January
2004
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To finish this life well, you must find and fulfill
the destiny for which God created you! This edition of Cadre Connection
has been specifically designed to help you begin your journey
of discovering and embracing God's specific and personal mission
for which He created YOU! May you lean into that which God beckons
you--and thus finish well!
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In Paul’s farewell to the leaders at the
church of Ephesus in Acts 20:17-38, we get a glimpse into his heart
and clearly see his desire to finish his life and ministry well:
“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish
the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the
task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (Acts
20:24).
Embedded in this verse are three challenges we must meet head on
right now if we really desire to finish well. Will you dare to take
these challenges?
1. The Challenge of Surrender
To read part one:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/1104.php
2. The Challenge of Intentionality
To read part one:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/1204.php
3. The Challenge of Focus
Focus: A point of intense concentration.
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if
only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus
has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel
of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24, emphasis mine).
Paul was able to finish well because he knew specifically
what God wanted him to do with his life. Paul’s pinpoint
focus was “the task of testifying to the gospel of
God’s grace” (Acts 20:24)—specifically to Gentiles
(Acts 13:6; Romans 15-16-17; Ephesians 3:1)—which was a very
radical and unpopular idea for Paul’s time and culture. But
don’t miss this simple and profoundly life changing point:
He had more than a vague or general idea about what God put him
on the earth to accomplish. He had a grasp on his very personal
and specific God-given mission in life. That is the challenge of
focus.
How Is Your Focus?
What about you? Do you have a clear and very specific understanding
of what God has put you on earth for? If you really want to finish
well, you must begin to get a sense of your personal, specific mission
from God—and lean into it with everything you have!
Most of Us Are Not Sure of Our Specific God-Given
Mission!
Few Christians can finish the following sentence with any personal
specificity: “God has put me on the earth to ___________.”
Go ahead right now—stop reading and finish that sentence.
Is your answer personal and specific to you? Sure, in a
general sense, as the Westminster Catechism teaches us,
“The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”
But how—specifically—does God want YOU to
glorify and enjoy him? Good books like The Purpose
Driven Life and The Dream Giver help us to embrace
the idea that God has some important and big-picture purposes for
all of us, but most people never seem to get around to discovering
God’s specific, personal destiny for them—and consequently,
their ability to finish well is impeded. You will never finish this
life well unless you can complete the following sentence with some
personal specificity: “God has put me on the earth to __________.”
Finishing Well Requires Us to Begin the Journey
of Discovering Our Specific God-Given Mission
To finish this life well, you must begin the process of finding
and fulfilling the specific destiny for which God created you! This
quest of discovering our God-given mission should be seen as a journey
with God that continues through the various seasons of life! (I
still don’t know exactly what I want to be when I grow up—but
I’m having a blast on this journey with God!) To be sure,
as stated in the Westminster Catechism, finding and fulfilling the
destiny for which God has called you will bring God glory and you
joy. (Note: I did not say God will bring you “happiness”
or “success” as defined by this world’s standards—I
said “joy.”) I also believe that in some key way, your
God-given destiny—if it is truly God’s destiny for you
and not your own concoction of a plan for your life—will have
everything to do with helping people encounter “the gospel
of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24)—but in a manner that
is unique to the way God created you.
The Benefits of Finding Your Specific God-Given
Destiny
There is great personal power and freedom that comes from knowing
what God specifically wants you to do. It keeps you from being taken
captive by what others think you ought to do with your time and
life. That is, it helps you avoid The First Spiritual Flaw. The
First Spiritual LAW is: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life. The First Spiritual FLAW is: God loves you and PEOPLE
have a wonderful plan for you life. When you know what God specifically
wants you to do, you know what to say yes to—and, perhaps
more importantly, what to say no to. (See Mark 1:35-39.) Every opportunity
people give you—even ministry opportunities in the church—should
not automatically be understood as an obligation from God. There
are so many good things people want you to do with your
short life, you will never be able to do them all. And if you do
try to do them all, you will miss God’s best for you. If you
miss God’s best, you will not finish this life well. Hence,
the ability to determine the difference between what is good and
what is God’s best for you is a powerful advantage in life.
This is precisely why you must begin the journey of discovering
God’s personal, specific mission for your life.
[Action Point: Read Mark 1:35-39. How did Jesus
know what to say yes to and what to say no to? If you want to discover
how to figure out what to say yes to and what to say no to, check
out Cadre’s Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out People:
Ten Biblical Principles for Taking Control of Your Life and Time—great
for personal use or small group study.
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/books.html#time
]
Let Me Entertain You—NOT!
