Scott Gianopoulos

I think one of my biggest blessings in life will be that I had the privilege of calling Scott Gianopoulos my friend. Many people had that privilege as well, because that’s who Scott was, a friend. I first met Scott my freshman year at fall retreat where we sat around the bonfire and annoyed everyone by singing Disney songs for hours, and I wish I could say our friendship began there, but with him being in and out of school we didn’t reconnect till two years ago. He came to the mothership and we found and captured a spider on my porch that was the size of my hand. Scott and I decided to microwave it to see what would happen, and that was the beginning of a friendship that I will never forget.

Having Scott as a friend meant so many things: It meant life became a never ending party, full of spontaneity, because it was never too late and nothing was ever too crazy for him. He was hilarious, and full of life at all times. I’ll never forget all the silly songs he made up and all of his sayings like the ever popular “school is for fools”.

Scott was magnetic. People were drawn to him, and before I don’t know if I knew what it was that drew them in but it just was. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet but UT is a different place when Scott was here. He was the most inclusive guy I’ve ever known. He noticed when someone new came to the mansion and he would get to know them. One time I remember talking to scott and describing someone as one of those people that was just “hard to love” and I remember scott looked at me and said “What do you mean?”. And it finally clicked, that was a foreign concept for him, Scott loved everyone and he loved them well. How many people can really love everyone?

Scott always cared. Whenever he asked me how my day was going he actually listened. And whenever he facebook chatted me for the 7th time that day he still wanted to know. And whenever I was having a bad day for me with the most mundane problems he would listen with sympathy even though it could never touch what he was going through. Scott noticed when you were gone or hadn’t been around for a while. If I hadn’t seen him in 3 or 4 days I could expect a text saying “Aunt Mandy. I miss you. Lets hang out soon!”

Scott was selfless. He didn’t need or want attention on himself, ever. If someone was going through a tough time he would elevate them and make them feel loved. He was a servant and would have done anything for me.

As a friend, Scott cared enough to say the hard stuff. He was there to listen to me, but he was also there to point me to Christ. He would tell me when I was being selfish or not surrendering something, even though I didn’t want to hear it. He shared his heart with me and helped me become a better person.

Its no secret that Scott was passionate! Passionate for everything: the VOLS, the Packers, the White Sox, David Crowder, Disney movies, Taylor Swift, johnnies, krispie kreme doughnuts, and Jesus. And his passion was contagious to everyone around him. I will never think about any of those things the same. I will never halfheartedly sing Rocky Top again and the cubs will always suck to me now. But the thing I loved most was scott’s passion for Jesus. He loved Jesus.

Being his friend for the past two years I saw Scott go through some things that most people couldn’t dream of. The thrills of getting back clear scans, and the horror of hearing the doctors say that there was nothing more that they could do. But NO MATTER WHAT through everything Scott was faithful. And he was always positive. No matter what the outlook was, on a football game, on a situation, or even on the number of days left in his life he remained positive. He didn’t worry or get depressed. He remained faithful. Scott always went to Romans 8:28 “God works all things together for the GOOD of those who love him”. He trusted that no matter what happened, no matter what the doctors said, that it was GOOD. Seeing Scott continually trust God as he went through the hardest things that I can imagine and the pain he suffered, taught me what it really meant to “trust God in ALL circumstances”. He taught me that suffering was glorifying to God. He used his sufferings for God’s glory no matter what.

Above all Scott inspired me. To be a better person, to love well, to complain less, to tell more people about Jesus, to befriend the lonely, and to enjoy life. Scott pointed me to Christ all the time. Scott loved life, no matter what was going on. He lived each day to be a light for Christ. I remember one time last semester me, Scott, Allix, and JR stayed up till like 3 in the morning talking about life. What we’d done, our favorite memories, what we feared, what we still wanted to do in life, our hopes, and our dreams for the future. At first it was hard for me to look back on that night because it was stuff that Scott isn’t going to get to do but I realized that everything Scott had wanted to do in his life revolved around bringing people to Christ and bringing God glory. And Scott did it. Scott may have left us but his testimony lives on and it will continue to point people to Christ forever.

Scott fought, and it may look like he lost, but that’s not true. Scott won because he lived his life for Christ and he lived his life to the fullest. I’m going to miss Scott’s friendship, probably every day, but I rest in the fact that now he is with our savior, pain free, in a new body, in heaven. And I hope to live the rest of my life for the same impact that Scott had in 23 years of his. I will never forget Scott Gianopoulos and all that he taught me about how to live.

 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
1 Timothy 4:7

I thought I decided I wasn't going to grad school...

