Tom Lin

I’ve been so appreciative in recent weeks of the partnership that I enjoy in ministry, while there are many Christian leaders in today’s world who don’t have access to it. Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the annual Missions Conference of my friend Doug McIntosh’s church, Cornerstone Bible Church in Lilburn, GA. Doug is the senior pastor, but his more famous role is being a former b-ball player for John Wooden’s UCLA Championship teams in the 1960s. Doug and I serve on the Wycliffe Board together, but it was even more exciting to partner in serving his missions-minded church. Cornerstone gives 40% of their budget to missions, and if they are short on income, the church staff get cut before missionary support gets cut! And that level of commitment is found in the lay members of the church as well, as I had wonderful conversations with men and women who attended Urbana in the 1950s and 1960s, and many who were converted through the ministry of IV!

A week earlier (President’s Day Weekend), I had the joy of inviting my good friend and former IV Area Director, Jimmy Quach, to come speak at an IV St. Louis Area Seniors Retreat. Jimmy and his wife Ivy, both of whom were students of mine during my early years on staff at Harvard, were able to spend a few extra days with us in our home. It was esp. inspiring to hear about the work that Jimmy is doing not only with Cards from Africa, but also his own start-up company focused on fair trade, with a bottom line that affects people’s spiritual lives and communities in improverished nations. Check out his site at www.banyanpaper.com and buy something!

Lastly, I continue to learn much from my peers across the nation, other IV Regional Directors with whom I met with on February 4-7 at our annual meeting in Malibu, CA. We tackled tough leadership issues together, and it was nice to struggle together rather than alone :). We also sat at the feet of Mark Labberton, author and Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, who led our devotionals and helped us reflect on this emerging student generation. Finally, we spent some time playing together (much needed for me and very rare these days), including some extremely tiring basketball games at nearby Pepperdine University, with a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean!