Tuesday Reflection for Week 1

Tuesday was the first day of class, so we did mostly introductory things i.e. getting to know the prof. and other students. But I found it really fascinating when Ryan began to tell us about the history of the course, how it came into being and how it became what it is today. I think a lot of the things that Wilbert Shenk was struggling with when he first developed the course about how to minister to those in the west are the things that I seem to be rubbing up against in my ministry today. So what does it mean to be missional? I am still in the process of figuring that out especially within my context of college ministry. What does it mean for college students to live out their faith daily, especially in this day and age where "church"--the institution, the building--doesn't make the same sense that it did 10 years ago? I think that a lot of the missional vocabulary is still a bit novel for me, but in growing up in the church and experiencing the breakdown of Christendom--as Ryan mentioned in class--I know how frustrating it can be to be working so hard at putting together programs that just don't seem to have any impact whatsoever. Is the Christian faith becoming irrelevant? I guess there is always that danger, but what must we do in response to that? What does God want us to do? How much can/can't we do? These are some of the questions I am struggling with...