GroshLink

fall short . . . As many of you know, I am seeking to understand how professors professing their faith in Christ through their lives, words, and actions can by the Power of the Spirit have a widespread, redemptive influence on a an institution of higher education, particularly in small learning communities such as liberal arts colleges and state colleges set in the rural areas/towns (focusing initially on campuses in South Central PA).

Several weeks ago, my father taped for me the July 10 PBS History Detectives feature on Alternative Service Certificates which included an interview of David Eller, chairman of Elizabethtown College's Religious Studies Department. I had mixed feelings as I watched the story the other night as David had been recently arrested for allegedly arranging a sexual encounter with a 12 year old girl.

Yes, this was an insightful piece with regard to understanding alternative service and it gave me a deeper understanding of the tensions within Anabaptist traditions on how to engage in the larger culture (in this case in a war which one could place in the just war tradition). Yes, all of us sin and fall short. Yes, all of us can receive forgiveness and healing. Thankfully, police and NOT a young girl (just a few years older than Hayley and Ellen) was encountered the other day. Yes, this is an expression of God's common grace in action through the justice system.

Please unite w/us in prayer for David, and the communities of Elizabethtown, Church of the Brethren, and Elizabethtown College. This recent event received a lot of prayer at the local congregation in Elizabethtown which we visited on Sunday. Please pray for grace and discernment as I enter small campuses in the coming weeks, including Elizabethtown College, to meet professors and create opportunities for them as individuals and as members of the People of God on campus to be encouraged to profess their faith in Christ through their lives, words, and actions

Dear Father, By your Spirit, open David's heart to seek you for restoration. Open the People of God in the Elizabethtown area to provide helpful structures and relationships for a new direction in the life of David and others facing similar temptation on campus and in the community. Grant InterVarsity insight w/regard to how to be a redemptive influence among faculty at Elizabethtown College and across the country in the coming days, months, and years. In the Powerful, Transformative Name of Your Son Jesus, Amen.