November 2004

Free Online Training Designed Especially for Church Volunteers

Dr. Robert Clinton, a leadership professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, notes that 70 percent of leaders don’t finish well. He has identified six common traits of leaders who quit running the race effectively:

1. They lose their learning posture.
2. The attractiveness of their character wanes.
3. They stop living by their convictions.
4. They fail to leave behind ultimate contributions.
5. They stop walking in an awareness of their influence and destiny.
6. They lose their once vibrant relationship with God.

Look those six traits over very carefully and answer this question: Have any of these self-destructive time bombs crept into your life to any degree?

Think this life through with me a little here. Starting well is beneficial. Staying the course is critical. But if we don’t finish well—that tends to be our legacy regardless of how we started or lived most of our lives. It doesn’t seem fair, but the truth is that we will be remembered most for how we finished. Therefore, finishing well is something to which we all should give some serious thought. Check out this month’s Cadre Connection, “The Challenge of Finishing Well—Part 1,” to stimulate your thought process—and make any necessary changes NOW so you can finish well.

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Unlike 70 percent of leaders, Bill Bright finished well. Bill strategically invested his life in the Great Commission through a ministry called Campus Crusade for Christ. (More information about the incredible kingdom impact of Bill Bright follows this article.) In a tribute titled, “Finishing Well: A Eulogy for Bill Bright,” Chuck Colson writes,

“I’ve known Bill for twenty-eight years. I have never heard him speak a discouraging word. Never have I seen his vision dimmed or his ardor cooled. Never has he failed to talk about the greatness of God and reaching the world for Christ, his passion. This indomitable spirit and trust in Christ marked not only his life, but also his death. There are countless books written on how to live the Christian life, but very few about how to die the Christian death. It is in this regard that Bill Bright made another remarkable contribution, for he not only lived well—he died well.”

May we all aspire to live—and die—in such a way that we can have such a eulogy!

[ Action Point: What do you want your family and friends to say about you when you die? Write your ideal eulogy. Be as specific as you can. Then make any changes necessary in the way you are living now, so that when you die, your family and friends will be able to say with integrity exactly what you have written. Share your eulogy with a friend and a family member. ]

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

Surrender: To yield to the power of another; to give or deliver up possession of (anything) upon compulsion or demand

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me…” (Acts 20:22-24).

When Paul says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me,” he is not devaluing his life. He is devaluing a life lived for self—and elevating a life lived for God’s purposes. No matter what “hardships” awaited Paul, he chose to do what God wanted him to do instead of what was easy or personally expedient. That is authentic surrender to God. Jesus modeled the ultimate surrender to God the Father when, facing his imminent crucifixion, he prayed, “Not what I will, but what you will.” It is only when we honestly and continually wave the white flag of surrender to God in our hearts that we will be able to finish this life well.

Busy in Ministry Does Not Mean Surrendered to God

The unspoken assumption these days is that if someone is busy in the church—as a dedicated volunteer or as a vocational minister—then that person must be living a surrendered life to God. This is not true at all. Some of the most bitter, selfish, jaded, and disgruntled people I have ever met have a lifestyle of being busy in ministry and church. Dedication in serving God does not automatically translate into heart surrender to God. Such a busy person in the church could be driven by a myriad of misguided motivations—the most seminal being pride. And a proud person—even a proud person who is busy in the church—is the antithesis of a person who is surrendered to God (I Peter 5:5). One cannot finish well AND full of self.

Giftedness Does Not Mean Surrendered to God

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that a really gifted person is automatically surrendered to God. After all, look at how they are using that incredible gift for the kingdom! But using a gift skillfully does not mean that a person is heart-surrendered to God. Gordon MacDonald is cogent on this point when he writes,

“Sadly, we do not have a Christian culture today that easily discriminates between a person of spiritual depth and a person of raw talent. The result is that more than a few people can be fooled into thinking they are being influenced by a spiritual giant when in fact they are being manipulated by a dwarf. We must always be aware that there are great leaders who can build great organizations (including churches) on natural gifts. Say the right words, be smart enough to do the right things, be insightful enough to connect with the right people, and one can go a long way before anyone ever discovers that the inner life is close to empty" (Preface to the 2003 edition of Ordering Your Private World).

