Bruner leads Christian unity

The words “how great is our God” burst through the front doors of the Student Center’s Magnolia Ballroom as the sound of a guitar and melodic voices carried into the dark Middle Georgia evening. Inside, heads were bowed and hands were raised in worship to God. Each face was glowing with joy and anticipation.

One year before, this same scene existed only in the mind of Nicholas James Bruner, more commonly known as Nick by his professors and peers on the GC&SU campus.

On an afternoon like any other yet different from all the rest, Bruner found himself looking across the front lawn of campus, and his mind suddenly became flooded with the image of college students from all denominations gathered there to worship God.

“I was with my friend Judd Wright,” Bruner said. “We were walking on front campus, and it just hit me. What if we had some sort of event on campus that brought together all of the Christian college students?”

Just like that, the idea was born. Now a year later, Bruner is here to see it all played out before him. As the band opened with powerful worship songs, Bruner walked around behind the masses of people, staring in disbelief. He walked with purpose to the balcony, in hopes of taking in the crowd of worshippers all at once. It was a scene far greater than he ever hoped for.

“It grew and it evolved to something huge in our eyes, but small in God’s eyes,” Bruner said, grinning ear to ear.

Aside from being the visionary, Bruner and his team of leaders seem to have trouble defining where he fits into the big picture now.

Although Bruner had much help from other students, the bulk of As One planning, including set-up tasks and finding student leaders, fell on his shoulders. He spent months recruiting and training leaders for the event. Many students noticed the hard work that went into As One.

“The past week, it’s been a little hectic around here,” said Dallas Smith, GC&SU sophomore and Bruner’s roommate. “I think Bruner did an excellent job with As One, and I admire his vision. It takes a lot to even think about the possibility for doing such a big event. He had a lot of wisdom going into it.”

Bruner’s wisdom and passion are only a few of the things that set him apart as a leader on the GC&SU campus. Even before the planning of As One began, Bruner had already established a name for himself on the campus through other leadership involvement.

As a political science major, Bruner has participated in many campus political events. He spent the last two years on the executive committee for the Law and Society Student Organization (LASSO). Through LASSO, Bruner helped on a successful petition to save the Craig Nursing Center at Central State Hospital.

“Bruner became obsessed with this project to the point where he was instrumental in our petition drive to help save the facility,” said Dr. Kathleen Martin, LASSO faculty advisor.

Bruner also feels that voter registration among college students is key, and he had the opportunity to get people registered to vote last year and looks forward to doing so again this year.

“After this last election, there wasn’t the turnout that everyone had hoped for with young voters,” Bruner said. “Now that we know that, we have the chance to really build up the base of young voters and get them energized and educated on current issues.”

The faculty and staff that have had close contact with Bruner on campus describe him as a very passionate and driven person.

“Bruner is a people person,” said Gregg Kaufman, director of The Coverdell Institute. “He is very concerned about people’s lives, their welfare, and has an interest in leadership in the non-profit sector. He takes his skills and applies them to the subject matter.”

“Passionate” was the first word that came to Bruner’s mind to describe himself. With a quick laugh, he added, “Bruner’s the sexiest man alive, on the inside.”

Bruner’s good humor and charm add to his already glowing personality and desire to help others while serving the Lord. Ultimately, Bruner credits his personality and drive to the way that his parents raised him.

“Both my parents were heavily involved in church leadership, so they passed that on to me,” Bruner said. “They instilled in me that I should be planted in the church and that I should be driven to lead and to serve.”

Bruner said he particularly looks up to his mother, since she was always the one there to encourage him.

“My mother was always the one that said, ‘Go for it,’” Bruner said. “At the same time, she was also the cautious one because she knows that I jump into things really quickly.”

Bruner was appreciative of his mother’s cautious nature because he often did feel like he had gotten in over his head while planning As One.

Although he calls it the most challenging experience of his life, he knows that in the end, As One was all about the fulfillment.

“The vision came to me on front campus, and the last night (was) on front campus,” Bruner said. “I feel like that vision God (gave) to me (came) true.”

Bruner’s life ultimately comes back to living for God and doing what he can to serve him.

“In my life, my most challenging experience has been living life for God and to keep my focus on God,” Bruner said. “If we don’t look to God and reflect on what God is telling us, what we’re doing is not him.”

With dreams of campus ministry lying ahead and As One lying behind, Bruner realizes that he is already getting a glimpse of what it will be like when his dreams come true.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 23 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry