Summer Devotional for Summer Service 2016

Summer Devotional for Summer Service 2016

Images used with exclusive permission of Carrie McGuffin.

Carrie McGuffin serves as the Communications Assistant Specialist at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She received her M.Div. from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., and a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C.

Living faithfully in the way of Jesus doesn’t always feel epic or glamorous--in fact, much of the time our lives can seem pretty ordinary. In my experience, God often calls us as people of faith into the ministry of the ordinary--to offer a kind word, a good deed, or to simply choose to be present with and attentive to someone who is struggling or suffering.

But why does God call us into a ministry of the ordinary today, when the Bible seems to be filled with stories of seemingly extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. What has changed?

Well, if you take a closer look at many characters of the Bible you will find that they were indeed accomplishing amazing things, but most began as just common, ordinary, everyday kinds of people. If you remember, God used a young shepherd boy—David—to bring down the champion of the Philistine army. God used the tongue-tied Moses to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of captivity. Don’t forget that it was an ordinary young girl, Mary, that was chosen to give birth to and raise Jesus, the son of God. Even Jesus himself picked ordinary fishermen to be his disciples and accompany him throughout his ministry—not learned scholars. These disciples often appeared to be clueless in the scriptures and made mistakes just like you and I would likely make. Throughout the entire Biblical narrative we find stories of God using the ordinary lives of ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

I like what the Canadian Catholic theologian and humanitarian Jean Vanier (pronounced Vahn-yay) once said: “We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love.”

Love can make all the difference in the world. We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t have to be exceptional. We don’t have to break records or put our lives on the line to bring change in our world. We just have to do ordinary things with extraordinary LOVE and remain open to the movement of the Spirit in our lives. After that, we can simply let God take it from there. One day at a time, one conversation at a time, and one person at a time—with extraordinary love, we will change the world.

How have you seen God working in the ordinary?

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone else’s extraordinary love? What was it like for you?

How do we cultivate this kind of love and what does it look like? What ordinary things are you feeling called to do with great love?

Loving Creator, help us to not take for granted anything that we say or do today, but to remember that even the most seemingly insignificant actions become extraordinary when done in love. Amen

Parker Ebling-Artz was a Collegiate Congregational Intern with CBF in 2010 & 2011 and continues to remain connected to his “CBF family.”

Parker is a worship leader at First Baptist Church of Decatur, GA, and a recent graduate of Candler School of Theology, Emory University in Atlanta, GA. This summer he will move to Colorado to work as a hospital chaplain, endorsed by CBF.

I have known many things to be done in love and with good intentions, but not done well. A family member confronts another out of love but did not go about it in the right way. A short-term mission team compelled by love fails to recognize the negative and unintended consequences of their sincere efforts. And so I have to disagree slightly with Van Gogh on this one. It is safe to say that simply because something is done in love does not mean it is done well. No one wants to live in a house built in love but without sufficient support beams or a secure foundation.

But what is not done in love—an act without love—cannot be done well. A house with sturdy support beams, but without love simply becomes an empty frame. In other words, an act void of love—the selfless, whole-hearted, nevergiving-up love of Jesus—may get the job done but will not be what it could have been. It is a sad imitation of the real thing, like a poster of a Van Gogh painting instead of the breathtaking real thing. Without love we are a knock-off, a lesser version of what we could be. You can plan a fabulous youth event. You can lead worship or pray beautifully.

You can attract people to your ministry. You can share the gospel. But if you do not have love, these acts are hollow— hollow acts that are empty once you look a little bit deeper.

Because “if I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love” (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3, The Message).

Love fills up the act whatever it is and gives it life—like helium in a balloon. It is Christ’s love that gives our actions meaning and purpose beyond ourselves. Acting in love does not mean we won’t make mistakes. Some mistakes will leave us scarred and fundamentally changed. Van Gogh cut off his own ear, for goodness sake. But he also painted like no one had ever painted before or since. And so on the days you feel like you are a raging success, ask yourself if you feel this way because you have sought to embody the love of Jesus, and remind yourself what it means to do something well. And on the days that you feel like a complete failure, ask yourself if you have sought to embody the selfless, whole-hearted, never-giving-up love of Jesus and remind yourself that the love of God never fails (1 Corinthians 13: 8). In all that you do, let love be the measure of your success.

