Caleb Jenkins Personal Blog

QuickBooks Helps Provide Sustainable Solutions For The Working Poor

2015-08-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

Originally posted at Insightful Account:

In May 2015, I was privileged to visit Haiti to help Christian Aid Ministries set up QuickBooks for their SALT Microfinance Solutions program. This was an exciting opportunity, as a volunteer, to put my QuickBooks knowledge and skills into practice for others. During this trip, I visited the cities of Port-au-Prince, Titanyen, and Petit-Goave.

I spent most of my time in Petit Goave, Haiti, where the office for the SALT program is located. My focus was learning about the SALT program, grasping the accounting needs for the program, installing and setting up a specialized QuickBooks company file, educating the SALT staff on how to use QuickBooks, and then providing technical support to the SALT staff.

It was exciting to help those who are working hard to decrease the problems of chronic poverty in Haiti. I have enjoyed helping with the SALT program because I believe it is helping to break the cycle of dependency in developing countries. This program is actually helping to solve the problems of chronic poverty by enabling impoverished people to use the resources already available to them.

What is SALT Microfinance Solutions?

You may be asking, “What is SALT?” SALT is an acronym for Shared Accountability, Lending, and Teaching. This program reaches out to people in material poverty through microloans, savings groups, agricultural programs, and Christ-centered teaching. The goal of the SALT Program is to walk alongside clients, helping them use the resources God has placed in their care and teaching them the importance of following Jesus in everyday life.

As clients develop small business enterprises, they often find that their increased income enables them to afford regular meals, improve their housing, and provide a good education for their children. As their businesses expand, the effects spread beyond their families into the local economy, as they learn to be contributors in their communities and churches.

Continue reading at:
Insightful Accountant: QuickBooks Helps Provide Sustainable Solutions For The Working Poor

The History of Halloween

2013-10-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

Where did Halloween begin?
It began over 2000 yrs ago with the Celtics who lived in what is today England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This day was the start of the Celtic new year. It was a time to give thanks to the sun god for the harvest.

What is Halloween all about?

Halloween, All saints day, All hallows eve or All souls day is a festival of death. This festival was held to honor the Samhain the so called "lord of death". It was a Druidical belief that on the eve of this festival, Samhain who is known as the lord of death, called together the wicked spirits that had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals within the past 12 months .

Many sacrifices were offered to this lord of death Samhain, and bonfires were built to keep away the evil spirits. The powers of darkness were consulted to foretell the future.

To exorcise these spirits, that is to expel or cast a demonic/evil presence out from a person, you would have to put food outside and provide shelter for these spirits during the night. If these spirits were satisfied with your offerings and sacrifices, they would leave you in peace. If they were not satisfied with your offerings and sacrifices, they were believed to cast an evil spell on you.

In modern day Satanism and Witchcraft covens, this is the day when Satan himself comes to "fellowship" with his followers. This false fellowship totally twists the truth and example of Christ coming to the earth to die for mankind and establish "fellowship" with his followers, or known as followers of Jesus. Many changes have occurred over the centuries since Halloween was first started, but one thing has stayed the same, the practice of giving an "offering" has stayed the same. In America, we do it under the name of fun, but what is the real meaning? Is the meaning still the same as it was in the old days? I say the answer is a resounding YES.

Some of the “innocent” symbols include jack-o’-lanterns representing demonic superstition, black cats representing witches, skulls and skeletons representing death, fire rites representing sacredness, and apple bobbing representing the selection of a lover. There are many more symbols and practices of Halloween that represent darkness that could be named here.

The Christian Connection
The celebration in the Catholic church (which I believe to be the predominate heretical church of that time), was known as All Saints' Day. All Saint's Day later merged with Samhain. All Saints' Day originated in the 7th century when the Pantheon at Rome was wrested from the barbarians, made into a cathedral, and renamed the Church of the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. Thus, from honoring "all gods" (which is the meaning of the Greek word "pantheon") the Pantheon became the center for glorifying all saints.

All Saint's Day which honored all the "hallowed" saints was first observed on the evening of May 13, and was known as the All hallows festival. The day was officially authorized in 835 by Pope Gregory IV after it was moved to November 1 to coincide with Samhain. It began on the evening of October 31, which was called All Hallows Eve.

Thus, without forcing the pagans to drop their pagan practices and accept Christianity, the Catholic church of that time merely made room to accommodate the barbarians. This is not the right way to try to reach the world for Christ. We can't just accommodate people and make room for them to live just like they have alway lived. In its essence, the Gospel compels people to repent of their sins, which is to turn from your sins, and follow Jesus Christ, believing in him and trusting in him as we would trust in a parachute to save us.

The two celebrations made strange connections: one in respect of evil spirits, the other honoring "saints." Nevertheless, the joining of the two celebrations produced a hybrid of beliefs about what was supposed to happen in the spirit world. Souls in purgatory appeared as witches and toads to persons who had wronged them. Halloween fires and rites took on a new meaning and now were used to comfort souls in purgatory as people prayed while holding burning straw in the air.

Even the idea of trick-or-treating by evil spirits took on an acceptable church flavor: costumed children went around on All Souls Day offering to fast for the departed souls in return for money or an offering. As the Celts converted to the new religion, they did not forget their stories of the dead traveling to the afterworld on Halloween. Rather, exhibitions of this night became more evil and the observance adopted even more malicious overtones.

Unlike many other holidays such as Easter and Christmas (which may have other questionable reasons to not participate in as American Church has done for the past century), Halloween has no origins in True Christianity. Halloween is unmistakably pagan in its origin, its symbols, and the ways people celebrate it.

Is Halloween a TRICK or TREAT?
Most absolutely it is a TRICK. As you can see from the extended narrative above the meaning of Halloween has been watered down in today’s world. It is Satan's objective to get all to worship him. God's Word tells us to not have anything to do with this.

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Timothy 4:1 (NASB) - But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.

How should we as Christians respond to Halloween?
The worship of false gods is condemned numerous times in both the OT and NT and is emphasized in the very first of the 10 commandments.

In Exodus 20:2-3 the Lord writes with his own hand:

“I am the LORD your God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods (practicing of false worship) before me.”

The passage in the bible that most directly addresses the customs mentioned above is Deuteronomy 18:9-14, where we read:

“When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”

Other scriptures about participating in such activities:

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."
1 Thessalonians 5:22 says “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
John 3:19-21 says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
Romans 13:12 says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."
Ephesians 5:8-11 says, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
Galatians 5:19-21 says, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Most of you would agree that Witchcraft practices are an abomination to the Lord God Jehovah but few realize that the “innocent” practices of Halloween are just as bad in the Lord’s eyes as forms of Witchcraft because of the the darkness they represent.

The Lord says in Proverbs 3:7, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil,” and 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Will we seek to push the boundaries of our faith to see just how far we can go? Or will we seek to serve the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength? Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

There is still yet another aspect to think about: The example you are to those around you.

1 Corinthians 10:31-32 - “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:”

In light of the history of Halloween and the present Satanic worship that happens around the world and that pervades this day of Halloween, my suggestion is that professing Christians refrain from being involved with these practices that many would consider to be “innocent”. While I recognize that not everyone will agree with me, I would suggest that all seriously seek the LORD for themselves about whether it is wise to be involved with such activities. I desire that all Christians everywhere only be engaged in activities and practices that are edifying to other believers and that brings glory and honor and praise to the LORD God Jehovah.

Here are a few profitable things that I would suggest that we can do on Halloween instead of participating in the evil that encompasses this Satanic day.

Do not make light of evil. As I have tried to point out in this blogpost, Halloween originated in evil practices and has remained a holiday that uses children to promote a fascination with darkness and superstitious fear. At the same time, it diminishes authority in the bible as the inspired word of God and makes light of evil. We need a holy and righteous fear of the Lord in these times. "The fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).
Share the Gospel on this evil day. The bible clearly gives each and every believer a commission in his final words: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20). Also, look at Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." So I would suggest that we turn the tables this Halloween from participation to active aggression against it. Let's do battle with the enemy in sharing the Gospel with those who are entrapped in this false worship.
Pray, Pray, Pray. Pray for children who will shun the glorification of witchcraft, the bondage of ungodly fear, and the “cuteification” of evil that is promoted through holidays like Halloween. Pray for those entrapped in the falsehood of demonic worship. Pray against the powers of darkness and pray in agreement with the power of God (the light).