One time someone representing a church called me and said, “We
heard you’re a very funny speaker. We’d like you to
come and give us an evening of laughter and fun.” I said,
“I think I can do that as long as I can share God’s
Word with you too.” The person said, “We’re not
asking for that—we’re asking for thirty minutes of entertainment.”
I said, “Then I’m not your guy.” I hung up and
reflected. Having a clear understanding of what specifically God
wants me to do enables me to be judicious about how to strategically
spend my short life doing God’s best—rather than that
which is merely good.
So how can someone begin the journey of discovering his/her
personal and specific God-given mission in life?
How You Can Begin to Find and Fulfill the
Destiny for Which God Created You
To be sure, such an important and enormous endeavor as finding your
personal, specific God-given mission in life is beyond the scope
of this article—or any book. However, if you are willing to
wrestle with God and be honest with yourself, I would like to try
to get you started in your journey of discovering and embracing
God’s specific destiny for your life. I suggest you find a
quiet place to reflect on the following questions. Even better,
take a personal retreat for a half a day to some quiet place where
you can honestly and prayerfully think deeply about each question.
It is very important that you—in some form—write
out the answer to each question as this can force you into clarity
of thought. This exercise in itself will not be sufficient,
but it can be a catalyst for you to begin to discover God’s
specific mission for your life. Journey on friend…
1. Pretend
you suddenly and legally acquired ten million dollars tax-free.
Once you finished doing all those things you want to do but can’t
currently afford, how would you spend your time?
• What would you start doing that you are not doing right
now?
• What would you stop doing?
• What would you do more of?
• What would you do less of?
• What would your ideal day look like—from the time
you got up—to the time you went to bed? Be specific.
• How do your answers to the above questions indicate
a desire to glorify God?
• What do the answers to the above questions tell you
about the dream God has placed in your heart?
2. If you
could write your own eulogy, to be read to your friends and relatives
at your funeral, what would you want it to say? Be specific.
• Specifically, what do you want people to remember
about you when you die?
• What specific changes do you need to make in the way
you are living now so that you can live up to the details of
your eulogy?
3. What
one great goal would you dare to set for yourself if you knew
you could not fail? Dream big and be as specific as you can.
4. Think
of a time you had that sense of “For this I was born!”
What—specifically—were you doing?
• Where were you?
• Who were you with?
• What exactly made this experience a “For this
I was born!” encounter for you?
• What does this tell you about you?
• What does this tell you about how God has wired you
up?
5.
What do you really love to do—at home or at work?
• If you could only do one thing all day long, what
one activity or task would it be?
6. What
do you do that is almost effortless from your perspective but
seems like a daunting task to others?
7. In what
particular arenas do people consider you the “go-to”
person?
8. What
precisely do you enjoy about your current vocation?
9. What
do you wish you could delegate?
10. What
do you do that elicits the most praise and recognition from others?
11. What
environments do you look forward to working in?
12. What
environments do you avoid?
13. What
kind of advice do people seek from you?
14. If
you could focus more of your time and attention on one or two
aspects of your current vocation, what would they be?
15. What
are your spiritual gifts? Name them.
• Who confirms these?
• What happens inside of you when you put these spiritual
gifts into play?
• What happens to those around you when you put these
spiritual gifts into play?
[Action Point: While a spiritual gifts profile
is not the ultimate way to determine your spiritual giftedness or
personal, specific God-given mission, it can be a helpful tool to
educate you about the different spiritual gifts—and it may
give you some idea about how God wired you up to serve Him. To take
a free online spiritual gifts assessment from Elmer Towns go here:
http://www.elmertowns.com/spiritual_gifts_test
]
(Note: The previous thought-provoking
questions have been borrowed and/or adapted from a wide variety
of sources. Many are my own creation. Others are originally from
human resource expert, Brian Tracy. Some come from Andy Stanley’s
excellent book, The Next Generation Leader.)
Involve Other Key People in Your Destiny
Discovery Journey
While self-evaluation via thinking deeply, prayerfully, and honestly
about the previous questions is absolutely critical to finding and
fulfilling your specific God-given destiny, self-evaluation alone
is not enough. We rarely—if ever—have the ability to
assess ourselves with complete objectivity. Perhaps this is one
reason Proverbs wisely instructs us to sharpen others—and
to be sharpened by others who love God and love us (Proverbs 27:17).
So I challenge you to find two or three people who love God,
know you well, and who employ others—and invite them to speak
into your life by asking these great questions from Andy Stanley:
1. If I came to work for
you for free…
• where in your organization would I add the most value?
