A PUBLICATION OF THE CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN STUDY
CONVERSATIONS in COMMUNITY The Elzinga Residential Scholars tackle issues of faith— and the kitchen! Story on p.6
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SPRING 2014
THIS ISSUE: Addicted to Perfectionism by Fitz Green, page 3
The Women’s Speaker Series
STUDY CENTER STAFF
by Lane Cowin, page 4
Conversations in Community
BILL WILDER
by Jay McCabe, with Kenny Grant and Nora Neus, page 6
Executive Director bill@studycenter.net
LANE COWIN
On the cover: Elzinga Residential Scholars share a community meal every Thursday evening, taking turns cooking the meals. Pictured here are (L-R) Kenny Grant, Madeline England, and Jennifer Mansour. (Photos by Brittany Fan)
Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Women lane@studycenter.net
FITZ GREEN
Director of Educational Ministries fitz@studycenter.net
JAY MCCABE
Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Men jay@studycenter.net
SHELLY PELLISH
Director of Administration + Development shelly@studycenter.net
SAV E T H E DAT E !
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DEBBIE RODRIGUEZ Director of Finance debbie@studycenter.net
ASHLEY WOOTEN
Director of Communications ashleyw@studycenter.net
AMY ZELL
Director of Counseling Resources amy@studycenter.net
WHO WE ARE Photo by Elisa Bricker
We are a non-profit education and outreach
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ministry serving the University of Virginia and Charlottesville since 1976. We seek to serve Jesus Christ by fostering the serious consideration in the university environment of a Biblical worldview, and by encouraging and facilitating wise discussion of the Truth in light of the challenges of contemporary culture.
CONTACT US Phone: (434) 817-1050 Email: info@studycenter.net Website: www.studycenter.net Twitter: studycenteruva Facebook: studycenteruva The Study Center Newsletter is published for our friends and supporters. University Christian Ministries, Inc. (dba Center for Christian Study) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation EIN 51-0192618.
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Photo by Brittany Fan
ADDICTED TO PERFECTIONISM by Ftiz Green, fitz@studycenter.net Director of Educational Programs U.Va. students are successful. They expect to thrive at whatever they attempt, making it easy for success and approval from others to become an idol. That’s why the Center for Christian Study sponsored a pair of lectures this spring jointly titled Addicted to Perfectionism, with Skip and Barbara Ryan. Our two speakers know exactly what U.Va. students are facing. In addition to being parents of a U.Va. alumnae, Skip was the founding pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Charlottesville and his wife Barbara graduated from U.Va. Law School. In sessions on Friday night and Saturday morning, they took turns sharing their powerful story of God’s deliverance from both addiction and perfectionism. In their first talk, Struggling with Perfectionism, Barbara and Skip addressed the idolatry of perfectionism. This is a place of seeking control over our lives, thirsting for approval from others, and finding significance in being “right.” As Barbara put it, these are all ways that we “worship at the altar of self.” It’s not that our aspirations are necessarily bad. Rather, it’s that our need for approval and control always fails to satisfy and it always lets us down.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Listen to the audio and watch the videos of both talks at www.studycenter.net/addiction.
Skip and Barbara related more of their own story in the next session, Struggling with Addiction. Here they shared how Skip’s deep performance addiction led to an addiction to prescription painkillers and spoke openly about the struggles they experienced individually and in their marriage. Through it all, the Lord led them away from seeking their significance in being right and toward the reality of the believer’s union with Christ. Skip learned to absorb Romans 6 and live in light of the truth that “when Jesus died, he not only died for me, I died with him. When Jesus rose, he not only rose for me, I rose with him.” Along the way Skip and Barbara gave practical, pastoral ways for students to confront both perfectionism and addiction in their own lives. For one thing, they spoke of the need for honest, open self-knowledge. We are often afraid to take notice of what emotions and feelings are driving us. Barbara also spoke of “tipping points” for addiction such as pain, isolation, and stress. When we see life circumstances move the perception of our desires from “I want it” to “I need it,” then we know our desires are disordered and we need help. The Ryans’ talks hit home. Student response from the event was overwhelming. Many times we heard, “This was meant specifically for me!” Our students saw how God’s grace transformed Skip and Barbara’s lives and they left with the knowledge and hope that he can do the same for them.