What is something you have done well and that has appeared to be successful but was done without love?

In reflecting on the places and people you have met this summer, where and in whom do you see the selfless, whole-hearted, never-giving-up love of Jesus?

Moving forward beyond this summer, what would it look like for love to be your measure?

Loving God, I thank you for the relentless way you love me. Forgive me for the times when I have not loved you with my whole heart or loved my neighbor as myself. Fill me up to the brim with your love so that your love would fill up everything I do. And give me the courage to love as you love--selflessly, sacrificially, and relentlessly. It is in the name of Jesus, who showed us how to love, that I pray. Amen.

Ashley Mangrum is a minister living in Davidson, North Carolina with her husband and two small children. She serves as an assistant with Student.Church and enjoys ministry to college students. She earned a Master of Divinity from Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

In Matthew, we are reminded of two things: 1. It reminds us that we can be the salt. What is salt? Salt is a mineral. Salt adds flavor to things that are bland. Salt is most commonly used for food preservation. So what could Jesus mean when he says that we are the salt of the earth? In this world filled with misunderstood people and injustice and hatred, maybe it means that with all of who we are, we can seek to understand, do justice, and choose to love people in creative ways. Be the salt of the earth.

2. It reminds us that we can be the light. Five summers ago, my Student.Go team and I decided to paint on the side of our building. I promise we asked for permission…I think. We wanted to paint something meaningful, we wanted to leave a piece of us; we wanted it to represent who were and what we stood for. And so, it was finally decided that we were going to paint Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s words, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” We were striving to be the light, we felt called to serve alongside others and to love them deeply, and we all claimed to do it in the name of Jesus. We were the light. Little did we know, that we would be incredibly impacted by the light that was already surrounding us and impacted by the many ways that we saw Jesus working around us through our neighbors. How meaningful it was for us to all take part in the painting. I’m convinced that was just a glimpse of what Jesus commanded and what Dr. King fought for. Be the light of the world.

I learned how to be the salt and the light, but one of the most valuable things that I have learned is that in whatever community you’re in, there’s already been a lot of salt and a lot of light to come before you. You’re not alone. You aren’t the first and you won’t be the last. In the foreword of Rachel Held Evans’s book, Searching for Sunday, Glennon Doyle Melton writes, “She finds herself not only loving these people, but learning that she is these people. There is no them or us, there is only us.” In many ways, we are all connected, so we should begin acting like it. I like to think that the Table Jesus invites us to for communion is round - no head or foot. And it’s open for everyone. There is no wall or division between race, ethnicity, gender, class, political views that we constantly are scared to peek over. There’s only us. Like the open Table, may we be open to share experiences and share our time and talents and resources with those who are very similar, but also very different than us.

There is only us. Be these: be salt, be light.

What have you learned about yourself this summer?

Who has been example of salt and light in your life?

In what ways, are you called to be the salt and the light?

Loving God, help us remember that in all the darkness that is happening in the world, we can bring light, as well as, recognize the light around us. Remind us that we can find unity in diversity. Remind us that it’s in times of discomfort, that we are learning and growing the most. And teach us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in ways that glorify Your name. Amen.

Ashley Hicks serves as the Program Director at the Andrew P. Stewart Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Stewart Center is a community development non-profit in South Atlanta serving under-resourced children and families through education, wellness, and housing programs. She began working at the Stewart Center as a Student.Go intern in 2011. She grew to love the organization’s vision, the community, and the families. After graduating in 2014 from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, she moved to Atlanta and accepted a full time position at the Stewart Center.

My grandfather once held me in his arms and asked, "Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior?" "Yes, I do," I stated. A few more words and no more than ten seconds later, I was soaked in water and gasping for air. Next, salt was poured in to my hand and I was told to taste it—and like the salt, I was told to give flavor to the world. Salt tastes kind of weird on its own by the way. I was given a candle and told to be the light of world, taking that light with me wherever I go. The candle went out not too long after I got out of baptistery, so I was confused at how I could take it wherever I go.

