Bethel Baptist Church never encountered a challenge like this before. The church accepted an invitation to participate in a mission in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Making an appearance in a foreign environment terrified both adolescents and adults. Even with those uneasy feelings, the congregation quickly zeroed in on the goal at hand in spreading God’s love to this needy region. With events such as church cleanup, food ministry, and disaster relief, the church left with a greater appreciation of life, and how lucky many of the citizens in the United States truly are.
Arizona Christian University (ACU) is a private 4-year institution that is devoted to creating leaders who can produce an impact on the world with the gospel (God’s word). Len Munsil, the President of ACU and author of the book “Transforming Culture with Truth”, mentions in his book that “we have forgotten who we are.” (Munsil 2) Which leads to the question, who are we supposed to be? ACU’s mission is “to provide a biblically integrated education that prepares its graduates to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in ministries and professional occupations.” (Munsil 50)
Chapter One: My Story In the very beginning of this book, the author, Josh Dowel, relates a story from his childhood in which he couldn’t find satisfaction from his church, and thereby abandoned attending church. He quotes a country saying “when something doesn’t work, get rid of it” as a way of explaining his attitude toward church, and consequently, religion. Later in this chapter, Dowel explains a revelation which led him to once again explore Christianity. He realized a valuable truth: Jesus Christ and religion are two separate entities.
“I prayed for the Lord to give me clarity on what to choose and received what I believe was a word from the Lord to ask Coach King (at Cedarville University) if he could lower my tuition to $5,000 a year, then I would go there,” Watson said. Watson had a strong conviction that God wanted her to graduate with minimal debt and Coach King agreed to speak with financial aid. Through Coach King, financial aid and Watson’s obedience to God, she graduated with $7,000 in debt and paid it off in her first six months of marriage. As Watson entered her freshman year at Cedarville, one of the top NAIA schools in the nation, she was hopeful, until unexpected news came at the end of cross country season.
Many may believe that reading a book about religion would be challenging to accomplish for someone who is not religious. But those people have never read Anne Lamott’s, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. If one were to ask non-religious college students to read a book by a random author about spirituality and “Finding God” through conversion, they would most likely roll their eyes and bear through it. In Lamott’s series of essays, one does not have to “suffer through the readings” because her writing style is one of a kind. She has strategically chosen every word because she is aware of how important her spiritual experiences are to so many people, religious or not.
Imagine being the daughter of a pastor, who has to live up to her family 's expectations, how would you feel? While being an example in church, yet living in another city attending a four year university in her graduating year, this leader is as strong as they come. Leah Shoff is a 22 year old who has put her entire life effort forth for God. Even though she has attempted to live part of her life without God, she was never successful in doing so. Constantly under a lot of stress, Ms. Shoff is currently attending Vanguard University as a Senior with a major in business, and she still keeps in great contact with her family; especially her family who is runs Palmdale Lighthouse Assembly of God.
These experiences included students eating, sleeping, studying, socializing, and worshipping together. Only privileged white male students were allowed to attend college during the seventeen century. Families sent their son’s to school to prepare them as Christian leaders, and clergy had high
Atlantic Cape Community College Church After Several Years Amina Holliday Reflection Paper 10/27/2015 Abstract I always knew church was where people was to worship God but I didn’t understand why people had put so much faith into the pastor.
These people struggle with uncertainties, anxieties, and emotions of inadequate faith. Yaconelli urges that rather than judging them, people should embrace and comfort them. I have come across individuals in comparable predicaments, and through their openness, I have learned the value of fostering environments that are free from judgment, reassurance, and safe spaces for open inquiry. I have learned some important things from the untidy folks I have met. First, I have discovered that each person's spiritual path is distinct and progresses at its rate.
Coming from a different culture but still embracing the Christian values that Loma Linda University emphasizes, I believe that my unique background and personal experiences distinguish my application from others. Growing up in Egypt, where the gap between social classes is significant, my parents always stressed the need to prioritize service into my life encouraging me to dedicate time in volunteering and helping others. As a result, my experience has grown from volunteering to serve as a camp leader for orphans in the summer to participating in international dental service trips. These involvements would allow me to use my skills in organizing missions trips at Loma Linda. Being a Coptic Orthodox Christian enables me to add diversity to the
Students whose beliefs do not align or have prior obligations may be disproportionally impacted by this requirement, which has the potential to limit their ability to succeed at Liberty University. [Respected Authorities, History/Precedent, Guilt] The concept of Christian Service centers positivity and servanthood. As Christians, it is important to put the teachings of Christ into practice. However, there are alternative ways to engage in service and contribute to society.
Warrensburg Missouri, being a college town, is full of many opportunities such as joining Greek life, getting internships, and most impotently getting a college degree. Being the first to attend college in my family, I have been self-motivated to attend class’s everyday on a daily bases and even build time into my schedule to study for quizzes and exams. For the past four months, I have been attending the University of Central Missouri (UCM) in Warrensburg. Therefore, I have learned the highs and lows of being a college student at the university. Being a college student at UCM in Warrensburg has many lows.
As I sit in the basement of the Lilly Library, surrounded by friends who have become family in a few short months, covered in calculus and EQ notes, and listening to some Duke Ellington jazz music for my Music 101 class, I can’t help but reflect on what this year has meant to me and my development as a student, athlete, brother, friend, and person. I entered Wabash College not exactly sure what to expect; I knew it was going to be different, but I also knew that with change I wanted to keep an open mind that was ready to learn and grow. Freshman tutorial and especially enduring questions are two classes that have pushed my boundaries as a person, forcing me to question core beliefs and ideas that seemed previously engrained in my mind. Throughout
During the interview with Timothy Hughes, Pastor of the First Baptist Church, many difficult and probing questions were asked to discover the heart of his decision making process. The pastor, making himself available for this interview answered with much openness and transparency revealing how he makes decisions regarding a variety of issues. In regards to fear and its impact on his decision making, one could ascertain that this pastor uses acknowledgement of his fear to provide balance in this process. Decision made in regards to sermon preparation time is deemed to vary as he tries to “utilize a variety of sermon methodology or sermon preparation.”
Reflection Paper Introduction The Bible teaches us that our first calling is to serve Christ. My calling to finish my bachelor degree had been heavy
