GroshLink

A brief post to

• share our May prayer/event calendar, click here (PDF).
• remind friends in South Central PA that Theresa and I will host author Keri Wyatt Kent on Tuesday, May 14, 7 pm at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church. For more information on "Deeply Loved: Extending the Heart of Jesus with Tom & Theresa Grosh," please visit the Groshlink and/or Facebook event posts.
  • Note; If you are not in the area, but desire to learn more about how to more deeply partner with us as we finish 17+ years of ministry with InterVarsity and continue to increase our responsibilities in the home and with future leaders in health care and the academy (locally with the Penn State-Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA and nationally with InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network), please contact us.

As you may remember our fiscal year ends on June 30. At present God has provided $65,977 toward our $100,000 annual ministry budget, with about an additional $6,694 "committed." We continue to trust the LORD for his provision. He has always supplied for our needs above and beyond our human based expectations. If you and your local congregation have the ability to partner with us financially, please visit https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate/to/Tom_Grosh.

One final note: Yesterday's Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) Blog post PhD or No PhD. That is the Question. (Kate Peterson) is already a popular piece with a cadre of comments by a diverse group of ESN members. If this topic (and how we address it) is of interest to you, please take a few minutes to read the post/comments. If the question is of concern to family, friends, and/or colleagues, please share the link.

Pray for God's insight both to Carol as she presents and Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church as they receive what she has to share with us.* If you are in South Central PA and do not have other obligations, please feel free to join us for part/all of the morning . . . 

• 8:30 & 11:00 am services: "Genesis 1: The God Who Speaks."
• 10:05-10:45 am: "How it fits together: God's plan of redemption through history."

For more on the morning, click here. To learn more about the Christian Scholar Series, a partnership of Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church and InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network click here.

*Carol Kaminski, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Kaminski believes that the Church desperately needs to renew its commitment to teach the Old Testament. Her CASKET Timeline, CASKET EMPTY: God's Plan of Redemption Through History, part of the CASKET EMPTY Bible Series (http://www.casketempty.com), enables people to see visually how the Old Testament story progresses through six major redemptive periods, enabling them to locate key people, events, and biblical books in their historical-redemptive context. Her forthcoming book, Was Noah Good?: Finding Favour in the Flood Narrative, is due to be released this spring. Looking forward to reviewing these materials.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We rejoice in your loving care and prayerful partnership with our family as we engage in the Gospel mission. As we seek to improve our sharing of the mission

• we're rolling out a new monthly prayer/newsletter format -- click here for a PDF of our April prayer/event calendar.
  • Note: We would love to have your feedback not only on the new newsletter format, but also other ways that we can better communicate our labors via http://www.groshlink.net, Facebook, etc. If you are not already receiving this communication by email and you desire to do such, please email us.
• we're hosting a gathering in South Central PA with author Keri Wyatt Kent on Tuesday, May 14, 7 pm at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church. For more information on "Deeply Loved: Extending the Heart of Jesus with Tom & Theresa Grosh," please visit the Groshlink and/or Facebook event posts.
  • Note; If you are not in the area, but desire to learn more about how to more deeply partner with us as we finish 17+ years of ministry with InterVarsity and continue to increase our responsibilities in the home and with future leaders in health care and the academy (locally with the Penn State-Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA and nationally with InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network), please contact us.

As you may remember our fiscal year ends on June 30. Due to the economy and some shifts in support by some local congregations we are presently $6,071 short of raising our annual campus ministry budget of $100,000. I'll give a summary of our year end projected giving in May. We continue to trust the LORD for his provision. He has always supplied for our needs above and beyond our human based expectations. If you have the ability to partner with us financially, please visit https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate/to/Tom_Grosh.

One final note: If you haven't already checked out the Emerging Scholars Network's March Madness, please be sure to check out the winner and the breakdown of the stats -- thank-you Andy! Amazingly, visits to the ESN Blog and Facebook wall shot through the roof as we played out a tournament envisioned/discussed at Urbana12 as a way to engage Emerging Scholars with the wider world of Christian literature -- thank-you Mike! Pray for next steps of Christian devotional reading, conversation, and discussion (Best Christian Books of All Time Reviews: Knowing God, Pt. I went up today -- thank-you John!). Maybe we'll host a revised tournament in 2014 :)

To God be the glory!

In South Central PA? Please hold Tuesday May 14, 7 pm for Deeply Loved: Extending the Heart of Jesus with Tom & Theresa Grosh. Location: Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church, sanctuary. Refreshments served in the lobby afterward.

Deeply Loved will be an evening focused on how you can uniquely partner with/support Tom & Theresa's sharing of the heart of Jesus through PSU-Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA and InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network. They will also share some of the challenges they face as parents of a child with developmental delays.

As part of the evening, Keri Wyatt Kent, will bless participants with some insights from Deeply Loved: 40 Ways in 40 Days to Experience the Heart of Jesus (Abingdon Press, 2012). Keri writes and speaks to help people slow down, simplify, rest, so that they can listen to God. The most frequently heard comment when Keri speaks at an event is “You’re so real!” Audiences connect with her practical teaching and authentic sharing.

Theresa has appreciated her decade long friendship with Keri. They connected when Theresa coordinated MOPS at Christ Church at Grove Farm (Sewickley, PA). Click here for Theresa's Sunday School Series on Keri's Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity and here for Theresa's God at Work Testimony. To learn more about Keri visit keriwyattkent.com.

To learn more about the evening, please contact Tom & Theresa Grosh IV, and/or visit the Facebook event page.

Grosh Family photo by & courtesy of Marci Weidler, Circle of Life Photography.

Yes, "Cornerstone" by Hillsong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWHgvkEPJiQ) is being posted as part of the Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA preparations for their spring retreat (April 12-13).*

The song was written after a gun shooting in Stockholm involving kids when that area was in shock and tragedy. The writers of the song took the lyrics from the well known hymn "My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" for the verses and wrote the chorus "Christ alone, Cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior's blood. Though the storm He is Lord, Lord of all," a declaration of Jesus Christ being the only foundation on which we can build our lives, that no matter what happens what can be shaken is shaken but we can hold onto Jesus Christ.

What a joy to serve healers approaching patients (and their families when present) and colleagues (across the profesional hierarchy found in the health care profession) which such a lens for Life. Thank-you for your prayers for, encouragement of, and support of these Kingdom labors. To God be the glory!

*For the first post in the series visit ESN Snapshot: Penn State Hershey CMS/CMDA Spring Retreat Worship.

Some may find this a stretch, but a significant motivation for my labors with InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) is that deep down I think of every student as a scholar . . . maybe "emerging" is more applicable to more than I desire ;) The student is a learner, becoming a specialist in a particular aspect of God's creation. Through the stewardship of the knowledge and skills acquired, students have the ability to bless many individually and corporately in a wide array of contexts/circumstances. In the case of the health care students with whom I labor with as as part of the Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA, they will be teachers and continual learners throughout their vocation.

In addition to finding great joy in the Tuesday lunch outreaches, leadership team gatherings, and Bible studies, I also look forward to the once a term retreats. In preparation for our time of worship together, the worship team leader has been including songs in the weekly emails. They are an encouragement to all the students, including the graduate students part of the fellowship who are more literally Emerging Scholars, i.e., future faculty (professors and/or academic researchers). Join us in the blessing of All I Have is Christ by Sovereign Grace.

A note from the spring retreat's worship leader:

The second verse is especially powerful to me:

"But as I ran my hell-bound race indifferent to the cost, you looked upon my helpless and led me to the cross. And I beheld God's love displayed. You suffered in my place. You bore the wrath reserved for me. Now all I know is grace."

That is the gospel in a nutshell, and the gospel is just so beautiful however many times it is told in however many different ways. Praise God that He suffered in our place so that we can be His.

Thank-you for your prayers for, encouragement of, and support of these Kingdom labors. To God be the glory!

How are you and the community of which you are a part responding to "the challenge of Jesus" by being part of a people who tell, embrace, and live in "the story of God, the story of us." --Responding to "The Challenge of Jesus". Much more to talk about, but this material is a starter. Pictures from Sean Gladding's South Central PA visit will be posted here.

