Nearly one year ago, God began revealing in me what the next few years might look like.
What started out as a simple interest and desire of mine began to take shape as an opportunity that was tangible and the promised next steps in my faith journey. As I have said in a previous post, the pattern has been God asks me to do something and I just go about doing it. There hasn’t been too many road blocks or hang ups, at least from me personally. God just keeps presenting himself and his will to me and I just move forward despite some hard circumstances that have been largely out of my control.
That has led to this point. On Sunday, I will be traveling to Wichita, Kansas to spend the next five days in Community 3 of the Apprentice Experience. This week will be one of four that we will spend as a group of 27 people from around the country. We all have been doing readings but up until now, we have not met as a community. The week will be filled with study under the teaching of James Bryan Smith, Scot McKnight, Jan Johnson, and others. We will also be participating in spiritual practices, discussion, and community worship. It promises to be a deeply rich and rewarding experience and one that I am highly looking forward to.
As a reader of this blog, you know my heart is to help others Grow Up in their Christian Spiritual Life. You know that I am not just about personal spiritual experiences or Christian thrill seeking. I truly want this experience to change me so that I can help demonstrate to others how Christ wants to change them also. The Apprentice Experience is just another step in God’s work in my life and in the growth of my ministry efforts through Grow Up Ministries, where I plan to help people live the life that Christ intends for them to live.
I will be taking good notes and will be chronicling my experiences but will wait until I get back to share with you the particulars.
Please pray for me. Pray that nothing will get in the way of me experiencing the fullness of God’s blessing during the week. Pray for the entire group that we will quickly draw close together as a group of believers. Pray for my family, who is gracious enough to let me be away for this long. Finally, pray that I can take what I have learned and it will make a difference moving forward in the lives of those that I am around and try to minister to.
Also, I am still in need of some support so that I can complete the program. Please donate so that what God has started to grow in me and my humble efforts will result in something that has a real impact on many people’s lives.
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