Friday, July 30, 2004
LIFETIME CHALLENGE
7-30-04
This quote came in my email today from GeniusQuotes.com.
These ideas resonate with me.
If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed.
If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed.
If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it,
he has gloriously succeeded and has a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever know.
--Thomas Wolfe
This quote is at the heart of my lifetime challenge.
For DECADES I have EARNESTLY attempted to use the whole of my talents.
God has graciously granted me complex collection of talents that I have sought to use to glorify Him.
For better or worse there are various talents and not just one.
For those that have tracked with me for years have seen the same kinds of plans surface over and over in different combinations.
There is a central core. The way that I am wired loves to solve complex problems in systematic ways and then empower others using a harmony of communication medias. Thus most recently the design called for a Networking Hub, Information Clearinghouse and Online Lay Bible Institute.
MISSIONARY EDUCATOR
At the core of my soul are the heart of a missionary and the mind of an educator.
When as a missionary I look at the world around me I see it as bad and getting worse. Everybody and everything is naturally on a downward slope. The sin nature is every human tends toward spiritual darkness sooner or later.
The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. This is the plumb line that gives the reliable standard for real truth. A person’s opinion, feeling or background are not the genuine standard.
If the Bible is true then Heaven and Hell are real. There is only one way to avoid the constant conscious torments of Hell and live forever with God in Heaven.
The single greatest need for each human is to hear the pure and simple message of salvation. God has a WAY through Jesus Christ is reconcile every person to Himself. The emphasis on His amazing grace and by the method of faith alone needs to be kept in focus.
Howard Hendricks said the unbelievers want to hear the Good News more than the believers what to share it. Collectively and individually we are not doing a great job. We have more material and technological wealth then ANY previous generation. Yet those around us are not being presented with the clear claims of Christ.
Heaping guilt on those in the pews for not doing better at personal witnessing has never worked. They do need to be trained in how to share their faith in a non-threatening way and encouraged to weave this into their weekly routines. But that is only part of the solution.
I have attended various church planting seminars. These brave souls set out to start a church from scratch by winning their new members to Christ. In that setting I witnessed how this needs to be the coordinated effort of the entire church family.
So we are back to systems again. And the best system does not work by itself. There is no auto pilot. Sooner than later there needs to be the involvement of lay leaders. Every lay leader needs ongoing education.
Evangelism is just one small part of the full range of Christian Education. Long ago I used to think that Christian Education was this vast universe that no person could ever understand. While it is large and complex, it does have basic categories, known boundaries and proven methods.
As an educator I am deeply concerned that believers are not consistently growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ. I believe that many of those church members that are spiritually stuck could progress if they had excellent Christian Education materials available over the web for no cost and low cost. They also need motivation and encouragement to learn more. Plus when their faith is coupled with practical missions like application then repeatedly I have witnessed that those who are involved in outreach and inreach tend to be those who are growing spiritually.
My job before God is to design systems online and offline to allow lay leaders and seminary students to communicate the truth in love. They will equip the saints and together we will do the work of the ministry.
The emphasis offline will be on those in the DFW Metroplex for this is our Jerusalem. Also online we will emphasize the next generation. Those who are teens and twenties are online far longer than the older generation. The children coming behind them will be on yet even more. Therefore we need to prepare the way and set up spiritual resource centers and community connections in cyberspace.
MINISTRY
I am grateful for the prayers of all those supported me during the recent months as the presentation of the ministry was distilled from scattered concepts to a centralized core. Every hour was needed to get it to the state it is in today. That 40 minute presentation to the men’s breakfast was a climax of those many hours of preparation. Those graphics were like the hub that linked back to the boxes of notes in my closets.
My challenge was then and still is to raise the seed capital to build the web based platform. If 40K dropped into my life then today I would abandon the air purification equipment. I would put the ministry back on the front burner. However that is very unlikely to happen.
Last night I encountered two amazing online systems that are being used for prospecting and presenting the air purification equipment. They also are using it for training. This is the kind of interface that I had planned to pay consultants and web designers thousands of dollars to create for the emerging ministry.
It is in my self interest to first use these tools to learn how to increase my income. And along the way consider how I can adapt what they are doing for secular purposes to the kingdom purposes that are essential to my calling.
CONDITION
My financial condition continues to get worse. Until you learn that I have actually received sales commissions then the subtraction was greater than the addition.
The grace and mercy of God are enough for me. I trust that my Good Shepherd is leading me each day. He is guiding me to green pastures. Jesus wants me to develop a way to generate the income that is greater than my bills to pay off my debts.
Many people that I have met in the company got their demo units within a week or two. They had a good income stream within a month.
I have been making progress toward the proposal for the cosigner on the demo units. It has gotten stalled a few times. Please pray for the completion. I have an important meeting this weekend related to this funding.
Meanwhile God is leading me to redeem the time so when the units arrive I will be off to a strong start. Also I have been developing the document related to how these sales can harmonize with ministry throughout the week.
THANKS again for your prayers.
This is one of my life lines.
God uses you in my life in a mighty way.
Kindly pray that both Jesus Christ will deliver me from this short term crisis and in the long term bless me to use the whole of my God given talents.
Thank you.
John 1:30 PM
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
TUESDAY BRIEFING from John S. Oliver on July 27, 2004
BLESSINGS
ALL glory to God in Jesus Name!
May God remind you of key lessons you learned long ago.
May peace and rest be common in your daily experience.
May you better appreciate the grace and mercies of God.
Amen?
