Hard conversations are happening everywhere. Western Culture is consumed with them, conversations on race, relationships, and identity. The world demands you to simply “do you” in this era of self autonomy. For many students, “Life Training” has produced some of their favorite talks so far. With conversations on Biblical Femininity and Masculinity as well as Ethnicity, and Sexuality, Life Training has prompted students to have conversations and think about topics that Western culture is already engaging with, mainly conversations around identity.
Identity is a powerful thing that helps us understand ourselves and how we relate to the world around us. Life Training has played an important part in how we see more of not just ourselves but God and His good design for us as seen in scripture. Often pointing back to Genesis and the creation of man (Gen. 1:26-28) and woman (Gen 2:20-25), the talks during Life Training pointed participants to God’s good purpose for who they were created to be.
The main point in Life Training this summer seems to all be very similar, to see that God is good, and Jesus is better. That God is a good God who gives His children good gifts (Matt. 7:11) and that a life following Jesus is far better than living to one's own desires. Life Training has shown us that we as sinful human beings are in desperate need of Jesus' redemption in our lives and as we have these conversations on Project grounds we are taking away necessary skills in engaging with our non-believing friends and the culture around us. As our theme book Philippians reminds us that our prayers for ourselves and others should be that we would abound in love.
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
This abounding love that comes from knowledge and discernment is being cultivated through thoughtful questions being asked and active listening as we build relationships with our roommates, classmates, co-workers and family and friends back home.