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I'll be updating this with Bible studies and events soon.
RUF Large Group will start the first Weds of the year - Wednesday August 27th at 9pm - in the Passion Pit on the South Oval.
Hope to see you there with all the folks you bring with you.
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"
There is a deep hole in your being, like an abyss. You will never succeed in filling that hole, because your needs are inexhaustible. You have to work around it so that gradually the abyss closes. Since the hole is so enormous and your anguish so deep, you will always be tempted to flee from it. There are two extremes to avoid: being completely absorbed in your pain and being distracted by so many things that you stay far away from the wound you want to heal.
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Henri Nouwen
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wallpaper for you by Thomas Madsen
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Who are you? Where does your heart go? What has crushed you? What do you hope for? This semester at RUF we'll be looking at the book of John in our Large Group Bible Study on Wednesday nights. John gives us an eyewitness account of his friendship with the most remarkable person who ever lived - Jesus of Nazareth. Come join us at 9pm as we sing and share together. Our theme will come from the middle of the second verse of the hymn below - Watch and wait with patience and question all you will. Let's listen, hear and question together.
1. O heart bereaved and lonely,
Whose brightest dreams have fled
Whose hopes like summer roses,
Are withered crushed and dead
Though link by link be broken,
And tears unseen may fall
Look up amid thy sorrow,
To Him who knows it all
2. O cling to thy Redeemer,
Thy Savior, Brother, Friend
Believe and trust His promise,
To keep you till the end
O watch and wait with patience,
And question all you will
His arms of love and mercy,
Are round about thee still
3. Look up, the clouds are breaking,
The storm will soon be o'er
And thou shall reach the haven,
Where sorrows are no more
Look up, be not discouraged;
Trust on, whate'er befall
Remember, O remember,
Thy Savior knows it all
OURUF Blogs
What Doug Is Reading
(Ergo, What You Should Click and Buy)
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, A Lamott -  Lamott hates George Bush, but she often entertains and can bring a measure of insight into faith. (7)
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, J Wood - Wood starts libraries and donates books to countries. Inspiring. (8)
Peter Pan, JM Barrie - The ending of this is so bad it really ruins what was so good. (5)
The Commanders, B Woodward - A look at the Panama conflict and Gulf War. Sounded better than it was, strangely . (4)
Into the Wild, J Krakauer - A tragic tale of the ultimate end of freedom (7)
The Name of the Rose, U Eco - I wanted to like this (2)
Water for Elephants, S Gruen - A fantastic tale of the circus and love... (8)
Celebration of Discipline, R Foster - I didn't like this book in college. I do now. A classic. (9)
The Children of Men, PD James - What if no one could have children? A novel that looks at the world, hope, faith and children. (9)
A bunch of Judges commentaries.
A Prayer for Owen Meany, J Irving - God is Sovereign. Owen Meany rocks my socks. (9)
The Face of A Stranger, A Perry - 1880s England. A detective doesn't know who he is. Did he commit the murder. Alas, it's a mystery. (6)
Worship Matters, B Kauflin - A simple but good book on church worship. (8)
The Beak of the Finch, J Weiner - Makes evolution readable, interesting and thought-provoking. (8)
Fast Food Nation, E Schlosser 0 And yet I've eaten fastfood 2 of the last 4 days. (7)
The Holiness of God, RC Sproul - I love this book. It was super important in 1996 and helped change my life. (10)
Things That Cannot Be Shaken, Oliphant & Mays - A nice little book about theology and its application. Written by the RUF national coordinator.(8)
The Good Guy, D Koonz - Koonz is decent in this book. Still good for the beach. (4)
A Thousand Resurrections, M Garriott - Planting a church in Baltimore - a moving story. (8)
Escape, C Jessop - A riveting story on the down side of polygamy (extreme down side). (9)
Pillars of the Earth, K Follet - An epic tale of love, nefarious dealings and cathedral building. (10)
Odd Thomas, D Koonz - One of the better Koonz books I've read. Enjoyable suspense. (8)
The Omnivore's Delimma, M Pollan - Our country's obsession with corn and why it hurts us. (8)
What Is Your Church's Personality?, P Douglass - Dr Douglass does his thing. (6)
Forever Odd, D Koonz - Great character. The end totally falls apart. (5)
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, P Lencioni - A nice leadership book. Quick reading, good principles. (6)
Vintage Jesus, M Driscoll - Helpful, readable book about Jesus. (7)
Asking, Panas - Simple, fast, informative read on fundraising. (9)
What Doug Was Reading in 2007
 TwentySomeone, the book Doug co-authored, came out in December of 2003. Click Here to order.
 NEW RUF T-shirts are in! Click Here or contact Doug for more information.
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 Officially, you could say that RUF is a Christian student organization at the University of Oklahoma. But that doesn't say too much. We're a community of OU students who seek to: know Jesus Christ, know Him better through understanding and committing to the Bible, praise Him in all we say and do, share that love...
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Year Eight
8/27/08
We have our first RUF large group meeting tonight (yes, that is the name of our meeting - catchy, I know).
We'll be meeting in the Passion PIt on the South Oval at 9 (really 9:15 is the start time if you're keeping track) and we'll do some announcements. I may comment on what tshirt Thomas Brewer is wearing. I'll talk about Bible studies starting up the third week of school. I'll discuss Batman, tailgating, the OU game on Saturday, Girls Lunch on Fridays, our ultimate team, our leadership team, our retreats and conferences coming up.
I'l introduce Anna McDowell, who has come from Alabama and Ole Miss to be here with us. I'll ask freshmen women to not ignore her phone calls, and instead give her something to do by going to coffee with her (she likes Winans).
I'll talk about RUF music - how it's so different and strange at first. How you won't like it at first. But if you stick with it, it will grow on you. The words will seep into your bones and you'll be thinking about them much longer after the praise songs fade away.
I'll talk about how we're preaching and teaching the Bible at RUF. We're not going to sugar coat it, or dumb it down for college students. They can handle it. So we're going to give it to them without apology. How we're trying for a real, authentic, loving community and we'll probably fail in doing that but join us as we try. How we have fun and also cry together. I'll mention that I'm available for talking or counseling or whatever you want to call it. It's what pastors do, and I'm here to do that and be that for them.
Then we'll sing the aforementioned hymns (with Anthony, Katie and the rest of our team), and I'll get up and start on John 1. Follow. Forgiveness. Forever.
When I'm finished, I'll pray for us and invite everyone to stay around for Root Beer floats, which will be messy and melty.
Consider this a test run.
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