January 7-11, 2014
Every three years, all InterVarsity staff gather for five days. Our next National Staff Conference (“SC14”), to be held in St. Louis, will be my fifth. Hard to believe how quickly time has passed.
SC14 will conclude a series of three staff conferences focused on InterVarsity’s Vision Statement. The Statement commences with the phrase, “our vision is to see.” We recognize that only the Lord can change hearts, spiritually impact academic communities, and alter the world’s trajectory. Our role is to be faithful and obedient junior collaborators in His mission.
In 2008, our conference theme was “students and faculty transformed.” Together, we envisioned the transformation continuum – from unbelief to belief, from belief to discipleship, from discipleship to leadership.
Our 2011 theme was “campuses renewed.” As this is perhaps the most abstract part of our Vision Statement, we asked what a “renewed campus” looks like. The conversation was rich and vibrant. Digging a bit deeper, we queried, How might our chapters impact entire campuses? As a concrete step in that direction, campus staff committed to connecting with academic deans and/or vice presidents.
SC14 will focus on the final phrase of our Vision Statement: “world changers developed.” After students leave campus, what next? What impact might they have twenty or thirty years from now? How can we better prepare them to be salt and light in the world?
World Changers in Focus
I am really excited about SC14. There are simply so many great world-changer stories to tell! Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City, became a believer at Bucknell. Gary Haugen, founder of International Justice Mission, once told me that if there had been no InterVarsity in his student life, there would be no IJM today. Don Kolowsky, retired president of Pfizer Chemical, has been a faithful witness in the marketplace and member of our Board.
I could mention hundreds of alumni. But to keep this article brief, I will focus on three. Each has been used by the Lord to touch the world in a unique way.
Michael Luo
In college, Michael was a committed member of our Harvard Asian American chapter and attended Urbana 96. After stints at the Associated Press, Newsday, and the Los Angeles Times, he joined the New York Times in 2003. He is currently an investigative reporter.
Michael first came to my attention in an article he wrote about another alumnus, basketball player Jeremy Lin. The piece was so well written and so poignant that I had to learn more about Michael.
As a reporter, he has received the George Polk Award for criminal justice reporting on three poor, mentally retarded men who were wrongly convicted. His range is amazing – from economics to the presidential campaign to Iraqi refugees. For more about Michael, see these articles at asianamericanchristian.org. and qideas.org.
Brenda Salter McNeil
Brenda came to the Lord as an undergraduate at Rutgers. Joining InterVarsity staff, she served as director of our Los Angeles Urban Project and then as campus staff in Chicago.
Over the years, Brenda has become a leading voice in the national conversation about racial reconciliation. She speaks and writes widely. InterVarsity Press is proud to have her as an author of two highly regarded books: The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change, co-authored with former staff Rick Richardson, and A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race.
It has been my great privilege to know Brenda over the past twelve years. Her prophetic yet winsome style has opened many hearts in an area – racial reconciliation – that is replete with pain. At her core, Brenda is a pastor; she deeply cares for those she influences. In an interesting twist, she is now a professor at Seattle Pacific University, my former stomping grounds.
Bill Haslam
While a student at Emory, Bill was deeply involved with our undergraduate chapter. His roommate was the exec president and he met his future wife, Crissy, at a chapter meeting.
Post-college he attended seminary, worked for his family’s business, and was a senior executive with Saks Fifth Avenue. After serving as mayor of Knoxville, Bill became governor of Tennessee in 2010. He is highly regarded for his personal ethics and Christian faith, serving on the Board of Young Life. It is refreshing to see a public official who is so candid about his faith.
Prayer Request
Please be in prayer for Lisa Chinn and the entire SC14 Planning Team as they enter into a very busy season of planning.
