Speaker of the Week: Tim Redmond

Have you ever had a childhood memory when you were little and you were NOT excited to visit that certain annoying relative and your mother told you to, “fake it ’til you make it”? Well, she was on to something. Why have a bad attitude and ruin a good time for everyone else, simply because you’re having a bad day? How you let your emotions affect you will determine the environment you are in.

Our guest speaker, Tim Redmond, spoke to us about our mindset and how it affects others and us as well. He told us that there are two mindsets: Fixed mindset (disempowered), and the growth mindset (empowered). The fixed mindset is the belief that life is just how it is and there is absolutely nothing you or anyone else can do about it. That mindset states that change is simply impossible. On the other hand, the growth mindset states that anything is possible; it welcomes challenges, and puts its effort into everything it comes across.

He reminded us that we are leaders and as leaders, we are to create an environment for others to grow. Following this reminder, he shared a story about an experiment that a group of scientists tested. They gathered five different people.  Four of the people had neutral emotional states; they were generally happy. In addition to the four pleasant people, they included one extremely depressed person. They put the five of them into a small room and were told to not say a single word to each other. After an hour, they interviewed each participant to see how they were emotionally. Each neutral person had acknowledged that they had become slightly depressed and could not think of a single reason why. This study proved that the dominant emotional state will dominate the environment.

The world around us is subject to how we view it and how we act. Through your attitude you can influence those around you for the better. YOU can be the one that excites others and encourages them to live life with purpose.

Deuteronomy 30:15, 19 – (15)“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. (19) …Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

-Tim Redmond-

Written by Joy Wimer, Go Intern

Big Jon and Matt Arbo’s: Rapper’s Delight

Mystery Trip is Right Around the Corner

Go Geographic: Written by Brittany Norris

As a Go Intern, one of the main things to look forward to in your ten-month experience is the annual Mystery Mission Trip. The Mystery Trip is always organized by Staff and Apprentices, while being kept completely under wraps from the first year interns.

Everything from airline tickets to hotels, to sight seeing opportunities and ministry sites are planned out thoroughly without even the slightest hint given to any of the interns. As a current intern, this whole experience has everyone a little anxious and excited, to say the least. We aren’t the only ones either; the Apprentices and Staff are just as psyched for us to find out where we’re going. It’s certainly been the talk of the office for the past few weeks, and I’m sure the excitement will only increase, as it grows closer to the time for us to finally experience the adventure set before us.

Some of the destinations of past trips include: London, England, Paris, France, Rome, Italy, Bangkok, Thailand, Manila, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia! During past Mystery Trips, they’ve created and implemented many different outreaches and ministry styles depending upon the culture in which they’ve found themselves. For example, last year in Cambodia the team met a woman who had lost her husband that week, leaving her to raise her children alone and provide for the family by herself. The woman explained that in their village, her sons would have to be raised in the pagoda under the influence of the Buddhist religion. She then expressed her desire to live near the Christian church where her sons could grow up learning about God.

Knowing that the distance was too far for her to make frequent trips to the church, the Go team got together and pitched in $200 for a house to be built for her and her family right near the church! This wasn’t a planned ministry opportunity, but it’s amazing what kind of difference you can make wherever you go, if you are open to listening to the needs of those around you. The team didn’t know they were going to meet that lady that day, or that their small amount of money could make such a huge impact in her life. It’s just an awesome reminder that even though we’re blind to things at times, and life may seem mysterious in some ways; God always knows what He’s doing.

God always has an awesome plan for every journey we take too, whether it is in our day-to-day lives or as we travel across the globe. Nothing can be a mystery to God, which is one of the main reasons we’re so excited about our trip here at Go! We know He has something amazing lined up for us, once we get wherever it is that we’re going.

Here are some of the pictures from the past Mystery Mission Trips I mentioned, and feel free to follow us on our journey @ www.followthemystery.com as we take our once-in-a-lifetime Go Mystery Trip 2011!!

