Learning To Do Good

Being counter cultural is nothing new. Romans tell us not to conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor (Matt 22:37-38). So it makes sense to learn how to love our neighbors by worshiping Jesus.

One of my (Austin) favorite verses is “…learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” Isaiah 1:17. So, educating myself to serve the community that Jesus has called me to is a HUGE priority.

Jesus, being our example, had to study under a teacher to receive the title of Rabbi. For over a year now I have been taking online class at City Vision College to get my Bachelors in Urban Missions, with a minor in Nonprofit Administration.

City Vision is a fully accredited, Christ focused, online college that tailors their classes to Christians who are working in the inner-city. The courses ranging from the history of Rescue Missions, counseling in an urban context, to managing a residential recovery program, each class has information that I can implement the day I take it in.

An example would be from this past spring; I was in the middle of the Life Skills Training coarse, when the opportunity to teach with the Metro Christian Job Corp opened up. The tendency to walk into class as the expert because I grew up with means was not a issue because I had just learned about the importance, and brilliance, of shared learning. When teaching an adult class, the “students “ have just as much, if not more life experience than the “instructor”. With that in mind, the coarse I was able to instruct was just as informative for me because we, as a class of adults, learned together about each other and the coarse material.

Even with the objectives of the coarse aside, the relationships I was able to build with a handful of community members is priceless because I was no longer seen as an outsider, but as a friend, and fellow community member working to improve the Southside.

Working together with people within the community to build a gospel community for Jesus is what excites me about Stowe Mission. I get to see Christianity as a way of life, not just a thing people do on Sunday. Loving Jesus by loving others.

For more information: City Vision College