You see, my grandfather was right when he said salt gives flavor. Salt by itself might be weird, but it produces something delicious when it's combined with another substance. Have you ever had french fries that a restaurant put on just the right amount of seasoning? It's like the salt gives the fries meaning. It makes them worth eating. It enhances the food flavor exponentially.

That is what you are called to do with your life—to give meaning to each and every part. No matter what you are doing, make it worth living. Live with the purpose of enhancing the lives of each individual you encounter. This could mean spreading love on social media instead of baiting someone in to an argument. Or it could mean searching your life for areas that you just go through the motions. Things you do every-day just because you have to, but not seizing the opportunity to add salt, to add meaning, to add purpose.

You see, my grandfather was right when he told me I should take that light with me wherever I go. The reason the flame went out was because it was not taken care of. It was put to the side so it could be brought out when it was easy and convenient. That's not how it works though.

What does light help do then? It gives sight and hope to darkness, and it often sheds light on insecurities and pain.

It's important that when someone in darkness is helped, that the one with the light doesn't run away when what was once hidden is now seen. You cannot just put the light to the side when it gets hard. Let God's light, love, compassion, and healing continue to surround that pain. This could mean checking in on a friend who struggles with depression.

Or it could mean praying for someone in a time of need.

The world is full of darkness and of tasteless and meaningless things. You want to know how God will give meaning and light to it all? Through YOU! What area of your life needs salt/meaning? What area are you just going through the motions?

Who can you help bring out of darkness just by shining your light?

How will these simple actions impact yourself and others?

Lord, may I not just go through the motions with you. May I not just go through the motions of life. Help me to find meaning in all of my endeavors and give purpose to each of my actions. I pray that I show my light to others, even when it feels like I can barely see the light myself. For when I do that, you shine through me. Amen.

Michael Sizemore currently serves as the Youth Ministry Director at First Baptist Church Elkin, where he has been for the past two years. He started working Elkin in the Summer of 2014 through CBF's Student.Church program. He has continued there throughout the school year, and again served through the Student.Church program during the Summer of 2015.

Real Love Since my first year of college, I have struggled with feeling like I have somehow cheated my way into something good.

Throughout my time at college I was convinced I did not deserve to be there. I felt this way in seminary too, and the feeling eventually fed into my sense of call. Because I did not "look like," "sound like," or "think like" a minister, I was convinced what I had to offer was not good enough for God's dream for the world. I could see the good and potential in my peers and in others, but I was the imposter.

The feeling of inadequacy held me back from embracing my gifts and talents. I thought maybe if I mimicked who others were, I would eventually look like I knew what I was doing. Fast forward to last summer at a dinner table with other young ministers. I confessed all of this to two friends and it was my friend Kyle who gave it a name. Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is a term referring to the inability for individuals to internalize their accomplishments and persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud". I was relieved to finally have a name for it and to know there were others who felt the same way. It doesn't mean those feelings have gone away, but naming them has helped me recognize that who I am and what I bring to the table is good enough. It is easy to hide in the shadows of self-doubt, but I am called to move out of darkness and into the light.

The church in Rome is struggling with the question- what does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus? They had the Torah and the guidelines, but Jesus required more. I imagine the early Christians wondering if they were doing this whole Christian thing right. Paul reminds them that to be a follower of Jesus is to go beyond their comfort zone and love all of God's people and to do so with a genuine love. To love genuinely means to rid ourselves of the evil thoughts that keep us from leaning into who God created us to be. To love from the center of who we are means to embrace our gifts and talents and use them for the purpose of God's mission for the world.

When was a time that you second guessed your calling?

How did you work through that feeling?

What gifts do you have that bring you joy and what gifts can you share abundantly with the world?

God of the universe, give me the grace to know I am enough and to love others with all of who you created me to be.

Alyssa Aldape is the Interim Minister of Community of Ministry and Missions at First Baptist Church Dalton, GA. She previously served as the Next Generation Missions Assistant at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for the Student.Go program. Alyssa is a graduate of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.