All Glory and Praise to Jesus Christ,
Caleb L. Jenkins

Resources for further reading:

Trip to Haiti 2013

2013-09-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

I was privileged in many ways to be able to participate in a short-term missions trip to Haiti during the first week of September 2013. During this trip to Haiti we visited the cities of Port-au-prince, Titanyen, Petit-Goave, and the mountain villages south of Petit-Goave. I hope to be able to share with you some of the insights gains, lessons learned, and stories that can be applied to our lives here in America through this blogpost.

The four red squares are where we visited while we were in Haiti

Before we left we received a phonecall from one of the ministries down there in Haiti that we were going to be spending a night with saying that they were going to be driving through one of the most impoverished areas of Haiti the day after we arrived in Haiti and asked if we could bring down some clothes for the children. The report was that most of these children had absolutely nothing to wear. So we sent out an email to our local church members and asked if they had any extra children's clothes and/or old suitcases that we could take down to Haiti. The response was overwhelming. The picture below shows about half of the clothes we received.

Half of the clothes we took down to Haiti from home

We (my Father & I) left from home at 6:00 PM on Sunday September 1, 2013. We stopped to pickup Jeff Bowman who lives 20 minutes away from our house on our way to the airport.

From left to right (myself, Jeff Bowman, Ann Bowman, Ann's Parents, Jeff & Ann's two little girls

We left San Francisco Airport at 12:15 AM on September 2, 2013. We spent most of the day Monday flying down to Haiti. From SFO, we stopped in DFW, MIA, and finally to PAP (Port-au-prince). When we got close to the ground flying into Haiti I was struck by the poverty of even those living close to the airport in Port-au-Prince.

Industrial Zone in Haiti

After we landed and made our way through customs and security we were met by Darv Siebel and "Grandpa" Harold Herr (all the natives and other missionaries in Haiti call him Grandpa Harold).

Soon after we left the airport in Port-au-Prince we we hailed with the effects of the rainy season. It poured most of our drive from Port-au-Prince to Petit-Goave. We were met by Kieth & Arlene Brubaker (Administrators of Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti) right after we had pulled out of the airport. We gave the clothes that we had taken down with us to Kieth & Arlene and they said that they would make sure that the clothes got to the correct location.

Kieth & Arlene Brubaker

When we made it to Petit-Goave (called Ti-Goave for short) our group was split up to stay at two different homes of local missionaries in Ti-Goave. The first couple was Clint & Brenda Bower and the second was Darvin & Jo Siebel.

Clint & Brenda Bower and their two girls

Darv & Jo Siebel
(their family was gone at the moment this picture was taken - they have seven children, if I remember correctly)

That first evening, Monday, we had our first "learning" presentation of the S.A.L.T. (Shared Accountability Lending and Teaching) Program given by Leonard Meador. Leonard gave an overview of the Microloan Program. He shared the problem of just giving and giving and giving without discernment. Then, Leonard shared some facts regarding Microloans.

Discussing the S.A.L.T. Program

Early the next morning on Tuesday we woke up to the humid, wet, and sticky Haiti. Actually, it was identical to the weather that we were met with from the moment that we landed in Port-au-prince but it sunk in that this was the kind of weather we would have for our whole trip. We started off with breakfast and then had a season of devotions given by Ervin Esh. After devotions we loaded up in the back of two trucks (as you can see below) which had cages around them that we could hang on to. We drove through Ti-Goave on our way up to the mountains.

Riding in the back of the caged trucks through Ti-Goave

While we were in Ti-Goave we stopped at one of the markets to meet some of the loan clients in town. We talked to them for a little while and then got back on the trucks to continue to head up to the mountains. Pastor CJ (pictured below) rode up with us and accompanied us throughout our trip. Pastor CJ is the administrator over the other pastors who teach the S.A.L.T. material to the loan clients.

Pastor Sujay (pronounced CJ)

While we were driving up the mountainside, we encountered many villagers carrying huge loads of beans and other supplies on their heads as they went to market. I asked Pastor CJ if they have any chiropractors in the area and he said that they didn't. I couldn't imagine carrying a load like that up the mountainside and never stopping. Most of the ladies (and men) don't even try to balance the goods on top of their head with their hands. That's what I call real balance. :)

Most of the villagers carry their goods to market on their heads

When we arrived to where we were headed up in the mountains, we came upon one of the country-side markets (pictured below). There were people everywhere as you can see just browsing through all of the goods for sale. Some of the businesses represented in these markets were restaurants, clothing piles, shoe racks, food supplies, and misc. goods.

Entering one of the markets we attended

From the opposite side of the market looking back (as pictured below) we saw the big huge bean bags being loaded into the back of a big truck headed down the mountainside to the city of Port-au-prince. These bags have been filled by villagers who work all day to fill a bag to sell to purchase enough food for the day and maybe some clothes and something else to prepare for the non-growing season.

Looking through the market

While we were at the markets we talked to many of the loan clients and bought some of their goods, food, etc. We found out about their situations in the past and how the microloans are helping them to alleviate the handout mentality and to break free from poverty. Some of the clients who have been in the program for multiple loans now have established businesses who make a profit of up to $15-20 per day. This is much better than the average $2 a day that most workers make. With the $15-20 per day they are able to set aside enough to feed their families, clothe their children, send their children to school, help their parents and family members in difficult times, and to learn the power of giving to other needs. Every person has a God-given natural instinct wanting to give something to someone else. We find this same situation here in America where for example a gang member steals something to give it to their mother. Rarely are the goods that are stolen used for their own gain but rather it is used to benefit someone else in need. While this method is not ethical or moral it does show how each person wants to contribute to a greater need than themselves.

Our group having a lively anabaptist discussion in the evening

In the picture above, after we finished visiting the clinic administered by Gospel to Haiti we had a lively Anabaptist discussion talking about the Internet, Facebook, Community or Individualism, the divide between the Older and Younger Generations, etc. This was a profitable discussion that helped us all understand each other and our different backgrounds a little bit better.

Pastor CJ giving his animated talk about the wasteful use of cellphones

On Tuesday evening we stayed at the Gospel to Haiti Mission for the night. In the picture above, Pastor CJ is giving an animated talk about how Haitians wastefully use their cellphones. He said that the Haitians answer the phone and say, Hey, Hey, multiple times. Then they will say something funny and will laugh and laugh for minutes. After demonstrating this for us, CJ said that he tells the Haitians that they are paying money that they should be saving or using to pay for their children's education to say hey and to laugh. Instead of saying hey and laughing CJ says that they should only use their cellphones for necessary short phonecalls.

Hiking up to Grandpa Harold's House

On Wednesday Morning, we hiked up to "Grandpa" Harold's house way up on the mountainside. The picture above is a picture of our group hiking up to his house.

The incredible view from Grandpa Harold's House

When the earthquake in 2010 hit Haiti, "Grandpa" Harold (79 years old) said that he was hiking up to his house. Grandpa illustrated how that when it hit he was thrown to the ground with velocity that almost hurt him. When he looked up he say the mountains all around him shaking incessantly. His first thought was that the Lord had returned to call his remnant bride home to heaven. Then he noticed that he was still here on earth. After making the rest of the hike up to his home he only found minimal damages in his house structure. Haitians, according to Grandpa Harold, were scared to hike on the trail for months following the quake in fear that they would be killed by another quake.

Grandpa Harold explaining his experience when the earthquake hit in 2010

After talking to Grandpa up at his house we made our way back to the Gospel to Haiti Mission where we packed our bags again and said goodbye to Steve & Shaina Simmons (pictured below) who are the directors of the mission.

Steve & Shaina Simmons at Gospel to Haiti Compound

After leaving the Gospel to Haiti compound we visited a church rebuilding project (pictured below) facilitated by the Gospel to Haiti. This is a church that was not built properly in the first place and was structurally damaged in the earthquake of 2010.

Church Rebuilding Project

Later on Wednesday we went back to a few markets to talk to a few more of the loan clients. Below, Clint Bower, the administrator of the Ag Plus S.A.L.T. program, is talking to one of his clients.