Pray for today's Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA Lunch to be a great to time

1. to get to know one-another
2. for our spring ministry interns (Holly and Joe) to get into the swing of things
3. for students considering leadership to catch a vibrant vision for ministry with CMS/CMDA in 2013-2014.

1/29: Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA Lunch: Free food starts at 12 noon. This week will be a social lunch in order to get to know classmates better! CMS wraps up around 12:50 to enable people to get to class.

Pray for preparations for this weekend's CMDA Northeast Winter Retreat -- including the safe travel of participants, in particular Scott (& others) traveling through the storm which has been blessing "the south" with snow. I wish the snow would come further north!

Note: I'll be leading the Saturday morning prayer time. We will focus on human trafficking. During Saturday afternoon free time, Theresa will lead an optional workshop on making t-shirt scarves. Later in the afternoon, I'll gather interested people to basketball. Throughout the weekend Theresa and I will not only help facilitate a small group with several physican families, but also "fill in the gaps" (my guess is that will include tonight's registration).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We rejoice in your loving care and prayerful partnership with our family as we engage in Gospel mission. Although I have much to share, for example:

* The new InterVarsity Emerging Scholars Network website, EmergingScholars.org is up -- a special thank-you to Craig, Jeff, Mark, Mike, Shelley, and countless others!

* Bonus: We're giving away 5 copies of Urbana12 emcee Greg Jao's new "Your Mind's Mission" (part of InterVarsity Press' "Urbana Onward" series). Learn more and read an excerpt from Greg's book at http://esn.intervarsity.org/reviews/excerpt-your-minds-mission-greg-jao. Note: Entries to the drawing close on Monday, December 3 at midnight, EST.

We've decided to try something different for our year end letter. Actually I should say that Theresa had a vision for something new and I just went along for the ride :) Drum roll . . .

Yes, as you've probably guessed by now, Theresa volunteered to write the year end letter (click here for PDF). She even included lots of family pictures :) 

May you find this "insider" view of our "family in mission" a blessing. 

To God be the glory!

Day-by-Day by His Grace,

Tom Grosh IV, Groshlink
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Graduate & Faculty Ministry

Associate Director of Emerging Scholars Network (ESN), EmergingScholars.org, blog.EmergingScholars.org/, twitter.com/esnivcf,
facebook.com/EmergingScholars

Associate Staff with Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) for PSU-Hershey Medical Center's Christian Medical Society

To support visit here.

Our Mission: To establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities that follow Jesus.

Our Vision: To see students and faculty transformed. Campuses renewed. World changers developed.

Photo by & courtesy of Marci Weidler, Circle of Life Photography. 2012. 

Read all about the October 21-22 "Programs To Focus On Haiti Relief And Development" featuring Kent Annan, co-director and co-founder of Haiti Partners and author of two InterVarsity Press books (After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World Is Shaken) and Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle) in a October 17 Merchandiser article (Elizabethtown-Mount Joy Edition).

PS. Click here for FB Event page.

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation — if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” — Colossians 1:21-23 (NIV)

The 2012 October Prayer Calendar is posted below (click to enlarge). Your prayers, encouragement, and support in ministry are much appreciated. 

A little bit more . . . (More)

A faculty friend and ministry mentor passed along these words regarding leadership:

A sense of timing, people say, is essential to leadership. You must know when to act boldly and when to wait patiently; when to bend and when to stand firm. David had that critical sense of timing because he trusted God's control of events.

First Samuel, chapter 24

No doubt my friend's concern was with regard to the current events in the Middle East. But as I have started to find my way in the new role as Associate Director of InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network over the past several months, tried to keep up with the growth of the Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA, and prepare for InterVarsity's Faculty Ministry Leadership Team Meetings (9/26 - 28), I find these words applicable in my own life. I ask your prayers for God's grace in timing, boldness, patience, discernment, and trust in the Lord. To God be the glory!

Kelly, a local alumnus (B.S., Messiah College, Ph.D., PSU-Hershey Medical Center) who is now a postdoc researcher at Duke, contributed "Resources for Postdocs" to the Emerging Scholars Network Blog (9/13/2012). Her posts have been excellent and much appreciated by the wide Emerging Scholars Network. At present her Finding a Postdoc in the Sciences: Nailing the Interview (11/28/2012) is the top viewed post this month, second most viewed this year, and fifth most viewed since the creation of the blog in August 2008. May this work truly be the blessing she desires it to be to the next generation who follows her in higher education. To God be the glory!

