"As Foreigners"

This past week The Greensboro Fellows, as well as our honorary members Elspeth Glasgow and Chris and Jessie Meriwether, traveled to Baltimore Maryland. I have been looking forward to this trip since before I joined the program because we were going to see Ravi Zacharias.  Ravi (we are on a first-name basis...check the picture), is a Christian speaker I have queued up on my podcast app quite regularly.  However, my big take away from the trip was not anything Ravi said, but the opportunities seized in transit.

Our taste of nomadic lifestyle had me resonating with a biblical verse in a new way. 1 Peter 2:11a: "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners..."  By design we are not meant to be stagnant in any sense of the word.  I think it is easy in the hustle and bustle of routine to hinder God's "little" blessings, or at least not notice them.  This adventure to Maryland was not weighed down with such monotony. We made memories with former strangers, had opportunities to pray for previously unknown siblings in the kingdom and had doors open by opening doors with no expectation of repayment.  All these beautiful interactions happened in transition as we were making our way to another location. If we would have been consumed about reaching our destination with efficiency as the highest priority, I would say this trip would have been one big missed opportunity after the next.  In such an isolated incident as a road trip, it could be enticing to believe this type of intentionality is not intended to be a daily practice.  In fact, I believe it would be advantageous to our faith if we, as a body of believers, made it habitual to be more concerned with people than our agendas.

I’ll end with just one story of how this willingness to communicate rather than being blinded with the need to do what’s next played out in Baltimore on John Hopkins’ campus.  Before I do, I want to acknowledge I was pretty vague in my description of blessings we encountered, but it was purposeful.  I do not want to box in what this perspective change will bring you, or even worse, the belief you are entitled to a like experience when you encounter a masterpiece of God's you have not met before. With that said, it's good to share small ways you have been encouraged.

We were rushing to the building where Ravi was speaking, and a woman asked if we were heading that way and if she could follow us.  Waving her and her two companions on, we continued forward as a group.  Fighting the urge to rush to the front of the group to get to the building a split second sooner than the others, I started talking to the most recent members of our entourage.  It turns out that they work for Ravi and two of them were going to be on stage with him to address the Q&A portion of the talk.  Ruth, the woman who first inquired about our destination, handed Andrew and me a business card, telling us to contact her and she will try to send us a book or something.  To be clear, this is not a “treat everyone nice because there is a chance they are a connection to someone famous” plea. The other somewhat similar stories I alluded to on the trip involved average Joes in the world’s eyes, but we got a glimpse into the masterpiece God has for them through our interaction.  This is encouragement to be a people that truly believe we have the same Father and big brother in Christ, and to value all others in light of this knowledge.

Thanks for sharing some of your special moments with us, Kevin!

(back, right)

Grit

• 
  
• This past May, when I was preparing to participate in my college commencement, I remember having a conversation with my pastor about the future. He told me that a lot of young people from my generation are very ambitious and we tend to think that we can change the world. As millennials, we carry the stigma of acting entitled to accessing our dreams… And maybe it’s true.

  While I was at my Christian liberal arts college, I used to attend these “Dream Room” gatherings, which were fashioned in the spirit of Parisian saloons. There, I listened to many of my peers share their vision for impacting the Kingdom of God through various disciplines and trades, such as entrepreneurship, fine arts, business, and theology. It was literally a think tank that epitomized the dreamer’s fold. It was the place where we were developing and exchanging our passions and ideas.

  So I think my pastor is right; a lot of us want to make a positive impact in our community and we have the audacity to think we can. Yet the most impressionable part of that conversation was not the analysis of millennial go-getters. The most valuable wisdom that he imparted upon me were the challenges: to face the test of actually living out my convictions, to put into reality the principles of love and mercy that I continually rave about, and to have integrity in the workplace by matching my actions with my words. If only it was all so easy.

  All of this also reminds me of something another local pastor from my previous community said: “I’ve noticed that college students these days are very idealistic, with big dreams to change the world. But I’ve also noticed that they lack something very important—grit: the discipline to do those hard, little things that may not seem very glamorous or important.”

  When I decided to become a Greensboro Fellow, I was most compelled by the vision of the program, which is to develop young people to be disciples and Kingdom builders in every aspect of life. As previous fellow bloggers have conveyed in their posts, there are so many dynamics to this program: internship, discipleship, volunteer involvement, further academic study, leadership development, and the list goes on. The program is obviously set up in a way that would draw someone like me, who enjoys being a jack of all trades (master of nothing).

