Today, I met Mike Donovan.Mike is nearing 22, and a servant of Jesus. He has had an extraordinary life, and "thus far the Lord has helped him". He has finished school (University, for my Australian readers), and is convicted that God wants him back at Navigators to learn from Peter Trautmann how to do ministry. (Like MTS, for Antipodeans.)
We talked for maybe two hours, and ended up in Starbucks in 16th St near Union Square. At the end, we prayed. Mid-prayer, I look up, and through the (very thick) window, I see this African-American lady standing right there, no more than 2 feet away. I pause in my prayer, wondering what she wants. The window was sound-proofed, but she motioned to us that we should keep praying. And she stood, outside in the light rain, head bowed, praying with us. Although she heard nothing of what was said, she mouthed 'Amen' at the end of it, and then she smiled and walked away. I love moments like this. I thought of Hebrews 13:1:
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.Here's the deal with Mike: He is raising his own support, and has done a great job so far. For what it's worth, I reckon if the actual Navigator Students at NYU got behind their new staff member, they could raise his last dollars.
Navs people who read this, forward it to your buddies. And contact Mike directly (email me if you need his address) if you want to support him.
- If 30 Navigator students gave $25/month (or more), he would come close to his target.
- Laurel and I are in, so all we need it 29 more people willing to give up one lunch a week for the sake of the gospel at NYU.
29 is all is needed.
________
9 comments:
justin - tell mike from one support raiser to another that i'll be praying for him
ps - i loved the note about the african american woman; there is something that is truly beautiful in that type of recognition isn't there?
I LOVE THAT STORY about the woman joining in prayer! That feels like what being a christian community should be like. I just love that.
And Mike sounds like a cool guy too.
Helen
I was so going to say "I loved that story" only to realise thats what everyone else said. But sill, i'm sticking with my guns.
I LOVED THAT STORY.
You painted the picture so clearly. I am seeing it as if watching a scene from a film.
I shall add that in as a scene in the script i will one day write :)
Jim
i'm not clear on what they do. what do they do? i facebooked mike and there he was but not any clearer on what the navigators do. am i missing something?
Seapea --
Navigators is an evangelistic para-church group working at NYU. They meet once a week. But their aim is to grow disciples of Christ. They are not a church -- but kind of do the work that a church might do on campus. Hence, they are 'para-church'.
Mike is both doing ministry, and learning ministry.
He'll be learning, preaching, leading, discipling, evangelizing, caring, training, and building the Body of Christ.
It’s like an apprentice position. If he wants to go full-time down the track, he can learn some good things now! So it’s a discernment process.
Peter Trautmann adds:
> It's investing one's life in the next generation and laying one's life down for college students. Simply put, Mike's job is to love college students and get them into God's Word.
:)
Don't be fooled. This is a cult. You are either with them or against them. Once sucked in it is very hard to get out.It's psychological. They believe that if you don't follow them you have satan in your heart. They believe even if your family disagrees it's because they have satan in their hearts. Run fast from this group. Mark it down as a mistake and move on.You are being used. It feels good but that is what these people are trained to do. See what happens if you try to walk away. They will persist and persist. Be strong and just get out!!!!!
Hi Anon! Wow - I'm sorry for your experience.
But the Navigators group here in NYC is not like that at all. Were you in a Navigators Group in Naples, Florida? What was your experience?
You can email me personally, if you like.
Anonymous, the Navigators is not a cult, haha. The Navs is simply a group of people who love Jesus and want to make him known. A cult is defined as a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous. The Navs don't even come close to meeting that definition, haha. The Navs is a Christian group and no one in the Navs has the mentality of "You are either with them or against them."
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