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| Welcome to AAIV @ Northwestern!
Thanks for stopping by the sometimes-updated,
always-interesting Xanga page of Asian American InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship, a community of Asian Americans who are seeking to be transformed by
the love of Christ!
If you're a new student to NU, either you're already in Evanston or you should be
packing right now!!!! But I'm sure you're also pretty excited to see what's
goin on at NU, so we understand the Xanga-procrastination (you'll be doing
quite a lot more of this in a few weeks). Have no fear: we got some great
events planned for you next week where you can get to know who we are and what
we're about!
Here's our schedule:
- Thursday
nite (9/20) starting at 10:00 PM in Annenberg G02 we'll be having AAIV's BOBA HOUSE, a coffee
house AAIV style with free boba, live performances and good fellowship
- Saturday
(9/22) at 12:00 PM you can come hang with us on the Norris University
Center East Lawn for a free BBQ featuring
a fellow IV chapters, MEIV, Greek IV, House on the Rock and La Fe. There
will be a raffle with sweet prizes, good free food and a kickin' band.
- Sunday
morning come to church with us at Wake
up and Worship. We'll be at Foster Walker Complex lobby from 9
- 11 and you can tag along with upperclassmen to the various churches we
attend in the area. Rides and breakfast provided!
- Monday (9/24) we have two
events Photos and Phood at
noon at Foster Walker Lobby, where we'll taking you out to some of the
fine culinary establishments of Evanston, and Munchies (10 PM in Annenberg G02) a night of more
free food and games!
- And on Friday 9/28 in Harris
Hall 107 at 7:00 PM, join us for First
Focus, our weekly large group meeting. You'll get a formal
introduction to who we are and what we're all about. We'll have worship,
prayer and a speaker to boot!
You will find more substantial information on our chapter at the InterVarsity @ Northwestern
Homepage [NUIV.org] (which is probably still under
construction, but will be finished SOON!) but this page can be useful just to
hear the mostly-coherent thoughts and some sermon notes from some of our
members such as the formidable Roger Fung-ming Chang (Class of '07, pictured
above).
You can also join our facebook group which is just "AAIV." (we liked
to be stalked). And if you want to get in contact with some leaders, email our two fabulous presidents, Aileen (a-kang@northwestern.edu) or Kevin (k-cheung@northwestern.edu).
Okay ya'll, get ready for an awesome year!
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| One Last Update In recent weeks, as I’ve looked back on these past 4 years here, I find myself often asking the following question: “Was it worth it?” Was it worth it for me to stumble into academic probation spring quarter of my freshman year, and to have to spend the next 3 years of my college career trying to salvage a GPA that was seemingly beyond repair? Was it worth it for me to have to undergo a painful process of God humbling me to a degree I had never experienced before, not only academically but physically, musically, and spiritually as well? Was it worth it for me to experience the pain and discomfort of being away from home for an extended period of time, apart from a support system of friends and family that I had believed to be so necessary for me to maintain my sanity? MOST importantly, however, was it worth it for me to continue investing myself in the relationships around me? To give my all to a group of people who might hurt or violate me from time to time, to try to build substantial camaraderie between myself and various individuals with whom I probably wouldn’t even communicate significantly with after my time here is over? After Senior Focus, hearing various “thank you’s”, reading numerous notes and feeling loved down to the very core of my being…I can honestly say that every single moment I’ve spent with each and every one of you has been more than worth it. As I said last night, I truly believe that this community here at Northwestern is God’s resounding answer to a meek prayer request 4 years ago, during a time when so much confusion and uncertainty seemed to be the only things that occupied my mind and heart. I am not discounting the fact that our community struggles in many ways- broken relationships, distrust, gossip…many (if not all) of us in this community have experienced all of these things at one point or another, regardless of how long we’ve been here. What I do want to emphasize, however, and what I truly pray for this community to experience in the future, is the realization of what a privilege and blessing it is to have one another. Each and every member of this fellowship has qualities so profound and beautiful to offer one another, and I can sincerely say that I have been able to gain a greater glimpse of the vastness of God’s glory through having known each of you. Whether I’ve only spoken to you once or twice, or whether I consider you to be among my closest group of friends, I truly am thankful to God for having brought you into my life. A great wave of sadness washes over me as I write this, and it pains me to be parting with these past 4 years. I’ll admit that I might not be the best at keeping in contact with some of you after I leave here; I haven’t done too well at keeping in touch with seniors in the past. Do not ever neglect, however, the fact that each of you has made a profound impact on my life (and I’m sure the rest of the senior class would agree as well), and that these experiences here have created a significant impression on my memory that will not be forgotten. You have all helped teach me how to love as God desires for us to love, as well as the joy of understanding what it means to be loved by God as well. I can only hope that as I and the other seniors leave, that we have in some small way been able to convey this to you all through our lives, and that through you, future brothers and sisters will be able to further understand what it means to love, and to be loved as well. Thanks again, everybody. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. -Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11 | | |
