Spiritual Mothering

Written by Carla Love

Mothering might bring to mind feelings of being cared for, both physically and emotionally, or thoughts of someone who listens and understands, possibly helps solve a problem or wipes tears or celebrates with joy. Some of us might not have experienced this with our own mothers but we may have had a grandmother, aunt, or friend’s mom who filled this role in our lives. Mothering is nurturing.

I have been a “birth mother” for 34 years and a grandmother for 5 years. It has been one of the greatest joys and sacrifices of my life. But I was a “spiritual mother" before I was a “birth mother" and I continue this role after my children have left home and started their own families.

Mothering is nurturing. Jesus uses this language when he speaks of being our shepherd. He “carries us close to his heart, he protects us, he feeds us, he leads us, he teaches us, he holds our tears, he listens” (Isaiah 40:11). He invites us to be nurtured by Him and to nurture or shepherd others he brings into our lives.

To nurture or “spiritually mother” others is not too different from what a mother does with their child. It might involve discipling, serving, caregiving, teaching or showing hospitality. We often read this list and think we can’t possibly do this! We think we don’t have the capacity, or we don’t know how, or we are too young or too old. But if He is inviting us then He will give what we need to become spiritual mothers.

We are all called to spiritually mother or nurture others. Spiritual mothering is not just for those who have biological, adopted, or foster children. Look around you. Ask God to make you aware of a few people in your life that might need a spiritual mother. They may need someone who will listen to their story, pray with them and for them, sit with them in their grief and loss, celebrate with them in their joys and keep inviting them to Jesus. They need someone who will read and engage His word with them, invite them over for a meal, show up and serve them when they are in need, send a text of encouragement or prayer. And like a mother who cares for her children, it most certainly will involve sacrifice. You will have to be the initiator. You will give up time to be with them. Caring for them might be messy and inconvenient. Teaching and discipling them might feel slow. But the joy of nurturing another in their journey with Jesus is a gift!

The Lord has been gracious to invite me to this Spiritual Mothering over the years and I count it as one of my greatest joys. I invite you to say yes to His invitation to Spiritual Mothering, to nurture and care for others.

International Student Ministry

Written by Danny Castiglione

International Student Ministry-English Conversation Partners

An interview with Danny Castiglione about one of the programs they provide to love and serve international students. Danny is an associate pastor at Waypoint and a campus minister to international students at Duke with InterVarsity ISM.

What is the English Conversation Partner Program?

This program is an opportunity for us to serve students and scholars at Duke who feel they need help with conversational English skills ranging from talking with others in their classes to general small talk.

How has the program been helpful for the students who participate?

Many of them have a large English vocabulary but feel isolated or intimidated when talking with others. Meeting regularly with a local conversation partner can help build their confidence speaking in both academic and social settings.

How has the experience been with the volunteers?

Over the past 5 years 40 volunteers and ISM campus staff have served as conversation partners to 150 students. 15 of the volunteers have been from Waypoint. The experience has been overwhelmingly positive for the volunteers, with most of them having deep and meaningful conversations with the student. And some of the volunteers have built relationships that lasted well beyond the semester.

How does this program help us plants seeds of the gospel?

The goal of this program is to show the love of Christ by serving international students in meeting a real need. This opens the door for meaningful conversations. For most of the students their conversation partner is one of only a few Christians they have ever had a significant conversation with. As they share their experiences and you share yours, mutual encouragement happens, and often times, spiritual conversations start. Over 30 students have asked to come to a church service or other church event with their conversation partner. This past Easter 5 students came to Waypoint with their conversation partners. Overwhelmingly the response from the students in the program has been that they are very grateful for their conversation partner and have felt loved and cared for through the meetings.

How can I sign up or get more information?

The program runs from mid-January until the end of April and will include lessons that allow you to engage in everyday conversations as well as more meaningful conversations about holidays like MLK's birthday and Easter.

The commitment is that you meet with your partner at least once every two weeks for one hour. Meeting face-to-face will be the primary way to meet, but some students may want to meet over Zoom for convenience. There will be a mandatory 1 hour training over Zoom. You can register to volunteer here.

Are there any other opportunities to serve with International Students this semester?

