New Life Dream Center Interview

Please provide a brief overview of the New Life Dream Center:

The New Life Dream Center (NLDC) is a 12-month men’s and women’s discipleship program specializing in drug, alcohol, and substance abuse treatment. Established in Contra Costa County in the State  of California in 2012, the New Life Dream Center, formerly The New Life Center, officially opened its doors in 2004. It was owned and operated as a ministry of Family Worship Center, a 501 (c)(3) organization established and incorporated in the State of California in 2001. In April 2011 Pastor Jonathan Gee met with Pastor Matthew Barnett, founder of the Los Angeles Dream Center, a nationwide ministry that is the model for all Dream Centers in the U.S. Pastor Jonathan, with the blessing of Pastor Matthew, renamed the facility The New Life Dream Center (NLDC). 

The New Life Dream Center emphasizes the importance of treating clients with dignity while helping them reintegrate into society as productive, drug free individuals. The efforts of the staff, volunteers, and recently rehabilitated individuals whose lives have been dramatically changed are paramount to the success of New Life Dream Center.  NLDC walks in the spirit of love in the presence of whomever, wherever, forever.  Before you can discover God’s plan and purpose for your life, you must first love yourself and know “God loved you first.”

How did the vision start for the Dream Center?

Twelve years ago my wife, Laura, and I were called to pioneer a new work in Brentwood, CA. We started by doing what we knew, youth and children's events, feeding the hungry, and reaching out to the less fortunate. In doing this, the church began to grow and God was sending a lot of people to us with life-controlling issues, such as drug and alcohol addiction. These people came from all backgrounds, race, and economic positions. However, we were not seeing long term success due to a lack of discipleship. We felt called to have a ministry that provided that discipleship. We actually started by taking a 52-year-old woman into our home. My mom, Diana Gee, had started ministering to her through a Bible study at a run-down trailer park our church had been ministering to every Saturday with a message of hope, grocery giveaway, and activities for children. Seeing the transformation that came from discipleship ignited the dream to have a place where others could get their lives back from life-controlling issues. We found a house to rent, but unfortunately, after pouring our lives into the woman for four months, she walked away for a cigarette, which led to a drink, and then that drink led her back to the destructive life she came from. My wife and I were devastated. The following Sunday morning, God sent three men bound by addiction to the altar where they gave their hearts to the Lord and cried out for help. We put those three men in that little green house, and so began the NLDC in 2003.

Please provide a brief snapshot of what the program looks like:

The New Life Dream Center discipleship program is structured as a four (4) level Christ-centered program.  Each potential disciple goes through an intense intake/interview process.  The Levels Program is designed to give unique opportunities to disciples based on their behaviors and attitudes. This method provides the disciple with an understanding that the choices they make directly affects the benefits and rewards they receive in life. Those not interested in progressing forward with healthy positive choices will not reap the benefits and privileges that accompany positive choices. All disciples enter the program at Level One (1).  They have an opportunity to move forward to greater rewards and responsibilities, or regress to fewer privileges and less responsibility. 

The disciples are guided through the following four (4) program Levels: 

a) Scripture Memorization

b) Christian Counseling

c) Guidance to Understanding God’s Principles

d) Teachings on How to Live in God’s Will. 

The discipleship program provides the following services:

1)     Accommodations

2)     Comprehensive substance abuse counseling and education (intense daily counseling).

3)     Transportation

4)     Assisting clients with appropriate referrals to a vast network of community resources.

5)     A transition home upon graduation if there is no stable drug free environment available to them. 

6)     We also assist clients with job searches, training, and viable employment.

7)     Providing in-depth Drug and Alcohol education.

8)     Helping reduce the stigma of the alcoholic/addict through education and community outreach.

9)     Effectively represent the interests of substance abuse treatment to clients, the community, referring agencies, and other involved parties.

10)  Life Coping Skills

11)  Hands-on job training

In addition, NLDC provides work therapy for disciples that encourages a strong work ethic, gives the disciples a chance to learn marketable job skills, and obtain sustainable employment.  Disciples are also encouraged to participate in community service in the areas of neighborhood beautification, graffiti removal, and elderly assistance with yard work.

Our disciples also have the opportunity to become world leaders by attending our affiliate Messenger College. Messenger College is committed to developing world-changing Pentecostal leaders for the 21st century. Disciples are challenged in their studies as they learn more about God and His creation and mission.  They also have the opportunity to gain skills and experiences necessary for leadership in the changing world.

How many current residents do you have?

Currently we are able to house 12 men and two staff members in the men’s division and 7 women and 1 staff member in the women’s division. They come to us from desperate families, churches, jails, prisons, as well as the people we sweep right off the streets.

Please share the story of your new property:

As more people hear about the success of the program, we are receiving calls and letters from all over the nation. Unfortunately we have no space available. Our church has stepped out in faith and purchased a brand new 50-unit hotel, which will house the men and women of the NLDC, as well as families in crisis. We will now be able to help over 100 people and house staff as well. The building is built and furnished. We still need to finish the parking lot and some utilities and electrical.

What advice/counsel would you give a local church/pastor considering starting a similar program?

We have found drug addiction is no respecter of persons. It affects rich, poor, educated, uneducated, black, white, and everything in between. The church as a whole has a misconception that somehow these people are drug addicts and alcoholics because they want to be.  We say things like “this is their choice; they’ve made their bed, let them lie in it.” The fact is, they are too weak to fight for themselves and need the hope that we have in Jesus to believe that God has a plan and a purpose for their life. The enemy has stolen their dreams and they find themselves in captivity much like the children of Israel when the prophet Jeremiah delivered them a message of hope: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). 

Anyone can start this ministry. We started with little or nothing, and just began to love people the world had given up on. We can’t wait for these people to come to us. We must take the message of hope to them. As the church, we hold the key to their freedom through Jesus Christ.  This ministry will be the toughest in your church, but in turn is the most fruitful. Paul called us to share in Christ’s suffering that we might also share in His glory. We have found no case too big or too drastic for transformation to occur. Jesus works every time. God doesn’t make junk.  Every man, woman, or child that you will ever come in contact with are God’s creation designed with a plan and a purpose. In every case, when people receive the hope of Him, the gem that God has created them to be is uncovered.

Share some testimonies from the program:

Alex Riggs: “I was born Memorial Day, which should have been a day of celebration, but in reality it was the day my mother left me at the hospital. My grandparents, who owned a bar, raised me for several years until they died. I went into the Foster Care System and was bounced from home to home and made to feel expendable. The only constant in my life was school, and I was good at it. I graduated, and even went to college a while and obtained a good job in the defense industry. I started to party with coworkers, and the substance abuse started taking hold of my life. I continued to have other jobs and succeed through the world’s standards and even owned my own home. Drug and alcohol abuse escalated and I ended up losing everything and was sleeping under a bridge a stone’s throw away from Family Worship Center. I would come out regularly to try to bum beer money from Pastor Jonathan. He would give me food and tell me to come see him when I wanted to get my life back. One rainy Sunday I was tired of it all and remembered the invitation. I washed my muddy shoes in a mud puddle and went to church. As I sat in the back of the church and heard Pastor say, “God doesn’t make junk!” I surrendered my life to Christ that day and entered the NLDC. That was 5 years ago, and I now have a great job in the computer industry and am on staff at night at the NLDC. I give back to men in the program for the life the program gave back to me. I have since been reconciled to the mother that left me at the hospital that Memorial Day and have siblings and family that are a big part of my life.

 Jacob Luna: “I was raised in a good Christian home with parents involved in ministry. In high school I was a rising basketball prospect. A serious car accident ended that hope. After several operations and an addiction to pain killers, I landed at University of Tennessee. There my addiction advanced to include alcohol. In spite of my lifestyle, I graduated an empty person with no direction that had given up on any dreams I once had. Thankfully, my parents wouldn’t give up on the son they knew and loved. They called the NLDC and I went to California to see what God had in store for me. What did I have to lose? I am happy to say that after graduating the New Life Dream Center Discipleship program I went on to acquire my Masters in clinical psychology. Today I am married to my beautiful wife and we are expecting our first child.”

