"Wealthy help humanity more as businessmen and women then as philanthropists"
"Bill Gates and Warren Buffett announced this month that 40 of America's richest people have agreed to sign a "Giving Pledge" to donate at least half of their wealth to charity. With a collective net worth said to total $230 billion, that promise translates to at least $115 billion. It's an impressive number. Yet some—including Messrs. Gates and Buffett—say it isn't enough. Perhaps it's actually too much: the wealthy may help humanity more as businessmen and women than as philanthropists."
"What are the chances, after all, that the two forces behind the Giving Pledge will contribute anywhere near as much to the betterment of society through their charity as they have through their business pursuits? In building Microsoft, Bill Gates changed the way the world creates and shares knowledge. Warren Buffett's investments have birthed innumerable profitable enterprises, making capital markets work more efficiently and enriching many in the process."
"While businesses may do more for the public good than they're given credit for, philanthropies may do less. Think about it for a moment: can you point to a single charitable accomplishment that has been as transformative as say, the cell phone or the birth-control pill?"
"I do not mean to belittle philanthropy...My point is simply that there is nothing inherently better or nobler about using one's resources for charitable purposes than for any number of other ones. If anything, the marketplace does a better job of channeling resources toward where they are most valued, and of punishing failure."
Labels: Bill Gates, Quotable, Warren Buffett
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Top 10 Things to know about Microfinance
Read the Full Article by James Allman-Gulino, KF11 Uganda on the Kiva Chronicles Website - For the regular visitors to the Kiva Fellows blog, I’m sure you have a good idea of how microfinance works and how Kiva fits in to the bigger picture. However, newer visitors may be less familiar with some of the basic characteristics of the field. With that in mind, I’ve created a “top 10” list of (hopefully) helpful facts about microfinance and Kiva’s operations:
1. Microfinance delivers financial services to poor individuals
Microfinance specifically offers services to those who don’t have adequate credit or who are otherwise “unbanked”, meaning they do not have access the services of a traditional financial institution like a bank. This may be because they lack the assets needed to get a loan, are deemed too poor to merit targeting, or live in a remote area where there are no financial institutions. Microfinance institutions (MFIs), however, adapt their services to cater to these populations and get them financial credit; MFIs also typically have an explicitly “social” goal of helping these people lift themselves out of poverty. Microfinance exists all over the world (including in the United States), but is focused on the developing world due to poorer populations and lesser penetration of traditional banks.
2. Microfinance includes more than business loans
As you can see if you browse around Kiva, most microfinance takes the form of business loans, where an entrepreneur asks for an amount of loan capital to start or expand a productive business. This is the prototypical image of microfinance that many people have. However, not all people are successful entrepreneurs just because they can get credit! Microfinance comes in many other forms as well. For instance, microsavings can afford poor individuals a secure place to keep their cash earnings, and actually earn interest on their savings. Other microfinance loan products might be specifically designed for housing (in a format like a traditional mortgage, just on a much smaller scale), or to pay for children’s school fees. This range of services helps provide clients with the products most needed to pay for (or save for) important things in their lives.
Labels: Kiva, Microfinance
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What is the purpose of your work?
Bradley Moore - One Sunday morning a couple of years ago, my church announced a new program discussing “Faith in the Workplace.” Although I had never thought much about this subject, I was intrigued and decided to check it out, along with many other career-oriented congregants.
My church is located in a bucolic, historically-preserved town that happens to be a stone’s throw from the pharmaceutical Mecca of the Northeast, and is also within commuting distance from both New York City and Philadelphia. Needless to say, we are a church community filled with our fair share of corporate management-types.
Once the appointed day arrived and the group had settled in to their seats, the speaker opened the session by asking a very simple question: “What is the purpose of your work?”
Labels: Bradley Moore, High Callings
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Success to Significance? Not A Message for Future Generations
Talk to a young 20 or 30 something today that has read the book and you may hear summaries that say "I don't want to get there" or "I don't want to wait until the second half of my life to find significance. I want to be a part of something significant right now!"
Here's what the team at Inside Work recently wrote about the idea.
