First Week

The first week of Fall Semester 2010 is almost in the books.

Highlights:

1. WOEP '10 - GT style acronym for Week Of Extraordinary Prayer. Students organized a 24/7 prayer chain for GT and our minstry for the week before school started. The GT Crossroads staff team joined in the effort and spent a lot more time than we usually do praying together for God to loved and enjoyed at Georgia Tech this year like never before!

2. Sunday - Leaders Ice Cream and Prayer at the McEntyre home - It was so fun to have most of our returning student leaders over to our home the Sunday before school started. Students chatted about their summers. We shared our burden this year for prayer and to be faithful in reaching out to our campus this year.

3. Monday Wednesday Freshman Welcome and networking - it is always fun to meet the new GT students. I have met students from Ohio, California, and Cumming, GA to name a few.

4. Thursday New GT Alumni Support - I (Trent) had the pleasure of meeting again this week with one of our distinguished alumni, Steve Zelnak. I met Steve a couple of years ago when I was asked to give a brief presentation to the alumni foundation board meeting. He is very involved in GT and encouraged us by offering to speak at our weekly meeting on Sept. 23rd. Come out and join us that night for a great talk on leadership.

5. Thursday pm First Crossroads weekly meeting - Thursday nights we gather for worship, teaching, and fellowship. We had a nice turnout of new and returning students despite meeting outside...it having just rained. We introduced GT to cookie dough pancakes. Student leaders, Isaac and Matt, manned the griddles and I dropped generous amounts of toll house cookie dough into the pancakes. The combo is rich, piping hot, and not good for you.

I spoke last night on John 13:1-17. It is the upper room scene when Jesus washes the disciples feet. The first things I noticed about this passage was how amazing a demonstration of servant leadership this is. Jesus the creator and sustainer of the universe, the Lord of all, stooping to the role of foot washer. Then I started to think about what is signified in the act of washing. Long story short, just before I was to give the first week message I realized that Jesus's washing his disciples feet was a radical pointer to what he was about to do. He was about to lay down his life for his friends so that they could be washed of the guilt of their sins and restored to a real relationship with God.

Trent McEntyre with his daughter Samantha

6. Sat Scavenger Hunt and Cookout - Saturday afternoon our staff member Greg and a great student named Palmer set up a fun photo scavenger hunt and cookout on campus. One of the scavenger hunt teams "randomly" asked a former mission team member of mine to snap a shot of their team in a pyramid in Centennial Park. My olderst daughter Samantha was part of the fun. She continues to convince us that she will be a Georgia Tech student herself one day.

Becca Gartrell and some of the Crossroads student women leaders

GT Crossroads director presents reflection at Student honors luncheon

I believe one of the keys of effective campus ministry is being part of campus life. One way Crossroads can participate in the academic life of our campus is to give reflection speaches for events like graduation. In the past, these reflections were called invocations. It was customary to have a minister open these events with a prayer. It is understandable that most universities have replaced opening prayers with secular reflections.

Here is the text of my most recent reflection at the Georgia Tech Student honors luncheon:

Greetings, students, faculty, alumni, and friends of Georgia Tech. On behalf of the Georgia Tech campus ministries I offer this brief refection:


We live in a world where men and women strive for many different awards. What determines the kind of legacy that they leave?


I recently reflected on the story of Alfred Noble who made great success and fortune for himself with his scientific mind. His proudest invention he first called “safety powder” but later derived a new name for his powder after the Greek word for strength, “dynamite.”


Alfred’s success continued. Later, Alfred’s older brother Ludvig died, a French newspaper printed a scathing obituary, not of Ludvig, but of Alfred Nobel, who was in fact alive and well. The writer was allegedly confused about who had died, and he used the obituary to write a condemnation of Alfred's life and work. “The merchant of death is dead" the newspaper proclaimed.


Alfred Nobel read the obituary about himself and was so upset that this was to be his legacy that he rewrote his will to establish a set of prizes celebrating humankind's greatest achievements. He left 94 percent of his assets to create and endow five Nobel Prizes.


There's also now an annual ceremony at Harvard to award the IgNobel Prizes. These prizes parody the Nobel awards and are for achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."


Recent Ignoble science and technology awards have gone to veterinarians in France "for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat" The Ignoble awards ceremony always concludes with the proclamation: "If you didn't win a prize — and especially if you did — better luck next year!"


You are here today because you have won a prize for your hard work and achievement. The Georgia Tech community is thankful for you and the example you have set. We are hopeful for the potential, noble legacy you will leave in the world.


We have great hope for you, the recipients of hard earned awards, because, if you can succeed here at Georgia Tech, some may say you can succeed anywhere.


Still, I encourage you to receive these rewards and set your sights on new ones with humility, courage and wisdom.


Today, we will gratefully offer you our encouragement and applause. As you celebrate today, consider how your success can be a blessing others and bring wonderful solutions to many challenges in our world.

(Pictured below - three students involved in Crossroads that were receiving awards at the luncheon.)

Coming soon - stories

God is wonderful in that he does big things through his little people. We are very excited about what he is doing to reach and send some incredible leaders for His kingdom.

We will use this blog along with our regular newsletters and other communications to spread the word about some the great stories that are taking place at Georgia Tech and beyond.

The next event we have coming up is a graduation party at our house for a few students and their family and friends. Pray that it is a warm and joyful celebration of their very hard earned degrees!

Trent