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Christian Union: The Magazine
The following devotional is a transcript of a video devotional that was originally recorded as part...
February 27, 2023
Jesus Revolution Brings The Jesus Movement To Life By Anne Kerhoulas Jesus Revolution, a new film released at the end of February, depicts the Southern California Jesus Movement in a thoughtful and engaging way. Featuring Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, and Kelsey Grammar from Frasier, the film dives into the personal lives of some of the Jesus Movements' central characters: Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee.

February 22, 2023

Universities Experience Spiritual Awakening

Editors Note: In light of the recent moves of the Spirit at Asbury University, Lee University, and Samford University, this article from the spring of 2022 is more relevant than ever. “They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps he has already landed.”  And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different....At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer. - C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

February 21, 2023
Cultivating the Heart By Anne Kerhoulas “How do we cultivate a heart in which God delights to dwell?” This is the question Jon Tyson answers in this sermon series for the Church of the City. Tyson explores the principles behind revival and awakening throughout history and dives into how we can join the Lord in His work, pursuing His will and living in alignment with His desires.  

February 15, 2023
Repenting of the Sin of Partiality By Chitra Kovoor, Ministry Fellow, CU Lux   Social psychologists say it takes a few seconds for people to determine whether they like a person or not. Rapid judgments are made on the basis of first impressions. Assumptions about personality and how successful one is can be based on a quick scan of what someone is wearing, their general appearance, accompanying accessories, and other clues indicating a person’s wealth, power, and social standing.

February 14, 2023
CU Nova Worship Team Goes Deep By Cynthia Makachi  The end of the fall semester concluded an exciting season of learning and growth for CU Nova’s worship team. From joining the team as a freshman when activities were completely virtual in 2020 to becoming a co-team leader as Princeton’s campus transitioned back to normal, it has been an encouragement to see the team grow and thrive in new ways as it serves the CU Nova community. And I’m not alone—my co-leaders and members of the team agree: the worship team has been an invaluable part of their college experience. 

February 13, 2023
Student Chapel Service Led to Four Days (And Counting) of Revival By Anne Kerhoulas Asbury University is no stranger to revival. The small school in Wilmington, Kentucky has seen eight notable moves of the Spirit since the early 1900s, with the longest in 1970 lasting over 144 hours. 

February 13, 2023
CU Gloria Social Action Team Explores Environmentalism and the Gospel By Anne Kerhoulas What does climate change have to do with Jesus? For many people, the answer is nothing. But as environmental activism and climate policy become more central to the world stage, Christians are speaking into the conversation with a simple but profound truth: environmental stewardship is a call placed on every Christian. 

February 7, 2023
Sunday Worship Is Just One Place We Experience Jesus  By Anne Kerhoulas In Exodus 33, Moses speaks with God face to face in the tent of meeting. But in their conversation, Moses says that he needs God’s presence with him all the time. It is God’s presence that sets Israel apart. It is God’s presence that leads, guides, delivers, and provides for them. Moses is in the presence of God in the tent of meeting, but he needs the presence of God all the time. 

February 7, 2023
A Cornerstone Partner Visits the Ministry at Brown   By Don Stahl   Ever wonder, “what is that ministry really like?”    As a Cornerstone Partner, I certainly knew something of what Christian Union seeks to do, and saw lots of evidence that it was genuinely touching the lives of the next generation of leaders. But in my experience working with over 100 non-profits and ministries throughout my career, I have found there is nothing like “showing up!” So, by prior arrangement, I did. Am I glad I went!

February 6, 2023
Secular Authors Criticize Modern Sexual Ideology By Anne Kerhoulas Two recently released books by secular authors argue that the sexual revolution has not brought the sexual freedom and empowerment that it promised. Rather, it has created identity crises, rampant assault and abuse, the degradation of women through pornography, and the disintegration of marriage. While Christians who believe in the biblical sexual ethic may not be surprised by these findings, it’s important that secular thinkers are beginning to re-evaluate what sex and sexuality are for and what it means to flourish in sexual relationships.

January 31, 2023
What Makes Christian Leadership Unique By Chuck Hetzler, Ph.D.   But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  – Matthew 20:25-28

January 30, 2023
CU Alumna and Hamilton Cast Member Finds Identity in Christ By Ashley LaLonde Growing up in the heart of New York City, I often struggled to connect with other believers. Though my parents were both faithful Christians, and we attended church nearly every Sunday, almost all my close friends were people of other faiths or no faith at all. I often felt like the oddball. I loved Jesus and knew I had a relationship with him, but I would frequently downplay it with others just to fit in. 

