By Matt Martens
Over the past month of our time as Capital Fellows, we have had the pleasure of hearing from an array of guest speakers. These speakers — medical professionals, teachers, military personnel, lawyers, mothers, non-profit leaders and more — have made time in their busy schedules to speak to us about their lives. Each Monday and Friday in the month of January, we have had the privilege of hearing about the background, salvation, career, and family life of thirteen different leaders from Mclean Presbyterian Church and beyond.
What I noticed as each of these speakers came is that while they have (drastically) different stories, the wisdom from each was similar. While the careers of, say, a physician’s assistant and a United States Ambassador may seem to have no overlap, this is because we commonly think of careers as defining who we are rather than merely what we do. When reconsidered, we realize that each of these speakers is not a professional who happens to follow Jesus, but a Christ-follower who happens to do some cool work. As Christians, all work done well and unto Christ is Kingdom work. As the saying goes, “all roads lead to Rome,” although Rome pales in comparison to the eternity before God that it represents in this case. As one speaker said to us, “I do not need to leave a legacy. As a child of God, I am part of His living legacy.”
It has been a good reminder to us fellows who are at the start of our professional journeys that while we ought to work hard and follow the path set before us (Psalm 119:105) we must first live our lives unto Christ. As we strive to become not only more professionally competent but equally theologically mature (an encouragement from one of our guest speakers, Dr. Steve Garber), we first consider how it is that the Lord is preparing us to be used in his work. With this in mind, I close with the advice relayed from Proverbs 3:5-6 by yet another of our speakers, Admiral Scott Redd:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
-Proverbs 3:5-6
Pictures from the Week
Sunday School time
Yale is nice but it’s no McLean!
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About Capital Fellows. Capital Fellows is an advanced leadership and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Through graduate courses, a paid internship, one-on-one mentoring and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in real-world situations while learning to integrate a Christian worldview into all areas of life. Capital Fellows is a unique opportunity to live and work in the Washington DC area and to be an active member of a supportive community that seeks to serve the city with the love of Christ. It is also a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the workplace while deeply exploring God’s design for us as workers and contributors to human flourishing.
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Fellows are starting in on the job search. Some are hearing from graduate schools for the fall. All of these things point to life after the Capital Fellows program, which is mostly good. There is also a temptation to become so focused on what's coming next that the fellows lose sight of the here and now. Please pray for them to remain mentally present in the coming weeks and months as we dig deeper into vocation, servanthood, community and leadership.
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About The Fellows Initiative
Capital Fellows is part of a network of similar programs across the country. This network is called The Fellows Initiative. There are 34 Fellows programs in TFI, roughly 3,000 alumni living around the world, and more Fellows programs on the way.
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