  But the rhythm of life can be grinding as we go back and forth each week. As I face the day, I find myself phasing in and out of the dreamer mindset and into reality. Yes, I come from a generation that is passionate, but passions fluctuate. This program is equipping me to be committed to my responsibilities and resilient against the wear of the every day. I have to admit that I sometimes make mistakes at work and I’m not always peppy at 7AM discipleship and I occasionally run late to class. Nevertheless, I appreciate that this is a learning experience filled with grace.

  Along with my peers, I find myself developing grit for the road. In the little things that are seemingly far from glamorous or important, I am learning to persevere and serve my bosses and co-workers well. When my fickle heart does not see purpose or passion, I realize the necessity of faithfulness. The Greensboro Fellows program has provided the structural parameters and patterns necessary for me to develop endurance and integrity in my callings and my responsibilities. My character is refined everyday as I seek Jesus with this community.

  I am thankful for the accountability of our internship supervisors, mentors, supporters, friends, and family in this program. This journey is beautiful because I’m not doing it alone and it’s challenging because it stretches me beyond my preferred approaches to life.
• We invest in a lot of different activities (including spiritual disciplines and even yoga at CCL), while simultaneously being exposed to new experiences (such as our upcoming trip to Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday to attend the Veritas Forum and to listen to Ravi Zacharias speak). I intern at a wedding and corporate events planning business. I volunteer with a non-profit that serves at-risk girls with high academic and leadership potential. For a Greensboro Fellow, the breadth of these experiences and the passions that they stir are amazing!
• Emily Dao
• 
  

What a great post from Emily, front left!

Fellows, Friends, Family...Bonfires!

I would love to start just by giving a HUGE thanks to every person who supports the Greensboro Fellows in any way. I know being here would not be possible without your help and for that I am forever grateful.

When asked to write this blog I was told to include an experience that I have had in the Fellows Program this year. This question is overwhelming because in the past 8 weeks (& it feels like SO much longer) we have experienced and done so many thing together. Between concerts, morning discipleship, family dinners, training runs, and class I can say without a doubt that I have made ten lifetime friends! There has never been a time in my life where I have experienced such close knit community and intentional community.  So I decided to tell y’all about one way the Fellows have built this community…

Bonfires! Bonfires have always had a special place in my heart. I grew up going to summer camp and have countless memories sitting around a fire roasting s’mores and having such great conversation. Bonfires have become one of the Fellows favorite things to do together. We had a fire for Tripp’s Birthday, another for Molly’s and plenty more for no other reason just to hang out and be together. Sitting around the fire we have laughed hard, had awesome talks and most importantly built an unbreakable bond and community. There is something about sitting around those warm flames with great friends that can’t be explained. It’s my happy place. Its where I most visibly understand what community as God intended it to be is like. 

God is teaching me so much through the Greensboro Fellows – one way being that we are made to do life together. I am learning what it looks like to fully trust a group of people. Being ‘fully known, yet fully loved’ has always been a difficult concept for me but walls have started to crumble down and it’s such a great feeling! I am so excited to continue this year with the Greensboro Fellows. Thanks again to all our supporters!

Thank you, Emma (bottom row), for your words!

Greater Things

When I first moved to Greensboro four years ago to attend school at UNC-Greensboro, I was unsure of a lot of things. I was unsure of this city that I just moved to. I was unsure if I would find any friends. I was unsure of what God had in store for me. I was unsure if I could make an impact on this city. Four years later, we have come to Greensboro as the Greensboro Fellows to make an impact on this city.

The other day, I had my iTunes on shuffle, when Chris Tomlin’s “God of this City” came on. The chorus struck me: “Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.” We are here for this reason. We are here to help nourish this city so greater things can happen. We are doing this through our volunteer time and service.

Six of us fellows are volunteering with Greensboro Young Life. This is an awesome ministry that ministers to high scholars and college students, and helps create Christian leaders. A few weeks ago, Greensboro Young Life took five hundred high schoolers from Greensboro to a camp in Virginia called Rockbridge. There the high schoolers heard about and experienced Christ’s love, some for the first time in their life. Tripp and Kevin led a cabin full of guys from Western Guilford High School; Michelle, Molly, Skylar, and Emma girl cabins from Paige High School; Libby and Ginny (the awesome Fellows intern) were on the work crew, serving the campers meals and cleaning up; and I ran sound tech and other behind the scenes work. It was incredible to see five hundred high schoolers in one room, worshiping and hearing about Christ. On the last day, as I saw the large number of kids accepting Christ for the first time, I knew that we were making an impact on this city.

The other Fellows are making an impact on the city in other ways. Emily is working with the Queens Foundation, a phenomenal program that helps and teaches under -served young girls with leadership potential to reach their greatest potential. Matt is serving with Grace Community Church during their Wednesday Community Dinners that is helping to feed families in Greensboro that are in need. He is also working with Hope Academy where Skylar is working, which helps bring education to students in the Glenwood Neighborhood that desperately need it.

We also have a great way to impact Greensboro on a large level together. The Fellows are hosting an event on Nov. 23 called the Pay-It-Forward Thanksgiving Dinner, where we will gather together, young and old, rich and poor, and have a Thanksgiving lunch together in Downtown Greensboro. We urge everyone to buy a ticket, and then buy another ticket that will be given to someone who desperately needs a meal. We are partnering with Hope Academy and the New Arrivals Institute. You can find out more information and buy tickets here http://www.greensborofellows.com/#!payitforward/c1aq2

We look forward to creating a greater impact on the City of Greensboro, and seeing God perform Greater Things in this city. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

In His Name,

Andrew Edscorn

Andrew, back row, second from right, with the Fellows at Rockbridge Young Life Camp.

Andrew also included a link to "God of This City". Take a listen and be encouraged!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

Molly's Musings

As the program continues to be a whirlwind of internships, friendships, papers, volunteering, and lots and lots of prayer, I continue to arrive at the same conclusion week after week: this program is pure bliss. We are continuously challenged emotionally, spiritually, and physically and continue to grow more than we ever imagined. Each week I learn something new about myself and each week my heart grows a little more for this wonderful city and the people here.

One of my favorite parts of the program has been our time spent at the Center for Creative Leadership. Every Thursday, we spend 2 hours in a leadership class where we focus on developing professionally by taking a deeper look at our personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and leadership skills. I have not only learned so much about myself through this course, but also my new family/fellows. This past week, we spent the entire class focusing on our dreams to develop personal goals for the year. We were challenged to follow the SMART model for developing goals: specific, measurable  attainable, relevant, and time-bound. While I often think about my goals and dreams, I have never sat down with a professional and built upon them to develop a goal to be accomplished. The most important part of this development process for me was that my goal was required to be time-bound, meaning that I needed to state a specific date that my goal was to be fully accomplished. This part of the model challenged all of us to nail our goal down to a date which encouraged us to get to moving on our dreams. We spent time on our own praying and thinking about each of our potential goals before gathering back together and sharing the goals with each other. Our goals ranged from becoming involved at a career center (my own), to becoming more fit with P90X. Whatever each of our goals were, they were all unique, inspiring, and challenging. Sharing our goals with each other not only allowed us to see a little more of each other’s hearts, but also to have the entire group brainstorm with us and hold us accountable to accomplishing our goals. We then chose accountability partners and spent time with them discussing the specifics of our goal and how we could support one another in accomplishing it. I not only felt a little closer to the fellows after leaving, but I think we all felt a little more inspired.

Feeling a little more inspired actually sums up most of our time spent here in Greensboro. The Fellows Program (shout out to THE Tripp Graziano) is very intentional and purposeful about providing opportunities for us to constantly grow. Whether it is attending classes at the Center for Creative Leadership, business seminars with successful Christian business owners, getting to know amazing people through our Tuesday family dinners, spending time in the Word together, or just sharing our hearts with one another…we are given opportunities every day to be challenged, to grow, to learn, and to be inspired.  It’s unbelievable to think that we are already 7 weeks into the program and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the next 7 months.

P.S. I want to say thank YOU to the wonderful community in Greensboro. I have never felt so loved and at home in such a short period of time. Your support, prayers, and encouragement are part of what makes this experience so amazing for all of us. We appreciate YOU!

Thanks, Molly, for the wonderful post!

(seen front row, third from the left!)

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Hi friends, family, supporters, and those of you that may have stumbled onto this blog :) Welcome! My name is Michelle Prillaman, and I am one of the Greensboro Fellows this year. When I was asked to write a submission to this blog this week, I dedicated a car drive to silence and contemplation over what I wanted to share with you guys on my turn to post. After mulling through several different things, (there is so much to share, with everything that we are doing!), I settled on a phrase that kept coming up in my heart and mind: Bloom where you are planted.

All ten of the fellows, (in case you haven’t heard, we welcomed a new member to our group a couple weeks ago named Libby Hase!), have come from different places, different people, and different situations. In some ways, we all left things behind in order to embrace new beginnings. Even though some of us are still involved in our previous communities within the area, we have all encountered and embraced new people, places, and ideas. It has been a time full of new friendships and sweet conversations, but also a time of change, uncomfortableness, and growth. And while change, uncomfortableness, and growth is in no way bad, these are things that can be so easy to shy away from out of fear.

