Aspiring Professionals and Experts who desire to see heaven on earth... www.reclaimtalks.

com

April 13th, 2012 Stanford University

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Table of Contents
1. History ............................................................................................................. Page 1-2 2. Who we are ..................................................................................................... Page 4-7 3. Upcoming: Mini Conference ............................................................................... Page 8 4. Map .................................................................................................................... Page 9

Schedule for Today

5:00 5:10 5:30 5:30 5:45 5:45 6:30 7:00 10:00 Introduction Sharing: Statements of faith and calling Discussion: Mini Conference in September Prayer and Encouragement Heidi Baker speaks (Location Change to CEMEX auditorium)

General Information
The theme of this 5:00 event is on how we are to dream in ways that glorify God and walk in faith on the matters that we are stewarding.

The audience: Aspiring Professionals and Experts who desire to see heaven on earth. The purpose: Sharing our professional testimonies, building community and discussion on the matters that we are stewarding. The vision: By gathering, we are making a public statement of a particular vision and mission (initially) given to a community of graduate students in the bay area. We intend to document this story as it unfolds

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History
2009
My name is Sherol Chen and Ive been going to Janet and Peters group since I got here at UCSC in 2007. It was my first Christian Community as I started life here on the west coast. This past valentines weekend, I went on a retreat with graduate students from Berkeley, Stanford, and UC Santa Cruz. From UC Santa Cruz, we had seven people go. It was an amazing time as we fellowshipped with not just brothers and sisters, but neighboring colleagues and scholars. There were lasting impressions made on all sides. In particular, one night, all the UCSC students and some of the Stanford students had an impromptu prayer and worship session. We built some truly lasting relationships that night. (2/17/09)

2010
As you, who is reading this, may have felt, Ive always known there was something more. In many ways, waiting for its time to come. In late 2010, these feelings were maturing into ideas, and I wrote a year later about that experience: Ill tell you what it was that I saw I saw young professionals coming together in a way that has never happened before a gathering, built upon a unity of love and purpose. In its early stages, people who have been eagerly waiting their call will gather to set up for the party. Later on, waves of purpose will be passed through media and technology that stirs a spiritual awakening. People, in my generation, have been waiting for their reason to live. At church, we receive promise that we are indeed part of something amazing, and yet, have settled for the social clubhouse that has become of the western church. Deep down, we all know that there is more, but who is willing to go prepare for the party? I believe only a few people will understand this excitement, and I believe that few will have the great privilege to be an integral part of the release of this something amazing. A couple months later, was the next Winter retreat. At the time, it was still just Stanford, Berkeley, and a couple UCSC grads. Last weekend, we went to a conference-center like location in the Santa Cruz mountains for 3 days with PhD and Masters students from Stanford, Berkeley, and UCSC. It was a great networking opportunity where we were broken into small groups to discuss issues on faith, spirituality, and our vocation. All of us, in addition to professing the same faith, are working towards becoming (leading) experts in our respective areas, such as: Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Biology, International Relations etc. In addition to lectures and discussion, we had a lot of relaxing, reflection time, and casual conversations. (2/21/2010)

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A couple months later, my friend Tess and I visited our friends at Stanford for Ethans Multi-Faith Forum. It was there that I realized our brothers and sisters at UCSF seem to be missing from our loosely-held-together cohort. That summer, we decided to bring the schools together for an intentional gathering of prayer, worship, and sharing. That event summarizes what we are doing right now pretty well. Although, getting all these people together was no easy task. We had about 30 people at this event a good distribution over discipline and schools. It was a great mixture of music and sharing, worship and praying. We started by introducing and praying for each campus. Instead of the awkward non-initiative taking tendencies that people have in new situations and around new people, I knew people well enough at each school to just delegate. For example: UCSC shared about their grad fellowship, UCSF shared about working towards being doctors and dentists in San Francisco, Berkeley talked about grad student Christian endeavors, and Stanford shared about the number of different groups at their school. (11/29/10)