The “spiritual depth” and “inner life” that MacDonald speaks of is a heart-surrender issue—not a gift issue. Sometimes a person’s gifts can be misused to subtly throw the spotlight on the person—rather than the God who endowed the person with the gift. And when giftedness becomes about the person with the gifts, that is an indication that the gifted person needs to surrender to God—lest he/she not finish well! It is heartbreaking and all-to-easy to mentally conjure up names and faces of extremely gifted people who did not finish well.

What True Surrender Is—and Is Not

Again, at the risk of being overly repetitious, let me reiterate: You cannot finish well in God’s eyes if you don’t honestly and continually surrender your heart and life to God! So what does it mean to honestly surrender your heart to God? True surrender is NOT offering God your plans for your life and asking God to sign off on your plans. (That’s called American Christianity.) True surrender is offering God ALL of your life as a blank slate to fill in as HE desires—and YOU signing off on what HE wants to do with your life—before God even begins to fill in the blank slate. Sound a little radical? Not if you understand the biblical requirement of surrendering your life to God:

• “And he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (II Corinthians 5:15).
  
• “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
  
• “Therefore, I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).
  So many of us try to pacify our consciences with erroneous thoughts like, “God is important to me. I include God in my plans for my life.” News flash: God doesn’t want to be in your plans for your life. God has a plan for your life. He wants you to scrap your plans for your life—and SURRENDER to his plan!

A “Surrender” Contract with God

Is it any surprise to you to know that in 1951, Bill and Vonette Bright, founders of Campus Crusade for Christ, actually signed a contract with God to SURRENDER everything to him. To what degree do you think a correlation exists between Bill Bright’s heart surrender to God—and his finishing well?

[ Action Point: Create your own surrender contract with God. Get a blank piece of paper and put “A Blank Slate for God to Fill In…” at the top of the page. At the bottom of the paper sign it and date it. Then share it with your closest friend. ]

Finishing well requires us to surrender what we want for our lives so we can embrace what God wants us to do with our lives. Like Paul. we can’t hold on to our personal comfort and desires to avoid “hardships” if we really want to finish well. And it is critically important that you don’t settle for being busy serving God or relying on your giftedness to pull you through life when you can take the wild, rocky, joyful ride of heart surrender to God—and finishing well! Are you honestly waiving the white flag of heart surrender to God? Do you accept the surrender challenge so that you might finish well?

Read Part 2:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/1204.php

RESPONSE: If God used this article to speak to your heart in some way to encourage you or to remind you of an important ministry lesson, please take a quick moment right now to share it with us at   info@cadreministries.com

Finishing Well Like Bill Bright

For a Free 16 Page PDF of the Life and Ministry Impact of Bill Bright (with some great Picures) go to:
 http://billbright.ccci.org/staff/multimedia/index.htm
and click on the link: “A Life Lived Well Memorial Magazine”

The Words of a Dying Man
Read what Bill Bright wrote just days before he died.
 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/129/12.0.html

An Obituary for Bill Bright:
 http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/129/11.0.html

More Practical Help for Those Serious About Finishing Well
 http://www.finishers.org

Check out issue #7 of Batteries Included: Why junior highers are the most strategic missionaries in the church and practical ways you can mobilize them! Announcing TWO brand new, biblically-based, highly interactive, and fun training workshops (Batteries Included: The Workshop--for volunteer junior high workers--and Ignite Evangelism Experience--for students and volunteer youth workers). Contact info@cadreministries.com to find out how you can bring these training experiences to your church! Plus: all past issues of Batteries Included filled with tons of stuff you can use right now are waiting for you at:

http://www.cadreinternational.com/batteries

Two Cool Ministries That Can Encourage You:

Acorn Ministries and Lon Alderman

Lon is a pastor, life and ministry coach, and certified Cadre trainer

WEBSITE: http://www.acornministries.com/Documents/Coaching.jpg
CONTACT: lon@acornministries.com

Artistic Memories by Alice Craig

Alice is a pastor’s wife, mother, speaker, and artist

WEBSITE: http://www.aliceart.net
CONTACT: aliceart@dpc.net

Christmas with Cadre!

Your one stop Christmas shop designed to encourage and equip the VOLUNTEERS in your church! Give the gift of encouragement this year to the volunteers in your church:

http://www.cadreministries.com/store/

Cadre is a not-for-profit ministry [501(c)(3)] that exists to make you wildly successful at becoming what God has called you to become as you serve others in your local church and community. We serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries to come alongside volunteers and those who care for volunteers in the church (globally) to help accomplish their God-given mission. Eph. 4:10-17

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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