| "Arts, Literature, Media" – Al Hsu (Exodus 35:30-36:1)- over the years, we tend to loser our sense of artistic delight; yet God calls us to make an impact on our culture and society through these means -what is expected or “cool” in society is largely determined by the media and our culture -but we rarely acknowledge that we ourselves are able to shape and change this very culture -Genesis: we are created in His (creative) image -Christians tend to be wary of the irrational and “unspiritual” aspect of creativity à we retreat to rationality and logic -we live in a consumer culture à but we are called to produce, and to create, not just consume -“one of the strongest apologetics for God is our capacity to understand beauty” Sometimes I wonder randomly why I invest in certain hobbies of mine…take guitar, for example. On one hand, for some reason it just makes me really happy when I figure out new chords, learn how to play new songs (even if they’re kinda fruity, like Disney or Alicia Keys songs), or even just play the same boring worship chords overandoverandoverandoverandover and over again. At the same time, however, I often feel hesitant about telling people that I even play the guitar, because of my latent insecurities. Under the surface, I’m deathly afraid of the sort of judgment and criticism that may arise in their minds, should those same people ever witness me actually playing, leading worship, etc. I fear that I may not be “good enough” in their eyes, or that whatever meager riffs and chord progressions I play might not warrant the time that I spend in my room just playing the stupid instrument. All of which brings me back to the question that I started this with…why do I invest in guitar? It’s not like I have a career or a future in it. In terms of the present, it doesn’t really provide me with anything practical or useful either, other than the occasional fan coming up to me and saying, “OH MY GOSH ROGER FUNG-MING CHANG YOU’RE SO FREAKING AWESOME I WANNA BE JUST LIKE YOU!!!!” (… ok I lied; it doesn’t even provide me with that much). So, then…why? Why, why, WHY do I play this freaking instrument, if only to ever become mediocre at best, and never really achieve or attain anything tangible as a result of it? “Tangible”…but then, is the “tangible” what I’m really playing for, in the end? This can’t be the case; as was mentioned a few lines back, I don’t get any money, fame, recognition, respect, or women for that matter, as a result of my playing the guitar. But yet, there are times still when I truly delight in playing the guitar, enjoying it thoroughly, in a way that I can’t really even explain, because it does not include the “tangible” at all. And it’s weird, but I feel that God has a way of subtly sneaking in little glimpses of joy in the things we do, whether they be “spiritual” or secular, and whether we be fully “competent” in these activities or not. Despite the fact that we often limit Him to “churchy” or “holy” contexts, He desires so much to intimately be a part of our lives, to the point where He can make His presence and influence felt even in secular arenas, if we are so willing to seek Him out. I might suck at guitar…heck, I might suck at a lot of things in life (I have yet to determine what I actually can legitimately call a “core competency” of mine), but the amazing thing about grace is that my inadequacies will not, and CAN not prevent Him from meeting me where I am, despite what I am. And hence, I will continue to play the same boring 4-chord progressions that make up 99.9999% of all Asian worship music; I will continue to learn random sappy songs that others may find strange or annoying; I will CONTINUE to play an instrument that in the long run will not provide me with any practical benefits. For even in the midst of the distorted jumble of notes that is my music, I believe that God can speak to me. I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth
And I know I'm weak
I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed -Starfield- "Unashamed" | | |
| What the Hell, God?! – April 22-28, 2007
Outreach Topics: 1) Justice 2) Ambition 3) Science 4) Self-worth and Relationships 5) Race
Schedule:
Event Explanations:
“Prayer Rock” We would like to possess the rock for an entire week…and build a prayer request wall around it where people can post prayer requests and a team of people pray over these requests for the entire week…as in someone will be praying there at all times during the week…
“Café Curious” A forum for discussion at Norris during the lunch hour to discuss/address/answer theological/apologetic questions
“Stations” -Set up booths or stations in dining halls and other key locations on campus (outdoors??) -Booths will engage students on the 5 outreach topics and different subtopics within them i.e. eating disorders, depression, race issues, social justice, evolution, business, money etc -Actual layout/number of the booths is up to the teams working on each theme -Booths may or may not rotate locations throughout the week -Booths MUST publicize InterVarsity and what we stand for (in brief) as well as info about events of outreach week
Teams: (some leaders still TBD) Care/Follow-Up/Red Cross
Tina Ho (MEIV)
Mike Chen (AAIV)
Jenny Fung (MEIV) Publicity
Kathleen Cox (Greek)
Dana Lucy (Greek) Kick-Off & Worship Concert / Celebration
Chase Woodward (MEIV)
Valerie Concepcion (MEIV)
Cory Kaufman (Greek) Prayer
Jen Howell (Greek)
Marcus Mason (HoTR)
Kevin Cheung (AAIV) Fundraising
Brian Tam* (MEIV)
Andy Bilhorn
Allen Wakabayashi Café Curious
Angela Chung (AAIV)
Tim Lee (AAIV) TBD Service Project
Anne Halliday (Greek)
Andy Bilhorn
Outreach
Barnabas Lin (MEIV) - Justice
Marian Wang (AAIV)
Janet Park (AAIV)
Emlyn Torres (MEIV) TBD
(Sun Park) - Science
Shu-En Lim (AAIV)
Andrew Karaba (Greek)
Dave Hsu (AAIV) - Ambition
Carlyn Tan (AAIV)
(Sun Park)
(Brian Tam)
Kellogg IV - Broken Relationships
Karen Chong (MEIV)
Keeyoung Kim (AAIV) - Race
Josh Branson (Greek)
Deborah Saenz (MEIV/LaFe)
Lauren Robinson (MEIV) TBD
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| First of all, I'd like to start this reflection by posing a question, and that question is: Roger, where's your Dan Huang post? Get on the ball man. (Just kidding.)
