Free Post 3--Matt Brennan

My roommate and I lead a Bible study each week with a handful of strong freshman guys. Despite the unrelated name of this weekly adjourning group, “Shenanigans,” this has been an extremely profound experience for my own walk with Christ. As most of these guys are preparing to become leaders within a formal ministry such as Young Life and Intervarsity, my roommate and I found it only appropriate to have each of them for the last weeks of the year to take over and lead discussion individually on the Biblical topic of their choice. This past week the freshman leading discussion shared with us that he was feeling especially convicted about the “Christian community” that we submerge ourselves in here at CNU. He looked at the group from an objective standpoint and felt that we were just like any other group and that we were seemingly exclusive. It is a dangerous thing when a group such as our that stresses so much about being inclusive, that we obliviously become exclusive, when we try to attain our goal. It was inspiring to talk to these guys about this. I feel like many groups go through these phases and some come out with the problem solved, but others do not. I believe my friends and I emerged from this problem with resolution, but when he asked my roommate and I how to fix this, all I could think is that even if I could really put the steps of solution into an easy formula for him, I wouldn’t. If we did, we would only be robbing him of what Lewis said is God’s gift of suffering; for if there were no suffering, we may not know love.