Clint talking with one of the clients at market

Later on Wednesday afternoon we traveled back down the mountainside to the city of Ti-Goave to the main S.A.L.T. office where we spent the evening meeting one of the local pastors (pictured below) who teach the S.A.L.T. material. We also participated in a bi-weekly loan meeting with one of the loan groups. This was fascinating to experience. Of course I couldn't understand what was said because it was all spoken in Creole but it was easy to understand what was being conveyed through body language. We also had a little bit of interpretation by Clint Bower & Darv Siebel.

A pastor at the bi-weekly loan meeting

Below is a picture of the loan group I mentioned above. Over 70% of the loan clients are women. The reason for this statistic is that the women feel responsible for the well being of their children whereas the men are more slackers and care very little about what happens in their family.

The group of six at the bi-weekly loan meeting

On Thursday we traveled back to the city of Port-au-prince and visited some of the Americanized markets. While we there we purchased some of the local Haitian coffee and some of the wooden bowls and misc other products. One of the boys there who was approximately 12 years old came up to me as I was passing out Creole tracts and started talking to me in English. That was a big surprise. After spending the past few days in the country where none of the Haitians talk English it was almost a breath of fresh air. This young boy said that his parents died when he was young and he has raised himself alone in the streets of Port-au-prince. He said that the Lord saved him a few years ago and that he has been attending church ever since.

We then left Port-au-prince and headed to the Blue Ridge International compound. On the Blue Ridge compound there is another ministry called LIFE Literature. Grandpa Harold is the Haiti representative for LIFE Literature. Grandpa Harold gave us a tour of their office and how their ministry operates.

Simeon & Melanie Shankster (and Solomon whom they are in the process of adopting)

After visiting the LIFE Literature office on the Blue Ridge compound we walked back to Simeon and Melanie Shankster's house. Simeon is the local pastor on the Blue Ridge Compound.

In the picture below, is one of the Blue Ridge trucks that was not in operation when we visited. Blue Ridge has 10-20 or so staff that go out into the countrysides up in the mountain areas and drill wells for the villages. They charge a small fee to drill the wells. This fee does not cover the cost so the rest of the expense is covered by donations. The mindset behind charging for the service is that the village will take better responsibility of the well and they will have a sense of ownership in the well that they don't have when they are given a service free of charge.

Blue Ridge Truck

Thursday evening, after visiting the Blue Ridge compound we made it to our final destination in Haiti - the Christian Aid Ministries compound. While we were there for the evening, we took our group photo as you can see below. As you can probably tell, I was by far the youngest one in the group. I was blessed beyond measure to experience this trip with all of these older & much wiser men of God. I also gained a few new relationships through this venture with other Accountants. Of those pictured below, 7 are accountants and 2 are business owners.

Our Group Photo from left to right, starting on the top row (Arlin Martin, Kevin Jacobs, Curt Wagoner, Jeff Bowman, Darv Seibel, David Flory, Ervin Esh, Leonard Meador, myself, Randy Jenkins

Getting ready to leave Haiti

What is the S.A.L.T. Program?

SALT stands for Shared Accountability Lending & Teaching. This is a program that gives out small loans to help poor people make a living on their own.

In the words of Christian Aid Ministries:

Our goal is to provide sustainable Christ-centered solutions, and to break the cycle of physical and spiritual poverty that grips communities around the world today. We believe this is best accomplished by giving opportunity for men and women to put their God-given abilities to work. These are not individuals looking for a free handout, but simply people in need of both capital and training.

The primary purpose of SALT microfinance is to help men and women find eternal life through Jesus Christ. Secondly, we want to walk with them as they make the transition from poverty to providing for themselves.

One of the greatest hurdles that confronts aid organizations today is the challenge of providing sustainable solutions. Poverty continues to grow, and many countries have become addicted to continual foreign aid. Our vision is to provide a path out of the seemingly endless cycle of poverty that plagues many families around the world. Our desire is to help the struggling by giving them opportunity to provide for themselves.

To accomplish this, we offer business and spiritual teaching and provide loans to develop small enterprises. These businesses are intended to supply a steady income, enabling families to purchase good food, decent housing, and education for their families. As these businesses expand, the effects spread beyond the family into the community and local economy.
In-Text Citation (Christian Aid Ministries, 2013) *1

The Problem: Relief

To illustrate the problem with relief, I will use the story of mosquitoes. A few years ago a news article written by Wall Street Journal told about a village in Africa that had a big problem with malaria. A church group had came to this village and saw the problem and wrote back home about the problem and the need for mosquito nets. The church back in the states gathered together enough money to buy 10,000 nets to send to this village in Africa. When the report was brought back to the states when this church group came back everything was cheery and rosy. The report detailed how the problem had been solved in this village. Then a year later a news reporter from WSJ decided to visit this village and check up on the progress of these mosquito nets. What he found was appalling. The problem with malaria was worse than ever and the unemployment in this village was much worse than it was before the church group had come down to "solve the problem." What this news reporter shared was the fact that the 10,000 mosquito nets brought down from America had put out of business a local mosquito factory. This in turn created higher unemployment in the village. On top of that, when the next rainy season came around there was no local mosquito net company to purchase mosquito nets from.

The Solution: Development

To illustrate the solution of development I will use the story of rickshaws. There was a small group of villagers in Asia who worked everyday carrying goods on top of their heads for a local company and barely made enough money to live on. One day, one of these workers had an idea that he shared with the other villagers. His idea was for each worker in their group to set aside a dollar each week and combine it into a group pool of money. A few months later the group had enough money set aside to loan money to one of the workers to be able to purchase a rickshaw. This continued until each worker had purchased their own rickshaw. Once this was accomplished they had enough money to send their children to school and to give to others' needs. Then this worker had another idea. Since they were making more money than they had before they could each contribute a greater amount to the savings account and in turn purchase trucks to haul their goods. This was a successful venture that solved the problem of poverty by just setting aside a little money up front to solve the problem for future generations.

Job 29:16 says, "I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out." In this verse Job shows the need for discernment. We can apply this verse to the problem of poverty to discern the difference between chronic poverty and critical poverty. The way we do this is by focusing first on the cause rather than just the effect of poverty. A few critical basic points to microfinance lending in countries like Haiti are:

It is important to discern to right tool to use before trying to help.
It is probable that the people of Haiti don't really need everything exactly like we have.
It is necessary to identify the cause of poverty first and then decide what the best tool to use is.
Which tool is the most important? The most important tool is absolutely the one that fits and fixes the problem.
Different tools are necessary at different times.
Take the time necessary to discern which tool is the correct tool to use.

The tools that I refer to above are the tools of relief and development. The tool of relief is necessary when the problem is a direct or indirect result of a calamity (e.g. 2010 Earthquake). The tool of development is necessary when the problem has developed over time and possibly many generations.

The problem with providing the tool of relief when the tool of development should be used is that it tells the poor that they are incapable of solving the problem on their own. This also creates a shift of focus from their resources, gifts, and capabilities to our resources.

In recap, I have shared what the SALT program is, along with the problem of continual relief and the solution to poverty by using development. This trip to Haiti was an incredible time to learn through serving about the problem and solution to poverty. I hope to continue learning how that God created each individual capable of solving most of their own problems when they have the correct tools to do so.

Resources & References:

If you would like to see more photos from my trip, you can view my album on Google+ or Facebook.

I was very blessed to be on this trip to Haiti and learned much about how we can help others without destroying their own self-dignity and self-worth.

At the End of the Spear and into the Gates of Splendor

2013-08-31T12:21:00.003-07:00

Last evening, I sat down with my family and watched the video, "Beyond the Gates of Splendor." It is the account of the five men Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian, who fearlessly gave their lives for the spread of the Gospel to the Acua Indians and specifically to the Waodoni tribe. I have watched the video, "End of the Spear" at least 4-5 times. Each time it has pierced my heart to the core because here I sit in a comfortable rocking chair, in front of my big screen computer watching this video while these men recklessly abandoned their lives, their dreams, their pursuits, and their passions, all for a miraculous and powerful Savior who commands that his followers give up everything they have to follow him.

When I watched Beyond the Gates of Splendor for the first time last evening, my eyes filled with tears as I watched the five wives of these courageous men give their account of telling their husbands goodbye for the last time and then hearing that their husbands had been pierced at the end of the spear. We as Christians have all been called to surrender our lives completely to God and to submit to his Lordship over our lives but yet so often we think we know what is best for us. We spend so much time asking, "What is the will of God for my life" when I think we should really be asking, "Who is the God of my life." When we know who God truly is, we will see his heart for ALL nations, ALL people groups, and EVERY single person on the globe today.

