Preview of LIVE ON MISSION TODAY by Dr. Ingalls
Taken from Chapter 1: The Enlistment (pages 9-10) of Live on Mission Today: Battle Drills for a Christ-Centered Life. All rights reserved.
I remember the day my acceptance letter from the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York arrived in my mailbox at 194 Carriage Drive. I’ll never forget that I was one of the few who was chosen to receive a rare spot in the most prestigious military academy in the world in the USMA Class of 1996. I was a young high school student-athlete with a wholehearted desire to serve the highest form of good; at the time, as I understood it, that was my country. I was already a hard-working student, an Eagle Scout, a cadet squadron commander in the Civil Air Patrol, a three-sport varsity letter winner, and a member of a state championship track team. It is safe to say that I was gung-ho to be a soldier before I ever raised my right hand to join the ranks of the US Army’s Corps of Cadets at West Point. But with all that I had accomplished in my high school years, nothing up to that point in my life came close to the feeling I felt at my acceptance to the prestigious West Point – I had arrived at the pinnacle of success! My acceptance was lauded by family, friends, my high school, and the community of South Windsor, Connecticut, where I was raised by two loving parents to do my very best at everything I did.
On that first day of my military service in June 1992, I raised my hand to take my oath; I was proud to do so and fully committed to learning everything I needed to know to accomplish the mission as a future officer in the US Army. I committed myself to that purpose for over a decade of my life – I was a soldier once and young! I never would have imagined that over eleven years later, I would resign my regular army commission as an Infantry Captain. I did so because something transformative happened during those years serving my nation wholeheartedly – I became a Christian; in becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, I learned there was a higher calling than my country – the kingdom of God! As I just stated, from a very young age I have been committed to serve the highest form of good. That had transitioned from country to God, but my calling had not changed – I was still to be a soldier. My calling as an officer in the military translated to my calling as a pastor, as I would continue to lead and train others to complete the mission under this new calling. Before my official last day of enlistment in the US Army, I was already enrolled at Fuller Theological Seminary to earn my Master of Divinity. I was already serving on the pastoral staff of Pastor John Christie as an assistant pastor at Crosswalk Community Church, an American Baptist Church (ABC-USA), where I would be trained, equipped, and ordained for service to the local church as a pastor. To this day, I am still wholeheartedly serving my God. I am soldier for Jesus Christ, and I’ll never forget that, from the day of my salvation, I have been enlisted to live on mission for God!
Do you remember the day of your enlistment? Are you ready to learn what it means to live a Christ-centered life as a soldier for Jesus Christ? Are you ready to live on mission today?
So begins a journey to help you live the life on mission for the Lord. Be sure to get your copy today!
Learn more about the author www.jerryingalls.com.