And so we have been faced with the following choice: do we lean into the change, the uncomfortableness, and the newness? or do we move away from these things, and choose not to invest? Everyday we wake up and we get to choose. Something I have tried to keep close to my heart is this idea of blooming where I am planted; of investing deeply in the places the Lord has placed me in. I am here intentionally and purposefully for the next 8 months. I am an intern at River Oaks Church. I am a Young Life leader at Page High School. I am a student. I am a mentee. I am a friend. I am a Fellow. All of these things, at least for the next while, are pieces of me. So I lean into the growth, the change, the uncomfortableness. Because I, as we all do, believe that we are here for a reason, and that all these pieces are just part of a much bigger puzzle that God is piecing together with our lives. Ultimately, he is weaving together all of these moving pieces to create something beautiful that we get to be a part of, all the while growing us and making us more like Christ. It is an exciting time.

I have particularly been challenged on this idea of investment in regards to time. I went to school here in the Greensboro area, and so I faced the unique perspective in joining this program not of leaving a life beyond to start something new, but of merging my previous life and community to work in conjunction with a new beginning. This process has been challenging at times to balance. Sometimes its been tempting to lean away from the change and to stay only invested in what I already know. At other times, it has been tempting to move towards what is new and exciting, and to not focus on still growing the community and relationships that I have already had here. And then, as I have struggled with these two tensions, I keep repeatedly bumping into the fact that I am a finite person, with finite resources and time to give. But through that, I have felt the Lord remain constant, and have felt encouraged to still invest where I am, in the places and people that the Lord places in front of me, all the while trusting that he will use these investments to his glory and for his greater purposes.

As our reader, in whatever capacity you are involved, I invite you to join us in this investment. While we are investing in our individual places within this program, we are also learning to invest as a community bound together by Christ. From my experience thus far, the people around us who have chosen to give time and space for investment into us and this program are the ones truly making it what it was designed to be. So grab a cup of coffee with a Fellow. Contact Tripp Graziano about meeting to share with us all. Come to our Pay-It-Forward Thanksgiving event, as we seek to bring unity and community to the Greensboro area. Join us in our quest to invest more deeply in this beautiful city, in the people around us, and in Christ. Join us as we seek to bloom where we are planted.

Thanks Michelle (far right) for the encouraging post! 

The Fellows are pictured with Susan Marie and Summer of Coordinated Events.

New Adventures

What a whirlwind! This last month in the Greensboro Fellows program has been an exciting and surprising adventure. The fellows have been very engaged in our internships, discipleship times, mentoring relationships, church involvement, and seminary class. But the true joy of the program so far has been getting to know one another. Between celebrating birthdays, going to a Kelly Clarkson concert, watching movies, and hanging out into wee hours of the morning to talk about life and Jesus, we’ve gotten to be a close knit community. I feel greatly blessed by God to be a part of this program: I see the Lord moving in ways to refine every fellow, making us more into the young men and women he desires us to be.

One of my favorite parts of my experience with the Greensboro Fellows so far has been my internship with the Rev. Alan Hawkins. Pastor Alan is the Rector (Lead Pastor) of Church of the Redeemer Greensboro, the evangelical Anglican church that sponsors the Fellows program. I function as Alan’s pastoral intern and research assistant. So far, my responsibilities have included writing the community group bible study curriculum that the church studies midweek, participating in staff meetings, serving in musical worship and setup on Sunday mornings, meeting with Alan for leadership development and formation, and participating in various church activities like last week’s men’s retreat and the church’s brainstorming meeting on beauty. I greatly value the opportunity to be so involved in the life of Redeemer, and to make a real contribution straight out of the gate. I think it speaks volumes of Redeemer and her leadership that they place such a value on leadership development – including me and all the Fellows in the life of their congregation simply with a heart to give to us, love us, serve us, and develop us, with no ulterior motives. Additionally, Rev. Hawkins is personally a great encouragement and teacher – not to mention a fire-hose: you can learn so much from him in such a brief amount of time. As a young man pursuing Holy Orders (ordination as a priest/pastor) in the Anglican tradition, I can think of no person I would rather have the opportunity to learn from and be taught the fundamentals of being a man of God than Alan.

Lastly, may I say that I look forward with great anticipation to what is in the heart of Jesus Christ for me and for my fellow Fellows this year. Knowing Him, I expect it will be wonderful, hard, sad, joyful, and surprising. To Him be all the Glory.

Thanks, Matt, for the great post. We are excited to watch the Fellows continue to grow!

Dearest Greensboro Supporters...

