Thursday, December 08, 2005
DAWNING?
December 8, 2005
Hopefully the light has begun dawning on the very dark valley.
GOOD REPORT
First, here is the good news.
The ice is broken. By the grace of God two appointments have been set. They are on December 20th at 3:30 and December 21st at 11:30. THAT is a HUGE leap from ZERO. And it has been many weeks since I made a presentation.
For the FIRST time in my life I have BEGUN to CONSISTENTLY use priorities for the tasks in my software planner. I use the mind maps from Mind Jet www.mindjet.com to give me a fluid and graphic view of my day in the context of my week. I have used various other systems over the years but never stuck with them for more that a month or two. I have been using this for more than a year. And the new HABIT that is helping me is to assign priories of 1, 2 or 3 that can be easily changed. I check off items yet let them stay on the screen to remind me what has gotten accomplished. Previously I would delete them and feel like I was not getting anything done.
This mind map system is also assisting me to sort out the short, medium and long term projects. I have been putting the notes from the index cards I carry and other sources into this Big Picture view. Previously I have printed selected ones out and laminated them to take on the face-to-face presentations. That way the person could quickly understand the long term goals and milestones along the way.
Recently I dug into every filing cabinet and file box. I sorted them according to the current direction of the unfolding ministry. Along the way I came across items that I had not seen in several years. There was lots of dust on some of the file boxes. The good news about this is that this was another confirmation of God’s will for my life. I have been going over similar educational, informational and networking concepts repeatedly. What has changed has been the audience and type of media.
In taking with various people lately they have often said you obviously care about these matters, you have a passion and good plan.
I do not need to learn one more theory of fund raising. I just need to apply what I already know.
FACING MY FEARS
Here I am. I have cycled back to the familiar obstacle. For the zillionth time the next step is to get into the habit of making face-to-face presentations to major donors. Previously this has brought up all kinds of excuses, delays and detours.
Major donors are those who can write a check for one to ten thousand dollars or more. In the Dallas Fort Worth area there are plenty of committed Christians that have that kind of means. My challenge is to do what it takes to get in front of many of them with a short, sweet and simple appeal. Then a percent of them will donate generously. Some will refer me to others who will give. This will lead to the 40K that will build the web platform for Four Bridges www.fourbridges.org when that is in place then other small, medium and large donors can be contacted and nurtured over the web. They will have evidence from an on-going flurry of testimonies and new services that they helped to fund.
The best way to keep it simple at this stage is to follow the directions from the fund raising boot camp I attended long ago. They said that your first challenge is to gather more then 200 names of those you could contact. Then from those select 20 that are you’re A List. Then just block out some times and make the calls. It is much easier when there are lots of others to call. Many will not answer so there will be telephone tag. Eventually you will start to make contacts. You can get into a rhythm. You ca adapt based on what works and does not work. The goal of the phone call is to set the appointment and not to make the presentation.
So my very next step is to gather those 200 contacts and select the top 20. I need to begin calling tonight and through the weekend.
I know that I always keep my appointments. So that will give me the pressure of a deadline to prepare a presentation. Again what my notes say is that the presentation can improve with practice. I have been waiting to have the ideal presentation before setting the first appointment.
Sooner than later I will create two different but related presentations. One is focused just on the Quarterly CDs. That is a wonderful and important project. But it is not the end of the story. That first product will lead to the many other facets of the ministry that make up the long term Big Picture.
So the Big Picture presentation will be given seperately. These can be given in the same appointment in many cases. Or I can leave DVD that gives the overview with me addressing a camera and using a Power Point slide show. I already have several of these videos online. But they were made last December. There have been some changes. The tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina & Rita gave the ministry a very compassionate outreach focus.
PRAYERS
Over and over I have witnessed that God answers prayers. Repeated I have felt convicted that I receive not because I ask not. Many times I have seen that God wants me to share the requests so that others can pray and witness the answers.
I am grateful for all the prayers you and others have prayed over the years. During the coming weeks and months I need to enroll more intercessors. And I need to develop a system so that there can be a variety of ways to get the information out. Many people just want the simple summary. I need to serve them better. Yet a few people want all the details. For example sometimes I have been asked when the presentations will occur so they can pray during them. In the book Fresh Wind Fresh Fire Jim Cymbal said that when people began to pray during the church services they went to a whole new dimension.
Also there are the few that want a short report about how the meeting went that they had prayed for.
So I have previous set up a Yahoo Group to help facilitate this kind of information distribution.
Please pray for me to set up and use a system that will better accommodate people. I do not want to flood the inbox with details of those who just want the summary. So I will develop and opt-in systems during the Christmas break.
John 4:36 PM
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
DARKEST BEFORE THE LIGHT
December 6, 2005
I grow weary of the internal struggle and external challenges. Lately I have been more than normally depressed and bumping despair.
Several times each day and night I struggle with willingness to continue living. I long to be freed from these internal conflicts between the flesh and the spirit.
For three decades I have prayed, researched and prepared to go into ministry. I have taken all sorts of actions. I have learned many wonderful lessons. I have hundreds of pages of lovely plans. I have heard every flavor of Christian advice. But the bottom line is that there has been no launch yet.
I realize that this is just another valley that is full of lessons.
I am making steady progress, but yuck.
Most of the committed Christians I know are having terrible trails too.
Last night I learned that Shebaa did not get the job as a filing clerk due to a last minute glitch with her ID. It will hopefully get straighten out next week but they say the post will be filled. That is about the fifth job she has almost gotten in 6 months. Today she is going to an agency that will help her get a job. I admire her attitude and actions.
The Holy Spirit keeps prompting me to connect Shebaa with a few women in the church I am joining. These women can uphold her in prayer. They can talk with her on the phone to encourage and disciple her. They can be used of God to assist financially too. May Jesus lead me to the right women. Note that I have invited about a dozen others before who said yes but never called or visited.
I have been more involved in regular spiritual disciplines than in nearly all my 30 years as a Christian. Yet instead of victories I find how much my flesh nature resists walking continually in the Holy Spirit. I am taking an online Bible study with Setting Captives Free http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/course/ for a long time. Recently the emphasis has been on Romans chapters 6 and 7. This has been a timely study for me.
During the next week or two I hope to complete a few major projects that are central to the launching of the ministry. At one level it makes sense that the enemy would send extra attacks during this season. He cannot cause me to disobey God but he can attempt to distract my attention so that I miss the mark.
God has been reminding my heart of the verse that unless the Lord builds the house then those who labor do so in vain. I have had personal experiences and many observations that God take a person to their limits and beyond them using circumstances. Then when the person and everyone around them is sure that the solution must come from God He sends it right on time. Thus Jesus Christ gets all the glory and no flesh can boast. Surely that is what He is doing in my life.
From another view there is a saying that it is darkest before the light.
My current cash flow is thin. But then that has happened for most of my adult life. It is unpleasant but not unusual. God will make a way for my real needs to be met yet again. And what turns up the heat for me is that Christmas is coming plus the end of the year. There is a brief window of opportunity before people get involved in the Christmas family matters. It would be wise for me to make presentations to key people before then.
My aim is to raise several thousand dollars in the next two weeks. That will allow me to make major progress during the lull time from before Christmas until the middle of January. Then in mid-January there will be an initial example of the first quarterly CD to share with intercessor, advisors and donors.
Watch for specific prayer requests during the coming days. That will help get the momentum going to raise the needed seed capital.
John 9:32 AM
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