A Rose by any other name...

Last week, staff from western Canada convened in Somewhere Cold, Alberta. We spent time with God, time in training, time watching fail blog(!)....needless to say, a great time was had by all.

Being there really recharged me as I hung out with men and women who have given their wisdom, time and careers to coming alongside students in their spiritual journeys. It blew my mind to hear Rod Alm (30 years on staff!) talk about students he had led to Christ who are now working fathers, teachers in Canada, pastors in unreached lands...what a legacy, eh?

During her training, Tara talked about a Bible study we once did back in Montreal. We went to a graveyard and looked at the tombstones...we talked about how one's life is represented merely by the dash in between the birth and death dates.

Powerful.

What will that dash look like? What impact and legacy will I leave? Our time in training last week really made an impression on me: that no matter where I go or what job I have, I am called to share the goodness of God and make disciples of Jesus.

This brings me to another, more funny but also equally pertinent point: how to describe my job of making disciples on campus.

What do these situations have in common: Applying for a credit card, chatting people up at parties, small talk at family reunions? I am asked what I do, and usually give a less than intriguing answer.

Answers I've given:

I work on campus with one of the Christian clubs.

I'm staff with one of the Christian clubs on campus. Which means I lead Bible studies and join students in their spiritual journeys.

Umm...basically I work at UBC....I'm kind of like a counselor?

I help students to discover Jesus.

I engage students in dialogue about spirituality.

Answers I've considered:

I drink a lot of tea and meet with students to talk about life.

I'm a life coach.

I guide people in their spiritual journeys.

I attempt to rouse students from their existential apathy and encourage them to ponder the big questions.

Answers I'll never give, but have crossed my mind.


I get paid to hang out with students.

I'm here to represent the God you're taught not to believe in, the creation you're taught was a cosmic accident and the love you're looking for.

I'm sort of a like a professional Christian on campus.

I'm still not sure what my job is...

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The main problem is, most of the answers are received with a "Mm hmm. That's interesting. What are you doing for Christmas?" Or, my favourite: "Oh. What will you do after this?"

What do you think? How can I express my passions and job in a way that rouses people's interest and leads to further conversation? How can I engage friends, family and strangers in what I'm doing?