Please comment or email me (tammy_bixler@ivstaff.org) if you'd like to partner with me in any of these ways:
1. Sponsor a Small Group care package:
We have 9 small group leaders preparing to lead 9 small groups this fall semester. I think it would be so cool if they could receive a fun and encouraging care package from someone who's thinking and praying for them! I can give you suggestions and ideas for a package if you'd like, and you can send it to me anytime this semester.
Below are the small group leaders and their respective small group focuses:
Eric - Grad students
Jessie - Artists
Tin - Fitness
Doug - Freshmen
Lydia - Health Sciences & Commuter
Tim - (n/a yet)
Amanda - (n/a yet)
Michael - (n/a yet)
2. Help me decorate an office wall space:
I have a large empty wall space in my InterVarsity office on campus. I had shelves taken down and I didn't want to paint the wall, so I left the tracking on there and hung a navy blue tablecloth over the wall, thinking I'd come up with some brilliant idea to decorate.
However, I have not come up with a brilliant idea, and it has not been the highest of my priorities, so I'd love some help. If you have ideas or would like to send/give me some decor (e.g. banners, post-its, picture frames) that would help create a welcoming space for meeting with students and remind us of what our ministry is all about, please let me know!
It would just be a big cherry on top if that decorative space could be interactive/engaging (e.g. having students write an encouraging note to post).
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Commanding voice.
By the time I was a senior in high school, I was a commander - a captain, in fact - in the JROTC program in my high school. I participated in the JROTC program for all four years at Francis Lewis. Not too many of my college peers, nor my current IV students, or even fellow IV staff, know about this little fun fact. And for those who do know, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a hard time picturing me in it.
Maybe they have a hard time picturing me giving out orders. I don't think I give off a typical Army-like vibe most people would have in mind.
Or maybe it's the idea of me in an army uniform?
Well, believe it or not, I did it. And while I did my best to be a good leader and not abuse my power, I did enjoy being in charge. Part of being in charge meant sometimes giving commands to cadets, and giving commands meant using what we called our 'commanding voice.'
I felt like an entirely different person using my commanding voice. Most of the time I felt confident because I knew what I needed and wanted to do to lead those cadets well. I felt brimmed over with authority because it didn't make me a bossy person and this was the position and responsibility I had been given to steward. I also knew many of them wanted to follow me. I appreciated their encouragement and respect, and was humbled by their desire to learn and grow.
As a staff worker, I have not yet found my commanding voice.
While I am confident about God's call on my life and am clear about the mission He has given us as an InterVarsity chapter, my temptation is to doubt the spiritual authority God has given me to lead His people. While I know I have that spiritual authority in my head, I don't always feel it in my bones. More often than not I step 10 feet out of my comfort zone when I lead RIT students, and with continuously seeing how far we need to go, it's hard to feel confident that my leadership is effective, or that I have any spiritual power to do anything helpful.
What I am confident about is my trust in the power God has to work in me and through me despite my doubts. There's still time to learn how to embody the spiritual authority God has given me in the work I have been entrusted with.
Maybe they have a hard time picturing me giving out orders. I don't think I give off a typical Army-like vibe most people would have in mind.
Or maybe it's the idea of me in an army uniform?
Well, believe it or not, I did it. And while I did my best to be a good leader and not abuse my power, I did enjoy being in charge. Part of being in charge meant sometimes giving commands to cadets, and giving commands meant using what we called our 'commanding voice.'
I felt like an entirely different person using my commanding voice. Most of the time I felt confident because I knew what I needed and wanted to do to lead those cadets well. I felt brimmed over with authority because it didn't make me a bossy person and this was the position and responsibility I had been given to steward. I also knew many of them wanted to follow me. I appreciated their encouragement and respect, and was humbled by their desire to learn and grow.
As a staff worker, I have not yet found my commanding voice.
While I am confident about God's call on my life and am clear about the mission He has given us as an InterVarsity chapter, my temptation is to doubt the spiritual authority God has given me to lead His people. While I know I have that spiritual authority in my head, I don't always feel it in my bones. More often than not I step 10 feet out of my comfort zone when I lead RIT students, and with continuously seeing how far we need to go, it's hard to feel confident that my leadership is effective, or that I have any spiritual power to do anything helpful.
What I am confident about is my trust in the power God has to work in me and through me despite my doubts. There's still time to learn how to embody the spiritual authority God has given me in the work I have been entrusted with.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Faithfulness, abundance, and generosity.
If there's one thing ministry partner development (MPD) through InterVarsity has taught me, it's that fund raising is not simply a money transaction, it's the opportunity to develop a relationship.
Raising funds was never really a big, scary thing for me. I think that's probably really strange to most people, particularly as an Asian American woman. But when I think about the kind of environment I grew up in and how I responded to my circumstances, it makes sense.
My dad was a pastor of a small English congregation in a Chinese Alliance church for the first 10 or so years of my life, and then went full time into directing a non-profit para-church organization, continuing to this day. My mom was a stay at home mom (which I loved and am so grateful for), and so my family didn't exactly have a stable income or the nicest of things.
But in the midst of how different my family's lifestyle seemed to be in comparison to others, we never had to worry - we always had just what we needed and then some. We swam in a vast ocean deep with grace, generosity, and provisions every single day.
God often expressed His faithfulness, abundance, and generosity in our family through the love of my parents and my community. Whether it was through tangible materials, opened homes, or the occasional unique life experience, it was all rooted in relationships our family had with others.
Now that I think about it, I don't think it's a big surprise that ministry partnership is not just about transacting funds. The primary ways I've experienced and witnessed God's faithfulness, abundance, and generosity has been through the context of relationships with others. In fact, I would even say that the very foundations of my childhood are based on them.
I guess as a child I was more often at the receiving end of what these beautiful relationships between my family and others developed. Now as a staff with InterVarsity, I'm learning how to develop, cultivate, and deepen my own relationships so that I may learn how to extend that same faithfulness, abundance, and generosity from the Lord to others.
Raising funds was never really a big, scary thing for me. I think that's probably really strange to most people, particularly as an Asian American woman. But when I think about the kind of environment I grew up in and how I responded to my circumstances, it makes sense.
My dad was a pastor of a small English congregation in a Chinese Alliance church for the first 10 or so years of my life, and then went full time into directing a non-profit para-church organization, continuing to this day. My mom was a stay at home mom (which I loved and am so grateful for), and so my family didn't exactly have a stable income or the nicest of things.
But in the midst of how different my family's lifestyle seemed to be in comparison to others, we never had to worry - we always had just what we needed and then some. We swam in a vast ocean deep with grace, generosity, and provisions every single day.
God often expressed His faithfulness, abundance, and generosity in our family through the love of my parents and my community. Whether it was through tangible materials, opened homes, or the occasional unique life experience, it was all rooted in relationships our family had with others.
Now that I think about it, I don't think it's a big surprise that ministry partnership is not just about transacting funds. The primary ways I've experienced and witnessed God's faithfulness, abundance, and generosity has been through the context of relationships with others. In fact, I would even say that the very foundations of my childhood are based on them.
I guess as a child I was more often at the receiving end of what these beautiful relationships between my family and others developed. Now as a staff with InterVarsity, I'm learning how to develop, cultivate, and deepen my own relationships so that I may learn how to extend that same faithfulness, abundance, and generosity from the Lord to others.
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