'Tis an RUF Christmas Season

Merry Christmas everyone!

We have reached the end of my first semester as an RUF intern! The finals are over, students are done putting off their studies, and everyone is home and enjoying their Christmas break. It's a joyful time indeed! We finished off the year with our RUF Tacky Christmas Party which you can see below!

Our gingerbread hose team actively preparing a strategy to win the competition!

Here we have some of the other teams preparing their own gingerbread houses.

These students just wanted to chill.

Here we have the finished product and winning gingerbread house!  The GingerMAN House!

Our campus minister, Hunter Bailey, my fellow interns, Rachael and Brian, and myself!

The gingerbread Victors!

Two of my favorite freshman guys, Simon and Joe!

As you can see, we had a great time at the Christmas party! Caroline and I are currently spending time with her family in Augusta, GA and preparing to head to Alabama to see my family. Our hope is that your Christmas day has been filled with much joy! Today is the day when we celebrate the birth of Christ, but let us not forget that as miraculous as his birth was, we would have no hope without his resurrection! May today be a day when we reflect on the great and mighty savior we have. A savior whom death could not hold and in whom salvation is found! Praise be to God!

As always, please let me know if there are any ways in which Caroline and I can be praying for you. Also, if you would like to learn more about how my first semester as an RUF Intern was, I would love to talk with you over the phone or meet with you over the break. Send me and email or call me! I look forward to hearing from you!

Email: marlin.harris@ruf.org
Phone: 478.321.4124

Enjoy your Christmas evening!

Remember Remember, RUF in November

Hello everyone!

I wanted to take some time to tell you about all the wonderful things going on with RUF at Emory! In the past month I have had the joy of going to fall intern training, planning a men's fellowship night, and playing in the inaugural game of our RUF Emory Flag Football Team, a.k.a the Ridiculously Underrated Footballers!

Fall intern training is a four day event in which all the RUF interns from all over the country come together to catch-up, encourage one another, pray, and be trained by campus ministers and area coordinators. I had a great time at training! It is such a blessing to come together with other interns and hear about how God has been at work in each of them as well as on their campuses! I also had the pleasure of meeting up with my prayer group one afternoon. We were all assigned prayer groups at orientation in June and have been keeping up with one another throughout the year. My group consists of interns from Savannah College of Arts and Design, University of Maryland, Jackson State, and University of Georgia. We were able to spend a good couple of hours catching up and praying for one another. It was a rich time for all of us! Training was a great time for me to recharge and refocus for the continuing work of RUF at Emory. Since then I have felt rejuvenated and filled with joy at what I have seen God doing in my own life and in the lives of Emory students.

This past Friday we had a very successful men's fellowship night called M.E.A.T, which stands for Men Eating Animals Together. We had over twenty guys show up as we carpooled the the Dekalb Farmer's Market, bought whatever meat we wanted, and grilled out at a house near campus. How awesome does that sound? Look for yourself!

A great shot of the delicious meats we consumed at M.E.A.T night!

Nothing brings men together like the grilling in the great outdoors!

M.E.A.T night was a time of great fellowship for all of us! Many of the guys who came had never been to an RUF event before, but were invited by their friends, and we were encouraged by the results. I was able to get to know guys I'd never met and have already seen God using this great event to help us reach out to the Emory student body in new ways!

Some freshman guys and I decided to make a late night Waffle House run.

In other news, we have formed an RUF intramural flag football team! We had our first game this week and played well, but ended up losing. Hopefully the next game will yield us a better result! It has been a good opportunity to get to know guys who would not normally come to RUF but are interested in playing flag football. I'll be sure to get a team picture up before our season is over. As always, have a wonderful day and please let me know if you have any questions. 

You can always email me at marlin.harris@ruf.org

God bless and please continue praying for the ministry of RUF at Emory!

October Update: Part 2

Hello everyone and happy Halloween/Reformation Day!

I wanted to share with all of you some pictures of what we have been doing at RUF Emory!

Our amazing group who went to RUF Fall Conference

Brian, one of our interns, and Jeremy, one of our freshman guys!

