A Conversation with John Yunghans

There’s so much more to a friendship that you have when you live with that person rather than just see them in passing in social settings. I found that to be the case when I lived with my, now stronger friend. While my investigation of his biographical narrative was easier due to my pre-existing relationship with him, I sought to find out more of the core of what came before I became friends with him. What I found amazed me. Here is my write-up after interviewing him:

Very rarely do I ever get to really get to know a leader who does well to lead by both example and authority. Fortunate for me, he’s also a great and trusted friend of mine. A fellow college student at Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, John Yunghans is currently serving as a Resident Assistant for Damiani dorm hall; he has recently been chosen to serve in the same position in Beisel Down dorm hall for next school year. Yunghans is currently a senior college student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministries with a minor in business with the intention of fulfilling the call of God on his life with his course of study. Out of the his calling and passion, he intends to go into church planting using his platform to creatively communicate the Gospel to a secular audience and also build the body of Christ. Born in Delaware and then raised in New Hampshire, Yunghans had an early love for learning and knowledge; most of his time was devoted to watching History Channel documentaries and reading. Early on, his love for studying caused him to have motives of pleasing his teachers and parents, but as he grew up, his studying became focused on his vocation and, in turn, his social skills became essential to his maturity. Even though his first year in college was primarily focused on getting good grades and having a near nonexistent social life, he found friends (and his current girlfriend, Heather) who were just as serious about studying as having a healthy social life. His college also gave him great opportunities to serve in leadership positions starting from a START Team Leader (START Teams is the college’s new student orientation experience) and a Community Service Day assistant leader in his sophomore year and then getting chosen as an RA for this current school year. He continues to grow more as a leader learning more about following the examples of leaders above him and his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then leading by example. What many people do not know about him is that he suffers from a rare bleeding disorder similar to that of hemophilia. Most of his childhood and early adolescence was spent dependent on blood transfusions and hospital stays and treatments creating challenges that greatly limited his life, but as time went on, more revolutionary medicine and handy blood products has made the last seven years of his life much more independent and became “damage control”. His future in ministry is extremely promising as God leads him to use his past experience and his extensive capacity for knowledge and teach-ability to further show God’s grace and absolute truth to the world.

Local Newspaper Online Media Editors Visit VFCC

After having a conversation to conclude the Media Consortium, (L-R) Heather Tyrell, editor for The Phoenix, Sarah Peppel, communications professor for Valley Forge Christian College, and Diane Hoffman and Eileen Faust, editors for The Mercury, posed for a photo opportunity. Each of the editors of newspapers located near the local area surrounding the college was asked about their use of social media and other communication means in relation to their work.

Standing as facilitator of the media consortium, communications professor and local blogger mom extraordinaire Sarah Peppel listens to a student’s question.

Discussing with the audience members about different uses of social media, the panelists address their positions as online media editors for local newspapers.

After having a conversation to conclude the Media Consortium, (L-R) Heather Tyrell, editor for The Phoenix, Sarah Peppel, communications professor for Valley Forge Christian College, and Diane Hoffman and Eileen Faust, editors for The Mercury, posed for a photo opportunity. Each of the editors of newspapers located near the local area surrounding the college was asked about their use of social media and other communication means in relation to their work.

Capturing Worship

A typical low-key set-up for First Ghetto Assembly of God in Damiani Hall's lounge after Sunday's service.

Worship, while it seems easy to capture, is much more than the pictures that I captured. There is something to be said with being able to see the photographed heart, something that is not seen but felt when the Holy Spirit becomes our vision and our heartbeat. One of the greatest parts of this photo shoot opportunity was just how simple this worship was in comparison to the the more expansive worship experiences that we experience at a “typical” church (not that there is anything wrong with being accountable to  a church body and therefore experiencing worship this way). I can see it in the eyes and the posture that they feel extremely sincere about their devotion to the Kingdom of God.

A typical low-key set-up for First Ghetto Assembly of God in Damiani Hall’s lounge after Sunday’s service.