COMPLETED
· Spoke with the bookkeeper for the apartment today. She said not to worry just catch up the rent soon. She warned that the ownership has recently changed and the new one may not be as lenient.
· Every day I am more confident that God will bless me in this new adventure with air purification equipment. People that I describe it to quickly understand how much I believe in the product and the company.
· Instead of dreading sales I am actually looking forward to genuinely improving the indoor environment of many people.
· I am getting emotionally and mentally geared up to hit the ground running as soon as the demo units arrive.
CURRENT
· Making good progress on putting together a simple proposal for a cosigner. I have been gathering the facts and figures. I have been putting it into an easy to understand format.
· Continuing to process the notes from the sales training in Tennessee. This review is increasing my confidence.
UPCOMING
· I will go over the scripts and suggested methods,. I will learn best by just doing it. Eventually I will develop my own system and style just like those who went before me.
· Please pray for the healing of my right elbow again. I bumped it on the funny bone and aggravated an old injury. It has been slightly painful at various times. God can cause it to stop hurting for years like He has before and/or lead me to the right over the counter medication.
· Starting another round of prayer counseling with two men on Wednesday evenings. May God bless and guide us. This will clean out the old junk that has kept me stuck for so many years.
RESOURCES
Here is a contemporary version of Jonathan Edwards sermon on Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God http://www.seriousfaith.com/Sinners.pdf
Here are some unusual photos http://www.snopes.com/photos/photos.asp
I have been adding many more quotes to this blog http://valuablequotes.blogspot.com/
I have been adding all kinds of gems to this blog. You can explore this blog to find all kinds of items http://gemcollection.blogspot.com/
Maybe you would like to read just the blessing from these Tuesday Briefings. http://triplemayblessings.blogspot.com/
If you wish to unsubscribe then just let me know by reply email.
John 10:34 PM
Monday, July 26, 2004
On to Victory
7-26-04
Thank God for an extra wonderful time of prayer this morning.
May Jesus draw me to Himself and grant me more special prayer times during these difficult days.
May I humble myself better.
May I call upon the name of the Lord more earnestly.
May the Word of God renew my mind.
Over the weekend I spoke with an experienced business advisor. God used him to help me better understand my condition, options and next steps. I need to crunch some numbers and get clear about what I need. Then as I approach a candidate to become a cosigner on the demo units it will be smooth. I cannot force anyone to say yes but I can make the proposal simple.
Others who signed up when I did one month ago are already making significant commissions. But they had the cash for the demos, room on their credit card or a clean credit rating.
My dilemma is that it was my financial challenges that pointed me to seriously consider this opportunity. Now those same things are hurtles that I must get over to get started.
The man that has made the top income began 300K in debt. He repaid that and more in 16 months. He has made 6 million in the last 9 years. He give trainings all over the country and by phone. Here is the web site for Bob Giddens http://www.chippynews.com/
The president of the company has a come from behind testimony too. He and his family were struggling as a bus driver and now they are worth 500 million. He remembers those days and in his messages by conference call and tape he has a heart for people in conditions like me.
YOU?
During the pervious months I did ask many on this distribution list to make donations to support the emerging ministry. Most indicated that they were having cash flow troubles. Let me invite you to prayerfully consider this opportunity as a part time job. Maybe God could use this to give you more funds for your family and for the kingdom.
I could give you a copy of my notes from the trip to Tennessee. I could go over these in two hours at a coffee shop. That would bring you to a place where you could see how it might work for you.
I will need donors for the ministry for years to come. Maybe God could use this as a way for you to get ahead on your bills and invest into the kingdom of God.
I have been going to a training meeting each Thursday from 7 to 9. It is in an office park that is north of 635 and east of 35. The address is 13511 Branch View Lane. This street is north of Valley View.
I would not be our friend if I did not invite you to consider the national convention right here in our backyard next month. This event is in a different location every year. You can drop by and check it out for free on Wednesday August 18th. If you attend the convention 19th to 22nd then you pay only 199. And that is discounted from the normal 459. They have even allowed the option of paying that 199 out in four months at 49 with no interest. To learn more go to the company site www.ecoquest.com
SEGMENT
Let me not understate the current financial challenge. I need wisdom and grace to navigate the coming days and weeks. The paycheck is less than the bills. It has been that way for 4 years. But the other incomes have dried up. I am coming to appreciate how God has sustained me for that long time.
I am convinced that it is God’s will for me to make this career change. I have put the ministry on the back burner. I have made a commitment to myself to FOCUS on this until the end of this year. Every year between Christmas and New Years Day I get away and review the previous year as well as look at the next year.
Based on the reports of dozens of people from all over the country I am convinced that if I do average working this full time. Then I will make more than enough to pay my bills and pay off my debts.
Many on this list have taken a wait and see approach. That is understandable. During these days I need your best prayers.
When the demo units arrive then I will be out of the worst of the trouble. I will be able to make commissions of 250 per unit from the first week. At that point I will segment this list. Those who wish to receive updates about my work with the air purification equipment will need to tell me. They will need to opt into those emails. And I will keep the archive of them on a blog.
IMAGE
The image of my life now is related to the story of the prophet that went to the potter’s house. I feel like God has taken me off the wheel and has smashed the clay together into a lump and is making a different pot of me. May I become a vessel of honor fit for His use. Amen
WORDS
May God grant me yet more grace, mercy and favor with the landlord plus two key creditors. I have been praying earnestly. May He give me the right words to say.
John 12:03 PM
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