Getting ready to begin large group at RUF Fall Conference!

Myself, Shion, Cole, and Jonathan hanging out by the lake!

Cole is helping us dole out some hot chocolate at an Emory event!

Quick October Update: Post 1 of 2

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be writing this update and I cannot wait to tell you about how things have been going here at Emory. School is in full swing and the students have just started taking their midterms. Please pray for them as they strive to work well during this stressful season.

First of all, I apologize for there not being any pictures on this post and I promise to make up for the lack of them in my next one! I'm not huge on taking pictures, but I know how much people love them, so please forgive me and know that I am working to redeem that part of my life!

As for RUF, we have also gotten the ball rolling! Our Community Groups are underway, we have had four large group meetings, we had a great back to school party, and we are getting ready to head off to Fall Conference on October 12-14!

To give you an idea what Community Groups are, basically, they are small groups of both Christian and non-Christian guys or girls who meet together once a week for fellowship, encouragement, and Bible study. I am currently leading two community groups for freshman guys on Mondays and Thursdays and we are studying the big picture of the Bible in order to discover the unity of scripture. So far, we have had some great discussions which have even led on to one on one conversations afterward.

On Wednesday I was given the opportunity to teach at large group. My talk was from Acts 17:16-34 and it was about what it looks like to be a Christian and engage the different cultures we live in. You can listen to it here: RUF Emory: Engaging Culture

The next big event we have coming up is Fall Conference, which I mentioned earlier. This is a weekend in which we join other RUFs from around the region for a time of fellowship, rest, and learning. I love RUF conferences because they are such a great time to get people out of their comfort zones and get to know them better!

I'll be back later this month with another update once we have had Fall Conference! Enjoy your day and thank you taking the time out of your day to read my post!

Until next time...

Bustin' Out in Emory!

RUF Emory Staff and Leadership Team

Hello everyone! First and foremost I want to thank all of you who have supported us through prayer and donations. By His sovereign power, God has used each one of you to bring me here to Emory's campus! Since I've arrived, things have been going non-stop. We went to a Braves' Game recently and took over 120 students with us! It was a great opportunity for me to meet new freshmen and get to know them. I have also been meeting with a number of students throughout the week and am working on getting Community Groups started. These groups are crucial to our ministry because they gives students the opportunity to meet together regularly in smaller groups to build deeper friendships and study the Bible.

A group of us at the Braves' Game!

We had our first large group meeting this week and it was encouraging to see such a diverse group of Christians and non-Christians come together to explore God's word! We had nearly 100 people come to the meeting and the campus minister, Hunter Bailey, gave his first talk from our series this semester on what it means to be a thinking Christian. He discussed what it means to love Jesus with all of our mind and how that influences the way we love Him with our hearts and souls.

Our RUF Emory t-shirt for this year!

The internship is not all fun and games, though. It has also been very challenging. I find myself dealing with issues of approval in how desperately I want students to like me. I see lack of faith in the ways I become upset when things don't go how I plan, such as trying to get a game of Frisbee together and no one showing up. I find issues of self-reliance in the way I try to approach students based on my own gifts and skills rather than through dependence on God. I often feel completely unqualified for my job and regularly wrestle with the tension of wanting to always be doing something for God but remembering that He has already done everything for me! In our study program this month we have been reading The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges, which has been extremely encouraging to me as I struggle through these issues. Being reminded that my standing before God is not dependent on how many students I meet with or how well my planned events go or how much I do for my campus minister is deeply comforting. It allows me to serve the Lord faithfully and trust that He is in control even when I get stood up for lunch or feel like I had an awkward conversation and will now be forever avoided. That, my friends, is good to know! Glory be to the God who does not judge us according to our own works, but according to the works of His perfect, righteous Son!

In other news, God has answered our prayers and provided Caroline with a job as a nanny until she begins her classes in January. She works for a wonderful Christian family with two young boys named John and Daniel. They have a pretty amazing story of their own you should definitely check out. Please read their blog at hemakesallthingsnew.com, I guarantee you will be encouraged if you do. Caroline and I are still adjusting to life in the big city of Atlanta, but we are enjoying the new adventures that come with it. Apparently the nation's largest indoor rock-climbing vented is right down the road from us, which I'm looking forward to visiting and out-climbing Caroline to the top!

