RUF Erskine's Podcast

The Last Barn of the semester, the last Barn of the year, the last Barn forever.  Bitter sweet, but super sweet to have some alumni return to honor us and to say farewell.  A truly beautiful evening with Barnadillas and the same sweet setting we've enjoyed with students for 18 years (36 semesters).  That's 360 sermons preached in the Barn!  Well, make that 340, with about 20 preached in the pasture.  Love ya'll.  Paul and Marie.

70 degrees and Papa John's for the next to the last Barn!  Thankful for the chance to speak Gospel truth into the lives of students and future parents.  #LastLap

A BEAUTIFUL Spring evening at the Barn!  Barnadillas, some Homerun Derby, background music and decent little crowd made for some good time together as we talked about Faith and Friendship from Ephesians 6.

Better weather than expected for our BBQ Pork Loin cookout!  30+ Erskine students for an important talk on the future and what is needed to be able to "stand" offensively and defensively in the Christian life!

70 degrees and Sunny for a DST Tailgate Cookout at the Barn! Barn Burgers, Hot Dogs, Brats, Sausages, Bacon, Chili, Potato Salad, Chips, Cookies, etc. (Thanks to alumni and churches who help to provide this!) Tonight we considered our "Righteousness Problem" and that God has given us his own Breastplate to cover our vulnerable vital organs, which if struck in battle, lead to a quick and bloody death. Some new faces tonight, probably hearing things they have never heard before. Thank God for that!

A Cold night with fires and propane heaters and blankets and hot chocolate to bring some comfort. Powder Puff football, Soccer games and Volleyball Games on campus on Sunday nights have made it hard to gather our usual crowd, but we press on with 20+ in attendance and overcoming the elements and obstacles to campus ministry as we consider the Belt of TRUTH.

73 degrees in February? The LORD is good! It is Mid-Term week, but only week 2 of Large Group, thanks to COVID. Students were tired, I was too, but this was time well spent as it is an imperative subject for the Christian life!

February, in the Barn field, due to COVID, but with 4 fires, 3 Patio heaters, blankets, hot drinks and S'mores to make it bearable. It was not bad! Time well spent and students "showed up" really surprised me and really showed up in good number (35-40), for this current state of Erskine. Better than I thought, as usual!

This is a recording of the report at Synod 2011 and their action to make RUF Erskine official with an affiliation agreement between Erskine, Synod and RUF.

Next to last Barn for the weird COVID Fall of 2020. Warm, August-like weather for November, but a small, small crowd as tests and papers are due.

54 degrees, cold and all alone in COVID-19 2020, BUT here is a sermon from 2009 (I think) on the text we would have covered. Hard to realize Savannah is finishing her Frosh year at Clemson now (was drawing pictures of cats then) and Reece is turning 11 (was learning to walk that week!). Miss you all very much, whether students or alums!

A replay from 10+ years ago since the COVID-19 has cancelled our semester and ability to meet. What a beautiful day today was! I wish we could have met, BBQ'd and Fellowshipped together. Sad we cannot, but God's will be done, because it is always good! Even when (especially when) we can't see it!

Lessons from "Flat Cakes, Dumb Birds and Slack Bows" about the Christian life from Hosea 7. This is a replay from 10 years ago due to the COVID-19 cancellation of the semester and inability to meet with students. Go for a walk and listen as you keep up with Hosea! The early reference to Mario and family is who you think it is. Yep, he came out from ARA Mark work on campus and brought a portable clay oven to bake us some flat cake (pita) bread to go with our dinner. It helped to illustrate one of Hosea's points about Israel in Chapter 7!

With COVID-19 cancelling the semester, I am going to attempt to post something from present or past, in an effort to conclude this series. We miss Sunday nights at the Barn, we miss students and we miss RUF! May the Lord end this virus quickly and may the Lord continue RUF at Erskine into the future!

Spring Cookouts are Back! We hosted NC State RUF (who was here for the Widows' Ministry and as our students drove back from Spring Break) with a tailgate cookout of burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, sausages and pork loin. Then, we played kickball on the Barn field.