• 9/13 "The Amish" shows 6 pm at Elizabethtown Public Library, Elizabethtown, PA, http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=4076&EventID=132260. 
  
  • If you're in South Central PA, don't miss the opportunity not only to see the PBS American Experience documentary (www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/amish/) on a larger screen with friends from the community, but also have Question-and-Answer with Donald Kraybill, senior Fellow at Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. As you may know, Kraybill served as the academic consultant to the film’s producer. 
  • If you're not in the area, I'd love to bring your questions about "The Amish" or even Anabaptism in general to the Question-Answer time with Kraybill. So shoot them my way. 
  • Note: Local Merchandiser front page article on the evening with the above picture of myself with Donald Kraybill and Bethleen Bradford, Elizabethtown Public Library: www.engleonline.com/AdDesk/Htmlfiles/Readers/article.epc?id=73664.
• 10/21 Kent Annan, co-director of Haiti Partners (a nonprofit focused on education in Haiti) and author of After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World is Shaken (IVP, 2011) and Following Jesus through the Eye of the Needle (IVP, 2009) returns to South Central PA as part of the Christian Scholar Series at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church, www.etownbic.org/annan/.
   (More)

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ” — II Corinthians 5:20

The 2012 September Prayer Calendar is posted below (click to enlarge). Your prayers, encouragement, and support in ministry are much appreciated. 

A little bit more . . .

Your prayers and encouragement over the past several months of transition into my new responsibilities with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) as the new Associate Director have been a great blessing! Much to update you on, but the highlights truly stem from a strong start to the new academic year:

• Emerging Scholars Network in increased volume of posts/interactions at blog.emergingscholars.org/ and www.facebook.com/emergingscholars. 
  
  • Pray for discernment in the development of a strategy for next steps as we prepare to expand not only the depth of interaction in our social media, but also our local partnerships. 
  • Pray for the pulling together of material to present our mission with clarity at Urbana12 (December 27 - 31) through our booth, seminars, dinners, etc, https://urbana.org/urbana-12/exhibit-hall/emerging-scholars-network.
• PSU-Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA, in growth in size, depth, and resources to advance the mission. 
  
  • See pictures at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151101343473351.460334.343966923350, www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151126589513351.464068.343966923350. 
  • Pray for the development of a local CMDA board to expand labors/partnership in South Central PA.
• our family, each and every one. Praise: By the grace of God, Eden and the family persevered through the intensive 3 week occupational therapy at Schreiber's Pediatric Rehab Center (Lancaster, PA) in August. AND it was of benefit! Pray for Eden to have continued enthusiasm for the next steps in therapy and to receive healing throughout the process.

The 2012 August Prayer Calendar is posted below (click to enlarge). Your prayers, encouragement, and support in ministry are much appreciated.

The August 1 - 3 visit to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's National Service Center was a great blessing to and confirmation of the work to which I've been called with the Emerging Scholars Network. If you have not already done such, swing by God's Grace in Higher Education: IVCF article on Tom Grosh.

God has and will continue to provide for the work of His Kingdom in amazing ways.

The 2012 July Prayer Calendar is posted below (click to enlarge). Your prayers, encouragement, and support in ministry are much appreciated. God has and will continue to provide for the work of His Kingdom in amazing ways. More updates coming.

The Merchandiser ran an annoucement of Tom's new post with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The article, click here, has Tom "of Elizabethtown." We live just across the border in Mount Joy (actually Milton Grove), but do a lot in Elizabethtown. It's good to feel part of the community. Maybe the Mount Joy edition ran Tom as living in Mount Joy ;) If you know, let us know. We can't take a look for several days as we're away for Joni & Friends Camp.

What a joy to begin to serve as the Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network beginning on July 1.

"Grace is permission not to be busy constantly. Slowing down does not make you less important. Slowing down does not mean you do not work hard. Slowing down is courageous." -- Permission to slow down. Lisa Van Engen. Catapult Magazine. Vol 11, Num 13 :: 2012.06.22 — 2012.07.05.

Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA picnic hosted in partnership with Theresa's parents. In addition to the great conversation between health care professionals, missionaries, and students from the Medical Center . . . the bees, Rex the bunny, the chickens, singing songs with our girls, and various gardens were quite the attraction :) I can't imagine a better way for our family to spend a Saturday evening(6/23/2012). What a joy to have opportunity to serve Christ at Penn State Hershey with CMS/CMDA. Join me in praying for the incoming class, which will begin arriving in late July. Classes begin in early August.

At this time of year it is easy to keep constantly busy -- to work, work, work to close the fiscal year end "in the black."  And while that is a goal of ours, we need to be reminded that we rest in God's hands and in His provision.  Yesterday, our family journeyed together to Joni and Friends Family Retreat at Spruce Lake in the Poconos.  We will be focusing on enriching our family with hopes to return to "normal life" refreshed and rejuvenated. (More)

"Grace is permission not to be busy constantly. Slowing down does not make you less important. Slowing down does not mean you do not work hard. Slowing down is courageous." -- Permission to slow down. Lisa Van Engen. Catapult Magazine. Vol 11, Num 13 :: 2012.06.22 — 2012.07.05.

I found these words very apt (along with the rest of the short post) to reflect upon during this brief time in between a packed trip to Pittsburgh and a week of Joni & Friends Camp with family . . . which has a variety of tasks on the plate including a Penn State Hershey Christian Medical Society (CMS)/CMDA picnic at our house and a fiscal year end ask for our labors with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship*. On July 1, I begin serving as the Associate Director of the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). On July 3, I begin a summer class on Theology & The Practice of Prayer taught by Laurie Mellinger at Evangelical Seminary (Myerstown, PA). As you may have guessed, I've already begun gathering recommendations for next steps with ESN and reading for class.

But I will try to step aside from these tasks (except for some scheduled check-ins) to receive God's grace to courageously slow down and be fully engaged with the whole family next week. This requires placing confidence in God's provision through His people for His work/purposes. Some would say (and at times I find myself agreeing) that this is an impossible, crazy decision. But such is following Christ, truly loving one's family/neighbor, and being part of the dynamic work of the Kingdom of God.

5 Things I Learned from My InterVarsity Staff Dad (Grete Bauder. InterVarsity Blog. 6/15/2012). Wow! Fun to read :)

Note: As some of you know I've had the privilege of getting to know both Grete (part of InterVarsity's undergraduate student chapter at Carnegie Mellon U before working with InterVarsity's 2100 Productions) and her father Kevin (my area director in the MidAtlantic then regional director in the Northeast). Their whole family, life, and life in ministry has been a great blessing to many. What a joy to read this testimony and an opportunity for InterVarsity to give a window on staff life. To God be the glory!

By God's grace we have received $85,282 toward our annual InterVarsity ministry budget of $100,000. We rejoice in the many who have given in diverse ways to support the work to which we've been called. We ask you to pray and as the Lord permits, enable us to cross the June 30th fiscal year finish line well. To God be glory!

To support visit https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate/to/Tom_Grosh . . .

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you — you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." -- Luke 12:27-31

God provides! Yesterday we had several gifts beyond regular giving (monthly, quarterly, bi-annual), gifts which ranged from $50 to $1,300. Over the past week our projected InterVarsity Ministry Budget shortfall has dropped from approximately $15,000 to $11,700. To God be the glory!

The bigger picture: Our annual ministry budget is nearly $100,000. We've received $80,866.83 toward that end. Racing to the finish line of June 30th. God provides!

I'm taking the opportunity to participate in Pietist and Anabaptist Intersections in Pennsylvania: The Life and Influence of Alexander Mack, Jr. -- a study conference sponsored by Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies (June 6-8). It's starting with a reflection on "Alexander Mack, Jr: Pilgrim of Love & Light" by Dale Stoffer, Professor of Historical Theology, Ashland Seminary. I'll take some notes from the conference and share what I learn about the interaction of faith-scholarship.

PS. I've already had some great conversations with other delegates. Shared relationships and interests remind me how connected we are as the people of God.