Chris Bean

The covenant formula–you will be my people and I shall be your God–formed the essence of the covenant relationship from the beginning (Ex. 6:7).

One of my tasks as a campus minister is to communicate the biblical story to students. What is God’s Word all about? What is God’s plan? What is the Gospel? How do we read God’s Word…study it…live it?

There are a few books on my 2010 reading list which help me towards this goal and Michael Williams Far As The Curse Is Found falls into that category. Perhaps the most helpful aspect of this particular book has been the emphasis on covenant as a lens through which we can see the drama of Scripture unfold.

God has indeed, completely of his own initiative, covenanted with his Creation…certainly including humanity. Sin is the disruptor of covenant…the barrier which makes it impossible for us to keep covenant with God. Through the cross of Christ, death is put to death and the righteousness of Christ becomes the righteousness in which we stand. The church becomes extremely significant as the community which cooperates with sovereign God to mediate His covenant to the world (the ministry of reconciliation which Paul speaks of).

Williams skillfully unpacks the idea of covenant in a way that makes sense from beginning to end. Within the context of this robust view of the Gospel…from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation…God’s covenant relationship with Creation and all that He has done to maintain that covenant stirs the heart to respond in love and obedience. And as we live into this covenant relationship with God, we must be very careful not to divorce internals (heart) from externals (law/obedience) as Israel often did but look to the cross and the resurrection as our means for living as people of God.

Thousands of people around Cincinnati are participating in a journey with Crossroads Community Church in Oakley/Cincinnati. What they call their “all-church journey” this year is a series called “Free*” and it has been a great opportunity for many believers around the city to connect and be on the same spiritual page.

No piece of curriculum or teaching series perfectly meets everyone’s needs but they’ve certainly touched on a crucial life issue with this material. Many of us live out of brokenness and have our identity more shaped by that experience than by our experience with truth and the Gospel.

For me, the great lie has to do with my performance…comparisons…competition…fear of rejection and/or failure.

The great truth is this: In love, God has chosen us way ahead of time to be adopted into His family and that adoption has NOTHING to do with our performance (what we do) and EVERYTHING to do with trust (in what Christ has done).

The CCO sponsors a fabulous conference for college students each February in Pittsburgh. The final session ended about 24-hours ago and I’m still processing and cataloging the experience in my head.

Joining me at my first official Jubilee as a campus minister was…Joey Dupps & Paul Harris (two UC students I’ve been discipling), Jamie Noyd (a fellow campus minister at the Edge House), Kalman Tinka (my backpacking Beavercreek bud who is interested in OLT ministry with the CCO), and my family (my wife Deb and two daughters–Jessica & Jaquey–were able to attend as well).

The weekend was a terrific time of reconnecting with fellow CCO staffers…these are truly some of the most intelligent, faithful, fun, Kingdom-minded people on the planet!

The general sessions were highlighted with a few of these faces:

Amena Brown shared several powerful spoken word vignettes.

She is a poet, speaker, and journalist.

Each time she would ‘do her thing’ I got chills!

Over the course of the weekend, the crowd of about 2500 engaged in some energetic and inspirational times of singing and worship.

It’s always good to gather as the Church and pour out an offering of praise and worship to the God who has so graciously reconciled us to Himself through the Cross.

It was a bit of a tossup for me between these two speakers as my favorites of the weekend (especially from an entertainment and comedic angle). Susan Isaacs (left) beautifully shared her journey and at one point said, “God ruined my life…and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”  Bob Goff (right) is an amazing lawyer, father, professor, Kingdom advancer, etc who shows up in Donald Miller’s latest book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years). What he shared was simply an inspirational life of “playing riffs in the key of Jesus.”

There were so many other great moments, speakers, and truths shared at Jubilee. Dr. John M. Perkins challenged the present generation of college-age “young folk” to take the baton of reconciliation and be the post-racist generation that becomes fluent in a language of love. The impact which that man has had on the urban America and the reconciliation movement is astounding. It was a great honor to be in his presence….especially as I listened in on a more informal session with him and student leaders who are seeking justice.

Besides the great content, programming, and speakers which all made Jubilee quite amazing…sharing it with Joey, Paul, Kalman, and Phil was especially good. I see that God is doing great things in each of their lives and look forward to seeing what kind of great adventure God launches their lives into in the coming weeks and months!

There is no Gospel which allows one to be reconciled to God while unreconciled to neighbor.

That statement sums up the content of this challenging book on racial reconciliation. Since day one of my ministry at the University of Cincinnati, I have felt the Gospel compulsion to pursue relationships with students of all culture groups on our campus. So far, I’ve had the great privilege of connecting with a young female African-American student who has a tremendous passion for music, worship, and serving God. I look forward to more opportunities to connect with Darienne and her friends from choir, church, UC, etc.

As I move forward toward that goal, however, Perkins & Rice have challenged me with the basic structure of their book: Admit, Submit, and Commit.

Although, as a nation, we have elected our first black president and made many advances towards racial equality, in the Christian community we have certainly not come as far as we might think. Admitting that we have at least some biases (if not outright prejudices) is a crucial first step in the reconciliation process. And whether this is with the black, Latin, Asian, Native American, or any other community…we must remember that the Gospel can never be reduced to “me and God.”

That was Jesus’ point when he responded to the religious lawyer who wanted Jesus to pick and choose for him: loving God or loving neighbor. We cannot pick and choose when it comes to the very nature of the Gospel, which is a ministry of reconciliation as Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19. We can’t even pick and choose which neighbor we do or do not want to be reconciled with.

Intentionality. At one point the authors challenged me with this statement, “We must be intentional, relentless, and forceful.” Now I believe as that progresses from intentionality to relentless to forceful…there must be a good bit of discernment and Spirit-guided actions. But it will certainly take action (not just loving with words and tongue–1 John 3:17-18) if we are to pursue reconciliation and model what the Gospel actually calls us to in our own relationships and ministry.