Week 2, Rainy, Dark and Cold. But we had hot cocoa and RAISIN CAKES to warm the smaller than usual crowd!

First Barn of Spring 2020 and it dropped to 38 degrees by the end of the Barn, so it was Cold, but hot drinks, a fire, blankets and UV heaters helped the crowd of 40+ stay just warm enough as we begin our series in Hosea.

Last Barn of 2019! Cold but good as seniors hung a horseshoe and sang their favorite RUF Hymns and as RUF addressed a top 10 list of questions and issues related to Dating, Marriage and Sexuality.

Last sermon of the Fall DMS series before next week's first ever "Stump the Chump" Q and A on the subject of Dating, Marriage and Series. It was cold and a crowd of 40+, our smallest of the semester, I think. But still good!

Cold, but good! Students from Erskine, Anderson and Lander gathered for a lovely Fall Barn with a fire, cocoa and S'mores and an important talk to shape them for the future of marriage or singleness.

45 degrees! DST and no meal at the Barn but a good crowd of 45+ for this Erskine. We enjoyed a fire, marshmallows and hot chocolate before and after the Barn as we heard on the subject of Ultimate Friendship and the "5 Loves" of Marriage.

A beautiful day of sunny weather after a Saturday full of rain made for a beautiful Sunday setting and, with Barnadillas, made for a good night of ministry to 50+ students from Erskine, Lander and Anderson U.

Mid-terms, Homecoming weekend, Choraleers concerts, Football scrimmages and more made for weary students, but we were thankful for about 50 who showed up to hear an important talk for their future marriages.

70+ which included students from Erskine, Lander, Anderson, Clemson and SWU for Papa John's Pizza and what I think may be our last HOTTT Barn of the year! Fall weather should be present after Fall Conference next week!

Another HOT Barn, with tacos and nachos from Aramark and a smaller crowd, but an important subject.

85+ on a 90 degree hot (but beautiful) Barn that included 5 from Lander and 5 from Anderson. A hard topic for a first time visitor to the Barn! But, since this is the point of so much pain for so many people, it would be irresponsible to not speak to and apply the Gospel to it.

Week 1 of RUF at Erskine, Fall 2019 version. We had a great tailgate cookout in the heat and 110 gathered for a new year of fellowship, including most of the men's soccer team and 10 from Anderson University who came with Hamilton.

Tornado Watch! So the Barn-K was canceled due to the threat of Tornado, but we through together a 7PM Barn with dessert and our music, Bible study conclusion of our series, and to hang the Horseshoe anyway! Sad and anticlimactic finish to the year, but a good one still! Thankful to have several alumni there and more people than I expected!

Spring Weather! Heidi made a creamy chicken pasta dinner and a small but good crowd heard a hard but good message on our Call to Change, our Power to Change and our Hope for Change. One more week and we are done, hard to believe.

Chilly Spring night for Barnadillas and an important talk on The Good News of Adoption as we turn the busy corner and hit the home stretch of the Semester. 2 More large groups, 3 more small groups, a Pig Jig, Barn-K and Low-Country Boil before Baccalaureate and Graduation, leading into Edisto Beach Week. Much to do, but it is all good stuff!

Great Spring weather and a good crowd for this era at Erskine with some guests and visitors for an important talk on Justification from the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10.

Spring weather and St. Patrick's Day Home run Derby and Cookout! A good crowd for this Erskine and a tough message that will hopefully be remembered down the road, when students will need it most.

Windy Spring weather, but dry and comfortable so we are thankful after days and Sundays filled with rain! A good night for a hard but encouraging word on sharing Jesus with others through normal, relational, conversational efforts for the rest of your life. We don't have to be weird. Faithful and enduring breadcrumbs will do.