• where would you want me to focus my attention?
• where would I stand the most chance of success?
• what area or areas would you see to it that I didn’t
get involved in?
2. In my current work environment,
where do you see misalignment between my core competencies and
my responsibilities?
3. If you had the opportunity
to advise my boss on how to better utilize me, what would your
advice be?
4. Are you aware of areas
in my life where there is misalignment between my passion and
my competency?
Find and Deploy Your Champions
If you truly take the time to wrestle down God’s answers to
the previous questions (not your answers or the answers you want
to hear), in a small way, you will be on your way to exploring God’s
destiny and mission for your life. Once you have struggled deeper
into this journey and God starts to confirm your specific mission
deep in your soul, stepping into your destiny will not come easily
or automatically. God will require you to take some kind of step
of faith (Hebrews 11). If you want to step into the specific
purposes of God for your life, the only road in is FAITH AVENUE!
So discovering your specific God-given mission is not the end.
It is the beginning of the greatest challenge of your life. The
question at this point will be: Do you have the spiritual guts to
step into God’s specific mission for your life! Undoubtedly,
you will need a person or a small group of people who will love
you enough to encourage and challenge you to step into specifically
what God has for you. In the book, The Dream Giver, Bruce
Wilkenson calls these people, “Champions.” You will
need to seek these champions out to help you take your journey!
[Action Point: Read Proverbs 27:17. Make a list
of three “27:17 Champions” in your life. Ask them to
speak into your life so you can begin to discover God’s specific
and personal mission. Use the questions in this article to interact
with these champions.]
Finishing Well: The Strategy of the Last
72 Hours
For the last several presidential elections, political pundits have
been talking about the critical importance of the final 72 hours
of a campaign. That is, after spending millions of dollars and countless
hours of energy campaigning all over the United States, the fate
of an election often boils down to the last 72 hours. In a presidential
race in these days, if you snooze—or even let up just a little
during the last 72 hours—you could very well lose! That’s
how critical the last 72 hours are!
The point is this: To truly finish well, we must run strong all
the way to the very end. The last portion of the journey is no time
to rest or drop our guards! Yet, the spiritual racetrack of life
is littered with the broken lives of those who had great starts,
were more talented, smarter, stronger, and even more pious than
most of us. Way too many of us finish poorly like Solomon, the wisest
man who ever lived: “As Solomon grew old,
his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not
fully devoted to the Lord his God…” (1 Kings 11:4, emphasis
mine). The danger for us is that as we grow old, our hearts
could grow cold—and we may turn after other gods (including
the god of self and comfort). If it can happen to Solomon, it can
happen to any of us.
At the same time, we have a host of other Christian racers cheering
us on so that we can finish well! As the life and ministry of the
apostle Paul came to a close, he wrote these inspiring words: “I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). It can be done! It is possible
to finish well—to—at the end of this life—hear
the words of Jesus to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
(Matthew 25:21). But make no mistake about it: If you really want
to finish well in God’s eyes, you must—right now—embrace..
1. The Challenge of Surrender
2. The Challenge of Intentionality
3. The Challenge of Focus
RESPONSE: To
respond to this article, e-mail us at
info@cadreministries.com
Send this Cadre Connection to a friend:
SEND TO A FRIEND: Click Here
Three More Finishing Well Resources:
 1.
Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out People:
Ten Biblical Principles for Taking Control of Your Life and
Time
* Book content and ordering info
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/books.html#time
* Audio CD
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/audio.html
Great for personal use or small group study.
2. Andy Stanley shares material from his leadership
training sessions, developed to address essential leadership qualities
such as character, clarity, courage, and competency.
3. A modern-day parable about Ordinary, who dares
to leave the Land of Familiar to pursue his Big Dream. With the
help of the Dream Giver, Ordinary begins the hardest and most rewarding
journey of his life.
BRAND NEW:
The John 3:16 Factor Living Guide!
 Twenty-five
devotional studies to help individuals or small groups learn to
relationally invite others to the journey of a relationship with
God! This living guide is a pocket-sized booklet of biblical challenges
and insights that helps you fill your heart with God's love--and
then let that love overflow into your relationships with people
who do not yet have a relationship with God! Your journey in this
devotional will be one of interceding for pre-Christians, investing
in a credible relationship with them, intersecting God's Word with
their lives, and inviting them to trust Jesus Christ as Savior.
Special pricing for multiple copies of three and ten.
To order online
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/books.html#john316
To order via regular mail, print this order form
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/mail.html
Start 2005 with Cadre's Ten Day
E-mail Bible study: Overflowing God's Love to Others:
Sign Up Now!