Labels: Bob Buford, Halftime
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OPEN Network Announces 2 Meetings in Dubai and Istanbul
Those you know living and working in the 10/40 Window may now register by writing Laura at Laura@OPENNetworkers.net or get more info at www.OPENNetworkers.net
Registrations for the Istanbul Huddle will be closed once 40 adult attendees have registered, and only 25 will be allowed to register for the Dubai Huddle.
At each Huddle there will be the usual break out groups focusing on our various businesses and how we can network better. Information on speakers may be found at the website.
Labels: OPEN Network
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Churches in Colorado and California Getting Down to Business
Churches in Highlighlands Ranch, Colorado and Folsom, California share their resources and business expertise to advance the Gospel, train leaders and elevate the poor in Mozambique.
As four American businessmen gathered for prayer in Mozambique earlier this year, it happened—a “victory moment,” as Gene Kissinger calls it.
Kissinger, outreach pastor at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colo., had accompanied the group halfway around the world not to build houses, teach Bible school or provide health care. Instead, the men had taken five days from their busy schedules to go to Africa and do what they do best—look at accounting, assess spending and evaluate income for a missionary-run business.
The “moment” happened as Kissinger was leading the group in a spiritual debriefing at the end of the trip.
“One of the guys, almost with tears said, ‘I never thought God could use my business skills for His purposes,’” Kissinger says, his voice cracking at the
memory. “And we all said, ‘Thank you, Lord, for opening our eyes to that.’”
It’s this realization that motivates Bruce Swanson, director of Transformational Ventures, a WorldVenture initiative that seeks to connect businesspeople with
missions needs around the world.
“The church and missions have really squandered an incredible amount of resources in the businesspeople at churches,” Swanson says. “There are successful businesspeople that traditional missionary work just doesn’t touch.
So business as mission is a way to impact people economically, lift people out
of poverty, while showing God’s love to them in the way they’re treated.
And also, business as mission is a way to connect with and impact higherlevel
types of businesspeople.”
Swanson works with churches and individuals—an online survey at TransformationalVentures.com matches skills with needs—to better understand how business knowledge and ability can bring Christ to a community as effectively as more traditional methods.
“We look at it as really following Jesus’ pattern,” he says. “He didn’t only preach, He healed and dealt with people’s needs. We’re following in that trajectory of holistic ministry and paying attention to the economic
well-being of a person.”
Labels: Sacred and Secular Divide, Transformational Ventures
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Medical Manufacturing Company looking for GM to run Facility in Shanghai
Lumenous Device Tech is hiring a General Manager for its Chinese facility (greater Shanghai region) which currently employs 40 people. The General Manager has overall responsibility for the operations of the facility which serves medical device manufacturers with engineered nitinol materials, laser-cut specialty components such as stents, and precision cleanroom assembly. A technical/manufacturing background in a quality-managed industry is an important ingredient of leadership. An emphasis is placed on business development, sales, and marketing in the growing Chinese and near-abroad medical device industry. Contact: opportunity@lumenous.com.
Labels: Lumenous, Recruitment and Job Opportunities
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EC Group Featured on the Cover of Christian Computing for their Business Helping Speed Bible Translation
Read the Cover Story at the Christian Computing Website - In a remote jungle village, a bearded Wycliffe missionary sits close to a campfire. As mosquitoes buzz around, he listens closely to a tribal elder speak in an undocumented language, yearning to understand the dialect in order to bring them the Good News in their own tongue.
Thirty years later a Bible is produced - the missionary's effort of a lifetime.
Today another "missionary" sits in a cubical writing software that will forever change the process of how Bible translation is accomplished. These advanced and innovative programs address the full spectrum of the translation process from creating dictionaries through to final publication. Technology is the single most powerful factor in reaching the 350 million people who do not have God's Word in their own language. It increases the efficiency of the 6,000 Wycliffe team members addressing translation in over 90 countries.
Wycliffe's "IT Missionaries"
Wycliffe generously shares its technology and translations with other ministries. As a result, Wycliffe's work is reaching hundreds of millions of people through products like the Jesus Film, audio bibles, radio broadcasts, television programs, and the new and exciting http://Bible.is project from Faith Comes by Hearing. A small elite team of dedicated IT professionals is reshaping how the Gospel is brought to the world.