Chris Stutzman, a freshman pastoral ministry major at Valley Forge Christian College, is drawing near to God in contemplation due to the simplicity of the moment.

On his knees face down, Eddie King, a youth ministry major, is humbling himself to be better equipped for worship.

Raising her hands in worship and surrender, youth ministry major Nikki Berkebile is expressing gratitude for God’s provision for her life.

Donnell Davis, a basketball player for Valley Forge Christian College, takes time to bow his head and pray.

Impromptu Photo Shoot – Soccer Game

A goalie looks out into the field

As I’m further developing my photography, I’m finding that any opportunity to shoot is a great opportunity. These photos were literally shot and edited within the past few hours. A post went out on Facebook that people on my campus were playing an impromptu soccer game. Having no experience with shooting soccer, I went straight in with camera in hand ready to make the most of the moment. I think the greatest challenge that I had was the limited lens that I had (shooting with a Canon Rebel XLT). I had the hardest time getting close enough shots to really capture the action, but I shot with enough pixels in the photos that I was able to crop most of the photo out. For a shoot that I managed to do with the time and resources that I had, I think I did well, but as anyone would agree with me, we can always do better.

A soccer player attempting to keep the ball away from an opposing player

A ball is never too far away from a good soccer player

Another goalie guards his post with precision

A soccer player moves the ball down the field

A goalie looks out into the field

A Risky Game

An intense game of Risk. It’s only getting started

It was only a matter of time that my friends were going to play a game of Risk…an intense one at that. I thoroughly loved the idea of paying attention to my friends play a game that practically took two night’s worth of time to play and finish. There’s such a range of emotions one can feel during the course of a game, but adequately capturing a raw emotion was certainly a challenge. It reminded me of shooting action/sports photography in one of my earlier assignments that really got me into photography. It’s really about anticipating the emotions before they are felt and expressed facially. There were moments that in the nature of photography that my friends intentionally posed. While nothing is wrong with this, it did make it much harder for me to do this assignment right. I had to get to a point that my reasoning for having a camera in the lounge during the game could not be explained to them. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I’m looking forward to my next chance to capture great photography.

Dave just got relieved when a move did not affect him

Of course I had to get a photo that was posed. A silly photo of a friend getting too involved in the game.

A window into the game at hand

Randy is thinking of his next move.

An intense game of Risk. It’s only getting started

The Long Lost Blog Post…Let’s See Where This Goes

I’ve lost a lot of my internet mojo over the past few months due to a series of crisis situations that caught up a lot of time and more wasted time sold to my overanxious personality. Now that many of the chaos has subsided, I can move on and start all over again with this blog that hasn’t been used in about a year or so. I have so many unfinished drafts that I feel that now that my schedule has freed up a lot. I’m going to make it a point to schedule in some time to just blog my mostly unfiltered thoughts and maybe integrate video into my posts. I’d want to seek more readability and interaction with my randomness. Let’s see how this goes…

Playing video games can be a Biblical experience

Recently, I have been meditating on the plot line of one of my favorite video games of all time…Kingdom Hearts. I was thinking about why I love this game, and I think it’s because my life feels like Sora’s life. To me, a lot about being a Christian is finding your identity through the stories that you hear whether it’s a testimony, a book you read, a movie you see, a dance recital you attend, even a blog post that you see…

To give you an idea, Kingdom Hearts is an RPG game that deals with the wrestling with the hearts. Sora, in a sense, battles for his hearts and the hearts of the different worlds that he encounters. As he gets more knowledgable about the Keyblade that he holds and the tasks at hand to bring things back to the world as he knew it, he gets farther and farther away and the battle for his heart gets much more challenging. He relives the stories that we know well from the mind of the world of Disney ranging from The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, and Mulan. Eventually he battles evil masterminds of the knowledge of the Heartless, the enemies that he faces throughout the game. The emphasis on relationships with his team members, Donald and Goofy, contributes to his development in strength, courage, and heart. In the end, he realizes that his greatest source of aid in his battle was light. The movement of the story is a continuous journey that never seems to end.

If you pay attention, you’ll notice a lot of themes and similarities to a journeying Christian. For instance, Sora’s greatest enemy is darkness and evil overlords that advocate it. He battles with his heart and guards it. I believe that there is a verse in the Bible that deals with the concept of guarding your heart. The moments that he is alone he is weaker but with his friends who are focused on the same mission, he is able to keep the darkness away from his heart. Living out the stories of popular Disney characters is no different than living out the stories of Biblical characters. Values such as trust, cooperation, responsibility, and community are used as means of progressing in the game as they are in life. The game is not easy, nor is the Christian life.

Obviously, just like anything, too much of anything is not so great, so just playing video games is not everything about being a Christian. At some point, real life fellowship and study are just as important. What I’m really saying is that God is everywhere when you look hard enough. I want to know what you think…

What about video games complements and advocates the Christian lifestyle? What doesn’t?

Experiencing churches through their websites and online communication

I’m a person who loves to look at patterns in our times, and one pattern that seems to be prevalent to me is that churches generally have some sort of online presense. From pastors having blogs to church websites to downloadable sermons to internet campuses that allow congregants to watch streaming messages online to the use of familiar means of social networking such as Facebook, it seems that churches are now just a click away. I believe it’s something that is a great example of what Jesus died while He was here on earth. In many ways, Jesus used the culture around him to aid him in explaining some foundational truths to His followers who were in cultures that differed from His own. There was a point that the online culture was something that was farfetched from what churches used to reach out to people, but that has long changed. I am a major advocate for churches being available to people without having to actually leave their computers.

On this note, I am about to embark on a major research project for one of my college classes that is going to investigate this world and learn about how churches are reaching out to people. I want to look at church websites from all stretches of Christianity to the small local churches with the simple websites to the mega churches with practically everything available to online visitors. I know enough about my church, Liquid Church, and what it does online, but I want to learn about different churches.

This is where I’m going to need you! Yes, you! To help me in this, I need to visit as many church websites as I humanly can to get a really great set of results. Please comment here with either your church’s website or insights that you see about online content that you’ve visited. I am interested in your opinion because everyone has a different view and perspective on this matter.

The Alphabet’s Presense

My college, Somerset Christian College, takes on a narrative theology approach to teach us about God, and one of the things that they teach us constantly is the elements of story…here is my original story for you to read and comment on:

The Alphabet’s Presence

I do not enjoy going back in my life. It seems to me that whenever I go back, I get a major headache and something along the lines of an ulcer. For the purposes of your inquiry, I will elaborate…

You see, I could not talk growing up. I could make noises that made no sense, but I could not talk. I saw the world differently than most would ever intend on seeing it. I could not handle the sound of a vacuum cleaner. I would amuse myself with the world that was somehow handed to me on a silver plate.

I felt this water on my head one day. It was a cold feeling that would never go away. The people around me made this seem like a joyous occasion. Why would this be? I was shivering over the fact that I felt this cold water. I was crying out to something that I never could see if it was there. I thought I could trust the alphabet that I have consulted with in terms of my issues. It seemed like he was not there.

I’ve seen images in my head of a king. I did not know who this king was but it seemed like I would see him once a week fighting with some other guy who I had no idea who it was. These would be images that seemed very violent. The fights would never end and I always thought that the king would win, but it just never ended. I could not look to this woman who would sing to me all day. She would never understand this fight that I saw in my head. I could not explain it.

I really felt much more love from watching this boy flying over all of these clouds with this dog like creature who seemed to be a dear friend. He would help this boy escape the school that he was at. I wanted to escape the world and go to another just like he did. Not that the world he was in was any better, but at least it was a place where he was accepted more than I was here. I always seemed to fall asleep watching this because those were the best dreams that I had watching this.

