Accepting the presidency

During the summer, I accepted the offer to be president of Agape, a UP College of Medicine-based student organization that I've been involved in for quite a while. When Migs Barnes, the former Agape president and a good friend, asked me to seek the Lord's will regarding the matter, I felt so inadequate, so limited, and so short of God's standards. In the process, I realized how God uses the base things of this world to accomplish His purposes. And although the work ahead is overwhelming and humanly impossible, God empowers those whom He calls to do His bidding.

Jeremiah
I was encouraged by Jeremiah's example. The prophet was commissioned by God to speak against Israel and Judah's disobedience, and to warn the people of the impending disaster if they do not turn back to God. That was a tall charge, indeed. No wonder why Jeremiah responded (Jeremiah 1:6), "...'Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.'" But the Lord—the good, gracious and holy One of Isreal—knew Jeremiah's fears and doubts, and encouraged the young prophet greatly (Jeremiah 1:7): "But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all  to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you."

Presidency guide
So I said yes. I felt that I just added a couple more academic units in my already packed school schedule, but I was at peace. Migs excitedly sent me an email after. The subject guide read, "Presidency Guide," and this would be an email I would turn to, time and again. In the first of many subheadings, he wrote about prayer as a way of life:

"I cannot overemphasize the value of prayer in your presidency . . . I encourage you, and urge you, to pray through everything from start to end. Everything will fall into place as the rain does--God-intended. But we must be steadfast in our faith in Him. As Paul says, pray on all occasions, for all the saints, with all kinds of requests. God loves to be involved with every detail, every speck, of our lives, no matter how trivial . . . And in those things you will be more amazed at Him. And don't be discouraged when you fail to pray. There will be times when you will fail to pray because we are just humans. It is in our nature to fail. But there you will be reminded that the love and grace and kindness of God does not depend on our prayerfulness or any of our actions for that matter."

Strategic planning
We had our strategic planning sessions last week. Some nine or so Core Group members met on Wednesday night and Saturday morning to discuss our plans for the entire year and to establish our organizational calendar. Personally I was blessed and encouraged by my friends' desire to serve God through this ministry.

During the first session, I spoke on Paul's encouragement to the Philippian believers. The title of my talk was "Partners in the Gospel." We did a survey on that epistle, and we saw how Paul exhorted the church to live lives worthy of Christ and to treasure Him above all. We were reminded of Christ's humility and obedience.

On the second session, I spoke from 2 Timothy 4:1-5, with emphasis on the second verse, "Preach the Word." I said, "You see, human words can only go so far, but God's words are powerful and effective. It makes no sense then to rely on human wisdom rather than God's. It's disheartening to know that many churches and even campus ministries have resorted instead to seeker-friendly methods to increase their numbers, sacrificing spiritual growth in the process. May we never fall prey to that kind of thinking. I'd rather have two people who seriously desire God's Word than have a hundred members who get tired at the mere mention of a Bible verse."

The semester has just started. I pray that God will sustain me, and all of us in Agape, to carry out His work. Do pray for us.