I've come in the building in the morning before work to find a student lying on the couch studying...That's awesome. I've come in the building on a Saturday night to grab something from my office to find 5 or 6 people talking and making Chinese food in the kitchen...That's great! I've come in on a Friday to find a group of people plaing board games...Perfect! Watching movies, Monday Night football, rousing games of world domination (Risk), and even a girls sleepover. All of this, and more, is exactly why this lounge was built. And I'm glad to see the students using it.

In the past I've heard a few students say that they didn't come to the lounge to study or hang out because they thought they weren't allowed, or that staff didn't want students in the building. Those beliefs are untrue...we love that you all use the building. So, find some friends and play a game, or watch a movie, or come and study...whatever it is, the lounge is for you to use. So have fun!

A lot has been going on with the start of the new semester and Bash Week and preparing for family groups and a few weddings...etc. But I still have a great excitement and energy for the group of guys, and yes this semester we have about 10 girls, that are playing fantasy football, and even for those not playing but joining us on Monday night for Monday Night Football (MNF) in the Lounge on the Big Screen. There is something great about people just hanging out with no real reason except to enjoy some time together.

Yeah the competition of fantasy football is fun, but nothing is better than the conversations that happen as we sit around the lounge together, eating the food that people volunteer to bring in each week, meeting the new people who stop by just because they heard people were getting together.

Some would wonder what football has to do with a Christian organization, but I would say to those people, it's not a "Christian" or "Non-Christian" thing at all. It's about community, it's about sharing life together in it's small times. It's about rooting for a win together, it's about eating chips and dip and Oreo cookies together (don't tell my wife!), and it's about being comfortable enough with a group of people, that when big things happen to us, we have others we know we can talk to.

So if you've never come to MNF, even if you don't really care about the game, come hang out with us. If you're a girl, you are not excluded (ask the 10 girls playing this year, many first time fantasy footballers). If you have some homework to do, and you can handle noise while you do it, come sit at one of the table in the back and take a break once in a while to hang out.

Let's have a great year of community on Monday nights this year. Remember we'll be starting on Monday, Sept. 14 at 7pm. But don't forget, those of you who are in the leagues...I am going to DOMINATE YOU ALL!

How's that for non-competitive :)

Hey all, Matthew here.

So if you’re reading this I hope you are ready to participate because here is what I want to do. I want this blog, at least this first one starting off, to be a call for topics. So often we as ministers try to discern what the people we shepherd want and need to hear/think about.

So often though, we can’t have this conversation with a lot of people to ask them personally what it is they want to know more about. Well here in this blog we can ask each and every one of you what it is that you want.

I will be teaching a good bit this summer, with Roger and Danah taking sabbaticals, and I’ll be writing in this blog quite a bit and I want to address some of the thoughts you want to hear about.

You can respond to this in a number of ways. My preference would be for you to click on the comment link right below this post and let me know right here on the blog. The good part about doing it this way is that other people can read what you want to hear about, and it may spark some thoughts in their minds as well. You can also e-mail me at matthew@campus-house.com if you want to be a bit more private. And of course you can always stop by my office and talk to me personally; you all know I love a good break from busy-work!

So the call is out. Let me know what we can dialogue about!