Photos by: Katie O’Toole

Radiate: Stroll Down Memory Lane

Recently the Go Interns had the opportunity to spend the afternoon at a local nursing home. Check out the video below.

Speaker of the Week: Keith Wheeler

“What is your passion,” he asked. “What is your vision?”

Each person in the room shared their passions such as worship, fashion, orphans, missions etc… “All of these things that you’ve shared are good,” he replied to us. “You know what my passion is?” Silence filled the room as we all began to wonder… Was it carrying the cross just as he had been doing for over 25 years? Maybe it was his family? He glanced around the room a few times and smiled from ear-to-ear. “My passion is Jesus Christ.”

He went on to tell us a simple concept: vision is what you see, what you see is what you look at, what you look at is what you focus on. When you make Jesus your vision you “take up the cross”. He explained that taking up the cross means to sacrifice willingly, which brings glory to God, thus bringing redemption in the lives of others!

He shared a story with us about when he traveled to Guyana. As he continued his journey of carrying the cross, a man who had listened to him teach wished to speak to him, but he was timid because they were of different cultures and religions. Keith proceeded to ask him what religion he thought he was. He responded with, “Well, sir, you are carrying a cross, therefore you are a Christian!” Keith smiled and said, “No, I am a follower of Jesus.” The man told him he had never heard of that before, so Keith decided to tell him all about Jesus and repentance. The man immediately fell to his knees and said, “I want to know this Jesus you speak of! I want to repentance!” Keith asked him a simple question. “If I was to walk down the road this way, and you were to walk down the road that way, would you say we know each other?” The man replied, “No, we would have only just met.” Keith went on to explain that that is what a lot of Christians do. When they accept salvation, they first meet Jesus, but it’s something entirely different to know Him. It is not enough to find Jesus; we are commanded to follow Him.

Keith then challenged us: Do we really know the Jesus that we say we are following? Do we have a deep connection to Him? Are we committed to Him? Commitment looks like the object or person it’s committed to. If you’re not committed to him, then what are you committed to?

I feel that many times, we get so caught up in completing the goals and dreams that are placed in our hearts, that we forget about who gave them to us. True Christianity is about knowing and following Jesus, not just finding him.

Mark 1:17, “Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!”

-Keith Wheeler-

Written by Joy Wimer, Go Intern

Speaker of the Week: Ed Gungor

Mark 4:26-27 – Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”

Expectant eyes watched and eager ears listened as Pastor Ed Gungor began to speak to the interns. During his time here, he spoke to us about what he phrased, “The Dark Night of the Soul”. He explained that this is a “wilderness” time during your life when your soul cannot grasp what is going on. A time when you go through the motions and monotony of life and generally feel a deep void in your heart. It can cause you to question the depth of your dreams or even your relationship with Jesus. He compared this time to winter. For a while it appears lifeless and dismal, but in reality true growth is being stored up and developed. The hidden strength of winter is that it sets you up for spring. It is during the winter when the roots of a tree grow to create the foundation for the next season of life. Just like the tree, we go through similar times where God is trying to make you grow up a little and exercise your faith. My sister, Christa, once told me that in order to fully follow after God, you must be willing to have these kinds of days, because worshiping and loving God is not about a feeling or hype, it’s about relationship and commitment.

Pastor Ed reminded us that faith is not an easy thing and that growing up requires wrestling with yourself. This message has meant a lot to me because I had been personally struggling with wondering where God was in my life. I later realized it’s because God wants me to fully believe in Him and not rely on “feeling” His presence. He desires for us all to continue to follow after Him even if we were to know that we would never feel His presence another day in our lives.

God loves us and He is diligent to watch over the process of our lives. Maybe you feel like you are in a winter season of your life. Allow yourself to overcome this time and be ready to embrace the life that will come, as you fully trust the God that is shaping you.

“Only in a dimension where faith is difficult, could faith be faith.”

-Pastor Ed Gungor-

Written by Joy Wimer, Go Intern.

Big Jon and Matt Arbo: Missions Update