By Carly Inder

In high school, I found it really easy to get trapped into feeling like life is just one huge conveyer belt. I thought I’d go to school, I’d buy a car, get into uni, get a good job, buy a house, start a family, retire… and that was it. I considered myself a Christian, but faith was just something I had to fit around everything else. I never thought following Jesus might mean jumping off the conveyer belt entirely.

Doing Journey Towards Surrender exposed me to people who were living radically different lives to the one I had planned. They seemed to be moving the wrong way on the conveyer belt: moving out of nice houses to live in poor suburbs, or choosing to work part time so they could get to know their neighbours and help out their communities. It inspired me to actually think about how I should be living my life. Maybe uni is only one small part of it? Maybe I should think twice about buying a car? Maybe I need to learn my neighbours names? I found really practical examples of how I might live differently and take seriously the call to follow Jesus with my whole life.

By Matt Pilcher

The Surrender internship has been an experience has given me a greater heart for the poor and marginalized and has assisted me on the journey of being an apostle for Jesus! It has been an impacting practical experience following on from the course ‘Year in the Son’ I undertook at Tabor college last year,  which opened my eyes to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in this broken world and how to bring about the kingdom of God through my passions.

My surrender internship was a bit different to the rest of my group as part of my time I was on mission with Crossway Baptist sharing the gospel to the margins in Mt Druitt, West Sydney. During that time I was lucky enough to be able to connect with a few of the Surrender partners in Sydney. I spent one day at Salvos- Street level and was able to see their heart to reach the marginalized first hand and was challenged and encouraged by hearing the stories of Nathan Mould (Edify coordinator) and others working and attending Salvos. I was also blessed to have the opportunity to catch up with Jon Owen, who is living and working with a UNOH community in Bidwill, which was part of the deprived region I was doing mission work in. One of the things that impacted me was his Kingdom of God mentality he lived out of: personal sacrifice, love (God and others) and community.  Without these things we can’t possibly bring about God’s kingdom.

The cost of following Jesus requires a personal sacrifice to ‘take up our cross,’ (Mark 8:34-36). The 2 months I spent reaching out in western Sydney required me to leave my work, family, close friends and desires to satisfy myself. During that time I learnt to ‘surrender’ every part of my heart to God and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so I could do His will. I learnt to love with actions; to receive God’s love and pour out that love on others. Finally community, when you live in community with the same vision and sharing everything you are able to use each other’s gifts for the benefit of the community and to bring about the kingdom, which was so evident in the early church of Acts, (Acts 4:32).

The Surrender internship broadened my view on what it means to abandon my own selfish agendas to journey with Jesus to the Margins and to disciple others in my world. So I urge you my brothers and sisters, don’t settle for little, don’t be content with just attending church, step out in faith to the lost who are crying out for freedom,  love and disciple them step by step to Jesus. We need to rise up together as an army to reclaim this nation for Jesus!

If you don’t go, who will?

By Mel Baulch

The Journey Towards Surrender course has strengthened & contributed to much of what I have been learning over the past few years in regards to God, His great love for the suffering & the marginalised peoples of the world.
The course has given me a renewed understanding of the worth of community, its value in inclusiveness of all people & the importance of living life alongside one another. I have become acutely aware of the undeniable call to humble myself in order to raise up another. I believe that the life of another is worth enough to commit my whole life to love them, in whatever capacity necessitates. I believe this is what Paul means when he encourages us to live a life worthy of the gospel we have received. I have been so inspired & encouraged by the partners of Surrender, who understand that faith without works is dead & constantly endeavour to live not for themselves by gauging their success by worldly standards but make a daily decision to live in the world & not of the world by investing in the lives of others. I have been particularly encouraged by the variety of ways the partners have met the needs of the communities we have seen & have shown that there is no single way to love & serve. I am excited to discover more of what Christ has in store for me, how to live a lifestyle of faith and service by incorporating what I have learnt into my work, rest & play and how His call over my life will move me to respond to His heart.

Lately I have found myself wandering around the supermarket, scanning all the brightly packaged items, I only came for one or two things. But as I think about each item; (Where did it came from, what are all the ingredients? who made it, under what conditions? how did it get here? What is it worth? Is it good for me to buy?) I find myself frustrated and leave the shop empty handed.

My Journey to Surrender can be compared to my shopping predicament in a way, I went into it wanting to walk out having gained something, although I didn’t know exactly what yet. And as I perused the isles of Surrender’s partner organizations I was faced with a number of challenging questions.

Now, many who know me well may know that I absolutely LOVE questions, more so than answers, as answers reduce concepts, reduce God, to limited things which are less complex than our finite minds. (and consequently far less impressive!) What I don’t know about things are much more interesting and compelling than cold facts. I understand this is limited view, and mustn’t prevent one from learning how to DO something.

The first big question I had to ask on my first day was ‘what does it mean to love my neighbor?’ and so I asked a gentleman who had approached our group politely for some spare change. He told us that it is treating others how you would want to be treated, and that your neighbor is everyone, even New Zealanders and Martians. Bam. I don’t know if anything had ever been plainer to me, no questions here. When I was a kid, I thought love was a feeling, but I have learned that it is more about making others feel, and this can only be done through word and action.

And I have witnessed a lot of action (and taken part in some!) when visiting the Surrender partners. Whether it was making free food and conversation at Credo, applying the circle of courage taught at Praxis, painting the brick wall at the Free Burma Café, seeing how you can use your trade to turn people towards God at Handbrake Turn, or writing to your local MP about the issues that are close to your heart at tear, all of it is loving your neighbor.

But what does it mean for ME to love my neighbor, me, a humble student?

At one point, I became too caught up in the big picture. I wanted to be Mother Teresa, and unless I was, I wasn’t doing my best, wasn’t worthy. Moving to a far away slum seemed like the best way to be poor in spirit, and to stop contributing to capitalism, and to escape western pressures of financial security and consumerism. This was my answer! But it took away the question and it took away God. I had been taking the action into my own hands. And this is me, handing it back. God, I surrender my plans, nomatter how much I thought they were yours. I certainly don’t want them! I understand it is your grace that makes me worthy, not my actions. In the meantime could you help me work on communication with you? Ta.

And so thus far in my journey, I have surrendered (how title appropriate) some and gained none but a little wisdom. I leave holding nothing, like at the supermarket. Ah but that was only one of my questions. I hope to see you at SURRENDER and that God blesses you with questions also!