Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23.
In our walk with Christ, Jesus calls us to follow him. It’s that simple… or is it? We are all for following Jesus until we realize that it will cost us something. We are fine with going along for the ride as long as the ride is comfortable. But, truly following Jesus will not be comfortable or easy. It will be difficult. But that is the cost of following Jesus. To follow Jesus we must deny ourselves, we must give up our old ways, everything that is not pleasing to God. Many struggle with this but it is doable. It takes discipline and focus. He goes on to say that we must take up our cross daily and follow him. Here’s what he’s trying to say, if you follow me day in and day out, it’s going to be difficult, you are going to have to give up things, give up comfort, but it will all be in my name and it will glorify me in the end.
Last fall, I was set on moving to North Carolina and beginning a pursuit of camp ministry. I began to try and figure out the details, well, if I get this job and do this or that, then that will set me up for this opportunity or that. I was running all the possible scenarios in my head to make things work out. I was ready to make that leap, but it was going to be on my terms. I wasn’t going to do anything until it was completely comfortable to me.
That’s not the way God works though. This is something that I am beginning to see. God rarely reveals his master plan to us, nor does he let us set the plan on our terms. To have the willingness and open heart to follow Jesus, we must come to this realization. There is one thing I know for sure; I feel a call to ministry. Do I see myself in camp or youth ministry? Yes! Do I know which path to take right now? No. But I am working to open my heart to him and be willing to follow him in this ministry wherever it leads.
Right now, I am putting Touro University, with the M.S. Camp Administration and Leadership degree on hold. In the future, I hope to pursue this degree, especially if I find myself in a Camp Ministry position. I do know that I am called to ministry. Now to figure out where he calls me to learn and serve him. I am actively looking at two different seminaries, McAfee Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Murfreesboro Tennessee. I come from a strong Baptist background and in the more recent years, a CBF Baptist affiliation. These are important aspects to ministry that I want to put that the forefront of my theological education. This summer, I will return to Ridgecrest Summer Camps for my 4th summer as a counselor. I thought last summer would be my final one as a counselor, but I absolutely thrilled that I will have another summer as cabin staff.
I ask for prayers as I continue to discover what’s next in my pursuit to fully follow Jesus wherever he leads.