2011
In February of 2011, UCSF joins the retreat with Stanford, Berkeley, and UCSC. The final morning, I got to pray one more time during our last worship set. I centered on the verse: Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise I prayed that we may be foolish in living for the impossible, because through God all things are possible. I mustve prayed for humility and for revelation of how hungry we truly are. If we, with the most influence, who draw our strength from God, dont contend for the darkest and most devastating problems and injustices of the world, then who will? (8/11/2011)

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About a month after that, I email the various connections from the different schools this update: Im in the midst to talking to leaders in charge of the winter retreat in regards to further defining a solid purpose for this group of grad students. Its not a matter of being a bay area university thing, but that, since we are somewhat close, weve managed to build friendships over the years. This is what I believe is likely to happen this winter retreat: We will pull together a vision/mission statement. Identify people who have this collaboration on their hearts. Put up a website. Also, today, I received an email from Heidi Baker. She said that she might be available to come speak in this area on April 13th 2012. This may be a good reason to host a more well-thought-out event. Let me know how you guys are doing, or if there are any thoughts on these matters. If anything, itd be great to see everyone at the winter retreat. (11/14/11)

2012
On Saturday, Feb 11th, we had a meeting at 4:00 in regards to stewarding our influence and vocation. As we were all gathered, we went around talking about what our research was or what profession we were working towards and also what we feel called to or what we are willing to give our lives towards. I made a list of these dreams and visions. It was indeed a powerful exchange and students found themselves dreaming the same sorts of dreams and having the tools to realize them. This was much like the meeting we had about 1.5 years ago with the initial gathering of the 4 schools. Its through times like this where people seemed mutually encouraged to fully step into their calling and live a life worthy of the calling we have received.

Sherol, UC Santa Cruz

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Who We Are
Hi Friends, Jesus Christ is establishing his eternal Kingdom here on earth. He planned this Kingdom before the beginning of time, founded it through his physical presence in his first advent, and continues to build it up through the work of his Holy Spirit this very day. He is the King of the Kingdom to which we are given citizenship. Though we may not see it, we carry a spiritual ID card attesting to our citizenship of Gods Kingdom. We were there, represented by the 12 disciples and other followers of Christ as he ascended to heaven. As he was taken up by the clouds, he tasked us with the job and privilege of working on his field though the power of his Holy Spirit while we wait for his glorious return. Our acceptance into his Kingdom, though tragic and unfathomably mysterious since it involved the sacrifice of the King himself, is not the end of our run in the grand design of God the Father. Instead it is the beginning. The question of what to do with our life while we wait for the Kings return, and how to serve Gods Kingdom using our profession is something that we regularly grapple with. Whether we are still in school or out working in the real world, whether we are doctors or art critics, we are invited to bring our profession to the service of Gods Kingdom. In Sherols words, God is working to reclaim all fields of study and profession to their intended plan in his Kingdom, and we are called to be his workers and ambassadors in our respective fields. This is easy to say in principle, but difficult to make a reality where we feel like we are serving God though our profession. The purpose of this group is to discuss these issues. In our first meeting, two important points were raised. The first one is that whether we feel called to our profession or not, we are invited to be witnesses of God to our profession. In the day-to-day practical terms what this means is living out our Christian life with openness and integrity. But this is not a very easy thing to do especially if our profession is very secular. That is why we need the support and encouragement of one another. Along these lines one idea suggested by Brianna (I believe) was the idea of Professional Testimonies. This will be a conference where we come together to give a presentation of our work or research but with the added emphasis of sharing the challenges we faced during the work, and how God came through to help us. It is the merging of testimonies we hear at church (which are personal and intimate) with talks we here at professional conferences (which tend to be devoid of human struggles). In a small way this will be one way we can use our profession to glorify God. The second point is what I already alluded to in the introduction, which is to have an online community of support to strengthen and encourage one another as we strive to find ways to honor God through our profession. A small first step in that direction is the website with interactive abilities. I hope we will take advantage of it. Blessings, Kassa, Stanford

