Why I Quite My Job... And What's Next

One of my earliest memories is from the first grade "career day." We were all asked to dress up for the job we thought we would have when we grew up. It seemed like every boy in Ms. George's first-grade class had a Michael Jordan or Troy Aikman jersey boldly declaring they would grow up to become a professional athlete. All except for a nerdy kid wearing a jacket and tie while carrying a Bible stating he would become a preacher.

I was that nerdy kid.

After several years of getting to work in full-time ministry at a church I loved, I sensed the Lord leading me to work at Museum of the Bible. At the time, MOTB was a small start-up. There couldn't have been more than 25-30 full-time employees worldwide. (Sidenote: the people I worked with at MOTB past and present are some of the most brilliant, hard-working, kind people you will ever meet.

My biggest regret from my time at MOTB is not valuing there relationships more. For years, we were dreaming of a day when there would be a world-class museum that could house an impressive collection that was growing in our vault. Over the next five years, I had a front-row seat to the development of this must-see attraction and traveled to 42 states spreading awareness of the coming museum to audiences of every size and kind.

Since the museum has opened, there have been hundreds of thousands of guests visit each year.

After seven years at Museum of the Bible, I quit my job. But not to pursue the dream of becoming a preacher. Rather, to start a ministry to serve preachers, Bible study leaders, leaders of Christian organizations, high school teachers, college/university professors, parents and anyone who is trying to help people grow in their understanding of how to read the Scriptures.

We believe brief, immersive experiences can have a lifelong transformation.

Inspire Experiences, co-founded with TJ Yates earlier this year, creates Christ-centered Bible experiences and resources that help make reading the Bible more simple, more enjoyable and more transformational. We believe brief, immersive experiences can have a lifelong transformation. I’m a product of these experiences. Whether it be Vacation Bible School, church camp, or trips to Israel, the impact of short experiences has been formative in more ways than we realize.

Here's how Inspire can help you study God's word:

1. Engage with Inspire's Christ-centered blogs, videos and podcasts on this website.

We have created some digital, Christ-centered resources you can access from anywhere. This way you can test the temperature of the water before diving into the pool. We have blogs on how to read the Bible, why we can have confidence in the Bible, how the Bible has impacted our world and more. We also have videos forthcoming that will help you engage the Scriptures on your own. Finally, we have launched our first podcast, and we are really proud of it.

Steve Green and I sit down each week with a guest to find out how they grew to love reading the Bible. I’m amazed at some of the stories we have heard.

2. Book an Inspire Experience to help spark a deeper passion for the Scriptures.

The signature experience for Inspire is the Washington, D.C., trip for groups of all sizes. This one-of-a-kind experience combines the very best of Museum of the Bible where we teach you how we got the Bible we have today, the story the Bible tells, and the impact the Scriptures have had on our world. Then, we take you out into Washington, D.C., to explore the impact of Christians throughout the ages in the United States. We will be marketing select dates for best rates.

To be the first to know of opportunities, sign up for our newsletter below this post.

3. Build your passion for the word of God by teaching others what you learned.

Inspire is meant to be a step for you in your discipleship path. It is never the end of the journey, but for some it might be the beginning! We want to come alongside you as you go home to teach others the truths that have come alive in you. It’s tempting to believe we cannot teach others until we have mastered the material ourselves. But we see Jesus commanding his disciples to make disciples of all nations. And practically, we have found we learn the best when we are teaching others.

Here’s how you can be involved:

We launched in February of this year. You can guess what happened one month later. Every trip that was on the books or in the works for this year was delayed and eventually canceled. But we have utilized the time to refine our model and our experience to serve you even better in 2021. But that has also put us behind in our funding. If you feel so inclined, we would love to have you support us by signing up to be a monthly donor.

Any monthly donor will receive a much-coveted Inspire mug that is both useful and stylish!

A way to stay in the know for deals and resources: sign up for our newsletter on the form below! We promise not to flood your inbox. We will send out a monthly update on the ministry, including popular resources from the previous month. This will also be the primary method we communicate special deals for future experiences.

A final, most important way you can be involved is to pray. Pray that the gospel message would impact the lives of people. Pray that travel opens up so we can take people on potentially life-changing Bible trips. Pray that the Lord would give us neither poverty nor riches, but just the daily bread of financial support we need at this time. Pray that we would remain humble and hard-working as we seek to glorify God in all we do at Inspire.

Grace and peace,

Michael