Tuesday, March 27, 2007
A Conversation With Ana
I had a great conversation today with Ana, the wonderful lady who helps keep Sigma clean. We talk on occasion, in my Portuguese-influenced Spanish, about what's going on in each one of our lives. She noticed our campaign materials and asked what I was running for. "Vice presidente," I replied.
She was glad, and even promised to vote for me; that is, before realizing this was a student-only election. Bless her heart.
Anyway, she said that she has been working for Biola for many years now, and has noticed a great improvement this last year in the student life. I thought to myself, "What is this improvement? Have I noticed this?" She went on to say this was because there is more order on campus, and there seems to be a higher moral center than before.
Friends, this is one woman who has noticed something.
We want to reach the world through the AS organization for the sake of bringing Christ to the culture in such a way that people start noticing the difference at Biola.
A global center for Christian thought and action! Just imagine, friends, what such a place is capable of doing.
We ask that in this whole process you keep in mind that this is a place that could potentially influence the culture. Who knows what God can do? The mystery has compelled both Bradley and I to run for these positions.
We are, in a sense, living in constant mystery, praying and hoping that we will be found useful tools for the Kingdom.
God bless you. Have a great week-
She was glad, and even promised to vote for me; that is, before realizing this was a student-only election. Bless her heart.
Anyway, she said that she has been working for Biola for many years now, and has noticed a great improvement this last year in the student life. I thought to myself, "What is this improvement? Have I noticed this?" She went on to say this was because there is more order on campus, and there seems to be a higher moral center than before.
Friends, this is one woman who has noticed something.
We want to reach the world through the AS organization for the sake of bringing Christ to the culture in such a way that people start noticing the difference at Biola.
A global center for Christian thought and action! Just imagine, friends, what such a place is capable of doing.
We ask that in this whole process you keep in mind that this is a place that could potentially influence the culture. Who knows what God can do? The mystery has compelled both Bradley and I to run for these positions.
We are, in a sense, living in constant mystery, praying and hoping that we will be found useful tools for the Kingdom.
God bless you. Have a great week-
THE Q & A
Just a quick note-- The AS Q & A will be taking place TONIGHT (Tuesday) at 10pm in the SUB... All the candidates for Pres/VP as well as those running for President of SMU will be there to speak directly with you!
On Shifting the Paradigm
It takes a great deal to change the world. Yet what is necessary is not money, nor resources, nor any tangible thing. What really has the power to really stir things up in the world can be summed up in one word: love. Now, before thousands of cliches come racing through your mind at bullet-speed, please consider that love is the source, while other things flow from it. The love of peace motivated Ghandi to change the way conflict was resolved between his native India and their colonizers. The love of mankind is what motivated Christ to take on human form and redeem all who had been lost. So, how do we as Biola students apply this to the way we think and act?
It takes these kinds of thoughts. When we stop acting in the way our culture dictates, we are able to change the world. Let us consider, that there are a few thousand college students wanting to impact the world for Christ. What kind of love would be necessary to change the world? Have we achieved it? Perhaps our community would be different if we had achieved it.
Now, here's the challenge. Put aside your cultural quicksand and dream for a moment. Dream about having actual purpose in life, dream about a functional multicultural community, and you will begin to understand what it means to have a love so profound that actually motivates you to action.
Our dream is to actualize the dream. Please, more than anything, be mindful of the fact that impacting the culture requires shifts in paradigm. It requires us to think in ways that challenge our cultural beliefs.
Meanwhile, there are meetings. There are logistics. But at the end of the day we ask one thing.
Dream with us.
We hope to RECAPTURE whatever has been lost. Whatever the culture has told us is impossible.
It takes these kinds of thoughts. When we stop acting in the way our culture dictates, we are able to change the world. Let us consider, that there are a few thousand college students wanting to impact the world for Christ. What kind of love would be necessary to change the world? Have we achieved it? Perhaps our community would be different if we had achieved it.
Now, here's the challenge. Put aside your cultural quicksand and dream for a moment. Dream about having actual purpose in life, dream about a functional multicultural community, and you will begin to understand what it means to have a love so profound that actually motivates you to action.
Our dream is to actualize the dream. Please, more than anything, be mindful of the fact that impacting the culture requires shifts in paradigm. It requires us to think in ways that challenge our cultural beliefs.
Meanwhile, there are meetings. There are logistics. But at the end of the day we ask one thing.
Dream with us.
We hope to RECAPTURE whatever has been lost. Whatever the culture has told us is impossible.
Monday, March 26, 2007
THE VISION
In the spirit of campaign kickoff, I’d like to take a moment of your time to explain the spirit of RECAPTURE.
Our mission is RECAPTURE the vision among the students of Biola University to be a forward-thinking global center for Christian thought and action. To break it down:
RECAPTURE—the desire, the passion, and the talent are already here. We’ve been here, we just need to rally together, work with each other more closely, figure out where we fit within the body. We need to be
Forward-thinking. We can’t rally without a plan; we can’t claim victory without a battle cry. The aim is to be a
Global center if we are to change the world. Indeed it is a truism, but how can we affect our worldwide society if we are not a world-class institution? One of the primary areas an institution of higher education with a dedication to Christianity ought to dominate is
Christian thought. Biola does an outstanding job of excellence in many areas, especially Bible. We would seek to expand beyond Christian thought as applied to Theology and apply Christian perspective thoroughly, completely, and excellently to areas of thought sometimes considered “secular”—ideas such as business, humanities, art, and of course our own field, mass media. But we don’t merely want to be thinkers. As Christians we are called to
Action. College students are in the prime of their lives in every way, particularly when it comes to being active members of the Body. We would encourage collaboration, establishing forums for conversation and methods for members of various majors to accomplish real and tangible things for the kingdom in a way that only a well-oiled, well-directed, and well-integrated machine is capable.
Why RECAPTURE? What would it look like to see students of every major are working side by side in an organized fashion? How broad would the impact of Biola University be if we truly were to take that final step of faith to become a forward-thinking global center for Christian thought and action?
AS is a perfect opportunity for us to RECAPTURE. The structure is already in place; all that is required is for someone to take leadership and direct AS, leading the students toward one common vision and goal.
I wholeheartedly believe that Alex and I are the best possible candidates to carry out the scope and power of RECAPTURE as AS President and Vice President.
Keep checking here as Alex and I explain the specifics of RECAPTURE and our steps to systematic excellence.
Thank you for your time and your consideration. Enjoy the election process!
Our mission is RECAPTURE the vision among the students of Biola University to be a forward-thinking global center for Christian thought and action. To break it down:
RECAPTURE—the desire, the passion, and the talent are already here. We’ve been here, we just need to rally together, work with each other more closely, figure out where we fit within the body. We need to be
Forward-thinking. We can’t rally without a plan; we can’t claim victory without a battle cry. The aim is to be a
Global center if we are to change the world. Indeed it is a truism, but how can we affect our worldwide society if we are not a world-class institution? One of the primary areas an institution of higher education with a dedication to Christianity ought to dominate is
Christian thought. Biola does an outstanding job of excellence in many areas, especially Bible. We would seek to expand beyond Christian thought as applied to Theology and apply Christian perspective thoroughly, completely, and excellently to areas of thought sometimes considered “secular”—ideas such as business, humanities, art, and of course our own field, mass media. But we don’t merely want to be thinkers. As Christians we are called to
Action. College students are in the prime of their lives in every way, particularly when it comes to being active members of the Body. We would encourage collaboration, establishing forums for conversation and methods for members of various majors to accomplish real and tangible things for the kingdom in a way that only a well-oiled, well-directed, and well-integrated machine is capable.
Why RECAPTURE? What would it look like to see students of every major are working side by side in an organized fashion? How broad would the impact of Biola University be if we truly were to take that final step of faith to become a forward-thinking global center for Christian thought and action?
AS is a perfect opportunity for us to RECAPTURE. The structure is already in place; all that is required is for someone to take leadership and direct AS, leading the students toward one common vision and goal.
I wholeheartedly believe that Alex and I are the best possible candidates to carry out the scope and power of RECAPTURE as AS President and Vice President.
Keep checking here as Alex and I explain the specifics of RECAPTURE and our steps to systematic excellence.
Thank you for your time and your consideration. Enjoy the election process!
THE CANDIDATES
First of all, we are extremely honored to be a part of this process at Biola. We hope that we will be able to initiate great conversations about what we as students should be aiming for. So, in this process, we would like to let everyone get to know who we are and what we hope to bring to AS.
With this in mind, we do not have previous AS experience. However, both of us have been highly involved in leadership for several years now, and hope to bring our combined perspective to AS. Alex has served as a leader in Student Ministries, SMU, and Res Life at Biola. Aside from this, a multicultural perspective comes in, being that he was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Bradley has served in Res Life and has brought valuable leadership to the television show he created and organized, LATE. We have communication, organization, and time management skills. Both of us have led in the context of our major while working and budgeting on different projects. Overall, given our vast experience in various leadership settings, we believe we are qualified to fill the roles of AS President and Vice President.
Each one of us is running because of a profound love for this university, and, furthermore, for the cause of impacting the culture for Christ. It is our desire to make this known to everyone who comes into contact with us. What does this mean? We want to see Biola be the place it intends to be. Imagine, for a minute, what it would look like to see thousands of intentional Christians striving to make a lasting impact on their culture and their world. This is what we have been dreaming about far before we decided to run together for AS. We hope to actualize this vision with ready hearts and minds, all for the sake of bringing transformation first to this campus, then to the ends of the earth. Our leadership experience and our vision for the school, in essence, are what make us qualified to run for these AS positions. We humbly ask you to embark on this journey alongside us.
Thank you, and may God bless you and all the candidates in this process.
THE MISSION
Our mission is to RECAPTURE the vision among the students of Biola University of being a forward-thinking global center for Christian thought and action
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