All of a sudden there’s this thing that has a cover and these pieces of paper in it with these symbols that I’m able to understand. I don’t know how I do, but the singing woman will have nothing of it. I tend to not involve her in things that I don’t understand. She does not have the thoughts that I do. She’s told me so. I will continue to pretend that she does not exist even though I depend on her to do the things that I want to do. I can’t seem to stop lifting these things up to “read” them. Oh, they are called “books”. That’s that I read in one of these “books” that has these images that I can now name. I somehow think that I should depend on these books for everything. Anything that I get to do with my dear comrade, the alphabet, is fine by me.

I’m not doing so well with vacuum cleaner right now. I’d much rather the singing woman’s voice rather than the distracting vacuum cleaner. I hear unusual voices that the singing woman cannot understand. It’s more than the noise. It’s something that repeats again and again. I don’t quite see why…now…I’m starting to…enjoy it. Oh, I could never reveal it to the singing woman. She must never know.

Due to the fact that the alphabet is only appearing in the books that I’m reading, it’s becoming something that I’m learning how to do at quite a rapid pace. I can’t stop learning about this world around me. I’m starting to notice the leaves on the ground, the birds in the sky, and it’s a very big world for me. As long as I can find everything around me from my friend the alphabet in the books, I will be able to understand why these things seem to be much safer than I could think.

I start reading about this person called a girl, and before I know it, I meet a girl…but why is it that I’m starting to feel much more attached to this girl than my previous lover the alphabet. I learn that her name is Allison. Allison…she really does a wonderful job of looking just like the girls in my books. She is not like the singing woman, but they both have the same kind of hair. They both love bows in their hair, but her singing is very different. Oh, dear Allison who comes from the books I read. May I hold your hand like the boy in the book does? May I show you my friend alphabet?
I go back to alphabet, and he tells me that I should. But how? These are just pictures with words. The pictures look nice, but they don’t tell me anything but that I should talk to the girl. Talk to the girl? If I can’t trust the singing woman, I cannot trust Allison. Something inside of me has changed. The alphabet is trying to get me to do something, and I don’t think he knows me any more. No longer will I do anything that the alphabet tells me to do. I will never interpret the alphabet’s words again.

I turn away from the books, and gain a new friend. His name is brother. At least this is something from my memories with the alphabet. All of a sudden, the singing woman, cares so much more about brother. I knew that I could never trust her. Her singing now no longer helps me. She has lost her voice in my life. She tries and tries to lure me with my singing, but all of a sudden I start to feel hurt. I start to see my life fall apart around me and I start to feel another world around me. A much scarier world that I could never have imagined at any point in my life…

What was I to do? All of a sudden the singing woman brought me to a place that I have never heard of before. I met a bunch of men and women who looked at me, asked me questions about what alphabet used to tell me. They wrote down many things about me that I didn’t understand. The singing woman went in with these people while I was sitting outside. She came out, looked at me, and then brought me home.

I felt lost without the alphabet, but how could I ever explain to him about how I felt about what he told me. I then saw this book with a rainbow. It was about this man named Noah who had this big boat. Then alphabet showed me what happened to Noah and the people around him. It was a very scary story to me, but then the sky showed a beautiful rainbow. The colors in that picture reminded me of the leaves that I saw when I was still with alphabet. I could not help but laugh and smile seeing this rainbow. Then I read another word. This word was a word that I’ve heard before, but I didn’t understand when I first heard it. I was too busy looking at the fight. This was the word “God”. And there was another word…”promise”. This word made me realize that alphabet was not mad at me. Alphabet protected me throughout my years of living. He allowed me to learn more about the scary world around me. My mouth was opened and I was able to talk to the singing woman and her voice started to sound just like it did when I was first living. Everything turned to music for me. I started to sing like the singing woman, and I still do to this day, thanks to the alphabet…and to this day, I know that alphabet will be with me…to the omega…

Let me know what you think…

Common Threads

I have been through so much these past few weeks that I’ve been wondering what will happen to me next. Almost two weeks ago, I got fired from my job, and from that date, I’ve been kind of in a place that has felt like I was just knocked to the floor. Lucky for me, this did not come as a complete shocker. I knew I was at-risk, and that it would be a matter of time. What also seems to amaze me is that as I look back on what has been happening to me lately, I’m starting to realize that God is sending me all sorts of interesting messages. Here are just a few that I’ve been really thinking about:

• Knowing that I was going react to this news emotionally, God put on my mind people who I could reach out to who would not just comfort me but give me all sorts of hopeful stories that I really needed to hear. God showed me the place that I needed to go to in order to receive the support that I needed. I didn’t perseverate on my emotions and explode there but I contained my emotions until I felt like I could understand them better. I’m wondering if this is showing me that God is molding me into a person that does not impulsively react with tears that will not get me anywhere. Honestly, I don’t quite understand if this is something that God is showing me or not, but I’m pretty sure that this happened for a reason.
• Before I actually got fired, the stress from knowing that I was at risk of being fired was actually much more than what the stress level was after a few days. This might have been God’s way of showing me that the fact that I’m much less of a stressful person now actually was God’s way of getting me out of a situation that I did not realize was hurting me more than helping me.
• My managers at my job were not the ones who ultimately decided that I was fired. This was something that the people in the back office decided based on a mistake by my managers. My actual manager actually took a big risk by not following policy in order to keep me. It’s interesting that I’ve noticed that I’ve been missed by my co-workers. It seemed like I really mattered to them, and being away from them has made me realize that. If I had known that from people who are now assuring me that they really did care about me, I’m wondering if it would have been a different experience. They might have shown me that they care, but I was too busy or closed up to realize that they cared about me. This might be that God is showing me how to not be so narrow-minded when it comes to anything. Just because my manager did not agree with me does not mean that she did not care about me.
• I’ve been given something that almost is driving me nuts to understand. Because now I don’t have to worry about being at work, now I have much more time on my hands. I may be using a part of my time wisely to look for jobs/other unemployment stuff, but I’m not using my entire time wisely. This time that I have, when used correctly, can actually prove to me that I’m much more productive than I have proven otherwise. God has thrown this at me that when I’ve prayed for more time for things that giving me more time to do things will not solve the problem unless you really think about doing the necessary scheduling and planning that is needed to really know how much you could get accomplished. This was something that I thought would be simply a good thing just because but it’s actually more of a life lesson that just needed to be taught to me in a different way.
• Pastor Tim’s message on generosity has actually shown me a different message than most probably saw. The biggest concept that I had to understand was that God was taking my source of income to show me how much I was not using it wisely. God probably wants me to understand that until I can learn how to manage my money His way that I will be able to be entrusted with more of an income. I have never tithed in my life nor have I used my money wisely in terms of preparing for the future/priorities/feeding into horrible addictions. This message and it’s timeliness is no accident or coincidence. This message is also something that I have heard before (except he used a different and more tasty candy than candy corn, yuck!). What’s also interesting is that I learned at the same time that God’s economy is much more dependable that our nation’s horrible economy (and under God’s economy I would have not seen what I have seen working at at bank).

Hopefully, I’m receiving these messages right, and if I’m not, then there’s something that I’m really missing. Could anyone honestly tell me for sure if I’m right or not? I think that God has pretty much indicated to me the people to trust on this, but I think that the major lesson that I need to learn here is that trusting God with every part of my life is by no means something that should be taken lightly. If I had brought all of this to God and really listened and took action according to the messages that I have received (and mind you, they have been super obvious to me), I might have been in a completely different place now. I just hope and pray that I continue to see these patterns in my life and that I start taking some serious actions to what God is directing me to do.

Please pray for me in this trying time my devoted readers. Prayer matters to me a lot because I constantly have all of you on my hearts in prayer. Every step I take is one more prayer for you. This is why I constantly ask about the prayer request that you ask of me because I care about all of you deeply because you do so in return and it’s mutual.
I will continue to shine more lights on this situation as God has created me to do so that I can bring much more insight to perspective.

Having the honor and priviledge of shining the beautiful light of our Abba,

~J Cubed