Personal Learning Experience Through the Five Core Values

Written by Myles Morrison 

When you join the CBM Internship, you are introduced to five program core values. These are five different areas for you to learn, grow, seek, explore, and demonstrate throughout your time as a CBM Intern and beyond. Some of them were harder to understand and practice than others, but without the accountability and practice of these things I would not be where I am today, better equipping myself for ministry. 

Humility:

This one was a really fun one to practice. I am often very prideful and big-headed, so a lot of the time I have to do the opposite of what I would typically say and do. I am someone who wants to be acknowledged by everyone for the work that I do. I love to be noticed. Oftentimes, I like to do a lot of little things you don’t seem to notice until you have to acknowledge it. For example, taking care of the trash in the main office, vacuuming, restocking a room, and things like that. I want people to notice my work, but should that really matter? I had to remember it doesn’t matter if someone sees that I do a good service but that God notices it and sees my heart. I had to remember that I don’t need people’s approval but that I do this kind gesture because I love them. I want to allow God to do the talking and allow me to follow His service. 

Flexibility:

My least favorite core value by far. I struggled a lot with this. I love to plan and organize my day for being the social butterfly that I am. When I plan to meet with someone, or a group of people, I expect it to happen at the time that we set or that we communicate ahead of time if we need it to change. Last minute changes drive me up the wall. So how is complaining about it reflecting Jesus’ love and grace for people? There are often times that things happen last minute to people, just like things happen last minute to me. How can I be understanding to them when we need to change plans because something happened? What helped me be patient about this core value is remembering that all of my plans are in pencil and God’s are in pen. If He changes something that I have planned, then He is allowing me to grow. There is a reason why He does this, and oftentimes I don’t know why. But that should not matter because I trust Him, and I will still love and support those individuals that I had prior engagements with. Be willing to adjust your schedule with what God has planned for you, instead of what you thought you had planned ahead.    

Unity:

This value is so fun that it can be hard at times. The impact of being in sync with your fellow peers can truly bring out the best in someone, and it can even bring out one’s best positivity within themselves. With this core value I must say, “Continue to look out for one another.” When you are unified with your group, you allow yourselves to get energy off of each other. When one of you is not at their best it can influence the whole group, sometimes causing conflict to occur.  So I must ask, “Are you allowing God to be the center of what keeps you and your peers unified?” 

Within my team this was a common struggle. We argued a lot and got on each other’s nerves. It took us a bit of time to realize that we needed God to be a part of our relationship with each other just as much as we needed to acknowledge God in our personal relationship with Him. We kept each other accountable when it came to doing our personal devotions. I even set a reminder on my phone to tell one of my teammates to remember to pray. These actions allowed us to grow closer together and be able to work together as one unit–a team. 

Excellence:

This core value was always a goal for me. How can I go the extra mile? This was a goal that came naturally to me at most times but was mainly a struggle when it came to most things that I’m not naturally gifted at. This was a core value that my team and I encouraged each other with when it came to cleaning, organizing spaces, and even when it came to our own goals. We all had different strengths and we used them to help each other in our weaknesses, so that whatever tasks we were given we were able to help each other and grow together as a team. 

As an example, when it came to cleaning cabins, we were all very comfortable when it came to cleaning certain rooms. We realized that and decided to switch around cleaning rooms. We would check each other’s room and help them with their unfinished work. We encouraged each other on how we could clean it better, and also how we could lead each other in it. At the end of cleaning, we would check around the cabin and see how we could add more to it by going above and beyond. Sometimes that means doing something extra to a porch, or something on the outside of the cabin. For me, excellence came by working as a team and going above and beyond what we were given by helping each other out as we grew together as leaders. 

Servant Leadership:

Its meaning is in its own name. With this being the last core value, I looked at servant leadership as requiring the other 4 core values. In addition to that, how can I lead by example instead of instruction when there is a task at hand? An example of this is when a group and I are asked to sweep a typical camp game room. That is not a hard task. When finished sweeping, the next thing to consider is how can we continue with excellence? It could be organizing carpet ball tables, taking care of the trash, or making sure the room is organized. It’s an example of unity by working together, in flexibility, and staying longer than normal, at times, to make sure the space is ready to go for whoever comes in next. Finally, there’s humility. Advice that I have gotten from a Program Director in the ministry was to ask, “Are you proud of your work?” This means being able to look back, doing more than my team and I were asked to do, being proud with the work we have done, and leaving it at that. By doing more than we were asked to do, we were leading by example. 

Every intern experiences the core values differently. It’s what makes the internship unique. We all have different learning styles and we take information in differently. You are put on a team with completely different people at times. I am thankful to have done the internship when I did so I could understand these core values through personal experience and so that I can continue to grow as a young man in Christ.

Written by Myles Morrison, Team #10 Intern. To learn more about the CBM Internship Program click HERE .  To learn more about the ministry of CBM and how we reach kids with the gospel of Christ click HERE .

Visits: 167