By Codie Winslow, CCU Director of Library And Learning Resources

With all the time you spend online, there are times when it feels good to have a hard copy resource in your hands. Flipping through the pages of an anthology or pouring over the words of a great article in actual print can scratch an itch, that desire to do it the good ol’ fashioned way. Too bad no more card catalogues, right? Or is that just me.

The process of learning something new amongst the hallowed stacks of a physical library is a lost art, but it doesn’t have to be.

Through Calvary Chapel University’s membership with the Association of Christian Librarians (ACL), a professional community that creates and promotes quality materials and projects for the benefit of libraries, CCU students and faculty have access to the Reciprocal Borrowing Program.

Reciprocal borrowing is a voluntary program whereby ACL member institutions choosing to participate extend in-person borrowing privileges to authorized patrons from other ACL institutions. Patrons, including faculty, students, and staff, have reciprocal access to the physical collections of participating Christian institutions.

Pinch me! Ok…I may be a bonafide, lifelong-learning nerd. And, I hope you are too. Here’s how to take advantage of this benefit:

ACL Borrowing Procedures  

• Borrower obtains a signed Authorization Form from the home library to receive borrowing privileges from a participating library. Currently employed faculty and staff and currently enrolled students in good standing are eligible. The home library has the authority to issue or deny this privilege.
• The home library determines the length of valid authorization. The authorization period may vary depending on the status of the borrower but should be no longer than a year. When authorization period expires, borrower may request another signed authorization form from the home library.
• Borrower takes the signed Authorization Form along with a photo ID to a participating library. Privileges and loan periods are determined by the lending library and may vary from those of the borrower’s home institution.
• Borrower returns materials to the lending library by the requested due date and pays any applicable fines and fees for late, lost, or damaged materials as determined by the lending library.

Visit www.acl.org/RBP to find a current list of participating libraries near you or check out theMap of Reciprocal Borrowing Institutions to locate one near you.

I hope this finds each of you well and blessed. My name is Cameron Warner, I am 28 years old, the husband to a beautiful wife and a father of three little girls – and a new baby on the way!  I am blessed to be serving in full-time ministry as an ordained pastor up in Idaho Falls, Idaho at a church named Watersprings Church. My hobbies include a for love painting, and being in the beauty of the great outdoors. In ministry, The Lord has opened the door where I get to serve in a variety of ways… in Kids Ministry pointing them to Jesus as the answer, in Biblical Counseling I attempt to demonstrate Jesus’ example, while teaching evangelism and leading missions it’s my desire to display Jesus as the only solution. My goal is to make Jesus famous and the hero of everyone’s story. My time at CCU pursuing my Bachelor’s in Biblical studies has helped prepare me for this mission.

Classes like Biblical Interpretation and Doctrines of the Bible along with several other Bible book classes have better prepared me for the open doors of ministry that the Lord brings my way.  This preparation makes me think of Ezra the Priest. In Ezra 7:1-7 we see “the hand of the Lord” was upon Ezra as he was committed to being skilled at the Word of God.  He knew God’s Word! This gave him favor not only with God but with the earthly king of Babylon. When we are skilled in God’s Word, it has a huge impact on our relationship with God, and an impact on everyone around us! Does your skill with the Word of God spill over into other parts of your life?

In Ezra 7:8-10 we see that although Ezra set his heart upon teaching God’s word to those in Israel, he spent all his time while in Babylon preparing by learning God’s Word and practicing it! Ezra was not just waiting and wishing he could teach! He was diligent to study and prepare for future ministry. He used his time in waiting well. What a lesson for us. Ezra set his heart on LEARNING, DOING, and then teaching.  Sometimes we tend to get things out of order. We want to teach, to lead, and to speak into other’s lives, but we need to remember that we first need to focus on learning and doing ourselves!

In 7:11-20 Ezra was given an opportunity by the king to fulfill what he had purposed in his heart to do.  When we are dedicated to learning, doing, and teaching God’s Word, it has a huge impact on our relationship with God, and an impact on everyone around us!  The Lord has given each of us the privilege of preparing in His Word for a life of fruitful service – make the most of it!

May the good hand of the Lord be upon each of you as you dedicate yourself to the Word of the Lord.  

With His Joy,

Cameron Warner

BABS in Biblical Studies