For ten days consecutive days (which has already
started January 1st), join the Cadre team in an e-mail Bible
study that will help you experience God's love for you--and then
help you overflow that love to those in your world in practical
ways. This ten day Bible study adventure is based on Cadre's Evangelism
Is Relationships training workshop--and comes right out of Cadre's
brand new companion twenty-five day devotional, The John
3:16 Factor Living Guide (see above for details). Can you
think of a better way to start the first ten days of 2005?
Even though this eStudy has already started,
check out the link below and catch up with us. You can also sign
up for the last two days:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/john316
Cadre
Trainers and Training Coming to You in 2005—Mark Your Schedules
NOW!
• Central Illinois Area, Saturday, 1/15/05
Train-the-Trainers Special Workshop: The Teaching Genius of Jesus,
9 AM to 3 PM. This is especially for vocational and volunteer leaders
who oversee volunteer teachers in their church. To register or for
more info, contact Bill Allison at bill@cadreministries.com
• Central Illinois Area, Saturday, 1/22/05
Becoming a High Impact Teacher
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/bahit.php
8:30 AM-12:30 PM. For youth leaders, small group shepherds, and
Sunday school teachers. The $15 registration includes a training
manual and snack break. Contact certified Cadre trainer, Lon Alderman
at lon@acornministries.com
• Orlando Florida Area, Saturday, 1/22/05
Becoming A High Impact Teacher
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/bahit.php
8:30 AM-12:30 PM. For youth leaders, small group shepherds, and
Sunday school teachers. The $15 registration includes a training
manual and snack break. Contact Cadre staff member, Doug Holliday
at doug@cadreministries.com
• Central Florida Area, Saturday, 1/22/05
Becoming A High Impact Teacher
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/bahit.php
8:30 AM-12:30 PM. For youth leaders, small group shepherds, and
Sunday school teachers. The $15 registration includes training manual
and snack break. Contact Cadre staff member, Laura Wampach at laura@cadreministries.com
• Chicago Area, Saturday, 2/12/05
Ministry Is Relationships
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/relationships.php
8:30 AM-12:30 PM. For ALL believers junior high through senior citizens
at any level of walk with God. The $15 registration includes a training
manual, follow up twenty-five day devotional guide, and snack breaks.
Contact Bill Allison at bill@cadreministries.com
• Central Illinois Area, Friday and Saturday, 2/18-19/05
Friday workshops: Effective Youth Ministry Can Happen
in a Small Town Church and Staying Spiritually Sane While Leading
a Youth Ministry and Seasons in Ministry and Life
Saturday workshops: Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out People
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/pooped.php
and High Impact Methods of Teaching http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/methods.php
All workshops are a part of The Equip Convention at the Peoria Civic
Center. For more information http://www.equipconvention.org.
• Central Pennsylvania Area, Friday-Sunday, 2/25-27/05
Youth Ministry 2005 Conference for Volunteer and Vocational Youth
Workers
For a PDF informational brochure, contact bill@cadreministries.com
• Milwaukee Wisconsin Area, Saturday, 3/5/05
A Taste of Ministry Is Relationships, for more info contact bill@cadreministries.com
• Chicago Area, Saturday, 3/5/05
Training for volunteers and those who oversee volunteers in children's
ministry! For more info contact info@cadreministries.com
• Central Iowa Area, Saturday, 3/19/05
Ignite National Youth Workers Conference for Volunteer and Vocational
Youth Workers
For more info contact bill@cadreministries.com
Cadre: We're guilty
of inciting a volunteer training revolution in the church!
Cadre is a not-for-profit ministry [501(c)(3)]
that exists to assist local churches in becoming the greatest
volunteer training organizations in the world. We're asking God
to give us 5,000 non-staff trainers who are obsessed with Ephesians
4:11-12! To pursue certification to take Cadre training to your
church, contact info@cadreministries.com.
Cadre staff serve as support-based, God-dependent
missionaries to come alongside volunteers and those who care for
volunteers in the church to help accomplish their God-given mission.
We provide FREE monthly online training for
volunteers in the church (Cadre Connection), for volunteer Jr.
High Youthworkers (Batteries Included), and for Student Leaders
(Spiritual Caffeine). Visit www.cadreministries.com
to preview our recent free training or to sign up to receive training
in your email-box monthly.
For more information about bringing a certified
Cadre trainer to coach and train the volunteer teachers, leaders,
and youth workers in your church, contact info@cadreministries.com
For Cadre training sources visit http://www.cadreministries.com/store
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