“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.

Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.” (Romans 12:9-10 MSG) When we engage in any kind of mission experience – the afternoon at a local ministry, the week-long camp, or the summer of service in another country, it’s easy to feel isolated. We can unintentionally disconnect that experience from our everyday life. And we can easily feel like we’re disconnected – completely separate from our community of faith. Our faith community may send us there, but it can be easy to lose the sense of connection with our community when we’re on our own. But in that isolation, we can also find the capacity to serve in ways we’d never think possible in our daily lives. It’s almost like the energy, passion, and drive for that experience come from a different part of ourselves that’s only available to us when we’re engaged in something we’ve pre-defined as “mission.” In all of those situations, we go with the idea that we are showing love – our own love and God’s love – to the people we encounter.

But it’s easy for that love to come from a place that we keep in reserve until we’re “on mission.” And if we aren’t conscientious, it can be a love that doesn’t necessarily inform the rest of our lives and relationships.

The kind of love Paul talks about in this passage isn’t just the warm feelings we can have for others. It’s not just something happening in our minds, and it’s not something we access only when we need it. It’s an action that comes from the center of who we are. And it’s not just an action that happens on scheduled mission experiences.

Love is being ready to meet the needs that we encounter in others, whenever and wherever we encounter them. It’s focusing so completely on what God has called us to do that we run away from anything that stands in the way of that.

It’s making God’s call so central to who we are that we cling desperately to anything that makes it easier for us to live out that kind of love. And it doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when we are part of a community – whether the one we know well or the new one we’ve joined for a short time. We can begin to connect what we’re doing where missional living is easy, or at least expected, to what we might be able to do back home, where it’s anything but expected. If we love from the center of who we are, love becomes central to who we are, and then we know that we’re never isolated, no matter where we serve.

How does what you’re doing this summer fit with what you understand to be central to who you are?

How have your experiences this summer changed what you understand to be central to who you are?

How is this summer informing how you can “love from the center of who you are” when you go back to “real life”?

Pray that God will help you love in a way that shows others it is central to who you are and discover ways to love that same way when you return home.

Glenn Maddox is the Missions Mobilizer for the Baptist General Association of Virginia. He coordinates Impact Mission Camps, Virginia Baptist Collegiate Summer Missions, and Venturers – long-term volunteers with Baptist partners around the world.

Flesh or Fruit?

Preparation: Read Galatians 5 There are so many “Top 10” style lists telling us what to do, how to think, how to dress, and how to be successful. We are surrounded by images of beautiful people delivering similar messages through advertisements: some subtle, others rather overt. The supposed standards set by society are remarkably high and striving to meet them can be incredibly stressful and upsetting.

In Galatians 5 we find two such lists, but these lists describe outcomes, not goals. Paul is making a distinction between the desires of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit and what happens when one lives according to one or the other. Read the desires of the flesh. Get a good sense about them. Now watch a movie trailer (James Bond is a good example).

Odds are, you will see depictions of idolatry, fornication, impurity, enmity and strife, jealousy, anger, and drunkenness. These are the messages our society embraces. Take what you want, do what you want, get revenge, don’t worry about the consequences. There is no peace in the desires of the flesh, no love or patience, kindness or generosity. There is certainly no self-control. In fact, in the larger scheme of things that Paul is getting at, there is no freedom in the desires of the flesh. They hold us captive and enslave us. In fact, even the government is aware of the need to quell the works of the flesh, for there are laws against such things. There are literal laws to assuage the violence and division often brought on by anger, drunkenness, and impurity.

By contrast, it is Christ who sets us free. And it is through Christ we experience the fruit of the Spirit. There are no laws against love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Notice again that Paul is not meaning to provide another set of unattainable rules to follow. These fruit are not regulations but evidence of a life transformed by the Spirit of God living in us. As followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to advertise another way of living – the way of freedom and what Jesus calls the abundant life. This “list” is not meant to foster guilt or competition among the faithful. Rather, it shows the hope we have in a different path than the one society constantly sets before us.

