December 2004

Free Online Training Designed Especially for Church Volunteers

On November 18, 2004, eighty-six year-old Billy Graham was brought into the Rose Bowl stadium in Los Angeles on an electric golf cart. He was then raised to the stage by a hydraulic lift. He moved toward the pulpit with the aid of an aluminum walker. He then proceeded to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a crowd of 45,000 with about 2,500 responding by coming forward to trust Jesus Christ as Savior and to be connected to local churches.

Make no mistake about it—Billy Graham is finishing well. No one is putting Billy out to pasture just because he is eighty-six years old! And Billy himself refuses to go gently into that good night of retirement, self, and inactivity! An Associated Press report said, “Graham preached from a pulpit that allows him to sit, if necessary, because of injuries suffered earlier this year in two falls that broke his pelvic bone in three places. Graham also has battled Parkinson's disease and was treated for fluid on the brain in 2001.” The Los Angeles Crusade was a four-day event. Graham's staff says that since he began preaching in the late 1930s, he has spoken live to 210 million people in 185 countries.

If anyone has a reason to think of himself and rest on past successes--it would be Billy Graham. Yet, that is exactly what we are NOT seeing from Billy. Find out how you can finish life well in God's eyes—like Billy Graham—in this edition of Cadre Connection.

[  Website Version   |  Read Part 1 ]

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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

Intentional: Done by intention or design; not accidental.

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race…”
(Acts 20:24, emphasis mine).

It’s important not to breeze over Paul’s determination when he writes, “if only I may finish the race.” Paul often viewed the Christian life as a “race” that had to be run well to the end: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (I Corinthians 9:24). Paul tells us: If we are going to run, then run to win! And if you want to win a race, it is critical that you finish well.

Those who finish the race of life well—like Paul did—do so because they are intentional about finishing well. They think about finishing well often. They hold a lucid picture in their minds about what it means for them to finish well. They invest time developing a strategy to finish well. They identify—and ardently avoid the major pitfalls that might keep them from finishing well. Why all this intentionality about finishing well? Because finishing well is never an accident. It happens on purpose—by intentional design.

[Action Point: Read I Corinthians 9:24-27. What role does training (v.25), motivation (v.25), focus (v.26), and discipline (v.27) play in finishing well? Now read I Corinthians 10:6-10. What four pitfalls often keep people from finishing well? To what pitfalls are you most prone? How can you keep from falling into that pit—and thus finish this life well for God? Be specific.]

Intentionally Fighting the Undertow of American Culture

As we bring this life in for a landing, we’d better make sure that we are intentional about NOT getting pulled into the undertow of our current culture’s definition of finishing well: a financial nest egg that enables us to live our remaining years focused on our comfort and ease because we “deserve it.” Jesus spoke clearly and directly about this sense of entitlement that pervades our times in The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21). After years of hard work and success, the rich fool says to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry” (19). Does that sound like our current thinking in America? You bet. But look at the rest of the story: “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (20) Then, only as Jesus can, he delivers the main point of the story: “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (21). It’s not the financial nest egg that is the main problem. According to Jesus the problem is the focus on oneself—rather than on God!

RFS Syndrome in the Church

“Rich Fool Syndrome” (RFS) is a classic example of how NOT to end well—and RFS is being played out in churches across North America. Christians get to retirement age and—instead of retiring into the most spiritually fruitful years of their lives—they not only retire from a job—but they retire from God and the church as well. Hence, when many Christians reach their golden years, our sense of entitlement dupes us into focusing on ourselves—rather than on becoming “rich toward God.” Our churches are full of rich fools—as defined by Jesus in Luke 12:16-21. The irony is painfully poignant. The golden years are the time in life when someone in our culture typically has more discretionary income, time, and certainly a wealth of life experience. Instead of pouring these formidable life-changing blessings out on the next generation in Psalms 78:3-8 fashion, many of our senior saints seem to be saying to themselves: “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; east, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). In other words, when we finally get to the point in life where we have more to overflow to others than any other time in our lives, we shut the fountain down and focus on ourselves. This is NOT what it means to finish well in God’s eyes!

A Call for a Thoughtful, Biblical, and Personal Definition of Finishing Well

I am not by any means suggesting that God does not want us to have time for recreation and fun. Those of you who know me personally KNOW one of my main goals in life is to have fun. While I certainly plan on having tons of fun in my golden years, I don’t want to live my last years on earth focusing on myself (I Corinthians 9:19-20). I want to finish well in God’s eyes! I want to be “rich toward God” until the very end! I want my heart’s fountain to overflow into the lives of others—giving the “next generation” (Psalms 78:6-8) a drink from the well of God that bubbles up from my soul until my final breath. I don’t want to spend the last years of my precious short life consumed with seeking constant entertainment simply because I can afford it, complaining about food, the weather, the church, the government, and thinking only of me. These are the hallmarks of NOT finishing well. If the sentiments expressed in this paragraph resonate with your heart, then I challenge you to reject our culture’s definition of what it means to end this life well and to be intentional about using our golden years to finish well in God’s eyes—whatever that means for you. It’s time for you to re-think what it means for YOU to finish well for God’s glory.