The song that these five men sang the evening before they were murdered was, "We Rest On Thee."

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!

We go not forth alone against the foe;

Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,

We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
Yes, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!

In Thy dear Name, all other names above;

Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,

Our Prince of glory and our King of love.
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,

And needing more each day Thy grace to know:

Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,

“We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!

Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;

When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,

Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

Here are a few quotes by these Missionaries that have given me a great burden for the spread of the Gospel regardless of what it might cost us:

Nate Saint

“And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives…and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.”
"As we have a high old time this Christmas may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha"
“During the last war we were taught to recognize that, in order to obtain our objective, we had to be willing to be expendable … Yet, when the Lord Jesus asks us to pay the price for world evangelization, we often answer … It costs too much … God didn’t hold back His only Son…”

Jim Elliot

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
“Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.”
“It makes me boil when I think of the power we profess and the utter impotency of our action. Believers who know one-tenth as much as we do are doing one-hundred times more for God, with His blessing and our criticism. Oh if I could write it, preach it, say it, paint it, anything at all, if only God's power would become known among us.”
“We are so utterly ordinary, so commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the Twentieth Century does not reckon with. But we are "harmless," and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are "sideliners" -- coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!”

Ed McCully

"I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy into it."
"I'm taking the Lord at His word, and I'm trusting Him to prove His Word. It's kind of like putting all your eggs in one basket, but we've already put our trust in Him for salvation, so why not do it as far as our life is concerned?"

Peter Fleming

“[The Lord] has been leading my meditation to the stringent statements of Christ regarding discipleship specially those words of Christ to His disciples before He sent them out…’He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.’ I have been directed to these and similar passages again and again. I should like to put these truths to the utmost test … Seemingly God delights in many instances to place men in situations which magnify their weaknesses for the simple delight of showing Himself strong to all observers”

Roger Youderian

“A missionary plods through the first year or two, thinking that things will be different when he speaks the language. He is baffled to find, frequently, that they are not. He is stripped of all that may be called “romance.” Life has fallen more or less into a pattern. Day follows day in unbroken succession. There are no crisis, no mass conversions, sometimes not even one or two to whom he can point and say: ‘There is a transformed life. If I had not come, he would never have known Christ.”

There are many more quotes attributed to these incredible men of faith, but I want to leave you with one final thought. Right after these Men of God were killed, much of the church in America asked, "Couldn't these men have been more useful in the Kingdom of God rather than to live a reckless life and be killed with nothing to show for it?" This kind of thinking is exactly the same kind of thinking that Judas had when he asked Jesus, "Why didn't this woman sell this ointment and give the money to the poor?" So often we do not recognize the kind of Jesus we serve.

One Final Challenge, "I urge you to abandon everything in this life and live for the Kingdom of God wherever he calls you to live."

Hated of ALL NATIONS

2013-08-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:9, 13, 14)

For my name's sake. ~ I think this is the key part of these verses. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, there would be no power in the lives of believers. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, there would be no reason for unbelievers to persecute believers. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, we would not be hated for being who we are.
Hated of all nations. Killed. Afflicted. ~ These are hard words that most do not want to hear. First of all, most wonder what this verse means that since there is no "persecution" in America. That is a concept that I completely disagree with. Another verse paralleling this verse is (2 Timothy 3:12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So my question is this, "If we are not being persecuted, are we living Godly in Christ Jesus?" I believe that if we are living Godly in Christ Jesus we will be persecuted for our faith even here in America, and most likely it will be from "Professing Christians" who are not sincere & genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
He that shall endure till the end ~ Since there will be persecution, to the genuine follower of Jesus Christ, it will be a trial to stay sincere in our walk with Jesus Christ. We will often times be tempted of the devil to stray from our path of following Jesus to live the "easier" life in sin.
Gospel of the Kingdom ~ Finally, the Gospel of the Kingdom is what is to be preached in all the world. What kind of Gospel have we as Americans given to the world? Should it be quarantined or should it be exported? Has it been a "save me" gospel or a "kingdom gospel?" If you want a detailed explanation on what I mean by Gospel of the Kingdom send me and email at cabeljenkins@gmail.com.

How have these verses impacted me? Pretty much to sum it all up, is to say that I have lived a very lukewarm life as a believer of Jesus Christ. Yes I maybe have done things for the kingdom of God that others in our church wouldn't dare of even doing, but that is not the standard. Whenever we start taking our eyes of Jesus and looking around at others we will start to sink as Peter did. Jesus always calls us to a much higher standard.

I hope this is a blessing to you. I'd like to hear your thoughts on these verses. May God Richly Bless you as you move out as a willing servant to be used in the Kingdom of God regardless of what the rest of the American Church thinks of you. Keep looking up to Jesus!

Until the nets are full,

Caleb L. Jenkins

Psalms 23

2013-06-23T16:00:00.001-07:00

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalms 23:1-6 KJV)

Questions to consider:

- Do I want anything beside the Lord today?

- Am I lying down in green pastures & beside the still waters?

- Am I walking in the paths of righteousness? If yes, is it solely for the Lord of the Harvest, or is it for my pride?

- Am I afraid of the attacks of the enemy, or will I trust in the Lord to fight the battles for me?

- Is my cup running over with the anointing of God on my life?

- Am I dwelling in the Lord's house today?

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

2012-12-13T14:50:00.002-08:00

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. This is the final part that I will post here on my blog.

Knowing Myself
Knowing my Past
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors
Skills (Competencies) I Need

This assignment was: S.M.A.R.T. Goals:

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, & Time Specific

Goals pertaining to each role in life

Business, Ministry, & Spiritual Goals:

2-5 Year Range

I would like to accomplish graduating with my bachelor’s degree in this time range, and then focusing on getting my master’s degree in Taxation or Accounting. After this is done I would like to start studying for my CPA (Certified Public Accountant) & EA (Enrolled Agent) exams. I would like to then sit for these exams and pass. I would like to have my first book written and published by the end of 5 years. I will organize a seminar for sharing God’s Principles on Finance & Stewardship. I will measure progress in a week-by-week format. I will categorize these goals with 10 being the most important and 1 being the least important, and then focus on the goals that are rated as 10 and knock them out of the way till I come to the least important rated as 1 (or my lowest rated goal – whatever the number is). At the middle of 5 years, I will make sure that I am 45% or higher finished with my goals. I will use the CollegePlus program or Verity Institute and their resources as a catalyst to propel me on towards my bachelor degree in accounting. Then I will probably use Liberty University to earn my Master’s Degree in Taxation or Accounting. I will use my bible, the notes in my bible, and other Christian Books to propel me towards a study on Stewardship & Finances. The goals in the area of studying will advance me because 1) I will need these classes to help me on my way towards a bachelor’s degree, 2) I will need a bachelor’s degree & possibly a master’s degree to be able to become a CPA & EA, 3) I want to become a CPA & EA in order to be able to further my work in the tax & accounting sector of business, 4) I want to further my work in the tax & accounting sector of business so that I have more knowledge, experience & stories from clients to be able to share with those that I believe I have been called to work with (which is mentioned in my vision & mission statements). Writing my first book will be a precursor to other books that I plan to write in my lifetime. The first book will give me the experience to be able to share my thoughts on paper in an articulate and persuasive way.

5-15 Year Range

I would like to accomplish passing many more exams during this time period to further distinguish myself from other practicing accountants that will help others to recognize my practice. Some of these exams are as follows: CMA Exam (Certified Management Accountant), CFM Exam (Certified Financial Manager), CFP Exam (Certified Financial Planner), CGA Exam (Certified General Accountant), ABA Exam (Accredited Business Accountant), ARA Exam (Accredited Retirement Advisor), ATA Exam (Accredited Tax Advisor), CSA Exam (Certified Senior Advisor), CTC Exam (Certified Tax Coach). These are all secular designations & Credentials. Then I would like to focus on becoming a Dave Ramsey Counselor, then become a Crown Money Map Coach, then become an advisor with Ronald Blue Company. I will continue working as an accountant during this time period. I will also hopefully be starting a mentorship with Chuck Bentley @ Crown Financial, and then with Steve Dulin @ MasterPlan Business Ministries. Again, I will use my model to measure progress in a week-by-week format. I will categorize these goals with 10 being the most important and 1 being the least important, and then focus on the goals that are rated as 10 and knock them out of the way till I come to the least important rated as 1 (or my lowest rated goal – whatever the number is). At the middle of 5-15 years, I will make sure that I am 45% or higher finished with my goals. I will need 1-2 full days a week for devoted time for studying for these tests. I will need a strict schedule and a quiet place to be able to study for these tests. I will need to study the Bible to become a Counselor, Coach, & Advisor with the different listed ministries. I will need to be able to travel around to be able to be a mentor of Chuck Bentley & Steve Dulin. Through all of this I will need a steady income to support myself in these goals which is where my job as an accountant plays into the scene. Why is this relevant to my overall vision? I would say that these goals are a crucial turning point in my ministry and vision for the future. This is where I can mold my life into the model God has for me and my ministry.