No one is perfect, but our lives tell a different story as we live by the Spirit. May we learn to stop seeking the unattainable goals and desires of this world, to let go of our pride, and to hold on to the hope that is in Christ.

How can making the fruit of the Spirit into a goal become hazardous?

What are some struggles that keep you from fully rejecting the “desires of the flesh”?

How can you be an example of love, joy and peace to those around you?

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Bring me into the life you have prepared for me. May my life reflect Your Spirit and give hope to those caught in the ways of this world. You are mighty to save, merciful, and gracious. Help me to be like You.

Matt Nelson serves as the Associate Pastor of Worship, Youth, and Families at Central Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, FL. He received his M.Div. from the McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fruits that Nourish Have you ever been in a drought? The kind of drought where the grass turns to hay beneath your feet, lakes recede several feet leaving shells and debris visible. The kind of drought where water becomes scarce and fruit does not grow well because of the scorching heat and lack of nourishment from rain. Last summer I served as a Student.Church intern in Puerto Rico while the island was in the midst of a terrible drought- much of the produce had to be imported from other places and gardens did not flourish like they typically would have. One afternoon I walked to the mailbox to see if any mail was for me- homesickness was hitting me hard, it was hot and dry, and I was grumpy. My neighbor from across the street came out from her gate smiling brightly. "Quieres mangos?" (Do you want mangos?) she asked.

I nodded yes and she motioned me to her porch where she filled a grocery bag full of freshly picked mangos from her backyard. We hugged and I thanked her as I crossed the street back to my host home. The woman's love and kindness that afternoon helped the rest of my day and week go smoothly as she nourished me with literal fruit and the goodness of doing life within community.

In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he sums up the fruits of the Spirit which are the attributes we are supposed to embody as followers of Christ. I don't know about you, but some of these qualities Paul talks about do not come easy for me at all times. When I notice that I would rather cause arguments or use sarcasm instead of being filled with peace, when I see the negative qualities within myself or with others, or when I am sad or angry rather than being filled with joy, I know it is in those moments that something is off kilter and needs attention.

The summer is in full swing and each one of us is located in different places around the world. Things may be going wonderfully or situations may be hectic. I encourage you this week to take an inward look and see how your spirit is doing. Days as an intern can be long and lonely. Days as an intern can feel heavy or like a hurricane. But days as an intern can also be lovely and filled with laughter. And days as an intern can feel heartwarming and healthy. Whatever you are feeling today, my hope is that you take time to look inward to see the light of Christ shining so brightly inside of you. Go throughout this week knowing that you are loved and cared for. Go throughout this week knowing that you embody the Fruits of the Spirit and that those you work alongside and minister with also embody those same attributes! You may not have a woman joyfully offer you freshly picked mangos this week, but my hope is that you are nourished and offer nourishment this week with the fruits of the Spirit.

What fruit of the Spirit is the hardest for you to see within yourself? How can you more intentionally practice that fruit within your ministry setting? What fruit of the Spirit is the most evident in your life?

What can you do this week to see the Fruits of the Spirit within those in your life who are hard to love?

Take a moment to think about a person who you can daily see The Fruits of the Spirit at work in? Who is that person? Once you have written about that person I encourage you to pray for him/her and let that person know you are thinking of her/him.

God, thank you for seeing the Fruits of the Spirit in us and in others when we are unable to see those attributes with ourselves or others. This week, help us to taste and see the Fruits of the Spirit in our internships. Change our perspectives to look at the world through the lens of how You see the world. Amen.

Jaime Fitzgerald is a third year Master of Divinity student at M. Christopher White School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC and is a CBF Vestal Scholar. This is Jaime's third summer serving as a Student.Church intern.

Read: Jonah 2; Matthew 22:37-40 So what happens when we are called to do something we just do not want to do and does not give us life? The prophet Jonah has some things to say about that. We are all familiar with the book of Jonah. Growing up, we were captivated by the imagery found in the giant fish swallowing Jonah up and then spitting him back out onto shore, all because Jonah did not want to do what God was asking him. Jonah had no desire to go to Nineveh, and he held firm to that throughout the entire story.