Melissa Loon:” I was born into a middle class Nazarene family in South Dakota. I loved church, loved the Lord, and never missed a youth camp. After moving to Colorado with my family and a few bad choices, I ended up a pregnant teen. I was sent away from my family and a youth group that I loved to have the baby and give it up for adoption to a nice family. I returned home to carry on as if everything was normal. I went on to graduate high school and then attended a Nazarene University for a couple of years. While everything seemed to be fine on the outside, inside I was screaming, “How could you just give your baby away?” I met a young man that introduced me to marijuana and ended up pregnant again. I married him, and after having my second daughter, my substance abuse started. After never dealing with drugs before, within 6 months I had progressed to a level that I had lost everything. My job, my marriage, and yet again I had abandoned another child. This led to 10 years of serious abuse and destruction in my life. I ended up in California with my mom and sister, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they found out I was using daily. I attended Family Worship Center with my sister and saw the transformation in the men of the NLDC and thought for the first time there could be hope for me. I entered the NLDC and the journey to get my life back had begun. I now find myself as the house leader in the women's division with a hope again of ministry and reconciliation with my children. The sky’s the limit.”

5 Simple Thoughts on Mentoring

by Joe Skiles

These principles/philosophies have guided my mentoring process for the past 13 years of internships & mentoring programs.

1. I Invite.

–I reach out and invite individuals to join the mentoring process (internship for example).

2. I lead spiritually.

- I can't be driven by just the task of the day or the immediate need.  I must Shepherd them spiritually.

3.  I consistently Value & Affirm.

- This builds relationships and eventually gives me permission to speak into the life of the young leader.

4. I work beside.

- I get to teach and help them learn how to task & work efficiently.

5. I empower.

-I invest my authority and release the young leader to do the same job. 

Ascending Leaders

by Tom Toney

 What is it that causes a leader to get stronger? What pushes leaders to keep improving and growing in their leadership?

Over the past 20 years, I have had the opportunity to serve some great leaders. I have been able to watch how different leaders lead and navigate important moments. I have seen leaders miss it and I have seen leaders nail it. One of the most remarkable traits that has been consistent in every significant leader is that, to this day, they are still growing. I remember one leader in particular, who is now in heaven, and a moment of interaction with them that shifted my mentality as a leader.

I was sitting in staff meeting and we were going through our normal course of updates and discussions. As we were talking, we heard the door to our room open and a familiar, commanding voice quietly ask if our executive pastor was in the room. Everyone recognized the voice of our ministry’s founding father, and the room grew silent. It was not typical for him to be at staff meetings, especially to arrive unannounced. He was the grandfather of our executive pastor, and the father of our lead pastor. At the time, he was around 80 years of age and had just returned from Sophia, Bulgaria where he and his wife were running an English Speaking Academy they had launched. They had been there for a couple of weeks checking in on the ministry and the school and had just returned.

I will never forget his body language as he walked into the room, nor will I forget the sense of awe and respect EVERY person in that room felt for him. He sat humbly in a chair and said, "Go ahead, you can keep having your meeting." We all just stared at each other. Our executive pastor didn't miss a beat, "No, Grandpa, this meeting is yours. Is there something you want to say?"

In his deep, authoritative, yet graceful voice he said, "I just want to apologize." Again, we all looked at each other with bewilderment. He continued, "I haven't been around here much lately, and I don't feel like I'm doing enough for this ministry. So I want to say how much I appreciate all that you are all pouring into this church, and I am committed to doing my part."

I will never forget the rush of emotion that I felt in that moment. I wanted to cry and burst out in laughter at the same time. I could see that smiles were being held back by many of the staff members because we all knew that the collective accomplishments of every person sitting in that room did not add up to even a portion of what this amazing leader had done in his lifetime.

I began this post with two questions to which I would like to offer some insight: What is it that causes a leader to get stronger? What pushes great leaders to keep improving and growing in their leadership?

Consider these thoughts:

Ascending Leaders are leaders that . . .

Don't Assume They Have Arrived. This is such a huge challenge. Most of us in leadership can easily recount everything we've done throughout the last 5 years of our leadership. I am convinced that very little ever escapes the attention of great leaders. So remembering the details of actions and decisions and outcomes is a natural part of being a great leader. This ability often offers us the opportunity to feel like we've done A LOT and to rest in the fact that we are really working hard. But the great leaders I have observed have this similar quality about them of denying themselves the right to rest in their accomplishments. If anyone on that day in our staff meeting had the right to chill out and take the day off (or the year) it was our founding pastor. But he was still climbing, still reaching, and still desiring to go higher. Why?  Because he did not assume he had arrived.  Being an Ascending Leader requires that we must keep improving our leadership.

Do Heavy Lifting: It is critical as leaders that we build a strong team around us. A team that is capable of handling heavy loads and navigating difficult seasons. It is equally critical that we continue to do some heavy lifting of our own. I often have said that one of the challenges of being around great leaders is that we lean so much on them that we don't build enough of our own muscle to stand when they're not around.  I believe the same is true of leaders who depend so heavily on their teams that when the team is not around they don't know how to function.  Our teams need us to stay strong and to KEEP ascending as leaders. You can only imagine how the brief, impactful thoughts of our leader that day served as a very pointed reminder of how insignificant the issues we faced actually were. I can tell you that our senior leader was still ascending, and it caused me to want to do the same.  Being an Ascending Leader requires that we must continue to do heavy lifting.

Lead with Power AND Humility: There were two possible scenarios in the moment I have described. The first is that our leader could have walked in the room and demanded that we all "STEP UP"! "GET IT TOGETHER"! "DO SOME REAL WORK"! None of us could have denied that he had earned the right to say those things, nor could we question the accuracy of the challenge. Those words would have been powerful. But I have to admit, they would not have been nearly as powerful as the humility with which we were challenged. I believe his apology was entirely sincere. But it was the combination of his POWER (authority) and HUMILITY (servant hood) that has made it such an indelible leadership moment for me. As leaders, we have the responsibility of guarding the gift of leadership that God has given us and the power it represents. We are also accountable for harnessing that power and authority and channeling it for the good of those we lead. POWER without HUMILITY can become destructive. Being an Ascending Leader requires that we continue to lead with humility from our position of authority.

One of the most eye-opening realizations for me in that staff-meeting moment was understanding that great leadership is a life-long pursuit. That even at nearly 80 years old, this leader was continuing to ascend. He had not given up, decided he had done enough, or become content with his place on the leadership mountain. Just because a leader might say, "I have a long way to go," does not necessarily mean they are moving up. I determined that day that, however, with God's Grace, I would live out my life always ascending as a leader.

How about you?  Are you an Ascending Leader?

Lead Strong

God Made a Preacher

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things were made through Him, and with Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness…

God had a message, but he needed a messenger.  He had a lamp, but he needed a lampstand. He had a story, but he needed a teller.  So God made a preacher.  

Nothing fancy, eloquent, or out of the ordinary, but rather a humble vessel willing to testify of that which they had seen and heard.  One who would count it all joy when faced with trials, tribulation and testing.  One willing to obey His command to go into all the world….yes all the world and preach the gospel.  From the prairies of Oklahoma to the bushes of Africa.  From the rice fields of Asia to the mountains of Montana.  One willing to sweat, to serve, and to sacrifice, for the sake of the message. 

He needed someone who would say yes.  Yes.  Yes to the mission.  Yes to working 40 plus hours a week at the factory, and still preaching on Sunday.  Yes to Long days and long nights.  From board meetings to bake sales. From Sunday School to Sunday Sermons. One willing to laugh, and cry. To marry and bury.  To counsel and to cope. He needed someone who would say Yes.

One who could pull a congregation and push a lawnmower.  Who could fill hearts and empty trashcans.  One with calloused knees, but a soft heart.  Who could tear down and could build. Who could plant and plow. Who could heal and could feel. One who could heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, and still volunteer at the local soup kitchen. 

One who could cast a vision, and cast a pole.  Who could punch the clock, meet the board, and still watch their son cross home plate. 

One who could reach the farmer, and the pharmacist. The banker and the bum, the addict and the attorney.  One willing to do whatever it takes to win their community.

He needed a provider and a promise keeper.  A shepherd and a servant. A teacher and a preacher.  A hand and a heart. So he made a preacher.

Since 1919 we the Pentecostal Church of God have done our part to answer that simple call.  And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
So God made a preacher.

And today, servants of the Pentecostal Church of God, we celebrate you.


 “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”  

(to view the "God Made a Preacher" video click here)

Practicing Education: A Way to Hear and Respond to the Call of God

by Daniel Davis

 “Be careful, Daniel. Don’t let them take the anointing out of you. They’ve ruined so many young preachers.” These were the parting words of an elder minister as I left for Bible college. He spoke with sincere passion, and he was not alone in his concerns. His warnings were echoed to me through many other voices. “They,” of course, meant the people involved in the educational institution I was attending. “The anointing” he referred to must have meant something about the passion or power or even zeal of the preacher. These elders were concerned that through “education” they were going to excise “it” from my soul resulting in a failure to fulfill God’s call on my life.

            While their fears might have been misdirected, they were not totally unfounded. Their experience had caused them to observe undesirable transformation in a few individuals who “went off to Bible college.” Nevertheless, they were mistaken in their conclusion that it was education that was the source of the ruin of these young preachers. Indeed, had they considered it carefully, they would have found that the process of education is a biblical practice that can be good for the soul. Israel was instructed to “learn” the ordinances handed down through Moses (Deuteronomy 5:1). The wise obtain instruction and understanding (Proverbs 1:5; 4:7; 23:23). Jesus called his disciples to “learn” from him (Matthew 11:29). Paul indicated that even charismatic gifts can be useful in learning (1 Corinthians 14:31). In fact, it would seem that the process of learning, or education, is indispensable in discerning and responding to the call of God. Education as a practice can enable people to hear God in distinct ways. Furthermore, with the Spirit’s presence and power, the process can form the kind of person who lives out that call.

What Is the Call of God?

            When we speak of God’s call, we are referring to the call to follow Jesus as issued to people in real situations. To live out that call is to answer the question of how to follow Jesus in the life in which one lives. There is more in mind here than particular careers. Rather, God’s call to a life in Christ takes into account one’s history, family, strengths, and so forth. Circumstances in life will change, thereby necessitating a constant evaluation on how one fulfills the call to follow Jesus. Living out the call of God within the given factors of one’s life will direct ways that calling is fulfilled. Education is an essential practice to discerning and responding to that voice.

Education as a Christian Practice

            The idea of Christian practices has come to the forefront of discipleship discussions in the past two decades. The ancient wisdom of Scriptures and tradition have been mined again in order to make ordinary things ways in which God can be experienced and worshiped and obeyed. This movement recognizes the need to lay hold of God in the concrete experiences of life. Thus, scholars like Craig Dykstra and Dorothy Bass have proposed the recovery of Christian practices as “things Christian people do together over time in response to and in the light of God’s active presence for the life of the world in Christ Jesus.”[1] Education can be a Christian practice. The disciplines of education that bring about the event of learning engage the learner and develop at least three specific traits useful in discerning and responding to the call of God.

Concentrating the Mind

            The practices associated with education develop within the willing learner a concentration of mind that is essential to hearing the call of God. The historian Pierre Hadot points out that the ancients understood that just as athletics have certain formative effects upon the body, so philosophical exercises strengthen the mind: “That is, philosophy should discipline the mind, turn it away from damaging habits, cure it of weaknesses, perfect it, focus it on its proper ends, transform the personality and enlighten the eyes of the soul.”[2]

            As the mind becomes concentrated through the acts of learning, it is also disciplined to be able to give significant attention. We can see this in youngsters as they grow and learn. The practice of listening to reading and then reading for themselves, for example, disciplines the mind to focus and be present to a particular issue.

            This increased capacity to give attention is essential in living out one’s calling. Simone Weil, a Christian philosopher, reminds us that “Prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable towards God.”[3] She goes on to point out that this attention is developed through “school exercises” which need not be religious. It could be something as mundane as a geometry problem. Every exercise becomes “a sacrament” wherein the learner is enabled to “suspend thought, leaving it detached, empty, and ready to be penetrated by the object…. In every school exercise there is a special way of waiting upon truth, setting our hearts upon it, yet not allowing ourselves to go out in search of it.”[4]

This state of attentive openness is enjoined in the Scriptures: “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-3, NASU). The practices involved in education discipline the mind to negate distraction and offer attentiveness. This state of attentiveness amounts to being present to the God who is present to us. In that presence we are able to hear when he speaks. We are able to follow in our calling for we have been receptive to the voice that calls.

