Saturday, June 26, 2004
WENT WELL
6-26-04
THANKS again for your prayers.
The first group presentation went well this morning.
There were some technical troubles moving from one screen to the next.
That can be fixed.
The feed back sheets were favorable.
I was evidently able to get across my passion and the overall vision.
I passed out a list of general prayer requests that is attached to this.
I said that the greatest service each man could give was to pray over these.
It had been about two years since I had addressed a group.
It had been more than twenty years before that.
I never felt anxious about speaking during the preparation or presentation.
I know that there will be many more public speaking opportunities in my future.
I do not fear them one bit.
This is provided that I am completely understand the material I am sharing.
Thankfully the session this morning was video taped.
I have not bee able to see how it turned out yet.
Next week I will edit this entire presentation.
I will slice this up into short sections for the web and a DVD.
Then when I have lunch meetings with business owners I can be much briefer.
I will give the prospective donor my business card and a DVD.
They can see the short video clips according to there interest.
I will also give them a CD with the many mind maps.
The fund raising boot camp taught that group presentations do not bring in big money.
But they can be a way to cast the vision for one-on-one meetings.
May God guide me in how to do both kinds of presentation well in the future.
Speaking to a group while video taping it is a very great way to request prayers.
It is a way to effectively share testimonies, pictures and hear my heart.
God is sovereign.
Today is a red letter day.
The corner has begun to be turned.
I will no longer be only alone at the computer.
I will also be in front of groups.
I will be telling them about the emerging ministry of Our Metroplex Vision.
Together we will systematically improve evangelism, discipleship and benevolence.
John 4:26 PM
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
This Saturday is very important.
After many years of prayer, research, and preparing major changes are happening.
The ministry that God has been forming in my heart is emerging at last.
Our Metroplex Vision (OMV) officially began on my 51st birthday April 23, 2004.
God has given me a wonderful board of directors.
This week I have begun to practice face-to-face presentations.
I have worked out the kinks by practicing with friends.
Soon I will gain confidence to approach the wealthy Christians.
I can give tax deductible receipts for donations.
This Saturday at the MBC Men’s Breakfast is the first group presentation.
It will be great to practice before friends.
Also this will be video taped by Mark.
That tape will go on the web site that will start soon and it will be mailed out.
Please pray for my preparation, delivery and improvements based on feed back.
Preparation involves outlining, preparing the visual aids and rehearsing.
My greatest challenge is to make it short sweet and simple.
I have used diagrams and pictures when presenting face-to-face.
I need to quickly develop a high tech way to share these with the group.
Working with media is one of my strengths.
But I have never used this combination of software and hardware.
God is with me in this process and I trust that He will be glorified in the final product.
May God prepare the hearts of each man in the audience.
John 8:22 PM
TUESDAY BRIEFING from John S. Oliver on June 22, 2004
BLESSINGS
ALL glory to God in Jesus Name!
May you have special moments of intimacy with Jesus Christ.
May you be encouraged amidst the blur of our fast paced lifestyle
May you just stop and be still as needed.
Amen?
COMPLETED
· THANKS again for your many prayers. There has been MUCH progress. I will soon be sharing the fruits of it over the web. It is all coming together at about the same time.
· I have shared many small mind maps in the face-to-face presentations.
· Last week there was 20.5 hours that is well over the 15 minimum. I feel good about setting 20 as the minimum and stretching for 25. It requires time on task to plow through the various projects. THANKFULLY God has granted me much easier entry into the ZONE lately.
CURRENT
· The presentation has a beginning, middle and end. The middle is OK. So I have shifted the focus to the ending. There has been good progress already.
· The bills have arrived faster then the incomes. My financial numbers look ugly. I have NEVER had this much red ink.
· I have logged more than 100 hours for the ministry since it was incorporated on 4-23-04. If the ministry had paid me for that time then I would be in good shape. As the donations come in then the ministry will be able to afford to supply my back pay.
· Like I have told people, God is using the pressure of these circumstances to goad me out of my comfort zone.
UPCOMING
· There are several large mind maps that will go on the new Launch team web site as soon as it starts.
· The small and large mind maps will serve as the visual aids for videos both over the web and in the form of DVDs.
· Pray for me to find a way to record videos in my home office. Hopefully I can go from my desktop computer into the VCR. I may need adapters and/or a data projector in between. This will allow me to record many short videos of 3 to 12 minutes.· A friend is starting a web hosting business and has offered me plenty of storage and bandwidth. That is why I am able to go in the video direction long before I expected. May God bless our relationship and prosper his new business.
· After the face-to-face presentation I will leave the prospective donor with both a CD and a DVD. The CD will have various mind maps I showed in person and many more. They will be linked together. The DVD will have many short video clips and a few long clips. Then the person can go right to what the want.· There is a possibility that I will be making a group presentation very soon. If this comes together I will tell you more for your prayers. I hope to videotape this so you and others can enjoy it too.
RESOURCES
Here is a very interesting site for those who care about theology http://www.theologywebsite.com/
An online copy of Luther’s 95 thesis. Each thesis is about one sentence. It is shorter than I had expected http://www.theologywebsite.com/etext/luther_95.shtml
Here is a site for serious scholars and researchers http://www.questia.com
If you wish to unsubscribe then just let me know by reply email.
John 12:12 AM
Monday, June 21, 2004
MOVEMENT
6-21-04
At LONG last there is some movement.
Making face-to-face presentations has finally begun again.
During the last two days I have made two practice presentations.
These went very smoothly.
They were clear and simple.
The new visual aids are MUCH better than those of 8 weeks ago.
Most of my attention has been on the body of the presentation.
There is a little room for improvement on the core story.
My attention is now shifting to develop a strong ending.
Then I will develop a variety of beginning according to the audience.
The mind map diagrams have few words and related graphics.
I can adapt what I say according to their interests and comments.
I have a lunch appointment set for WED at 11:45.
This meeting is with a long time supporter who is bringing a friend.
I have begun telephone tag with a few prospects.
This is part of the process of getting connected in order to set the appointment.
I have begun to use the FREE fund raising software from CCC to manage the data.
TNT is very useful http://www.tntmpd.com/
I have begun to keep all my appointments on a central calendar.
That is the fruit of repentance because I made a mistake today and double booked.
God has granted me grace and extended His mercy in meeting my needs.
May God give me wisdom and insight in how to deal with my finances.
On one hand my faith is sure that with some practice the presentations will improve.
As they improve I will approach those who have more they can give.
Donations will both move the ministry closer to Launch Day.
And the ministry can afford to pay me for the more than 100 hours I have logged.
John 7:45 PM
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