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THE WOMEN’S SPEAKER SERIES
A three-part series with local counselors addressing sexuality, body image and power by Lane Cowin, lane@studycenter.net Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Women
“The Women and Body Image seminar was yet another reminder of the extravagance and power of the gospel. As someone who struggles constantly to put my thoughts about my body and food under the lordship of Christ, I found great freedom in listening to the testimonies of Ellen [Foster] and Katherine [Edwards]. Through their raw and honest stories, I realized that the root of my struggle, and any sin for that matter, is a belief that God’s design isn’t the best and that life would be better if I kept clutching onto control.“ Hannah Zachman, CLAS ‘17
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This spring the Center for Christian Study provided a special speaker series for undergraduate women. The issues we chose to address (sexuality, body image and power) are important for both men and women to consider. In this case, though, we wished to provide a place for a safe discussion of how these issues impact women in particular.
hard questions about gender stereotypes and mere cultural mandates. They are trying to grasp scripture’s claim that men and women reflect God’s image. They want to engage questions about what it means to be a woman, and to live into their femininity, especially in the areas of work, relationships and friendships, and family life. And this is no easy task!
As I’ve gotten to know the hearts of many young women here, I’ve been continually struck by how brave and earnest they are, by how much these university women want to live as good and godly women. They want to take their gifts and passions and do good work in this world. They want their identity as women to be an asset to their work (wherever that work takes place) rather than a hindrance or confusion. They are willing to submit to hard questions about biblical gender roles and creational mandates while also asking
While I’m moved by the earnestness I see in these women, I am also continually grieved at how hard it is to be a woman in this world. So much of a woman’s value or identity often is defined in terms of how others can take from her—how others can use a woman’s person, her body, in parts or the whole, to further their own interests. I am grieved and angered at how often the women who come and sit with me in my office have internalized the message that they owe it to the world to be pretty and unobtrusive
Pictured: Students Marian McCullough and Sarah Paul take notes during the talk; New City Counselor Katherine Edwards (left) and Ellen Foster (center) speak with undergraduate women on the topic of body image in the second of three Friday afternoon discussions for women. (Photos by Ashley Parsley, headshots by Brittany Fan.)
and eternally accommodating. Some women are grieved and angry as well, having recognized the falseness of this, but then find how easily anger turns to resentment, cynicism, and a desire to define womanhood apart from and in rebuttal to manhood. Still other women wonder whether it is true that women “can have it all,” somehow managing to excel in their personal and professional goals while still attending to those around them—especially husbands and children—and they are confused about having to choose. We need help. By God’s grace, none of us is abandoned to her own devices and defenses while navigating the messages we hear all around us. The Study Center’s vision statement speaks to our desire “to facilitate wise discussion of the Truth in light of the challenges of contemporary culture.” We cling to Truth himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and look to the power of his spirit and the guidance of his word to help us tease apart which current definitions of womanhood are right and
worth fighting to uphold—and which definitions are false and worth fighting to discredit. We chose the topics of sexuality, body image, and power because so much of the confusion and misinformation about womanhood begins with the body. Most simply, we began with questions about what a woman is supposed to think about her own body (sexuality), how should she want others to think about her body (body image), and how is she to use it (power). We were excited to have five New City counselors bring a scriptural framework to these questions and share ways they have seen the power of the gospel bring healing and redemption to women struggling with these questions. We are so thankful for the great response we’ve had to these events. We are thankful to be surrounded by Christian counselors to bring such wisdom and resources. I am thankful to walk through these and other hard questions with so many earnest women and to continually point them to the hope of the gospel, whatever the challenge may be.
“As women, we often fall into the trap of using the power our good God has given us—power to love and to bless and to give life to those around us—for our own misguided purposes. We strive to assert power over others and over ourselves, in hopes that we will feel in-control enough, good enough, valuable enough; and yet we often end up feeling more broken and powerless than we did before. This talk reminded me that we always have the power to offer ourselves in love to one another, and that God has given us the power to do so. ‘For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and selfcontrol’ (2 Timothy 1:7).” Nikki Perrier CLAS ‘15
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Audio and video for “Women & Body Image” and “Women & Power” are available online: www.studycenter.net/womensseries
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CONVERSATIONS in COMMUNITY by Jay McCabe, jay@studycenter.net Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Men Thursday nights are Elzinga Residential Scholar nights at the Study Center. Our twenty undergraduate “Zingers” gather every Thursday during the spring semester for an evening meal, followed by a discussion on Christian faith and cultural engagement. If you were to come by, you’d first smell something delicious coming from the kitchen as a few of the Zingers prepare our dinner, then you’d see a handful of students setting the tables for our meal and discussion, and then you’d hear the laughter, the prayers, and the thoughtful conversation about things that matter. It has been a joy for me to get to know this year’s class of Zingers and to see up-close the work of the Spirit as we eat, worship and talk together. Below you will find reflections from two of our Zingers about the Program and especially these spring discussions. Enjoy!
