Kyle Cornwell’s Leap

Kyle’s story…

Leap

People from the outside looking in usually think that once someone becomes a Christian it’s always rainbows and butterflies—but it isn’t. When I became a Christian in 2017, that first year of faith was a season of conviction for me. I still struggled with lust, comparison and pride among other things. I needed lasting change in my life, but what option would I go with? I needed accountability and structure. I found this by joining a bible study group to do life with.

  My reason for “leaping” was that I continually felt called by God to take the next step in my faith. I felt God pulling me in all kinds of directions to serve and grow in his ministry. Similar to a lot of men I was putting comfort over a higher calling. I had wanted to stay in my comfort zone, but I could feel God tugging at my heart to make a change and trust Him. Enter Man Challenge. Man Challenge is a bible study group that surrounded me with other men in similar life stages.

As men, we are called to be spiritual leaders of our families. Having just gotten married, I felt called to surround our family with more believers and members of our church. I wanted to start producing good fruit but I didn’t know where to start. Man Challenge pushed me to study scripture more often, read godly books, bring light to dark situations, replace idols, and relate on a deeper level to other godly men with comparable life circumstances. Getting out of my comfort zone was the first step, but to be honest it took intentionality week after week. The good fruit I was searching for came from humbling myself and being vulnerable. It shed light on all the sin struggles I dealt with on a daily basis.

This light also helped me to see that my desires for initially taking this next step were selfish. I wanted to be perceived as a leader, I wanted to be a person who was known as wise, I wanted to speak about God with more confidence. These goals for my life weren’t inherently bad but they were flawed since I put my perception of myself over God’s will for me. Unfortunately my sinful perceptions continued.

              As humans, we often project our ethics and beliefs onto others. I often judged believers, before I came to faith, for thinking that they thought they were “better than” when I had never talked to them. I often judged pastors who talked about money or tried to “market their book” during a sermon when I wasn’t aware of their intentions. I see now that what I continually projected onto others was what I indeed struggled with. I was frequently desiring to be seen in a better light or perceived in a superior way. I projected my comparison issue onto others who looked like they “had it all together”. I projected my idolatry of money onto pastors who have a genuine heart in pursuit of God. Having read several of my pastor’s books I see why he mentions his books because I got a glimpse of what the ripple effect would be if every member of my church soaked in that biblical wisdom.  

              These last several years in my walk with Christ have had its hills and valleys, as all lives

do, but a common theme has been spiritual growth. They say iron sharpens iron and with this Man Challenge group of dedicated and faithful gents it sure reigns true. I now feel like this “leap” has lead me to a place with consistent accountability and structure in my life. This pushes me to continually pursue Jesus and demands that I have my priorities in line.