacked the organizational muscle to empower, equip, and mobilize the body of believers. We are praying and discussing new leadership structures that will serve both staff and students in reaching the campus and city with the Gospel.

The significance of the trip is hard to estimate right now, nevertheless we believe that God will impact generations of believers because of our time in the Netherlands. Thank you for supporting our trip in prayer and finances. There are 17 people more ready and better equipped to holistically engage the culture in which we live with the unchanging power of the Gospel. We have been renewed and refreshed and are deeply grateful for your commitment to the advance of His Kingdom. You have been a model of generosity and love in our lives.

happy new year

Our return to New York has been very gratifying. We have been challenged and stretched in all the right ways and see God using both our gifts and discomfort to grow his Kingdom. Sonja has been given more and more responsibility with Redeemer Presbyterian Church at the Center for Faith and Work (You can check it out at www.faithandwork.org) and I have been growing into my role as a leader, teacher, and shepherd for students at NYU.

Through the dips and turns in our life we have confirmed that we would like to spend the next year serving in and around New York City. Sonja will continue full time at Redeemer and I have been mulling over different options to pursue further theological education while still remaining involved at NYU. I would like to invite you, specifically, to be a part of our ministry here in New York City. Here are a couple snapshots of what God has been doing in and through us over the Fall.

snapshot 1: Nick is a sophomore who transferred to NYU after a year of college on the West Coast. Nick is a joiner. He's gotten involved with several of the Christian groups on campuses, in addition to finding a home church. We get to see him more than most, since he regularly attends Nav Night and the men's Bible study. When Nick moved to NYC, he also reconnected with his high school friend, Ben. Ben has had a hard time making friends at NYU, and was more than curious that Nick had such a committed community even though he had just transferred. So he asked Nick if he could check out the Navs.

snapshot 2: We were well into our annual Jingle Mingle holiday party when we noticed two unfamiliar faces in our home, apparently unconnected to anyone else. Mike introduced himself and found out that they had been invited to a party down the street. They chatted with Mike & some other friends and decided to stay around for a bit; they didn't really know anyone at the other party and were enjoying the company and the thoughtful, lucid conversations they were having in our home. We exchanged contact information and agreed to meet again. These would be examples of what 'invitational community' looks like in our wildest dreams, but God is simply not content to let it be a mere idea. He insists on making his grace known.

We are, miraculously, at one of those euphoric moments in ministry when almost everyone is in love with each other and life seems full of endless possibilities. But the truth is that we know very little about life as a body, identifying and stepping into the gifts which God gives us to serve the body.

As last semester came to a close, some of our student leaders shared that they feel uncomfortable and ineffective in their respective roles, especially as the demands of their academic pursuits left them with little time to plan new events or take on new projects. On one hand, we are delighted that they are being challenged to be especially thoughtful about how they measure success and failure. At the same time, we see that the time is ripe for them to learn to be mobilized as a body with many differing parts.

This dialectic is being worked out at a larger scale, as we, along with several students, got to experience at the Urbana missions conference over the holiday break. For years the American church has assumed its position as the leader of the global church, yet the North American church loses 6000+ people a year. Meanwhile, our sister churches in Africa, Asia, and South America are experiencing unprecedented growth. The conference gave us a moment to reflect and rejoice in the Christ who is bringing together warring cultures and personalities as an expression of his reconciling love. The heart cry we heard at Urbana was that we, the church, have a great calling to radical interdependence with one another to make known the mystery of his Cross.

We are excited and expectant as we wait to see how the Spirit will bring this to bear in our microcosm at NYU this semester. Would you watch and wait and debate and plead with us?

Some things you can pray for:

1. The Veritas Forum @ NYU February 6-8. There will be some excellent speakers this year including Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, Erwin McManus, Makoto Fujimura, and Gary Haugen will be addressing issues of suffering, reconciliation, healing, and relief in a broken world. Pray for our follow up with interested students and space for the events to take place.


2. Our annual Northeast Regional Navs Conference in Plainfield, NH February 16-18. The theme of this years conference is the Seed and will address how the Gospel starts in small and unexpected ways. Mike will be leading worship for the conference and both of us will be giving workshops. Pray for our preparation and pray that God readies students to know Him more as a result.


3. We are taking a spring break trip to Amsterdam March 10-17. Our plan is to go as learners and observers to what God is doing in an urban context much like ours in New York. The campus ministry groups, in particular, are flourishing and we would like to find if there are best practices that we can employ at NYU. Pray for funding for the people going. Pray for our time in the Word as we study Kingdom-centered prayer and the role of the Holy Spirit.


