CLI’s Higher Education Courses

CLI’s Higher Education Courses for Free

Hello, everyone! My name is Benjamin Muniz, and I am taking CLI’s higher education courses. I was born and raised in a small city in New Jersey called Camden. Currently, I reside in San Jose, CA. My wife, Cindy, is a wonderful, virtuous woman. We just celebrated our second Wedding Anniversary on March 30, 2020. Cindy and I are the Children’s Directors at our church, Catedral De Fe (Cathedral of Faith).

Cindy and I both have children. I have three children that range from the ages of 14-17. My wife has a daughter named Priscilla, who is 20 years of age. We both regularly travel back to my hometown in New Jersey to visit my sister and some of my family members. Living in California for these past three years has been an enjoyable experience. I have seen the hand of God incredibly move since I have been here and anticipate an even more excellent experience to come.

Bible Training and CLI’s Higher Education Courses

I have some basic formal Bible training and graduated from the Assemblies of God back in 2008. Also, I attended World Harvest’s Bible Training Center from 2010 to 2011 with a certificate in Biblical Studies. I also participated in a community college back in Jersey and was able to accrue 27 credits in Human Services and transferred them to Regent University and added nine credits in Biblical and Theological studies for a total of 36 credits overall. I have not graduated with either an Associate’s or Bachelors, but intend to do so with CLI’s new program that I have enrolled in. My plan is to continue my education and work my way to a Bachelor’s degree in Divinity.

Being a Christian leader where I reside is not only a challenge but also a training ground. We live in a state where there is much liberty in terms of various and diverse beliefs and lifestyles. Therefore, it makes it a challenge to stand for your faith and what you believe. We know that the standard is the infallible Word of God.

However, the proper education and training and taking full advantage of CLI’s Higher Education Courses on the Bible make it easier to share your faith in a manner that is equipping. Taking the courses here at CLI builds biblical confidence and assurance that one can defend what we believe and why we believe it. It is the training ground for applying what I learn in small bite sizes. Beginning first in the connection that I have with my walk with God, then with my wife, my children, my family, etc.

God Has a Plan for My Life

Growing up in the Foster Care system, I experienced injustice and abuse. I had no mother or father and was tossed to and fro from one house to the next, not knowing where I would end up today or tomorrow. I remember many times lying down and crying myself to sleep as I was stripped away from my sister and my brother and living in a total stranger’s home.

However, little did I know that God had a plan for me and my life. As the Word clearly states in Psalms 27:10 (KJV), “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.” That has been my story since day one. No matter where my feet landed and what my hands touched and what my heart felt, God raised me and continues to preserve me because HE has a plan. Being a student at CLI is helping to bring those realities to mind again. God is in control, and He is Faithful and will never leave me nor forsake me!

On the Solid Rock

In 1992, I landed at Momma Rosa’s house at nine years of age. At this home, I spent the next nine years of my life. I experienced hardship and abuse, but there God called me. He took my feet from the miry clay and placed them on the Solid Rock, Jesus Christ. Here, I received my foundational teaching, training, and doctrine at Solid Rock Baptist Church, under the tutelage of Bro. Charlie. I remember the place where I called upon the name of the Lord for the first time. It is when I moved in with Momma Rosa, and she took us to the church. There, I confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord of my Life. It was here where my life really began.

My Spiritual Dream: Minister of God, Servant to All!

My spiritual dream is to take that calling that God made towards my life and use it to develop, grow, mature and perfect the gift that God has given me in teaching and expounding on His Word through expository teaching. I want to bring knowledge and understanding to the church, the Body of Christ, through the gift(s) of the Spirit. Taking that special calling and submitting it to my heavenly Father through careful application of the proper training and teaching is my goal.

For he who teaches must first be prepared. I am constantly reminded of what 1 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) states, “Study to shew thyself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” My dream is to be adequately trained as a life long student of the scriptures. Then, one day, I rightly divide the Truth in equipping and raising up other believers to know God and to know His Truth as it is written in His Word. It is my dream!

Obstacles

One of the biggest obstacles that hindered me in fulfilling this dream is the expense of proper and accredited training. Thank the Lord for the Christian Leaders Institute! CLI’s free higher education courses are ideal!

Another barrier is how difficult it is to find suitable teaching and excellent teachers. There is a lack of spiritual mentors and spiritual fathers. Many leaders are afraid to pass down the wisdom and knowledge they have acquired for fear of losing acknowledgment or notoriety. These are some of the barriers that prevent the next generation of eager students who want to grow and develop in the calling God has for them.

God My Comforter

One humbling experience that I had helped me realize how much I needed Christ in my life. It was when my Biological mother passed away in an abandoned house when I was 13 years of age. She died, diagnosed with AIDS, and was found hours later in the cold. After that incident happened, I could not explain why God allowed it to happen. I gladly and willingly shared the gospel and disclosed to others why God sent His Son to this earth. However, I could not explain why my mother passed away or where God was in all of it. It was then that I realized that I knew God as my Savior but not as my comforter. I knew that I only had an understanding of God in my head but not in my heart.

When I was comforted by God through His Word and His people is when God became real to me. I struggled with not knowing and not being able to provide an answer to skeptics or to others who questioned my beliefs. But then, God used others to surround me in my darkest moments, even one of my Special Ed teachers, Mr. Sheldon Benjamin Morris. They came alongside me, cried with me, and reminded me that everything was going to be okay. Then, I felt the tangible love of God, and it was so comforting. I opened up and let my pride go. I accepted the love of God through Mr. Morris and others He brought into my life to surround me with care. It was a comforting experience in learning the deep love of God on a horizontal level.

Thankful for CLI’s Higher Education Courses

In closing, my constant hope and desire are to be able to utilize and exhaust the Christians Leaders Institute training. I want God to mold me, sift me, purge me, and perfect all that which concerns me. As in Jeremiah 18, where the clay has to stay within the hands of the potter, it applies to me.

With CLI’s higher education courses that I will complete, I know in my heart that I am approved of God to continue to move closer to my dream. One day, I will be accepted by others for Vocational Ministry. Galatians 6:4 (KJV). “Learning is humiliating,” Mike Murdock said. For me, it will be humiliating not to take advantage of CLI’s training and use this tool to properly learn.

Learn about credible online ordination at Christian Leaders Alliance.