Learning & Laughter

I cannot believe we recently wrapped up our second week of the Awaken Project...

This week, the TAP students had the honor of learning from seminary student Ben Sides. Ben did a fantastic job both challenging and developing our current knowledge in the two classes he taught: Spiritual Disciplines and Kingdom Theology.

Specifically, our morning classes were devoted to the Spiritual Disciplines course. Throughout the week, we discussed roughly 17 different spiritual disciplines, including prayer, meditation, fellowship, and journaling. Overall, through studying these spiritual disciplines, we learned of many valuable habits that can be cultivated when they are performed regularly; which will, ultimately, bring us closer to our Creator and each other.

Following our Spiritual Disciplines class, in the afternoons, we studied Kingdom Theology. To start off the week, Ben asked the class to share what comes to mind when we think of the ‘Kingdom of God.’ To this, I responded by answering, “I think of Heaven, more specifically, how it is shown in the movie The Shack...lots of people who passed away and are now happy and at peace in a field with Jesus.”

I soon came to learn that, though this answer is not uncommon, it is not entirely correct.

Personally, my perception of the Kingdom of God was considerably altered when Ben stated, “The Kingdom of God is both a present and future reality.” This means, amongst other things, that believers have hope for both this life, as well as the one after.

To further garner an understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven, we spent time studying various parables that illustrated what the Kingdom of God is like. This greatly helped the class develop wider and deeper understanding of the Kingdom and encouraged some insightful conversations.

Though we got many opportunities to grow in the knowledge of our faith this week, we also had many opportunities to grow in fellowship as a team.

To start the week, Kimberly & I got the chance to prepare and serve dinner for the team. This meal was then completed with an evening of Cards Christians Like (for those who do not know, it is basically Cards Against Humanity, but christianized). This made the evening particularly special as I witnessed a prayer I had begin to come into fruition; I had prayed to hear everyone’s unrestrained belly-laugh. Though there was a point in the evening where I got teary-eyed from my laughter, I was able to see and hear some of my teammates laugh in a way that truly delighted my soul.

The next day, each TAP student individually had their first session of ‘Spiritual Formation.’ This is a time set aside for each of us to meet one-on-one with someone of the same gender, who is older than us, as an opportunity to be disciplined throughout the year. For me, this meant I met with Shae. She and I had a wonderful time sharing an overview of our lives and getting excited for future conversations together.

Another highlight from this past week was Steven inviting us students to a local church’s young adult group. The evening started with us arriving to warm greetings and ended with being added to various group-chats. I think Brandon said it best when he said he felt a sense of “belonging” there.

Overall, this past week was filled with educational conversations, moments of laughter, and opportunities for personal & spiritual growth.

Here's to the blessings that will surely come in Week 3!