David
So what’s a guy supposed to do with a Bible degree? I used to think ministry was professional begging with some sort of dignity still attached. All I saw preachers do was talk a good talk and ask the people for a tithe (church word for donation) to support the ministry that they lead, in other words, their salary–any extra would be put back into the church to ensure a good show, and the bare minimum was given to missional programs to make sure that the congregation still felt good about themselves, and therefore good about the church (for a bigger tithe).
And there I went diving right into the system that I used to hate by getting a bible degree.
But I tell you what– there are actually real Christians out there. I didn’t meet many who actually followed Jesus (as opposed to acknowledging his existence and living in the Christian subculture), but when I met them, they were impacting. Maybe I’ll tell you some stories sometime about some of those people that impacted me… but this is still about me.
I’m an American mutt, born in Southern California, raised in Atlanta, grew up in rural Tennessee outside of Murfreesboro, and finished college in Knoxville, TN. After being in JROTC for 4 years in high school, I went to college under the guise of being an officer in the Army since I found out that if you know how to follow commands and run, they’ll pay for college. I thought it was a good deal for a while. Then I became a Christian. And by that, I mean that I knew about Jesus, but never cared; now I tried to follow Him.
That’s when my life started sucking.
So I dropped a 4-year scholarship (not because I didn’t believe in a great Army or I became a pacifist, for other reasons), moved to New Orleans to help out my dad, started going to church, almost committing suicide because I thought love was impossible (love never fails right? It always did for me!), became confused by different doctrines, became confused by the “witness” of most Christians, become even more frustrated with my only Christian friends who acted worse than my non-Christian friends.
I knew I needed to get some better training.
So I looked up some Tennessee Christian colleges and found Johnson Bible College. I read the statement of faith and it sounded awesome to me. I went, I graduated, and now here I am.
What I’m aiming to do is plant a community center–and if you want to know more about that, feel free to explore the site.
In the meantime, check me out at twitter (twitter.com/bernheisel) or facebook (facebook.com/david.bernheisel).
Celia
I have completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible and Counseling at Johnson Bible College as of December 2009. Ideally I would like to do some work in Africa and then continue working as an advocate for refugees and/or as a missionary care counselor in the United States. I felt the call into cross-cultural missions as a freshman in high school. I know many people, friends and family, probably thought (and hoped) it was just a phase. Now, almost 10 years later, I am still seeking out how God could use me in a cross-cultural setting…I am beginning to think it was more than a phase–it was a calling. It is a calling that continues to get louder and louder as time goes on. I feel an urgency to reach out to the the impoverished and marginalized people that we often do not think about because they are located on the other side of the world. Not only do I feel called to go, but I also believe that one day, I will no longer be the one who goes but the one who enables others to go–through financial, logistical, psychological and prayerful support.
One thing I know for sure: I am blessed! I am married to the man who captures my heart everyday–he just happens to be my middle-school sweetheart. That’s right–we have known each other since the 6th grade! We broke each others hearts a few times as most middle and high school kids do. We eventually reconnected in our college years and our life stories and visions for the future seemed to tell us that our lives would soon connect and become one. We were married on May 12, 2007. I can honestly say that we love each other more everyday! We look forward to serving the Lord side-by-side for the rest of our lives and sharing the rich experiences that come with allowing such an awesome God to work in and through our lives.