At a time when I was seeking direction in the mid 2000′s, his book “The Call” provided some fresh and inspired insight.  As I toured the Guinness brewery last fall in Dublin, my mind returned to a favorite passage that acted as a lighthouse and meant so much during those dark times.  It helped to reset the context of my life.  It became something of a “line in the sand” for me.

Perhaps it will help you orient to True North as well.

Entrepreneurs Of Life 

As Entrepreneurs of Life, we respond to the call of our great Creator by seeing all life as an enterprise transformed by his call to ‘Follow me.’

We therefore count the cost, consider the risks, and set out on each day as a venture to multiply our gifts and opportunities in order to bring glory to God and add value to his world.

In so living

• we find the fullest meaning of our lives in answering the call,
• we seek our identity solely in our naming by the Caller,
• we pursue excellence defined as ‘My utmost for His highest,’
• we count our deepest companionship among our fellow-followers of the Way,
• we look for final approval only from one audience — the Audience of One,
• we break down every false barrier between the sacred and the secular, weaving all life into a seamless web of faith and love in action,
• and we work for no other accomplishment or legacy than the Caller’s own ‘well done.’

The menial and humdrum we elevate because of the one for whom it’s ultimately done.

The dangerous and sacrificial we bear as the privilege of high calling.

The siren sounds of ease, success and popularity we shun for a trustworthier voice.

The temptations of conceit coming from being so chosen we answer with a gratitude humbled by grace because we have been chosen at all.

Thus we are fully engaged in the world on realistic terms, but empowered by vision and energies from a world that is unseen but even more real and realistic

In all things, and in all the vicissitudes and seasons of life, we know that

• we are called not to somewhere or some thing but to Someone,
• that there is no true calling without the Caller,
• that calling is not only being who we are but becoming what we are to be,
• that no self-made goal can ever rival the Ultimate Why of the mystery of the Creator’s purpose for each of us as his creatures,
• that we will never rise higher than when we follow the call not knowing where the path may lead — so long as the Caller is God.

And that while we may lose our jobs and our health, or retire from a career, we will never retire from our calling — until that Final Call, which is death, leads each of us to the climax and consummation of all calling.

For on that day, for the first time, we will not need to listen only to a word; we will see the Caller face to face and find ourselves in our Father’s home forever.

In the meantime that is our journey until our life’s last day, the passion of our lives is to go further, higher, deeper, always closer to the One who called us once and calls us still — to Himself, and to all the joys that knowing him can mean.”

Q:  What is your vision for life?

Church Of The Resurrection, Leawood, KS (Kansas City area)

• Technical Support Specialist
• Lead Network Administrator

Monk Development, San Diego area

• Customer Advocate
• Sales/Account Executive

Church Community Builder, Colorado Springs area

• Church Leader Support Guide
• Systems Administrator
• UX/UI Designer

Cherry Hills Community Church, Denver Area

• Systems and Network Administrator

Computers In Ministry, Denver area, Phoenix area, & remote

• Technical Services Specialist
• Director of Ministry Partner Services/CIO

Q:  Do you know of additional opportunities that I can add to the list?

Summary

• God created us in His own image
• We rebelled, inviting death and evil to corrupt all human endeavor
• Jesus provided the path to rescue, restoration and reconciliation with God
• Through Christ, work, creativity and human endeavor can be redeemed for God’s good purposes
• Technology can be developed, utilized and leveraged for Christ’s Kingdom, including the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Expanded View

“This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” – Ecc 7:29 (NIV)

Those schemes led to open and willful rebellion against God.  Sin was welcomed into the world (Genesis 3), severing our bonds with the Author of Life (Heb 12:2), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3) .  Untethered and self-exiled, all humankind’s  creative and noble aspirations became ghostly corruptions of of their original Divine potential.  The original, creative imprint of God on humankind, the Imago Dei, remained within each individual (Gen 1:27), but was exposed to sin’s nature to serve selfish and destructive purposes.  Humankind had opted for a temporary and deceptive self-mastery in exchange for eternal death and separation from God (Rom 1:25).

Via God’s long-suffering love, however, rescue and restoration was provided solely in the person of Jesus (Rom 5:8).  Being fully God and fully human, Jesus alone provided the bridge required to reconcile God and humankind.  The rescue plan provided both immediate and eternal restoration for all voluntary recipients.  Thus restored, Jesus enables followers to again lay hold of hope, noble work, love and creative potential (Acts 17:28).  All that is good comes from Him (James 1:17).