Thank you so much again for you support and encouragement. Caroline and I are so thankful for each of you! If you want to learn more about RUF at Emory you can check out our blog at  emoryruf.blogspot.com.

Have a great day! We would love to hear from you!

You can always contact me at 478.321.4124 or marlin.harris@ruf.org

God Bless!

Summer Update

Hello friends and family,

I hope this message finds all of you doing well! I just wanted to give you a quick update on how my summer has been going.

Moving to Atlanta

Caroline and I moved into our new home in Atlanta in the beginning of July. It is a townhouse in a neighborhood called Georgetown off I-85 north. It is only a few minutes from where Caroline will be at P.A. School at Mercer and about fifteen minutes from Emory. Living in Atlanta has been a huge adjustment from living in Macon, and we are still adapting to the changes. We have found some restaurants that we really like and are learning our way around the area!

July Training

During July 23-27 I attended the annual RUF staff training in Atlanta. Every campus minister and every intern come together for a week to learn, give and receive encouragement, and participate in prayer with one another. I learned about RUF's philosophy of ministry holistically as well as the different parts of Christian growth that RUF hopes to see in their campus ministers, interns, and students. We also learned about what to expect from the intern life. It was a wonderful time for fellowship as well. I was able to get to know other interns and was placed in a prayer group with four other guys who I will be keeping up with on a regular basis. 

Financial Update

I currently still need $1,800 a month before I can begin working on Emory's campus and ministering to the students. If you believe you could help me in any way or if you know anyone that you believe would be interested in supporting this ministry, please let me know. Classes at Emory begin on August 28 and my goal is to have my money raised by then so that I can begin building relationships with the students from day one. You can easily donate to my ministry at RUF Emory by going to ruf.org/donate.

Prayer Requests

Caroline and I desperately need your prayers. Please pray for us in the following ways:

1. That Caroline and I would grow in grace and that God would strengthen our marriage during this time of transition.
2. That I would trust God to provide the necessary funds to do this internship and not rely on my own abilities.
3. That even now God would work in the hearts of students I will meet at Emory and make their hearts fertile for the Gospel of Christ. 
4. That God would lead us to a Church in Atlanta and that we would find strong Christian community there.
5. That God would begin to reveal where I ought to go to seminary after the internship and that He would confirm or deny a calling I currently feel to do college ministry long-term.

Thank you so much for your time and support! Caroline and I are so thankful for each of you! If you have any questions or would like to inquire further into anything that I have mentioned please contact me!

RUF ≠ Church.

"RUF is not Church."

I heard my campus minister at Mercer say that more times than I can remember while I was at Mercer. He even told us that if we had to choose between going to RUF and Church that he would prefer us to go to church. Frankly, that made no sense to me whatsoever. I had no idea what he was talking about or why he would rather me go to church than improve the attendance of RUF Mercer's large group meetings, soI brushed it off as a misunderstanding. But by the 328th time he said it, I finally began to contemplate what it actually meant for me as a college student.

You see, I and many of my friends considered our RUF Wednesday night meetings to be the equivalent of going to Church. It contained the primary elements of a church service: announcements, singing, and preaching. But RUF was even better because we didn't have to get up early, put on uncomfortable clothes, go to Sunday school, or mingle with people who were different than us! Who needed the Church!? We had everything a church could offer served up on a silver platter and delivered to us by our own personal campus minister!

Then a though occurred to me, "What happens when I graduate and can't go to RUF anymore?" I was filled me with fear and anxiety. "Once I am done at Mercer what will I do? I will have to go out into the real world and be a real Christian with other Christians who are not just like me." That is when the words of my campus minister rung clearly in my ears and I began to understand that RUF really is not Church. Once I understood this and had some eye-opening talks with my campus minister, I also discovered that the whole purpose of RUF was not simply to give me fun, wholesome things to do while I was at college, but actually to prepare me and send me off from college as a mature Christian who would participate in, love, and nurture the Bride of Christ. Now I embrace this wholeheartedly and encourage everyone to question whether they have a proper understanding of their place and purpose as a part Christ's body.

