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Matt | October 10, 2005 at 10:32 pm | In General |

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on what is going on in my life (aside from this morning’s snow). Since I’ve just finished my readings for Thursday, now looks like a great time to do so.

Life at the Institute has been busy, but a lot of fun. I’ve been camping, attended a Rockies’ game ($4 tickets if you sit in the nosebleed section!), gone to two concerts, participated in a Justice for All demonstration at the Denver Metro campus, baked 4 coffee cakes, gone disc golfing twice, worked on my practicum in the Public Policy department, and learned a bunch of interesting things in class. I’ve also been involved in a few different men’s Bible studies.

Three weekends ago all the guys at the Institute went camping together. We drove up into the mountains to the back side of Pike’s Peak and spent the night in a really nice campground. We had time to go exploring and play capture-the-flag before dinner (my capture-the-flag team lost). That evening we spent most of our time talking around the campfire. There was lots of male bonding and I think it was a good opportunity for the guys to get to know each other.

The afternoon we returned to Colorado Springs a different group of us headed up to Denver to watch a Denver Rockies baseball game. We got there early and were able to get tickets in the “Rockpile” for $4 each. It cost more to eat dinner at a pizza place in downtown Denver than to attend the game. The Giants were playing the Rockies, so those of us from California were cheering for the away team. Unfortunately the Giants lost (after a really bad 7th inning).

The next weekend, a group of students drove to Ft. Collins to see Matthew West, Shawn McDonald and Paul Wright play on the “History” tour. The show was really great (worth the 2.5-hour drive). I’ve seen all the artists before, but was really impressed with how much Paul Wright has matured as a performer. I was surprised to see that he had painted his Taylor 310ce. Instead of the natural finish that most Taylors come with, Paul’s Taylor had a vibrant beach scene done in neon airbrush paint. I would never do that to my guitar, but it fits him pretty well (the whole SoCal surfer image). He said that a friend that lived in Sacramento had painted it for him. We ended up standing in line for a long time for an opportunity to meet the artists, and I was able to get a Matthew West CD signed for a friend.

My roommate, Steve, had gone camping in Lake City, CO that weekend, so I had the house to myself from Thursday night until late on Sunday. It was really nice to have some time alone. I think it will be pretty cool to have my own place someday ;)

That weekend my quest team (a group of 11 classmates) hosted our first family dinner. Basically, we came up with a theme, planned and cooked the food, served it on Sunday night, and led worship for half of our class. We decided to have a “breakfast/pajama” theme. On Saturday a few of my teammates came over and we made 4 coffee cakes (thanks to my grammy for the recipe). The cakes were really good; Steve and I finally finished our leftover cake this weekend. We asked everyone to dress up in their Pj’s when they came to dinner. Some of my friends were really creative in their costumes (curlers, a superwoman suit complete with a cape, etc.). We gave out prizes for the best two costumes, unfortunately I didn’t win ;(

The next morning everyone met at Focus where we boarded busses which drove us up to the Denver Metro campus to help out in the Justice for All exhibit. Justice for All (JFA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate people about the effects of abortion and to open dialogue between the pro-life and pro-choice camps. I’ve copied the following from the JFA website to help explain their purpose:

The mission of Justice For All is to create debate, change hearts, and save lives.

This is accomplished through the presentation of an outdoor photo exhibit that is placed upon college and university campuses.

Opposition to abortion is not tolerated in academia. Critical information and dialogue is being omitted from our institutions of higher education. Herein lies the need for the Justice For All Exhibit.

Some injustices have to be seen if they are to be believed. Yet injustice is hardly ever visually appealing. Sadly, some will complain about seeing the pictures of abortion violence more than they protest the violence of abortion itself. Others will choose to simply ignore it, and/or refuse to engage in a rational discussion.

In preparation for our JFA experience we attended a series of lectures by Steve Wagner (of Stand to Reason) and David Lee (of JFA). In addition to this training, we read a book by Scott Klusendorf about pro-life apologetics. It was amazing to hear Steve and David speak, but I didn’t feel very prepared when we stepped off the bus onto the Denver Metro campus.

The JFA exhibit was already set up by the time we arrived. We were asked to go around and interact with students who were checking out the exhibit. I spent most of the morning walking around and watching people talk, but was uncomfortable with starting a conversation. I finally went up to a student and asked him what he thought of the exhibit. The dialogue that followed was interesting, but I really didn’t feel like I was getting any where. By the second and third conversations, I was feeling more comfortable. Most of the people I talked to didn’t seem to care about abortion one way or another. Apathy was often the common denominator.

The JFA exhibit is a 36-foot tall three-sided billboard with (graphic) pictures of aborted babies. It makes most people uncomfortable. Many students I talked to wanted to know why we had to show these pictures in such a public place. I answered by discussing the impact of graphics in our society. The Civil Rights Movement didn’t get off the ground until the general public saw the pictures of Emmit Till, beaten to death by two white men. The bruised and broken face of a black teenager showed people what racism looked like. In a like manner, the JFA exhibit shows the public the face of abortion.

My experiences those two days in Denver were very positive. I had many interesting conversations with average college students. It was great to show people that some Christians are interested in dialogue and intelligent debate about important social issues. Most of my time was spent listening, hearing where people were coming from and asking pointed questions to help them realize the implications of what they were saying. Of course, I was also happy to present rational arguments against abortion when asked, but I think it was more important to listen and show compassion. I hope and pray that the students I talked to will ponder what they saw and heard and really question their beliefs.

I would be interested in discussing my experiences with anyone. Check out the JFA website, think about the images you see, then give me an email.

After the JFA exhibit, I had a quiet week. On Saturday I drove up to Denver to go to the David Crowder Band concert. Shane and Shane were also on tour with David Crowder. Everyone from FFI who went had a great time. My roommate, Steve, took a really good picture of David Crowder (I’m going to see if he’ll let me post it on this site) which is now on the desktop of our FFI-issued PC. I would recommend checking out the David Crowder Band to anyone who likes modern/electronic worship music.

That’s about all the extra-curricular activities that I’ve been involved in. My classes are also going well. In our Marriage and Family Studies class we just finished taking personality tests. The tests we took were based upon the DiSC test, but use animals to help us understand some of our charateristics. They divide the personalities into the lions, otters, golden retrievers and the otters. I am mostly a lion, but with quite a bit of otter in me. Basically that means that I like to take charge and get things done (my lion side) but also enjoy having fun (the otter). Of course, there are negative aspects of all the animals, too, but I’ll let you imagine what that means for me ;) The hope is that understanding our personalities will help us interact with our future spouses.

My Christian Worldview Studies class is very interesting as well. We have been looking at different worldviews (actually, we’ve only looked at the Christian or Theistic worldview and the Deistic worldview). It is interesting to try and understand where other people are coming from. My experience at Denver Metro made me very aware of worldview differences. Most people seem to have a mixture of different worldviews (kind of like Spam or something). I look forward to learning how to defend my faith by understanding where others are coming from.

For my practicum I’m working in the Focus on Social Issues section of the Public Policy department. Last week I spent most of my time researching Harriet Miers and making a list of the concerns of both the left-leaning press and organizations and the right-leaning organizations. I think I understand the situation pretty well, so if any of you want my opinion, please email me!

That brings you all up-to-date with my life. If you have any questions/comments, drop me a line!