"Before working with Wycliffe, I had no idea such 'IT Missionaries' existed," remarks Tom Sudyk, CEO and Chairman for EC Group International (www.ecgroup-intl.com). "I had only heard the 'missionary' stories of those joining organizations to go overseas and working on the front lines."
Labels: Christian Computing, EC Group, Tom Sudyk
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You remain in Church while you're at Work?!
Guest Post by Larry Peabody - Ruts pose two hazards for a bike rider. One, they're hard to get out of. Two, they take control of the steering. The words "go to church” create similar risks for Christ-followers. First, you can't escape the words. Everyone uses them. They've become part of our language—like "go for a walk.” Second, the phrase "steers” our thinking about church. Saying "go to” makes us think of church as an event. We "go to” meetings and parties and weddings. Events happen at set times and in specific places.
If I say I plan to "go” to a meeting, that means I am not there at the moment. Getting there will take some effort. And when the meeting ends, I will not be in it any longer, unless I "go” to another one. That's the problem with our saying that we "go to church.” The words condition us to think that most of the time—including our hours at work—we are not in church.
But such an idea is flat-out contrary to what the New Testament teaches us about the church. Scripture says the church is Christ's body, and each believer is a member of his body. Think for a moment about the members of your own body. Is it possible for your eyes, arms, or legs to "go to body”? Ridiculous! They are already in your body and stay there 24-7. In the same way you, as a member of Christ's body, are always in his body. You don't check in and check out like a hospital patient. Weekdays do not require an out-of-body experience.
So the truth is, you remain in church—a member of Christ's body—even while you're on the job. "But,” someone might object, "it doesn't feel like church!” No, the time in your office or shop won't feel like what you experience when believers get together in a service. That's because here on earth, in real time, the church operates in two forms: gathered and scattered.
The New Testament leaves no doubt about the importance of believers gathering together. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Heb. 10:25). Even in the first century, some tried to live the Christian life solo. But each of us needs to be encouraged, spurred on, and built up by other believers. And each of us needs to encourage, spur on, and build up those others as well. Jesus spoke of those who would "come together” in his name (Mt. 18:20). Paul expected the Corinthian believers to "come together . . . for the strengthening of the church” (I Cor. 14:26).
But the word "come” in "come together” tells us there are times when the members of Christ's body are not physically together. In those times, the church is to operate in its scattered form. When Paul wrote to wives and husbands about their right relationships to each other, he was telling them how to live as members of Christ's body in its scattered form. When Paul and Peter wrote to believing slaves, their instructions were to be carried out while those slaves worked as members of Christ's body in its scattered form. Seeds become fruitful after they get scattered.
As a member of Christ's body, you will spend most of your time in the scattered-church mode. Let's say you typically gather with other believers three hours each week—90 minutes on Sundays, another 90 in a midweek small group. That totals 156 hours a year in the gathered church. In that same year, let's say you spend 40 hours a week in your workplace. That's more than 2,000 hours on the job. To me, this suggests that much of our limited time in the gathered church should be spent equipping us for and encouraging us in our roles in the scattered church.
Although you don't "go to church," you do "go to work." And when you do, the church is there because you are still in it as a member of Christ's body. Even in that scattered mode, you can look for opportunities to gather with other believing co-workers before or after work, during breaks, or on lunch hours. Just this past week I received a very encouraging phone call from a Microsoft employee who meets regularly with fellow Christ-followers after work for prayer and encouragement. When even two or three believers assemble like this, the gathered church appears again—right there in the workplace!
How do you believe we in the gathered church can help equip each other for the battles we face out there in the scattered church? How have you seen that happening already? What still needs to happen?
Labels: Larry Peabody, Sacred and Secular Divide
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God at work in Africa
Guest Post by Kevin Pate - I want to give you a quick update of the Africa trip I returned from last week The team of Doyle Duran, Carece Slaughter and me began the week in the capital city of Accra teaching accounting and finance to a group of 30 business and ministry leaders. As a group, we marched through financial statements, budgeting, analysis and other "fun" topics. I commend all involved for persisting and gaining much knowledge that will help propel their respective organizations to new heights for God's Kingdom.