So what is the Church, why is RUF not the Church, and how are they connected?

In order to answer these questions we have to go to the Bible.

What is the Church?


Christ is the founder and head of the Church. This is clearly stated by Paul in Colossians 1:18 when he writes of Jesus, "He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." The unique aspect of the Church is that it is the only Christ established institute recorded in the Bible.


So the first thing we must understand about the Church is that Christ is in charge. He calls the shots and the purposes of the Church must be aligned with the purposes of Christ.


After Jesus founded the Church He gave authority over it to the apostles before He ascended into Heaven. From this point on it was the responsibility of the apostles to seek Christ's leadership through the counsel of the Holy Spirit as they made decisions regarding the Church. I will provide a short, but by no means exhaustive, list of these decisions here:

1. The establishment of Elders and Deacons over individual churches
2. The practice of meeting together for regular worship
3. A commitment to engaging the culture and preaching the Gospel
4. Faithful participation in the sacraments of baptism and communion

These decisions set the tone for the Church and have, rightly so, remained in place from their day of establishment onward. Mark Driscol gives a great definition of the Church on the Mars Hill site:

The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize underqualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy.


Why is RUF not the Church?

Now that we have a working understanding of what God intends the Church to be, let's take a look at why RUF cannot be held on equal ground with the Church. 

For starters, the Church was uniquely established by Jesus Christ, RUF was not. While RUF is a ministry of the Church created to accomplish particular goals of the Church, it does not have the same power or authority that Christ granted the Church. 

Secondly, RUF does not baptize people or serve communion. Each of these sacraments are given to the Church alone by the authority of Jesus Christ. Therefore, only in the context of the Church should they be served or participated in.

And lastly, RUF is a ministry that ministers to people in only one particular life-stage, college. This means that it is a place that one will be at for, at most, 4-6 years. Once people graduate college and move onto the real world, they can no longer attend RUF and must find a Church, which ministers to people of all ages in all stages of life.

How is the Church and RUF connected?

One of the most attractive things to me about RUF is that they understand that they are not the Church. They are a ministry of the Church committed to serving the Church in every way possible. 

RUF also understands that its purpose is not simply to give college students something fun to do as a means to deter them from the temptations of university life, as so many campus ministries do. RUF desires to reach students for Christ, give them a deeper understanding of the Gospel, cultivate a love for the Church and God's people, and equip them to live for Christ not just in college, but for the rest of their lives! Don't believe me? Check out RUF's website here.

So, as an RUF intern, if I am faced with a student who says he must choose between going to Church and going to RUF, I will joyfully and confidently tell him or her to GO TO CHURCH!

Agree? - Disagree? - Leave a comment and join the conversation!

Is Raising Support Biblical?

You may or may not know that as an RUF Intern I am completely dependent upon the financial gifts of others. In other words, I will make my living entirely from support. 


Now I must admit that the thought of living off suport is not a comforting one. For starters, it completely strips me of self-reliance. That innate desire I have to provide for myself and my wife by working hard and earning what I get has been shattered. With this internship, what I receive will wholly rely upon the providence of God and the generosity of others. Although this concept will be difficult to warm up to, I know that any step that takes me closer to full dependence upon the Lord is sure to be a good one.


The second aspect of raising support that makes my stomach churn is that there are many people who do not think highly of living off the support of others. On the surface, it makes complete sense, especially in light of Western culture . We live in a culture where people believe that if you work hard enough you can earn whatever you desire. In a self-reliant society such as this, the thought of someone "earning" nothing and living off the generosity of others is not always welcomed. Those who I am most concerned about are Church-going, Bible-confessing, practicing Christians who think this way. They are the ones who I will be seeking support from, and it is by their generosity that full-time ministry will live or die.


So we must ask ourselves, is raising support biblical? In order to answer this question I will pull from both the Old and New Testament and also deal with a common argument opposed to support raising. 


Let's take a look!