15 – 20 years

I would then like to focus on growing a tax & accounting firm to increase revenues & profits. I would then like to focus on building a model for future seminars & books that I will write. I will use the same model to measure my progress as I have in all of my other goals. I will use the abilities & gifts that God has blessed me with to be able to grow the accounting business. I will use the Bible as my starting map for the seminars & books. This is relevant because I will need the knowledge of tax & accounting as a model for the future in seminars & book writing. I will also need the income from these sources to maintain the ability to put on seminars & spend time writing books.

20 Years – till dead

At this point in my life, I would like to have a large & successful Tax & Accounting Business. I would like to write books on each of the subjects that I mentioned my Vision & Mission Paper. I would like to develop a course to lead people through each of these subjects in a biblical way. I would like to be able to successfully lead people to financial freedom and living for the kingdom of God through the way they handle their finances & are a steward with what God has entrusted to them. I will use the same model to measure my progress in this area as I have in other goals. I will use the abilities & gifts that God has blessed me with to be able to run & manage the large tax & accounting business. I will use the Bible as the Foundation to all Principles shared with others in the Biblical Worldview of Finance & Stewardship. This will accomplish my vision and mission for life here on earth.

Goals on Marriage

I would like to marry someone who is completely sold out for Christ. Someone who desires Christ above all else and will live sacrificially for the kingdom of God. Someone who is not afraid to share her faith with others but has a boldness & courage to witness to others that only God can give. Someone who is committed to living a Biblical Worldview in all areas of Life even when it becomes hard to do so and will withstand criticism to the Glory of God. I will measure success by her passion to live completely for Christ even in opposition. I will need to be seeking a strong relationship with Christ and be someone completely sold out for Christ and has a Biblical Worldview in all areas of life as well. Why is this relevant to my vision - Because a strong wife in the Lord will benefit me and will be a help to my ministry. I want to wait on the Lord’s leading on this important step in life and let him lead and direct me down this pathway of life.

Mentors from my Past

2012-11-27T10:59:00.003-08:00

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan.

Knowing Myself
Knowing my Past
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors from my Past
Skills (Competencies) I Need

This assignment was: Mentors from my Past:

People who have mentored me intensely, occasionally, or passively

Lessons I have learned from them

These Mentors can be authors, people who I have had personal contact with, family members, etc.

Byron Miller has mentored me extensively for the past two-three years of my life. Byron is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, and works for the Local County with teenagers from Foster Homers doing counseling work. I have learned much from him in the area of listening, counseling, & finally coaching. I have spent many hours with Byron sharing with him struggles, challenges, obstacles, strengths, weaknesses, gifts, talents, abilities, progress in school, etc. He will always sit there and listen attentively, then ask me questions like, “How did this “struggle, challenge, etc.” affect your overall goal? What do you plan to do differently? How do you plan to do differently? What did you do that worked great in the past in this area? How can you use that strength to overcome this weakness? How do you think that this failure could be used as a catalyst to push you on to achieve God’s Plan for your life? And many, many, many more questions such as these. Then he will spend some time coaching me from his life experiences. He will use stories from the teens that he has worked with in other counseling situations. He will tell me of his time as a teenager growing up and how he might have had the same obstacles, and how he overcame those obstacles. These are all competencies that I know I will need to have to be able to accomplish the vision and mission that God has given to me while I am here on earth. I will actively pursue these competencies, and learn from Byron how I might be able to put these competencies into practice as well.
Chris Bauman has spent a lot of time with me in the past year especially in my spiritual walk with Christ. Chris is a farmer who farms Almonds & Walnuts for a living. Chris has showed me by his example what it means to have a passion for living for Christ especially in the area of Missions & Outreach. Chris has worked with me in helping me to overcome my fear of man & to be Bold for Christ. We have spent many hours discussing the Biblical command to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” and how that applies to us here in America where we live. Chris has mentored me in the area of Boldness both by talking with me, and by witnessing together to the lost. I have greatly appreciated the passion that Chris has poured into my life in the area of Boldness & having a pure and clean relationship with Jesus Christ. I will continue to pursue these competencies, and learn from Chris how I can continue to put these competencies into practice.
Mark Grover has been in my Bible Study group for the past year. Mark is the owner of a large landscape maintenance company. He is also the head elder of our church. Mark has shown me by his example the power of Humility, and how it is put into practice. He has demonstrated the power of Humility in the life of a Leader. This has shown me how important it is that as leaders we must have the quality of Humility in our lives.
Jim Sammons created a Seminar on Financial Freedom that has forever changed my life. Jim transparently shares the insights he learned through his tragedies and triumphs. Today, as a result of applying these lessons to his own life, Jim is one of the most successful and trusted real estate developers in the Dallas—Fort Worth area. A lot of the material that I have gathered and applied to my life and in the course of action that I plan to use to share with others a Biblical Worldview in the area of Stewardship & Finances has come from Jim Sammons. He has mentored me through his videos and through his life testimony.
For over a decade, Chuck Bentley has traveled the world teaching biblical financial principles to the affluent, middle class, poor and ultra poor. As host of the daily national radio broadcast of My MoneyLife, Chuck connects with all generations and inspires his audience with a strong scriptural emphasis. I have learned much from Chuck as it pertains to managing our finances God’s Way. Chuck has mentored me through his podcasts, and through his books, and videos on pursuing a Christ-like Vision in our life in the area of Finances & Stewardship.
In 1996, Steve Dulin founded MasterPlan Business Ministries, a Christian organization dedicated to assisting Christian businessmen in fulfilling their God-given purpose in every area of life. Through events like The MasterPlan Business Seminar, discipleship groups and training programs, MasterPlan is equipping Christians to follow God’s way, strengthen their families and relationships, and build successful, principled businesses that testify to the world that God’s Ways Work. I have benefited much from Steve in learning how that God’s Ways work when we surrender our lives, our businesses, our families, everything we have and are to God. He will bless us in many ways when we do surrender everything we have to God, and allow him to run our lives, our businesses, our families, etc. He can run them much better than we ever dreamed of doing. Steve has mentored me through his videos and taught me the principle of living for God and surrendering everything we are and have to God’s Control.

Competencies I Need

2012-11-17T16:20:00.001-08:00

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. I'm not sure yet if I will post all of them here or not.

Knowing Myself
Knowing my Past
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors
Skills (Competencies) I Need

This assignment was: Skills (Competencies) I Need:

The top 20 competencies I will need to lead effectively

A Plan for how to get the counsel I need.

Webster’s defines coaching as, “to instruct, direct, or prompt as a coach.” I believe that I will strongly needed this competency as I plan to coach those that I am called to share with as a part of my vision & mission in life. I will ask one of my mentors a couple of questions on Coaching that I believe will get me on the right track to accomplishing the competency of Coaching. These questions will be ones like, “What are the characteristics of coaching that have been the most helpful to you as an individual? What are some of the books & audio materials that have helped you develop the skill of coaching? What is your history as a coach and how would you best instruct me in the skill of coaching?”

Webster’s defines listening as, “to hear something with thoughtful attention, to give consideration.” One of my mentors has shown me this competency by his life example. I plan to ask this mentor a few questions on listening to develop this as a competency in my own life. A few of the questions that I will ask are ones such as, “What are the techniques of listening that have proved most helpful to you? What are three things that are essential to become a good listener? What are some areas that are detrimental to becoming a good listener?”

Webster’s defines counseling as, “professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.” I plan to ask one of my mentors questions like, “How did you become a counselor? What led you to become a counselor? What do you think is the most critical to become a good counselor?”

Webster’s defines managing as, “to handle or direct with a degree of skill.” I will ask Don Beachler questions like, “Share with me your experience as a manager in your business? What would you do differently now in hindsight? What was the best decision you made as a manager?”

Webster’s defines writing as, “the act or process of one who writes.” I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “What are the techniques of writing that are the most critical to be a good writer? What are the best resources on writing that you know of? How strongly do you feel that good writing is critical to success as an individual? Why do you feel this way?”

Stewarding is being a manager of the assets that God has entrusted to us. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “Share with me the experiences you have had as a steward that you wish you could go back and redo? What are some of the experiences that you have had as a steward that were strong points? Why were they strong points? How strongly do you feel that stewardship is critical to success as an individual? Why do you feel this way?”

Gratitude is the state of being grateful. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “What are the key points of Gratitude that you believe would best influence and shape me into being a Grateful Person? Do you have an example of when you were not grateful you could share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were grateful that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life?”

Wisdom is best found in the life of Solomon. Solomon was an extremely wise individual. An individual that I think has a lot of the same characteristics is another one of my mentors. I plan to ask this mentor questions like, “What is critical about wisdom to the success of an individual? What are three books that you find to be the most helpful on Wisdom? Share with me some ways to become a wiser person from your own life example?”

Operating is the process of being a good operator. I plan to ask one of my mentors a few questions about being a good Operator. A few of the questions that I plan to ask are, “What are three of the most helpful techniques I should spend time on to become the best Operator at any given operation? What is the most important aspect of being a good operator that you know of to be a successful person in life? Tell me about your history of being an operator and how you became a Good Operator?”

Implementing is the process of putting different ideas into practice. I plan to ask one of my mentors questions on implementing like, “How is implementation critical to being a good leader in life? What do you find to be the best way to be able to implement some new procedure or process? Do you know of any good resource that would be beneficial to me on implementation?”

Webster’s defines guiding as, “one that leads or directs another's way.” I will ask one of my mentors some questions on Guiding like, “Share with me some strong points in Guiding / Shepherding that is critical to good Leadership? Do you have any examples you can share with me? What are the most detrimental things to Guiding / Shepherding that I should avoid? Do you have any life examples? What has been the best resource that you have found applicable to your life on Guiding / Shepherding?”

Webster’s defines structuring as, “the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other.” I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “What are the techniques of structuring that are the most critical to be a good leader? What are some of the best resources that you have found on Structuring that would be helpful to me? What do you find to be the best way to be able to structure a new project or restructure an old one?”

A tendency of Anger is having a bad temper. As leaders we must control our temper. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “How is having control of your temper a key aspect of Leadership? Do you have an example of when you lost your temper that you care share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were able to control your temper that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life?”

Being able to socialize with other individuals in a positive manner is a key part of being a good leader. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “What is critical about Socialability to the success of an individual? What are the areas of being Sociable that I need to be careful & Cautious of? How did you become a socialable person that others enjoy to be around?”

On the flip side, we must be people of strong personal character as leaders. We need to be people who are able to develop key areas of personability to be able to connect one-to-one with others. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “How is being personable to others key to becoming a good Leader? In what ways have you demonstrated the competency of being personable to others? In what way did this affect you? In what ways have you not demonstrated the competency of being able to be personable to others? How did this affect you?”

Availability is the quality or state of being available. Availability is a key part of leadership. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “What pointers can you give me as to why Availability is key to becoming a Good Leader? Why is this essential? When is too much availability detrimental to becoming a Good Leader? Do you have any examples in your life that you care to share with me on the quality of Availability?”

I believe that Boldness & Courage are also key parts of leadership. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “Why is Boldness key to becoming a strong Leader? Is there a time when you can possibly be too bold? Is this detrimental to your success as a Leader? Do you have any resources that have been key in your life that have helped you to become bolder?”

Contentment is a quality that all individuals should have but especially me as a leader. I will ask one of my mentors questions like, “How is contentment critical to being a strong leader in life? Do you have any tips on how to become more content in life? Are there any examples from your life where you care to share how that contentment affected you?”

Creativity is the process of creating new things. I will ask one of my mentors questions on creativity like, “What are ways that you would recommend that I could become more creative in my approach to different obstacles? What resources have you found to be helpful that you would recommend to me as I pursue creativity as an aspect of my life? Share with me some experiences that you have had at being creative? How did this affect your life?”

Humility is recognizing that it is actually God and others that are responsible for the achievements in my life. I will ask one of my mentors questions on Humility like this, “In what way is Humility a key aspect of Leadership? What have you found to be the best resource on Humility? Do you have an example of when you were not humble that you care share with me? How did this affect your life? Do you have 2-3 examples of when you were humble that you care to share with me? In what way did this influence your life??

Purity is a key quality before God and other men. I plan to ask one of my mentors questions like, “Why is Purity key to becoming a strong Leader? What resources have you found to be helpful that you would recommend to me as I desire Purity to be a central aspect of my life? What would you say is the most critical point in continuing in purity? How does this affect me as a Leader?”

My Vision and Mission for my Life

2012-11-07T09:27:00.002-08:00

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. I'm not sure yet if I will post all of them here or not.

Knowing Myself
Knowing my Past
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors
Skills I Need

This assignment was: Vision and Mission:

The How & Why of God's Calling as I now understand

My Vision Statement:

My vision is to equip believers throughout the world to walk a more Christ-centered life in the specific area of Biblical principles of finance and stewardship. My role in this vision is to serve and influence those that are struggling in business, to encourage the poor, and provide counsel to those who have legitimate needs. My ultimate desire is that each Christian would be equipped to live their lives in the way of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ in all areas of life, and specifically in the area of stewardship & finances.

I desire to see both believers & non-believers living out a Biblical Worldview in all areas of life, but especially in the specific area of Finance & Stewardship. I have had this passion and desire for probably the last 3-4 years. I have spent much time in prayer and scripture reading about this vision and passion that I believe the Lord has placed in my life. Here are some specific areas that I believe God has called me to spend time sharing with others to build a Biblical Worldview in the Area of Finance & Stewardship. I have included some scripture on some of these points that will lead/have led me & guided me in these areas.

Know what it means to be financially free.

Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, … And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:11, 17-18)

Know what God’s Purposes for Money are

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Choose to serve God rather than Money

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. [Money] (Matthew 6:24)

The importance of Tithing & Christian Giving

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:8-10)

The danger of Debt & the clear scriptural principles against Debt in the life of a Believer

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)

Self-Control from dangerous spending habits

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (Philippians 4:12)

Learn Accounting Principles that benefit the life of a Believer

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:2)

Never Co-sign for someone else

Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. (Proverbs 22:6)

Choose a Good Name (whatever the cost)

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1)

Principles of Praying for Money

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14-15)

The dangers of Business Partnerships
Biblical Principles of Retirement
The place of College in the life of a believer

Look at John 21 & Deuteronomy 6

Avoid Divorce by living in Financial Freedom

God made the man and the woman specifically to complement each other in marriage. Concerning divorce, Jesus said unequivocally, "From the beginning it was not so" (Matthew 19:8). God did not say to Adam, "Now I made this woman to be your wife, but if your marriage doesn't work out, you may divorce her, and we'll try another rib!"
The Scriptural account of God making a suitable companion for Adam concludes with the statement, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). This speaks clearly of lifelong fidelity.

Avoid the trap of slothfulness

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

Give your Business to God
Set Priorities
Balance Life & Work
Strengthen Your Relationship with God
Build a Lasting Heritage

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:20-21)

My Mission Statement:

My mission in life is to help believers become educated in Biblical principles of finance & stewardship so that they will use their money & resources in a way that would please our Master. I will do this by writing books, counseling others one-to-one, speaking in front of live audiences, and by using technology to be able to reach as many believers around the globe as possible. I will live my life in a way that will back up, and not contradict, my written and spoken word. I will seek the counsel and guidance of older godly men who have lived a life of Christian service and have greatly sacrificed of their resources for the Kingdom of God.

My Mission is played out in the specific area of sharing the specific 20+ Principles I laid out above.

Why has God called me to this ministry? Because I believe that many Christians and non-Christians alike are bringing God’s judgment upon their lives and upon our nation through not living out a Biblical Worldview in Finances & Stewardship. Hardly anyone is stepping up and clearly warning others of God’s Judgment coming upon our nation & specifically upon our individual lives by not living by his principles in this area. God has given me a passion and a desire to see true genuine Christianity played out in the lives of believers through how we handle our finances.

