Bipolar Tabling

Hello, friends!
Yesterday was one of those bipolar days where you look back and say, "why was I so worried?"  The honest truth is that God has some big plans, even if I can't see everything in front of me. 

We decided to do some tabling yesterday.  I had done some tabling for BCM earlier in the semester but it was a really unfruitful experience.  As in literally zero people showed up.  At the time, I was convinced that tabling was not the way to go as far as breaking into the black community was concerned. 

So, what made me decide to do it again?  Really, it wasn't my idea.  A few weeks back I was having dinner with Shawn and he invited a few of his friends who were interested in BCM.  I cast the vision for the fellowship and they bought in pretty quickly.  They thought one of the first things that we needed to do was table and take some spiritual surveys.  If students have an idea to be missional, I am not going to turn them down.  =0). 

Things definitely started poorly though.  We were supposed to table from 12-2.  I got to our spot at about 5 to 12 but no one was there.  It wasn't until 12:10 that Shamari showed up but she left right away to get her lunch.  At this point, I was not excited for our prospects.  As we started to set up the table, I talked to Shamari and she asked me about some rumors she had heard about BCM.  Apparently, during my first few weeks of meeting students I said some things that were mis-interpreted by some folk and it put a bad taste in their mouths.  I had no idea that I had said anything wrong but the day just kept getting worst. 

(There were two misinterpretations.  On our promo card it says that we want to be a REAL community that follows the REAL Jesus in a REAL way.  Some folk from Impact, another black student ministry affiliated with Cru, thought that I was insinuating that Impact was fake in some way or that I was saying BCM was the only true community for black Christians.  The second was that when I was talking to students I told them that I wanted to get a feel for the spiritual climate on campus.  This led to some students wondering if I was really a Christian.) 

Friends, to be honest, I was feeling pretty discouraged at this point.  I had to step away from the table for a bit to collect my thoughts and spend some time in prayer.  I honestly felt like I had ruined things in a really big way.  It turns out that taking a time out was the best decision I could have made for the day and really turned things around. 

I returned to our table and decided that I would sit a little bit off to the side, still attached, but not front and center.  I would let Shamari take the sole spot.  She also suggested that we get some tunes for our table, so I borrowed a laptop from the student center and she started spinning some jams on YouTube.  Brittaney came and moved our prayer box front and center.  Then both ladies started calling over everyone they knew to fill out some prayer requests. 

From there, I was able to have some good conversations with some students about what we were doing on campus, our mission, and how they could be a part of it.  A few even signed up to get some more info. 

By the time we had finished, I definitely learned a few things:
- I need to remember that I am in a cross cultural planting situation.  Unlike the Asian/Asian American community at Mizzou, most of the black students have grown up in a church culture.  That changes what I say and how I say it. 
- Added to that, I should never go tabling or recruiting without black students with me.  I don't have the credibility to make it happen. 
- Finally, I have to remember that God has good plans for BCM.  I could have folded but if I did, I would have missed out on the great momentum that we built yesterday. 

A few points for prayer:
- I am still discerning as to whether or not I need to seek out those students who misinterpreted what I said earlier this semester.  Please pray for guidance, wisdom, and discernment. 
- Pray for the new contacts we received yesterday.  Pray that they will have a vision for the campus and join us in community. 
- Please pray for continued momentum.  With Thanksgiving on its way and the end of the semester looming, it would be a tragedy for us to lose momentum just as we start to gain it. 
- One last thing.  My sister is super pregnant and due any day now with my first niece!  Please pray for health for T and baby Chuang. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam