Unplugged: More than just rolls.

A lot of my attention these past eight weeks has been focused on Unplugged, the college ministry at Legacy Christian Church. It started as a "singles" ministry four years ago, and though now we refer to it as our college/young adult ministry, it is essentially still a group of young, unmarried people. It's a grassroots ministry effort that is now serving as a model for college ministries all over the country, as friends have learned here and now taken their leadership abilities and started their own groups. We love our "satellite campuses" in New Jersey and Michigan!

This year Unplugged continues to grow in overwhelming ways. We are trying to better connect the students who meet in the Pauls' house on Sunday nights with the greater congregation that meets in our building on Sunday mornings. Two weeks ago we launched A.M.unplugged, an ABF class during our first service which targets this group.

The following is a recent promo video we produced to share this ministry we love so much.

(You can find a full length version of this video here.)

A year a half ago, our fearless leaders at Unplugged were recognized by Reggie Joiner and Orange. Below is the essay Beth and I wrote to our friends at Orange explaining why we believe Tim and Marilyn deserved the prestigious Orange Award. It's long, but well worth the read, and I hope it inspires you, gives you hope, and encourages you, whatever your ministry.

At first glance, Tim and Marilyn Paul are your average run-of-the millI people--60 years old, running a business, working jobs, having family dinner nights and attending grandkidsʼ t-ball games. Tim is a southern boy with a good accent and a fishing pole and a stocked gun cabinet, and Marilyn is a kind sweet woman with a gift of hospitality (and making cookies with no recipe). I (Sarah) have known them for a few years now as my “Florida parents.” Having moved from Michigan to Florida for college, they were the ones at my church to find me at a critical time in my life and embrace me, take me in, and love me as parents would. I spent many tearful evenings as a college student at the Paulsʼ crying over coffee with Marilyn, and many afternoons gleaning wisdom from Tim on one subject or another.

When I asked Beth to give me an anecdote about the Pauls to share as well, she could really only say they did the exact same thing for her, only she was already post-college. We laughed as we realized (as we have before) that Marilyn and Tim make everyone feel like family, that you are one of their own, that you are more than welcome and you donʼt ever need an invitation (even for Christmas Dinner).

In the fall of 2008, Legacy Christian Church started a ministry called “Unplugged.” At first it was a group of people without a definite demographic--singles, college students, young adults, a handful of young marrieds thrown in. Tim and Marilyn were the couple who felt called to voluntarily lead this group.

It started meeting at their home on Sunday nights from 6:30-8:30 PM. Marilyn prepared an AMAZING home cooked meal (and incredible desserts) which was followed by a teaching from Tim. Timʼs topics of discussion varied, but the thing thatʼs amazing is that he is willing to talk about anything. At Unplugged we cover topics that typically the church avoids, because they are messy or hard or simply easier not to deal with. Those are the discussions Tim takes head on and develops material out of--things young people need to know and talk about in a safe and loving environment. He pours through the Scripture and finds verses and stories and truly shares from his heart and life experiences.

Whatʼs so amazing about Tim and Marilyn isnʼt just the cooking or the lessons, itʼs their hearts. These two people love the Lord with everything they have in them, and that translates out to the people around them. Financially, itʼs a burden, but you would never know it. There is virtually no budget for the ministry, but they selflessly gave up their own spending habits to have more to put into their ministry. They also give up a remarkable amount of time. Though we technically only meet for two hours, Marilyn spends countless hours preparing food, and the same is true for Timʼs lessons. After our meetings, people are there until late in the evening, sharing burdens and stories. But the Pauls know no limits! They are always willing to talk and listen and pray.

In August of 2010, the Unplugged leadership team hit a rough patch. Tim and Marilyn were tired (though theyʼd never admit it). They wanted to transition to solely college ministry, but werenʼt sure how to transition and still provide a group for the “older folks.”Both of us (Beth and Sarah) were out of college and werenʼt really sure where our place was. Our group of 10 to15 was definitely struggling, and we were about ready to throw in the towel.

Thatʼs when God reminded us of just how amazing He is. School was back in session for the three universities in town, and all of a sudden students just starting showing up out of nowhere! We had a week where there were about 25 people, and we were thrilled to see so many! By word of mouth the group expanded significantly. We were shocked when the next week there were 40, and a month after that we were averaging over 60 college students...and still cramming them all into a house!

Simply put, the love pouring out of Tim and Marilyn was infectious. Students wanted to put aside their busy schedules and come be a part of was was happening. Sure, free food is a great draw, but there is so much more than that at Unplugged. One student recently stated that our ministry shirts will read “Unplugged! Come for the rolls, stay for Jesus.” Tim and and Marilyn have made their house “home” to so many of us, and that is something every college student needs. Youʼre not a stranger; youʼre welcome there.

We used to plan events for the ministry--movie nights, putt-putt outings, bowling--but we realized thatʼs no longer what we need. Yes, Marilyn makes cookies every week and we deliver them to all the new visitorsʼ dorms, but even home made cookies arenʼt what are making a difference. All these students long for is someone who cares, someone who loves them and is willing to show it by opening up their home for a few hours on Sunday night.

Marilyn and Tim would be so “angry” at us that we write these words about who they are. They would respond to these words with: “We love unplugged, itʼs one of our favorite times of the week,” and “Itʼs OUR blessing that we get to have all the young people at our home.” You see, thatʼs the thing, the biggest thing, the only thing; Marilyn and Tim give God all the glory, all the honor and all the praise for Unplugged. They are humbled, as we all are, each time we meet at what God is doing around us and for us.

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Gleep = What I Call Community

We need community. If you’re not part of a community, you need to find one. If you can’t find one, you need to make one.