We have opportunities to host international students in your home for monthly dinners, volunteer at social events, drive students on local shopping trips, and drive students to worship services on Sundays and to other Waypoint events. If you want to learn more, or have questions, please contact Pastor Danny danny@waypointrdu.com

Are You Worth It?: A Redemptive View of Self Worth

Written by Riley Davis

Working in campus ministry for the past eight years, I’ve had the joy of walking alongside a variety of students in their spiritual journeys. From fraternity guys to rugby players to BIPOC students to marching band members, God has allowed me to connect with folks from all sorts of different backgrounds.

But one thing that remains constant among almost every college student is this: they all wrestle with their self-worth. Often, this struggle manifests in different ways — some students compensate for insecurities with performance, some seek to drown them out with excess and some seek to avoid them with isolation. But thankfully, when we look to God’s word, we see our worth comes from something much greater than our accomplishments and our networks.

Psalm 8 is one of my favorite passages that speaks into this topic. David’s psalm parallels the creation narrative of Genesis 1 — both in its content and in its rhythm and cadence. Here’s what it says:

Lord, our Lord,how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!You have covered the heavens with your majesty.

From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,you have established a strongholdon account of your adversariesin order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I observe your heavens,the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars,which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him,a son of man that you look after him?

You made him little less than Godand crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;you put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen,as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky,and the fish of the seathat pass through the currents of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,how magnificent is your name throughout the earth!

To start, we see David offer adoration to the Lord. He moves from there into a shout-out to infants and babies and the ways that they praise God (something tells me David would share this part specifically with Waypoint!) Then, he marvels at God’s creation — as he observes the sun and the moon above him, he can’t help but marvel at the Lord’s handiwork. This introduction compels awe and worship from us as well.

But then, in verse 4, a shift occurs. Notice this — he starts talking about human beings. Specifically, this applies to us. Through verse 8, David tells us that God deemed us royal and allows us to steward his creation — even though we lack the physical strength of "animals in the wild” and many of the “fish of the sea,” we're given this incredible calling.

Think about this: if God constructed the world with this incredible precision — and then endowed it to us — can you imagine how intentional he was in forming human life? He didn’t slap something together and call it “human.” Instead, he creates us with design, structure and purpose.

But as stated at the start, we often forget this. We see our world’s obsession with formulating our own image through TV, movies, music, and of course, social media. It reminds me of these lyrics:

“Missin' out on my years / There's times when I wish I was where I was back when I used to wish I was here / Missin' out on my days / Scrollin’ through life and fishin' for praise / Opinions from total strangers take me out of my ways / I try and see who's there on the other end of the shade / Most times it's just somebody that's underage / That’s probably just alone and afraid / And lashin' out so that someone else can feel they pain” - Drake “Emotionless”

Keep in mind — these words come from Drake, one of the most famous and wealthy persons in the country. And yet, he still finds himself looking for the approval of others. I believe that a desire to know God’s view of our identity whispers subtly through the lyrics.

But that’s why I’m grateful that God let’s us in on the truth. The same purpose Psalm 8 applies to the general and universal also applies to the personal and particular. Genesis 1, the inspiration for the Psalm, tells us as much. God designed us for beauty:

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

(Genesis 1:27)

Everything that we rule over in Psalm 8 reminds us of our ruler. We were made in the image of God to show us there is a God. His say is the final say. And because of that, our image is not our creation. It’s His.

And what more does God say about us? Let’s look at Genesis 1:31, that immediately follows the creation of mankind:

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Throughout the creation of the world, Genesis tells us God “saw that [whatever he made] was good.” The brilliance of the sun, the uniqueness of the stars, the unbridled strength of the animals — all of those evoked a “good” from God. But, as my father once taught me, the “very good” treatment came when God surveyed the created order and humans. It’s almost as if he designed us as the finishing touch of his masterpiece.

Universe: good. Galaxies: good. Oceans: good. Great White Sharks: good. Mt. Everest: good. Grand Canyon: good. Cameron Indoor Stadium: meh. Amazon Rain Forest: good. Men and women: VERY GOOD. You and me: VERY GOOD. Born in stability: VERY GOOD. Come from dysfunction: VERY GOOD. English speaker: VERY GOOD. International student: VERY GOOD. Full-ride scholarship: VERY GOOD. Trying to make ends meet: VERY GOOD. Raise a toast to celebrate: VERY GOOD. Recovering alcoholic: VERY GOOD. Not just good. VERY GOOD.

And when we understand that this is the framework for which David composed his hymn of praise, our perspective on God, ourselves, and others changes. Our image is not our creation. It’s His.