Seminary Classes.


Well I've only been in my seminary classes for 2 days but I can already say... I love it! I know we're only taking these classes for 2 weeks but they are real classes for real graduate credit at schools like Bethal, Dallas Theological Seminary, Trinity, Reformed Theological Seminary, and other amazing schools. Granted, we only receive 2 one hour credits for intro courses, but still, not bad for only 2 weeks.


The schedule is INTENSE. We have our Intro to Systematic Theology class at 8:00am every day and it's two hours, then we have a short break before Bible Study Methods, which is from 10:30-12:30. I really enjoy both of the classes so far and I will write more blog entries in the future over some of the specific things I'm learning.


After class everyday I grab a lunch and then begin on the reading and homework. Yesterday we had to read about 100 pages and another long article, plus read and summarize the whole book of Ephesians section by section, and complete a study guide to review all we had read and learned throughout the lecture that day. Its work that I do enjoy so I don't want to rush through it, but it took me about 7 hours to complete which is harder than I ever have had to work for school.


Today we had around 70-80 pages, and more work on Ephesians that required me reading the whole book about 5 times, and another study guide. I'm still not done with today's work but I did take a break to go for a run on the beach which was nice and refreshing. I'd say I'm looking at about 6 hours of work today.


I really enjoy the theology class. Its at 8:00am and I'm tired but I am completely drawn in. Today our topic was on the inerrancy, inspiration, and accuracy of the Bible. We discussed how views on that have changed throughout the years and why the alternate opinions came into view. Our professor does have an opinion on many things, but the first day in class we learned about what to hold as convictions and what to hold as persuasions or opinions.


Convictions: central beliefs, crucial to salvation, over which we should be willing to denounce someone in serious disagreement, found multiple times in the Bible
Persuasions: beliefs about which we are personally certain but which are not crucial to salvation, we must accept those with differing persuasions as members in good standing of God's family, even if we are certain they are wrong, based on subjects included in the Bible (ex: tongues, millennial views, age of the earth)
Opinions: beliefs on subjects where we have a preference but acknowledge others may also be right or we do not have any confidence in (ex: best bible translation or political views)
[Taken from Enjoying God by Alan Kent Scholes--a book I highly recommend]


So while our professor does share his opinions, persuasions, and convictions, he also stresses how we should form all of that on our own research and not the beliefs of others. My convictions are very steadfast, but I have come to really how much I need to research those things I call persuasions for myself. It is all just making me want to dive into scripture and research, and I find it all so fascinating!


That's all I'll write for now because I doubt you're still reading (I mean who puts definitions with a citation in a blog?! I do cause I'm crazy). I'll leave you with this...


Prayer Requests:

• That I would continue to encounter Christ in every class, reading, and homework assignment and grow to love him more as I learn more about him
• That our group would remain healthy
• That I can build close relationships with the women here to have a support system during MPD time

Love y'all and I truly miss everyone SO much!

New Staff Training

I've been here in Daytona Beach, FL for New Staff Training for less than a week and there's already so much to say. It is very overwhelming right now to say the least. 


The first most overwhelming thing is the schedule itself. Its 5 weeks long. The first week has been full of cru curriculum kind of things. The mission, vision, history, where we're going as a movement, target areas, priority areas, strategy, and all sorts of things like that. Starting on Sunday and continuing for the next 2 weeks we have IBS (Institute of Biblical Studies) classes or seminary classes. On the first day here we received a huge stack of books and about 300+ pages of notes we'll need for the two weeks. Then we'll have finals (yes! I said finals, I thought I was done with school). The last week and a half is full of training on how to develop Ministry Partners or supporters.


The other really thing thats hard is the timing of my transition. I just graduated less than a month ago, which was me graduating early. No one else here has done that I believe. Of the 70-ish people here about half are married and a little over half have already served for 1-2 years on a US campus or on STINT overseas. With all of that its easy to walk into this with feelings of inadequacy or insecurity about my age and experience. Those feelings are starting to fade and I am very grateful for that. I know that God has given me every tool I need for this and it is EXACTLY where I am supposed to be.


The amount of people here is general is a lot to take in. I love getting to know and meeting new people, but generally in smaller groups, and most of the things we do are in such large groups that its hard for me. We have these groups called "lifegroups" were we can talk about everything, from our past to how we're doing with everything here, and I really enjoyed my time with mine!


Overall, I'm excited! I know it may not seem that way because I just talked about everything I'm struggling with BUT I feel so reaffirmed that I am truly supposed to be here! I will write more later but I wanted to update y'all!


