Coworkers...

One of the great things about being on staff with The Salt Company is having amazing, but very different, coworkers. I've been on two "dates" in the last couple of days with guys from the staff.

Yesterday Jesse Antelman graciously bought me lunch at Tasty Taco in Des Moines after a trip to have our guitars worked on at a local repair shop.

Today Cody Cline invited me to lunch at Jeff's Pizza. When Cody, who was first in line, placed his order and the server rang up his total he, without hesitation, pointed to me and said, "He's got it."

Amazing, but very different.

It's not Manipulational...

We did it!

We had a successful 5 hour meeting yesterday that was both fun, productive, and, for the most part, God-honoring.

Consider the Fall fully planned and ready to roll and that's not even the best accomplishment of our time together- The quotes were classic.

My personal favorite from Troy- "It's not manipulational when you get people to do the right thing for God."

In a close second was Troy's comment in reference to Alex Tuckness, "Tucker is going to love this!"

To read more go to our Staff quote book. We will be updating this as we continue our great times together.

BTW-Shane is in town and will be speaking tonight at TSC (The Team is all together!!!!!) Come out in droves to TSC tonight at 7pm!

Transition

The last time that I started over was 7 years ago. I left Lafayette Indiana to go to school at Ball State University in Muncie. I was very different then. I don't recall a lot about that transition. But I do remember the feeling of being new. Everything felt fresh and exciting for awhile. Then about 2 months in it just felt lonely. I missed the safety and security of home. I missed my old routine. I missed my friends. Living in the dorm began to feel less exciting and more difficult. Walking down the hall to go to Bible Study with my Bible under my arm became a test of my allegiance. Would I be ashamed to be identified with Christ or would I stand firm? My faith was tested. Getting up on Sunday mornings was trying. Friendships developed slower than I would have liked. There were a lot of awkward moments. Like the feeling of being surrounded by people but not known. I acted confident, but felt scared. But God was incredibly faithful. Transition exposed feelings of fear, insecurity, and helplessness. But God saw me through. I vividly remember the way that God grew me as I decided to live my life for Christ. And he used me. I was able to see 2 guys come to Christ through my witness. It really was nothing spectacular. I stopped by their rooms a couple of times a week. I bought one of them a Bible and I invited him to church. I invited the other guy to come on a road trip with me and I accidentally shared the gospel with him in a normal conversation. I was able to challenge some guys who were living complacent Christian lives to live out their faith. And I even boldly shared Christ with some dudes who were opposed to the gospel. I attribute my growth during that time to my insecurity turned Godward. With the tiny little faith that I had I stepped out. I have been reflecting on that transition as I go through this one. I still have insecurities and fears. I still feel like I am not anything spectacular. But there is a growing hopefulness in my heart as I reflect on the God whom I serve. "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20). I could have never imagined that God would have used me in the way that he did during my four years of college and 3 years in ministry at Ball State. My dreams are bigger now. If God used me then, what could he have planned for us now? I have learned that insecurities turned toward God in prayer have great power because God has great power. So I am hopeful that during this transition God will turn my weakness into great usefulness for him.

The Start of Something New

Second to the amazing feeling of accomplishment, for me, is the feeling of starting something new. Anytime I am given the opportunity to turn the page and start fresh on a new year, a new relationship, a new job I get all giddy with excitement because the possibilities at that moment are limitless.

It causes me to pray bigger, prepare for more, get more nervous- all things I need because they keep me pressing into God.

Maybe you're like me- a to-do list person. I can often get so caught up in the moment that each day becomes a march through tasks and sadly God becomes one of them.

At this point I can't afford to put God in a Box.

This is one of those take God and keep God out of the box moments for me. Becoming an Associate Salt Company director for TSC is both one of the greatest privileges and terrifying stewardships of my life.

What has Salt Company meant for me? Salt Company was home for me for three years- it was where I met my best friends, saw my future wife cross from death to life, was challenged in my hypocrisy, was equipped for vital leadership, gained a heart for the Nations, and more and more. Salt Company was the place where I finally re-oriented everything in my life around Christ and was given a vision for ministry.

(Pictured to the left is my sophomore year Connection Group L to R- Tad Asay, Chad Gleason, Seth Ohlof (honorary member) Jon Cardo, and Scott Cheney)

Jesus used The Salt Company to change my life, just like he has for years. Though this is, and I'm biased, one of the greatest movements of God among college students in the USA today. What we see here, experience here, and have come to know as "normal" here are exceptional works of God (when looked from a human perspective) but so small when seen from God's view. 700 students (2.6% of ISU Students) is just a drop in the bucket for the power of God.

So, as I stand at the start of something new. I take God out of the box and ask him to not only help me (us) to lead TSC to maintain its current impact, but to help me (our staff) to lead this ministry to new places of influence. Join me in praying big for this next year!

Keep checking this blog as the summer rolls on. For our many students who are scattered throughout the world this summer this will be a great place to reads stories from Shane and Drew, and keep tabs on TSC over the summer.