After Accra, the team moved quickly to Kumasi, Ghana to lead an exciting Marketplace Conference for Christian business leaders on a university campus. The 350 plus people who registered for the event were challenged to get God involved in their businesses and see themselves as people of influence who God wants to work through to reach the nations. Practical business topics concerning sales, management, customer service and entrepreneurial principles were taught to a group who is hungry to take their businesses to the next level and function as Kingdom Businesses.
This trip was confirmation that God is working in a big way on the continent of Africa and using willing Christian people to carry out His purposes in the Marketplace.
Put your time and talent to work on a trip with Kevin and the team at Global Advance. Learn more on their website here.
Labels: Africa, Global Advance, Kevin Pate
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Who's going to the TimeOut Conference in California?
For those of you who don't know Dave, he lives at the intersection of faith and work. In addition to his insurance company Dave is also in the midst of launching a new business called Premier Legacy Films with Michael Corwin. Dave also hosts the TimeOut Conference that has previously hosted speakers like Rick Warren, John Ortberg, Bruce Wilkinson, Os Guiness and Ken Eldred.
This year, I'm looking forward to being at the conference with 150-200 other businessmen who are journeying to combine their faith and work. We're going to be talking a little bit about Next Generation Leadership and our experience working with young adults at RightNow and how that plays into their desire to combine business and ministry.
I just booked our tickets. Would love to hear from anyone else that's planning to be out there. Shoot me an email and we'll plan a time to meet up.
Labels: Dave Dias, Events and Conferences
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"You don't waste your life by where you work, but by how and why"
I was exchanging a few emails with a new friend and I noticed the quote at the bottom of his signature from John Piper. What a great reminder that ministry isn't defined by location, in the walls of the church or by what country you live in. Its all about the how and why we do what we do.
Labels: John Piper, Quotable
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PASTORS, GO TO WHERE YOUR MEN WORK
Pastors, go to where your men work.
During my past 4 years as a pastor in the Bay Area I quickly discovered that one of the most important things for me to do was to hang out with men in my church at their workplace.
This helped the men. It showed them that I care about their callings, how they spend 50+ hours of their week, and the people they work with.
This helped me. It taught me about the unique opportunities & challenges men were facing in their different workplaces, it opened my eyes to a world bigger than our church, and it helped set new trajectories for my preaching and discipling.
This is how I did it (and how I will continue doing it once I get started in Phoenix):
-Schedule a lunch-time visit with a man in your church. The best use of your time is to make most of these visits with men who are leader types. Schedule to meet the guy at his office, not at the lunch spot.
-Once you show up have the guy show you around his workspace. If you’re naturally curious like me, you’ll quickly have 20 questions about all that you’re seeing around you. Ask your questions. Learn the man’s world.
-Introduce yourself to his co-workers. Don’t tell people you’re a pastor, unless asked or introduced that way. They will find out eventually and they’ll be incredibly surprised that a pastor looks and talks like a normal person and doesn’t spend all his time on church property.
-Once you get the tour, take the man out to lunch (if there’s a lunch place on the work campus, go there, it will lead to more learning about the workplace) and let him talk to you at length about his work. You’ll quickly discover how you can best encourage and empower the man in his calling.
-Always speak out against the “higher calling of ministry” idea if it surfaces. Three out of five times when I meet a man at his work he talks to me about how the work I’m doing as a pastor is “so much more important” than what he’s doing as a software engineer, financial analyst, etc. I always immediately crush and correct this unbiblical view of vocation. Your men need you to tell them that all work is a means of glorifying God, and that working for a church is not superior to working for Google. It’s your job to empower your men, to help them see the nobility of the work God has called them to do.
Men need pastors to jump into the fire of their work world with them and empower them to keep their eyes on Jesus and do their work in Jesus’ honor, whatever that work might be.