I cannot even begin to explain the joy that comes from the eight other fellows who were merely strangers to me just four weeks ago. My heart is so thankful for the community that they surround me with. Within this short period of time, these strangers (like Kinsley said in the last post) have become my family. It surprises me that already we have gotten to a place where when we have not been together in less than 24 hours we miss each other. It seems silly, but there is something very special about these individuals who have such a deep love for the Lord that He has so graciously tied us to each other. It scares me to think about nine months from now and having to part from one another. But I do not want to go there so let’s reflect together on what has been going on.

We are now getting into a formal routine. Where are weeks look somewhat like this:

Monday’s-

Discipleship in the mornings
Internships from 9-5
Young Life for some of us

Tuesday’s-

Discipleship in the mornings
Internships from 9-5
Community dinners with amazing host families

Wednesday’s-

Discipleship in the mornings
Internships from 9-5

Thursday’s-

Seminary class from 8-11

Business seminar for an hour an half (which might be my favorite, at least so far)

Center for Creative leadership from 3-5

We thankfully get to rejuvenate on Fridays and Saturdays with church on Sunday.

This schedule can honestly be overwhelming at times, but individuals who are in this program with me constantly encourage me. We support each other and build each other up because we desire the best for one another. Support does not just come from each of us in the program, but also those in the community. We are incredibly blessed to have such a great number of people who believe in what we are doing and want us to feel loved. I have not had a single moment in this program where I have not had at least one individual try to love me in some way--there are always people wanting to pour into our lives. I fail to express this feeling into words because this community is beyond describing. The people of Greensboro are a special bunch and I am sure I can speak for the group as a whole about how extraordinarily blessed we feel to be apart of something that God designed so specifically.

I truly cannot wait to see all the amazing things the Lord is going to provide for us this year. We look forward to what else is in store for the fellows throughout the program. God is doing BIG things and He is going to teach us an incredible amount.

One thing I have already learned over these past few weeks how really in control God is. And how he is always bleeping my mind with the way that he takes care of us as individuals. Getting to know these other fellows shows me how much he cares about me. They have taught me so much about who he is and I cannot wait to learn more about God as the year goes on. It's going to be a wild ride so get excited folks!

Thank you to those who are for this program, it is changing our lives and we hope that we can express what your support is doing in our lives. Hope that you have an amazing week!

I will leave with some loving-

Zephaniah 3:17

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

PEACE and BLESSINGS Y’ALL

 

 

Thanks to Skylar (far right) for this encouraging blog post!

 

FellowsFriendsFamily

Writing the inaugural Greensboro Fellows blog post is quite the daunting task for an unseasoned blogger such as myself. But then again, I guess this year is all about living in community… and if you are reading this then you are a part of the Fellows community in some capacity. So as a Fellow, and on behalf of the others, I would just like to start by saying thank you.

Thank you for taking an interest in this program and for coming alongside us in this incredible journey. We are going into week 3 of our 9-months together and it is difficult to even know here to begin. So much has happened already… we’ve woken up EARLY to study the Word together multiple days a week, we’ve started internships and prayed for others to find them, ran through downtown Gboro to observe the city as it wakes up, learned about the history of our new city, played silly games late into the night, started a group text that is constantly making my phone buzz, danced in each other’s living rooms, started Young Life clubs and small groups, began our curriculum at the Center for Creative Leadership, road-tripped to a Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson concert, had our first seminary class, been graciously hosted into the homes of countless Church of the Redeemer members… the list goes on.

But not only have we physically done a lot; I have really started to see the Lord knit us together as a family in ways that only He could orchestrate. We were literally 9 strangers two weeks ago, and now we know more about each other’s lives than friends that we’ve had for years. I already care about these people and know that the Lord will continue to grow my love for them as the year continues. On our second day of the program, we came up with the hash tag #FellowsFriendsFamily to tag onto pictures/ social medias that we are a part of throughout the year. At the time it seemed a bit early to already be referring to each other as “family”, but now it feels perfectly natural to think of us in that light. The Lord has uniquely called each of us to serve and learn from the other fellows this year. I personally cannot wait to see what He teaches me through the incredible people and experiences that I am to be blessed with. This is a verse that I am using to pray for my support team partnering with me financially and through prayer this year, so I would love to share it with you as well.

Philippians 1:3-5 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

  Thank you for caring enough about the Fellows Program to read this; I am humbled and overwhelmed by the love and support poured out onto me and the other fellows!

This blog post was written by Fellow Kinsley!

Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to the Greensboro Fellows blog!

We will begin weekly posts later in September, once the Fellows Program begins! As for now, we are waiting excitedly for the arrival of this year's class of 9 Fellows this weekend!

Stay tuned!