Examples of What It Means to Intentionally Finish Well

I want to be like Moses, who at 80 years old, entered into the greatest season of his ministry impact. I want to be like Billy Graham, who, at 86 years old, after battling Parkinson’s disease and falling twice and breaking his pelvis in three places earlier in the year, used a walker to make his way to a pulpit so he could preach the gospel at a crusade in Los Angeles. I want to be like my adopted spiritual mother, Byrdena Schuneman, who after being widowed in her 70s left for China as a short-term missionary—and continues to impact the world through prayer, coaching, and encouragiong me—and others—personally and via e-mail. I want to be like 98 year old George H. D. Reader (an adopted spiritual father in my own life who prayed a blessing on me in the city park in Chrisman, IL—see “My Encounter with Moses” http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/0904.php ), who, in a recent letter to me, wrote (in remarkably clear handwriting), “I rejoice that God touched you in the Chrisman park. I also rejoice that God could still use me in a small way in His service.” Do you hear his heart concern to be used of God in his old age? I love that! A life lived primarily for self holds no glitter of attractiveness compared to living like these folks. Like these senior saints, I want my golden years to be my greatest years of ministry impact for God’s glory. I will NOT put myself out to the pasture of self simply because age, entitlement, and affluence call me to do it. And I will not go gently if younger people—even Christian younger people—try to put me out to pasture. They may take the pulpit away from me, but I’ll join the women’s missionary fellowship or something!

[Action Point: Name one person you believe finished—or is finishing—well in God’s eyes. Explain your reasons. What can you learn from this person? Be specific about an application to your life.]

If finishing well means being intentional about finishing well, then being intentional means you must clearly define what it means for you to finish well in God’s eyes. It will also require you to rethink the validity of our current culture’s definition of what it means to finish well.

[Action Points: What does it mean for YOU to finish well? Be very specific. Read Psalms 78:3-8. How might you do your part in passing down a godly heritage to the next generation? Where should you start? What will you intentionally do? Be specific.]

Stay tuned for part 3 coming soon...

RESPONSE: To respond to this article, e-mail us at   info@cadreministries.com

Two Finishing Well Resources:

1. FInishing Well: What People Who Really Live Do Differently by Bob Buford
In wanting to encourage you to finish well, author Bob Buford has gone to lunch with "some of the smartest people on the planet" and invited you to join them. People such as Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, George Gallup, Howard Hendricks, Roger Staubach and Bill Pollard detail how they've gone beyond success to significance in their 40s and beyond, and by their words, you can learn how you too can accomplish work that has eternal purpose and meaning until the day you die. Find it now at a considerable discount at one of Bill's personal favorite places to buy books:
 http://www.hafl.com

2. Check out the Finishers Project!
"Boomers are and will be the healthiest and best educated generation of empty-nesters ever. This generation is skilled and resourced with a multitude of talents. We can either give them to Jesus to lay up as treasure in Heaven or lose them. While the idealism of youth is gone, we still want to make a difference and change our world. The game of life is getting serious in the second half. Our parents are going or gone and we're next. The Finishers Project is a safe place to explore options for investing in treasure in heaven, for His sake:
 http://www.finishers.org/about/vision.html

Two of the Funniest Christmas Letters I've Ever Read!

1. For those people who send you annoying, bragging Christmas Letters, send them this one:
http://www.anickoftime.ca/xmas/xmletter.html

2. For a Christmas letter that you can send to others that would be refreshingly different and honest, send them this one:
http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=3684

To receive the fun-loving Allison Family Christmas letter--that tells the truth about the Allisons so you feel great about your family, e-mail your regular mailing address to:
bill@cadreministries.com

Church Leaders Are Readers—
Give Them the Gift of a Book This Christmas!

Visit the online store today!
http://www.cadreministries.com/store

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

Start 2005 Off with Cadre's Ten Day E-mail Bible study: Overflowing God's Love to Others--Sign Up Now!

For ten days consecutive days, 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 is designed to encourage and equip you to love God and love people. Can you think of a better way to start 2005?

To sign up for this ten day e-mail Bible study adventure in January, follow the link below:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/mwsubscribe/

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