So I ask the question again, what do we do when we are called to something that we do not want to do? God calls us for a very specific reason. Sometimes that reason is we are the best equipped, other times that reason is to change us and transform us.

One of my all-time favorite TV shows is The West Wing. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this show, it was created in the late 1990’s and ran for 7 seasons. It was set in the West Wing of the White House where all of the president’s closest advisors work. I love this show because of all of the moral dilemmas the president and his staff have to navigate in almost every episode; issues of war and peace, issues of poverty and discrimination. One of my alltime favorite scenes comes very early in season one. The president has all of his staff to dinner to celebrate his daughter getting into Georgetown. It had been a long day in the West Wing filled with issue after issue. President Bartlet gathers everyone together and he says this: “What will be the next thing that challenges us, that makes us work harder, and go further?” Every single person on the Presidents staff had dealt with something that day that they did not want to have to deal with and never expected would cause them to stop and to think. Things that they anticipated would be a waste of time became issues they began to care about.

As you think about your day, or your week, think about what challenged you—think about what made you work harder to make life easier for your neighbor. What made you come alive? As you move into a new day let those challenges push you further, “because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

As you think about your time in your particular ministry, what has challenged you?

What situation caused you to stop, and to ponder?

What caused you to wrestle with systems of injustice that continue to put people down, when our call from God includes lifting people up, and to celebrate all that makes us unique?

God, as I deal with all of the challenges that I face each day in ministry, I pray that my challenges would push me further. I pray that they would cause me to work harder, because seeing people reach their potential, have their basic needs met, and encounter You in new ways, makes me come alive. Amen

Zeke Stephenson serves as the Youth Ministry Associate at First Baptist Church in Gainesville, GA. He is currently working towards a M.Div. at the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. Zeke is a CBF Leadership Scholar and serves on the planning team for Selah Vie.

Come Alive “It’s not enough just to live, breathe and exist. There is much more to life than simply being “the matter (something that takes up space)”; instead move your matter, use your matter, be the matter, become alive and inspire. Use your voice, make the best choice, move ahead never retract, don’t go back to the lack; rather proclaim and exclaim your purpose. What’s your motive? Activate what’s in you, put it to good use. Be positive, be the influence changing the ordinary patterns of your life, eliminating all stereotypes. Dare to be different, dare to be great, dare to awaken what’s inside of you; for you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Active who you are, yes be brave.”

John 20:19- 23 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

This scripture passage takes place after Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Jesus had to complete the assignment God had given him; He was crucified, buried and resurrected. Jesus’s resurrection was not an ordinary, happenstance resurrection; rather it was a part of the mission and plan that God had for humankind. Through the action of Jesus accomplishing what God called him to do, humanity was granted atonement, grace, mercy and shown unconditional love.

Just like Jesus, we are called to a mission and assignment from God; we are called to first sacrifice ourselves (our fleshly, ungodly desires) to become new in Christ (be resurrected) and follow the will of God for our lives. We are also called to be set apart, to go out into the world to make disciples and be a positive example to those we have an encounter with. We are commanded by God to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

In order to take part in the call and assignment(s) God has for us we must become alive and awakened to the truth; acknowledging that there is a purpose for each of our lives. No matter what ethnic background, home life, or family system someone comes from, we are all called and created for a purpose, that purpose is to show love, extend peace and instill grace into those people we don’t think deserve it; but need it.

As you go on your Summer adventure open your heart and your mind to know the truth of God, experience his love, extend his peace, instill his grace, and most of all come alive to the authentic you.

What is my calling?

Have I explored the unique and authentic me?

What in my life is keeping me from becoming alive?

Lord, help me to know your purpose for my life. I don’t want to continue living an ordinary lifestyle. Lord, I desire to be awakened by your truth and the purpose you have for me. Show me your will. Amen.

Shekanah E. Solomon served with Student. Go for three Summers (2013-2015) as a Camp Counselor and a Camp Director for The Andrew P. Stewart Center in Atlanta, GA. She also served as a Camp Counselor at The Baptist Fellowship of Aniger in North Carolina (Summer 2013). She is currently perusing her M.Div. at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC.

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