January 24, 2023
ChatGPT Just Transformed Education By Anne Kerhoulas Chat GPT arrived at the end of 2022, bringing with it a slew of problems—both ethical and practical—to the university setting. The AI program is capable of producing high-quality written content and is adept enough to imitate specific voices, styles of writing, and even well-known authors. This powerful tool is now posing an unprecedented threat to education, and educators from middle school to the university setting are scrambling to adjust to a new world. 

January 23, 2023
Choosing To Forgive Rather Than Be Easily Offended   By Michael Racine, Writer and Ministry Fellow, CU Lux   Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.  – Proverbs 19:1 The biblical proverbs are so very practical. They don’t try to ennoble us with any Kantian notion of moral virtue detached from self-interest; rather, they tell us what wise, insightful people do to make things go better, and what ignorant fools do to make things worse. If we will only pay attention to these instructions and remember them, we won’t need a heroically self-sacrificial heart to put them into practice; we all naturally want to see life go more smoothly.

January 18, 2023
CU Vita Leaders Pray Weekly With Other Ministry Leaders By Anne Kerhoulas   It’s 7:15 on Monday morning and the sun hasn’t yet risen. Most Cornell students are still in bed, groggily awakening from the weekend to face another week of classes and problem sets and essays. 7:15 on Monday morning is a bleak time for most, but for a handful of CU Vita students and leaders from other campus ministries, it’s a time to be awake, alert, and engaged. It’s a time for prayer—prayer for revival on campus. And for the group that gathers, it’s one of the most important times of their week.

January 17, 2023
CU New York Hosts Dr. Ryan T. Anderson   Christian Union New York invited Christian Union Alumni, CU New York participants, and friends of Christian Union to gather on November 29, 2022, for a virtual forum with Dr. Ryan T. Anderson. Drawing on the best insights from biology, psychology, and philosophy, Dr. Anderson offered a nuanced view of human embodiment, a balanced approach to public policy on gender identity, and a sober assessment of the human costs of getting human nature wrong. 

January 16, 2023
Penn Sophomore Became A Christian Through CU Martus  By Anne Kerhoulas What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. -1 Corinthians 3:5-7 For every Christian, the Lord appoints servants whom he uses to bring about our faith. Whether you grew up in a Christian home or an atheist home, God, in his perfect plan and kindness, placed individuals in your life who would speak the gospel to you, embody the love of Christ, help solidify theology, and love you into the kingdom of God.  For Stanley Liu, who grew up in Los Angeles in a secular household, the Lord appointed the Boy Scouts and a Catholic girlfriend to plant and Christian Union Martus to water. 

January 10, 2023
Ignoring Religion Fails To Prepare Students Anne Kerhoulas While it may not be surprising to hear that Christianity is declining in America, religion as a whole is actually growing throughout the world. China is on track to have more Christians than America in the next decade in spite of being an openly atheistic country. In the Middle East, the Islamic revival is producing more pilgrimages to Mecca than ever before. In Latin America, a once predominately Roman Catholic region, pentecostalism is booming. Even in America, though Christianity is waning, new-age spirituality is increasingly popular, and more and more people are religiously unaffiliated but interested and open to spirituality. 

January 9, 2023
Can A Christian Nurse Participate In Gender Reassignment? By Anne Kerhoulas It’s becoming a question more and more believers in healthcare will have to face: can a Christian doctor or nurse assist in gender reassignment surgery?  In this article for Desiring God, John Piper addresses the question from a biblical perspective to help believers understand the gravity of their actions as well as their responsibility to God and his creation. 

January 9, 2023
Start Your Year Off With A Great Book By Anne Kerhoulas  Our 2023 book recommendation list includes an array of Christian books. From classic theology to leadership development to biography, there is sure to be something that will encourage your spirit this new year.God in the Dock is a collection of essays and speeches from C.S. Lewis. Its title implies "God on Trial" and the title is based on an analogy made by Lewis suggesting that modern human beings, rather than seeing themselves as standing before God in judgment, prefer to place God on trial while acting as his judge.Recommended by Chris Coppernoll, Ministry Director, CU Nova