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Who We Are
I have a friend who is part of Opus Dei, a group of Catholic brothers and sisters. The website of Opus Dei says Its mission is to spread the message that work and the circumstances of everyday life are occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others, and for improving society. When I went to college, I wanted to do good research and make a difference for the kingdom. I had always thought of these as quite separate things. God brought me to difficult straits in my research in college and thats when I realized my need for Him to really establish the work of my hands. Psalm 90:17 says this: May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us yes, establish the work of our hands. Sir Francis Bacon, one of the fathers of the scientific method, said this: If we labor in thy works with the sweat of our brows thou wilt make us partakers of thy vision and thy Sabbath. Humbly we pray that this mind may be steadfast in us, and that through these our hands, and the hands of others to whom thou shalt give the same spirit, thou wilt vouchsafe to endow the human family with new mercies. Its about bringing together in unity Christian academics and professionals who want to see Christs kingdom come to this earth, and equipping each other and encouraging each other in our callings, in order that we might, with Gods help, make an eternal difference in the world as we continue Christs mission as His body and His ambassadors. More specifically, it is testifying to what God is doing in our respective fields and in our own work and careers, and together seeking Him to know Him at a deeper level, recognize our dependency on Him and trust Him more fully, and to see His greater purpose in our work and in our lives accomplished in His time. Even if our work may seem most abstract and esoteric, God can work through it to connect us with people that otherwise might not know any Christians. He may or may not give us the resource of prestige so that we can steward our influence to advance His kingdom, though we remember his Son often had little prestige during his days on this earth. On the other hand, sometimes God can use our work and our position to do something amazing and bring new mercies into our world, such as new technologies that help people make a living and provide for their families, new medicines and therapies to heal the sick and mentally ill, new ways to effectively teach students, policies that promote justice and world peace, to name a few. Bottom line: Ever wanted to change the world? Well, abiding in Christ, we sure can try. Lets see what God does Chris, UC San Diego

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Who We Are Faith and Calling

Who We Are and Why We Live
Economics: I am working towards my PhD in Economics. I am currently working on research looking at cities and the effects that transportation infrastructure investments have on employment growth. Im currently working to become a professor, but Ill take whatever job I can get in the end. Id like to use my life as a way of motivating and inspiring others to live out their God-given callings and desires. As a teacher, I want people to learn from me, whether that be in economics or in a spiritual or other context. I hope to promote truth and authenticity (in love, of course!) in everything that I do. Physics: I am working towards my PhD in Physics. My research goal is to provide quantitative constraints on the inflationary model of early universe. To do that, the group I am part of is building a telescope to detect the polarizations of the cosmic microwave background. I want to be following Gods call wherever I find myself in particular, I want to be serving the poor somewhat directly. Education: I have a M.A. in Education with emphasis on secondary mathematics. I teach high school math in a public comprehensive high school. I am pursuing learning about what it means to teach, what it means to learn, and how to facilitate opportunities for meaningful learning experiences. While I enjoy teaching, I also enjoy cultivating relationships with high school students and to be an adult that can encourage, support them and help them pursue their dreams and God-given potential. My heart is to impact education in Africa. I believe every child in Africa should have the opportunity to go to school, especially girls. I believe that one of the best ways to impact education is through working directly with teachers and other leaders in the schools and community to design schools and classrooms that meet the needs of the students and the community. So many schools operate on a factory model where we bring students in, pour information into them, ask them to regurgitate it on the test, they move on to the next grade and repeat the cycle. The information has little connection to their everyday lives and it often seems irrelevant. What if instead of giving students information, we encourage them to ask questions, to investigate, and explore the issues happening around them? Then they seek the information they need in order to address those issues. Students are no longer seen as receptacles for information but active problem solvers that can bring about change in the community! Classrooms become an incubator for creative solutions that transform individuals, communities and the nation. Education: Ph.D. Education (dissertation work is on adoption) To love orphans. I plan on choosing the trajectory that is best for the kids and will allow me to use my background to best serve them. Medicine: Im working toward a medical degreespecialty uncertain but likely with a primary care bent. I work with a free clinic now and intend to work with underserved populations in the futuretoward the goal of seeing them properly served and empowered to lead their communities, cities, and nation. I would like to see heaven on earth. I could give my life to see authentic, powerful, life-changing love embraced by and expressed through everyday people. Medicine & Bioengineering: I am working towards a MS in Medicine and PhD in Bioengineering. My focus is on medical technology for diagnostic and therapeutic means geared toward low-resource settings. I desire to partner with others in solving some on the most intractable challenges in global health. With Gods guidance, I envision myself living, serving and loving people in disadvantaged settings to partner with them in addressing health and development problems.

