Connice here!
Fall and cooler temperatures have finally come to Charlotte! Given the last 2 months, Fall in the South has been basically Summer with pumpkins. But even with the hot weather, the ninth class of the Charlotte Fellows is off to a great start! We have 6 guys and 4 girls and are so excited to see all the things that God is going to teach us and the ways He’s going to change us.
A new component that we’ve started this Fall is using Friday mornings to visit different non- profits here in Charlotte. We are visiting and hearing from different organizations on how they are loving and serving the city of Charlotte. Already, we’re having our eyes opened and our thinking challenged.
One of the books the Fellows read during the summer that we will spend some time interacting with this year is “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction” by Eugene Peterson. This classic about discipleship is a great reminder that even in our ‘instant society’ where the internet and email have intensified our quest for the quick fix, the prescription for discipleship remains the same—a long obedience in the same direction. This book looks at the Ascent Psalms, Psalms 120-134, for encouragement for us today as modern pilgrims, on how to grow in worship, service, joy, work, humility, community, and blessing.
This book fits well into the mission of the Fellows year. We desire that our Fellows begin to understand and live out the Gospel in every area of their life. To understand and desire what it means and looks like to live a holistic faith life. It’s why we spend time on professional development and vocational testing, meeting one-on-one with a mentor, volunteering, becoming involved in the local church, gathering together weekly in community and prayer, and sharing life and so much more.
As followers of Jesus, we are all headed in the same direction, toward face-to-face life with King Jesus. It makes sense that as we travel together as pilgrims in this life, this ‘long obedience’, that we learn to encourage each other, to speak God’s Truth to each other and help each other to find Joy in the obedience.
We are having a full and busy and fun Fall! We anticipate more fun and great growth in professional development and job hunting and lots of new memories and challenges in the coming new year!
We’d love for you to join us in praying for this class of Fellows, that they will have open and soft hearts to hear from the Lord and that they will have great courage and boldness in living out the truths from this year.
Maybe you’ll even be tempted to pick up a copy of The Long Obedience in the Same Direction and read it.
As always, we could not do the Charlotte Fellows each year without your support! Your prayers and words of encouragement and ways that you support the Charlotte Fellows makes it such a fun and exciting endeavor to be involved in for the Kingdom!
“If we are serious about following Jesus and living out the gift of his life in detail in our bodies and circumstances, we must swim against this whitewater River... and familiarize ourselves with the world in which Jesus and his gift of life are revealed to us. We do it by reading our Scriptures slowly, imaginatively, prayerfully, and obediently.”
Grace,
Connice