Retired Preacher Goes to the Un-reached!

/ Ari Rocklin

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After retiring from a life time of preaching, a pastor soon realized that all his friends were those who go to church. The more he thought about it, the more aware he became of the fact that his circle of friends were the churched.

He thought and prayed about how he could reach out to people who would not attend church and as a former preacher, he knew it would not be easy for him to befriend everyday people. What did he have in common with them?

He decided to start playing golf, took some much needed lessons and quickly realized he was already making friends with the un-churched in golf class.

He joined a golf club, became active in the club’s activities and joined the board. Soon all his relationships were with the un-churched and he also noticed he was enjoying the game, although he was not very good at it.

One of his golf buddies was a businessman who gave him a box of golf balls with his company logo on them. A while later the preacher was asked how he liked the golf balls. The preacher replied that he was a really good advertiser for the company whose logo was on the golf balls, as the balls ended up all over the place and never made it back into his golf bag.

Sometime later he was having a round of golf with a leader of the community who casually asked the preacher what he did before retiring. Just as casually he replied that he had been a preacher. His golfing buddy shrugged, lined up for a shot and said, “So basically you talked about a dead man all your life.”

The preacher stopped in his tracks and said, “A dead man! This is a bit confusing as just this morning before the golf game I was talking with him.” His golfing buddy was not impressed but asked the preacher to prove to him that Jesus is alive. 
Well, this was the preacher’s area of expertise, and it did not take long for the man to also learn that Jesus is indeed very much alive.

Why am I sharing this story?

A man who loved preaching and teaching the Bible all his life, enjoyed church growth through his career, baptized hundreds, built new church buildings, and was known for his inspiring preaching, had the vision to go back to the basics of making disciples.

He walked away from most of the things he knew, and took on something he knew little about – he stepped out of his comfort zone even though he still had many invitations to come and preach. And God is using him to bring the un-reached in his community to salvation.

Not all can go overseas as tentmakers but if you have a Kingdom mindset you might realize there are un-reached people right in your neighborhood.

For those intending to go as tentmakers, perhaps you can follow in the retired preacher’s footsteps before you leave. Perhaps the next article will help you.

LESSON #9
How to Prepare for Tentmaking Ministry

/ Ari Rocklin

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If you answered YES to all three questions, we have good news for you!

Eric Liddel, gold medalist in the 1924 Olympics, on whom the movie Chariots of Fire was based, said this:

“I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made 
 me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

Have you ever felt God’s pleasure when pursuing your activity?

I remember riding my bicycle across the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It was ten days of enjoying God’s splendor up close and slow

After climbing to yet another summit, stopping at the top for a much needed break, I suddenly felt His pleasure. What a feeling that was!

The memory of that moment still makes me smile.

The Lesson – Your Passion – His Glory

When we are enjoying our interest, we are also very true to being ourselves. It’s pretty tough to fake it with a bunch of people who are also enjoying their interest. At our courses we encourage people to bring their interests with them and allow God to use it for His glory – Your Passion – His Glory!

Please take two minutes and view this video that perfectly explains what I am trying to say.

Pursue The Gifts You Have, Not The One’s You Want

/ Phill

Do you remember reading about David and Goliath? Do you remember how Saul tried to make David wear armor that would not fit him? I laugh when I try to picture David as a youth trying to walk around in Saul’s armor, potentially bumping into tent posts and stepping into the campfires scattered around.

Finally, David threw off Saul’s armor and wore his own shepherd’s clothes. He left Saul’s weapons in the tent and chose to use the sling and the stones he already knew how to use. These fit him. While he had never fought in a war with other soldiers, he had certainly seen his battles protecting the flocks from predators. Instead of using someone else’s armor and weaponry in this new battle, he went with what was familiar to him.

What Can We Learn?

Apparently, he made the right choice. So what can we as leaders learn from this episode? How do we apply it to what we do on a daily basis?

The first place I think to look is back in the Bible. Let’s consider Romans 12:6-8. In this passage, Paul is telling the Romans that different people receive different gifts from God.

When we receive specific gifts, we should use those gifts according to our faith. If one is given the gift of teaching, then they are to teach. Another may be given the gift of encouragement; they should encourage. You have probably read this and understand it.

I believe this is directly related to the story about David and the armor. You see, Saul was trying to get David to wear armor that was not his. It was not fit for him. It was not comfortable to him. It simply would have been a burden to David. It would have hampered his effectiveness against Goliath.