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Who We Are Faith and Calling

Who We Are and Why We Live
Scandinavian Studies: I have my PhD in Scandinavian Studies, specializing in Old Norse, Folklore. Currently working in Cultural Memory theory, Heritage studies. I love teaching, and would like to touch lives that way throughout my life. More interested in creative writing though. Tough balancing both. In both areas I am interested in developing minds and hearts, particularly in terms of our ability to engage with that which is Other to us in both critical and sympathetic ways. Medical Research: My graduate work focused primarily on developing computational methods to study how a drug or mutation at one location on an enzyme might affect what happens at another location. Pfizer is currently using this software to understand how certain molecules alter enzyme function in drug discovery efforts. I am currently a postdoc working to improve the methods I developed as a graduate student and apply them to studying an important class of signaling proteins implicated in a number of diseases including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. I am working towards being a professor at a research university or research institution, ideally affiliated with a university. I want to bear witness of Jesus Christ to scientists and international students. I want to give my life to the making and building up followers of Christ, to helping make Jesuss kingdom come and bring transformation and redemption to academia, and to encouraging other brothers and sisters in science and in academia. I feel called to be a professor who does research and who mentors students, postdocs, and ultimately other faculty members. I want to also build collaborations with scientists in other countries, especially in east Asia (where I currently have collaborations with two professors); these collaborations promote not only mutual understanding, respect, and peace among our cultures, but also provide an incarnational presentation of Christ. I want to encourage greater interactions and exchange between brothers and sisters of different denominations to build up the body of Christ and together reflect the extent of who He is, as one body striving for the gospel with Jesus as its head. I feel that part of my calling includes not only raising up brothers and sisters whom I might befriend, mentor, and/or disciple, but also serving Jesus alongside a wife and together raising children who will follow hard after Jesus. Computer Science: Im working towards my PhD in Computer Science, specifically Artificial Intelligence in interactive experiences, digital entertainment, and video games. My work is focused on formal models of storytelling and how variations based off of supplementary changes can hold ideological significance. I believe that all of creation has been redeemed, and that, as stewards of this world, we exist for the purpose of restoration. I live in the reality that through a right relationship with God and a right identity of who we are, that we are fully equipped to solve all the problems in our world today. I see technology and media as an efficient vehicle to be used to towards these ends. I desire to see this Love amplified through the unity of professionals and experts, faithfully using their talents and resources. Physics: I am working on my Ph.d. in theoretical particle physics, or high energy theory. I study the top quark, the heaviest of the fundamental particles we have discovered. I want to follow the Lord Jesus to Calvary. I want to do Physics as a way of being obedient, knowing that he is my master and employer.

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Upcoming Call for Participation

Saturday, September 8th Location TBA Reclaim Talks Mini Conference Purpose: - Encourage the world: through giving recorded talks about our research & faith. - Encourage each other: through prayer, relationship, and sharing. - Encourage our dreams: through collaboration and brainstorming. These talks will be recorded by Master Werks Inc.

More details to come!

In the meantime: Continue to seek God in these matters Start determining potential Plenary Speakers Write out your own Professional Testimony Think about what sort of talk you would like to give

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CAMPUS MAP