I’ve said that Damascus Road - or as we call it, DR - is one of the greatest things we do as a church. It’s a 9-month ministry internship designed to equip and develop emerging leaders to fulfill their calling through weekly classes, team projects, retreats, and mission trips.
If you’ve thought about becoming a part of DR or have some questions, I want to encourage you to come to our informational reception this Sunday, June 8 at 1:30p at our Cordova Campus. It will be a great chance to hear from our pastoral team and DR alumni and we’ll answer a lot of questions you may have. You can also jump online and get more info. We’d love to have you as a part of DR 08/09 so come, check it out, and change your world.
To all who are thinking about doing DR….JUST DO IT!
You won’t regret dedicating yourself for the 9 months and letting God speak to you through the lessons, the pastors, and your classmates (future friends)!
That’s it. I’m just going to have to move to Memphis.
Amy Beth - thats what I’ve been waiting to hear!
It will change your life. How many times have we heard this phrase? Between weight loss, credit help, the latest seminar on whatever topic, it’s a popular phrase. So you buy into the hype and invest whatever time and in most cases leave amazingly unfulfilled, pondering what was I thinking? The end result, not much has changed in your life.
DR will change your life. In June 2006 I was well on my way to moving to Houston TX. I passed the test for Houston Police with a score of 106; the process was definitely rolling along. Then I heard about a DR info event and it was definitely something I was interested in. I went to the event and was moved. Leadership-related classes by churches are popular nowadays and I found several in the Houston area. But it wasn’t the same. I felt an amazing pull to not just learn this information but learn it from this group of pastors. I returned to the Houston area to visit and my plans to do the DR class was blessed by my Mom in Houston and there was an amazing peace to stay in Memphis and do this class. The FIRE, the pull to Houston was no longer there as I pursued this. By early August I embraced the class with the idea that I would move afterward. During the first DR class in August, Pastor John introduced a scripture which was going to be a big part of my life, Psalm 92:12, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.” Flourish. Had I been flourishing? Not so much. Had I been planted? Not so much.
The various lessons, the various teachings, the various projects. it was an amazing investment of my time. During the DR class things changed. The way I view things has changed. I truly appreciate the mechanics of a church service because I have an excellent idea of how things come together. But it’s amazing the confidence I developed over that time. My mom died during the class and I don’t think there was a chance in a million I would have the confidence to deliver a 13-minute message about my Mom with the best speaking I have ever done in my entire adult life. After about maybe the 60th reference to planting yourself and being flourished, the roots were growing and multiplied. I had always had a relationship with a local trauma center after being shot in 1994 and in October became a Chaplain’s Assistant there. By January we’re planning a trip to Cambodia. Cambodia? Other then on a military plane, I’ve not been beyond Jamaica. DR will teach you to enlarge your life. More of that flourishing. Traveling to Singapore, Hong Kong, Phnom Penh, Cambodia were all dreams. One year today we were returning from an amazing mission trip to Cambodia. My view of church, Jesus, and even the world has been more enlarged then I ever dreamed. I love reading and was introduced to several authors that I probably wouldn’t have picked myself. I was a Secret Agent Christian, just as undercover as any CIA operative around the world. My faith isn’t a secret any longer.
I was so close to moving I had Texas license plates on my vehicle. Finally in Nov 2006 I got that much awaited call from Houston Police, their offer I respectfully declined. 8 months later they called and I had great peace in declining their offer again. Other job offers arrived with opportunities I could only dream of before. But my want for more for the Kingdom was enlarged as well. Today, two years later I have an amazing love for our community. This one. Two years later this is still the same Memphis. The change hasn’t been in my community; the change has been in my heart.
I didn’t get the chance to be at the latest information event but wanted to pass on my experience and most of all my encouragement to boldly take this next step. I could write five more paragraphs about what I learned, the friendships established here, friendships in Cambodia, relationships in Singapore and Hong Kong established as a result of this experience.
DR will change your life.