Check out my blog about my College Life here - http://calebjenkins-collegeplus.blogspot.com/

About Me (Caleb Jenkins)

2012-11-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

In a college Leadership Class I recently took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. I'm not sure yet if I will post all of them here or not.

Knowing Myself
Knowing my Past
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors
Skills I Need

This assignment was: Knowing My Past:

Life experiences that have shaped me and continue to shape me.
Understanding of the shaping influence of my life experiences.
Relation of these life experiences to my current direction in life.

Knowing my Past:

I was born on June 12, 1994 at the home of my parents in Ceres, CA. I was 8lbs, 12oz when I was born. I started crawling at 18 months, and started walking at 2 years of age. I was starting to know how to read right before my 4^th birthday. I started preschool that year which was 1998-1999. Right off the bat my favorite subjects were math, logic, bible, & spelling. As much as I liked Math, I hated Science with the same passion (to this day, I still really don’t like Science). I had a deep love for reading books from a very early age. I started drinking coffee about the same time (5-6 age range). To this day you can still usually see me by my coffee mug. I have read hundreds if not thousands of books and many of those books, I have read over and over and over again. For example, I have read all of the Christian Heroes: Then & Now Series at least 3-5 times each as well as the Heroes of History Series at least 2-3 times each. I also developed an early attraction to technology and computers. I was fascinated by computers, which led me to learn more about their operations (I never really have been interested in the service & repair side of things though). By age 7 or 8, I was teaching my parents and older siblings how do to misc. things on the computer. I loved to sharpen my skills at typing on Mavis Beacon (I spent countless amount of hours practicing, and practicing and practicing, over and over and over again). In 2004, our family moved from on the edge of the city where my parents rented a house to a 10 acre almond farm in the country 3 miles outside of town. That was the year that I turned 10, as well as the year that my Grandpa Jenkins & Great Grandma Wagoner died (they lived in Indiana). I remember that being a sobering event in my life. In the years of 2005-2006, I spent a lot of time outside in our orchards, but I forever loved to spend whatever spare time I had still reading books & messing around on the computer. In May of 2008, I graduated from 8^th Grade. My speech was on Boldness & Courage (two things that were in the life of Caleb in the Bible that I want to be modeled in my life). Then in June of 2008, my life took a huge turn. One evening a few nights after my birthday, I could not sleep. My stomach hurt terrible bad. I tried to relieve the pain but nothing worked. When I would stand up to walk I would about collapse from the pain. I walked with my waste up parallel to the floor because of the horrible amounts of pain. Finally a few days later my parents took me to the hospital. In the emergency room they did a CT scan on me (before they did this, they made me drink some nasty flavored juice that was supposed to taste like Orange Juice, but to me it was a terrible substitute for the real thing). The emergency room doctor came and told us that the CT Scan came back with nothing. He said that it could either be that I had a bad case of the flu, or else I could be developing children’s kidney stone problems. My father did not like the answer, which the doctors sensed, so they called the general surgeon and he came and looked at me. He wanted to admit me to the hospital. After admitting me to the hospital he came and did a few tests on me, and told my parents that he thought I had appendicitis and wanted to do surgery on me. So the next day they did surgery on me, and to their surprise realized that my appendix had actually ruptured, Now this wasn’t just any ordinary rupture either. It had actually ruptured back in May of 2008, and had healed over and then re-burst in June. There was infection spread throughout my stomach area from the rupture. I spent about 14 or 15 days in the hospital because of this problem. I believe that the reason I spent this time there was a wake up call from the Lord about my personal salvation to which I did not respond to at that time being. Then in September of 2008, I prayed a prayer and “gave my life to the Lord”. I was baptized on October 5, 2008. I went down the path thinking that I was saved and tried on my own strength to be a true Christian. That fall I started working for my father doing tax & accounting work which I loved doing (It allowed me to focus on my strengths in Math & Logic while allowing me to work with $$ doing Financial Accounting & Bookkeeping which was my absolute joy – and still is). That next tax season (January-April 2009) I worked 4 days a week at the front desk as a receptionist. Then I started a small roadside fruit business for three weeks. This was a really good experience that allowed me to make some money and have some experience with entrepreneurship. I continued working for Daddy full-time from this point on doing mainly Accounting work, but also Personal & Corporate Tax Work on the side. Then in November of 2009, tragedy struck home. I had a four-wheeler wreck. I was riding my four-wheeler beside my brother on his four-wheeler in our orchard when I guess I bumped into his back tire (I don’t remember doing this). That threw me off my four-wheeler and into one of our almond trees. Miraculously, I was wearing a helmet at the time being (normally I don’t wear a helmet when just riding in our orchard). I was knocked out, and so my father who was riding with us, came up and instantly decided that I needed help. He called 911 and they sent out an ambulance and fire truck. The EMT’s decided that it might be too dangerous to transport me to the hospital in the ambulance so they called for a helicopter. After they medi-flighted me into the hospital I was in ICU for 3 days, then in the pediatric ward for another 7 days. I had broken my scapula in two spots, a bad break to my collar bone, and nine of the spinas on my vertebrae. When I was released from the hospital I had to wear a sling around for 6 weeks. That was fun to work at the office in (not)!! So after healing from that accident, I went through the tax season in 2010 and worked long hours (pushing 70 hours per week). During the summer I examined my future, and decided that it would be best to go down the route of becoming a CPA which would require a Bachelor’s degree to do. At the height of tax season in 2011, I worked 70-80 hour weeks. I loved every bit of this tax season with its challenges to further exceed and excel. Then in August of 2011 I went on a Journey to the Heart up in the Northwoods of Michigan. This was a life transforming event. I believe I really came to know Christ as my personal Lord & Savior on this trip. I was able to find freedom from sins that I was hiding in my life through confessing them & being open about them to my parents, and then through brokenness towards God because of the hurt that it had caused him. When I came home from that trip I started working on the Leadership course on Management & Communication through CollegePlus. I thoroughly enjoyed this class as it was challenging and heart searching to find answers in my life. Then this year in 2012 I survived tax season after working some 80 hour weeks. I graduated this spring from High School. My speech was on “A Biblical Worldview on Finances & Stewardship”. During this summer I took many trips to various places that challenged me to live for Christ. One of these was to a Missions Conference in OH. The Lord began to open my eyes through this event to his heart for the Nations. Then in August of this year I went on a trip to PA for a conference called “Kingdom Fellowship Weekend”. There the Lord began to open my eyes to the kingdom of God and what it is, and how it applies to my everyday life. I then traveled to OH and helped out a young lady going through demonic attacks. Through this experience the Lord began to open my eyes to the Spiritual Warfare that is happening all around us every day. Then I continued my trip to NYC where a friends & I did some repair work for Mennonites and then in the afternoons/evenings went out into the subways and sang and passed out gospel tracts and witnessed to Individuals about the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this experience the Lord began to open my eyes to his heart for every lost individual around us every day.

Now – how does all of this relate to where I am currently at and headed in life? Well going back, let’s look at a few things. I have had a interest in Math & Logic from an early age. I have always loved to read. I have always longed to be able to work with numbers. I enjoy working with computers and new technology. But more importantly, I have a desire for a close walk with Christ through Prayer & Scripture reading, & Evangelism. One of my Joys in life is sharing the Gospel with the lost and Biblical Principles of Finance & Stewardship with those that profess to know Christ.

So where does all of this lead me in life? Well, my vision is to equip believers throughout the world to walk a more Christ-centered life in the specific area of Biblical principles of finance and stewardship. My role in this vision is to serve and influence those that are struggling in business, to encourage the poor, and provide counsel to those who have legitimate needs. My ultimate desire is that each Christian would be equipped to live their lives in the way of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ in all areas of life, and specifically in the area of stewardship & finances.

You may ask, "How and where is this mission & vision carried out?" The answer to this question is, "I'm not sure." In the past year or so, my vision has changed from an American Christianity perspective on finances to a more Biblical Christianity view of finances. My sights are now on the whole world instead of just America. My sights are now set to see lost people saved, and Christians edified and challenged to grow in their walk with Christ. I want to see a group of believers from every tribe around the world who are passionately on fire for the Lord and who live the radical life of Christianity as was displayed by those in the early church who gave sacrificially of the time, money, possessions, and even to the point of death for the spread of the Gospel to all people groups around the world.