            Concentrating the mind also involves ordering the intellect. This ordering is a necessary part of the educational process. Take the educational practice of research for example. Research by its very nature requires order, for it requires method. Following the order of research trains the mind to operate in an ordered manner. Throughout this process we learn to practice reason. Dallas Willard defines “reason” as “the capacity to apprehend truth itself, as truth is displayed in any true thought, judgment or statement. That capacity involves, among other things, the capacity to grasp logical relations and thereby appreciate evidence for truth.”[5]

            The Scripture affirms this ordered way of thinking. James writes that the heavenly wisdom needed within the community is, among other qualities, “reasonable” (James 3:17, NASU). This is contrasted with earthly and demonic wisdom which produces “disorder” (James 3:16). Bringing this order to the mind enables one to perceive the truth and thereby recognize the call of God.

Developing Discernment

            Closely related to the effects of the concentrated mind, is the ability to discern what is true and thereby recognize God’s call. Aristotle said, “The man who has been educated in a subject is a good judge of that subject, and the man who has received an all-round education is a good judge in general.”[6] While we obviously connect discernment with judging between true and false, it also includes the ability to determine what is relevant and necessary. Once again, this ability is necessary in the process of research. In any inquiry, all data is not necessary. All data is not true. Developing discernment is essential. We ask questions like, “Does this source apply to my question? Is this source reliable? How have I arrived at the conclusions to those questions?”

            This faculty of discernment can enable us to identify the presence and word of God in the midst of the world. The rigorous practices of reading, analyzing, testing, dialoging, and reasoning all lend themselves to the development of the ability of discernment necessary to hear the voice of God. When this discernment is practiced in step with the Spirit, life experiences can become full of meaning and beauty. We are able to recognize what Os Guinness calls the “splendor of the ordinary.”[7] The abilities sharpened by practice in the academy are turned upon the world with the intent of seeing and hearing God and giving no quarter to the false and superfluous. In such a practice, calling can be readily recognized, for “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes….”[8] The Spirit can use the educational process to develop people who see.

Hearing Others

            “Knowledge puffeth up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). This was one of the warning verses wielded by some well-meaning elders of my younger years. Their concern was that too much knowledge can ruin a person by making them intolerably arrogant. This statement of Paul’s was used without regard to the apostle’s intent or its context. Their experiences, however, had brought them in contact with knowledgeable people who refused to listen. Of course, the world is full of ignorant folks who are just as conceited. Simply put, it is a lack of humility (an equal opportunity vice!), a refusal to accept that another has a voice worthy of being heard. The educational process, when submitted to, has the ability to nurture humility by training the learner to listen to others.

            Education, whether at school, at home, or in cyberspace, necessarily takes place in community. The student must have a teacher. The relationship of disciple and master must be developed in order for knowledge to be transferred and education to occur. An illustrative though currently infrequent practice of this is reading aloud. Neil Holm contends that this practice in education strengthens community and fosters the “development of good listening skills that are the foundation of other-directedness. We do not listen well to each other, because we have become so self-oriented. We cannot be truly other-oriented unless we listen deeply, are deeply aware of others and are truly present to them.”[9] We can add to this the practices of listening to a teacher, to the author of a text, or to our peers in dialog. The choice to listen is an admission that one does not possess all knowledge and may, indeed, be wrong at some points. It is an indication of openness to persuasion, of presence, and of a willingness to look for the truth.

            The cultivation of this humility develops people who are “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19, NASU). This humility readies us to hear God’s call as it comes through the community. Perhaps it will be a call from leadership regarding a need or the face of a beggar on the street or the simple innocently piercing question of a child. Regardless of the medium, the practice of listening to learn will enable one to hear God’s call.

Education as Formation

            Thus far, we have discussed education as a practice and, where relevant, touched upon specific practices within education. The aim of our discussion has been to demonstrate that these practices can develop individuals who are able to hear the call of God. The attentive person is present to hear from the other and can employ reason with others to discern the voice of God. When this process is brought under the Spirit’s presence and guidance, it also has a formative effect, which is part of answering God’s call.

