A life whose course is triumphantly and profoundly set by Jesus is something mighty to behold. They’re the lives that are fitted with security, leadership and heavenly generosity in every area they navigate–work, family, crisis, identity, possessions. Jesus called these people salty and bright. These are the lives we’re thirsty to live. Yet, Jesus himself knew this course would not be easy for us to navigate. In Matthew 7:13 & 14 he invites us on a narrow path that leads to life. He also warns us of the wider, zestless way. In our journeys of following Jesus, we’ve all been influenced by the wider options of fear, the critical voices of others, societal pressures, doubt, self-service or other distractions along the way. But Jesus calls us to more. He promises it will be difficult, he also promises life everlasting.
But what if, in the heart of our formative years, just as we establish life patterns and are discovering who we are, we were given some serious training and equipping to lead distinctly secure lives, wildly worshipping Jesus for the long haul? What if we were taught to really know Jesus and ourselves in such a way that our lives rolled out into influential, heroic, Jesus-flavored stories no matter the location, vocation or position they held? Some folks in the Vineyard thought about the weighty significance of this and began asking themselves the same questions. This is how the Heroic Leadership Institute began.
Birthed at the Pathway Vineyard Church in Lewiston, Maine, and other locations/campuses in Duluth MN, Denver CO, and Chilliwack BC Canada, the Heroic Leadership Institute (HLI) is 9 months of intense, full-time training for young leaders (ages 18-30ish) within our Vineyard movement, where they are trained and released into significant, diverse lives of ministry and as life-long lovers of Jesus and people. HLI is the Vineyard’s thoughtful response to our desire to live an unswaying, passionate journey centered on a transformational and empowering God.
This is an incredible opportunity for young people from across our nation. Students lay down tuition and 9 months of their lives to spend six full days a week immersed in a hothouse of growth. Their days include classroom education from the brightest teachers in the Vineyard, challenging and molding spiritual formation, bold participation in ministries within the church and in the city, sacrificial serving, and seriously authentic community under the leadership of mentors and church staff.
These months are intense and challenging. And like a pearl is worked out of the grit, each student emerges from the 9 months as young adults stacked with the benefits of having purposefully applied themselves to deep and foundational investment from Jesus and others. They are changed. They have grown. They look and love more like Jesus.
The heart of the Heroic Leadership Institute is the same radical call Jesus extends to each of us and draws us to pursue with all of our lives. It’s that narrow path Jesus speaks of in Matthew 7 that leads us to a God who reorients us to live our lives as they were always meant to be. And it leads us to carry the increasingly strong, increasingly bright presence of our heroic leader, Jesus.
What young leaders in your life would flourish with the opportunity of HLI?
Pass along our website information: www.GoDoGreatThings.com
The application deadline for the 2014-15 HLI year is July 15.
Have ideas of how we can spread the word about HLI?
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