Cold 39 degrees in the Barn, but the propane heaters and the UV heaters were both working, so we were ok even though it was rainy and wet! Several visitors tonight, including a second ARP visitor from Lander, which makes me hope and pray that the Lord might open a doorway to that campus for us! A difficult and painful subject tonight, but hopefully a strong dose of Gospel Hope as well as we address the Brokenness of the Family.

35 degrees and we are talking about Depression in the Barn. Seriously? Only at Erskine and in Due West do people do this, and we had about 40 show up, which was great.

Cold, but Good! Talking about serious things in the Barn this January....

First Barn of Spring 2019 in cold weather, our first January re-start with no J-Term. A good crowd of 45, given the demographics and dynamics at Erskine!

Last Barn of Fall 2018! Cold but comfortable as we hung the horseshoe and made another memory in the Barn.

Cold Barn! 45 degrees, but Boiled Peanuts, Hot Cocoa, Cider and Hand Warmers (first time!) and a Big Fire helped us stay warm!

DST gave us a dark Barn, but it was not cold as we hosted 60 from Southlake for Pizza, cider, cocoa, boiled peanuts and large group in the Barn.

Brisk Fall Night! Italian night from ARAMark (Baked Spaghetti, Bread Sticks and Caesar Salad), which was an "old Barn meal" that hasn't been served since about 2009. And, a firm Word from Jesus as he reveals the 4 kinds of heart response to the Kingdom/Gospel, 3 of which are bad.

Beautiful weather for a Fall BBQ! Fantastic butts, great loins, hot cajun sausages and beautiful sunsets! RUF Erskine: Making Sundays Great Again!

Week 5, another hot and sweaty Barn, but with a Fiesta of tacos and nachos from ARAMark! Be sure to check out Bob Bennett's "Man of the Tombs." A GREAT 90's Christian music masterpiece!

Jesus said "Let's go to the other side." So, there was no question that they would get to the other side, therefore, the boat would not sink in any storm! Jesus has authority, even over creation as he "muzzles" the storm, as he does demons (same word used).

Week 3 of Year 15 at the Barn as we celebrate our 15th anniversary on this Sunday night of the Barn! Also, my 28th Birthday (for the 20th time?). 50+ students and Papa John's Pizza makes for a big party in sweltering heat!

Week 2 of RUF at the Barn Fall 2018. Hot again! But, a Labor Day Hamburger, Hot Dog, Sausage cookout with a good enough crowd for large group!

First Barn of the year (and 15th First Barn of the Year!). Beautiful but HOT day with a Mexican Fiesta provided by ARAMark. Off to a good start, but the first talk -and the busy opening night filled with announcements and freshmen not knowing what is going on- is always the worst!

Pursuing God’s Will (Paul Patrick, Erskine)- Does the Bible really say, "God has a specific plan for your personal life and that your job is to figure out what it is?” Will it be fairytale-perfect, or maybe not? How can I know if to marry, whom to marry, which job to take, where to live and what to buy? Can I mess up God's will? Is it possible that I won't like God's plan for my life? If I don't follow God's revealed will does that mean I will be miserable? What about smaller decisions in life - does God even care? What about divine sovereignty and human responsibility? What about the role of prayer in all this?

Pursuing God’s Will (Paul Patrick, Erskine)- Does the Bible really say, "God has a specific plan for your personal life and that your job is to figure out what it is?” Will it be fairytale-perfect, or maybe not? How can I know if to marry, whom to marry, which job to take, where to live and what to buy? Can I mess up God's will? Is it possible that I won't like God's plan for my life? If I don't follow God's revealed will does that mean I will be miserable? What about smaller decisions in life - does God even care? What about divine sovereignty and human responsibility? What about the role of prayer in all this?

Senior night and last RUF at the Barn for Spring 2018 on a beautiful evening! This was my 6th talk delivered this weekend, so don't judge me. I'm pooped!

A good crowd of 115 signed up for the Barn-K and we had beautifully perfect weather! Many left before the Barn started, but still a good crowd, the majority of which were unfamiliar with RUF. A lot of distractions and a hard context to speak to especially tired (exhausted) people, but a great evening together in the Barn!