How to stay the course and NOT give up

I'm fired up! If you know me or have ever gotten an email from me- you've heard this. If you know me well, you know it's true, almost all the time. It's not an act.

So, here's how I stay so committed (with passion) to the course of ministry, responsibility, and to my community? Here's my response:

CALLING:

• A certainty that I am doing what God destined for me to do, specifically in planting Lifehouse and in raising up other church planters. Very little else fuels me for long except the confidence I have that God called me to do this- He choose me, I didn’t choose Him.
• Constant reminder from passages of Scripture that have gripped me from the beginning of my call (Jeremiah 1:4-10; Joshua 1:1-11 and 3:1-6).
• Vision is a picture of the “preferred future” (Leading at a Higher Level). I can close my eyes and see, at least generally, what my purpose is, even several years down the road. I know for a fact that I’m still on the front end of completing the work that God has called me to. Since I know this is the beginning, I’m resolute in finishing. My dream is to lead a Kingdom-impacting church for a long time (LHE) and through Lifehouse, develop as many church planters as possible then send them out to plant as many churches as possible.

FOCUS: this encompasses 2 critical areas:

• Giftedness: staying narrowed in my unique destiny, temperament, and calling. I realize that I’m not that good at a lot of things, but extremely gifted in a few areas. So, I leverage the areas I’m strong in, do those better, and keep developing/ releasing/ coaching other leaders to do everything else! This is huge! When I’m busy doing what I’m not gifted at or passionate about, I feel de-motivated, uninspired, and I won’t stay the course.
• Eternal perspective: the Cause of Christ grips me so completely and passionately that I can’t help but recklessly abandon myself to His purposes for my life, regardless of the cost, sacrifice, or hard work. My prayer everyday,

“Oh Lord, may what I do TODAY matter for ETERNITY so that the population of heaven will increase because I got out of bed this morning!”

• This isn’t always easy, that’s why I need prayer time and devotions- to keep me focused and centered on the WHY.

DREAM TEAM: having highly committed leaders around me has been one of my greatest strengths.

• This requires lots of invest of time, conflict resolution, prayer, and high level of faith in people, and a critically important ability to see the potential in others and to invite them to leverage their potential in God’s Church. I have a passion to see people WIN and excitedly BELIEVE in them more than they believe in themselves.
• Read “Building a Dream Team” in Courageous Leadership, by Bill Hybels. When other high level people join you, it’s emboldening and empowering. When they sacrifice alongside of you, it makes you believe in the Cause even more, and you recognize that the Cause is bigger than you.

PRAYER: I know it sounds obvious, but I’ve bathed every step of ministry and life in prayer, and especially in seasons of fasting. When you know your walking in devotion to God, hearing from Him, and radically living His purposes- you can’t quit!