Urbana '09 Reflections

 Alex Haskins was one of the thousands of students who attended the Urbana conference in downtown St. Louis last month. He has been a member of Central for almost five years and currently attends Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He hopes to continue with graduate school and ultimately to become a professor of political science.  Here are his reflections on this year's Urbana Conference:

I went to Urbana expecting a general Christian convention where you learn about the gospel and have a good time. I have been to Christian conventions before and I have to say that, on a whole, I have been disappointed because I usually walk away from those conventions feeling good, but not being challenged to give my life (figuratively and literally) for the gospel. I was surprised because Urbana was so much more than my low expectations had made it out to be. I was challenged to give everything for the sake of the gospel. It has been a while since I've felt that way and even now, I am wrestling with the messages given at Urbana. "Can I give all of my money for Jesus? Can I sacrifice my time, status, and security all for the sake of the gospel?" Those were a few thoughts I had leaving Urbana. It was both refreshing and upsetting to know that I still had a lot of work to do. I feel that Urbana's message was something that more American churches need to preach. (Often I feel American churches miss the gravity of the call to live radically for Jesus. We get caught up in what's comfortable and living a nice life, maybe telling a few friends and coworkers about our faith. But, I feel like there's so much more to our faith that we need to put into practice and if we do, then more people will be able to see the difference in our lives and our dedication to Jesus' call.)