Old Testament


When the nation of Israel was established in the Old Testament, every tribe except one was given land on which to live and farm. The one exception was the tribe of the Levites, of whom God said, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel."(Numbers 18:20 ESV).


God set apart the Levites as the first group of vocational ministers. It was their full-time job to protect the Temple, care for and interpret the Law, and intercede between Israel and God through sacrifices. The other Israelites made their livings through agriculture and trade, but the Levites could not make their living in these ways because God had given them different, not greater, responsibilities.


In order for the Levites to live and provide for their families, God ordained that they have a portion of the sacrifices for food and collect an allotment of the tithe for wages. This allowed the Levites to dedicate their lives to serving God in the capacity He had called them to on behalf of the people.


We can gain a few points of insight from the Old Testament precedents made by God for the Levites

1. God sets certain individuals apart for full-time ministry.
2. Those who God sets apart for ministry He also provides for financially through the generosity of His people.
3. The Levites were dependent upon the rest of the Israelites and the rest of the Israelites were dependent upon the Levites. Each group had different responsibilities and one was not more important than the other.

Needless to say, the Old Testament alone sets a strong Biblical precedent for those in vocational ministry to live off the support of other believers.

Now let's look at the New Testament.

New Testament

There are many places we could look in the New Testament, but for the sake of brevity let's look at two in particular.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul goes on a tear about ministers of the Gospel living off support. In verse seven, He compares ministers to soldiers, vineyard planters, and shepherds. Each of these vocations involve hard work and are pursued in order to earn a living. Paul argues that it is no different for a minister. This passage further confirms that being a minister is no better or worse than any other vocation. Each of us are called to certain vocations during certain parts of our lives, and each of those vocations are important to God and can be done to His glory.

3 John is a letter from the Apostle John to his friend Gaius. In this letter John praises Gaius for his support of multiple missionaries, some of whom Gaius did not even know! John encourages Gaius to continue this and claims that all Christians who are able to support those who have been called to full-time ministry should do so. John undoubtedly recognizes that the success of ministers is inexorably tied to the generosity of other believers!

From the New Testament, we can easily see that the three precedents we discovered in the Old Testament continue to serve as precedents for full-time ministers.

Now I will address a common argument opposed to raising support.

An Opposing Argument

Maybe you have asked yourself this question already, but if not, I will state it here: 

Did not Paul work as a tentmaker and earn his own living while engaging in ministry?

The answer to this question is a resounding "yes!" But let us also consider the context of the passages in which Paul speaks of his tent-making profession. Paul refers to working as a tent-maker in 1 Corinthians 9 and 2 Thessalonians 3. 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of his right and says, "...the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights." 
(1 Corinthians 9:14-15). Paul proclaims that he has every right to claim support for his work in the ministry, but chooses in this situation to waive that right. The reason behind this decision was his desire to set himself apart from other teachers in the area who charged for the services


In 2 Thessalonians Paul once again refers to his decision to work as a tent-maker during his time as a minister in Thessaloniki. In the closing of his letter he encourages them not to be lazy but to follow the example he set for them. This example and the reason behind it is stated in verses 7-9: "For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate."(2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 ESV). Once again, Paul refers to the fact that he has every right to ask for support, but chooses in this situation to waive that right in order to give them an example of what it looks like for a Christian to work hard in their living and flee from idleness.


The common theme we see in each of these situation is that Paul makes a conscious decision to give up his Biblical right as a minister to receive financial support for his work in order to deal with a particular, contextual issue he was faced with in a particular place. Each of these situations are exceptions to the Biblical precedents stated beforehand, not replacements of them.


Conclusion


In conclusion, we fail to see a strong Biblical argument that opposes full-time ministers seeking support from other Christians. It is only because God has blessed particular individuals financially that other individuals can pursue full-time ministry.


What I want to emphasize here is that each and every one of us are living together as the body of Christ! No single part of the body is better than another part, and each part is dependent upon all the other parts. Some people are called to be full-time ministers, others are called to be electricians or bankers or farmers. The list goes on and on, but God has adopted each of us His children through the blood of Christ. The Kingdom of God is here! All are called to proclaim it! It may be in another country, or on a college campus, or at high school, or in a small business. Regardless of where we are called, we are all working together. Maybe you are one who is called to support those in the ministry, maybe you are called to live off support as a minister. Either way, we need each other.


God has and will continue to providentially provide for all His people for the good of His Kingdom.


How has God provided for you in the past? 

Emory 101

I thought it would be good to learn a little bit about Emory University so I can go in there with an idea of what I'm getting myself into.

Here are my most interesting discoveries.

Dooley: Emory's Unofficial Mascot

Dooley is known as the "Spirit of Emory"

Who would have guessed that Emory's unofficial mascot would be a living skeleton with a sweet top hat, dashing black cape, and a vanity cane (the kind of cane you use simply because it looks cooler)? His origins go back to 1909 when he was an innocent skeleton being studied in an anatomy classroom. One crazy experiment later, and he came to life as Lord James W. Dooley. Since then he has been making regular appearances all over campus. Don't believe me? I found these picture from very reputable sources.

Dooley doesn't hand out high fives to just anyone. This guy went on to win a Nobel Peach Prize.

He's also been know to go streaking.

Who says a skeleton can't have a heart for the future generations?

Needless to say, Lord James W. Dooley is one bad bag of bones. I can't wait to meet him on Emory's campus. Maybe he'll tell me how he stays so thin?

A Secret Society: The Paladins

You heard me right! Apparently, Emory is home to a secret society known as the Paladin Society. It was established in 1998 and secretly infiltrates high-risk hostage situations to save innocent lives and thwart evil-doers. Just kidding! Very little is know about them apart from their desires to "promote spirit, foster community, and uphold tradition at Emory University through dedication to a humble service." There are an undisclosed number of members (the most consistent being 12) admitted each year. 

While I won't be eligible to be a member, I'm still hoping they'll consider a merge with my own secret society, the Istiophoridaeans.

Distinguished Alumni: What we wouldn't have without Emory 

Turns out, a lot of really famous and smart people have graduated from Emory. 

• The chairman and CEO of Burger King!

How sad would life be without this guy!?

•  Bobby Jones, the only golfer to EVER win a grand slam!

We all wish we looked this good swinging a golf club.

•  Grammy winning folk rock group, The Indigo Girls!

How would we ever know the power of two without the lyrical guidance of Amy and Emily?

I know what you're thinking, "Would life even be worth it right now if Emory had not produced these outstanding individuals?" Well, I can't answer that question for you, but I hope I've got your mind churning.

Do you know anything interesting about schools you've been to?

All aboard! The (Intern)ship is setting sail!

I cannot even begin to describe how excited Caroline and I are to begin this new phase of our lives as we move to Atlanta and she begins P.A. school at Mercer while I begin my RUF internship at Emory!

This will be my official RUF blog. The home base where I will be keeping all of you up to date with what is going on during the internship. I'm sure you're thinking, "Oh no Marlin, what will happen to your other blog!?" But don't worry, I will still be keeping up with Hands-on Theology.

Doing the RUF internship has been a dream of mine since I first learned about it as a student at Mercer, and now it is here! But it's no simple process. Many forms to fill out, trainings to attend, support to be raised, and prayers to be offered lie between this moment and stepping onto Emory's campus as an official RUF intern.

Although I'm excited, I also find myself scared. I have no idea what this internship holds. How the students will take to me, the ways that sin has led to brokenness in their lives, whether they will respond to the hope of the Gospel, and so much more. With so many unknowns, I already find myself feeling inadequate and having to turn to God for assurance that He is already at work in my life and the lives of the students. But even now, God is accomplishing His will. When I arrive on Emory's campus, it will be like walking into a meeting fifteen minutes late. My job will be to discern what God is already doing, how His grace is being and has been revealed in people's lives, and come alongside His work of redemption at Emory.

I hope you will follow along and even pray for me and Caroline during what is sure to be a grand adventure. I cannot wait to see what God has in store at Emory and how He will further His kingdom through the ministry of RUF.

When have you been scared of the unknown?
How have you seen God comfort and provide for you during these times?