Also, at least for me, doing this is a whole lot of fun. It’s been a blast visiting men at their work here in the Bay Area. I’ve been able to see:
-The financial analysis & game development sector at Electronic Arts.
-The inner workings of a Secret Service office.
-A two-person flower shop in the financial district of San Francisco.
-A small architect firm’s hip office quarters.
-A contractor’s truck-office.
-The sprawling, impressive campus at Google.
-Several software companies who do things I still don’t fully understand.
-The venture capital world on Sand Hill Road.
-Several impressive work-from-home offices.
-(And when I didn’t have a man working there, AnneMarie gave me a great tour of Facebook).
Pastors, if you’re not already doing something like this, start incorporating it into your schedule. I think you should aim for a minimum of 1 workplace visit per week. Doing this is part of what keeps my calling fresh and alive, and what keeps me connected to men and the larger working world.
And make sure you budget for this. This is just as important as your book budget. Budget funds to cover meals and mileage for these crucial visits.
(PS. I’ve written this post from an architect/contractor’s home office)
Photo: Took this shot last week of Boston firefighters fighting a 3 alarm fire in Beacon Hill.
Labels: Justin Buzzard, Sacred and Secular Divide
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Looking for CEO to run Dallas Based Business as Mission Commercial Bank
"Our company is in the process of chartering a BAM focused commercial bank. It will be a wholesale only bank. It is very well capitalized and will have a “built-in” set of depositors and borrowers.
We need an experienced medium to large bank CEO. He or she must have been a bank CEO in the last five years. This person should have business finance experience and cash management experience (in the Billions).
You’ll have to hear the story to appreciate the uniqueness of this opportunity. We expect the bank to be operational in the next sixty days. It will be located in the Dallas, Texas area.
Please contact Rick Knight @ (903) 876-4492 or at eagle02@Libertas-American.com.
Labels: Recruitment and Job Opportunities
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Christian Research Guru George Barna talks about Faith at Work
Last year we were thrilled to have George speak at our RightNow Conference in Dallas and I'm looking forward to having Dave Kinnaman at our upcoming conference Nov 11-12th. Last week I was encouraged to see George write about the intersection of Faith and Work.
Here's a few quotes, but click through to read the whole article and how their research tackled the question of whether or not "marketplace churches" provide adequate enough teaching compared to what you find in organic churches.
"Several years ago I wrote a book entitled Revolution that suggested a new wave of faith expressions was becoming increasingly popular in America. One of those expressions was faith-centered gatherings at places of work. The popularity of such meetings has continued to grow in recent years.
An article in the Wall Street Journal published earlier this month pointed out that there are now thousands of businesses who employ chaplains to facilitate on-premises faith activity. While some of those chaplains serve primarily as on-site counselors, a large share lead groups of employees in times of worship, Bible study, prayer, and service activities. One of the reasons that businesses foster the blending of faith and work is that it produces a better work environment, higher productivity, and a deeper sense of team engagement. These outcomes, of course, enhance the bottom line, causing many business leaders to conclude that a faithful workforce can be a more profitable workforce. Organizations such as Tyson Foods have led the way in this regard, employing about 120 chaplains to minister with Tyson’s 117,000+ employees across the nation..." Visit George's Blog
Labels: George Barna, Sacred and Secular Divide
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Leading businessman takes helm at mission agency
A former top-flight executive from one of the world’s truly global corporations is to be the new chair of the Church Mission Society, one of the country’s oldest world mission agencies.
John Ripley was an executive at Unilever for 35 years, finishing his career there as head of corporate development for the worldwide group.
He succeeds the Rt Rev Paul Butler, Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, in January 2011.
Known in the business world as a consummate strategist, Mr Ripley says of his new role that he wants to help build on the courage shown by CMS in the recent past “to take risks with God and for God at a time of considerable uncertainty and change”.
Some of those courageous decisions have been mergers with other agencies, most recently the South American Mission Society. “It is a mission organisation leading the way in partnership and merging.”