Four years ago, my new-ish friend Beth and I decided we needed a community. But at the time, we didn’t even know it. We hand selected a Bible study group...basically a bunch of people we thought were cool and wanted to be friends with. It was a pretty random group, too - some married, some single...some parents, some not...and an eleven year age gap between the oldest and youngest (me). 

What’s amazing is that “community” is what we actually became. Seven - and then a year later, eight - of us began regularly meeting on Monday nights for dinner, prayer, and an ambitious goal to read through the Bible in a year. But soon our relationship turned into more than just weekly meetings reading the Bible and sharing prayer requests with one another. We also joined together to watch Sunday afternoon football games, walk through the nature preserve and look for gators, eat Jimmy John’s and cheer during the World Cup, and a cruise to the Bahamas. 

Four years later, we still haven’t made it through even the Old Testament. In fact, our Bible study has completely lapsed. But what’s amazing is that the community has remained. In four years time, so much has happened. We’ve supported each other through break-ups, divorce, and Beth’s wondrous marriage to Nick, moving our little community population up to nine. Seven of us have moved to different houses, some across town and some across the country. We’ve ALL had at least one job change, some two or three. Lindi was born, a new niece to seven of us and a daughter to two. One of us graduated, three of us started school. For every single one of us, life is seriously 180 degrees different from what it was when we started life together.

There has been so much opportunity for our community to fall apart, to lose touch, to fade away. Yet as I write this, we are on the plane back from our most recent family vacation, a trip to visit Beth and Nick in New Jersey. I’m crying as Shelli is next to me and quietly singing “blessed be You name, in the land that is plentiful, where the streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name...” and no words seem more fitting. How in the world nine of us were able to get off work, away from family, and free of other obligations on the same weekend is something only God could ordain. Then again, he’s ordained our entire friendship since the beginning, so why would that be a surprise? 

This weekend I spent time on a military base, where people are constantly moving in and out, and solid community is hard to keep. When families are there, it’s not too difficult, but as soon as they move on to their next assignment, it’s easy to lose touch. I met a theatre student at the Staten Island Ferry whose words about life in the city were “It’s kind of hard to make real friends.” She recalled her days of high school, where attending Young Life camp in upstate New York made her feel like she was part of a really special community.

Seeing and hearing these things remind me of how incredible blessed I am. I have community everywhere I look. I have friends who are family, family who are friends, and a youth group whose community is noticed by everyone who meets them. And I NEED that! I need people who know me better than I know myself, who call me out on my junk, who make me laugh till I pee my pants. I need Becca, a sister who’s a my twin. I need Lisa, who is the same person as me. I need Beth to be the Ramona to my Theodora.  I need Kandace and Katie, students who call me out when they can see me right through me. I need Michael, who has a passion for youth ministry that is unmatched. I need Shelli to take two hours out of her day to stand in the bathroom and pick lice out of my hair...twice. And I need so many more people I can’t even begin to mention without a) wanting to cry or b) making this the longest blog post in the history of Blogspot.

So to end this like I started it, I need community. We ALL need community. The hardest person in the world needs someone they can turn to, someone who loves them despite all their flaws. If you don’t have community, find it or make it! Seek out a group who you can do Bible study with, be accountable to. Make Christ the center. I dare you to tell me it doesn’t change your life.

the Gleep family (l to r): Beth, Eric, Katie, Me, Chris, Shelli, Scott, Amy, & Nick. Love them.

three years...and counting.

A lot can happen in a day...a lot can happen in a week...and a lot can happen in three years.

Rewind. I was dating the "man of my dreams." We'd made it through a long-distance summer and now I was back in Lakeland. I was finishing up my last semester of classes, with only my internship left. I had a solid group of friends, providing the community I'd been longing for. I thought the pieces of life's puzzle were finally all fitting together.

But then in a day, the world came crashing down. He dumped me. I didn't know what to do, what to say, what to think. I only knew that it was over, and I was devastated. The plans I had for my future, the colors I'd dreamed about for our some-day wedding, the visions of life and joy and happiness crumbled in one night with pizza, Marley and Me, and a tearful, long conversation. A lot happened in a day.

But then in a week, there was a phone call. A job offer. A DREAM job offer. Oh, it was just tentative for the next couple months, and unpaid, but if it went well, it would result in a part-time job. And if that went well, upon graduation, a full-time job would be placed in my lap. Feelings of the physical and emotional turmoil of the week subsided as I grasped the reality of the turn my life could be taking. A lot happened in a week.

A day...a week...but the first sentence of this post also said three years. Because that's how long it's been. This month unbelievably marks three years since the break up and the job offer. And A LOT can happen in three years. A lot of GOOD can happen in three years.

I can't believe I've been on staff at Legacy for three years, with the privilege of serving as student minister. I can't believe the middle schoolers I started with even before that are graduating high school this year. And I can't believe all the blessings that have come along the way

Every time my bank account has loomed toward zero, God supplies. Every time I think my stress level can't get any higher, God provides. Every time...shoot, why even bother with all the examples? Let's just say God has been SO good.

It's amazing what happens when you let go of your dreams and grab a hold of God's dreams for you. In the last three years I've definitely had a lot of job opportunities and offers come my way. If I'm being completely honest, I've tried to pursue a few of them. But in the end, for whatever reason, God hasn't released me from here. At three years, I've made it past the average youth minister stay time. And I love it! I love the consistency that has been able to provide for my kids.

I'm leaving to head to Catalyst in about two minutes, so somehow I need to wrap this up when I really haven't gotten a main thought out there. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: if you're in a season of life where things are tough and you don't see the end, hang in there. They day will come when you look back and think "wow, three years ago..." And if you're in a season where life is full of joy and happiness abounds, enjoy it! Realize that every day is a gift from God and remember these days when the hard ones come.

Three years...so many struggles, so infinitely more joys. God is good.