I hope that reading this college essay paper has helped you to understand more of who I am and who God has made me to be.

Halloween - How should Christians Respond?

2012-10-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

The traditions of Halloween are based upon the worship of false gods, contact with the dead, foretelling the future, and communing with evil spirits. Does the bible have anything to say about these practices?
The worship of false gods is condemned numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments and is emphasized so strongly that it is the very first of the commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.

In Exodus 20:2-3 the Lord writes with His own hand:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

In Deuteronomy 11:16 He warns the Israelites:

“Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”

The Psalmist warns in Psalm 81:9:

“You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god.”

John even closes the “Love Letter” of 1 John with the admonition to “…keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

The passage in the bible that most directly addresses the customs mentioned above is Deuteronomy 18:9-14, where we read:

9 When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so.

We see here about the most inclusive list of the activities upon which Halloween was established that can be found anywhere in the bible, and the practitioners thereof are labeled “detestable.” Those habits are, in fact, the very reason the Pagan nations were driven out of the Promised Land.

In Amos 5:14 The Lord tells Israel, “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.” He goes on in the next verse to say, “Hate evil, love good.” Note the emphasis (added) on the statement “just as you say He is.” Even though one may be making a profession of faith, Amos is clearly saying that the Lord Almighty is not with those who are actually seeking evil, instead of good. Peter reminds us of this when he says “…the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12).

The scripture has a lot to say about participating in such activities:

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you’” –2 Corinthians 6:14-17.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says to “avoid every kind of evil.”

Jesus said it best in John 3:19-21:

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Finally, Paul gives us an idea for a costume to be worn on Halloween (or any) night in Romans 13:12:

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”

There will certainly be people who will still rationalize ways to participate, at some level, in the festivities of Halloween. To this the Lord replies in Proverbs 3:7

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil,” and 8:13 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” Will we seek to push the boundaries of our faith to see just how far we can go? Or will we seek to serve the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength? “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa 5:20).

The Lord equates Spiritual maturity with the ability to discern good and evil. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that they should “stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults” (1 Corinthains 14:20). The author of Hebrews makes it even more clear when he says “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

For those who would still insist that they can participate in such activities with a clear conscience, there is another aspect to think about: the example you are to those around you.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God– even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Corinthains 10:31-33).

I BEG (IMPLORE) YOU TO:

Spend much time today in prayer over all of the lives that are subjected and forced into satanic worship & those that are demon possessed.
Implore a holy & righteous God to execute his wrath upon Satan and all of his demons.
Implore a merciful & forgiving God to show his mercy & pardon on all of the children & babies that are forcibly made to participate in demonic activities, and rescue them from that lifestyle.
Reach out to those that are trapped in this lifestyle, and show them that you love them, and that God cares about them, and deeply loves them.

My Favorite Verse says:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Please humble yourself, and pray, and seek God's Face, and turn from your wicked ways today, & God will hear from heaven, and God will forgive our sins.

My Personal Past (Caleb)

2012-10-29T16:04:00.002-07:00

In a college Leadership Class I just took, I was given an assignment to write out a Personal Leadership Plan.

There are 6 parts to this Personal Leadership Plan. I'm not sure yet if I will post all of them here or not.

Knowing my Past
Knowing Myself
Vision & Mission
SMART Goals
Mentors
Skills I Need

The assignment was this: - Knowing yourself:

Your Preferences
Strengths
Gifts
Talents
Tendencies
Are examples provided to support your conclusions?

I do not mean to post these assignments to brag about who I am, but rather as a tool so that you all can better understand who I am. If you do not think this really represents who I am, I would ask that you please let me know how and why it does not clearly represent who I am.

Part 1: Strengths

My strongest strength would be in the area of Evaluating & Analyzing. Webster’s defines Evaluating as determining the significance, worth, or condition of, usually by careful appraisal and study & Analyzing studying or determining the nature and relationship of the parts of by analysis. An example of this strength in my life would be evaluation of whether or not to become a Certified Public Accountant or an Enrolled Agent or both about 4-5 years ago. I examined the average pay rates of both designations, the ability to do different jobs, the public status & recognition of the different titles, the public education needed, and many more tests. My results of the study were to first become a Certified Public Accountant and later in life become an Enrolled Agent.

Another strong strength would be the ability to organize. Webster’s defines Organizing as setting up an administrative structure. Organizing is the collaboration of Systematizing, Collecting, & Organizing. An example of this strength in my life would be organizing information for presentations (PowerPoint’s, Handouts, Articles, etc.) for the past 3 years or so. I enjoy collecting the different sources of information and organizing it into the best attraction to the eye and in the most logical order.

Part 2: Talents

My strongest Talent would be in the area of Logic & Math. I love to sort, categorize, and characterize. An example of this in my life would be in the area of my vocation. I started in the Accounting / Tax arena about 4 years ago. I have loved every bit of the adventure. I love working with the calculations in Tax & Accounting, and love fixing a complicated problem. I love the thrill of solving and balancing the books while working on corporate & personal tax returns.

Another strong Talent in my life would be the intelligence of self. I would say that this talent is linked to one of my spiritual gifts of Serving. I love to serve quietly by myself where nobody notices. An example of strong characteristics of Self in my life would be spending my spare time typing out devotionals or talks or books or possibly chapters of the bible. I love to do this in the early morning and the late evening when no one else is around. I also love to listen to sermons when I am alone. How I would classify this as serving others would be that this prepares me to be better equipped to know how to relate to someone else, or to give them counsel in that given topic, or to lead them to the scriptures in a Biblical Study. I can recall many different sermons or different topics and apply that to my life and others lives to whatever situation they or I might be facing.

Part 3: Spiritual Gifts

My strongest Spiritual Gifts would be Giving & Serving. Looking back over my life, I don’t think I can truly separate the gifts of Giving and Serving. I think that they each compliment the other gift to the point that if you remove one of them the other loses most of its significance. I serve an individual by giving to them. This is done by giving of my resources (time, treasures, talent, etc), and many other ways, including, giving of my experience and knowledge to bless someone make correct decisions in life (decisions about – Life Purpose, Life Goals, Education, Marriage, Children, Vocation, Calling, etc.). The reverse of that is that I give to individuals by serving them. I serve them by finding joy in doing the small things in life that others may not notice or enjoy doing that will bless them in a very certain way.

I believe that the cycle you can see with the children of Israel of: God’s Blessing on them, turning the blessing into materialism, turning the materialism into Idolism, God’s Judgment on Idolism, the Children of Israel’s Repentance of their Idolism & Materialism, God’s Blessing on them, over & over again is also a pattern in Church History as well as our Individual Lives. I believe that the way that this cycle is stopped is by realizing that God’s Blessing is not meant to be turned into Materialism but rather to be used to bless others for his kingdom, for his glory, for his honor & praise!

When I look at the gift of serving, I believe that it is displayed through finding Joy in doing the smallest tasks however menial & tedious they are. I have heard a lot of people say that the people, who have the gift of service, are usually not the most efficient at what they do. I don’t believe that is completely true, especially in my life. When I find something small/tedious to do that would be of a benefit to others, I usually find myself asking this question, “Is there a faster way to do this task that would be more efficient and produce greater quality or quantity?”

An example of how I served by Giving is: Through this last year I have found many ways to give to people & projects that I believe was truly serving them with my time & resources. It is truly such a blessing to give and not expect a return, which will always lead to a blessing from God. He may not & usually does not bless in the exact way that you gave though. For example; if you give away your money, he may bless you with time, or stronger relationships, or better health, or more money back.

An example of how I have given by Serving is: Every month a ministry that I am actively involved in called LAMB Services, Inc. has an evening for the community to come together and pack different things to bless others around the world with. The first in the cycle is a food pack, the second is a clothes pack, and the third is usually an assortment of projects. One of the events is a Pack of Good & Evil Books for Prisoners in CA. It has been my privilege to set up and manage some of the systems that are in place for this project. One of the main systems that I manage is a program that was built in excel for easy entering of the inmates information (address, ID#, Cell#, etc), & easy label printing. During this process, I have realized how much of a Joy & a service it is to do the small & tedious things when they are a service to God.

Check out my new blog about my College Life here - http://calebjenkins-collegeplus.blogspot.com/