Of his own mission, Mr Ripley says he felt a clear call 37 years ago to be an ambassador for God in the business world. Having semi-retired at the end of 2008, his various responsibilities now include being chair of the Christian Association of Business Executives, and treasurer of Feba Radio, the Christian broadcasting charity. Read the rest of the article on the Christianity Today website.
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Rich DeVos, Neal Johnson and Doug Seebeck speaking at International Business Conference
Guest post from the Partners Worldwide Team - October 7-8th Doug Seebeck and the Partners Worldwide team will be hosting the International Business Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This year's theme Marketplace Revolution - Fighting global POVERTY through BUSINESS will be led by a great speaking lineup including:
- Rich DeVos - Co-fonder of Amway Corp and renowned author and speaker on entrepreneurship, economics and faith.
- Neal Johnson - Author of Business as Mission: A comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice
- Ralph Edmond - Entrepreneur and owner of Farmatrix Pharmaceuticals in Hati
- Leila Chirayath Janah - Recipient of TEDIndia Fellowship
- Magatte Wade - Serial Entrepreneur and founder of Adina World Beverages a multi-million dollar beverage company that sells culturally authentic drinks from around the world.
- Joe DeLoss - Founder of Freshbox catering and Director of Social Enterprise at Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio
The power of Business as Mission is revolutionizing the marketplace and more people are asking, "How can business be a part of the solution to poverty?" At the conference you'll be able to:
- Hear the life changing stories of business owners and entrepreneurs who are making this vision a reality.
- Connect with hundreds in the Partners Worldwide network who are applying the foundational principles of partnerships, training and mentoring, access to capital, and advocating justice.
- Identify Business as Mission applications in your church, vocation and community
Past International Business Conferences have drawn attendees from over 25 countries around the world. We continue to hear how this powerful time of training and newtorking is the inspiration internaional entrepreneurs need to be a catalyst of change in their community. For more information, visit the conference website and we hope to see you at the conference in a few week.
Labels: Doug Seebeck, Events and Conferences, Partners Worldwide
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Aren't we all called into "Full-Time Service"?
Guest post by Larry Peabody -
YOU HAVE HEARD: TO REALLY SERVE GOD IN YOUR WORK, GO INTO FULL-TIME SERVICE
BUT SCRIPTURE MAKES IT CLEAR: ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO SERVE GOD FULL TIME
"We shape our buildings,” said Winston Churchill; "thereafter they shape us.” In a similar way, we fashion religious terms that from then on have the power to mold our thinking for generations. Case in point: the phrase "full-time Christian service.” Think with me about what we communicate in the way we use that term.
Since who knows when, this phrase has come to mean serving as pastor, missionary, etc. A quick Google search turned up these real-life examples:
· The co-owner of a small business came home from work one day and announced to his wife, "I think we're supposed to go into full-time service.” They eventually went as missionaries to Ethiopia.
· The president's scholarship at a Bible college was "Established for a full-time student . . . with intentions to enter full-time Christian service as a pastor, a missionary, or a teacher.”
· ". . . one-half of those who go into full-time service drop out within 5 years.”
Can God send a business owner to Ethiopia as a missionary? Yes. Might he have called "Phil” to work as a pastor? Of course. If I no longer receive my paycheck from a religious organization, does that automatically mean I've "dropped out" of serving the Lord full time? I hope not. I fully get what we Christians intend when we say "full-time Christian service.” What troubles me is what the phrase, "full-time Christian service,” locks us into saying without our intending to do so.
The words send the not-so-subtle signal that believers not in "full-time service” must be serving God part time (or perhaps not at all). This raises some questions. If full-time service includes all seven pieces of the weekly pie, does serving him part time mean settling for only the Sunday slice? Does that mean those in ordinary jobs are not serving God while on duty there? Does "dropping out” of full-time service carry the stigma of reduced Kingdom value? When Paul stopped preaching to make tents, was he dropping out of full-time service?
Maybe the root question goes like this: Does the New Testament ever describe a Christ-follower as entering or leaving "full-time service”? Clearly, the answer is no. Then does the New Testament have anything to say that should shape our thinking in this area? Yes.