Gifts From God

The same is true about gifts from God. If God has given me the gift of encouragement, but not the gift of leadership, should I try to lead? Just because I want to lead does not mean that is what I should do. In fact, if God has not gifted me in that area, I will only cause problems if I try to do it anyway. If I am not gifted to teach, but I insist on doing so, what kind of results will I get? I may like the idea of teaching, but if God has not gifted me for it, that is not where I will be most effective.

Look at 1 Corinthians 12 and see more discussion on this. In this passage, Paul takes it further and uses the human body and its parts to illustrate his point. Each part has its job to do. Each job is just as important to the health of the body as the next. All deserve honor. None of the parts should aspire to be another part. Instead, each part should embrace the role they have been given and do the best they can at being that part.

Lessons For Leaders

As leaders, we must do the same.

1. Discover your gifting

David quickly found that Saul’s armor would not work. You need to determine your gifting. There are tools to accomplish this, but you can also ask those who know you best. Pray for God to reveal it to you.

2. Embrace that gifting

David did not hesitate to reject Saul’s armor and revert back to his own tools. Once you know your gifts, embrace them! Know that the Creator of the universe chose you specially for those gifts! They are worthy of honor!

3. Learn how to best apply that gifting

David spent years learning accuracy with his sling and stones. Do not expect overnight results in your gifts. Developing these gifts take time. Through prayer, application, and learning from defeats (as well as successes), you will grow in these gifts.

4. Go to battle!

David went boldly into battle with his tools. Do not be afraid to fight the battles with your gifts. Do not forget you represent God and He has your back!

Now, go out there and use your own armor!

What are your gifts?

The above post is based on a lesson on using your gifts from Dave Anderson’s book How to Run Your Business by THE BOOK.

About the Guest Writer

/ Phill

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This month I have adapted two articles from our guest’s blog to highlight truths about Christians in the marketplace that are too often overlooked in the church in the West. While Chris is a Christian businessman in the United States the principles he presents are true throughout the world and merit reflection by all believers, but especially those who would be tentmakers doing Business as Mission.

I welcome your feedback. Email phill@globalopps.org.

The above articles and the testimony of Chris’ journey come from his blog http://christianfaithatwork.com and is used with permission.

Our Guest Writer in His Own Words

My name is Chris Patton.  I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, also known as a Christian.  I am a father of three wonderful kids and husband to a beautiful wife.  I am the steward of a business God has entrusted to me for a time and a purpose.  This business is a 100-employee automobile dealership group in a small town in Georgia that sells, services, and reconditions new and used cars, representing six franchises.  I am the third-generation operator of this family business that was started by my grandfather and I am partners with my father and brother.

Though I was a baptized believer since the age of ten, it was just over 10 years ago, in the fall of 2000, when I came to understand that I was not living the life to which God had called me.  I was a good person, and to the majority of people watching, I was a good Christian father, businessman, church leader, and friend.

“Unfortunately, I was basing my actions and behaviors on the world’s definition of a good Christian.”

I say that because it was certainly not based on the definition of a disciple in the Bible.  I had not spent any time reading the Bible for the purpose of aligning my life with it before.  Once I started doing that, everything changed.  I went from being a good man, leading a good American Christian life, to being a true disciple – someone who studies the life of Jesus and tries to apply what is learned to his everyday life.  Like I said earlier, this changed everything!

Change of Focus

Over the next couple of years, my focus slowly changed.  My priorities flip-flopped.  I even attempted to leave my position as President of the family business in an attempt to find another job that would allow me to serve God with more of my time.  I really did not know what God wanted me to do, but I knew it had to be in line with Scripture.  As a result, I knew it would not be continuing on the path I had been on up to that point.

Through a series of events that occurred roughly three years after my awakening, I had my marching orders.  In the fall of 2003, God showed me clearly that I am to do all I had imagined I would do when I attempted to leave the business, but I am to do it through the business.  He showed me that He had put me in my position in our family business for a time and a purpose.  Though profit is certainly necessary and a business cannot survive long without it, profit is not to be my main purpose.  My purpose is to run this business as a Christian business, one that operates for the purpose of honoring Him and advancing His kingdom.

Long Road Ahead

Eight years later, I am still running this business as God’s steward.  I have seen some successes and some failures since starting on the path I have taken.  I still have a long way to go on this path.