Back in January, I felt a desire to participate in a missions project this summer, but wasn't sure how it would work out given my full-time job. At first I thought that the obvious "right" thing to do was to surrender my job and participate in missions but something didn't feel right.
Thinking it might be a good idea to pray before making such a decision, I began our church's One Desire Fast with this in-mind as one of my areas of focus. A couple days into the fast, I stumbled across a section of my employee handbook in which I learned about a Sabbatical Program where qualified employees could take an extended time-off to pursue personal passions. Some people have taken advantage of this benefit to fulfill their dreams of traveling the world or working for a non-profit organization, and I saw this as my God-given opportunity to apply for missions.
Why CSMP? I signed up for the Community Summer Missions Project because..
Plain and simple: I felt like I Iost my passion for the gospel.
I was sick of being a self-sufficient and complacent Pharisee, and wanted the fire under my butt again to be DESPERATE for more of Jesus. I knew I couldn't go through CSMP on my own strength, and wanted to put myself in a situation where I would have no other choice but to turn to Christ.
So.. how is it going so far?
CSMP started surprisingly fast, and our team of 30 has been meeting together twice a week for the past two months.
One thing I feared coming into CSMP was that I would have an attitude of "I already know this" (lack of teachability), but PRAISE GOD because things have NOT been like that at all. Almost every meeting has caught me by surprise with the myriad of teaching moments involving flipped chairs and sticky situations.
I had a moment this Thursday when I felt like I was finally getting discipled--after six years of accepting Christ, and four years of trying to disciple others. I feel honored to have this opportunity, and am looking forward to growing as a disciple of Christ as I step outside the cubicle.
Here's to riding together and dying together--CSMP 2013!
Thinking it might be a good idea to pray before making such a decision, I began our church's One Desire Fast with this in-mind as one of my areas of focus. A couple days into the fast, I stumbled across a section of my employee handbook in which I learned about a Sabbatical Program where qualified employees could take an extended time-off to pursue personal passions. Some people have taken advantage of this benefit to fulfill their dreams of traveling the world or working for a non-profit organization, and I saw this as my God-given opportunity to apply for missions.
Why CSMP? I signed up for the Community Summer Missions Project because..
- I missed the times in college when I saw the value of seeking God early in the morning, had a burning passion for evangelism, and learned to love the Word
- I wanted to grow in the basic disciplines of praying effective prayers and going deeper in the Word
- I saw the need for greater, more structured discipleship in my life
Plain and simple: I felt like I Iost my passion for the gospel.
I was sick of being a self-sufficient and complacent Pharisee, and wanted the fire under my butt again to be DESPERATE for more of Jesus. I knew I couldn't go through CSMP on my own strength, and wanted to put myself in a situation where I would have no other choice but to turn to Christ.
CSMP started surprisingly fast, and our team of 30 has been meeting together twice a week for the past two months.
One thing I feared coming into CSMP was that I would have an attitude of "I already know this" (lack of teachability), but PRAISE GOD because things have NOT been like that at all. Almost every meeting has caught me by surprise with the myriad of teaching moments involving flipped chairs and sticky situations.
I had a moment this Thursday when I felt like I was finally getting discipled--after six years of accepting Christ, and four years of trying to disciple others. I feel honored to have this opportunity, and am looking forward to growing as a disciple of Christ as I step outside the cubicle.
Here's to riding together and dying together--CSMP 2013!
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