policy party
That sounds fun, doesn't it?:) I invited my program over for a potluck this evening and had a good turnout. One of my good mates Matt who graduated from the program this past year came along to impart some wisdom to all who were stressing about readings, assignments and grading patterns.
The high-point, or low-point depending on how you saw it was when a couple of girls came along and were asking why I was part-time. I kindly shared with her that I was helping start a church here in Edinburgh. In front of the entire group, literally within 30 seconds of meetings she asked, "So tell me more about this Eikon thing."
Good, I like this, an opportunity. But then she started with this question: "I'm a lesbian, so what do you think about homosexuals?" Ouch, a contentious subject right off the bat. "So you believe that the Bible should be translated literally?" One question after another, she wasn't beating around the bush. There was this sudden hush over the group. She was pickin' a fight and people sensed it. I navigated around the topic as much as I could and told her I'd be glad to discuss it further at some point.
I have to confess, it threw me off in front of the group, and upon reflection I with I could have responded better to some of the immediate questions.
I'm excited though, and I see this as a genuine opportunity to have a respectful and honest conversation about these issues that she richly deserves. She definetely had her opinions about Christianity. I loved it though. So straightforward, so gut-level honest. After all, this is what Eikon is all about: creating a space for people who just want to talk and get some straight answers. I gotta respect that.
The rest of the evening was great. I met another guy named Thomas who's from the Netherlands. Great guy. He recently spent 6 solid months traveling around South America. Impressive. He ended up sticking around till 1 am.
I love being around students. I love the hunger for learning. It's contageous and I get the sense that I'll have some great opportunities to share the love of Christ with them in the future.
To confrontational moments and good conversation.
The high-point, or low-point depending on how you saw it was when a couple of girls came along and were asking why I was part-time. I kindly shared with her that I was helping start a church here in Edinburgh. In front of the entire group, literally within 30 seconds of meetings she asked, "So tell me more about this Eikon thing."
Good, I like this, an opportunity. But then she started with this question: "I'm a lesbian, so what do you think about homosexuals?" Ouch, a contentious subject right off the bat. "So you believe that the Bible should be translated literally?" One question after another, she wasn't beating around the bush. There was this sudden hush over the group. She was pickin' a fight and people sensed it. I navigated around the topic as much as I could and told her I'd be glad to discuss it further at some point.
I have to confess, it threw me off in front of the group, and upon reflection I with I could have responded better to some of the immediate questions.
I'm excited though, and I see this as a genuine opportunity to have a respectful and honest conversation about these issues that she richly deserves. She definetely had her opinions about Christianity. I loved it though. So straightforward, so gut-level honest. After all, this is what Eikon is all about: creating a space for people who just want to talk and get some straight answers. I gotta respect that.
The rest of the evening was great. I met another guy named Thomas who's from the Netherlands. Great guy. He recently spent 6 solid months traveling around South America. Impressive. He ended up sticking around till 1 am.
I love being around students. I love the hunger for learning. It's contageous and I get the sense that I'll have some great opportunities to share the love of Christ with them in the future.
To confrontational moments and good conversation.
posted by dcschmiddy at 7:44 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home