But given that I (Marian) live with a lovely lady named Natalene Ong and that this website is behind on its posting of student reflections, I have been asked to write a reflection on what Dr. Soong Chan Rah said to us a couple weeks back--probably the easiest thing to do because the talk was so awesome, and because at this point, anything is better than doing what I'm supposed to be doing (i.e. writing a 12 page paper).
Basically what struck me the hardest about Dr. Rah's talk was what he said about the white captivity of the Asian American church, and about how if we're ever go get out of this captivity, we need Asian American Christian leaders that are willing to humble themselves and go there--to be mentored by African American church leaders and to try to understand the African American experience and the way it has shaped their view of God and the values that they associate with him (racial reconcilliation, social justice).
It's so true. Dr. Rah gave the example of pastors' conferences--where all these AA pastors would go to these mainstream pastors conferences held by mostly white leaders and be all excited about them, and when Latino or African American pastors had a conference, no AAs would be present. While I certainly didn't know about the pastoring world and what goes on there, was that really news to any of us who grew up in an Asian ethnic church? Was it surprising? Probably not--could you really picture the pastor of your home church at a conference held by black Americans?
Even in AAIV, sometimes I think we're a model of what Dr. Rah was talking about--the perfect example of a Christian group in white captivity. Are we a community that's really willing to move and learn together, even if it means moving out of our comfort zone and learning from people with different cultures and church traditions, or are we forever going to be a group of people that will just do religion the way we were taught--the white way, with some Korean or Chinese or Japanese influence--and go eat at JK Sweets afterwards?
One thing that has really blessed me about going to my church, New Community, is learning from the way we worship there. It took some getting used to, but I've grown really fond of gospel songs after a while, because I feel like they bring in this whole other dimension of communal celebration. "Come and bless the Lord with me," we'll sing. Obviously that's not sung directly to God--that's sung to your neighbor. So there's this idea of the community encouraging itself, as opposed to most of the songs by white Christian artists that we in the AA church sing, where we have to change "I" to "we" in order to make it communal. There's that slight difference. And from my limited exposure to gospel and black church culture, I truly feel like the black church has the gift of praising no matter what--isn't that something so applicable to tired, overworked, jobless Northwestern students?
Now because I hate it when people only criticize and have nothing positive to say, I have to say this: AAIV, I think we're moving there. We're getting there, individually. I was doing all these interviews for my Asian American religions class, and after doing them, I found that lots of people in AAIV are starting to really value multiethnicity, starting to see value in what they can learn from other cultures, starting to understand the necessity of social justice (and starting to resent the fact that this huge part of the gospel was totally overlooked in our Asian churches!). But I think we still have a long way to go, and I feel like it requires us to make big changes and in order to put ourselves in a place where we can really begin to understand.
As a graduating senior, I'm thinking big future changes--what kind of church am I going to go to? What kind of relationships am I going to really work intentionally to build? (Because friendships--especially cross-cultural--don't always happen naturally.) What kind of mentors am I going to seek? Those are just things I'm thinking about for me. Who knows where God is leading you, in response to Dr. Rah's thoughts on the Asian American church. I think the important part is that we do respond, from wherever we're at in our lives. Maybe that means making a commitment to something (by the way, Carlyn, I never got to read the commitment wall and I'm still sad about that), maybe it means choosing MEIV, maybe it means staying in AAIV and trying to keep the value for social justice going in our chapter, maybe it means being intentional about relationships with people in other chapters, maybe it means changing churches and coming to New Community because it's freaking amazing  (sorry guys, a shameless plug, I know. You can plug your own church next time you write a reflection.)... but I'm excited to see where our chapter goes with this. And now I've run out of things say so I'm gonna end here. Props if you read the whole thing.
Good luck on finals! When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. And we are all probably suffering right now. Remember that at 4 am tonight.
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