          The process of education under the power of the Holy Spirit aids in spiritual formation enabling the learner to hear and respond to the call of God. We have seen a few ways in which educational practices can specifically aid in that ability to hear. Now we turn to see how the process as a whole can aid the learner to respond.

The Whole Person

            Thus far we have observed some effects of education upon the intellect. However, it would be mistaken to assume that only the cognitive functions of the person are in view. Recent advances in science are showing us what many ancient societies and the Scriptures have known all along: learning involves the whole person—mind, heart, and body. Along with the acquisition of knowledge and development of reason, affections are shaped and practices acquired. Thus, a godly education accomplishes three things in the student: 1) directs his or her affections to truth, beauty, and holiness; 2) helps him or her as well to understand those things; and 3) helps him or her practice them. In this way, the learner is developed into one whose entire being is poised to respond to the call of God.

The belief of those who seek to honor Christ in the practice of education is that what we love we will attend unto, and what we attend unto we will become. However, we first attend unto it in our ignorance. We are not yet what we look upon. We do not know what we seek to understand. We are faceless seeking answers. Yet the process of truly seeking under the Spirit’s guidance can lead us to eventually see the answers most desired. We hear the voice of God calling and turn to see His glory—whether that be illumined in a beautiful equation, provoking novel, or biblical passage. In gazing upon His glory we are led to see the fount of that glory in Christ and then we are “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NASU). And in time, through all this process as we discern and respond the call of God, we are also formed. Then when our faces are like his face, we have the answer we most seek because, as C. S. Lewis wrote, “before [his] face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”[10]

Conclusion

            Working with students at a Christian college, I am well aware of the angst and mystique that surround the idea of “the call of God.” In the Pentecostal tradition, it seems that everyone either wants to see a burning bush or they fear it. The former want the grand experience that will forever direct their lives eradicating all doubt. The latter fear the fire will consume them as it might direct them to something they dread. However, relatively few of them ever have a marked dramatic encounter that forever settles the direction of their lives into some particular career. Rather, if they submit to the process of education, they usually grow and come to discern the call of God in the very ways described in this article. They become more present to God, more discerning in their judgments, and more ready to listen. The Spirit unceasingly works in the processes of their education to shape their habits, their speech, and their tastes. They come to love more what they should love. Most of all, they become more like the One they love. And that is fulfilling the call.

Bibliography

Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by W. D. Ross. Digital edition, n.d.

Bass, Dorothy C., ed. Practicing Our Faith: a Way of Life for a Searching People. 2nd ed. The Practices of Faith Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. Aurora Leigh. Edited by Kerry McSweeney. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003.

Holm, Neil. “Classroom Formation & Spiritual Awareness Pedagogy Based on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together.” Journal of Education & Christian Belief 12, no. 2 (September 1, 2008): 159–175.

Lewis, C. S. Till We Have Faces; a Myth Retold. Kindle edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1957.

Placher, William C., ed. Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2005.

Sullivan, John. “From Formation to the Frontiers: The Dialectic of Christian Education.” Journal of Education & Christian Belief 7, no. 1 (March 1, 2003): 7–21.

Willard, Dallas. “How Reason Can Survive the Modern University: The Moral Foundations of Reality.” Accessed July 11, 2013. http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=33.

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[1] Dorothy C. Bass, ed., Practicing Our Faith: a Way of Life for a Searching People, 2nd ed, The Practices of Faith Series (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010), 5.

[2] John Sullivan, “From Formation to the Frontiers: The Dialectic of Christian Education,” Journal of Education & Christian Belief 7, no. 1 (March 1, 2003): 15.

[3] William C. Placher, ed., Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 2005).

[4] Ibid.

[5] Dallas Willard, “How Reason Can Survive the Modern University: The Moral Foundations of Reality,” accessed July 11, 2013, http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=33.

[6] Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W. D. Ross, Digital edition, n.d., I.3.

[7] Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 186.

[8] Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh, ed. Kerry McSweeney (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 246.

[9] Neil Holm, “Classroom Formation & Spiritual Awareness Pedagogy Based on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together,” Journal of Education & Christian Belief 12, no. 2 (September 1, 2008): 164.

[10] C. S Lewis, Till We Have Faces; a Myth Retold., Kindle edition (New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1957), 308.