I love living life this way. I'm still early on, but I don't think I want to live any other way. I feel like I'm made for it and I Get to do it. When I launched into the work on October 12th I felt the presence and prayers of 40 + individuals and families - like wind at my back. I feel completely loved, supported, trusted, and launched.
One of my partners shared this during an appointment:
"Paul, I've been doing this for about 30 years, and while I support your mission, what me and my wife choose to support is not really a mission, but someone's life. We want to support you wherever you are and whatever you do because wherever you go you bring Life."
How cool is that? Whoever you are reading this, YOU BRING LIFE where you go. It's true. You reflect the heart of the father and people want to invest in you bringing healing life and light into a world where an enemy is always prowling, waiting for an opportunity to use, abuse, oppress, hypnotize, isolate, steal, kill, and destroy anyone and everyone.
How you share how you bring God's healing life and light into the world is your road. Remember, on the road, bring friends. That's why we as a community are writing these posts- for you. To invest in you by sharing stories and wisdom, to be a fellow sojourner who's logged a couple more miles, but certainly does not have all the answers. We are excited to watch the Holy Spirit play in you. Which I believe is the definition of creativity and innovation. God is excited to make all things new.
Here are some general pieces of advice on your path:
Do your homework. Read, listen, organize, prepare, role-play, etc.
Talk to others in your area who have raised support.
Find a coach in your organization or an accountability person. My accountability person is my brother-in-law. He was my "first ask" to be involved in the mission.
Create a Cheering Committee:
Short-term ( __ month & ___meetings) cheerleading squad providing prayer, perspective, and positivity for ____ and ____ as we work together to become fully-funded so _____ can be fully-focused on the work around ______.\
My cheering committee consists of friends and family from around the state who are invested into me, our family, and this mission. They provide a space for encouragement and accountability.
When you are down, disoriented, discouraged, lacking faith, etc. Do Not Isolate. Go to God. Go to your key people to provide heavenly perspective. Go back to reading or experiences of deep trust in your mission. Mine were drawings I created at bootcamp and a song playlist that reminded me of the truth and helped the wheels get back on the track.
Spend alone time with God.
ALWAYS SAY THANK YOU. But more importantly, be thankful. For someone's time and/or treasure. Whatever they give you. Whether it's feedback, perspective or support on the road - these people are souls God is working with to create mutual times of learning on the journey.
Pray before, during and after every appointment. Connect. Be intimate with God.
Be expressive: write, draw, color, sketch, blog, sing, dance, etc. Have fun with the Holy Spirit and let that medium speak to you in whatever way you need.
Send updates. Here's my first update. Inside, there are links to others.
In general, consistently do inner-healing belovedness work. This might mean counseling, or certain books, but really it means "God, expose the lies in my heart and the associated patterns in my relationships that you want to heal." You want to live in freedom with nothing to hide, prove, or fear to anyone else. You want to bring your whole and healing self to an organization that is on the internal healing path to bring healing to others. These efforts are wrapped up in the Christian Organizational Health movement. Here are some of my favorite resources. One of my favorite expressions of this is The Strategic Plan for Thriving Souls by CAFO.
Rough Moments and Stuck
These times will come. And these times too, shall pass. Here are some rough moments and how we go through.
I trudged forward on this journey without doing an honest deep-dive connection with Kendra. I thought I provided opportunity to shed it all, but I didn't. We had some ups and downs, fears, etc. in the beginning. We had a couple of watershed moments involving individual and collective submissions to God. They were VITAL to moving forward. If you have a significant other and you aren't on the same page - slow down. Ask, lean in, be curious, listen, empathize, seek first to understand. Then seek first to understand again. Ask "what else?". Navigate the spiritual journey together through the blood of the lamb and the words of the testimonies.
I felt stuck at certain percentages along the way and became pretty anxious, especially in the beginning. "Be anxious about nothing". However, as I connected with God and others, I found out that my co-worker Amy was literally stuck on the EXACT SAME PERCENTAGE for so long and trusted in God for the way forward. She paved the way. That's community.
Some God-Sighting Surprises:
One of my heroes, who I've listened to so much of his content and witnessed his leadership from a far, invested in my launching without me asking.
My first ask ended up being the leader of my first presentation, and we aren't super close, it was God calling us into deeper partnership.
Being supported by such a large and diverse community.
... to be continued... so many.
Below is my 2021 Partnership Development Timeline to give you some perspective on the path:
February 9th - Spoke with Chris Combs for 4 hours about Coalition of Care and received The God Ask. Read it in a week and said "I'm In God".
March 3rd - April 19th - Completed 40 + hours of bootcamp prep through their online platform. Very transformative.
April 20th/21st - Attended SRS Bootcamp with 8 other folks led by 2 amazing trainers at Back2Back.
April 24th - May 12th - Created all partnership development materials, made phone calls to set up appointments, and created backend tracking system.
May 13st - First Partnership Development Appointment
June 8th - First Cheering Committee Get Together
July 23rd - Reached 50%
July 27th - Second Cheering Committee Get Together
September 12th - First Presentation to a Church
October 7th - Reached 75%
October 12th - First day on the job. Still raising up partners with 4-5 appointments a week.
___________ - Reached 100%!
Remember, if you are called, it WILL BE a meandering path of trusting. It is not a matter of IF, but when, you will become fully-funded. The goal IS NOT becoming fully-funded, although it is an important goal. The goal is increased trust and intimacy with God. That's the treasure. You can do this.
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And finally, I believe in the wonder of music to parallel our journeys. I have not stopped listening to the below song, "The Other Side" as it reflect Jesus's invitation to drop our nets and follow him. Below are the lyrics and my spiritual translations.
P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) is the Jesus character.
Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) is you, me, us, the potential follower.
In sequential order:
"Right here, right now - I put the offer out":
The moment Jesus asked Simon and Andrew to drop their nets.
"You run with me, And I can cut you free, Out of the drudgery and walls you keep in"
Jesus's invitation for freedom, to unshackle ourselves from the invisible bondage we don't know we are caged to.
"And if it's crazy, live a little crazy. You can play it sensible, a king of conventional, Or you can risk it all and see"
Jesus's ways are crazy. And it's truly living, Life. We can look like the rest of our culture or we can keep taking risky steps in losing our life to gain our life, and in that way we truly see and witness the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Don't you wanna get away from the same old part you gotta play -'Cause I got what you need, so come with me and take the ride. It'll take you to the other side"
We all are living our roles that seem to strangle us. When we see our ministry through God's eyes it takes us to the other side. Instead of seeing it through earth's eyes, we see it through heaven's eyes.
Zac's rebuttal: "'Cause I quite enjoy the life you say I'm trapped in, Now I admire you, and that whole show you do. You're onto something, really it's something. But I live among the swells, and we don't pick up peanut shells."
We'd rather live in this life where we are unhealthfully coping to escape whatever we might be trapped in. I know you're onto something. I'm intrigued. But I have way too much to lose. I won't look like a fool. I won't do certain kind of work that's meant for 'other people.
Rebuttal to the rebuttal - " Now is this really how you like to spend your days? Whiskey and misery, and parties and plays."
You are living a miserable life in between addictions that numb and excite you, anything to distract you away from who you were meant to be and what you were meant to do.
" If I were mixed up with you, I'd be the talk of the town. Disgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns"
Seriously God, I can't... I have too much to lose. My reputation, my security and safety... belonging..
"But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a little - Just let me give you the freedom to dream. And it'll wake you up and cure your aching. Take your walls and start 'em breaking. Now that's a deal that seems worth taking. But I guess I'll leave that up to you"
Jesus saying, Don't think of what you'd lose, your "life" as you see it right now. Think of what you'd gain. Life with me, on an adventure, in an intimate community with a bunch of people that others have thrown away, but are so beautiful on the inside. It will curb your anxiety, fear, depression, worthlessness - it'll break down the fake walls you've built up inside. It's the best life. But I will always only woo and invite.. it's up to you."
"So if you do like I do - So if you do like me. Forget the cage, 'cause we know how to make the key. Oh, damn! Suddenly we're free to fly. We're going to the other side"
Excited, together, in harmony, the follower is beginning to follow, align, behave, and believe the way God does. We don't ever need to fear cages because we know how to make the keys to freedom. Because we are free. And because we are free. We fly! And we're going to the "other side" of being, through Heaven's ways, Heaven's economy. One of trust and abundance.
Beauty Unfolds at the End of the Song
AFTER Zac Efron says Yes and begins to follow. He is a part of fun, goodness, belonging and freedom... and then he witnesses beauty and is invited into it. This represents, to me, the beauty of the bride that is finally being able to be seen and invited into. And the Bride is also flying high above the crowds, drawing their gaze to her trust, confidence, and skills, it's beautiful and inviting. It's when we take that step of trust, do we see more and more beauty unfolding.
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