For example, Paul told the believers in the church at Corinth, "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (I Cor. 15:58). Always means at all times. Fully means abundantly, many times over—completely. Did Paul address his letter to a pastor at Corinth? No. To the elders? No. He wrote it "to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2). In other words, he wrote 15:58 to all the believers in the church.
Those believers included slaves (12:13). Slaves did a great deal of the ordinary work that kept life going back in those days. Think of it! Paul expected them—whether they served as maids, miners, or masons—to give themselves to the work of the Lord completely and at all times. Without using the phrase, "full-time service,” Paul seems to be saying even those who carry out the everyday chores of the work world should engage in service full time for their Lord.
Whatever your work, God has called you into full-time service for him. Yes, God gifts and calls some to work as pastors and teachers and so on. But their job is to prepare the rest of God's people to serve him full time, no matter what kind of work he may have placed them in (Eph. 4:11-12).
But the way our religious traditions have taught us to use the phrase, "full-time service,” suggests that it's okay to be a believer and yet to be involved in something less than serving the Lord full time. What do you think? Might our use of this language at least partly explain why many believers remain underemployed in the kingdom of God?
About Larry Peabody- Larry has served in three Washington State agencies over a span of 11 years, primarily in the area of public information. For the next 17 years, he worked as a self-employed business owner. While still in that role, he led a team that planted a church, serving as a bi-vocational pastor for 8 years and then as a full-time, paid senior pastor for another 13 years. He retired from his senior pastor role in August 2007. Larry authored the book, SERVING CHRIST IN THE WORKPLACE. His book may be purchased on-line through Amazon.com.
Labels: Larry Peabody, Sacred and Secular Divide
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An Example of a Life Well-Lived
During the seating of the guests and, for a few minutes at the beginning of the service, a series of pictures from his life were projected on a large screen in the front of the room. Scores of pictures were chosen by those he loved and left behind to present the most important and memorable scenes and seasons of a remarkable life lived ‘large.’ Watching them brought tears and laughter… sometimes at the same time. This was a great guy and the photos provided a touching review of his life’s celebrations and values.
As I watched, I was struck by the fact that, out of the tons of pictures that were selected, not one of them showed him at the office. It’s not as though he didn’t have one! The man had an extraordinarily successful business career. There could have undoubtedly been bunches of pictures of awards won, sales made, milestones accomplished, and promotions gained from a professional perspective. But, in the retrospective view of his life, such things were pushed aside by pictures of family vacations, weddings, births, graduations, grandchildren, and many ‘ministry moments.’
Each of his five sons-in-law wrote or spoke of their relationship with him. His closest friends shared precious memories from sports, fishing trips, ski vacations, and work-related relationships. No one mentioned degrees, net worth, or worldly accomplishments, although they surely could have. But at this point, all of those things had lost their meaning and had little significance in summing up his life and its impact. Gene’s life was summarized in terms of the impact he had on others for eternity!
It will be the same for you and me. One split second after we take our final breath, so many of the things that we think are important now will become totally unimportant to us or to those that we love most.
I’m so glad that I knew this man and also that I was a part of the celebration of his life. It was both an encouragement to me to ‘press on’ and a reminder that, when our time comes (and it surely will), our lives and legacy will be the sum total of the choices that we’ve made and the priorities that we’ve lived. Choices have consequences. How we’ll be remembered will be a reflection of our life’s priorities. As we often say in C12: “Priorities are what we do. Everything else is just talk!”
This man made lots of right choices. He wasn’t perfect (only One man ever has been), but he made lots of good choices. So, in honor of my brother, Gene, why not…
• Have a daily quiet time with Jesus
• Go home early and hug your children’s mom
• Don’t miss a game
• Give when it hurts or until it does
• Listen
• Never skip a vacation to work
• Delegate
• Say “No” sometimes
• Laugh at yourself – often
Remember if you can’t be happy with what you’ve got, you’ll never be happy with what you’re trying to get! Every issue and relationship is an opportunity to share the love and truth of our Lord
Press on! Run through the tape!
And Gene… well done! See you at home, big guy!
Labels: Buck Jacobs, C12 Group
Continue reading 'An Example of a Life Well-Lived'