God’s creative nature is declared and celebrated in the opening lines of Scripture.  This nature, His nature,  is imprinted on all of humankind.  Artists, scientists, inventors, engineers, etc take their charter from the original and divine spark of creativity.  Human endeavor and discovery, including the development of technology, are understood to be sanctioned by, and acquire purpose from, God’s original design (Gen 1).

Therefore, while technological development is inspired by God, it attains nobility and God infused purpose only when subjected to and redeemed by Him.  The human creator willingly releases the creation to the Creator for His purposes (Prov 16:3).

Among those purposes are God’s declared desire for His followers to take the good news of Jesus to every nation & tribe, and to make disciples of all people (Matt 28:19). Technology holds unique and powerful promise as a tool in this service to Him.  The portals for the Gospel made available through technology are facilitating its spread. Information & community building resources are available to growing disciples as never before.

Our world awaits the final return of Jesus and the complete restoration of all things.  Until that time, technology will carry the potential for both nobility and evil.  As examples, transportation technology will be used to deliver medical supplies to a mission field as well as carry a man to an illicit affair.  Medical technology will be used to both extend and prematurely end life.  Information technology will distribute both truth and falsehood. Unintended consequences will surface that challenge the discernment and wisdom of learned leaders.

Notwithstanding these tensions, God continues to call us in times such as these.  He continually extends the invitation to partner with Him in unveiling His love and exposing the majesty of His created order to a waiting world.  The call is to a deep, thoughtful and reverent exploration of the world He has created and expressing this creativity for His glory.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Col 3:23-24 (NIV)

Q:  Do you believe a “theology of technology” is necessary?  How do you subject your involvement with technology to Christ?

Levers extend capability.  Levers expand capacity.  They transport heavy loads.  They relieve burdens.  They remove the stubborn.  They provide advantage.

Technology provides advantage.  Technology is a lever.

Advantage is not equivalent to benefit.  Technology can be used to many ends, not all of which are beneficial.  The tech lever can enable good, harmful and unintended consequences.  It can conceivably be used to move things better left in place.

Technology is a lever.  It disturbs the status quo, the prevailing assumptions and the existing environment. It is a change agent.

Knowing what to move, what you’ll disturb, what follows in its place and how it creates benefit for the new world you’re creating factor into the tech decision matrix.

Technology is a lever.  It might be a benefit.

Q:  Do you understand why you’re using tech & how it’s benefiting your constituency? 

GLS Leadership Team: Beth Dahlenburg, Lucky, Dave Wright, Eric Hood - Grafton St, Dublin

One of the great blessings of 2011 was the opportunity to join Willow Creek’s leadership team in Dublin for the Irish version of the Global Leadership Summit.

The GLS is hosted each August in the states by Willow Creek via simulcast to almost 200 church sites.  Over 70,000 leaders participated in the event in 2011. Following on the heels of the US event, the GLS takes to the road and is hosted in hundreds of cities globally throughout the fall.  I was privileged to attend Dublin’s hosting of the Summit in November.

During one of our breaks, I had a chance to interview Sean, an Assemblies of God pastor from Newbridge.  Here are some of the things I learned from him:

Jarrett Ruffino, GLS International Team

• Ireland is ethnically very diverse:  of the 500 people in his congregation, there are 16 nationalities represented (Newbridge is a town of 20,000 in county Kildare)
• Ireland is 1% evangelical Christian
• Ireland is 95% Roman Catholic
• 20% of the local population attends church each week
• Since gaining independence from the British almost a century ago,  individual responsibility for personal leadership and moral decision making has been abdicated to the Catholic church.  The tools required for moral decision making are a rapidly fading part of individual consciousness.
• Due to its history with the British, religion is primarily a question of nationality, not of individual decision
• In 2011, an average of 1,000 young people leave the country each week due to the global economic downturn.  Many go to Australia to work construction jobs created by the 2011 floods.

Peter Mercier: Irish Businessman and Host for the Dublin GLS

My thoughts frequently return to this amazing trip.  I’m looking forward to seeing how God will leverage the trip for future (and, as yet, unknown) purposes.  At this point, I’m learning all I can about how partnerships, collaborations and other connections may aid the leadership development effort in Ireland and other countries.

I’d be interested to hear how you are mentoring, training and developing leaders, both at home and abroad.  I’d be especially interested to hear of leadership development efforts you may be familiar with in Ireland.

Blessings!