greek iv stories » DePauw University

Building Blocks for Next Year

Sam Spencer — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:03:26 +0000

All year long we’ve been praying for underclassmen to step up and lead in Greek Ministry at DePauw. We are graduating a senior class that simply ‘gets’ Greek Ministry. Many of them participate in the Interfraternal Bible study, which seeks to reach any Greek men on campus who are looking to connect with God in a deeper way. One of the seniors just updated me on what has been happening the past weeks. Here is his story:

“In the past two or three weeks, we have had about 4 or 5 totally new guys (underclassman) showing up and they are really excited about the Bible Study. They have been saying that it is exactly what they had been looking for. And, this week we had 16 guys attend (which is the most we have ever had) But the best part about it is that for the first time all year, there have been more underclassmen than seniors attending for the past two weeks. This sudden rise in interest from the underclassmen really has made me excited about what the Bible Study and Greek IV will be able to accomplish next year.”

One Greek’s Philosophy

Noé Flores — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:29:08 +0000

When I became a Christian and started living out my life for Christ, I was very excited to share it with everyone I knew, including some of my professors. I am pursuing a minor in philosophy and have gotten very close to one of my professors. The first semester of my junior year I was in Ethical Theory with this professor. As a new Christian I was still young and immature in my understanding of what it meant to live a Christian life, so I sought the answers in philosophy. I wondered, what is my ethical theory? This professor provided many readings on different ethical/moral theories including Christian ones. We read a paper written by a Christian philosopher who said that if you are a Christian, then your ethical/moral theory is to obey God. It clicked for me, but also made me realize that my professor was open to and respected Christianity. This revelation was very interesting to me because my professor is an atheist and a well known one in the philosophical community. He has written books on why we do not need God to live a moral life or to have moral values in life, but he also loves C.S. Lewis and Alvin Plantinga, and even has some knowledge of Scripture – go figure.

For some reason, I opened up to him once after class and shared my faith with him. I told him about how Christ had renewed my life, how I was being sanctified daily, and how much of a struggle that was. He listened openly and even offered encouraging remarks. I guess God put it in my heart to continue talking to him, because every week I would have an hour long conversation with him. It started off as just getting to know each other or discussing philosophy, but started heading in a different direction as time progressed. This semester I have another philosophy class, Philosophy of Religion with this professor and I continue to see him and talk with him weekly. God has worked a lot in my life in one semester. I am more bold with my faith and talk about it openly and am not ashamed. Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (ESV).

We have a duty to fulfill the great commission left to us by Christ, boasting in nothing but the cross, and sharing life with everyone who will accept it. This class should be called Philosophy of Christianity and is probably the closest thing I can get to a theology course as an undergraduate. We talk about the Judeo-Christian God and Christian thought. About a month ago, I started directing our conversations to faith and started challenging my professor. A month, ago I asked him if he was worried. And he asked, worried about what, to which I replied, “What I believe has serious consequences for what you believe.” It was funny because it wasn’t uncomfortable and we spoke about condemnation for a while.

Three weeks ago I asked him why he was teaching a class on Christianity, why he respected and loved C.S. Lewis so much, and why he was so open and respectful towards Christianity. I asked him if he was searching for anything to which he told me that he wanted to keep his options open and make sure he had all the evidence available to him. Two weeks ago, being in a bad mood, I unloaded on my professor. I told him how I was having a bad day, how I hadn’t read my Bible yet today, how I needed the word to fill me daily, how I needed Jesus to give my life meaning, how the answers to all his questions are found in Scripture. I told him that my problem with atheists is that they have these questions and make these arguments, but don’t read the word of God, which contains all the answers. I told him to read the Bible.

He opened up to me and told me that he’s been trying to make a connection to God, but has not felt anything. At that moment I saw my professor for who he was. He’s this really calm and intelligent guy who seems to have it all together, but he is lost and broken. He needs Jesus and I was really moved to pity and compassion for my friend. I told him that I believe that Jesus died for my sins out of the abundant love that God has for us, and I told him that Jesus died for his sins and that grace is open to him. I told him to read the Bible. He asked me where to start, to which I said Romans. I told him to e-mail with any questions that he has about Romans and that I would read through it with him. God put this man in my heart, and I care about my professor. He’s my friend and I want to see God save him through Christ. We must be bold with our faith.

Never Again…

Sam Spencer — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:14:35 +0000

I loved being Greek. I loved recruitment (or you may know it as rush), living with 80 women, sleeping in the cold dorms, the 50+ t-shirts I purchased each year… all of it! It was only a few short years ago, but it feels like a decade. Never again will I have the kind of interactions like I did when I was a student. Never again will I get to host a Bible study in my living room inviting 80 other people to join me every Tuesday night. Living in Alpha Phi gave me the opportunity to share my entire life, including my relationship with Christ, to each person living in my sorority. This is the story I tell the women I meet on DePauw’s campus. Right now there is a handful of senior women in the Greek system who are passionate about their faith. Now is the time that I ask them to consider their legacy in their sorority. They have just a few months left… never again will they have the opportunity to share Christ with their sisters like they have right now. AXO has started a Bible study for the entire house this year. Alpha Phi has continued to have investigative Bible studies each week inviting any one interested to attend. KKG has three women who are living out their faith intentionally in the house so that they can impact their sisters. These women are living boldly for Christ. Will you join me in prayer for these houses along with DG, Theta, and Pi Phi?

Investing in Freshman

Sam Spencer — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:11:57 +0000

Kerry and Elizabeth lead a small group for freshmen women. They started in September and have continued through recruitment season. Out of the 20+ women that participate on a regular basis most of them decided to go Greek. The freshman women joined all five sororities on campus. Pi Phi was the only sorority on campus without contacts, and now we have three! These women are excited about their sorority house and to stay in their community. They encourage one another and help cast vision for what it means to be Greek and Christian.

Conference Stories from DePauw

Sam Spencer — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:24:06 +0000

Participating in both Greek Conferences this year has been a highlight of my time on staff! I served as the director of the LEAD Concentration at Greek Conference Indy, focused on training and equipping students to lead Greek Ministry on their campus or in their chapter. The DePauw students were unable to attend GC Indy due to sorority and fraternity recruitment. The following weekend, six DePauw students traveled 12 hours North Carolina to attend Greek Conference, Charlotte. We also had students attend an Indiana InterVarsity conference, Summit.

At GC Charlotte we had the following houses represented: ΚΑΘ, ΑΦ, ΑΧΩ, and ΣΑΕ. After GC, Margaret made the commitment to re-start a ministry in Alpha Phi. This past week three of us gathered in her room, prayed for women in the house and for the start of the house Bible study. Kerry has been co-leading a freshman Bible study with over 20 women. After recruitment, the freshman women joined all 5 sororities! Kerry went through the LEAD Concentration so she can better lead these women as they consider doing ministry in each sorority on campus.

The following are some stories from DePauw students who attended Greek Conference:

“Greek conference helped me realize that it is possible to be a thriving Christian while in a Greek setting. I realized how important it is to thrive in our own relationship with God, so we can then in turn help others come to God. It was truly an awesome experience to meet so many Greeks from around the country that share the same love for God.”
Grace, Freshman

“… I eventually was able to let it go and it was then that I truly gained a heart for evangelism. I had forgotten what it meant to truly care for my non-believing friends. I prayed specifically for my three roommates and since then have felt that conversations have been established with them in an attempt to share The Gospel.”
Megan, Junior

“My experience at Greek Conference in Charlotte was awesome. I gained so much from both the drive there, and the bonding that happened between myself and the other Greek students around me. It is such a pleasure to know that there are Greeks all across the nation that are struggling right next to me with a lot of the same issues. The leadership gave me hope and vision for how I should conduct a chapter meeting and how I should conduct myself with my friends. I look forward to going again next year.”
Adam, Junior