Interview: Ali Lamb
On Monday, we introduced you to Ali Lamb, who told you about her new kind of New Year’s resolution. Today, we’re digging a little deeper into Ali’s story. We interviewed Ali last week about the work she has done this past school year discipling juniors and seniors in high school so that they, in turn, can disciple freshmen and sophomore women.
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4word: So, tell us a bit about yourself! Why do you want to go to law school? How long have you been a believer?
Ali: I was born in Amarillo, but I’ve lived in Coppell, Texas, just outside of Dallas, for years. I just finished my undergraduate degree in Journalism at Northwestern, but at this point, I don’t think journalism will be my career in the near future.
Law school was something I’ve always been interested in. Both of my grandfathers are lawyers. It isn’t a family business by any means, but it’s something I’ve always thought about doing. Plus, I took an aptitude test a few years ago, and the results pointed me in that direction. So it’s a combination of passion and aptitude.
I was raised in a strong Christian family, and I accepted Christ when I was seven. I do think that was real to me, in terms of “confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart,” but I would say that my real, walking, breathing relationship with Christ didn’t happen until high school.
4word: Is that the reason you got involved with a ministry to high schoolers? Can you tell us a bit more about the Coffee Talk ministry?
Ali: Actually, I have been involved with Coffee Talk since I was a sophomore in high school. Back then, Coffee Talk was a small group of mothers and daughters who had been meeting for two or three years to study the Bible and, more importantly, form a support system.
The ministry has now evolved into an outreach program for freshman and sophomore girls in which they are mentored by a pair of junior and senior girls. We even have our own lingo. The freshmen and sophomores are “shorts,” the juniors and seniors are “talls.” Each pair of talls mentors a group of five shorts, and the talls are mentored by a “grande.” I’m a grande, and I have a group of five talls who I mentor. All of the grandes are mentored by “ventis.” Those are the moms involved in the ministry.
4word: The idea of “discipleship” is a big, churchy word. Can you explain, in your own words, what it means and why you think it’s important?
Ali: I think Coffee Talk illustrates discipleship. It’s like a hierarchy of wisdom. Each level brings to the table more years of experience walking the Christian life. We don’t have Jesus physically walking on the earth with us right now, but we’re still trying to walk with Him. To do that, we need to be walking with other women who are trying to do the same thing.
That’s what Coffee Talk does. It provides you with a place to become a disciple of Jesus: to know God, to study His word and to be held accountable for trying to act like Him. You’re surrounded by other women who are striving for (although are nowhere near to achieving!) perfection. You don’t have to do the Christian life alone. You have this whole body behind you, helping you become like Jesus and spread the good news to others.
4word: As you disciple the talls in your group, is the learning process a two-way street? How has God used your ministry to deepen your own walk with Him?
Ali: It absolutely is! I learn things from my girls every time I’m with them. Seeing how young they are and how excited they are about their walk with Christ is very inspiring to me. Their excitement has taught me that you should be thrilled to show Christ’s love to someone else.
Another thing I’ve realized is that I’ve been filled with a sense of urgency for my girls. At first, I thought it was just because I only have one year in between college and law school to work with them, and I want to give them everything I can in that time.
But what I’ve been learning from God during my quiet times is that this urgency is something He feels with everybody. You never know how long you’re going to have on this earth, so what you do today is extremely important. I hadn’t realized the importance of today until I was convicted of it with my girls.
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What about you, readers? What’s your experience with discipleship? Have you ever had a discipler/mentor? Or have you ever mentored someone?