4. Especially for Mike as he continues to help guide the leadership teams as well as mentoring and discipling young leaders. One goal is to equip leaders with ministry skills and ground them in the spritual disciplines of scripture memory, fasting, and prayer.
And for Sonja as she fights the battle of doing the job of two people at CFW. Pray that they would hire a new person to help with the load.


5. Our fundraising efforts on behalf of our students, that finances would not be prohibitive for the students as we pursue these learning and service-training opportunities in New Hampshire and Amsterdam. May they discover that they, too, are part of communities willing to help Prepare them and Send them to proclaim good news.

Through him who binds us all together,
Mike & Sonja

nyc runs

37,000 athletes. 100 countries. 26.2 miles. We saw our first NYC Marathon this morning on two blocks from our apartment in Brooklyn. There is something quite humbling about watching someone on a quest, chasing down glory. Many believe the marathon is the best day of the year in New York City and I am becoming a believer. With music blaring on street corners, we ate donuts from the local coffee shop cheered on as many names we could read from the jerseys running by.

The race is a great sea of humanity. Every size and shape you could think of. People with one arm or prosthetic legs. Short, tall, and a man in a tuxedo. Flags of every nation plastered across jerseys. I couldn't think of anything that set these people apart from the people standing on the sidelines expect for a burning passion to run the race. And even then, we get to be the ones passing out paper towels and kleenex to our sweaty friends with runny noses.

This is a both a 26.2 mile party and a sacred journey. I will never forget the Chinese man in a wheel chair pumping his left arm, his only good arm, with every once of energy he had. I have wandered the streets of New York faster than he was moving, but there was something noble about his quest. Behind him there were two younger faces, perhaps his daughter and son ready to push him if he needed, no doubt whispering words of encouragement when he wonders if he will really make it.

The truth is that you do not make it by pushing to the front at every mile. You train your body, and you pace yourself to last to the end. And if you are running to win, you may have just enough left to sprint to the end.



I love that this city is full of such visceral reminders of what life is really about: that we are built for an extraordinary journey with complete strangers who will become our brothers & sisters. But the NYC Marathon culminates on days like today, we find ourselves on a journey of a different scope.

This fall has been a particularly rich season in the lives of the NYU Navigators as we've discovered how deeply God desires us to love one another. One of our biggest fears coming into this year was that the growing size of the ministry would be prohibitive for deep community. Whispers of disunity and divisiveness reached us as we were preparing to return to New York.

One student describes the Navs as a group of Type A personalities, confused as to why their leadership skills no longer work the way they did before college. Our challenge to them has been to consider what ministering out of their identity in Christ practically means in their lives.

Somehow, 38 of these students ended up at our fall retreat. (Yes, the NYU Navigators are now 'The Big Fellowship.') After the official programs of the weekend ended, we invited the students to share their prayer requests with the group and let us lift them up in prayer. It began with one senior who, though she prefers to be very abstract and theoretical in conversation, reflected on God's practical mercy on her during a season of great pain and disobedience which eventually led to an addiction.

Over the course of the night, many more would confess their burdens and their hardened hearts and ask each other for prayer. As the spirit broke through the pride and self-protection in these students hearts, they began to believe that Jesus was serious about making a new creation in them, individually and as a community.

We are excited and blessed by the fruit that is being borne here, but we are also aware that it is preparation for the journey ahead. We share these things so that you may rejoice with us, and share in the prayers for these students lives, but we also ask for prayers of protection as the students learn to move forward. Some of them will need professional counseling, some will need to form new habits to step away from addictions, some of them will simply need to be bold in making friends. And some of them have not yet acknowledged their sin. In the meantime, we have been adding to our numbers each week.

We are quite in love with these men & women, and continue to covet your prayers to ask for God's grace on this ministry, and on us. Sonja accepted a job with Redeemer Presbyterian Church in late September, which, while rich in opportunities to grow and learn, has increased the demands of her time. This job has also alleviated some of our financial burden, so we only needs to raise $10,000 more for this year's budget.

All that to say, yes, we are still alive even though you haven't heard from us in several weeks. We are sorry it's been so long. We hope to improve our communications by adding a blog to our communications tools. This letter will be among the first entries of www.ilikestripes.blogspot.com.


Happy November!

the blog begins

welcome to chenyc.