KENNY GRANT | CLAS ‘14 Every Thursday evening of the spring semester, the undergraduate students of the Elzinga Residential Scholars Program gather for dinner and discussion led by Study Center Directors Lane Cowin and Jay McCabe. The program emphasizes honest, productive dialogue as we discuss a wide range of topics, e.g. sexuality, rest, race. The tone is pastoral-academic: a rare synthesis that allows us to engage both our hearts and our minds as we pursue holistic, Christian living. Conversation is both vulnerable and intellectual, peppered with personal anecdotes as well as thoughtful analysis. I particularly appreciate that the other “Zingers”—as we call each other—are so willing to graciously disagree
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with one another during discussions. Unfortunately, we U.Va. students often demonstrate our susceptibility to the temptations of specious classroom dialogue by tending more to our class participation grade and the professor’s approval than to genuine curiosity and a sense of purpose. Fortunately, the Residential Program combats our counter-productive proclivity by cultivating a culture in which we can voice our real opinions, learn from one another’s experiences, and disagree with each other—if we feel so compelled. I am terribly grateful for our weekly conversations. Because of the Residential Program, I will graduate from U.Va. far better prepared for the challenges that await today’s Christians—not because I have gained knowledge, though I have learned many things, but because I have gained a lens. I have learned how to examine all aspects of life—my life—in light of the love of Christ. What do they say? Teach a man to fish...
Pictured: Kenny Grant chops carrots while helping to prepare the evening’s meal; all twenty Residents gather in the Richman Room with Jay and Lane for their dinner and discussion. (Photos by Brittany Fan.)
NORA NEUS | CLAS ‘15, BATT ‘16 After spontaneous sing-alongs from the movie Frozen (‘Let it go, let it gooooooooo’), Bible Apples to Apples on our many snow days, and adventures attempting to cook brussel sprouts and unknown root vegetables in our kitchen, my fellow Elzinga Residential Scholars have truly become a second family. So when the spring semester began, I was looking forward to the Program’s discussion series centering on how to live in Christ’s image while engaging in contemporary culture and making the most of our time at U.Va. Yet I had no idea how formative these discussions would prove in my own life. Somehow, every topic we discuss seems to be chosen specifically for me. On a recent week consisting of three midterms, fifteen hours at my internship, four papers and too few hours of sleep, Thursday night finally rolled around. We settled into conversation centered on, what else, “busyness.” The next week, when I was trying to decide if I wanted to start my Master’s degree early, we happened to be focusing on the pursuit of knowledge and our role as students. Even the week on relationships and dating was well timed. These conversations are not like normal U.Va. discussion sections, which are basically just a competi-
tion for who can make the best points. Instead, the “Zingers,” as we affectionately call one another, join together over a (delicious and home-cooked) meal in an honest conversation about pertinent topics in our lives. Nobody has all the answers. We all struggle with different aspects of life as believers. But we are not discussing how to be a “good Christian” or creating some list of do’s and don’t’s for living as a Christian in college. Instead, we are wrestling with questions that apply to all college students, like how to find a fulfilling vocation, or what to do when obligations and work crowd your days, and how to form loving relationships with friends and family. We are able to do so through Christ-centered conversations, considering the teachings of scripture and remembering the central Truths of our faith, that we are loved by the Creator of the entire universe. By opening ourselves up and sharing our own thoughts, doubts and struggles as we consider these issues, we are able to grow more than I ever thought possible.
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On the day I moved into my studycenter.net/ersp bedroom with then-stranger and now-sister Kathryne Appleby, I wrote a verse on a little whiteboard, a prayer from Paul that I wanted us to remember as we lived together this year. Little did I know at the time, it would be fulfilled many times over, not only for Kathryne and me, but for the entire Elzinga Residential Scholars Program.”That we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:12.
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