In Christ,
Amanda

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
1 Timothy 4:12

2011 in Summary.

On December 31, 2010 I prayed that God would direct my steps this year and that he would show me how I can best live in his will. I prayed that I would be able to enjoy this year fully and that my relationships grew even deeper.

All of those prayers were answered and more.

January.

Passion.

"Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your truths, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts." Isaiah 26:8

Black & White Affair

February.

Preview Weekend.

Women's Retreat

March.

Chicago Road Trip.

Spring Break. Daytona Beach, FL.

Winning free Chick-fil-a for a year.

April.

Senior Night/Royal Wedding Party.

May.

Hiking.

 

Dollywood.

 Lauren Graduating High School.

June.

Taylor Swift.

Summer Project in Fort Collins, CO

My grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary.

July.

The end of Harry Potter.

Went home after spending 7 weeks with these wonderful people.

Saying Goodbye to Lindsey Hendrix, my amazing friend, mentor, and discipler during my time in college.

August.

Starting college with my little sister!

New Roommates.

September.

Turning 21.

Last Fall Retreat. [And the two best emcee's ever]

Roadtripping to the Florida game with about 30 of my best friends.

October.

Backpacking.

Halloween.

November.

Last football game.

December.

Christmas parties.

Graduating College.

Got a new car.

Last encounter.

I was truly blessed beyond measure this year, and though many things came to an end, that just means there are so many new beginnings to be excited about.

it's not about us.

It seems surreal that we only have a week and a half left here. I sincerely apologize for my lack of blog updates. They keep us insanely busy. The last five weeks have been exciting, challenging, tiring, growing, and fun all at once. Fort Collins is a beautiful city and I feel so blessed to have spent my summer here. As I told many of you in my letter and on my blog, my intent for going on this project was to get a feel for the operations side of campus crusade, but it has become so much more.

My job has been such a good experience. In the summers here at the CSU campus the Campus Crusade Staff Conference team takes place. I've served all summer on the Staff Conference Team, about 100 people who all work very hard at what they do. The conference itself is a 1 week event that kicked off yesterday, but for the 4 weeks prior to that different groups of staff must go through additional training.

I spent all summer working with the MTL (Missional Team Leaders, also known as campus directors, the people who are in charge of the movements on college campuses). I did anything for them that they needed done. I did a lot of ordering and calling for food and large group dinners. I wrapped welcome and thank you gifts. I ordered their daily snack and always made sure they had their water and coffee. It wasn't the most glamorous job, but I enjoyed being able to serve the people who spend the rest of the year faithfully serving students like me. I met so many amazing (and important, crulebrities if you will) people while serving with them this summer, which not a lot of college students get to do. How many people can say that the director of all campus ministry in the US knows their name? But that's not the important thing, the great thing was getting to spend time with these people and seeing God shine through them.

That's what I did for the last 4 weeks when only about 700-ish staff members were here in Fort Collins, but over the weekend over 5000 staff members have arrived for the big conference. There is so much to be done for this and it is amazing to see all of these people's talents and gifts come together to create something so cool.

With as large and as complex as this conference is, it is probably weird that I'm having trouble finding something to help with. The 4-week MTL training ended and so did my formal job, so for the next 2 weeks I could be able to help out where ever. However, the trend has been that no one needs help. I've done a few odd jobs but nothing steady. At first I found it pretty frustrating, here I am to serve and no one even wants me. But this morning as I sat in the first main session and saw everything go so flawlessly none other than Francis Chan reminded us about how IT'S NOT ABOUT US. I was so frustrated with not having a big job to do that I was dwelling on that. When all I should be dwelling on is how great it is that they don't need me. The conference is going smoothly... without me, because it's not about me. Praise God that they have more help than they need here!

I'm sure I will run into various things to do over the next couple weeks, but I am also blessed that I get to sit in the sessions and be touched by the same training as the crusade staff. This morning's session with Francis Chan was absolutely amazing and exactly what I needed to hear today. He had prepared an entirely different talk and threw it out the night before because he felt the spirit leading him in a different direction, so thankful he listened!

Okay, you're probably tired of reading and I want to thank you if you still are, and just ask for your prayers that the conference would continue to go smoothly, that the staff would be blessed, and that all the students on our project would continue to grow closer to God and to each other in these last days.

I'll leave you with this. All summer we've been studying Ephsians and one of the speakers today directed us to Revelation 2, a passage written to the church in Ephesus:
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
Revelation 2:4-5
Let us always pray that Jesus will be our first and only love, but even when we fail and we lose that love we had it is so freeing to know that his love for us is never shaken or changed.

In Christ,

Amanda